Let's just say that Jeongguk and Taehyung's relationship with each other was definitely different from before.

Ever since the boys hung out as two good old 'bros' their bond had certainly strengthened. Besides from the messy make-out sessions the two had, Taehyung had gradually become more open with Jeongguk which obviously made the boy glad that Taehyung wasn't hesitating to reach out.

What was even better was Taehyung seemed to be happier and less fidgety, no longer succumbing to his nervous habits as much. Sure, there were times where Taehyung felt like he couldn't do anything, looking at Jeongguk with teary eyes but the boy always reassured him that he could with a warm smile on his face.

Taehyung had also gradually stopped seeing Jimin, the last time they hooked up was at the night of the party. Unfortunately, Taehyung hadn't quite built up the courage yet to end things, however, he was able to decline Jimin's invitations to sex and no, Jeongguk didn't know about all that still-

Anyway, all that had happened in the span of two weeks and today was the day of the school play auditions, the day Taehyung had been dreading ever since it was announced. Thankfully, the boy had memorised his lines just in time with the help and encouragement from Jeongguk so he was ready to face the world.

"Alright, lovelies! Take your seats, to those who are auditioning, stay backstage until I call out your name. If you're not auditioning, please sit down and respect your classmates by not talking!" Mr. Han called out, standing by the stage as he watched the students frantically run around the hall to be where they were supposed to be.

Jeongguk took a seat in the second row, sitting next to Sehun who also wasn't planning on auditioning. "This'll be interesting." He muttered to Jeongguk, snickering after. Jeongguk agreed, throwing his right leg over his left to get more comfortable. "Definitely."

Jeongguk was just as nervous as Taehyung was, hoping he'd get the part he had been practising a lot for. Before the two had headed to theatre, Jeongguk gave Taehyung a simple peck to wish him good luck.

Once the class had settled in, some hiding backstage while others sat in the rows, Mr. Han smiled, sitting on a chair with a table near the stage as he took out a notebook and pen along with his list of names.

"I'll be calling out names in a random order, mind you. Okay- first, can we have Kim Jennie? She'll be auditioning for the role of Miranda." Mr. Han announced.

Jeongguk raised a brow, he had never heard that name before in his class and naturally he was curious. He turned to Sehun, who was paying attention to the stage, throwing him a confused look.

A few moments after Mr. Han had called out the first name, the curtains drew as the students lazily clapped at her arrival, revealing a petite girl with her script clutched tightly in her hand.

She had long, ebony locks that cascaded down her back, going down to her waist. Part of her hair was brushed back by a cloth baby blue headband which was shaped into a bow. Her plump lips were coloured a pretty shade of pink, her lip gloss shimmering in stage light that was shining onto her as they were curved into a shy smile.

A hushed whisper spread across the room at the arrival of the mystery maiden. Some commenting on her good looks while others were confused as to who she was.

"Woah, she's so pretty."

"When did she join?"

"Who's that chick-?"

The whispers and murmurs continued, everyone in awe of the girl's appearance. Even Jeongguk himself seemed to be in awe.

But what caught the boy off guard was when he looked into her eyes. Despite her seemingly timid appearance, her eyes told a completely different story, having a sinister glint. They were a deep shade of brown, nearly looking pitch black if it weren't for the light. It was as if she had pieces of obsidian for eyes, her piercing yet hypnotising gaze making Jeongguk slightly uncomfortable.

"As Mr. Han said, that's Kim Jennie," Sehun whispered. "She's only just moved to theatre and I guess the day of the auditions is her first lesson."

"Oh." Jeongguk swallowed thickly, blinking his doe eyes. Sehun was right, this was going to be interesting.

"Everyone, stop talking!" Mr. Han cried, smiling when the chatter almost immediately silenced. "Alright, Jennie. The stage is yours."

Jennie smiled, mumbling a small 'thank you' before she took a quick glance at her script, clearing her throat. "O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here!" She delightfully recited, putting a hand to her chest before looking at the script again, her expression flickering back to normal for a moment.

"How beauteous mankind is!" She continued with her eyes filling with hope as a part of the script. Some students let out a few chuckles at her delivery. Jeongguk saw Jennie's expression, how it never shifted as she stayed focused on her role, reciting another quote.

"O brave new world that has such people in it!" She finished with a smile on her face which soon faded, the cunning glint in her eyes returning as the class stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

Jennie stood there amongst the silence with that glint in her eye. Jeongguk only just noticed the necklace she wore, it was a simple gold chain with a small encrusted diamond in the middle that glistened brightly in the light.

People began whispering again, commenting on her performance and line delivery while Jeongguk just moved in his seat, his lips pursed. Not wanting to be rude, Jeongguk was the first to clap, some students following suit until the whole room was filled with everyone clapping.

The clapping soon stopped after about ten seconds, Mr. Han scribbling down the notes of Jennie's performance onto his notepad. "Uh, right. That was excellent, Jennie. Next!"

Jennie bowed courteously before jogging backstage, still tightly holding onto her script as she disappeared amongst the curtains.

Taehyung picked at his lips nervously as he bounced his leg, obviously nervous about his audition. He felt a pat on his back. "Relax, man. You'll be fine." Yugyeom smiled, rubbing Taehyung's back before placing his hand on his hip.

Taehyung scoffed, getting up from his chair. "I know I'll be, just you watch." He smirked, Yugyeom rolled his eyes. "It didn't look like it to me just then." But Taehyung just playfully shoved him by the arm before his eyes landed on someone.

"Wait, is that- Jennie?" Taehyung called out, and Jennie turned around, smiling warmly at the boy. "Oh, Taehyung? Hey!" She spoke, clasping her hands together at her front.

"When did you join theatre? I think the last time I saw you was in January at that party." Taehyung asked, eyes big. Yugyeom had already left, talking to the other students.

"I just joined, what I mean by that is I joined like- yesterday. I'm surprised the office lady let me switch courses a day before the audition, anyway-" Jennie brought a hand up to twirl the gold necklace around her finger, fiddling with it as she spoke.

Taehyung's focus shifted to the golden object as he squinted his eyes at it, tilting his head.

Why did it look so familiar?

The boy shook his thoughts off, paying attention to what Jennie saying instead, smiling as though he knew what she was talking about.

"-Anyway, how are you?" Jennie asked, her hands falling back to her front as she hid them underneath the sleeves of her oversized sweater.

"Oh, me? I'm doing good, yeah. Hopefully, you'll have a blast in theatre." Taehyung grinned, scratching the bridge of his nose which brought his dark curls to fall over his forehead.

"I'm sure I will, you're the only person I know here," Jennie replied, moving her hair behind her shoulder so instead the spilt down her back.

Taehyung widened his eyes. "What? Really? You'll find a bunch of friends here, everyone is pretty nice." He assured.

"You think-?"

"Look! There she is!" A voice called out, pointing at Jennie. Soon, a group of students walked over to the girl, crowding her.

"Your performance was so good!" Yeri cried with wide eyes, engulfing the girl in a hug before Jennie could speak.

"Thanks-"

"I know right! Jeez, Yeri. Be careful, someone here is out to steal your role." Lucas chuckled to which Yeri threw him a death glare.

Jennie looked over to Taehyung, the boy giving her a thumbs-up and mouthing 'told you'.

"You'll definitely get the role of Miranda!" Seulgi beamed, her hands excitedly balled up into fists. Yeri rose a brow, looking at the girl in confusion. "Who are you even auditioning for?"

Seulgi scoffed in disbelief. "Um- the king dude of course? Duh!" She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The group heard a loud laugh from behind, footsteps approaching them.

"Like hell you're going to get King Alonso!" Jin snarled, his hands on his hips. "If anyone is going to get that role, that bitch is going to be me!"

Seulgi snarled back, staring Jin down. "Oh yes, I will!" She fought back, her fists clenched. Lucas and Yeri began laughing.

"Not in a million years-"

Taehyung and Jennie exchanged awkward glances, not knowing what to say amongst all the chaos that was bubbling up in front of them. Jin and Seulgi continued to quarrel childishly whilst Yeri and Lucas were laughing uncontrollably at the mere pointlessness of the argument.

"Kim Seokjin!" They heard Mr. Han call out. Jin lit up, throwing one last dirty glance at Seulgi before leaving with his script.

"Later!" He yelled.

Yeri, Lucas and Seulgi gathered around to peer at the stage, curious as to how Jin would do for the auditions, Seulgi especially.

Taehyung let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "They're hopeless." He sighed, looking down at Jennie. "But look, you've seemed to have made some friends already."

Jennie sighed, an unreadable expression on her face. "Yep."

-

Jeongguk held back a giggle, Jin really went all out for the role of King Alonso, reciting the lines with his whole heart. Sehun was also trying not to laugh, holding a hand over his mouth.

Mr. Han wrote down his notes, giving Jin a small smile. "Good job, Jin. Next!"

The rest of the lesson carried on like that, students came and gone to audition, using their acting skills to the best of their ability in hopes to get the role they desired. Some had stage fright, slipping up on their lines or their lines coming out as a stammering mess. It made Jeongguk question if some of them were being held at gunpoint whilst auditioning.

"Can we have Kim Taehyung? He'll be auditioning for Prospero!" Mr. Han announced, students clapping when the curtains drew again but most had confused expressions at the choice of Taehyung's role, erupting into whispers once more.

"He should've auditioned as Ferdinand."

"I know right? He would've made a great prince."

"Y'all are only saying that 'cause he's hot as fuck-"

Now, it was Taehyung's turn to audition, the boy looked at the audience, expression growing a little apprehensive. His eyes flickered to Jeongguk who gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up.

Taehyung held his script tightly in his hands, so tight that he was crinkling the paper. He took a deep breath, breathing out with a small smile on his face.

'Let's do this.' He thought before looking at his script a final time.

"Our revels now are ended. These our actors," Taehyung began, eyes looking in front of him to stay focused. "As I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air. And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, " He continued, confidence slowly building up within.

"The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself," He recited, trying to feel the character's emotions as he spoke their lines. "Yes, all which it inherit shall dissolve and, like this insubstantial pageant faded-"

By now, Taehyung felt like he had all the confidence in the world, feeling the adrenaline that came from acting. That's what he loved most about acting, the adrenaline. It felt like he had nothing to lose, like every one of his problems had vanished as soon as he stepped onto a stage, pouring his soul into acting and trying to embody himself into the role.

Jeongguk had an expression of utter awe on his face. He'd never actually seen Taehyung's acting before but now as he was seeing it he realised how passionate the boy was about it. The passion was evident in his eyes as they sparkled. If someone didn't agree that the boy was good acting they'd certainly agree that he had passion.

"Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Taehyung finally finished, breathing out heavily. The class looked at the boy in shock, mouths fell open.

Taehyung gazed at the class, awaiting their reaction with his heart hammering inside his chest. Not even a moment later, everyone was clapping, some cheered whilst Jeongguk had the biggest grin etched onto his face.

Taehyung smiled widely at Jeongguk's reaction before bowing then running off stage. "Wasn't that great?" Jeongguk exclaimed to Sehun who nodded frantically.

"Taehyung's a natural, he really likes acting. You could see the passion in his eyes during that, even if you didn't understand what he was saying you could see his emotions." Sehun spoke, and Jeongguk listened closely before looking back at the stage, lips parted as he thought deeply.

The rest of the auditions went as such. Jeongguk to immersed in his own thoughts to be paying attention to the stage. He thought back to Jennie and her audition, she had this look in her eye that Jeongguk couldn't quite explain. He didn't know why he felt so unsettled or uncomfortable, he just couldn't explain it.

Sighing, Jeongguk didn't want to think about it anymore or else his head would explode. Thankfully, everyone had their go at auditioning and the lesson was near to being over. Mr. Han collected his notes, clearing his throat before he turned to the class, clapping his hands to get their attention.

"To those who have auditioned, good work. It was a pleasure to see you lovelies act! Results will be posted shortly on the chart." He spoke, smiling.

Jeongguk met up with Taehyung and Jin, them running past the stage with wide grins on their faces. "You guys did so good!" He clapped his hands eagerly, bringing Taehyung into a hug.

"Jeez, when did you guys get physical?" Jin muttered under his breath. "Shut up." Jeongguk deadpanned, and Jin huffed.

"Anyway-" He smirked, placing a hand on his hip. "I know I did. I always do great." Jin dramatically replied to Jeongguk's statement from before, flicking a strand of hair out of his face. Taehyung rolled his eyes at Jin, obviously expecting that reply as he wrapped his arms around Jeongguk. He turned to the boy, smiling.

"Thanks, Jeon." He spoke, tucking his chin into his shoulder before Jeongguk pulled away. "Wanna get food after this to celebrate?" He asked, rocking on the heels of his feet.

"Sure." Taehyung nodded, patting his shoulder. Jin rose a brow at the two but ignored them. "I'll see you guys then." He called out before leaving the classroom with the rest of the students

"Taehyung!" Jennie exclaimed, running up to the boy, Jeongguk glanced over to Jennie before clearing his throat. "I'll wait outside for you, see you!" He said, stepping out of the class.

"Hey, again." Taehyung chuckled.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to catch up a bit after this? We obviously haven't seen each other in a while."

Taehyung pursed his lips, averting his gaze before looking at Jennie apologetically. "Sorry, Jennie, but I have plans with someone right now, maybe another time?"

Jennie nodded understandingly. "Of course! Don't worry about it, see you another time then."

Taehyung nodded. "See you!" He cried before jogging out of the room, presumably to catch up with Jeongguk.

Jennie watched as the boy disappeared from her sight, an indescribable look flashing in her eyes.

"Thank god this place wasn't as packed like last time." Jeongguk sighed as he and Taehyung entered the bakery, the smell of freshly baked pastries filling the room.

"Yeah, it was super busy when we were here in January." Taehyung chuckled, taking a seat by the window, Jeongguk sitting the opposite of him.

Jeongguk gazed out the window, watching the cars as they sped down the road, he looked back at Taehyung. "Did you hear the people saying you should've auditioned for Ferdinand when you appeared on stage?"

"Yeah, if you didn't notice already, I have ears," Taehyung replied sarcastically, resting his hand on his palm.

Jeongguk let out a laugh before placing his arms on the table. "You should've though." He frowned. "You would've made a pretty good prince."

"You're saying that like you didn't call me ugly before." Taehyung scoffed, and Jeongguk laughed.

"Oh hush." Jeongguk sighed, eyes travelling to the display case of treats. "I'll go get us something. What do you want? It's on me."

Taehyung raised a brow. "What are you going to get?"

"A chocolate chip cookie? Why?"

Taehyung wordlessly stood up from his seat, walking over to the counter. Jeongguk watched in confusion as he talked to the person at the counter, seeing the worker bring out some treats from the display case.

His eyes widened when he saw Taehyung take out his wallet, he was trying to pay for the food! Jeongguk rushed up to the counter, holding some cash in the air.

"I'll pay!" Jeongguk shouted at the worker, Taehyung looking at him confusedly.

"What, no. Jeon, I'll pay for it. Don't sweat it-"

"No! I said I'm paying for it!" Jeongguk repeated, slamming his money on the counter.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jeon. I'll be paying." Taehyung spoke, eyes growing a little dark.

Jeongguk shook his head. "No, you fucking won't. It's on me." He said in the same tone, eyes just as dark.

"Yes, I fucking will-"

The worker just watched the whole situation in confusion as well as some of the customers, they grabbed the cash, counting it. "Um, sir. This isn't even enough-"

"Look! There's uh- G-Dragon!" Taehyung called out a random artist, pointing somewhere outside.

"What, where?" Jeongguk asked, stupidly looking outside.

Taehyung slammed a paper note on the counter, not caring if it was too much. "Keep the fucking change." He cried in a rush, taking the pastries in his hands and running back to their table.

"Dumbass, he wasn't even there- Taehyung!" Jeongguk groaned when the boy had already seemed to have taken a seat.

"Did he pay-?"

"Here's your money back, sir." The worker returned Jeongguk's cash, placing it in one hand. "And here's your change." They placed the money in Jeongguk's other hand.

"Have a nice day." They monotonously spoke, not bothering to flash a smile. Jeongguk had his mouth open in disbelief, he remained like that for a couple of seconds before begrudgingly walking back to their table.