Chapter Text
The untidy man already irritated him, Jeon Jungkook had been parked outside the apartments he owned for less than a minute, enough time to notice the untidy man smoking and blocking his doorway.
As Jungkook got out of the car the man was loud on his phone.
He smelt stale and unwashed with egg stains on his suit lapels, cuffs filthy from dragging across someones spilt drinks, black tie with a tiny knot too tight and open shirt collar, hair greasy and smelling of cigarettes.
Jungkook stood silently behind him listening to his awful phlegm filled voice as he held his hand over his nose to keep the smell out
"...and I told you I will be there as soon as possible for fucks sake. The Bar won't close before I am done here believe me. Give me twenty minutes, you know this kid... yeah... He won't let me in again so nope I can’t, how can you help a kid through a door? ...well yeah, who cares? They pay me either way … well stop yapping and I can get this done...ye well, better he's stuck in the place, I can’t tell you how I would tear that beautiful ass up if I saw it on the streets… yups.. one day huh? Hahaha ok, fuck off. Lemme do my job."
He hangs up still unaware that Jungkook is getting more and more angry guessing in his head what the situation is. It's so bizarre.
The untidy man spits a lump of nastiness on the low step and drops his cigarette in it, he yanks the security doors open and then notices Jungkook. Giving him a death stare as he slips inside making sure not to hold the door open.
Jungkook has business on the ground floor. A recovery attempt at the apartment for lack of rent but he found himself following the dirty man up the stairs quietly hanging back but he needs to know what this asshole is doing here.
He stands in the echoing stairwell and hears the man reach the top floor apartment. He aggressively bangs the door three times. Waits for half a beat then slaps the door again hard
he says quietly and with contempt...
"LOOK, KID, I know you're in there because one - where the fuck would you go? and two - I can hear your pathetic breathing, so stop fucking me around?"
Jungkook's eyes widen at the meanness. Maybe he is a debt collector? But that entire phone conversation didn’t say that.
his thoughts interrupted by hearing some kind of gentle sad voice saying
"Mr Lee, can you not do this every time, please? I can’t do this. you aren’t meant to turn up unannounced at my door, you know? my stepmother told you when she...she phoned you...please? Can you just leave me alone? Please?"
Mr Lee kicks the base of the door making the occupant let out a small noise
"Listen, Park, if not for you I would be happily drunk in a bar but no I am here on retainer tied to your fucking family so let’s just do the normal... I say you are on your way to being mended and you say I did my job well. Agreed?
2 visits a week into one 7 min therapist session at your fucking sad doorway suits me."
THERAPIST? Is this a fucking joke? Jungkook now standing clearly just feet apart from Mr Lee can’t hide his disgust at the words being used. His thoughts again broken up by Mr Lee kicking the door once more and loudly hissing
"Unless of course, you want to open that door and pay me another way huh?... then maybe I can say you are all cured and we end this today? Just one little suck from that pretty mou…"
Mr Lee didn’t get to finish his words, Park Jimin, who had silent tears running over his cheeks, saw a flash of dark colours grab Lee by his shoulder and slam him against the opposite wall. Jimin fell back scared, should he go help Mr Lee? Should he open his door?
Should he have enjoyed seeing Lee’s head bounce off the wall?
Jimin slowly went back to the peep-hole. Sucking his bottom lip as he made sure the other man wasn't trying to break in.
His eyes became so wide as Mr Lee yelped out like a hurt animal, now bundling himself up on the floor, shouting and cowering from the dark-haired man standing over him, begging him not to hurt him as Jungkook kicks with his heavy boots at his body.
A breathless Jungkook stands with his fist clenched so tight unfurling it only to give a hard smack across Mr Lee's head.
"What did I do to you? whatever it is i've got money to give, just let me leave?" Lee begs
Jungkook ignores Lee but spits the words
"Fucking therapist? You are no longer Mr Parks anything. You cruel sadistic prick, come near this building again and I will have you buried under it."
Jungkook throws Lee’s briefcase down the short hallway and kicks Lee hard to follow it.
Jungkook breathes hard and angry, he sits for a minute on his heels,
He isn't unfit but his adrenalin is buzzing and he needs to gain his control back.
he looks up at the peep-hole and notices the light change, he smiles and holds a hand up.
Jimin on the other side takes a sharp intake of breath...wanting to open that door so much. Wanting to make sure this new shiny person was okay.
Jimin stopped thinking.
Blinked and before he knew it the door was slightly ajar. His face pressed in-between the two-inch gap he allowed, his gentle concerned voice asking if Jungkook was okay?
Or at least that’s what he thought he said.
Jimin felt oddly happy.
Jungkook smiled so loudly it almost hurt Jimin's eyes to see a new face so bright.
And Jungkook was equally alarmed at how his adrenalin seemed to rush in again at seeing this face.
Uttering one word out loud
"Pretty"
Jimin was just so fucking pretty, even through a two-inch gap Jungkook saw how utterly handsome this man was.
Their eyes met and Jimin gave a light whimper where the "are you ok?" should have been,
Realising his words had failed to appear his pretty face went to embarrassed and he felt the wind from the door as it slammed shut without him wanting it to.
And then Jungkook saw a child’s bandage appear from under the door
cartoon faces smiling up at him
Jungkook stood alone with a bloody knuckle from grazing the wall, bent down and picked up the bandage. using it straight away.
He had a smile so uniquely new to his own face, he had no idea what the fuck was happening but he knew it starts and ends with Park Jimin.
Jimin's palms were so sweaty, why wasn’t he moving? Why had he gone back to peep-hole staring? who was this dark-haired stranger? why had he helped him so much?
Jimin was too bruised to deal with Mr Lee and had 4 months of bullying from him, too ashamed to get help.
He had relatives but everyone had got so used to Jimin being ‘This way’ they all seemed to forget the actual person behind the illness.
That he had loved some so strongly and everything he had enjoyed with a passion before that day.
Everything he loved had been instantly locked away in a box in his mind. Locked so tightly that even he didn’t know where the key was anymore.
At least now he could talk instead of silence or stuttering.
He jolted out of his thoughts so he could look at this man again, standing up with one arm on his door and his mouth so close to the peep-hole.
His perfect lips and teeth and... tongue, inches away from the tiny glass window.
His perfect mouth asking "Jimin? Tell me, are you ok?"
Wait, shouldn't it be Jimin asking? This man had just had a fight at no fault of his own. Jimin felt so bad as he slid to the floor and sat with his back pressed against his door. Head in hands, feeling like a letdown.
Jungkook recalled his mother telling him who owned the apartments before she left for Europe.
#1, is the man he tries to evict today, a bad tenant, given every chance but still fucks them over.
#2, a young family. Perfect tenants
#3, the park family who owned the whole building before the Jeons bought it from them.
They rented back the full top floor apartment for low rent but they also sold all the land around the apartment for a good price. A small price to pay to keep one apartment rent-controlled and cheap he knew the Parks kid lived there and that he had ‘Lock-in’ issues but he never gave them hassle so they never had reason to know more than that.
And yet here he was. Being cruelly treated by that asshole and his family unaware. Why? How did they not know?
He asked again "Mr Park... Jimin? are you ok?" Jungkook could hear his quiet sobs through the door and he couldn't just leave the kid a wreck.
Jungkook had always been the same. Always been the one that had to know people were okay. Directly affecting his own feelings if they weren't. Then he realised how dumb he was being about this, he said something that Jimin will never forget.
The kindness of this statement had filled Jimin with a small hope that not everyone was bad.
"Mr Park...knock once for not ok and twice for ok, please? I won't force you to talk but I do need to know you can be ok before I leave you"
Jimin's heart glowed in the dark hallway.
These words from this stranger were so insignificant to most but meant the entire world to him.
meant that for this briefest of time someone understood him and wanted to make life slightly easier for him.
he took his finger and gently knocked once on the door.
Silent tears fell heavily from his eyes, they streamed down his entire face. Covering his chest.
and yet a relief he hadn’t felt in so long overcome him.
He wanted to be ok. He felt something shift in his mind.
it felt like someone had moved a heavy cabinet from blocking a door.
Light.
Jungkook heard the tiny knock and sat with his knees touching the wooden door.
"I hear you okay? I'll just talk, ok? sorry, I'll stop asking questions.. ok? I mean...errr..okay”
Jungkook shakes his head and laughs gently a little at how dumb he sounded, but he carried on talking
“So what just happened was insane, I just fired your therapist I think?… I haven’t even told you who I am. My name is Jeon Jungkook, your parents knew mine. We own this building. I have business downstairs but I am so sorry I couldn't help but intervene with that man. He's some kind of psycho, I'll speak to whoever I need to to let them know why he will no longer enter this building, I'm sorry if I have made this awkward for you but when he said the sexual stuff... I couldn't stand it."
Someone caught Jungkook's eye on the right. Hoping it wasn’t Lee again he stood up fast but this face was new. Namjoon came blustering down the hallway
"what the fuck do you mean sexual stuff? What the fuck is going on. JIMIN? Are you in there? Jimin, WHO’S IN THERE? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?"
Namjoon is so flustered
Jungkook faced Namjoon, bowing and taking a step back with both hands up to show him he meant no harm and he wasn’t the enemy.
"Sorry, I'm Jeon Jungkook, I own the building, I... it's hard to explain but Mr Park’s therapist is banned I guess? I won't have him in this building again. He was... suggestive? with Mr Park. abusive to him"
he wants to stop there but Namjoon still looks so confused he has to say the words
"He offered to err... sign Parks health as ok in exchange for a ... sexual act"
Jungkook feels embarrassed to say it and tries to not look at Namjoon, once again catching the peep-hole and seeing the light move behind it.
Namjoon went red. Beetroot red with anger, He drops his backpack to the floor as he looks around for Lee
"He said what? Where is the prick? I'll rip his face off, Jimin? You hear me? open the door"
Jimin heard his friend get so angry and this is really why he hadn’t mentioned Lee beyond saying he disliked him to Namjoon.
He hated being a bother to him more than he already was. Hated making his best friend feel annoyed.
Without thinking, Jimin knocked on the door once
Jungkook heard and understood, one knock.
He started trying to calm Namjoon
"I've dealt with Lee. I hope you don't mind? I just couldn't stand back, Your friend? He's very shaken up by it all. Is there anything more I can do?"
Namjoon calmer, warmly took Jungkook's hands noting the fresh bandage on his knuckle, making him feel bad
"Noo, you've done enough, thank you, I'll look after him. He won't want to be a bother to you, Honestly, you can leave it with me."
Namjoon had a bag full of hot food and coffee for Jimin, which he picked back up.
he does this daily, sometimes Jimin opens the door. Sometimes he has to leave it outside like a disappointed kid but as long as Jimin eats he doesn"t care.
Namjoon lightly bows to Jungkook thanking him
"I'll phone his stepmother tonight and explain. thank you again"
Jungkook bowing to the older male and knocking Jimin's door with his knuckle gently twice as he walks away
Jimin smiled.
He could hear Joon gently asking Jimin if it was okay to come in? He heard the door locks open and then the door and heard Namjoon walking inside warmly greeting and hugging Jimin.
As Jungkook reached the stairs he turned back once more and became rooted to the spot. Unable to move or even process wanting to move.
Because standing one step from his door was Park Jimin.
his heart beat so fast as he held the stair rail to steady himself slightly.
With bleached blonde hair, his perfect skin glowing and his insanely beautiful deep shining eyes smiled at Jungkook, making him smile back without fail.
Every feature on Jimin set Jungkook's mind on fire, he’d never seen anyone so impressive. Ever.
Jimin's collar bones visible and slightly wet with tears with a loose fit grey shirt hanging long on his dainty toned body, sleeves pulled over his fingers, his jeans too long for his legs but looked like they fit every inch perfectly.
This slim beautiful man made him feel breathless and a desire Jungkook hadn’t felt before rose up in him making him nervous.
He made Jungkook feel tongue-tied and all it took was the Blonde-haired one to raise a hand to wave goodbye, for Jungkook to almost fall down the next step.
He’d never felt more like a dork in his life.
He raised his hand too and waved as the man smiled a crooked smile.
Jungkook could hear his friends in his head mocking him for how bothered he was by a smile and a wave but honestly, He felt taken. Stolen almost.
Jimin had connected a string to him. He could feel it, pierce through his skin and bones, straight to his heart.
He could feel the pull of this person on him.
And then he was gone.
As fast as Jimin stepped out, desperately in need to say goodbye to Jungkook, he stepped back into his prison.
He must only have been out there for a few seconds if that, but his oxygen was depleted and he felt burned out.
Namjoon turned and saw him step outside as he took his sneakers off. He kept quiet as he didn’t want to scare Jimin but this was the first time he had seen Jimin leave this home for 4 years.
Not once had Jimin stepped over that door frame since the day he had manoeuvred the heavily tranquilised kid up the stairs.
Nope, Joonie wasn’t going to mention it but inside he was leaping and jumping and screaming and wanted to celebrate.
He laid their meal out on the table and poured Jimin's Soju. The Plum smell was so enticing and Joon wanted to drink the whole bottle but he had work in an hour. Jimin sat down quietly and smiled.
Namjoon asking questions but Jimin honestly too flustered to answer properly. He looked like a kid in love.
The only thing Jimin wanted to talk about as he drank his shots was Jungkook, How he had stomped Lee and the knocking system and how he wondered about him,
Jimin not even trying to hide his excitement.
Namjoon got so used to hearing the angst of Jimin's day, About all the simple thing’s he missed like going out for tea or how he missed his job and today should have been more angst-ridden than usual but all Jimin had talked about was Jeon Jungkook
Maybe Joon should find out more about the tall, handsome kid that made his friend smile so happily? ….