Work Text:
October 2018
“I’m going to break up with him,” Jimin hiccuped between sobs.
“Mmhm.” Jungkook poured him a shot.
“I’m serious this time.” Jimin wiped snot away with his sleeve. “I can’t take this anymore.”
“Unh.” Taehyung made a ssam for him and put it on his plate.
Jimin cried in his hands, incomprehensible. “I’m going to do it,” He blubbered, “It’s over—it’s so fucking over, I’m—after everything,” A hiccup, “—you know?” He downed a shot.
“Absolutely.” Seokjin dutifully fried pork belly on the grill.
“I’m going to make him regret it.” Jimin tried to pour himself a shot and completely missed. Jungkook took the bottle, poured it for him, and went back to eating. “Once I’m gone, he’ll see that he should’ve treated me better and hugged me more and bought me more gifts and, and—”
Everyone kept eating, stoned-faced, when Jimin broke out into a terrible cry.
“—wore couple costumes with me for Halloween!”
"Chogiyo.” Jungkook raised his arm. “Two more bottles of soju, please.”
“It’s such a small thing but he still couldn’t do that for me.” Jimin’s chin pitifully wobbled.
Taehyung sighed loudly. Jungkook empathized. He patted Taehyung on the arm.
“I can’t believe this is already my second Halloween without Hoseok.” Taehyung wilted like a flower. “He scares so easily. They won’t make fun of him, right? The military wouldn’t do that?”
Jungkook and Seokjin said nothing. Jimin blubbered wetly into the table.
“Joogooah—”
“That’s not my name at all.”
“—didn’t you order two bottles?” Seokjin asked.
They startled when Jimin shot up from his seat, face completely red, with a surprisingly empty soju bottle on his side of the table. Chopsticks fell to the floor. Jimin turned away from them and walked out, tripping three times over nothing.
Jungkook, Taehyung, and Seokjin stared at each other.
“NOT IT!” “SAFE!”
Taehyung froze, mouth open with no sound coming out, as the two smiled at him. He sulked and took out his phone.
“Hyung,” Taehyung greeted, “Samgakji Station, Exit 8. Be quick.” And he hung up.
“More pork belly?” Jungkook suggested.
They nodded and Jungkook grinned as he shouted, “Chogiyo!”
June 2019
“That stupid idiot.” Jimin angrily threw back a shot. “Who does he think he is?”
“Mm.” Jungkook placed more skewers on the rack.
“How can someone be that dense? It makes no sense,” Jimin spat.
“Oo, bars.” Taehyung daintily sipped his fruit wine.
“If it weren’t for the fact that he’s older than me, I would’ve already—” Jimin did a neck chop in midair.
“He deserves it.” Seokjin nodded.
Hoseok shifted uncomfortably in his seat and adjusted his cap. His hair was in an awkward growing phase following his discharge. He looked at Jungkook, who arranged the skewers on the rotating rotisserie; Seokjin, who refilled their beers; and Taehyung, whose hand had not left his thigh the entirety of the meal.
Every time Hoseok tried to give Jimin legitimate advice, Taehyung squeezed his thigh until he squeaked.
“He knows. He knows I don’t like it when he says that but he does it anyway—am I a child? Am I not his boyfriend? Do I not let him stick his—”
“Chogiyo! More chicken gizzards, please!” Seokjin shouted.
“And lamb,” Jungkook said.
Seokjin shouted again, “And lamb! The non-spicy one!”
“That’s it,” Jimin decided, glaring at the soju beer mixture sloshing around his glass, “I’m ending things.”
“What—!” Hoseok cut his words short when Taehyung’s nails dug through his pants.
Taehyung cleaned the skewer of meat in one swoop, cheeks full, and threw the stick in the bin. He ignored Hoseok’s pleading eyes of, “What is going on?!”
“If that’s what hyung wants.” Jungkook chewed thoughtfully.
“I support you no matter what.” Seokjin twisted the soju cap off, knocked the initial bubbles to the side, and poured some in the beer glasses.
“I’ve always thought you could do better.” Taehyung shrugged.
Hoseok ate a skewer to not say anything, Taehyung’s hand ominously close.
“Let’s cheers,” Jimin announced, getting up with his glass raised, “To new beginnings! Let’s drink and die!”
“Let’s drink and die,” Jungkook respectfully repeated.
“Let’s drink and die,” Seokjin agreed.
“I’m actually done drinking but death,” Taehyung raised his water cup, “Death I can do.”
“CHEERS!” Jimin roared.
“Cheers!” they parroted back.
As Jimin one-shotted his soju-beer mixture, head tilted all the way back, Jungkook and Seokjin unsympathetically threw their shots on the floor, and returned to their meal.
Hoseok sat still as stone. Returning to civilian life was an adjustment.
This process repeated until Jimin very quickly became wasted while the rest of them stayed sober. Eventually, Jimin stumbled to the toilet. There was a short moment of silence. Hoseok wouldn't have known what to say if he was given the chance. And suddenly:
“NOT IT!” “SAFE!” “NOT ME!”
Hoseok blinked rapidly when the table stared at him with a smile. “What? What? Why?”
“Call him and tell him where we are,” Taehyung instructed.
“Right now?” Still, Hoseok obediently took out his phone. “But it’s late. He’s probably sleeping and won’t pick up—”
“He’ll pick up,” they all said.
Hoseok was apprehensive. He’d known him longer than anyone at this table and under no circumstances did he ever witness the man pick up a cold-call from a friend, especially during this time—
“Hello?”
Hoseok’s jaw dropped.
August 2019
“He’s cheating on me. I know it.”
Taehyung cracked open a crab leg. They were in Gangreung at a beach-front restaurant.
“This is really all-you-can-eat? Are we sure?” Jungkook’s eyes sparkled brighter than the ocean under direct sunlight.
“Let’s be the reason they become an endangered species.” Seokjin has never looked more determined.
Jungkook and Seokjin cheered with a crab leg and went to town.
Jimin slouched on the bench, head down on his phone, as his face got darker and darker the more he scrolled.
“Look, look at this,” Jimin hissed, he showed his phone to a crowd that did not lift their heads once, “He has liked every single one of his photos since 2018. 2018! Do you know who else came into his life in 2018?” Jimin looked at the Instagram profile again and “hmph”-ed. “Who calls themselves J-Pearl? Okay, Krabby Patty.”
“J-Pearl?” Taehyung sucked the meat clean out of a crab claw. “Oh, you mean Yijeong? He’s really nice. Hoseok-hyung told me about him.”
“You know him?” Jimin gasped. “Did you meet him?”
“Yeah.”
Jimin gripped Taehyung’s arm, eyes intense. “Was he prettier than me?”
There was only one right answer if Taehyung wanted Yoongi to live.
“No.”
“How’d you meet?”
“It was Yijeong’s celebration dinner for his promotion.”
Jimin paused. “Why didn’t Yoongi invite me?”
“You were too hungover after skewers.”
“Yoongi didn’t tell me.” Jimin’s grip was starting to hurt. Taehyung was losing the proper nerves needed to decimate these crabs. Jungkook and Seokjin were already on their third one. Horrifying.
“He did.” Taehyung got his arm back, thankfully. “He said you even helped pick out his gift.”
Taehyung hoped that was enough explanation. He broke the main shell in half, mouth watering, and just when he was about to say chogiyo to ask for rice, he saw Jimin’s face and knew that he fucked up.
Jimin trembled.
“He took me shopping to buy a gift…” Jimin’s eyes turned livid. “... for another man?!”
“Is he talking about Yijeong?” Seokjin started on his fifth crab.
“Yeah, he’s super cool.” Jungkook was on his sixth.
“A lovely person when we met,” Seokjin agreed.
Jimin had steam coming out of his ears.
“Oh, we are sooooooooo over!”
January 2020
“His New Year’s resolution is to have no resolutions. What kind of response is that? Where’s his joy…his excitement for life? Is this really the type of person I want to spend the rest of my life with?”
A chorus of unenthusiastic noises.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but,” Jimin’s eyes shined with wetness. “I need to move on from him.”
Seokjin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Jungkook, and Jungkook’s new boyfriend, Namjoon, ate their Baskin-Robbins without words. Jimin’s ice cream was a puddle.
“This is the first time we’re meeting but I’m truly sorry to hear that, Jimin-ssi,” Namjoon said. Jungkook failed to debrief him.
“Me too,” Jimin said, eyes downcast.
“Shooting Star for Order #1038!” a worker called.
“That’s mine.” Jimin got up dejectedly. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Namjoon watched Jimin leave the store and eyed the New York Cheesecake-flavored soup that he abandoned.
“Why did he buy more if he didn’t eat this one?” he wondered aloud.
Everyone heaved a long sigh.
Who was going to tell him?
February 2020
“He’s so unromantic! Why would he give me an acrylic stand of himself?”
March 2020
“A Pisces! He’s a fucking Pisces man and I still dated him! That should’ve been the first red flag!”
April 2020
“I don’t give a fuck if it was an April’s Fools joke, he shouldn’t have faked a news article that Taeyang was quitting music! THAT IS SO MESSED UP!”
May 2020
“It’s been peaceful…a little too peaceful…”
June 2020
“I know he’s better at basketball than me, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t let me win?”
July 2020
“I AM TALLER THAN HIM.”
August 2020
“I will not let overwork be his cause of death. I’ll kill him if I have to.”
September 22nd, 2020
“Because I was like a fool, I could only look upon you….I was afraid of how your heart might change and we,” Hiccup, “might grow farther a-apart—”
Jimin didn’t finish.
“Alright, next song.” Hoseok took the karaoke pad from Jimin’s lap and wiped the tears that collected on it.
“Cue Bang, Bang, Bang,” Jungkook requested.
“Put Eyes, Nose, Lips on it too,” Namjoon added. He smiled at Jungkook. “I like it when you sing that one.”
Jungkook smiled back, shoulders scrunched, nose scrunched, cheeks scrunched, and Jimin surged to life with a heaving sob into the mic.
“I was such a fool, not able to tell you I loved you,” A pathetic pause as instrumentals played while Jimin cried some more, “Because I was afraid of the hurt and sadness I would receive after we meet —h-hyung…” A sniffle.
“Grab the mic, grab the mic,” Seokjin hissed.
Taehyung took the mic from Jimin’s hands and Jimin, bless him, immediately cried into them.
“There, there,” Taehyung soothed with dead eyes as he queued up his karaoke song.
The beat of Bang, Bang, Bang soared through the speakers. Jungkook was up to his feet as Namjoon jumped on the cushions, two water bottles in his hands. What was he going to do with that? Jungkook decided he wouldn’t question him. Everyone, except Jimin, got up to dance and jump to the song.
“B.I.G. YEAH WE BANG LIKE THIS!”
“Hyung, come baaaack,” Jimin wailed.
“BANG BANG BANG!”
Namjoon splashed water around the room when the beat dropped. Everyone screamed. Jungkook laughed, shook his wet hair like a dog, and pulled Namjoon down by the collar to kiss him stupid. That’s what he wanted to do? He’s so dumb. They’re totally going to get fined after this. Jungkook has never been more turned on in his life.
“We dedicate this song to our fellow soldier, you know who you are,” Seokjin drunkenly saluted.
Jimin wept.
September 2022
“Two years. I waited for him for two years!”
“18 months,” Namjoon corrected.
“Because he couldn’t be normal and go to the military during college? He will never experience what it feels like to wait for their boyfriend to finish service because I met him after I completed mine! This is fucked!”
“It really was the worst.” Taehyung hugged Hoseok close to him. “Would you wait for me?”
“I’ve waited all my life for you,” Hoseok winked.
“Ah, hyung,” Taehyung play-whined, giggling.
“Weirdos,” Jungkook whispered, sitting in Namjoon’s lap, playing with his boyfriend’s hair.
“Is it really that hard? Just a simple “I love you” or “Jimin-ah, you look pretty today,” you know! Anything to just make me feel like he’s still into me.”
“Do you still have sex?” Seokjin asked.
Jimin nodded.
“Then he’s still into you.” Seokjin concluded.
“But I want him to say it.”
“I personally have never liked listening to him talk,” Namjoon grumbled. Their first meeting involved a discussion about the sustainability of art which had Namjoon biting his tongue with a clenched jaw. Jungkook was thrilled.
“That was mean.” Jungkook kissed his cheek. “Do it again.”
“Look at you guys,” Jimin said miserably to the two couples, “Public displays of affection and lovely words said to each other.”
Seokjin, seated right next to Namjoon/Jungkook, sincerely questioned, “You want this?”
“Break up with him then,” Hoseok said.
“What?” Jimin tensed. “No.”
Everyone went bug-eyed.
“I don’t want to break up over this,” Jimin explained, voice going soft, “I just want to hear nice words from him once in a while. I like feeling loved. I like feeling like I’m adorable. Sometimes, I’m not sure if he makes me feel that way, because it takes so much for him to say…anything. I don’t know. I’m sad about it.”
They stared and stared, not knowing what to say, until:
“Are you fucking serious!” Seokjin fumed. Jimin jumped at the yell. Seokjin continued, “We have endured the vituperations of your relationship over the most innocuous, anodyne things and we have never impugned you—”
“Will you ever get mad at me like that?” Jungkook asked Namjoon.
Namjoon kissed his forehead. “Never, bun.”
Jungkook was disappointed.
“What is Jin-hyung saying, babe?” Taehyung asked Hoseok, not listening.
Hoseok kissed his forehead, not listening. “I have no idea, darling.”
“—and the one time, you have a good reason to break up with him, you don’t want to?”
Seokjin was entirely red as was Jimin.
“C-Chogiyo…” A timid worker, poor thing must’ve been fresh out of high school, approached their table. “Um, w-we’re getting complaints from other customers so we may have to ask you to leave.”
“I wasn’t being that loud,” Seokjin huffed. “That woman over there has been screaming non-stop since we got here.”
“Hyung, that’s a baby.”
The worker meekly pointed. “N-No, gogaeknim, the complaints are about that….”
They followed her finger to Namjoon, whispering something in Jungkook’s ear. Jungkook smiled devilishly as he bit his lip and whispered, quite loudly, “Ah hyung, not in public.”
They immediately understood, apologized to the worker, bowed to the tables around them, and promptly left the cafe to never visit there again.
“I don’t know how you guys tolerate this. I could never be in a relationship that…that…” Namjoon’s brows pinched.
“Seesaws?” Hoseok provided helpfully.
“Yeah, seesaws. Their relationship is so up and down. I don’t understand why Jimin doesn’t break up with him once and for all.”
“It doesn’t matter how many times Jimin says it,” Taehyung said, “It won’t happen.”
“But…” The poor man’s big brain couldn’t comprehend this. “But why? I’m exhausted thinking about their relationship. Jungkook would have to do something terrible for me to even consider…”
Jungkook robotically turned to stare at him.
“...bringing it up to him in a nice manner.”
Seokjin, the only willfully single friend in the group, played his mobile game and ignored them.
“You don’t know him, that’s why you don’t get it,” Hoseok rationalized.
Taehyung and Jungkook agreed. It made Namjoon more confused.
“You’ll see one day.” Seokjin tapped his phone aggressively, concentrating solely on his game. “If you spend enough time with him, you’re going to have that moment.”
“What moment?” Namjoon couldn’t believe them.
“When you realize that’s why Jimin can’t help but love him.”
October 2018
“This stop is Samgakji Station, Samgakji Station. The doors will open on your left.”
Yoongi followed the crowd up the escalator, hands stuffed in his pockets as he shivered slightly from the open breeze. He looked for signs pointing to Exit 8. He stopped by a convenience store and bought hangover pills and Pocari Sweat.
He knew the usual place they went to for barbeque and drinks. Yoongi waited on a sidewalk bench, each breath coming out white and wispy. It’s almost the end of the month. He hoped they would get their first snowfall soon.
A hiccup caught his attention.
Jimin wobbled down the street, cheeks flaming and nose tinted pink. He wasn’t wearing a jacket. Yoongi observed Jimin as he walked past the bench, mumbling indistinctly, and frowned. He didn’t notice him.
Finally, he got up.
“Yah,” Yoongi called. He stayed behind him. Jimin didn’t respond.
“Park Jimin,” Yoongi tried again. Jimin ignored him.
“This idiot,” Yoongi grumbled as he caught up the rest of the way and stopped in front of his boyfriend. He reeked of alcohol. His lips were set in a permanent pout and more concerning, his eyes were red and puffy. “Why’d you drink so much?”
Jimin blew a raspberry at him. Lovely.
“You’re going to regret this tomorrow.” Yoongi took off his jacket and wrapped it around Jimin’s shoulders. Jimin put his arms in his sleeves, frowning still, eyes directly on the ground. “You always drink too much. What kind of adult doesn’t know their limit?” Yoongi rubbed Jimin’s small hands between his, bringing it to his lips to puff hot breath on his fingers. “It’s not a hyesik and your friends aren’t going to make you drink, so why put your body through this?” Yoongi put Jimin’s hands into the jacket pockets on both sides, where two hot packs made them toasty.
When Yoongi touched Jimin’s face to force their eyes to meet, his fingers were ice-cold against his cheeks.
“Now tell me.” Yoongi kissed between his brows to ease the knot there. “Why are you crying?”
Jimin blinked away fat tears and Yoongi unhelpfully thought that Jimin cried very cutely.
“Because of my boyfriend.” Jimin hiccuped, pushing him weakly. “My boyfriend never wants to do anything. He doesn't like couple items or taking photos or posting on social media or dressing up for Halloween. It’s miserable.”
“Miserable?”
“Miserable!”
“So your boyfriend makes you miserable?”
Jimin’s chin trembled. “No.”
Yoongi fought a smile. “No?”
“No.” Jimin pushed him again and walked away.
“The station is in the opposite direction.”
“I’m not talking to you.”
Yoongi tried to walk beside him but Jimin glared every time so he settled on staying five steps behind.
“You’re upset at me.”
“Yes.”
“Because I don’t wear couple items, use social media, or dress up for Halloween.”
“Yes.”
“Couple items are cringey. Social media is a cheap way to get attention. Halloween isn’t even part of our culture.”
“I don’t care!” Jimin shouted into the sky above them.
Yoongi laughed and quickly turned it into a cough, in case Jimin got madder.
“Are you really that mad?”
“Yes!”
They walked past the barbeque place where Yoongi looked through the window and saw Seokjin, Jungkook, and Taehyung with trays upon trays of pork belly on their table. Jungkook noticed him and waved. Yoongi nodded back.
He let Jimin walk aimlessly, hoping the cold and fresh air would sober him up. Yoongi shivered and hugged himself.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Yoongi said when Jimin’s steps became more coordinated. “We can wear couple items once a year. Anything you choose. We can dress up for Halloween too but no animal costumes.”
Jimin stopped walking as did Yoongi.
“Fine.” Jimin turned around. “Couple outfits once a year but I want us to have matching profile photos on KakaoTalk and you have to change your lockscreen to a photo of me. I hate that stupid default one on your phone.”
“Okay.”
“And I decide on our Halloween costumes. No animals.”
“Okay.”
“And you have to post a photo of us on social media whenever I ask for it.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” Yoongi repeated.
Jimin’s cheeks puffed with hot, frustrated air. “Why?”
“Because you’re pretty.”
Jimin didn’t step away when Yoongi got closer.
“You’re too pretty. I don’t want to post you anywhere. I don’t like the idea of people looking at you.” Yoongi grabbed Jimin’s waist and he didn’t reject it. “I once posted a photo of you on my story. Someone messaged me, saying you were hot. I hated it. I wanted to make it so they forgot they ever saw you.”
Jimin did not protest when arms wrapped around him, pulling them chest-to-chest, breaths mingling. Yoongi’s lips were chapped and white with cold. Jimin took his hands, red from the hot packs, and put them over Yoongi’s cheeks. He was freezing.
“You’re crazy,” Jimin whispered.
“A little bit.” Yoongi kissed Jimin’s palm. His eyes, when he set them on Jimin, were dark and promising. A shot of something hot pierced through him.
Jimin’s breath stuttered.
“Are you still mad?”
Jimin, for the life of him, could not remember what he was mad about. He shook his head.
“I’m thirsty,” He said instead.
“I bought a drink for you. It’s my bag. Take it with hangover pills.”
“You bought that for me?”
Yoongi moved to shrug off his backpack but Jimin stopped him by putting his hands on his shoulders, moving his body imperceptibly in a short grind against Yoongi’s front. Jimin suddenly felt too hot in the jacket.
“I want to go home,” Jimin whispered.
Yoongi kissed a smile onto his lips. “Then let’s go home.”
June 2019
Yoongi waited outside the skewer restaurant, smoking.
It was fucking hot outside. He had no idea why they all willingly wanted to eat around a hot grill. He was in Nike slip-ons, wearing basketball shorts, and whatever t-shirt he had on when he went to bed nearly 3 hours ago. He sweated, just standing there.
“Aish,” Yoongi cursed. If Jimin wasn’t going to come out, then he was going to drag him out.
Just then, the door opened. Their eyes met. Yoongi breathed out white smoke.
“Took you long enough.”
Jimin, predictably, sneered. He held out his hand. “Give me one.”
“No.” Yoongi tapped ash off the cig. “Smoking is bad for you.”
“See!” Jimin stomped his foot. Yoongi could smell the alcohol off of him, sending a pointed glare through the window at the table of an extremely sober Seokjin, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Hoseok, who at least looked a little apologetic. “How can you call me petty when you act like this!”
“You change the WiFi password during work hours because I don’t text you back fast enough.”
Jimin saw nothing wrong with his statement.
“Jimin, I work from home.”
Still, nothing.
“That’s petty!” Yoongi raised his voice. “Some may even say psychotic!”
Jimin hiccuped. “I don’t want to be with someone who thinks I’m petty and psychotic.”
Yoongi scoffed, laughing a bit out of sheer disbelief. “Fine, fine then. Do what your heart desires.” It was too fucking humid. He put out the cigarette on the ashtray and took out another one. As he snapped the lighter on, he heard Jimin huff and storm off.
Yoongi took three, slow drags. He tilted his head against the window, breathing out. Sweat dripped from his forehead. His clothes probably smelled atrocious. He would have to shower again before sleeping. He shouldn’t have showed up. Jimin’s expectations were ridiculous. He couldn’t be at the man’s beck and call, answer every text immediately—he was a working adult, god damn it! Yoongi had his own life and responsibilities, career goals to achieve and hobbies to perfect—what was he supposed to do? What was he—a fucking dog?
“Yah-aish! ” Yoongi shouted at nothing, scaring the shit out of the people walking past him. He smashed his cig, half-done, in the ashtray, and stomped towards Jimin’s direction.
He was a fucking dog.
“Where are you going?” Yoongi called to Jimin’s backside, trailing after him pathetically.
“Why do you care?”
“It’s fucking hot and you’re shit-faced. You’re going to faint.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You aren’t walking straight.”
“I’m not straight.”
“Say it louder, why don’t you.”
Jimin did an abrupt about-face, staring at Yoongi dead in the eye. He took in a breath and yelled, “Everyone! I let this man here stick his—mmph!”
Yoongi got to Jimin in two strides and slapped a hand over his stupid mouth. He was acutely aware of the alleyway not too far from them, filled with men smoking. He growled in Jimin’s ear: “Shut up. I’m serious.”
Jimin was not subtle about the way he shivered. His neck was right there, sweaty and smelling of the Dior scent Yoongi gifted him for his birthday. Yoongi unwillingly stepped away and led them to a quieter street.
“Are you trying to get us beat up?” Yoongi hissed. Jimin ripped his hand out of Yoongi’s grip.
“I’m not that petty.”
“Then don’t act like it.”
“You first.”
“You—” Yoongi ran a hand through his hair, wet with sweat, and held it as he tried to control his temper. “You’re such a brat.”
“I’m not a brat. I shouldn’t be groveling for a text back from my boyfriend,” Jimin argued, “And when you do finally respond, it’s with one word, like ‘good,’ ‘okay,’ or ‘no.’ I’m not a dog.”
Well, that made one of them.
Jimin waited for Yoongi to speak. Yoongi looked Jimin up and down. Summers were too hot in this country. Jimin was flushed down to his neck, panting heavy. He probably didn't drink enough water. He never did. Yoongi couldn't think.
Yoongi said casually, “The trains and buses stopped running.”
He ignored Jimin’s confusion and continued, “If I called a taxi for us right now, it’ll cost 40,000 won to go back home. It should only be 11.” Yoongi took a step towards him. “I have to get up in 2 hours for work but someone,” When Yoongi stepped forward, Jimin stepped back, “had me leave my bed in the middle of the night to make sure he got home safe. Someone,” Jimin’s back eventually hit the wall of a random building, “decided to get too drunk to function. Someone is being so needy, he’d rather piss me off for attention than reason with me, so here I am, fucking pissed off, but I’m still waiting for you. So tell me.”
Yoongi’s lips grazed Jimin’s ear.
“Who is the fucking dog here?”
He heard Jimin’s breath quicken. Yoongi cupped Jimin’s chin, dragging that plump bottom lip down with his thumb.
“The next time you want attention from me,” Yoongi said into Jimin’s mouth, “Just say so.”
Jimin tried to chase after his lips when Yoongi pulled back. “C’mon, let’s hail a taxi.” His eyes trailed down to Jimin’s lower body. He walked towards the road.
Behind him, Jimin shouted:
“You’re so fucking stupid!”
Yoongi grinned to himself and barked, “Woof!”
November 2019
“Unfollow him.”
“Jimin, he’s my colleague. Only my colleague.”
“I don’t care. He’s too pretty.”
“You’re prettier.”
Jimin hesitated for a little bit before standing his ground again. “That has never stopped men from cheating before. Unfollow him.”
The humor left Yoongi entirely. “I would not cheat on you.”
“Then unfollow him!”
“Park Jimin.” Yoongi threw his phone aside. “We need to talk.”
Jimin’s eyes widened. “No, stop!” He thrust his palm out. “I’m breaking up with you first!”
Yoongi forced Jimin’s arm down. He can tolerate a lot of things when it comes to Park Jimin. But this is not one of them.
“I’m not breaking up with you.”
“Then don’t say, ‘We need to talk.’”
“Do you think I’d cheat on you?”
“No.” Jimin looked away. “But that doesn’t mean I should give you an easy chance. Everyone met him but me. Why?”
“You were throwing up skewers.”
“You had us picking out presents for him!”
“He got promoted and the team decided to bring a gift to his celebration dinner. You have better taste than I do.”
Jimin had no comeback because that much was true.
“Still,” Jimin said petulantly, “I don’t like it.”
It was uncomfortably silent as Jimin waited for Yoongi’s response. Finally, he said, “Give me your phone.”
Jimin blinked. “What?”
“Give me your phone. Just trust me.”
Jimin, hesitantly, did as he was told. The most incriminating thing he had on his phone was the chat he shared with Taehyung, Jungkook, and Seokjin. That was between them and the VIP booth with bottle service that they’d all receive in hell. Yoongi already knew that though.
Jimin resisted the urge to peek at what Yoongi was typing on his phone. After a minute, Yoongi handed it back to him.
It took him a while to process what was on his screen. It was Yoongi’s Instagram—logged in. Jimin was too stunned to speak.
“That’s enough, isn’t it?” Yoongi didn’t seem remotely bothered.
Jimin switched back and forth between the full access he suddenly had and Yoongi’s uncaring face. This felt like a test.
“Go ahead,” Yoongi allowed.
Jimin went to Yoongi’s messages. His last conversation was with Jimin, which made sense, because Jimin had sent him a post earlier in the day. Then, it was Hoseok, some friend from high school, his brother, Kim Seokjin???????, and finally: J.Pearl. When Jimin scrolled through their conversation, it was about random work topics and the occasional joke. They spoke monthly, if that.
Suddenly, Jimin was very ashamed of himself.
“You talk to Seokjin?” is all he asked.
“I do. He sends photos of fish he catches and tells me they’re taller than me.”
“Oh, that’s funny.”
“We are the same height.”
“Ehhhh,” Jimin shrugged, “One can say that I am a bit taller.”
“So are we good now? Do you feel better?”
Jimin shrunk under Yoongi’s sincerity. He felt childish and small.
But yeah, he did feel better.
“I do,” Jimin admitted.
“Good.” Yoongi kissed his cheek as if to conclude their fight as officially resolved.
Jimin spiraled slightly.
Was he the toxic one?
January 2020
“Yoongi, what is all of this?”
Yoongi wore overalls over a long-sleeve shirt that Jimin thinks belongs to him. There were various sizes of blank canvas against the wall. Yoongi was dotted in blue paint, buckets of colors and paint brushes littered around. His canvas was half-done and…blue. Really, really blue.
“You said you wanted to paint more as your New Year’s resolution,” Yoongi answered. “I asked my mom where she got her supplies and I got a pretty good deal online. It just arrived when you were out. How was ice cream, by the way?”
Jimin still had a cup of Shooting Star in his bag. He couldn’t speak.
“But you said…” Jimin’s eyes went from the paint, to the canvas, to the cute swipe of blue paint on Yoongi’s cheek. “You said New Year’s resolutions were a stupid concept.”
“It is,” Yoongi grumbled, “It’s not logical to choose one day of the year to try to turn around your life. That’s why most people fail and end up feeling like losers. Lifestyle changes take years of habit-building and progress is never constant—”
Jimin zoned out. Yoongi looked cute in overalls.
“—but you’ve been wanting to paint for a long time now, so…” Yoongi shrugged his shoulders and motioned to the paint brushes. “Go crazy.”
Jimin placed the bag on the counter, ice cream forgotten.
“Jimin-ah?”
Yoongi startled when Jimin undid the two buttons of his overalls.
“Why are you undressing me?”
“I want to paint.”
“So you’re taking off our clothes?”
Jimin took off his own shirt. Yoongi stopped nagging.
“You said I could start painting.”
Jimin brought Yoongi to the ground and sat on top of him. Eyes dark, tongue running across his bottom lip, and a coy smile. All sex appeal, zero sense.
“So I’m going to do exactly that,” Jimin promised, running a hand down Yoongi’s chest.
Good thing Yoongi remembered to place the drop-cloth on the floor.
February 2020
“You have a collection of anime figurines in your room so I thought an acrylic stand of mine would be a cute addition.”
Jimin sniffled through grateful yet guilty tears.
“That actually is really romantic.”
March 2020
“Umma? Unh, I’m doing well. I ate earlier today. Jimin is at work. Mm, mm. Yeah, I’ll ask him if he wants more kimchi, but you have to make it spicier. He likes it spicy. Why am I calling? Ah, I wanted to know the date and time I was born…”
“...”
“Hello? Umma, are you there?” … “N-No reason…” … “Everything is going well with Jimin, why do you ask?” … “What do you mean get away from her! Who is her?! Umma, I’m not cheating on Jimin! Jimin asked.” … “What did I do? I didn’t do anything!” … “I’m treating Jimin perfectly fine—you know what, forget I ever called. Goodbye, umma.”
Beep.
umma
adeul
they all told me a march baby would be a handful and it’s true you didn’t make my life any easier… [yoongi gave this message a thumbs down]
but say nice, pretty things to jimin once in a while
pretty people like hearing that they are pretty ^^
i’ll send the kimchi tomorrow~ extra spicy~ [yoongi gave this message a thumbs up]
April 2020
yoonyoonmi
me
what is bts....
yoonyoonmi
ur group name. Big Tall Sweetie
me
Big Tall Sweetie Jimin?
yoonyoonmi
are you still mad?
me
omg all of these are so obviously photoshopped
you couldn’t find photos of me where i was wearing all black so we matched?
yoonyoonmi
:( ur still mad then
me
no
this is cute
me
do you have any where taeyang and i are kissing
YOONYOONMI IS CALLING
me
I’M JUST KIDDING
APRIL FOOLS
PISCES ARE SO SENSITIVE
May, 2020
Yoongi’s eyes won’t leave Jimin’s flushed, wrecked face.
He gripped Jimin’s jaw; spit dripped down his chin, leaving his neck wet with drool. Jimin was on his knees, hands tied behind his back, as he hungrily suckled at Yoongi’s cock. There was nothing but wet, slurping noises every time Jimin tried to take him in.
Yoongi wrapped his fingers in Jimin’s hair and yanked, pulling him forward until Jimin gagged. Tears erupted from his eyes and when Jimin looked up at him, swallowing him with a desperate whine, Yoongi felt like a man gone insane.
He pushed Jimin back, hair bunched in his fist, and relished in the way Jimin obediently lapped at his cockhead, tongue out over his bottom lip. Something about Jimin triggered this in him, this animalistic want to make him—make him—
“So tell me,” Yoongi growled, “Are things still too peaceful? Too boring for you?”
Yoongi lightly pressed his heel on Jimin’s pitifully leaking length.
Jimin’s eyes rolled back. His cockhead leaked slick onto Jimin’s tongue.
Jimin shook his head, tongue swiping as he did so, and Yoongi pulled him back down on his cock, moaning at the sweet tightness of Jimin’s throat.
“That’s what I thought.”
June 2020
“You don’t want me to win all the time, fine. Then I’ll teach you how to play properly.”
This, Jimin thought as he stood at a basketball court, was not what he meant. He wanted Yoongi to be a gentleman who let his boyfriend win because it was the chivalrous, cute thing to do. He did not sign up for weekend basketball lessons.
“You stick your butt out too much.” Yoongi’s voice suddenly was in his ear and a hand helpfully (unhelpfully?) patted his butt. “It’s cute but it’s not how you shoot.”
Jimin tensed. He turned to Yoongi, surprised by how close their faces were, and nearly kissed him on the cheek. Yoongi smiled at him and did so anyway.
“Line up your elbow with your shoulder, not at an angle. Yeah, like that. Good.” Yoongi’s hands ran across his shoulder, over his forearm. “Spread your legs a little wider—perfect.” Yoongi’s foot tapped his shin to widen his stance. “Now bend your knees a little and when you shoot, use your whole body for momentum. Ready?” Yoongi’s breath tickled his neck.
Jimin was decidedly not ready.
Still, he gathered himself and aimed for the basket.
“You scored!” Yoongi threw his arms up. He hugged Jimin out of good sport. Jimin’s eyes stayed entirely wide.
“Let’s practice that again,” Yoongi suggested, gummy-smiling.
Jimin nodded and this time around, pushed his butt out a little bit further.
July 2020
“Need help with that, short king?”
Jimin bypassed Yoongi to grab the item that Yoongi was seconds away from getting himself. It was on the lowest, most easily accessible level.
“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Jimin kissed Yoongi’s cheek and hummed happily out of the kitchen.
Yoongi stood there, stunned.
At Jimin’s physical this year, the doctor measured him at 175 cm instead of 174 cm, and he had been insufferable since. Yoongi was certain that Jimin’s height had not changed and the doctor overshot it, but every time he said as much, he was called a typical Pisces.
What did that even mean?
Later, they ate fruit, which Yoongi peeled, on the back patio of their home, which Yoongi put the down payment for with his money. If anyone knows anything about how the Korean housing market works, you would know that the deposit is a lot of fucking money.
Not that it mattered to him.
Jimin giggled. “Hyung, you know you’re very cute nowadays?”
“Mm.” Yoongi diligently munched on a slice of pear, not saying anything.
Jimin continued, “You’re so small and tiny. I could fit you in my pocket.”
“Mm.” Yoongi wiped his fingers on a napkin.
“Min Yoongi. Mini Yoongi.” Jimin hid a cackle behind his hand.
“...”
“Eat more fruits,” Jimin said in a Gyeongsang-do accent, making his tone more homely and all the more insulting, “Then maybe you’ll grow big and strong like me—wah!”
Yoongi pounced on him.
“Yoong— mmffhh?”
Enough was enough.
Yoongi licked into Jimin’s open mouth to shut him up. His lips were sticky sweet from fruit and Yoongi sucked on them just as. Yoongi kissed deeper and Jimin, a demon, pushed himself up by the elbows to meet him. He cupped Jimin’s jaw to hold him in place—Jimin always liked to move too much during kisses, tilting his head this way and that to get all the angles, but not today.
Today, he was going to make Jimin feel tiny.
Jimin made a high sound in his throat.
Yoongi immediately pulled away. Jimin’s lips were swollen cherry-red. It’s a shame he won’t be able to see them. Yoongi pushed Jimin onto his stomach, earning a surprised, “Hyung?”
“I’m going to eat you out—”
“On the patio?!”
“—on the patio and I’m not going to let you cum until you admit that we’re the same height.”
“What?! That’s why you're doing this?? I swear, it’s because of your Aries Venus that you— ah! ”
Jimin went boneless at the first swipe of Yoongi’s tongue on his rim, two hands pulling his ass cheeks apart. He dragged his tongue over Jimin’s hole, dizzying slow licks that had Jimin tensing. Jimin squirmed, gasped, and right when Yoongi pushed his tongue inside of him, he cried out.
“Hyung,” Jimin whined. His hard cock grinded against the cold patio and he whimpered some more. Jimin moved his hips until Yoongi held him down. The wet and noisy sounds of him slurping had Jimin’s blunt nails digging into the floor.
Yoongi always ate him out like he’s greedy for it.
Jimin’s leg twitched, his back arched, and his mouth fell open as Yoongi licked, sucked, entered him again—Jimin leaked. He could tell because of the slick that glided under his belly.
It’s almost verging on overstimulation. Jimin’s hips flinch, not knowing to get away or to get more of Yoongi’s tongue at his hole.
But still, Jimin wasn’t going to say it, he’s not going to—
“Please,” Jimin begged.
Desire burned under his skin, had him growing tight between his legs with no promise of release. He needed more and Yoongi knew that.
“Un, hng,” Jimin moaned non-stop.
“C’mon baby, you know what to say,” Yoongi stopped, only to circle his puckering rim with his thumb.
He keened, reaching between himself, but Yoongi grabbed his wrist and pulled it away.
“You’re going to cum like this or admit we are the same height.”
“But I can’t,” Jimin whined and his voice broke when Yoongi traced the pads of his fingers over his wet hole. They slipped over his rim, teasing, until finally: “Yoongi—!”
Yoongi pushed his finger in deep, added another, and Jimin drooled. His cock dripped between his legs.
“Yes, you can. I’ve seen you make a mess of yourself from my fingers.”
Jimin nodded senselessly, groaning when Yoongi let go of his wrist in favor of gripping his ass. Yoongi knew exactly where to press, and Jimin’s sobbing proved it. His rim was puffy and shiny with spit, insides soft and borderline too tight. Yoongi buried his fingers to the knuckle and crooked his fingers against pillowy flesh.
“Fuck!”
Jimin arched his back and cried. Yoongi kept it there, pumping and milking that spot.
“Wanna come,” Jimin sobbed with wet eyes, “Hyung, please, ‘m close—hah, hah, anh!—‘m close, ‘m close— ”
“Admit it.” Yoongi slowed down, lazily playing inside. “We are the same height.”
Jimin kicked his legs and whined from denial until Yoongi shushed him.
Yoongi was determined to make Jimin go crazy. He set a slow pace, ruining Jimin’s initial peak, but he still whined pathetically at the deep thrusts that stretched him open. And over what?
A 1 cm difference?
“We aren't,” Jimin shook his head; yet, he kept making pathetic, submissive sounds.
“Then you won't cum.”
His eyes rolled back when Yoongi pressed incessant circles against that spot.
Jimin was stubborn while Yoongi was patient. He fingered him until his arm got sore, grabbed his hips to eat him out again, pressed his fingers back inside with new wetness, and repeated this until Jimin didn’t make sense.
Jimin’s fist pounded weakly on the patio. He was pushed to the brink and it showed in how he begged desperately, “Hyung-ah.”
Yoongi cursed—that went straight to his cock.
Eventually, even Yoongi had his limits. He slipped off his shorts, nearly forgetting why he was doing this in the first place, because Jimin was piliant and fucked out beneath him.
He pressed his cockhead against Jimin’s abused hole, meeting no resistance as he slid the head in. Jimin moaned nonsensically the whole while. When Yoongi snapped his hips forward to enter Jimin in one rough motion, he didn't expect Jimin’s entire body to shake, leg twitching, as he came over Yoongi’s cock.
Jimin choked, pulsing around him, and Yoongi hissed.
“Shit, Jimin,” Yoongi hissed through his teeth as he clenched and clenched. He hunched over from the slight pain, inadvertently pushing himself deeper, and Jimin suddenly mewled desperately.
“Hyung is right,” Jimin babbled wetly, panting, “We’re the same height, so no more, no more hyung, please—”
Fucking finally.
Yoongi nearly growled when he turned Jimin on his back, seeing his wet, sweet face that was pink all over. Jimin sniffled sadly and reached out for a hug, maybe a kiss.
Yoongi gave it to him, gently.
Jimin’s breathing evened, some clarity came back to his eyes. Yoongi stayed hard and throbbing, touching Jimin’s face, chest, waist. When they made eye contact, Jimin asked, “Will it take long?”
It took a second for Yoongi to understand. He shook his head.
“Then, you can—ah, hyung, hyung!”
Jimin threw his head back to shout when Yoongi fully thrusted in.
August 2020
“Stop working.”
“I have a deadline.”
“And I have four holes.”
“Jimin-ah, not now—what do you mean four?”
“Hyuuuung.”
“Jimin, seriously. I have to finish this.”
“It’s Friday night.”
“And the deadline was Wednesday.”
“Well if you’re already late anyways….”
A sigh. “Jimin.”
Jimin got up in a huff. He didn’t remember exactly what he nagged about but it definitely included: “Fine then! Die from overwork, see if I care!” and “You’re leaving next month and you’d rather work than spend time with me!” and “You know who would drop work for me? Moon Taebeom.” A low blow.
Yoongi let himself be nagged at as he clicked away on his computer. He took his phone, typed in his passcode, and opened his emails. He scrolled, tapped the screen, and handed his phone to Jimin without a word.
Jimin took it, nose up in the air.
And immediately squealed.
“Jeju-do?! A resort for a week in Jeju-do!”
“I checked the resort.” Yoongi smirked at him. “Big bathtub, full view of the ocean.”
So many things went through Jimin’s mind, none of them kosher, halal, or God-honoring.
“And the—”
“I paid for everything already.” Yoongi gave him a pointed look. “With money that I earned because I work.”
“Right, right.” Jimin nodded, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Work is so important. Nothing more rewarding than contributing to society, don’t let me distract you. The me from 3 minutes ago was simply going through a phase—iron deficiency, dehydration.”
“Jimin, go drink water.”
“Yes, sir.” Jimin kissed the top of Yoongi’s head and pranced out of the room, cheering.
Yoongi bit his lip to stop smiling and went back to his monitor.
September 22nd, 2020
“You’re crying harder than my mom,” Yoongi murmured when he hugged Jimin goodbye.
“No, I’m not,” Jimin sobbed into his shoulder.
Yoongi glanced at his parents. His father had his hands behind his back, examining a plant. His mother was on her phone, squinting at it, as she said, “Oh, the traffic is terrible.”
Yoongi merely patted Jimin’s head.
“I’ll be back soon,” Yoongi promised.
“I know.”
Yoongi’s shoulder grew damp. He wouldn’t have Jimin in his arms tomorrow and many days after that. He ignored the lump in his own throat.
“Do you know?” Yoongi joked. “Because you’re acting like I’m not coming back.”
“I do,” Jimin whined. “Let me be sad.”
“What is there to be sad about?” Yoongi hugged him harder. He didn’t want to let go. “We can still text. You can visit me. I’ll have vacation.”
“Be careful.” Jimin removed himself and Yoongi didn’t like that at all. Jimin zipped up Yoongi’s jacket a bit more, adjusted the flaps so it covered his neck. “Don’t get hurt and come back quickly.”
“I will. Remember to eat all your meals and drink water. You don’t drink enough water.”
Jimin nodded, whispering, “You bought me a hydro flask.”
“And don’t drink so much. Not when I’m not there to pick you up.”
“Do you have to go?” Jimin burst out in tears again. “Let’s deflect. Let’s run away.”
“Shhhhh.” Yoongi put a finger over his lips. “Don’t say that.”
It was almost time for him to go. They lingered. Yoongi cherished that.
“Goodbye,” Yoongi said first, because he had to be the one that said it first.
Jimin looked away. “Okay.”
Yoongi’s eyes were wet when he fell into line with his future unit. Someone was crying next to him. “My girlfriend broke up with me,” He told Yoongi.
A new fear buried itself deep in Yoongi’s heart. He only said, “I’m sorry to hear that,” and started counting down the days because he couldn’t think of anything worse than losing Park Jimin.
September 2022
Jimin has been distant.
Yoongi tried not to think about it too much. 18 months was a long time to be away from each other, sans the few days of vacation he was allotted in civilian life. They all comforted him as such, saying they felt out of their skin in their first month out of service, and their partners were different in ways that took a bit of adjustment.
Hoseok was shocked to find Taehyung had developed a taste for (certain) liquors while he was gone. His own brother spent a week with his girlfriend and realized that she had changed so drastically, he no longer enjoyed her company.
Jimin…
Yoongi didn’t remember Jimin being so quiet.
“Jimin-ah,” Yoongi called, “What do you want to eat for dinner? We can go out.”
“Mm, I’m not that hungry.” Jimin didn’t look up from his webtoon. “I’m okay with ramyun.”
Yoongi shifted a bit. “We can go to that pho place in Yongsan-gu. There’s always a line for it but if we go early enough…”
“I went there already with Taehyung. The wait is always an hour long.”
Ramyun it was.
“Alright. I’ll make ramyun then.”
“Un.”
Yoongi didn’t ask if Jimin was okay. It felt juvenile and needy.
Truthfully, Yoongi didn’t want to eat ramyun. He had eaten an obscene amount in service and was always put on ramyun-making duty because his unit swore that he made it best. He wanted to eat a proper meal out. New restaurants popped up in Seoul every week and prior to his service, he and Jimin were often the first customers of a soft opening.
The sushi restaurant they visited by-chance still remembered them and gave them free drinks every time after.
But…
Maybe this is one of the changes he had to learn to adjust to.
They ate ramyun from the pot and cleaned up quietly. Jimin washed-up and Yoongi tried not to dwell so much, because Jimin didn’t ask if he wanted to shower together. Yoongi went after he was done, catching him by the waist as he walked out, and kissing under his ear where it was still wet and smelled of his shampoo.
When Yoongi pulled away, Jimin looked sad.
After a rushed, suffocating shower, Yoongi made himself some tea, just to have something to do. He couldn’t sit still. He breathed in, out, in, and out.
“Yoongi-hyung?” Jimin’s voice from behind. Yoongi tensed. “Can we talk?”
In, out. “Sure.”
“Lately, I’ve been feeling confused—unsure—about a lot of things.”
Yoongi flinched. He tried to stay calm through the panic that carried down his spine, to every nerve in his body. Oh, god.
It was happening.
“I’ve been holding off on saying anything because I know you’re still adjusting. I thought it was because you’re—we’re—trying to find balance again but I think…I think it’s important for me to bring this up.”
Yoongi trembled. He couldn’t breathe.
Jimin exhaled unsteadily. “I missed you a lot when you were gone. I waited for you those 18 months and I was happy when you came back. Really happy. We could build a life together again—have meals together, sleep together, and travel more….but there’s something, um…I don’t know how to say it…I don’t think you—”
Yoongi’s mind spun as a pain emerged in his chest, all-consuming and too big to handle. Yoongi had told the soldier in his unit, the one whose girlfriend broke up with him, that people weren’t destined for forever. He told him that thousands of people walk into your life and only the ones that matter would stay, and she—his girlfriend—was not one of them. He’d survive this, Yoongi told him. He’d be happier, Yoongi comforted.
But now, Yoongi understood with sureness, that he wouldn’t recover from this. The absence of Jimin in his life was unthinkable. His chest squeezed tight. It hurt to breathe. Jimin was leaving him. Jimin, Park Jimin, his Jimin—
“Yoongi-hyung.”
Hands gripped his shoulders and turned him. Jimin was there, hands going to his face, holding there softly.
“Are you crying?”
Yoongi opened his mouth, closed it, and sucked in two hiccups. He crumbled, just like that.
“Why—?” Jimin looked panicked. “Why are you…”
“Don’t,” was all Yoongi could say. “Jimin, please.”
“Don’t what?”
“Without you, I can’t,” Yoongi shook his head, “I won’t let you. There’s too much love here. If I have to let you go, then this love—what am I going to do with it—if you leave then what am I supposed to do—”
Jimin started to tear up when Yoongi sobbed in a way that he didn't let anyone see.
“Yoongi. Yoongi, no. I’m not leaving. Hyung, hyung, stop. I’m right here. I’m here, I’m here,” Jimin’s voice was thick. “We aren’t breaking up.”
“Then don’t say, ‘Can we talk’!”
Jimin huffed a short laugh and appeased, “You’re right. You’re right, I’m sorry. That was my fault.”
Yoongi rubbed his face to try to stop crying but somehow, the relief of Jimin not leaving him made it worse. “You scared the shit out of me, shibal.”
“I’m sorry,” Jimin giggled, like any of this was REMOTELY FUNNY. “I wanted to bring up that you’re not affectionate with your words anymore. Well, I mean, you were never that affectionate with your words to begin with….” Jimin saw the look on Yoongi’s face and backtracked. “But! We made good progress before you left for the military and when you came back, it felt like all of that progress went away. I want to hear you say nice things about me. I like to feel loved. I’m still the same Jimin, you know?”
Yoongi nodded weakly. “I know.”
“You were taken away from me for two years. That’s two years of Yoongi-affection I was deprived of,” Jimin pouted. “And you went back to business as usual, as if it didn’t happen.”
Yoongi finally calmed, looking up to blink back the rest of his tears as he settled himself. He brought his gaze back to Jimin who eye-smiled at him and he almost cried again.
Maybe it showed because Jimin said, “Hyung, stop crying!”
“I’m sorry.” Yoongi hugged him, hand behind his head and arm across his back. He breathed in, remembered how much he had missed these same hugs in the barracks every night. “My Jimin, my lovely Park Jimin, cute Park Jimin, pretty Park Jimin.”
Jimin kissed a smile on his cheek. They held each other for a while more, until Jimin suddenly giggled again.
“What,” Yoongi said, muffled in Jimin’s neck.
“You cried,” Jimin snickered.
Yoongi remained unmoving.
Jimin cooed, “Hyungie was so, so sad that we’d break up? You love me that much?”
Yoongi focused solely on Jimin’s scent, on pressing a kiss against soft skin.
It deterred Jimin none. He continued, teasing, “You have too much love for me, huh? Where’s all that love when you need to wash the dishes? When you need to clean the table after meals?”
“Jimin,” Yoongi warned.
He felt Jimin’s shoulders shake with laughter. Jimin kissed his cheek, his other cheek, his nose, forehead, lips, lips, and lips again.
“I am never breaking up with you,” Jimin swore. “We have years behind us, Yoongi, and you’ve made me crazy in all of them. You won’t be able to get rid of me. I won’t let you.”
“I know,” Yoongi sighed dreamily, “I know.”
Jimin made little, excited stomps with his feet, grinning. “You like me so much, you cried.”
“I like you way too much.”
“Say it again.”
“I like you too much.”
“Run it back!”
“I really, really like you.”
Yoongi let himself kiss and be kissed until his tea turned cold.
April 2018
“I’m going to kiss anyone that buys me a drink tonight,” Jimin screamed in Taehyung’s ears.
“What?” Taehyung shouted back. They couldn’t hear anything other than club music.
“I’m going to K-I-S-S,” Jimin puckered his lips, “ANYONE that,” Jimin made a gesture like he was taking a shot, “TONIGHT!” He pointed down.
“Kiss, drink, give head?”
“No!”
“WOOO SOUNDS LIKE A FUN NIGHT LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO,” Taehyung cheered as he grabbed Jimin’s arm and lead him to the dance floor. Jimin laughed and hugged Taehyung’s side as they weaved through the crowd.
Fuck military service! Worst 18 months ever! Jimin was freeeeeeee!
Getting men to buy him a drink was easy. He kissed them all: some of the cheek if they weren’t his type and some on the mouth if they were cute enough. He followed a particular man outside to the alley because he bought everyone at the bar tequila shots, dressed expensively, and told Jimin he was the hottest person at the club.
“Are you a good kisser?” Jimin asked him.
“Yeah.” Because what else was the man going to say to the hottest dude at the club?
The man lied.
He was a terrible kisser.
But Jimin didn’t like the song playing and the cool air felt good on his skin, so he let himself be licked and sucked at clumsily, like a dog’s water bowl. The man pushed Jimin back with the force of his kisses and Jimin stumbled on his feet, hands reaching behind him to find balance on some sort of—bike, or something—?
“Excuse me. ”
The kiss stopped. Jimin sucked in a much-needed breath and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. This must be how it feels like to be inside a smoothie blender.
“That’s my bike.”
Jimin looked down to see that he was leaning on it. “Oh!” He got up. “Sorry.”
“‘skay.”
“Sorry about that,” The man genuinely apologized and Jimin lamented. It’s always the nice polite rich men that didn’t have the skills to make him hard. God and his unrelenting fairness.
“Do you want to take this somewhere else?” Jimin was asked.
Jimin straightened. “Oh, um….”
“I think you forgot to close your tab at the bar.” Bike Man interrupted. “Moon Taebeom-ssi, right?”
Oh, so that was his name.
Taebeom cursed. He turned to Jimin. “I’ll be right back, sorry.” He kissed Jimin’s hand. Maybe Jimin imagined it, but he thought he heard the Bike Man scoff.
It was awkward when Taebeom left. It was just the two of them as the Bike Man kicked the balancer back. Jimin loitered, not knowing what to do. Going back inside meant being trapped with Taebeom but he didn’t know this neighborhood well enough to plan where to go next.
“You can leave, you know.” Bike Man said, putting on his helmet. “I lied about his tab. He’s a regular here so everyone knows his name.”
“Oh.” He didn’t know what to say. “Why did you lie then?”
Bike Man looked at him. Jimin, for some reason, stopped breathing.
“Because he seemed like a bad kisser.”
They stared at each other for a moment before Jimin started laughing.
“He really was,” Jimin hid his smile behind both hands. “That was so embarrassing.”
The man huffed out a laugh and when their eyes met, they held it.
And it was as if Jimin was waiting for this—this moment, this coincidence, this stroke of serendipity—
Jimin broke first, overwhelmed. “Well, I’ll go now. Drive safely.”
He nodded. Jimin took a step back, turned around on the second one, and walked as slow as was socially acceptable. The world around him protested. “Turn back!” It seemed to yell. “Don’t let him get away!”
And then—
“Chogiyo.”
Jimin’s breath caught.