Chapter Text
"Jeon Jungkook, do you take this man to be your husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”
Jungkook didn’t . “I do.”
“And do you, Park Jimin, take this man to be your husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”
Jimin didn’t either . “I do.”
“By virtue of the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands.”
~~ ❊ ~~
Park Jimin knew that being a good, loving son would come around to bite him in the ass. His parents were kind people who had never asked much of him, and maybe that’s why he did what he could to make them happy.
As the omega son of two loving parents, Jimin knew his life would never be what he intended it to be, or that is at least what he was told his whole life. He was told that he would have to do everything his alpha father told him – walk in a certain way, talk in a certain way – but his father had never really told him how to behave. He never told him to do things in a certain way, never forbade him from going to certain places or wearing certain clothes. His father treated him with respect and love and gave him all the freedom a father would give his child.
When Jimin told his father that he wanted to study ballet, he was taken to the best ballet class in the city. When Jimin wanted to learn how to paint, his father took him to an artist so renowned that Jimin couldn’t stop talking about it for a whole year (he still does sometimes). When Jimin said he wanted to become a journalist, his father pushed him to read, write and then read some more so that he would be so well versed with the workings of the world, that any media company would be stupid not to hire him.
And Jimin knew all this came out of a place of love, but what he didn’t know, for most of his life, was that this also came out of a place of guilt. Because Jimin’s parents, as comfortably rich as they were now, weren’t always in this position before.
When Jimin was almost 3, his parents’ business had fallen upon harsh times, and Park Jihoon, stubborn as he was, knew when it was time to relent and ask for help. He went to his old friend Jeon Jungyul who graciously helped him with what he needed and only asked for one thing in return – the hand of his child in marriage to Jungyul’s own.
Jihoon was confused and upset and asked if he could talk to his wife about it before making any promises, and of course Jungyul agreed.
Park Sunyoung was livid. She told her husband to take Jeon Jungyul’s “offer” and shove it up where the sun doesn’t shine. And then she yelled at her husband. Jihoon tried to make his wife understand how much they needed the money and when the time came, they would tell everything to their little boy and beg on their knees for his forgiveness, and try to give him all that they could until the fateful day of his wedding came.
And after hours of apologies, scenting and releasing calming pheromones, Jihoon’s wife reluctantly agreed. Jimin wouldn’t present for another 10 years at least, and Jungyul’s only son was less than a year old. Sunyoung didn’t understand how a man could arrange the marriage of his only child before the child could even talk. She didn’t know what Jimin would present as, but his rosy cheeks, soft complexion and the sweetness in his scent pointed to him presenting as an omega.
As an omega herself, she knew how omegas were treated in the world, and she knew giving off her son’s freedom in exchange for money was wrong, and if she had another way to help her husband she would, but they had no other options left. So, with heavy hearts and a guilty conscience that would stay with them for the next 23 years, they went to Jeon Jungyul’s house and the rest was history.
Well, it was the present.
Jimin heard his mother’s familiar sob as soon as he had said the words, “I do” and resisted the urge to immediately turn around and run to her. He looked straight ahead at Jungkook who was looking at his mother with a soft, pitying expression on his face. Jimin looked down at their intertwined hands, the platinum band shining on his ring finger and sighed. This was it; he was married. Jungkook was his husband, his alpha.
The wedding party clapped. Jungkook had told the priest not to ask them to kiss or scent each other, so the wedding was pretty much done.
Jimin let go of Jungkook’s hands and walked to where his mother was seated. He crouched in front of her, and the smell of souring lemons invaded his nostrils. He took her hands, “Eomma, please, don’t cry.”
“How can I not?” she said, softly, not looking at him.
Jimin sighed, looking at his father whose unshed tears threatened to fall at any given second. “It’s okay, Eomma. Look, no matter how it is, it’s still my wedding, I want you to smile. Please? Smile with me, dance with me, feed me that chicken steak we catered,” he said, and his mother cracked a small smile. “Come on, we need to head to the hotel to change and get ready for the reception.”
Jimin’s family wasn’t religious, but Jungkook’s father had insisted that they have the wedding at a church near the Shilla hotel, where the reception was to be held. They all had rooms booked for them at the hotel. It didn’t take long for the wedding party to get into the cars sent by Jungkook’s father and make their way to the Shilla.
Jimin’s mother refused to part with her son, so Jimin rode in a car with his parents and Jungkook rode in a car just behind them, with his father. When they reached the hotel, Jimin dropped his parents at their room and then made his way to the room he shared with Jungkook.
Things weren’t necessarily awkward with him; they just didn’t know each other well enough to hold a conversation. And for now, they had no plans of getting to know each other either. They knew the circumstances of this marriage and had met a handful of times before, where they discussed the terms and conditions of the arrangement they had and that was it.
Jimin swiped the door to his suite open and walked to his room. He was glad that even though Jungkook and him shared a suite, they had separate rooms. The door to Jungkook’s room was closed but the presence of Jungkook’s dress shoes by the couch and suit jacket draped on the love seat told Jimin he was in the suite and probably changing into the suit he was supposed to wear to the reception.
Jimin walked into his own room and quietly sat on the edge of the bed. The room was stunning. Ceiling to floor windows showed off the entire city drenched in the setting sun. It was a beautiful day to get married. The sky was clear, there was no hiccup in the wedding procession, the priest didn’t mess up any names, the caterers were on time, the flowers didn’t flare up any of Jimin’s allergies and the rings were the right sizes - it would have been perfect, if it were anyone else's wedding.
Jimin sighed, fidgeting with the ring on his finger, not really focusing on anything, just looking at the setting sun. He knew his life was going to change but there was the knowledge that he would stay in the same city as his parents and continue working where he was. But he now had to move houses and call someone his husband.
As omegas went, he was definitely not getting the short end of the stick, the alpha he was married to came from a respectable family and they had spoken about several things before the wedding.
Jimin would be continuing his job at Lee & Han Publishing house as their Lead Content developer, he would obviously be keeping his last name, and they had all signed a prenuptial agreement that gave Jimin almost half of everything Jungkook owned, if they ever got a divorce – which lead to his friend Min Yoongi making several jokes about Jimin asking for a quick divorce within a year, but Jimin would only half-heartedly laugh at them. Jimin was grateful. But he did wonder how different his wedding, and eventually life would be if he was able to marry someone he was in love with.
"Jimin-ssi?" he heard Jungkook's voice call out to him from the door.
"Yes, Jungkook-ssi?"
"Oh, you haven't changed yet. The reception starts in ten minutes," Jungkook said and Jimin noticed that he was wearing the matching black tuxedo that Jimin was also supposed to be wearing but he was still sitting in his white wedding suit.
"Oh," Jimin said standing up. "My mind was somewhere else. Could you give me five minutes? I'll be right out."
"Of course, take your time, please," Jungkook said and left him to change.
Anyone could see Jungkook was a good-looking man. There were no two ways about it. He was tall, very well built, had wide, beautiful doe eyes, a nose that he had definitely grown into and Jimin swore he saw a dimple when Jungkook smiled. The tattooed sleeve and eyebrow piercing were a bonus too. And Jungkook was a good person, a good alpha. He wasn’t overbearing or unnecessarily rude and neither did he flaunt the wealth he so clearly had. And Jimin knew these things, and in several ways, he knew he was lucky to be married to Jungkook. But in so many more ways, he just wasn’t.
Jimin quickly took a shower and changed out of his wedding suit into the tuxedo he was supposed to wear and walked to Jungkook’s room. “I’m ready,” he said, knocking once on the slightly open door. Jungkook was sitting on the bed, typing away furiously on his phone, eyebrows drawn together in a slight frown.
He looked up as soon as he heard Jimin and gave him a small smile, “Okay, let’s go,” he said, pocketing his phone. They made their way to the elevator and stood quietly side by side as the doors closed.
They were on one of the top floors, so the elevator took its time reaching the ground floor where the ballroom was. Jimin and Jungkook kept looking straight ahead, staring at the doors, without making any conversation with one another. Jimin could feel the pleasant smell of cedarwood filling the elevator and he was glad that his husband had a scent that Jimin was comfortable with, unlike a few alpha scents that he had smelt in the past.
They didn’t really know each other that well to talk about any important things and knew that the technicalities of the wedding were already spoken about. They didn’t want to make small talk, either, so they decided on silence.
When the elevator reached the floor where the ballroom was, they quietly got out of the elevator, Jungkook motioning Jimin to head out before him, and they walked together to the ballroom where Jungkook’s father was pacing, waiting for them to arrive. Jimin felt the sourness of his scent and scrunched his nose. “Jungkook, you are late!” he said as soon as he spotted them.
“I’m sorry, Abeoji, I-,“ Jimin began but he was cut off by Jungkook.
“I had a call to attend. Shall we go inside now?” he said, not looking at anyone in particular.
Jimin heard Jungkook’s father sigh. He took Jimin’s hand in his, “Come, Jimin, let us head inside.” Jimin smiled at his father-in-law and followed him inside the ballroom, Jungkook following closely behind.
Jimin was hit by the sudden scent of about 150 people in the ballroom, but he was distracted by the decorations in front of him.
The ballroom was beautifully decorated. Grey, white, and lavender colored flowers were arranged on every table, purple table runners under the flower decorations, and the chandelier had purple flowers decorated on it too. Jimin looked around the ballroom in awe. The decorators had outdone themselves and he knew his father-in-law had a hand in this, as he did in everything else. Jimin smiled at his parents as soon as he saw them seated in the first row of the ballroom. They smiled back at him and then he grinned at his best friends who were sitting close to them.
They all gave him small smiles but laughed when he made a funny face at them. The sudden camera flashes surprised him a little bit and Jimin mentally chided himself for making a face when he should have known that there would be an absurd number of cameras that would be around him. Jungkook was quite essentially a celebrity - one of the most eligible alphas in Seoul, and he was breaking several hearts by marrying Jimin. Clearly, this made Jeon Jungyul very happy because he seemed to have gone all out for his son’s wedding.
He shouldn’t really have expected anything else from the owner of Jeon Inc., the leading car manufacturer in Seoul, but Jimin was surprised.
Jungyul led Jimin to the front of the room where he saw a small dance floor set up. He knew Jungkook and him had to share their first dance together, but as soon as he saw it, he felt scared.
Sweat gathered on the nape of his neck and his throat went dry and maybe Jungkook smelled the obvious souring in Jimin’s scent, because as soon as Jungyul let his hand go, Jungkook took him by the waist, guiding him to the stage and whispering in his ear, “Don’t worry, it’ll be over before you know it.”
Jimin and Jungkook stood at the center of the dance floor as the lights around the room dimmed and focus lights pointed only at them. Jungkook offered his right hand for Jimin to take and pulled him closer by the waist as Jimin’s left arm came around his shoulder and a soft melody filled the room.
Jungkook led Jimin in a slow dance, looking straight into his eyes, making Jimin almost blush.
They danced quietly for a while. Neither of them looking away from each other, but not really at each other either. Years of dancing had given Jimin a flow in his body that surprisingly Jungkook seemed to match. Maybe he had taken some dance classes too.
“This is nice,” Jimin whispered to him, gracefully following Jungkook as he swayed side to side.
“It is,” Jungkook smiled.
They quietly danced with each other for a few more seconds before Jungkook asked, “Are you having the fish or the chicken?”
“The chicken, I don’t really like seafood.”
“Oh, I’m having the fish. I’ll tell you what it tastes like.”
“Yes, please do.”
Jimin felt as though the song kept going on and on and he was sure that Jungyul definitely had something to do with it. He couldn’t really get out of Jungkook’s hold, nor could he really look at the guests looking at him dance so he looked at Jungkook, “The weather was lovely today.”
“It really was. I read a rain prediction but I’m glad it didn’t rain.”
“Me too,” Jimin said and smiled, and finally, finally , the music stopped.
Jungkook and Jimin separated almost immediately but Jungkook held on to Jimin’s hand as they bowed deeply to their guests, who clapped for the newlyweds. The lights came on and Jungkook let Jimin's hand go and made his way to the bar.
Jimin stepped off the dance floor and walked to where his parents and friends were standing, a relieved smile on his face.
“Ugh, that was so painful to watch,” Min Yoongi said as soon as Jimin reached them.
“Hyung, no,” Kim Taehyung said immediately, shushing his mate.
“He isn’t lying Taehyung, let him say what he wants to,” Jimin’s mother chimed in.
“Eomma, Yoongi hyung, please,” Jimin sighed. “It was fine, it was normal.”
Yoongi scoffed, “Jimin, we’ve seen you do the waltz with someone you hated with every fiber of your being, and somehow even that had more chemistry than whatever we just saw happen.”
“Yeah, what were you even talking about?” Taehyung asked, with a slightly pained expression on his face. “Were you discussing the weather or something?”
Jimin smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging slightly.
“Oh, my God, you were?” Yoongi asked and then laughed. “Holy shit, you were discussing the weather with your husband during your first dance! That’s hilarious!”
“We also spoke about the chicken, and he told me he’d tell me how the fish tasted,” Jimin said quickly.
“Exciting, Jiminie, that is so exciting,” Yoongi deadpanned and Taehyung came to Jimin, wrapping his hands around his waist and placing his chin on Jimin’s shoulders.
“Don’t listen to him, Jimin,” he said sweetly, releasing his vanilla scent, immediately calming Jimin down. “You looked beautiful, and that’s all that matters.”
Jimin smiled at the omega, thankful for his presence around him.
Taehyung had been the first person Jimin had gone to when his parents told him about his impending marriage to Jungkook. He had knocked on Taehyung and Yoongi's door with tears in his eyes and Taehyung had promptly kicked his mate out of their bed, enveloping Jimin in a much-needed hug and cuddled him the entire night. Yoongi had sneaked into bed early that morning and Jimin had never been more grateful for an alpha’s presence to calm him down. He felt safe in the myriad of vanilla and peppermint and even though these were scents that would most likely clash, Taehyung and Yoongi's mixed scents only calmed him down and made him feel like all was not lost.
Yoongi had tried to convince Jimin to not go through with the wedding. He even told him to leave the country, but Jimin knew he had no other option but to marry Jungkook.
“Thanks, baby,” Jimin smiled at Taehyung, kissing the top of his head.
Kim Taehyung had been Jimin’s best friend for as long as he could remember. There was barely a memory in Jimin’s head that didn’t involve Taehyung. And if this was a wedding of Jimin’s choice, the omega would have definitely been his best man. But Jungkook and him had decided that the wedding would be as “sterile” as possible. No best people, no scenting, no kissing, nothing. Just reluctant “I do’s” and paperwork. The reception had been a gift from Jungkook’s father and so was the apartment they were moving into the next day. But Jimin would start to freak out every time he thought about the apartment, so he just didn’t.
“Do you want to dance with me?” Taehyung asked him. His permed dark hair framed his beautiful face so perfectly that sometimes Jimin thought Taehyung was an angel who had fallen on Earth. He was wearing a maroon suit with a white shirt and looked ethereal. Yoongi was a very lucky alpha.
“Don’t you want your first dance of the night to be with your mate?” he asked, looking at Yoongi who had made himself comfortable on one of the chairs nearby and was now deeply engrossed in a conversation with Jimin’s father.
“I can have the last dance of the night with him,” Taehyung smiled at Yoongi. “Now, I want to dance with my soulmate.”
Taehyung held Jimin’s hand and pulled him on to the dancefloor where he saw a few more people already dancing. The DJ was playing a dance number and Jimin and Taehyung laughed as they moved together on the beats of the song.
“I mean it, Jimin-ah,” Taehyung said, shuffling closer to him as the dance floor started getting a little crowded. “You look beautiful tonight.”
Jimin smiled at Taehyung, pulling him in for a hug and settling in the crook of his neck as their arms came around each other. Jimin inhaled his best friend’s familiar vanilla scent and let Taehyung scent him lightly. “I’m scared, Taehyung-ah,” he whispered.
“My baby,” Taehyung cooed, holding him tightly. “You know I’m going to be with you every step of the way. You know you’re not going to be alone in this, right?”
Jimin nodded. Of course, he knew, but when Jimin would go to sleep at night in the house he would be sharing with his husband, he would be alone. But he couldn’t tell that to Taehyung. He couldn’t tell that to anybody.
After crying to Taehyung and Yoongi about what his parents had told him, Jimin had returned home the next morning, on board with the wedding. He was internally freaking out, but to his parents and to Jeon Jungyul’s surprise, he was calm through the wedding preparations. His parents had put off telling him until it was absolutely necessary because they wanted to give their son a normal life that he could live on his own terms for as long as possible. And as far as Jimin knew, Jungkook always knew that his wedding was arranged.
In front of his parents, Jimin was fine. He smiled and laughed as usual, trying not to worry his already guilty parents. Things were fine at his workplace too, people congratulated him on becoming engaged and teased him for not telling them who his fiancé was, and Jimin laughed it off. He didn't tell them who his fiancé was, but he knew the next day's entertainment section would have a spread of the wedding, so he would only face their wrath when he headed into the office next week.
There were only two places where Jimin could be completely vulnerable – in front of Taehyung (and by extension, Yoongi) and underneath his comforter, as he laid on his bed and cried himself to sleep.
Jimin pulled away from Taehyung’s hold to look at him and smiled. “I love you so much.”
“I love you so much.”
The song changed into another slower track and Jimin and Taehyung began to slowly move side by side, holding each other close, staying happy in each other’s company when someone tapped Jimin’s shoulder and he smiled as the familiar scent of lemons surrounded him.
“Can I have a dance with my baby, Taehyung-ah?” Jimin’s mother asked them.
“Only if you promise not to cry,” Taehyung half joked as he kissed Jimin’s cheek and then bent to kiss Sunyoung's as well.
Jimin smiled as he took his mother into his arms and slowly began to dance with her. “Eomma, Taehyung told you not to cry,” Jimin said as he saw his mother’s eyes well up with tears.
“There is no universe where I will listen to what Kim Taehyung has to say,” she said, sniffling slightly, making Jimin laugh. “My beautiful boy, you are the sun to me.”
Jimin felt hot tears pricking his eyes and blinked several times to keep them at bay. “Eomma,” he laughed, trying to diffuse the atmosphere a little. “Are all weddings like this? Everyone’s crying all the time.”
Sunyoung laughed with him, a laugh similar to Jimin’s, “Yes, they are, no matter the circumstance.”
Jimin cleared his throat, “Eomma, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this until you start to believe me but I’m okay, I’m happy. Trust me.”
“I want to, Jimin-ah, I do. But your father and I put you into this mess, and I’m so sorry we didn’t do better. Jimin-ah, I’m so –,” she tried to say, her scent souring with every word
“No, no, no,” he cut her off, releasing his own pheromones, trying to calm her down. “Eomma please, don’t apologize. I know the circumstances aren’t ideal, but it’s okay. I’m okay. You both gave me everything in the world - you gave me a happy childhood, a good education. You let me do what I wanted to, didn’t stop me for anything. Not a lot of omegas get what I had, and you gave me that.”
His mother was crying again. Jimin hugged her tight. He placed a kiss on her head and turned around, trying to find his father, only to suddenly make eye contact with Jungkook who was already looking at him. He was leaning against the bar, a drink in his hand and was surrounded by his friends but it was obvious that his attention was on Jimin.
Jimin smiled at him, and looked on the other side of the room, his eyes still searching for his father who had most likely stepped out for a bit. He gave up and turned to his mother, “And Jungkook’s a nice alpha. He has been nothing but kind to me. You know how these chaebol alphas are, Jungkook isn’t one of them, Eomma. I've spoken to him, he is intelligent, he respects me, and he gives me my space. He’ll keep me happy; I know he will.”
His mother looked up to him, not willing to let her son go, "You're not just saying this for the heck of it, are you?"
"No, Eomma, trust me, please. He's a good alpha," he said and breathed out, hugging his mom tighter. Sunyoung was a rather short omega so she only came up to Jimin’s chest.
She was the strongest omega Jimin had ever known. She helped his father manage their entire business together. They had a small factory where they produced automobile spare parts, it was how they had known about, and eventually met, Jeon Jungyul. Park Jihoon handled the engineering and manufacturing while Sunyoung handled the finances. She was incredibly precise and Jimin had barely seen her make a mistake in her decades long career.
His parents had truly worked hard to give Jimin everything he ever wanted and Jimin's eyes welled up with tears when he thought about how much his parents had done for him and he felt like he was done trying to hide his tears. He closed his eyes and felt a few stray tears roll down his cheeks.
“Mrs. Park?” a voice behind him said, startling him a little. Jimin wiped his tears and breathed in a few times, noticing the familiar cedarwood scent behind him.
His mother seemed to be doing the same thing. She cleared her throat once and put on a small smile, and turned to face the source of the voice, “Ah, yes, Jungkook-ssi. You look very handsome.”
Jungkook blushed a little and smiled, “Thank you, Mrs. Park. Umm, I wanted to talk to you about something, if you had a minute?”
“Yes, of course, did you want to go somewhere private?”
Jungkook looked at Jimin, “Not really, I would like Jimin-ssi to know too.”
Jimin nodded and smiled at Jungkook. He looked at Sunyoung and breathed in. “I know these aren’t ideal circumstances for anyone to get married in, but I promise I’ll keep Jimin-ssi happy. He’ll have everything he could want; I’ll make sure of it. And I definitely will not force him to do anything he doesn't want to. Everything in his life will continue as it has been going on, nothing will change. Well, except his address,” he said. “And we have separate rooms and everything – at the new apartment, I mean – so I promise he will be safe there.”
“We’ll have separate rooms?” Jimin asked him, making Jungkook look at him.
“Of course, Jimin-ssi,” Jungkook said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Did you really think two people who barely know each other would be sharing a room?”
“No – I mean – yeah, I guess, I just thought we would have to.”
“We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to. It was one of the few things I spoke to my father about, regarding our, you know?”
“Wedding?”
Jungkook flinched a little at the word. “Yes, wedding.”
Jimin looked at Jungkook, not knowing what to say. He had been really considerate towards Jimin, and Jimin hadn't even thought about these things.
“Thank you, Jungkook-ssi,” his mother said. “It means a lot to me to have you tell me these things. As a mother, I’m always worried, even more so now. But you have made me feel better. Thank you.” She took his hand in hers and Jungkook bowed deeply.
“I’ll go now,” he said a little awkwardly. “I just felt things getting a little tense here so I thought I would come and talk to you.”
“I appreciate that,” Sunyoung said.
Jungkook bowed once more and left to join his friends back at the bar.
“Maybe you will be okay, Jimin-ah,” he heard his mother say, both of them looking at Jungkook's retreating figure.
“Yeah, maybe,” he seemed to agree.
Yoongi joined Jimin and his mother on the dancefloor and made them laugh by dancing around to a fun dance track that the DJ played, almost completely dissipating the sad environment that was made and he was given a kiss by Taehyung for being so sweet. Jimin wanted to dance a little bit with his father too, but his father had kindly refused. Jimin knew the guilt was still eating at his father and he wished he knew a way to make him feel better.
When they sat down for dinner, Jungkook made sure to tell Jimin that his fish tasted good, but that the chicken probably tasted better because it looked better. Jimin smiled politely and agreed.
The reception went fairly well after dinner. Jungkook came to Jimin when he was by the bar, talking to Taehyung about the flower arrangement and asked him if he would come and do the rounds with him, meeting some people and receiving congratulatory wishes for the “absolutely charming wedding.”
Jimin was polite, that’s all he was. He didn’t engage in any conversation that wasn’t necessary, and when people asked him about his job, he simply said, “I’m a writer” and not that he was one of the top journalists for one of South Korea’s biggest publishing houses. If Jungkook had a problem with it, he didn’t let it show.
It was almost midnight when the reception was properly, officially over and Jimin and Jungkook were guided to their suite by their relatives. Their closest friends and relatives stayed at the hotel until morning, so they made a scene sending them kisses and hugging them tightly (their aunts and uncles, not their parents or closest friends, of course) as they nearly shoved them into their suite and then Jimin and Jungkook were finally alone.
As soon as the door was closed, Jungkook pressed his forehead against the door to let out a breath he seemed to be holding in for ages. “That was… overwhelming.”
“To say the least,” Jimin scoffed.
Jungkook smiled, “Yeah, I’m going to take a shower. Everyone’s scent was just too much.”
“Are you sensitive to scents?”
“Very. If it's not a familiar scent, I get headaches and then migraines and then it's just a whole thing,” he said, moving his hands animatedly. Jimin only nodded so he continued, “I’d like to talk to you once I’ve showered. If that’s okay with you?”
“Yeah, no problem. I'll freshen up too.”
“Thanks, Jimin-ssi,” he said, making his way to the room on the right. “See you in a bit.”
Jungkook didn’t wait for Jimin to respond. He simply closed his door, so Jimin went to his room, took off his clothes and hopped into the shower.
He thought about Jungkook as he washed his hair. The fact that he was sensitive to smells was the first personal thing he had gotten to know about the man. He wouldn’t have known that Jungkook felt that way if he hadn’t told Jimin. Nothing in his behavior gave away that he was uncomfortable. Maybe this was how it always was for him. As the next CEO of Jeon Inc., Jimin was sure Jungkook had to meet several people every day. Did he always feel anxious or overwhelmed in the presence of various scents? Jimin didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out either.
But Jimin was a good person, or at least he tried his hardest to be.
As soon as he got out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around himself and ordered a scent subsiding tea. The hotel had a variety of flavors to offer and he ended up choosing the strawberry flavored one.
Jimin changed into a light grey full sleeved sweatshirt and similar colored sweatpants and blow-dried his blond hair, making a mental note to send a thank you message to his hair stylist who had re-dyed it just a few days before the wedding. Housekeeping was surprisingly fast at the Shilla and Jimin sipped on the tea as he sat on the obnoxiously big couch in the living room, waiting for Jungkook to come out of the shower.
It had been about 40 minutes and Jungkook still wasn’t out. Jimin was getting sleepy. He almost considered knocking on his door but before the thought could fully form in his head, a wet haired Jungkook walked out of the room. He was dressed similar to Jimin except he was wearing a short sleeved black sweatshirt which meant his tattoos were in full view. He walked in rubbing the towel in his dark hair, trying to dry it as much as possible and smiled at Jimin. But Jimin was too busy gawking at the intricate tattoos that ran up his right arm – flower patterns on his knuckles, some numbers near his thumb, quotes in English and Korean on his forearm, another flower near them, chains, an eye, a mandala pattern, all of them getting lost underneath the sleeves, and Jimin just failed to notice his face. It was his first time seeing Jungkook wearing casual clothes around him and Jimin was a little star struck.
“I’ll tell you all about them someday,” Jungkook said, noticing where Jimin’s attention was. “Maybe, I’ll show you all of them too.”
“You have more?” Jimin asked, his eyes widening.
“Yup,” he said and sat down on the couch, across from Jimin. The towel hung loosely around his shoulders.
“So, you wanted to talk to me about something?” Jimin asked him, wanting to get done with whatever it was so that he could finally go to sleep.
“Right,” Jungkook said, shifting a little bit. “So, you know how we’re going to be living together from tomorrow, well, technically today,” he said and Jimin felt his stomach swoop.
He knew this was going to happen, and now that it was, Jimin suddenly felt nervous. He was sure that if it wasn’t for the tea, his sour scent would be all over the room. “Mm-hmm.”
“Well, the apartment is new. It’s a gift from my father and both of our names are on the lease, so I just wanted to let you know that you can make it as much yours as you’d like. Don’t even think about asking me if something is okay or not, just do whatever you want to, okay? It's your house too,” Jungkook said so sincerely, looking at Jimin with beautiful wide eyes that Jimin almost wanted to coo at the alpha.
Well, his omega did. Jimin's omega had immediately taken a liking to Jungkook and Jimin had to sometimes breathe to calm his omega down. Jimin knew that this was a purely biological omega being attracted to an alpha thing, so he let it slide. He knew it would take him some time to warm up to the alpha so he just decided to be acquaintances with him first.
“So, if I got a really ugly green and red floral couch and placed it right in the center of the house you wouldn’t mind?” Jimin joked, fluttering his eyelashes cutely.
“Would you want an ugly green and red floral couch in your home?” Jungkook asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
“Maybe,” Jimin shrugged. “If it fits the vibe of the house.”
“It will definitely not fit the vibe of the house, but if you want it, you got it,” Jungkook smiled, making Jimin laugh.
“I’ll think about it a little bit, okay?”
“You do that, Jimin-ssi,” Jungkook laughed too. “Anyway, there are three rooms in the house – two on the top floor and one on the ground floor, and the ground floor has a study too. I like the room on the ground floor so maybe you could take one of the rooms on the top floor?”
Jimin nodded. He thought about how expensive an apartment with two floors would have been, then realized who had bought it and went back to listening to Jungkook who was talking about someone who would cook their meals for them, but Jimin stopped him mid-sentence.
“Wait, did you say someone will cook all three meals for us?”
“Yes, Haneul-ssi. Her family has been with ours for years, so Haneul-ssi decided she would help us with the cleaning and cooking and her husband, Jinwoo-ssi, will be around to help us with everything else.”
Jimin didn’t have someone who would cook and clean for him, neither in the house he was staying at now, nor in the house he shared with his parents. They were comfortable, of course, but Jimin’s mother had made it a point to either cook for them or make Jimin or his father cook all three meals, unless they decided to order in. And all of them would all clean their designated parts of the house as well. Jimin carried on doing this in his own apartment too, something his mother was immensely proud of him for, so Jungkook telling him that he would have someone to do all of this was a little surprising.
“Okay,” he said, unsure of what else to say. This was going to be his life. He might as well get used to it. “Anything else?”
Jungkook shrugged, “Nothing else for now, I guess. We’ll know more when we move in tomorrow. Have you packed everything?”
Jimin nodded, “Yeah, the movers took most of the boxes yesterday, but I still have some stuff left and I have to meet the owner and sign my end-of-term lease and give her the keys and stuff.”
“Okay. Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?”
“No, Taehyungie is going to be there with me. He’ll drop me to the apartment too.”
“Okay, then. That’s it, I guess,” Jungkook said.
“Yup.”
Jungkook breathed in and got up from the couch, presumably to head to his room to sleep, but he turned around and looked at Jimin who was lost in his thoughts. “Jimin-ssi, you know you’re weirdly calm about this whole thing? When my father told me about the apartment, I think I was freaking out.”
Jimin laughed a little, “Oh, I’m freaking out like crazy, Jungkook-ssi.”
“Really? Your scent… it isn’t spiking at all.”
“I had some scent blocking tea earlier,” he said pointing to the cup on the coffee table in front of him. “You said too many scents give you a headache, so I didn’t want to make it worse.”
Jungkook didn’t say anything, only staring at Jimin without blinking. They were quiet for a while and then Jungkook quietly said, “Thank you, Jimin-ssi.”
“We’re going to be roommates, that’s the least I could do,” he shrugged.
Jungkook nodded, giving him a dimpled smile. “I’m going to bed now – so tired,” he said, rolling his shoulders.
Jimin nodded, “Yup, good night, Jungkook-ssi.”
“Sleep well, Jimin-ssi,” he said and walked to his room, closing it behind him.
Jimin got off the couch and walked to the big glass windows behind him. Seoul was stunning at night. Looking at the city at night always made him calm. He stood there, not really thinking of anything until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and then walked to his room, closing the door as he entered it.
Jimin closed his eyes and slept a dreamless sleep, something he was thankful for.
~~ ❊ ~~