Yoongi dropped his head on the desk the moment the teacher strode inside the classroom. All the sleep deprived students jumped to their feet in respect, bowing to the official in white. That is- everyone except Yoongi. Jungkook stared curiously at his roommate, waving a hand before the boy’s face.

    “You may be seated,” the teacher ordered from the chair behind her desk and began checking off the attendance list.

    Groaning, the boy with dark brown hair and a longish face spun around to stare at the three friends. “You’re new, right?”

    Jungkook nodded slightly as Tae leaned forward with his classic, rectangle grin, “I’m Kim Taehyung, but you can call me Tae.” It was the same introduction, everytime.

    The boy smirked, resting his head on the back of his hands as he propped his elbows on their desks. “Hoseok. I go by JHope,” turning his attention to Jungkook, he smiled slyly, “You?”

    “Jungkook,” he answered quietly.

    Poking the backs of the three other boys beside him, JHope continued on, “That’s Jin.”

    The boy with soft brown hair and eyes flashed a tiny smile, “Hello.”

    “That’s Namjoon- but but everyone calls him Rapmon, short for Rap Monster-”

    Rolling his eyes, the boy sitting to the right of Jin scoffed, “No they don’t.”

    “Well we do,” JHope laughed, “And that’s Jimin.”

    A bright smile flickered across the last boy’s lips as he swept a lock of orange, dyed hair off his forehead, “Hey.”

    JHope prodded Yoongi’s cheek, “Is he asleep already?”

    Namjoon chuckled, glancing at the wooden clock sitting upon the teacher’s desk, “That’s a new record.”

    “Wakey, wakey” JHope sang softly, pinching the boy’s cheek.

    “Shut up,” Yoongi grumbled, sinking his head in his arms.

    “Ah, little sugar lump,” JY continued to prod his friend’s head, “Time to wake-”

    Yoongi looked up, glaring at him, “I said f-”

    Jin clucked his tongue in disapproval, “Language.”

    “Son of a…” Yoongi grumbled, laying his head back on the desk.

    Shaking his head, Namjoon leaned forward as a crooked smile crossed his lips, “So, we on tonight?”

    “Hell yeah!” JHope paused his sugar prodding.

    “Thank god,” Jimin sighed, “I don’t know if I can take more of-”

    “I’m famished!” Jin groaned, slipping lower into his seat as he stared up at the ceiling in a daze.

    “Don’t remind me,” Tae looked down at his stomach sadly.

    Jimin laughed lightly, “Don’t worry. We’ll bring even more than last time.”

    “You’d better,” Jin sniffed indignantly.

    “So, any plans during break today?” Namjoon leaned back in his chair, “I heard a group of foreigners were just ‘captured.’”

    “Poor souls,” JHope frowned slightly, clutching his heart in a mocking manner.

    The corners of Jimin’s mouth curved slightly to form a smirk as the oranged haired boy twirled his pencil between his fingers, “Think there’s any cute girls?”

    “Obviously,” Namjoon yawned, stretching his arms out a bit, “They’re Americans.”

    “Tch," Jin slapped his friend on the back, casting him a look of disgust, “Don’t be racist.”

    “Just my opinion,” Namjoon grumbled, rubbing his sore spine irritably.

    “How was last night, by the way?” changing the subject hastily, Jin dropped his voice lower.

    Yoongi opened an eye, glaring up at him, “What do you think?”

    Letting a huff of exasperation escape his lips, Namjoon closed his eyes, “Not too bad. It could’ve been worse.”

    JHope shrugged, “Same as usual. Don’t remember her face.”

    Jin stared at Yoongi sadly, “How was-”

    “She was fine,” Yoongi snapped, sinking back into his arms once more.

    “And yours?” Namjoon asked quietly.

    A sad smile crossed his lips as Jin nodded, “She’s well. That’s all that matters…”

    JHope glanced at Jimin cautiously, “Jiminie? Was yours-?”

    Jimin looked up abruptly, face void of any expression, “Doesn’t matter.”

    The tension between the group of seven boys tightened the suffocating atmosphere hanging between them. Silence stole the unsaid words of the friends and the distant voice of the teacher’s lectures rang throughout the classroom. Clearing his throat hesitantly, Tae stared at each of the boys expectantly, “Um… what happened last night?”

    Yoongi turned his head to stare at his roommate, “What do you think?”

   Jin worked his jaw, avoiding his gaze, “It was that night.”

    “Once a week,” JHope mumbled.

    Tae’s eyes met Jungkook’s as they silently reached the same conclusion based on what had just been said. Yes, this was a Breeding Camp. Of course such matters would occur on a weekly basis. Yet, just like tales of space to the depths of the ocean, one never actually comprehends the reality of such experiences until one experiences the realities himself. In a place such as this, there were no morals or boundaries between two people; just the rules that must be obeyed.

    “Boys in the back!” the teacher snapped suddenly, “Yes, Mr. Jung; that includes you,” a sour expression crossed her thin face, “Pay attention or there will be punishment.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, grumbling as he slipped back into his much desired sleep. JHope crossed his arms and swung his feet to rest them upon his desk, draping his notebook over his face as he too fell asleep. Scoffing, Namjoon sent a rude gesture towards the official in white before leaning back in his seat to toss a wad of crumpled paper in the air and catch it in his fist. Jin sat quietly, sketching any image that came to mind in his chemistry textbook, ignoring the notes the teacher wrote upon the whiteboard. Jimin twirled a pencil between his fingers, occasionally running a hand through his hair, and stared blankly at whiteboard up front. A huff escaped his lips as Tae dropped his head on his desk, squeezing his eyes shut and giving in to the fatigue wandering about his brain.

Jungkook frowned slightly, nudging the orange haired boy’s shoulder lightly, “Um… shouldn’t you guys be paying attention?”

Jimin glanced back at him, smirking, “We could, but what’s the fun in that?”

Namjoon caught the ball of paper in his palm once more before adding, “The only reason they bother teaching us is so that by the time we’re forty we’ll ‘happily’ become one of them.”

JHope scoffed beneath his notebook, “Idiots. A bunch of f-”

“Language,” Jin mumbled.

Jungkook bit his lip hesitantly. Honestly, there was no way he’d have the ability to pay attention in this class if none of his tutors back home could keep him in his seat for more than an hour. Yet… the whole situation was unnerving. “So… does that mean all the officials were once-?”

“Prisoners here?” Jin paused shortly, “Yes.”

***

    The shrill rattle of the bell shook him out of his daze. Yawning, he sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, heavy from sleep. He scratched the back of his neck tiredly, unwilling to move from his seat just yet. So many classes had flitted by, and yet he managed to sleep through all of them. Shaking his head in disdain, he glanced at his lazy roommate asleep against his own desk. He was becoming like Yoongi, and as much as he didn’t like it, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

    A sudden yawn sounded to the left of him as Tae stretched out his long, thin arms, “That was sooo-”

    “Boring,” JHope finished, removing the notebook off his face.

    “Hey! This drawing isn’t too bad!” Jin decided, tapping his pen against his lips thoughtfully.

    Namjoon snatched the paper from his friend’s clutches and held it up, “Seriously? Food?”    

    Sniffing indignantly, Jin plucked the drawing from his friend’s fingers and stuffed it inside his blazer’s pocket, “I’m hungry. It’s the closest I’ve got to the real thing…”

    Jimin groaned, staring at the wood clock ticking upon the teacher’s desk, “Twelve more hours…”

    “Until what?” Tae blinked curiously.

    Namjoon leaned in, smirking mischievously, “Tonight.”

    “I’m still conf-”

    JHope patted Tae’s arm sympathetically, “In time, young one. All in good time.”

    The corners of Jungkook’s mouth curved upwards slightly, until the sudden veil of silence fell upon the empty classroom. “Should we be going?”

    Sighing, JHope rose to his feet, “I suppose so. It’s lunch now, right?”

   Jin nodded before his eyes darkened slightly, “Yes… then ‘free’ time.”

   “Free time?” Tae perked up at those two, horribly ironic words.

    Namjoon scoffed, “It’s not free, if that’s what you’re thinking. Nothing here is.”

    Jimin sunk lower in his seat, “They put everyone in a room for an hour to see who’s compatible with who.”

    “Oh…” Tae’s face fell.

    “No matter…” Jin rose to his feet as well, “We’re already late for lunch- or whatever inedible thing they’re feeding us now- but we can’t be late for the observances again…”

    “Again?” Jungkook raised an eyebrow, “What happened.

    JHope shivered, shaking his head furiously, “Never again…”

    Groaning, Namjoon lifted himself off his seat and ruffled Jimin’s hair, “Come on, Jiminie.”

    With a sigh, Jimin combed his fingers through his orange hair while leaving his seat rather reluctantly, “Here we go again…”

    Tae hopped to his feet, “I wonder if there’s any-”

    “No,” Jungkook slapped his friend over the head while rising to his feet as well, “Don’t even finish that thought.”

    “But-”

    “No.”

    JHope poked Yoongi’s cheek with a crooked grin plastered across his thin face, “Wakey, wakey little sugar l-”

    Yoongi’s head shot off his desk to turn and glare at the boy, “Shut the f-”

    “Language,” Jin stuffed his hands in his pockets as he called from across the room.

    “What the hell…” Yoongi rolled his eyes as the others exited through the door. Grumbling, he pushed himself out of the seat and disappeared through the door after them.

    Dozens of eyes immediately turned their attention towards the seven as they entered the cafeteria. As much as Jungkook was used to such behaviors back home, he was not as comfortable with it here. He glanced at Tae nervously, yet his friend seemed oblivious to the whole matter and continued along with his usual, ridiculous antics. Puffing his cheeks out in defeat, he returned his focus to following the others to the table at the center of the room.

    “-and so then I hid in the trash bin and they never found out!” JHope cackled with laughter as Tae snorted, doubling over from the pressure of his own laughs.

    “One time we- me and Kookie- we got chased by this old cat lady because we accidentally dumped a bucket of blue-”

    “It was red,” Jungkook corrected, smiling at the memory.

    “Red paint on her favorite cat,” Tae grinned, “How were we supposed to know it was a cat and not a statue! It literally sits and does nothing all day!”

    “Kind of like a certain lump of sugar I know,” JHope nodded at the turquoise haired boy before snorting with laughter once more.

    “Oh! We should totally prank our chem teacher sometime!” Tae whispered harshly.

    JHope’s eyes widened, “Why didn’t I think of that before?!”

    “Because you were always too busy pranking our Calculus teacher,” Namjoon drawled, drumming his fingers on the table.

“True, true,” JHope nodded thoughtfully, “But he is such a sometimes-”

“Language,” Jin frowned.

“You’re not my mom,” JHope rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m worse.”

“Whatever-”

A group of girls popped up just in front of their table, whispering excitedly to themselves. A tall girl with long, straight, dyed brown hair cleared , “Hi, Jimin!”

Jimin froze, turning slowly to face the group expressionless, “Yes?”

“Um…” the girl straightened up a bit, “We were wondering if… um…”

One of the girls near the back called quietly, “Pick me next!”

The girl at the front shot a glare behind her, “I-if you’re free next week still, I would love it if-”

“I’m free too!” another girl piped up.

“Hobi,” girl whined, “I’m free, what about you?”

“Rapmon,” a girl tugged on his shirt anxiously, “What about me?”

“Jiminie!”

“Hobi-”

“Rapmon-”

Jimin sunk lower in his seat, “I- I don’t know yet…” he answered quietly.

“How about during break today?” a girl played with his hair as he cringed.

“Yeah! Break!” another girl leaned forward fiddling with the collar of his shirt, “Please, Chim Chim? Please-”

“Oh my god,” Yoongi groaned, collapsing in his arms.

“Is this-?” Jungkook stared at the girls in horror.

“Normal?” Jin sighed, resting his head on his hand, “Every day.”

Jimin shook the girl's’ hands off him, “I’m- I have to go practice.” With that, he shot to his feet and nearly sprinted out of the cafeteria.

Namjoon sighed, “Poor kid,” he glanced at Jungkook and Tae, “He gets the worst of it.”

“Jiminie-” a few of the girls whined, chasing after him out of the cafeteria.

“Hey Rapmon,” a girl leaned forward, smiling seductively, “I heard you’re a monster in bed-”

“That’s enough!” Yoongi snapped, glaring at the girls, “Why don’t you all go-”

“Awe,” the girls pouted and continued flirting with JHope and Namjoon.

Jin rolled his eyes and whispered to Jungkook and Tae, “Be glad they don’t know you yet.”

Yoongi grit his teeth, “I said-”

“Hey,” a familiar voice rang throughout the room and the echoing chatter of the cafeteria instantly died.

“Thank god,” Yoongi turned towards the voice.

A tall, slender girl with long, black hair strolled over to the table, “Get lost.”

The girl next to her brushed her blonde bangs out of her eyes and waved at the group of girls cheerily, “Nice meeting you!” her expression darkened several shades before she added, “Don’t ever bother us again.”

Grumbling, the group of girls retreated back to their own table.

Yoongi scooted over slightly as the tall girl slipped into the seat next to him, “Thanks.”

She smirked, “No problem, Suga.”

Jin grabbed the blonde girl by the waist and sat her down beside him, “Eunnie! What took you so long?”

She smiled brightly, “You know our roommate from America? She wanted to practice during lunch, so we showed her to the practice room!”

Tae leaned forward excitedly, “Was she the girl sitting next to you in class?”

She nodded, then paused, “I don’t think I caught your name from before.”

He grinned his classic, rectangle smile, "Kim Taehyung, but you can call me Tae.”

She leaned her head against Jin’s shoulder, “I’m Eun Sung! Everyone calls my Eunnie though,” she straightened up suddenly, “You two are new here, right?”

Tae nodded, “That’s Kookie, by the way,” he nudged his friend sitting beside him, “He wasn’t supposed to be here though-”

“Really?” Jin frowned, staring at Jungkook.

Jungkook shifted uncomfortably, “Um…”

Tae cut in, “He’s actually an aristocrat-”

“What?!” the table blew up.

Jungkook stared at his hands nervously, “Y-yeah…”

“What the hell did you do to get in here?” Namjoon frowned.

Tae scratched the back of his neck nervously, “He picked a fight with the officials taking me here so they… brought him with me.”

The tall girl beside Yoongi raised an eyebrow, “You’ve got spunk, kid.”

JHope burst out laughing, “Sorry!” he waved his hand in apology as he wipe tears from his eyes, “That’s just so ironic!”

Jungkook smiled weakly, “It’s alright…”

Namjoon leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, “We can’t let anyone know about this.”

The tall girl smirked, “Unless you want to be in the same boat as Jimin.”

Jungkook frowned, “Is Jimin-”

The girl sighed, “Yeah. He ran away from home when an arranged marriage was announced, but was caught by the officials a couple months later and sent here.”

Eun Sung clucked her tongue in disapproval, “The girls have been all over him ever since he came, but it steadily got worse once they found out that he’s actually an aristocrat.”

JHope laughed sadly, “He sleeps with a different one each week just to keep them satisfied, not that it helps much but…”

“Wait…” Tae shook his head, “He doesn’t stick with the same girl?”

JHope shrugged, “None of us do- well except for Jin and this lump of sugar, but they don’t count,” he winked at the two girls.

“Oh…” Tae looked at the table, unsure of how to digest such information.

Jungkook swallowed hard, glancing at the girls around the cafeteria glaring daggers at Eun Sung and the girl beside Yoongi. Flashes of Jimin’s curled body against the forced attention pressed into the sides of his brain. Shaking his head, he changed the subject abruptly, “What’s your name?” he asked the tall girl quietly.

The girl looked up, “Frida, Frida Braun.”

“Her parents were refugees from Germany!” Eun Sung grinned, “So she can speak German, English, and Korean fluently!”

“Not anymore,” Frida sighed, “Not with the stupid rule against languages.

The door of the cafeteria suddenly burst open and the girls that chased after Jimin from before stormed inside, each bearing a look of disappointment and frustration. “I can’t believe it…” one girl grumbled.

Namjoon sighed in relief, “At least we know he made it in time…”

“Made it where?” Tae yawned, stretching his arms out.

“The practice room,” JHope rested his head upon the table, “He usually goes there during lunch to avoid… them.”

Eun Sung bit her lip, “Do you think it’s the same-?” she stared at Frida worriedly.

Frida shrugged.

“What?” Jin held her hand up to his lips, searching her eyes, “Is something wrong?”

Shaking her head, Eun Sung laughed nervously, “We brought our roommate to the practice room so she could practice violin but…”

“Well, then,” Namjoon smirked, “This is going to be interesting.”