Archive of Our Own

Park Jimin is splayed in the grass on one of the many campus lawns, staring up at the bright blue sky and dreaming of tonight's dinner, when Taehyung asks the question that would change his life, “Just do it, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Jimin doesn’t look away from the sky, doesn’t even really stop thinking about dinner—cheesy tteokbokki and his mom’s kimchi and japchae and, “Ow!” he snaps, rubbing his arm where Taehyung pinched him, “What was that for?”

“I asked you a question.” Tae replies, he’s sitting cross legged beside him, a text book open and forgotten in his lap, a wide straw hat on his head, and his shoes discarded several feet away, getting examined by a curious squirrel.

“What was the question?”

“Do you think me and your mom would make a cute couple?” Taehyung asks cheekily.

“Please, she changed your diapers, you think she’d be down to make out with you?” Jimin laughs, “Besides, my mom hasn’t dated a man in years, why do you think she’d go for you?” He rolls over onto his stomach and looks up at his best friend, “What did you actually ask?”

“I asked what's the worst thing that could happen?”

“With what?”

“Goddamnit, Jimin!” Taehyung flings his head back, knocking his hat off and startling the squirrel, “With the auction? The only thing our tiny ass community college has been talking about all day!”

“I’d lose fifty bucks?”

“What’s fifty bucks in the face of potential happiness and true love?”

“I’m broke and poor, fifty bucks carries a lot of weight, okay? Fifty bucks could feed me for three weeks if all I bought was ramyeon and all I drank was tap water. I might even be able to stretch it out to four weeks if I skip a meal here and there.”

“Like your mom would let you do that, she’s a giver, a feeder, which is why I think I should ask her–” Jimin cuts him off by throwing himself completely on top of his best friend, who falls back with a high pitched squeal, causing the squirrel, now in hiding, to pop up and look around, curious if another squirrel has appeared.

“No but seriously, Jimin,” Tae says from beneath him, “just do it, hell, I’ll even donate half the cost.”

“You will?” Jimin asks, surprised because Tae is usually even more broke than him, art supplies being as expensive as they are.

“Sure, anything for my baby,” Tae says with a shrug, “but you have to promise me one thing.”

Jimin rolls his eyes, “Here it comes, there’s always a catch with you, Kim.”

Taehyung grins one of his wide, happy smiles and leans forward, “I expect you to make me your best man when you eventually marry Jeongguk.”

It’s absurd, ridiculous, surely a hundred plus other students were thinking about entering the auction for a chance to go on a date with the hottest man on campus; Jimin stood a snowflake's chance in hell that he would win. But he looks at Taehyung, whose eyes are alight with the fires of determination, and it sparks something within Jimin as well.

“Okay, give me the money,” he says, holding out one hand.

Taehyung whoops loud enough that the squirrel, in an attempt to get closer to his shoes once more, flees into the trees and is not seen again for the rest of the day.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin has had a crush on Jeongguk for a long time.

Like a really long time.

Six years long, to be exact.

It had started in high school, his sophomore year, and if he’s honest it was more of an infatuation than anything. He’d been mortified at first, as a jaded and exhausted sophomore, having a crush on a freshman was awful. It had taken more than a year to admit to anyone, and by anyone he means Taehyung, and of course Tae had laughed and laughed because being a sophomore also means you’re always a bit of an asshole. But Jimin got it, having a crush on a fourteen year old when you were an ancient sixteen year old was shameful.

Except that Jeongguk was so… perfect.

He’d show up looking dashing and sweet with his little emo swoop and his blazers and his tattered Cons and he would look like every boy Jimin had had a crush on since he’d first laid eyes on Pete Wentz wearing eyeliner, and Jimin couldn’t help himself, he was a goner, done, dead, madly spiraling from sneaking a few glances here and there to having a full on crush.

And it was whatever, crushes happen, hell, freshman year alone he’d had at least a dozen, all of which had fizzled out when some other guy had caught his eye. He waved away Tae’s laughter and teasing because he got it, he understood, and he fully expected that by the time the first semester was over, he’d be over his crush too.

Except that wasn’t the case.

It had just gotten worse.

Because they’d interacted, and instead of being rude or condescending or stand-offish like a lot of people into sports were, Jeongguk had been shy and silly and sweet. They’d been working a booth together, having been “volunteered” for it by their teachers, and Jeongguk had a bit of a stutter and a hint of a lisp and Jimin, who had been going, going, was now completely gone the entire time, barely able to function around the younger boy, and by the time their “shift” was over, he had had to lock himself in the bathroom for a moment and whisper-scream his feelings into the sink because how could someone be that cute?

It wasn’t fair.

Jimin hasn’t recovered since.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jeongguk paces around the auditorium where the silent auction is taking place, fiddling with his lip ring as he tries to be casual about the number of times he glances towards the door in desperation.

His best friend, and captain of the soccer team, Kim Namjoon, sees right through him, though.

“Please calm down, what are you even looking for?” He’s teasing in that gentle way of his, no real bite behind his words. Namjoon is impossibly kind, never condescending, and has been his friend since Jeongguk was toddling about in trainers, desperate for an older sibling and finding it in his neighbor Namjoon, or Joonie, as he’d called him when he was little. He gets a thoughtful look as Jeongguk throws yet another look towards the doors and asks, “Wait, is it a person you’re looking for?” He grins, “Someone specific you’re hoping will bid on you?”

“Shut up,” Jeongguk mutters, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think you might,” Namjoon props himself up on his elbows and leans across the table between them. Both are up for auction this year, and the other members of various teams are here as well, milling around or sitting at a few tables in case any of the bidders want to talk to them before making their choice, “I thought you might have been trying to tempt someone with your date, it seems so oddly specific.”

Jeongguk can feel himself blushing, and is glad he got tan enough over the summer that his golden skin now hides his blush, at least a little. The thing is that Namjoon is right, he did specifically choose his date ideas based off of information he’s been gathering, private investigator-style over the course of the semester, specifically so he could tempt Park Jimin as much as possible into betting on him.

Jimin, just the name alone is enough to have Jeongguk’s toes curling a little, makes him bite his lip and fight off the urge to wiggle in his seat, settling for tapping his leg as a way of coping with just how the thought of Jimin makes him feel like his insides are made up of sunlight shining through green leaves. Nevermind that he’s had one direct interaction with him in his entire life, that is irrelevant, Jeongguk is observant, he’s thoughtful, he believes in true love and love at first sight, and love conquering all, and the fact that he hasn’t worked up the bravery to speak to Jimin in the last six years is not going to stop him now.

Because the thing is, Jeongguk has to be perfect for Jimin, he didn’t think he was there yet when they’d first met, and it’s not like he had planned to fall hard and fast for the other boy at the time. He’d been unprepared, showed up at some event his teacher had volunteered him for and was blind sided by the cute boy with the sharp eyes and the wide smile and the voice that was somehow rough and soft at the same time. He’d been overwhelmed the whole day, half of him wanting to cling to this older, safe-feeling, comforting presence, the other wanting to run as fast as his legs could carry him (which was very fast) in the opposite direction because the butterflies Jimin created with his mere proximity was enough to make Jeongguk sick to his stomach.

Luckily for both of them he did not throw up once the entire day.

Because the thing is (and Namjoon can attest to this), that although Jeongguk is handsome and a jock and people want to be his friend more often than they don’t, he’s actually painfully shy and very introverted. He’s managed to overcome the lisp he had as a kid, but the stutter still happens when he’s very excited or worked up, so he doesn’t talk to people as much as he could because of it. Plus, so many people come up to him with the express purpose of hitting on him, and Jeongguk isn’t interested in flirting with strangers… or anyone who isn’t Jimin, really (please ignore how he still hasn’t managed to do that once over the years).

Just then, the doors swing open with a dramatic thud, and two guys traipse in like they’re bodyguards, flanking both sides of the man himself—Jimin, who is pretty and petite, and looking right at him. He looks away immediately, before the blush spreading across his cheeks is revealed, and shuffles around to the other side of Namjoon, hoping to hide behind his friend's broad body.

“Oh my god,” Namjoon says.

He was always too smart for his own good.

“What?” Jeongguk says, trying to keep his tone normal.

“Oh my god,” Namjoon says again, glancing back and forth between Jeongguk and the delicate, ethereal being that is currently walking towards Jeongguk’s profile with an air of purpose, “It’s him, isn’t it? Jimin?” Joon’s face lights up, and he grabs Jeongguk roughly around the shoulders and gives him a solid shake, “Kook, it’s perfect, it’s adorable, you two will be the cutest couple in the world!”

“Oh god, can you not?” Jeongguk asks as his friend continues to shake him around, “This is so embarrassing.”

Namjoon stops abruptly and grins, “Right, right, wouldn’t want to look uncool around Jimin.”

“He’s literally the coolest person on campus, probably in town, and possibly even in the state!” Jeongguk hisses, “Do you know how hard it is to exist near him?”

“No,” Namjoon says joyfully, “but I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it if he wins you.”

Jeongguk bites his lip and looks down, shy shy, because Jimin has already won him, he just doesn’t know it yet.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin glances around the auditorium nervously as he trails in behind Taehyung and Hoseok, his other close friend, who had heard about the plan and was immediately on board, “Besides,” he’d said with an elfen smile and a finger heart, “I want to sign up for a chance with Yoongi!”

“Yoongi?” Tae had asked, “You mean the small, scary basketball player?”

“He is rather small, isn’t he?” Hoseok asks dreamily, “But yes, that’s the one.”

“The one who is standing next to his auction information looking like he’s going to challenge anyone who approaches to a duel?” Taehyung points out.

“Yes!” Hoseok says happily before wrapping Jimin in a hug, “Good luck, baby, I’m off to shoot my shot!”

He trots away, completely composed and even joyous under the aggressive stare that Yoongi sends his way.

“Oh, to have the bravery of the optimist,” Taehyung says, throwing a hand over his eyes dramatically, his hand falls away a moment later and he gasps, “Jiminthy, do not looketh now, but I believe the man himself is over yonder.”

“Why are you like this?” Jimin asks quietly, “Please pretend you don’t know me for the next five minutes.”

“Too late, babes!” Taehyung throws an arm around his shoulder and jostles him joyously, “We walked in together, remember? Now! Let’s go place your bid and then we’ll go do that ritual sacrifice we discussed to ensure you win—hey! Stop eavesdropping!” He says to a freshman who is standing nearby, not so much eavesdropping as she is just within earshot, she goes wide eyed and then flees, rushing out of the auditorium and into the cool November air.

“Cool, she probably thinks we’re witches now.”

“No, she probably thinks you’re insane,” Jimin amends, eyes flicking nervously between the floor and Jeongguk, who seems to be completely oblivious (as usual) to Jimin’s existence.  He heaves a weary sigh, squares his shoulders, and starts marching towards the sign up sheet for Jeongguk’s date. It includes a photograph of the man himself, looking handsome and put together, a little list of the things the date will entail, a stack of envelopes, a few pens, and a box to drop his envelope into once he’s filled out the form and put in the fifty dollars.

“Thank god it’s a flat rate auction and not a real one,” Taehyung mutters, “because the richest asshole in the school just walked in.”

“Rich is a generous term in our town, but you’re right, Yong is an asshole.” Jimin gets distracted quickly by reading over Jeongguk’s list of date ideas, which is actually less of a list and more of a detailed paragraph explaining exactly how the date would go.

First I’d pick you up at your place and we’d drive to The Calico Cat. You can order whatever you want and I will pay, unless you want to pay because I’d never take that autonomy away from you, though I’d prefer to pay for myself, so I hope that’s okay. After we’ve had lunch we’d go across the street to that massive, two-story used book store, we’d ask each other about our favorite books and shows and then split up to try and find the perfect book for the other person, and then, I’d buy both books or just one if you really want to pay (but I’d like to pay so please don’t feel pressured). After that I’d drive us to the beach and we’d go for a long walk, barefoot in the surf and we would say hello to all the dogs we could. Then, I’d take you out to dinner at this little BBQ place that’s right on the coast but somehow isn’t overrun with tourists and I’d buy you your favorite food and grill it for you and help you peel your perilla leaves but I wouldn’t make you stay out too late so as soon as you start to look tired I will take you home and walk you to your door.

“ Wow ,” Jimin breathes, “he’s perfect.”

“It’s a bit much, don’t you think?” A sarcastic voice says from behind him, “All of that when everyone is just trying to get dicked down by the Jeon Jeongguk? I mean, come on, do you think he actually wants to do these things?”

Jimin turns and comes eye-to-eye with Yong, who is handsome and smart and rich enough Jimin supposes, but none of those things matter to Jimin, what matters is that he just insulted Jeongguk.

“So you think he’s lying?” Jimin asks, “You think he’s just looking to get laid?”

“Aren’t we all, Park?” Yong rolls his eyes and snatches up a pen, filling the blanks on his form with a carefree attitude, “Lucky for me I have enough money to drop a dozen envelopes in this box.” He eyes Jimin up and down, “I’m honestly surprised you had the resources for one.”

Jimin flushes and looks away, because technically he didn’t, but he’s not about to admit to that. He watches in bitter silence as Yong fills out several forms and begins to stuff envelopes full of them, fifty dollar bills slipped in with each one. Jimin feels the weight of his scraped together funds like it’s lead in his pockets. There’s one twenty and a five and more ones then he’d ever admit, including a dollar he fished from cracks in the bus seat on his way to work yesterday. He had to scrounge to be here, but people like Yong can literally throw money at the system to get what they want, and it leaves Jimin feeling hopeless.

He considers leaving right then and there, but he doesn’t want to do that with Yong staring him down like it’s what he expects Jimin to do, ready to mock him further when he sees him walk away without entering. So he stands there, feeling lost and uncertain, until he glances up and catches Jeongguk looking right at him.

His dark eyes are so wide and beautiful, as bright as spring, as warm as summer, and when their gazes meet, Jimin swears he sees the faintest blush on the other man's cheeks, before the smallest of smile graces his cupid bow lips, so small other people might miss it, but Jimin doesn’t, Jimin sees, and he holds it close. That smile was for him, no one else, and it helps fortify him, so that when Yong knocks into him as he goes to walk away, Jimin doesn’t move an inch, and Yong stumbles away, with a muttered, “Asshole,” before disappearing out the auditorium door.

He fills out his form to Taehyung's quiet cheers, puts it in the envelope with his money, and drops all of it into the box, and when he looks back up, it’s to see the same gentle eyes watching him, and the same, gentle smile resting on those lips.

He has no reason to hope, but as he leaves the auction, he finds himself unable to stop.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Jeongguk mutters under his breath as he watches Jimin walk away, “he did it, he really did it.”

“Yeah, but what are the chances of him winning?” Namjoon asks, “It’s probably going to be that Yong asshole, and then you’ll have to go out with him and he’ll probably try to sleep with you and, honestly? Gross.” He leans his elbows on the table and looks up at Jeongguk, “Why don’t you—and just hear me out on this one okay? Ask Jimin out on a date that doesn’t involve a game of chance?”

“Hyung!” Jeongguk says, scandalized, “Park Jimin is perfect and sweet and lovely and charming, and do you know what his favorite genre of movies is?” He barrels forward without waiting for a reply, “It’s romance, and there is no one more deserving in all of Korea than Jimin, so if I can make even just one day of his life be like the films he loves, I will!” He slams his fist down on the table decisively, then whispers an apology to it immediately after.

“Did you just apologize to the table?” Namjoon asks.

“I hit it!” Jeongguk says, “I felt bad!”

“You literally box?”

“Punching bags and other boxers know what they’re signing up for, this table is innocent!”

“God you’re so… you ,” his friend shakes his head helplessly, but then pats him on the back, “you hungry, Kook?”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Fair, you wanna go get something to eat?”

“Only if hyung is paying.”

“Of course hyung is paying, I always pay.”

Jeongguk jumps up happily, feeling no need to linger now that his future husband has made his showing, “Cool! I can tell you all about the plan that I have that you’re going to help with!”

Namjoon frowns as he watches Jeongguk bounce excitedly towards the exit, and he has the sinking feeling he’s not going to like what Jeongguk has to say.

Thirty minutes later and he’s proven right.

“No, absolutely not, parts of this plan are literally illegal, do you know what will happen if we get caught?”

Jeongguk looks at him with those wide, pleading eyes, and honestly how can someone be a twenty-two year old man while also still being a baby?

“Hyung, please!” He reaches across the table and grabs Namjoon's hands, “I’m begging you, I need your help!”

“I’m pretty sure you need help but not the kind I can offer, maybe a licensed psychiatrist might be able to assist you in getting your head back on straight.” Namjoon goes to pull out of his friend's hold, but Jeongguk just tightens his grip and amplifies his sad, puppy eyes.

“Please hyung, I’ll never ask for anything again.”

“I find that highly unlikely.”

“I promise.”

“You’ll break it.”

“I won’t.”

“You will.”

“Hyung.”

“Jeongguk.”

“Please.”

“Um, am I interrupting something or do you two need anything else?” Their server hovers awkwardly beside their table, gaze flitting from their joined hands to the tab she holds in hers.

“Oh, no! We’re all good!” Namjoon replies, forcibly yanking his hands free of Jeongguk’s hold, “Thank you so much!” He adds as she hands him the check.

“Of course, have a good rest of your night,” she replies before fleeing.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk begins again, because he knows Namjoon is weak for him, he’s the little brother he never had (and maybe never wanted, but still), “have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?”

“Where is this going? Wait, no, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” Joon pulls out his wallet and begins to count out some cash, but Jeongguk knows he’s listening, so he explains himself anyway.”

“One tiny movement can cause a hurricane in another part of the world,” Jeongguk says, leaning across the table, his eyes alight with fervor and adoration, “so one tiny moment will eventually lead to Jimin and I adopting kids who become doctors who save dozens—possibly hundreds of live.”

“You are delusional,” Namjoon points out as he takes a final sip from his cup and sets it aside, “Why don’t you just ask him out, instead of going through this elaborate scheme?”

“You’re right, I should assume our kids will want to become doctors, they might want to be veterinarians or paleontologists or conservationists or musicians, I shouldn’t force my expectations on them.”

“I still hate you.”

They stand up and walk towards the exit, the afternoon is cool and bright around them, spring just now beginning to give way to summer, and Jeongguk is a man with dream, and also a stutter that comes back at times (like when he’s extremely nervous or very excited), “I told you already, but Jimin deserves romance, but also…” he trails off, mentally preparing himself to be vulnerable, “this is safer, there’s less risk of emotional damage if things don’t work out, because hey—it’s just for the fundraiser, right?” He laughs to cover up how devastated just the thought of things not going as planned makes him feel, and ruffles the back of his hair with one hand.

“Kook, for someone the entire town has a crush on, you are remarkably insecure,” Namjoon points out, but there’s compassion in his eyes as he slings an arm around his friends shoulders and tugs him close, “I’ll help you, okay? But you have to promise me something, if things go well, you’ll ask Jimin to take you on a date after, because you deserve to be romanced just as much as he does.”

Jeongguk ducks his head shyly; he doesn’t talk about it much, but he’s a romantic at heart, and only a few people, like Namjoon and his mom, know that. As much as he believes Jimin deserves to be swept off his feet, he also wants the same for himself. Maybe that’s why he’s been building up a fantasy in his mind about the other man all these years, maybe that’s why he doesn’t date much, because he wants more and is so, so scared to ask. The image he exudes isn’t one that begs for romance, he’s a jock, after all.

But at the end of the day he’s so much more, and he truly hopes that Jimin will see beyond the facade, and that he will like what he finds there.

“Hey,” Joon says, jostling him slightly, “will some ice cream cheer you up?”

Jeongguk looks down the street toward the little parlor on the corner, he’s never been there before, but ice cream sounds really nice right now, “Okay,” he says, “but are you paying?”

He takes off running down the street when Namjoon growls in mock outrage, laughing as he goes, and tries not to dwell on the insecurities that cling to him from years of feeling like he’s not enough.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin sighs heavily and rubs his temples, a pounding headache starting to develop and he’s only two hours into his shift at the local ice cream parlor. A child is in the corner, scream-crying because they are currently out of bubblegum ice cream and his mother is ignoring him entirely, too caught up in flirting with Taehyung, who flirts right back, though Jimin knows his best friend well enough to see the slowly fracturing patience deep in his eyes.

He bites back a groan as a regular saunters in, looking sweaty and disheveled because he likes to get a milkshake after going to the gym down the street. Jimin hates every aspect of his job but he hates making milkshakes a little more than everything else, and this guy's habit of hitting on him the entire time doesn’t make it any more pleasant.

“Hey handsome, I’ll have my regular,” he says as he slides up to the counter.

The strength he uses to stop his eyes from rolling feels as though it strains them, but he forces out a smile as he replies, “You typically get one of five different shakes, so I’m not sure if you have a regular.”

“Aw, you keeping track? That’s so cute,” the guy leans on the counter, his arms obviously flexed, and smirks, “surprise me, why don’t you?”

Jimin clutches the metal shake cup in one hand, giving serious consideration to using it to bludgeon this skeezy, greasy loser until closing, then leaving his body in the streets for the pigeons to desecrate, but instead he takes a deep breath, grabs an ice cream scoop, and goes to start filling the cup with one of the flavors he usually gets. “No, not that one!” The man protests, and when Jimin looks up at him through the glass of the display, he’s wearing a shit-eating grin as he points to a different flavor, “Use that one instead.”

Jimin clenches his jaw so tightly the muscles twitch and jump, but he does what he’s told because he has no other choice. Never mind that it feels mildly condescending and embarrassing, he should be used to it by now, he’s been in customer service long enough to know how it goes. He fills the cup and splashes some milk into it, and the subsequent rumble of the mixer hides the sound of the front door opening and Taehyung cheerfully greeting new customers. Jimin watches the mixture of ice cream and milk spiral, much like his sanity, and thinks of murder. A few minutes later he’s done, spinning on his heels to grab a to-go cup when the guy asks with another shit-eating grin, “Is it too late to change my mind?”

“Your shake is done .” Jimin says, adding emphasis to the last word because what the fuck is this guy on? “If I make you another you’re still going to have to pay for this one.”

The man's smile drops instantly, “But I want a different flavor, it’s not my fault you made it so fast I couldn’t stop you.”

Jimin clenches his free hand into a tight fist, “This is the owner’s policy, I’m just enforcing it.”

The man scowls, “I want to speak to the manager,” he snaps, any and all flirting gone to be replaced by what Jimin suspects is his true nature, but Jimin smiles, because this is always where things get good.

The smile that spreads across his face is slow and steady, “I am the manager,” he says as he slides the shake across the counter, “start talking, I’m all ears.”

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jeongguk stands behind a sweaty, stinky man as they wait for their turn to order, the scent of Axe cologne and body odor enough to make him want to rethink ice cream and maybe go for the frozen yogurt place across the street, until the person making the shake turns around and Jeongguk realizes it’s him, it’s The Park Jimin. He listens to the subsequent exchange with narrowed eyes, fully prepared to fight for Jimin’s honor, only to have the man himself save the day when he utters the magic words, “I am the manager.”

“Fuck that’s hot,” Jeongguk whispers to Namjoon.

“No, it’s really not,” Joon replies, “you’re just whipped, pre-whipped, I’m going to start calling you Reddi-Wip because this is ridiculous.”

Jeongguk ignores his friend in favor of watching the way a fire ignites in Jimin’s eyes, his shoulders get thrown back, and his chin goes up, high and proud and Jeongguk really hopes he gets a chance to kiss every inch of that beautiful face someday in the near future because damn, it would be an honor to call this man his.

The customer is soundly defeated a couple of minutes later, pays and after pointedly ignoring the tip jar, stomps out of the establishment, leaving only his lingering stench behind, “Sorry about the wait,” Jimin apologizes with a small bow, his gaze flicking back and forth between Jeongguk and Namjoon and… is that a light blush on his cheeks? Is Jeongguk a doomed man?

Yes, happily, completely, wonderfully doomed.

“It’s okay,” Namjoon assures him when it becomes evident that Jeongguk is busy having a meltdown over the shade of pink of Jimin’s cheeks and, “we’re sorry you have to deal with customers like that.”

Jeongguk nods aggressively, tongue-tied but desperate to show that he agrees and that he always will agree with everything related to making Jimin happy. Hell, he could say the sky is pink and two plus two equals three and Jeongguk would be right there, nodding along and proclaiming Jimin a genius. Maybe that’s unhealthy, but Jeongguk can work on that later, once they’re dating.

“You get used to it… sort of,” Jimin says with a one-shouldered shrug. He glances at Jeongguk again, and maybe it’s the lighting, but the blush on his cheeks seems to get darker, and he drops his gaze so demurely, his black lashes resting like angel wings upon the apples of his cheeks as he smiles, and Jeongguk can’t help but imagine him making that same face when at the end of their pre-destined date, when he asks if he can give Jimin a goodbye kiss.

Namjoon smacks him on the arm.

“Ow! Oh! Sorry!” He blushes and rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment, “I’d like one scoop in a medium cup of the raspberry Oreo, please.”

Jimin blinks at him a few times then a delighted smile crosses his features, “That’s a good choice, and thank you for being clear about your order.”

Jeongguk forces himself to take a deep breath, his heart racing in the face of Jimin’s praise, “You’re welcome… customer service is hard enough without having to read people's minds, so I try to be clear whenever I order.”

“I appreciate that,” Jimin says sincerely as he hands over Jeongguk’s order and then gets to work on Namjoon’s, “so um… where do you work?”

Oh my god is he chatting me up? Jeongguk thinks in a panic, mind going blank and where does he work, anyway? “I w-work at the cafe down t-town, across from the theater,” Jeongguk says, voice getting quieter as his stutter returns, just like it always does when he’s nervous or excited. He feels his own blush rising on his cheeks, but it’s born from shame, not shyness, and he mentally curses himself for still being the same, stammering kid he was when he’d blown his first chance to get to know Jimin.

But then he looks up and Jimin is looking at him so softly, not even a hint of mocking laughter or impatience in his eyes, and it gives Jeongguk the strength to keep going, “It’s c-called Mordelo’s, maybe you can come see me sometime, show me how you order?” Jeongguk offers, emboldened by Jimin’s kindness.

The other man grins, all bright sunlight and birdsong and promises kept, “I think I just might do that, thank you.”

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“Hyyyuuung!” Jeongguk whispers, kicking Namjoon’s chair repeatedly in his panic, “Do you think I fucked that up?”

Namjoon stops with a spoon of his ice cream halfway to his lips, “In what possible world do you think you messed up?” He asks.

“My stutter!” Jeongguk explains, exasperated, “He’s probably remembering that I’m a total idiot and regrets spending his money on trying to get a date with me—” He’s cut off by Namjoon, who bypasses his chair and kicks him directly in the shin instead.

“I will not sit here and listen to your slander yourself,” his friend replies. “Your stutter isn’t a big deal, if he even noticed he certainly didn’t mind, or am I the only one who noticed the heart eyes he was making the entire time you spoke?”

“Was he? Are you sure he wasn’t just annoyed?” Jeongguk is spiraling, just a little, because he saw the patience in Jimin’s eyes, but now that they are sitting outside on the little patio the parlor maintains, he can’t help but question every aspect of their interactions, “He probably hates me, he’s never going to come visit me at work, and he’ll probably call the school and ask—”

“No.” Namjoon says, “Stop.”

Jeongguk stops.

He takes a deep breath.

He nods to himself.

“You’re right, now is not the time for doubt,” he agrees, “now is the time for action, let’s go, hyung, we can finish our ice cream on the way there!”

“On the way where?” Namjoon asks as he lets Jeongguk pull him out of his chair.

“To campus!” Jeongguk replies, “We’re taking care of this, now!”

All he gets is a weary sigh from Joon, but he doesn’t try to stop Jeongguk (not that he’d be able to, nothing can stop him now).

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin watches as the two men leave the patio, unable to process what just happened. Did sweet, amazing, perfect Jeon Jeongguk just ask him to visit him at work? Did he really? Maybe Jimin is dreaming, except that can’t be right because the only way he dreams about work is as a nightmare, and this is so far removed from that. He takes a quick glance around the shop and sees that they’re alone, so he screams, “TAEHYUNG!!!”

His friend's head pops up from behind the taffy counter, jaw working as he chews on some candy, “What?”

“Where were you? Were you watching all that? Did you see who was just in here? Am I okay?”

“Are you okay?” Taehyung parrots, bewildered, hair slipping free of his headband, “Isn’t that a you question?”

“AAAAAHHH!!!” Jimin screams, sprinting the length of the ice cream counter than back again, hands in the air, “What the fuck? What the fuck!? He’s so handsome but also so cute and also so perfect. What am I going to do? I think I need to go die!?”

“Is this about Jeongguk?” Taehyung asks, fishing a mango habanero taffy out of a jar and unwrapping it, “Oh, spicy,” he mutters when he pops it into his mouth.

“Of course it’s about Jeon-fucking-gguk!” Jimin wails, “He was here, he was handsome, he spoke words to me!” He stops his sprinting to fling himself across the counter dramatically, “I’m dead.”

“Not quite, lad,” Taehyung says, “remember that fortune cookie? You still have at least another twenty years before your doom finds you.”

But Jimin isn’t listening, too busy floating in the afterglow of being in the presence of Jeongguk.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

The night is warm and gentle around them, crickets sing, a robin makes its goodbyes to the day, the stars wink away in the velvet sky, and Jeongguk is singing Fiona Apple to himself, because he’s feeling like a criminal.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Namjoon whispers as they creep across campus, "I swear to god if we get arrested—"

"Okay, first of all, we are not going to get caught, let alone arrested, I told you I literally got permission to do this from Coach Lee. Secondly, you used to be cool, what happened to my cool hyung?"

"I am still cool, I'm just sensible, reasonable, willing to weigh the risk and the reward and decide what the correct choice is, and I can tell you this—what we're doing? Is not the right choice, the reward—"

"Is Jimin! Park Jimin, who is worth risking everything for," Jeongguk feels this truth deep in his soul, his very being resonates with it, "including jail time."

"You can't date him if you're behind bars," Namjoon points out.

"I bet if I confess to him before the cops get me, he'll wait, he seems like a loyal man," he pulls the hood of his massive hoody up as they get closer to campus, then second guesses himself, because he doesn't want to look like a delinquent, even though he's certainly doing something that some might say makes him one.

I'm doing it for love , he tells himself, for a chance at happiness with the man of my dreams.

"You're so dramatic," Namjoon says.

"Did I say all that out loud?" Jeongguk throws a wide-eyed look at his friend, who stares back without a word, leaving him uncertain as to whether his deep, inner thought had become an outer thought by accident.

They walk across campus, half of Jeongguk wants to sneak and creep and quietly sing the Mission Impossible theme while he does, darting from shadow to shadow and looking mysterious. The other half, the sensible, rational (boring) half, tells him to walk normally, because he's not doing anything wrong (yet).

The latter half wins out because he doesn't want to be stopped before he's even reached his destination.

"I know I asked you this already, but have you considered trying to be normal, just like… for a few hours?” Namjoon asks as Jeongguk fishes the key out of his backpack, “You might find out you like it enough to stick with it.”

“Why would I try being normal when I’m already fabulous?” Jeongguk replies as he yanks the key out from between his binders, only for it to go flying out of his loose grasp and onto the lawn a few feet away, “Oh fuck!” He yelps, flying after it in desperation. He lands hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs but the key is right in front of him, so he calls it a win and stands up, triumphant, “Don’t worry, disaster averted.”

“You are the only disaster here,” Namjoon hisses, “Jimin is going to find out you’re not nearly as cool as he thinks you are, and then what?”

“He’ll fall in love with me even more, I contain multitudes, hyung.” Jeongguk unlocks the door and slips inside, “People love that.”

“I hate you.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jeongguk replies as he pulls open the bag of fake forms and unceremoniously dumps them into the box labeled “Jeon Jeongguk”.

“What happens if you get caught, by the way? Have you considered that?”

Jeongguk rolls his eyes, “Hyung, I am practically carrying the finances of the entire school on my shoulders, do you know how much money they’d lose if I wasn’t here winning games? Besides, I think Coach is secretly a romantic, why else would he cry when the national anthem was played at the last game?”

“Pretty sure that was just because he had sunscreen in his eyes, but sure, go off, my dude.” Namjoon replies as he watches Jeongguk put the lid back on the box and stuff the now empty bag back into his backpack, “Wait… what? Is that all we’re doing?” He asks.

Jeongguk nods as they head towards the door, “Yeah, why? What did you think it’d entail?”

Namjoon is silent as they walk back across campus, and it’s not until they are in the car that he lets out a frustrated scream and begins to punch Jeongguk in the arm, garbled nonsense falling from his lips that sounds a lot like, “Why the fuck was I involved in this? Why the hell couldn’t you do that on your own? I will eat you! I will eat your children!”

“Jimin and I will have beautiful babies, you will love them too much to eat them,” Jeongguk says serenely even as further blows are rained down upon his shoulder. “You will be the godfather and no matter how much like pudding they may look, you will adore them too much to make a meal out of them.”

He pouts cutely, “Also don’t eat Jimin, that's my job.”

Namjoon screams again.

Jeongguk smiles up through the moon roof at the bright stars overhead, all of them perfectly aligned, Mars in whatever the opposite of a retrograde is, and, he’s pretty sure, a meteor streaking through the heavens letting him know that destiny has his back.

“Soon, Jimin-ssi,” he whispers.

“You’re walking home,” Namjoon replies.

“That’s okay, it's a nice night!” Jeongguk says as he watches Namjoon pull away from the curb and take off down the street.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin sits in his car and fiddles with his phone, not sure what song he wants to listen to before settling on shuffle and pressing play. It was a surprisingly quiet shift after Jeongguk had left, which had given Jimin plenty of time to yell about how perfect he was while Taehyung pelted him with stale licorice. He waits a moment to see if he’s actually happy with the song the algorithm gods gave him and when he is, he pulls out of the parking lot and heads for home.

It’s a nice night, so he drives slow with the windows down, music loud, a little lost as he daydreams about sparkling brown eyes and a honey sweet voice. Seriously, how could anyone be that perfect, it doesn’t make any sense.

Jimin laughs at himself quietly, because he really does have it bad, and they’ve barely spoken more than a few sentences to each other,ever. He’s so lost in his daydreaming that he doesn’t notice the pedestrian halfway on the crosswalk in front of him until he’s already halfway across the intersection. With a yelp, he slams on his breaks and comes to a jarring stop, glad he wasn’t going fast to begin with and oh—

Oh god.

Oh god no.

Jeon Jeongguk is on the crosswalk, doe eyes doing their best impersonation of a deer in the headlights.

“Oh shit,” Jimin says, throwing open his car door and trying to sprint forward only to be held back by his seatbelt, “Mother fuck—” he undoes it with shaking hands after a couple of attempts, manages to get out of the car and sprint towards the other man, who is standing there, unmoving and surprised.

“Jimin-ssi?” He asks like he can’t believe his eyes.

“Jeongguk-ssi?” Jimin gasps, hands flying out to hover in the air around Jeongguk’s body, which he doesn’t think he’s allowed to touch because it would be like touching art in a museum, a museum that is actually just a two-way street in the suburbs of their little town but wow Jeongguk is beautiful, “Are you okay?”

“I… yes?” The other man says— asks, “Are you?”

“Oh my god,” Jimin says, and immediately starts to cry.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“Oh my god,” Jeongguk says, because he’s never been faced with the emotional devastation of a sobbing Jimin before and it’s tearing a rift so large in his heart that he can barely breathe, “oh my god,” he says again, because what is he supposed to do? Jimin is crying, Jimin is crying and Jeongguk is standing there like an idiot.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re okay.” Jeongguk says as Jimin’s hands stop fluttering around him like nervous birds and instead covers his tear-streaked face, “It’s fine, we’re fine, hey—” and maybe he sounds like a broken record, “You stopped way before the crosswalk, you weren’t even going that fast,” and wow, he’s talking to Park Jimin without making a total and complete ass out of himself, “I don’t blame you, I mean, look at me, I’m easy to miss.”

He chuckles but Jimin gives a scandalized gasp, “You are not!” He insists, “You are tall and broad and striking and—” his jaw snaps shut and his eyes go wide and the two of them stare at each other in horrified silence until a cop car eases to a stop beside them.

“Everything alright here, boys?”

They both turn and Jimin is still crying and it sort of makes Jeongguk want to cry, but he can do that later in bed tonight, thinking about the way his future boyfriend’s eyes sparkled under the halogen glow of the streetlights, “Hi, officer Jae,” he says.

The cop sighs, “Jeongguk, you can still call me dad when I’m in uniform.”

“Oh my god, shut up ,” Jeongguk mutters, mortified, “please leave, we’re fine.”

“Are you? Because I’m fairly certain there’s a car stopped in the middle of a three-way intersection and your friend here is in tears.”

“I ALMOST HIT YOUR SON!” Jimin wails, “You need to arrest me, lock me up and throw away the key! I can’t be trusted! Revoke my license, confiscate my car, I am unfit !”

Jeongguk’s dad glances between the two of them, “I saw the whole thing, you looked like you were going about five miles under the speed limit, came to a complete stop at the sign, and then stopped several yards away from the crosswalk, Jeongguk has been in bigger danger mouthing off to his mother at the dining room table than he was here.”

He starts to roll his window up, slowly, “Get your car out of the road and offer my son a ride and we’ll consider this erased from your permanent record.”

Jimin bows, far too low and with way too much respect in Jeongguk’s opinion, and grabs Jeongguk’s wrist, “Yes, yes, absolutely officer, gonna take him home while driving the speed limit and coming to a full and complete stop while obeying all applicable traffic laws, yes sir.”

Jeongguk waves helplessly at his father, who gives him a thumbs up from behind the still rising window before letting his siren give a quick, “woop-woop” and then gunning it gently into the night.

Now he’s in a car with Park Jimin and he is not going to throw up. Probably. Maybe.

Jimin is next to him staring at the road like he’s just seen his own death, and Jeongguk is absolutely (not) going to throw up. Namjoon is right, he’s so not cool. If cool was the north pole he’d be the south one, surrounded by penguins and regret.

“Um… where am I going?” Jimin asks, shattering the silence with his butterfly wing voice. Jeongguk startles slightly, which makes Jimin startle, and then there’s another stretch of awkward silence until Jeongguk remembers that he’s been asked a question.

“Take the next right,” he says, then after a minute, “okay left,” and he really should say something else but he’s afraid he’ll throw up if he does, so he just plays with his lip ring, sneaking glances at Jimin every few seconds as Third Eye Blind plays on the stereo and how can you have gay panic when you’re already gay?

“What address am I looking for?” Jimin says once they’re on Jeongguk’s street, and that’s when Jeongguk sees her.

His mother.

Outside.

Watering the hydrangeas.

At night.

In her pajamas.

“Stop here!” Jeongguk yells, startling Jimin into slamming on the breaks.

“Sorry, I have to go, I’m uh… thank you, for the ride, and um… for existing— I mean, wow, I’ll see you in a few nights… uh, maybe? Haha, who knows?” Jeongguk flashes what he hopes is a winning smile at Jimin, who looks at him like he just grew two heads and he’s going to be so lucky if Jimin still wants to go on a date with him after this, let alone become boyfriends and move in together and adopt a dog and a cat and then get married and adopt a couple of kids and oh shit—

Jimin is smiling back at him, soft and sincere and not like he’s hoping Jeongguk will get out of his car and leave him alone. So he lets his smile linger, wonders if it looks as soft as he feels inside when their eyes meet and in the distance Jeongguk hears bells.

“Have a good night, Jeongguk-ssi,” Jimin says, all hushed like a secret.

“You too, hyung.” Jeongguk says back, the words as fragile as this moment. He climbs out of the car and stands on the curb with his hands shoved in his pockets and watches Jimin’s tail lights disappear into the darkness, his chest so full of adoration and excitement that he thinks he’s going to float away and into the stars.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“So you’re telling me you almost hit him with his car, and then his dad showed up, his dad who is a cop, and then you gave him a ride home— which sounds like it was awkward as hell and knowing you it probably was, and he smiled at you and you saw heaven?” Tae is sprawled across his bed, feet clad in mismatched socks, head hanging off the edge, and Jimin’s cat, Serendipity, laying on his chest, “Pity-pity-pretty baby,” he coos at the cat, who purrs a little louder and flexes her paws, digging each razor sharp claw into his chest, “you’re lucky I love you enough to tolerate this pain, and your father’s too, my suffering is as endless as is my devotion.”

“Why are you in my room?” Jimin calls from the bathroom. “When did you get here?”

“Twenty minutes ago, why do you take such long showers anyway, wait— oh god, were you…” his voice drops to a whisper and he covers Serendipity’s outsized ears, “were you… touching yourself Jimin?”

Jimin emerges from the bathroom, “I’ll kill you.”

“Your mother would never forgive you,” Taehyung says, “depriving her of her future husband.”

“You’ll never be my dad, also my mom is in a relationship, with a woman, and has been for five years.”

“I could have two wives! I’ve got a lot of love to share!”

“I’ll murder you.”

“You keep saying that and I don’t believe you. Also you better not, your future father-in-law is a cop.”

Jimin crosses the room and scoops up his cat, who gives a low, upset meow but keeps purring regardless. He then gently places her on the windowsill and turns back to the bed, snatches up a pillow, and begins to hit his best friend over and over with as much violence as he can muster (which is a lot), “Assault! Abuse! Though he be but small, he is mighty!” Taehyung wails.

“Jimin, be nice to Taehyung!” His mother calls as she walks past the open door of my room.

“Thanks, Mrs. Park!” Tae calls out, then sotto voiced to Jimin, “She loves me more than you.”

“Tae, why are you here?” He asks again, “Not that I’m not thrilled and elated to see you, but don’t you have class in… twenty minutes ago?”

“Class got canceled! I am a free man until four this afternoon, and besides, I want to be here when you get the text letting you know that you won a date with your future husband.”

“I seriously doubt I’m going to win the raffle,” Jimin says softly, but there’s a little smile on his lips regardless as he remembers how adorable and awkward Jeongguk had been the night before, “but even if I don’t, I think…” he clenches one tiny fist and nods to himself, “I think that I’m going to start talking to Jeongguk anyway.”

Taehyung coos, “That’s so cute and third grade of you, Jimin, do you think he’ll let you hug him if you ask nicely?”

“Why are you the worst person?” Jimin whines.

“Wrong! I am the best person, because I’m also the person who just now remembered I bought you a box of hair dye and we are going to touch up your roots today!” Taehyung pulls a box out of god knows where and wiggles it along with his eyebrows, “Gotta look hot for the hot jock, am I right?”

The rest of the day drags by at a snail's pace, and though Taehyung does his best to distract Jimin, it’s hard for him to not constantly check his phone (nevermind that his notifications are on and the volume is maxed out). Still, he appreciates his best friend's attempts at keeping him distracted, even if sometimes he interrupts them to make an attempt to flirt with Jimin’s mom. His mother, bless her, has the patience of a saint and the observational skills of a brick wall, so she just chuckles and smiles and lets Tae do all the housework he offers to do while she happily texts her girlfriend about dinner plans.

But eventually he has to leave for an afternoon class and Jimin is alone with nothing but his soul crushing anxiety and some freshly dyed hair.

It’s four o’ three when he hears his phone go off, while looking directly at it, while clutching it in his (slightly sweaty) palm.

Number Unknown:

Congratulations Jimin Park! You have won a date with our star, Jeon Jeongguk!

Jimin stares, blinks, blinks some more, stares a while longer, then blinks again, but the message doesn’t go anywhere. He pinches himself, yelps from the pain, then leaps to his feet and dashes down the hall, “Mom! Mom!” He yells, sliding to a stop on the kitchen linoleum and holding his phone up for his mother to look at, “What does that say?”

“Jimin you’re going on a date?” His mother drops the pan she’d been scrubbing and sends soapy water sloshing across the counter and onto the floor, “Who is Jeongguk? Oh but he is Korean? You’re dating a Korean boy? A nice Korean boy! My prayers have been answered!” She claps her hands together and splatters them both with bubbles, “When can I meet him? Invite him over! What are his parents like? What is his favorite meal, I can coo—”

“Okay, whoa, deep breath,” Jimin says, “I literally barely know him, I entered a raffle to support the school athletic program and won a date with him.”

“Oh, but you hate sports?” His mom blinks and tilts her head to the side, “He must be really special for you to go out of your way like that.”

Jimin thinks about big, sparkling eyes and a honey voice and a kind smile, “Yeah, he is.”

“So,” his mother continues as she goes back to attacking a pan like it personally insulted her, “I’m guessing that means I don’t get to meet him any time soon.”

“No, probably not,” Jimin agrees, “but uh… I’m hoping that this will be the start of something more,” he blushes a little but his mother just beams at him.

“I’m sure it will be, you are the most charming and sweet baby and anyone would be happy to date you.”

“Not a baby.”

“My baby.”

“Not for long!”

“Oh, but they grow up so fast!”

He shakes his head but can’t hold back his grin, he doesn’t understand what he did to get so lucky, but he makes a promise to himself right there to be the absolute best date Jeongguk Jeon has ever had.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“Wow, that’s so cool, thanks coach let me just get rid of the rest of the entries here, haha!” Jeongguk snatches the box off the desk as his coach watches him, bewildered.

“Now, hold on Jeongguk, let me make sure this number actually works before you get rid of the rest of the names,” the older man says with a bemused smile.

“Ahaha, yeah, of course coach, though I’m sure it’ll be fine, I mean why would they put a bad number on their bid, right?

His coach just shakes his head and pulls out his phone, an agonizing minute passes while he texts, and then another while he stares at his phone and Jeongguk feels like he’s a test tube on one of those vibrating trays. Has Jimin seen the text? Is he freaking out right now just like Jeongguk is freaking out? Probably not, Jimin is cool, way cooler than Jeongguk so he’s probably just coming up with some witty reply to whatever his coach had texted.

After a moment he sets the phone aside and gestures for another box, “Okay, let’s see who’s on this while we wait, and if we don’t hear back from him soon—” The phone dings before Jeongguk can get too indignant about the coach suggesting Jimin wouldn’t get back, and with a glance, the older man smiles and gives him a thumbs up, “Looks like you got a date, kid.”

“That’s so fucking cool,” Jeongguk breathes without really thinking, only realizing what he said when his coach gives him a pointed look, “sorry,” he say, “I uh which box do you want next?”

The older man just shakes his head and points, and Jeongguk rushes over to grab the next, and completely tunes out everything else as the phone calls continue, too busy being excited about his date.

“He gave me permission to give you his number,” his coach says when he receives another text from Jimin, “are you okay with tha— I’m betting you’re okay with that.”

“Yessir!” Jeongguk replies, unable to hide his grin any longer.

His coach shakes his head and gives him a bemused but fond smile before going back to his phone, “Jung… Hoseok, okay…” he trails off, muttering to himself, and Jeongguk happily destroys all evidence that he rigged the system and came out a bigger winner than anyone else, ever, full stop, because he’s going on a date with Jimin. Then he gets a little slip of paper that has Jimin’s phone number and his heart soars because this is really, truly happening. He’s gamed the system, found a way around his soul crushing anxiety, and has a date with the man he’s been crushing on since the dawn of time. He bounces around the room helping his coach until it becomes obvious that he’s useless and will be for the foreseeable future.

This does not change when he’s at work later that day.

“Are you feeling okay, boo?” His manager, Carmen asks, “Did you forget your caffeine sensitivity again? I told Robbie to stop pressuring you into drinking Red Bull and espresso, I swear—”

“Oh, no I’m okay,” Jeongguk promises, “better than okay, actually.”

Carmen raises an eyebrow as she works on a drink, wrinkling her nose a little when she notes the “extra syrup” on the side of a cup, “Why’s that?”

“I’m going on a date,” Jeongguk proclaims proudly, “with Jimin!”

“Jimin? As in Park?” Carmen’s other eyebrow raises to join the first, “You finally worked up the nerve to ask him out?”

“Okay, so no,” Jeongguk says, “it’s complicated, and in a way he asked me out, but details don’t matter, what matters is that I get to take him on a date and show him the best evening ever and set the stage for Hallmark levels of romance and true love.”

“Probably just as cheesy, too,” Robbie says as he walks by.

“Shut up, you burden,” Carmen says.

“I’m your co-manager!” Robbie says, scandalized, “I’m your strong right hand, the wind beneath your wings—”

“You are an overgrown man child with questionable taste in music,” Carmen replies, “it would be charming in an indie film, but this is Central California and there’s nothing charming about it. Relocate to New York.”

“Ew,” Robbie and Jeongguk both chorus.

“Um, excuse me is—” A quiet voice interrupts their banter, and Jeongguk immediately freezes, because he knows that voice, has carried the imprint of its cadence around in his heart since high school, has sighed dreamily over it when he hears it in passing on campus, has—

God, he really is down bad isn’t he?

“Oh, hi!” Robbie says, “How can we help—oof!”

Carmen shoves him, hard enough to stumble, “In the back, now, don’t question me.” Then, because she can’t be sure of anything, she clamps a hand over Robbie’s mouth and marches him towards the back of the cafe, “We’ll keep an eye out Jeongguk, just take care of the customer!”

He hears a muffled sound of pain come from Robbie and then he’s alone with Park Jimin.

Never mind the handful of customers in the store, they’re alone.

“Hi,” Jimin says, and his cheeks are dusted pink and his lips are pink and his fingertips are pink and he’s the prettiest person in the world with his whole everything.

Right, Jeongguk, respond.

“Hello,” he manages to get out, it’s soft, but still a solid start. He pats himself (mentally) on the back and continues, “You’re here.”

Yes, wow, way to state the obvious.

Jimin smiles and props his elbows up on the counter, hugging them as he leans forward, “I said I would be, right?”

Thank god for his bones because if it wasn’t for them, Jeongguk is fairly certain he’d be a puddle on the floor right now, “You did,” he agrees softly, a blush of his own blooming to match Jimin’s, “did you want to order something?”

“Oh!” Jimin glances around, “I guess I should, shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t have to,” Jeongguk replies quickly, “but if you do, it’s on the house.”

Yes, oh my god, so smooth Jeongguk.

“What? No!” Jimin protests loudly, which gets him a couple curious looks from other patrons. He ducks his head shyly and mutters to the counter, “I can’t let you do that.”

“If no one charges you, how will you pay?” Jeongguk asks teasingly, he’s not sure where this surge of confidence is coming from, but he’s going to ride it for as long as he can.

“There’s a menu with prices on it,” Jimin points out, “I can just leave the correct amount.”

“Touché,” Jeongguk replies, “but I’m still not charging you for your drink, so the money will just sit there until some other customer uses it to pay for their drink.” Jeongguk mimics Jimin’s position, leaning forward on the counter with a little smile on his face, “So, what can I get for you Jimin?”

Jimin bites his lip and his gaze flickers down then back up, and they are flirting, really flirting, and Jeongguk is on cloud nine.

“Surprise me,” Jimin whispers back, and maybe they’ve slipped into a parallel dimension because wasn’t it just a night ago they were nervously sitting in Jimin’s car and Jeongguk was trying not to throw up? What happened to them? Where are those two? Certainly this isn’t them?

But it is, and it gives Jeongguk hope that their night together won’t end in utter disaster, or at least intense social awkwardness.

“Okay,” Jeongguk says, “do you prefer bitter or sweet drinks?”

Jimin looks thoughtful, tapping a cute finger against his cute lips as he looks skyward in contemplation, “I think…” he replies after a moment, “I prefer sweet things.”

He makes very pointed eye contact when he says that and Jeongguk is gone, done, deceased, expired, ascended, enlightened, reborn, “Okay,” he agrees, “I can do sweet things.”

He turns away quickly before he somehow loses control of himself and messes up what feels like a flawless interaction. But he doesn’t miss the little intake of air Jimin pulls in at his words, nor the way he bites his lower lip as he watches Jeongguk work. A few minutes later, he’s sliding a drink across the polished surface of the counter, and Carmen is emerging from the back, clapping her hands and saying, “Break time, JK!”

It’s absolutely not his break, he has been on the clock for about 38 minutes, with another six-plus hours to go, but he’s not about to question his brilliant manager, so he nods, takes his apron off, and catches Jimin’s eye to ask, “Care if I join you?”

“Um, yeah, that’s… that’s fine,” Jimin says, and there is this perfect flush on his cheeks and he’s biting his lower lip as he looks down at the counter and his little fingers are tracing patterns into its shining surface and Jeongguk is fine.

He’s fine.

He settles down next to him and tries to act as though he’s as cool as everyone thinks he is, turning his entire body towards Jimin because how could he not, and tilting his head to the side as he smiles, “So, a date with me, huh?” He asks.

“Yeah, a date with you.” Jimin agrees.

“Can I… is it okay if I ask why you wanted to go on a date with me?”

“Oh, um…” all their earlier confidence seems to have melted into the aether, replaced by the hesitancy and awkwardness they usually display. Jeongguk blames himself immediately, he really shouldn’t have been so nosey.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me!” He rushes to assure Jimin, “I was just curious, but it’s totally fine if you’d rather not say. I just… I just really hope you weren’t forced into doing it, is all.” He looks down when he says that, a blush of his own to match Jimin’s now, but then a small hand brushes gently over his and Jimin’s soft voice pulls him out of his misery.

“No one put me up to it,” he replies, “Taehyung, he’s my best friend, he encouraged me to do it, but I wanted to already, I promise.” He offers Jeongguk a reassuring smile before he goes on, “As for why I wanted to do it, well… I know we haven’t interacted that much, just once really, but you were so sweet and kind and funny…” he trails off and bites his lower lip again before adding without making eye contact, “and cute too.”

Jeongguk resists the urge to stand up and do a very undignified victory lap around the cafe, relieved that his younger self had somehow managed to pull off a good impression despite being an absolute disaster, “Oh,” he breathes, unable to stop himself from grinning, “well, in that case—”

“JK!” Carmen comes rushing from the back of the shop, “The owner just showed up, I’m really sorry but I have—”

Jeongguk immediately jumps out of his seat and looks around frantically for something to do, a Pavlovian response to the arrival of the cafe owner, who isn’t exactly mean, but isn’t exactly nice either, “I’m so sorry,” he says to Jimin, who looks wide-eyed and bewildered and edible, “hopefully they won’t stay long and I can sit back down, but if they don’t, um… I-I just really want to say that I’m really looking f-forward to Friday night.”

“It’s okay,” Jimin waves him away hurriedly, “I don’t want to get you in trouble, and… I’m really looking forward to Friday, too.”

Jeongguk nods, well aware of the matching blushes they are both wearing. Jimin stays long enough to finish his order, and every time Jeongguk looks in his direction Jimin is watching him with a happy little smile on his face. The time flies by, despite the owner's looming presence in the office and the occasional glimpse Jeongguk gets of them in the kitchen, and too soon it’s time for Jimin to leave. He stands by the door until he catches Jeongguk’s eye, both hands raised in a tiny, cute wave, “It was really nice getting to see you,” he says as Jeongguk approaches. “Friday feels like it’s forever away.”

Jeongguk smiles and in a moment of boldness, he catches both of Jimin’s hands with his, interlacing their fingers and giving them a little shake. His own hands are large in comparison, and he is already looking forward to holding them again as he lets them drop, “It’ll be here before you know it,” he replies.

Jimin nods, “Is it um…” he wets his lips, a little pink dart of his tongue that refills Jeongguk’s hit point gauge for the next three to four business days, “Is it okay if we keep texting?”

“Yes, absolutely yes,” Jeongguk says, all attempts to look cool forgotten in the face of getting regular texts from Park Jimin, “text me whatever, whenever, I’ll like anything you share.”

Jimin’s eyes get a little wide and his mouth opens into a cute little “o” and Jeongguk is gone, so gone, “Alright,” the other agrees, “but you have to promise to tell me if it gets annoying.”

“It won’t,” Jeongguk says with all the certainty in the world.

“Oh… Okay,” Jimin nods and even the way he nods is cute, “well, I better get going, um… Bye.”

“Bye Jimin,” Jeongguk says, unable to hold back his smile.

Jimin turns and walks out the door, but not without one final glance in his direction.

It’s lucky for Jeongguk that the owner leaves shortly after,  because he is incredibly useless for the rest of his shift.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

So Jeongguk absolutely wants to text Jimin but he's also absolutely not sure where to start. A simple "Hi, how have you been?" Seems so dull, so maudlin and vanilla, surely he can't just lead with that, not when Jimin deserves the best of literally everything.

"You're overthinking," Namjoon says after he watches Jeongguk agonize over his phone for twenty minutes, "just say hi and ask him what's he's been up to?"

"Joon, do I look like a philistine to you?" Jeongguk hisses.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Namjoon asks, "I've seen you drunk."

"Okay, first of all, rude—don't judge me. Second, I'm sober now, so what does drunk-me and my decisions in that state have to do with anything?"

"A lot," Namjoon replies, "didn't you come up with this whole scheme while drunk?"

"How do you know that?" Jeongguk asks, eyes narrowed.

"Dude, because I was there." Namjoon says, "Just like I'm there for all your other brilliant life moments."

"You're not helping."

"I wasn't trying to."

"UGH!" Jeongguk says before letting his head fall with a thud to the table, "What the fuck, Namjoon, why am I like this?"

"Because you've put Jimin up on a pedestal in your mind when in fact he's just a regular college student who probably likes you back and will be over the moon when he finally hears from you. You could text him flat-earther conspiracy theories and he'd probably go along just to keep talking to you."

"Don't debase him, Jimin is better than that."

"I'm just saying, shoot your shot man, he's already put money towards going on a date with you, and agreed to text, just go for it."

Namjoon's right.

He's always right.

Jeongguk hates him.

So in his infinite wisdom he decides to break the ice with a joke.

Jeongguk:

How many tickles does it take to get an octopus to laugh?

⚘✾♡✾⚘

To say Jimin has been waiting in breathless anticipation for Jeongguk to text would not be an exaggeration, especially considering he's been at dance practice for the last three hours and he's literally out of breath.

He hears the distinctive ding of his phone and practically flies across the room, ignoring the looks his fellow dancers give him as he abandons cool down and collapses among their bags with his phone clutched in one hand, only to stare at the screen in confusion.

"What the..." He mutters to himself, tired and thirsty and slightly delirious.

"Wait! It's a joke!" He yells, startling Amanda and Minji with his realization.

Jimin:

I don't know, what?

There's a long pause and he wonders for a moment if he took too long to reply and now Jeongguk hates him, but then a response comes in that has him doubled over in laughter, not so much because it's funny, but because Jeongguk is so goddamn cute.

Jeongguk:

Ten-tacles!

Jimin:

You’re absolutely amazing

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“He said I’m amazing!” Jeongguk says, throwing his fist in the air.

“Wow, really?” Namjoon asks as he looks at Jeongguks screen, “Oh… well… It’s a good thing he has the same sense of humor as you.”

Jeongguk doesn’t know what that’s supposed to mean and also he doesn’t care, what he cares about is the string of laughing emojis that have a few hearts sprinkled between them that Jimin sends next. The ice is now officially broken, and Jeongguk feels far more confident after having successfully made Jimin happy, so he rides that high and keeps going.

Jeongguk:

What are you up to, hyung?

Jimin:

Wrapping up dance practice

I’m a sweaty mess and I’m starving

Jeongguk does his best to not think of other situations where Jimin is sweaty and ravenous.

Jimin:

What are you doing?

“Aside from pining? Well, you’re certainly not studying like you should be,” Namjoon says.

“Stop reading my private messages!” Jeongguk whispers furiously.

“Stop being a drama queen,” Namjoon replies.

“ Never ,” Jeongguk hisses.

Jeongguk:

I’m studying, trying to get a headstart on finals

“You shouldn’t lie to your future husband,” Namjoon says.

“I’m not lying to him,” Jeongguk protests, “look at all these books! And notes! They’re even color-coded!”

“Because you borrowed them from Becky and you couldn’t even be bothered to hand write them out so you just made copies of them in the computer room.”

“I’m time-efficient and you’re just jealous.”

“Yes, let’s go with that, jealousy is absolutely what I feel.” Namjoon replies flatly.

They keep texting for a while after that, and nothing about it is special, but at the same time everything is, because this is Park Jimin, the light of his life, and literally everything about him is special. Eventually Jimin has to go, but the after effects of chatting with him remain with Jeongguk for the rest of the evening. He’s on cloud nine until he gets home, and not even his mother serenading him with bad trot songs is enough to bring him down.

“You look so happy, sugar-pop,” she says between versus, “what’s got my baby all glowing?”

This is why he can’t let anyone meet his mom, she talks to him like he’s still a child.

He loves her though, so he answers honestly, “I’ve been talking to a guy I really like.”

“Oh!” Her eyes light up and she smiles, “Is this in any way connected to the little “PJ’s” I see scribbled on the edges of your notes surrounded by hearts?”

“Yes!” His father yells from the kitchen.

“No!” Jeongguk yells from where he’s sitting one foot away from his mother.

“Hm… your father might be an officer of the law, but I still trust him more than you.”

“Thanks, babe!”

“Thanks, mom.”

“So, are you going to ask him out?” His mom asks.

“Well, about that…” Jeongguk trails off and glances towards the kitchen.

“Oh, are we keeping secrets from your dad?” Her voice drops to a whisper as she leans forward, “Fun!”

Jeongguk shakes his head but he can’t hold back his smile, “I just think he’d lecture me, even if he approved.”

“Even more fun!” She says quietly, “And you’re right, he’d feel obligated to give you a talking to, but then he’d probably buy you ice cream after.”

“Mom, I’m not eight anymore, he doesn’t do that.”

“Well he should!” She replies, “So, what laws did you break?”

“None!” He says, “It was just… rules, school rules… but I have no regrets!”

“That’s my boy,” she says fondly.

Jeongguk explains everything to her, from his long-standing crush which he’s kept hidden from everyone for years to the brilliant idea and its even more brilliant execution. His mother listens with rapt attention, nods along, and applauds in all the appropriate places, and his father only interrupts them once, eyes narrowed when Jeongguk stops talking immediately, but not questioning it at all when his wife pushes him back into the kitchen, yelling, “Make me a sandwich!”

He’s making dinner for all three of them, but that’s beside the point.

“Well,” his mother says once he’s done telling her the story, “I for one am very impressed with your determination, and I’m also really proud of you for trying. I know how nervous you get sometimes, but there’s no way in hell Jimin isn’t going to love every single thing you’ve done and then some.” She winks, “You may not realize this, but his mother attends my crochet group, and at the last meeting she went on and on about how someone is making her son very, very happy.” She leans forwards as if telling Jeongguks a secret, “That’s you, son, you’re the one making him happy.”

Jeongguk ducks his head and grins.

He hopes he can keep making Jimin happy for a long, long time.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Friday happens far quicker than Jimin thought it would.

Suddenly it’s four in the afternoon and he has two hours to prepare for the date. Except he’s willing to bet that Jeongguk will arrive early, so in reality he has one hour and forty-five to fifty minutes to prepare.

He’s not sure it’s enough.

“Tae, no I am not wearing my leather pants to a cat cafe,” he says, throwing the pants in question back at his friend, who is bent over in front of his dresser pulling things out willy-nilly, “will you please stop, unless you plan to put everything back you really aren’t helping de-stress me right now.”

“Jimin!” He says as he stands, pointing one long finger in his direction accusingly, “You are about to go on a date with your future husband, don’t you want to make a good first impression?”

“I’m pretty sure I did that back in high school,” Jimin mutters.

“Man’s hubris will always be his downfall,” Taehyung counters, “take nothing for granted, Jimin.”

Jimin blinks as another pair of pants go flying past his head, “I’m not, I just think the ripped skinny jeans will be fine.”

“Oh! Yes, like a little French window for your immaculate thighs!” Taehyung agrees, “Brilliant! Now, for the shirt.”

“Please never comment on my thighs again,” Jimin replies, “I love you, but I’m not sure that knowing you think my thighs are immaculate is something I need in my brain.”

“It’s just a general observation in a completely platonic sense,” Taehyung says, “don’t worry about it, gumdrop.”

It takes him (them) almost an hour to settle on a top to wear, along with accessories. Jimin has to shoot down a lot of ideas from Tae, who seems to forget every few minutes that everywhere Jimin and Jeongguk will not in fact be going to a four star restaurant or a nightclub.

But eventually he’s ready with twenty minutes to spare.

Taehyung and his mother are now at the kitchen table as Jimin paces in the entry hall, hands clammy and clasped behind his back, trying his best not to ruin the delicate layer of gloss on his lips by chewing on them to hell and back. Every seventeenth step he catches a glimpse of them, heads bent together as they whisper to each other. Normally Jimin would be part of their conversation, if only to make sure Tae doesn’t get too obvious while flirting with his mom, but right now he can’t be bothered, though the giggles and whispers are starting to wear on him a little.

Three minutes of listening to that and he thinks he might go mad, so he makes a choice, “Hey, I’m going to wait outside!” He calls, and without waiting for a reply he runs out the front door and to the end of the drive. He might get hell for that later, but right now he doesn’t care, more interested in curbing the mess of anxiety he feels then in humoring their curiosity.

His phone dings in his pocket and he pulls it out with hands that shake ever so slightly.

Jeongguk:

Just left, hyung! Should be there in about ten minutes!

Jimin can’t hold back the little smile he gets every time he receives a text from Jeongguk, ever since they exchanged numbers they’ve been communicating in short little bursts. Jimin will see a cat on his way to work and take a picture, Jeongguk will meet a dog on his morning run and send that, they exchange dumb jokes, favorite songs, silly things their friends do.

And it all feels so easy.

Nothing has ever felt easy for Jimin, at least when it comes to relationships. He’s always felt a little stifled, like he has to hide away parts of himself so that people will find him desirable. But with Jeongguk things are different, the other man seems to want to celebrate every aspect of Jimin, from his intelligence to his sense of humor to his thoughtfulness and everything in between. And Jimin can’t help but think as he stands in the warm spring afternoon that this doesn’t feel like a one time thing to him, a date night that will mean nothing, it feels like the start of something amazing.

A car rounds the corner and he recognizes it immediately as Jeongguk’s, it’s obviously second-hand but he can tell it’s been freshly washed and he’s already willing to bet the interior will be immaculate. He glances back over his shoulder just as it pulls up to the curb and he can see his mom and Tae both looking out the window, neither of them making any attempt to be subtle about it. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head and waves, then without another glance marches over to the sidewalk where Jeongguk is climbing out of the car with something behind his back and a little pout on his face.

“Hyung,” he sighs, “I wanted to meet you at the door, what are you doing out here already?”

The question catches Jimin off guard, and he stops mid-stride, blinking up at Jeongguk who looks so serious, like it’s actually upsetting to him that he didn’t get the chance to walk Jimin from the door to his car, and it’s the most endearing thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“I’m sorry,” he says, unable to hold back his smile because the other man is just so fucking cute, “but my mom and best friend are in there and they are being insufferable.”

Jeongguk glances towards the house, and Jimin doesn’t have to look to know that the others are in the exact same place, spying on them shamelessly. He lifts his hand in an awkward little wave that makes Jimin want to die, then glances back at Jimin, “I think your mom just screamed?”

“We have to go,” Jimin replies immediately, though he’s curious what Jeongguk is hiding behind his back, because at first he thought it was flowers, but it rattled slightly when he waved and it sounds like… plastic?

“Okay,” Jeongguk says easily, “but before we do, I made you this.”

He whips out what he’s hiding and it is actually a bouquet, but it’s a Lego bouquet, clacking and clattering as the pink, purple, and orange flowers shake from momentum, “I w-wanted to get you real flowers but then I th-thought about how we’d be out for hours and they’d wilt so I bought this yesterday and m-maybe I ditched one of my classes to make sure I had time to g-get it-” He cuts himself off suddenly, cheeks flushed, “I’m sorry that I stutter,” he whispers at the end, “it happens when I’m nervous or um- yeah.”

And Jimin melts.

He’s a puddle, a gooey rainbow puddle of Queer joy and complete and total endearment. If he’s honest, he barely even registered Jeongguk’s stammer, too caught up in his sparkling eyes and the way his hair curls around his temples and the way his hands look wrapped around the long plastic stems of the bouquet. Jeongguk, as far as Jimin is concerned, is fucking perfect and nothing is going to change his opinion on that, “Hey,” he says gently, “I know you probably feel insecure about it, and whatever you’re feeling is valid, but I promise that not only did I barely notice, but it also doesn’t make you any less amazing in my eyes, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

Jeongguk’s eyes get even wider, and the smile that breaks across his face is the sort of thing people compare to storms breaking and sunlight—it’s big and bright and beautiful as he holds out the bouquet to Jimin and goes to open the passenger side door, “I’m really excited too,” he adds as Jimin takes the flowers from him and slides into his seat, “not just nervous.”

Jimin beams up at him, “I’m glad we’re on the same page then,” he says, “now let’s leave please, because I don’t think those two can contain themselves much longer.” He glances back towards the house and sees Taehyung practically plastered to the window and his mother jumping up and down excitedly just behind him.

Jeongguk nods and shuts the door gently, comes around to the driver’s side, and then their date begins.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jeongguk is absolutely, definitely not freaking out.

He thinks about the last few days, how he’s essentially been doing exposure therapy with Jimin (though he would never admit to calling it that out loud), and between seeing each other around campus and texting almost nonstop, he’d thought he’d built up some sort of immunity to that patented Park Jimin charm.

He was wrong.

In retrospect it was silly of him to think he could, in any reality, not be an absolute mess for this man, who is literally within reach, humming along to a song on the stereo, looking like an absolute dream in his ripped skinny jeans and loose tee shirt, a cardigan thrown on over it and slipping off one shoulder already. He’s gorgeous and perfect and lovely and cute and hot and—

Jeongguk really needs to get a hold of himself.

He distracts himself by—you guessed it, thinking about Jimin more, about how sweet he’d been in the face of Jeongguk’s awkward apology over his stutter, about how his hand had brushed over Jeongguk’s as he climbed into the car, about how he smells like CK1 and looks good enough to eat and—

Mission: get a hold of yourself, failed.

“Have you ever been to The Calico Cat?” Jeongguk asks, because while the silence is comfortable, he would actually prefer to make the most of their night. His mother had told him to not clam up, reminding him gently that he needs to make a good impression if he wants something to come of their date. Jeongguk’s dad had joked that that ship has sailed, and had received a hearty slap on the arm for the quip.

“No, but I’ve walked by a lot,” Jimin admits, “it looks so cute and cozy, and all the cats seem so friendly, I really can’t wait.” He’s beaming in the passenger's seat, bouncing a little as he talks, and his excitement is infectious as well as adorable. Jeongguk glances away from the road just long enough to flash him a grin.

He’s so pretty like this, the afternoon light paints his skin a deep gold and catches on his eyelashes and the faint glittering shadow that paints his eyelids. It highlights his cheekbones and makes his jaw look even sharper, and his lips… his lips shine with gloss and look like jewels and right—

Eyes on the road, Jeon.

His father would have Things to Say if he caught him just staring at his passenger like this.

Luckily their town is small and the roads are quiet and it only takes them a few minutes to reach what passes for downtown. Jeongguk manages to find a parking spot not too far from the cafe and he’s so nervous and so happy and—

“Oh ho! Is that my little baby cousin I see?”

Jeongguk freezes.

No .

It can’t be.

Why is Seokjin here?

“Nope! No! I’m not here, I’m a figment of your imagination, please leave me alone or everyone will think you’re crazy!” Jeongguk lunges for Jimin’s hand without thinking and starts frantically tugging on him, urging him to stick close because the last thing he needs is for his cousin to embarrass him or god forbid, try to third wheel this date like the oblivious demon that he is.

“Wait! No! Where are you going! Who is that?” Seokjin keeps pace with them as they walk down the sidewalk, a grin on his face that practically screams trouble, “I’ve never met you before! I’m Jin, little Kookie’s favorite cousin!”

“You’re not.” Jeongguk responds quickly.

Jimin is glancing back and forth between the two of them, obviously amused, but Jeongguk knows they’re about ten seconds away from catastrophe if he doesn’t get them out of here quickly.

“This is Jimin, Jimin this is Jin,” Jeongguk replies, still tugging Jimin towards The Calico Cat, “we are on a date and I’m going to ask you to stop following us because the last thing I need is for you to share horror stories from my childhood.”

Seokjin stops in his tracks, eyes wide and mouth open, “A date!” He yells, causing the handful of people walking passed to look at them all in confusion, “My baby cousin—”

“I’m in my twenties.”

“—is on a date?” Seojkin finishes, unbothered by Jeongguks distress, “Well, color me amazed because I thought you were still hung up on—wait! It’s him, isn’t it? The guy from high school?”

“Bye Jin! See you later!” Jeongguk replies as they reach the café door and Jeongguk crowds Jimin’s space until the other man shuffles in, “Never talk to me again, okay?”

The door closes with a gentle chime and Jeongguk is left breathless with terror and still clinging to Jimin’s hand. He looks down at where they touch and feels the blood rushing to his ears as he realizes he initiated contact without even thinking about it. He drops Jimin’s hand immediately, cheeks joining his ears in the red brigade and chuckles nervously, “So that’s my cousin.”

“Yes,” Jimin agrees, “he seems…like a lot.”

“You have no idea,” Jeongguk sighs.

“Is he single?” Jimin asks, but before Jeongguk can panic and question his entire existence Jimin continues, “Because I feel like he’d be a good match for my best friend.”

“Taehyung?” Jeongguk confirms, and when Jimin nods he says, “If they are at all similar I suggest keeping them as far apart as possible.”

“Hm, you’re right,” Jimin agrees, “together they might become too powerful, but I really would like him to stop flirting with my mom.”

“What?” Jeongguk asks.

“Hi guys, welcome to The Calico Cat!” A cheerful looking girl greets them, a fluffy white cat draped around her neck like an accessory, “Do you need a table for two? Or do you have a reservation?”

“Reservation,” Jeongguk says immediately, “under Jeon.”

They get taken to their table and hands off some menus, the cat batting at them lazily before she sets them down, “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes to check in,” she says, “but if you have any questions, just wave me down!”

Jeongguk tries to look at the menu, he really does, but Jimin is right across from him and he is distracting. Hands raised to mask his smile as he giggles over names like, “Cat That Got the Cream” and “McCavity’s Malted Milk”, sunlight bright in his hair and he’s prettier than anyone Jeongguk has ever seen.

“I don’t know, Kookie, everything looks so good…what are you thinking about getting?”

Jeongguk’s brain is short circuiting (again) because what do you mean Park Jimin just called him Kookie?

“I-I don’t know,” he admits, ducking his head down into the menu so that it blocks the view across the table from him, “the Black Cat Boba sounds pretty good.”

It doesn’t, but that’s what his eyes fell on first so he says it.

“Hmm…” Jimin hums, hands now tapping his lips and Jeongguk really should have prepared himself better for today (through even more exposure therapy maybe), because Jimin is so cute and Jeongguk doesn’t want to die right now but with the way his heart is beating he just might, “I think I’m going to go for the Félicette Frappe,” he says, “I like the little star sprinkles too much.”

Jeongguk nods, sees something with ice cream included in the ingredients and replies, “I think I’m going to get Oliver’s Affogato.” He’s never had an affogato before but he figures the inclusion of ice cream in it will ensure his enjoyment, and also he can go back to looking at Jimin now that his choice has been made.

There’s a cat twining around his ankles, begging to be pet, and Jeongguk wants to, he really does, but bending down would mean looking away from Jimin, so he sends a silent prayer to the cat gods asking for forgiveness, and instead props his elbows on the table and gives his full attention to the man in front of him. They chat and place their orders and go back to chatting and it’s all wonderful and perfect and exactly what Jeongguk thought (hoped, dreamed) it would be.

And then Jimin sneezes.

It’s so cute that Jeongguk’s heart stops for a moment before kicking into overdrive to compensate because Jimin’s nose scrunches up and he squeaks and he shakes his head and how did someone like this come into creation, surely there has been a mistake, he’s far too perfect for this cruel, cruel world.

There’s a cat in Jimin’s lap, a short-haired tabby with big eyes and a big head and big paws and it’s looking up at Jimin with the very same level of adoration that Jeongguk is, not bothered in the slightest by the sneeze.

Then Jimin sneezes again.

And again.

The cat jumps down and Jimin looks after it for a moment before looking back at Jeongguk with tears in his eyes, “I have a confession to make,” he says softly.

Jeongguk holds his breath and wonders if this is the moment Jimin admits his love, but instead he blinks a few times, a single tear slipping down his cheek and whispers with pink cheeks, “I’m allergic to cats.”

Jeongguk is confused.

“I thought…I heard you owned a cat?”

“I do,” Jimin says, “she’s a Rex-mix, they cause less of an allergic reaction. As long as I take my meds and don’t shove my face directly into her tummy,- which is hard to resist, may I add, I’m fine, but uh…this is a lot. Too much, I guess.”

“Oh…” Jeongguk looks around at the cute cafe with its cute decor and its cute cats and its cute menu and realizes he’s made a massive mistake and Jimin probably hates him forever now, “I’m so sorry,” he mumbles, “I didn’t…”

“You didn’t know,” Jimin says gently, “and I always did want to come here, I wasn’t lying about that.” He offers Jeongguk a soft smile, then sneezes again, “I think… I think I need to step outside.”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk says quietly, “of course, I’ll take care of the bill and get our things to-go.”

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin is so embarrassed.

He tries his best to hold in the sneezes, but they just keep coming and he even took allergy pills this morning specifically for this reason—to avoid the wide-eyed look he’s getting from Jeongguk and the itchy eyes that are making tears well in his eyes and he loves cats so, so much and this café is so, so cute and he is so, so allergic he feels like his entire face is going to explode.

Jeongguk leaps to his feet and rushes over to the counter without a word and Jimin is so ashamed to be the reason for the distressed look in the other’s eyes that all he wants to do is crawl under the table with the cats and hide forever, except that would make his allergies worse so he just stubbornly sits and stubbornly continues to pet the brown tabby in his lap and he’s really messing this up isn’t he? First by not waiting inside and now by sneezing all over the place while Jeongguk talks to their server in hushed tones, she looks back at their table and then back at Jeongguk and nods and Jimin wants to disappear because of course his stupid allergies are going to ruin the best thing that ever happened to him.

Jeongguk had this planned, he made reservations, he obviously wanted to come here and Jimin is missing it all up.

So maybe the tears in his eyes aren’t all allergy-induced.

“Okay,” Jeongguk says, “I paid for our drinks and changed them to a to-go order, so why don’t we wait outside and hopefully the fresh air will help clear this up.”

He looks so nice and sincere and worried and not the least bit disappointed but surely he is, how could he not be when Jimin keeps making mistakes? He’s reminded very suddenly of all those insecurities the last few days have hidden away from him. Jeongguk is so cool, the equivalent of a star in their little community and Jimin is just Jimin with his chaotic bisexual mom and an embarrassing best friend and a cat allergy.

Except Jeongguk is lifting the cat from his lap with a whispered apology (to the cat, Jimin thinks) and taking his hand and leading him toward the door and Jimin is looking for a hole to jump in to because surely that would be better than sneezing and coughing and wheezing all over his incredibly attractive date who will never be his date again.

The fresh air is good though.

They sit on a bench just outside the door and their server rushes outside not with their drinks yet but a packet of tissues with chubby kittens printed on it and then she disappears back inside and Jimin turns away to blow his nose and wipe his eyes. After a couple minutes of incredibly awkward silence filled only with the sounds of his sniffles, his sinuses seem to realize they’re free of the cafe and calms down, and by the time their server comes back out with their drinks he’s almost entirely back to normal.

“I’m sorry,” he says to the street, scared to look at Jeongguk.

“What? No!” The other man protests, spoon of affogato halfway to his lips, “I’m sorry, I should have, I mean… I could have asked if you were allergic.”

“But why would you?” Jimin groans, “And besides… I really wanted to try, I love cats so much.” He looks down at his lap and feels ridiculous because it’s not that sad but right now it feels like the greatest tragedy in the world. He glances over his shoulder and sees the tabby that was in his lap is sitting at the window, one paw pressed to the glass as if to say goodbye and that is the saddest thing he’s ever seen so he turns back around quickly and sniffles some more. They finish their drinks (the star sprinkles decorating his whip cream are just as cute as he thought they would be), and then they’re walking across the street to the used bookstore.

Their hands keep brushing as they walk, it makes Jimin simultaneously hyper aware of his surroundings and drunk feeling from Jeongguk’s proximity. The bookstore is only a couple of blocks away but it somehow feels like miles because by the time they reach its bright red front door Jimin is breathless (not from allergies) and on edge and they didn’t even manage to hold hands once.

“Okay,” Jeongguk says as they walk in, “what are your all time favorite books?”

And Jimin has a lot of those, but he decides to take pity on Jeongguk and only list a few. Jeongguk does the same and Jimin finds all his choices both surprising and endearing. They split up and Jimin starts to look for something he thinks Jeongguk will enjoy, something with action and adventure but also a lot of heart and it’s all going really well until he rounds a corner and sees Jeongguk practically pinned to a shelf by an overeager looking girl.

“Jeongguk,” she practically croons, “I didn’t think I’d see you today.”

“Well no,” Jeongguk says, and Jimin would be jealous except that Jeongguk looks horrified, darting little glances down at the rapidly dwindling space between him and the girl. He tries to sidle off to the left but the girl sticks with him as though it’s not the most awkward and uncomfortable situation imaginable, “I don’t think I’ve seen you in… weeks?”

“But we have a class together, you let me borrow your notes once,” she whines, whines and Jeongguks eyebrow furrows like he’s trying to remember and Jimin simply cannot handle the second hand shame of this moment any longer.

“Kookie!” He says, revealing himself in what he hopes is a natural looking way and not in an incredibly overwrought, “no I wasn’t hiding from view and spying on you” way. He bounces down the aisle with a smile on his face and latches onto Jeongguk immediately, “I think I need your help getting something down,” he pouts in that way that Taehyung refers to as “the het destroyer” and blinks up at the other man, who isn’t that much taller than him but is wearing big, black boots that give him at least another inch and a half or so of height, “can you help me?”

“Who’s this?” The girl asks.

Jimin looks down at her, still incredibly close to Jeongguk and smelling like the entirety of a Bath and Body Works, “I’m Jimin, his date.”

Then without another word he drags Jeongguk away, practically flying downstairs with one hand tangled with Jeongguk’s, and they only stop when they’re hidden away in a distant corner of the bookstore, surrounded by Western Philosophy books that look like they haven’t been touched in years. They stand there, breathless, Jeongguk’s back to the wall and Jimin, also breathless, standing in front of him while casting nervous glances over his shoulder to see if they’ve been followed.

Then Jeongguk starts to giggle and it’s the sweetest sound in the world, “Hyuuung,” he says between each little laugh, “you should have seen the look on your face!”

Jimin scowls and pouts and blushes and looks anywhere except Jeongguk but then a large hand is tilting his chin up and he’s looking into big, bright, glittering eyes and it’s so much, too much, and Jimin cannot.

“What?” He asks, still petulant, “She was all over you and you looked so uncomfortable, I had to step in.”

“My knight in shining armor,” Jeongguk teases, and is his voice an octave lower or is that just Jimin’s imagination? They’re still really close to each other and Jeongguk smells amazing and his lip ring is shining in the light and Jimin isn’t going to make it out of this day with his sanity intact unless he gets a taste of those lips.

“Excuse me, do you work here? Do you know where I can find Marcus Ah… Ah something or other?” A nasally voice asks from behind them, effectively startling Jimin into jumping back from Jeongguk.

“Wasn’t he the guy who wrote about cows and grapes?” Jeongguk asks.

The man who interrupted them blinks and sniffs, “No…he’s a Stoic.”

“Sounds horrible,” Jeongguk says, “and no we don’t work here.”

⚘✾♡✾⚘

“Well at least that wasn’t entirely a bust,” Jeongguk says as they emerge from the bookstore a little later, each clutching a book that they’d bought for each other. He’s holding a copy of Messi Vs Ronaldo and Jimin has a beautiful, clothbound edition of Sense and Sensibility and he is glowing, looking like a god of victory as he shoots a superior smirk towards Mina, the girl who’d cornered Jeongguk earlier.

Or at least he thinks that’s her name, he really can’t say for sure.

And oh my gosh, he really likes possessive Jimin far too much for his own good.

The thought makes him blush, as does the way Jimin switches the hand he’s holding his book in so that he can grab Jeongguk’s hand as they walk back to the car. It’s cute, how small it is, and it’s also cute, how Jimin swings their interlocked hands happily, and it’s also cute a few minutes later when he stops in front of a mural, stands on his tip toes, and insists they take a selfie with their cheeks squished together and Jeongguk’s arm around his waist.

It’s unfairly perfect despite the disaster of the cat cafe and the awkward encounters in the book store, and Jeongguk is determined to make it even better, “Next stop the beach!” He says as they climb into the car, “And I know you’re curious, so I’ll just say yes—I did make a playlist that will last exactly the amount of time it will take us to drive there.”

He winks at Jimin in a moment of boldness then immediately blushes and fumbles with his phone a little, wincing as it clatters against the steering wheel before he gets a better grip on it and starts the music.

This ain't another love song, baby

It's my way of putting feelers out

All the traffic in my head's going crazy

I'm gonna trust my heart right now

“Oh, I love this song!” Jimin says, already dancing in his seat as Jeongguk pulls away from the curb and he’s so cute Jeongguk has to tighten his grip on the steering wheel and glare at some passerby just to balance out his emotions.

The drive is comfortable, in a chaotic, loud way because they’re both singing along to every song without really paying attention to how well their singing and yes, they’re getting weird looks at every stop sign and stop light, and no, neither of them seem to care

It’s perfect.

Are you feeling the rush?

If so, then I think I know what's going on

And are we falling in love?

Say yes or no, yes or no, yes or no

It’s just nearing sunset as they arrive at the sandy beach parking lot and Jeongguk’s cheeks hurt from smiling and Jimin’s cheeks are red from laughter as they climb out of the car. Jimin slips out of his shoes and waits impatiently for Jeongguk to do the same before grabbing his hand once more (Jeongguk is super calm about hand holding becoming normal for them, just so we’re clear), and dragging him across the shifting sand towards the glittering surf, giggling as their footing slips on the dunes.

“There are so many dogs here,” Jimin says, “you mentioned petting all the dogs on your date description.”

“I did,” Jeongguk agrees, then frowns, “are you allergic to them though?”

“No, just cats,” Jimin sighs, “which is honestly the worst because I love cats the most.”

Jeongguk can’t help but grin at the way Jimin pushes his lips out in a pout as he looks out at the distant horizon, he really is the cutest person in the world. Comparable to puppies, baby ducks, kittens, and flying squirrels, also everything that is perfect and good in the world. The sun was sinking in the distance now, almost kissing the horizon line, and all around them were happy families, loving couples, joyfully barking dogs and—

“Look out!”

Jeongguk turned just in time to see it, a volleyball gone astray and flying through the air, directly towards Jimin, fast.

But there’s a good reason Jeongguk was considered an ace in the sports academy, he doesn’t hesitate to reach out, blocking the ball less than an inch away from Jimin’s face.

“Holy shit!” Jimin hisses, stumbling back into Jeongguk’s chest as the ball bounces away, “That was so close!”

“Are you okay?” Jeongguk asks, gently turning Jimin around so he can look him up and down. Technically there’s no possible way that Jimin could be injured, but that doesn’t mean Jeongguk is about to lose an opportunity to check out every inch of the other man. There’s a few guys jogging towards them, both with looks of concern, and a third who walks much more slowly, a smirk on his lips as he comes to a halt a few feet away.

“Wow, didn’t know they’d pick charity cases to win raffles, Park,” Yong drawls with his arms crossed over his chest, “because there’s no way you would win under normal circumstances.” His smirk turns into a smile as he shifts his gaze to Jeongguk, “Hey handsome, sorry you’ve been stuck with this one all day, we could have had some real fun.”

“Oh my fucking god, dude,” one of the other guys mutters.

Needless to say, Jeongguk is not impressed, but it’s Jimin who jumps in with a response.

“Charming as always, Yong,” he says, “if you got any greasier you’d be an environmental hazard, surprised you’re allowed on the beach as it is.”

Yong’s eyes narrow as his two friends stifle surprised laughter.

But Jeongguk doesn’t bother stifling his, he can’t, not when he’s so caught off guard and endeared by Jimin, who stands there with the sea breeze teasing his hair, all delicate and pretty with golden light highlighting his cheekbones and button nose, looking like some god of mischief and joy as he grins up at Yong, completely unbothered by the other man’s attempt to insult him. He grabs Jeongguk’s hand in his and tugs gently, “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a date to continue.” He gives the group a lazy salute with his free hand and starts walking, pulling a still laughing Jeongguk along with him.

“Oh my god,” he says once they’re a few yards away, “he’s such an ass—and stop laughing! It wasn’t that funny!”

“Jimin, Jimin no!” Jeongguk protests, dashing a few happy tears from his cheeks, “You’re hilarious and that was amazing!”

“Do you think so?” Jimin wonders, looking shyly up at Jeongguk, “I don’t usually bite back when assholes like him have shit to say, but I just couldn’t resist, especially because he just… objectifies you like you’re some prize to win.”

“Well, in this case at least, I was,” Jeongguk replies, finally managing to get a hold of himself so he can breathe again, and wow, he likes Jimin so, so much, what the hell? He tugs the other man a little closer and lets go of his hand so he can, in a moment of outrageous bravery, slip an arm around his waist. They walk a good way down the beach, away from the crowds to a quieter stretch, and there they settle in the warm sand at the edge of the surf to watch the sunset.

Jeongguk sits first, and Jimin hesitates for a moment before sinking down, not beside him, but in front of him, nestled in the space between Jeongguk’s legs with his back pressed to Jeongguk’s chest. He fits there perfectly, just small enough to tuck himself away and get wrapped up in his arms.

Like he was made for me , the sentimental, overly-romantic part of Jeongguks brain (his personally favorite part) whispers.

The other parts of Jeongguk’s brain agree.

They stay like that in the peace and quiet for a while as the sun begins to sink past the horizon line; the only sounds that of the surf, seagulls, and rapidly approaching barks of pure joy.

“Oh my god, NO !” A voice calls.

A moment later and something collides with Jeongguk’s back, knocking him forward as his arms tighten around Jimin instinctively, shielding him as best he can from a large, incredibly excited dog the size of a small car.

“Sammy oh my god, you monster!” A young woman jogs up to them, about half the size of her dog, and heaves at his halter in desperation. Sammy, however, seems far too happy to have met new friends to be bothered by his owners attempts to control him. His tail whips at lightning speed, wacking her repeatedly as she manages to stumble back a few steps with him in tow, “I’m so sorry, he’s still technically a puppy, ugh, god, stop it you beast!” She falls to her knees beside the dog to wrap both arms around his chest, “He just really, really likes people and the moment he got out of the car he saw you two and just ran,” she clips a leash onto the dog and grabs his massive head between both hands, “I’d tell you to apologize but I know you’re too proud of yourself.” She scolds him, “Your manners are atrocious, and as your mother I am ashamed.”

“It’s okay,” Jeongguk assures her, dusting the sand from Jimin’s hair while ignoring himself, “I think we’re both fine, right baby?”

The word “baby” slips out of some pocket dimension and Jeongguk has no idea how it got past his lips. He looks down at Jimin, mortification coloring his cheeks and ears with a rush of embarrassed pink, but Jimin just beams up at him and nods, “Yeah, I’m fine.” He assures the girl, “What was his name? Sammy?”

“Sammy, which is short for Samson Aristotle the Third,” she rolls her eyes, “my brother named him and he’s a dork.”

They chat for a while and Sammy gets many, many pets until the girl's friends find her and she jogs off with a happy wave, dragging an unwilling Samson along with her. The sun is completely set by now, leaving the beach in soft, violet twilight, and Jeongguk is left unguarded as Jimin pushes himself to his feet and offers Jeongguk a hand up.

“Ready for dinner, baby?” He asks with a wink.

That pocket dimension must be trying to meld with our reality, Jeongguk thinks dazedly as they walk back to the car, hand in hand once more.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

Jimin felt slightly aflame.

First there was his stunning verbal victory against Yong, then there was getting to meet a really great dog, and then Jeongguk called him baby.

It echoed around in the vast, empty chamber that became his mind when he first heard it, "baby, baby, baby" on repeat all the while he was wrapped up in Jeongguk's arms.

Life was perfect.

Now they were seated at a little BBQ place, the heat from the grill in front of them only serving to make Jimin's cheeks warmer as he watched Jeongguk attend each piece of meat as though he had a personal mission to prove himself the most skilled cook on the planet. Jimin doesn't protest, just props his chin up in his hands and watches fondly, completely and utterly smitten with everything Jeongguk did, has done, and probably will ever do for the rest of his life.

He thinks back to the first time they met, how awkward and quiet and shy Jeongguk was, and how utterly endeared Jimin had been. He still sees that boy in the man Jeongguk has become, hears him in his slight stutter and his excited lisp, and he finds himself feeling so much for him already. Suddenly this untouchable boy that the town has put on a pedestal is a man within Jimin's reach, who looks up at him with bright, starry eyes and a lopsided smile, who holds down the perilla leaves so Jimin can get one, who is attentive and kind and funny and so, so sweet.

"This has been wonderful, you know that right?" Jimin asks suddenly.

Jeongguk's smile becomes a grin, all teeth and a scrunched up nose, "I tried," he says sincerely.

"You did an excellent job," Jimin assures him, "I'm the main reason things weren't perfect, if it wasn't me, this would have been flawless."

Jeongguk frowns, "If it wasn't you, there's no possible way it could have been anything close to perfect."

Jimin ducks his head in embarrassment, "Aish, this guy," he mutters, "what am I going to do with you?"

"Whatever you want," Jeongguk suggests with another toothy grin, "I'm open to suggestions."

He doesn't know where this bold, flirtatious version of himself comes from, but he likes that occasionally it can pull through for him. Maybe, just maybe he's getting comfortable enough around Jimin to relax, the last few weeks of silly texts and their brief meetups have broken through his naturally terrified state and allowed a deeper, more secret version of Jeongguk to emerge.

They spend three delightful hours at the BBQ place, chatting non-stop and eating until they are both overly full and content, and Jeongguk has rarely been this happy, this settled in his life. Today has been everything he'd hoped it would be, in that he got the chance to spend it with Jimin. Sure there were a few hiccups along the way, but what does that matter in the face of Jimin's brilliant smile, or the way he laughs so hard at Jeongguk's jokes that he almost falls out of his seat multiple times, "forcing" Jeongguk to switch to his side of the booth so he can protect Jimin from falling out of it entirely.

But it's getting late, and when he catches Jimin trying to smother a yawn, he immediately whips out his debit card and puts it at the edge of the table, offering Jimin a disarming smile when he glares at it in mock outrage.

"I'll pay this time, yeah?" He asks, unable to keep the hopeful tone from his voice.

"This time?" Jimin says, "But how long will I have to wait until next time?"

Jeongguk takes a deep breath and does his best to look as nonchalant as possible when he replies, "I'm free next Friday night."

The blush on Jimin's cheeks probably matches the one coloring Jeongguk's ears, but Jimin is nodding and smiling bigger and saying something about meeting him at seven after dance practice and Jeongguk is offering to give him a ride and it's all he ever wanted it to be, and what's more, it feels like only the beginning.

Jeongguk can't wait to see where things go next.

⚘✾♡✾⚘

The ride home is quiet, but not in an awkward, strained way. More in the way two people share when they’ve had a full day are tired but content. Music still plays softly, barely discernible over the hum of the engine, and Jimin has one small hand resting on Jeongguk’s thigh. His face is all lit up from the lights from the dash, and he looks all sleepy and soft, his nose still a little pink from his allergies, his cheeks flush from warmth and laughter, and Jeongguk is, so very fond.

He hopes this is the start of something, and not the end.

He pulls up to Jimin’s house and parks along the empty sidewalk. Everything is quiet, a few lights are still on in the houses around them, but no one is in sight. It feels almost sacred, with the glow of the streetlights the only thing illuminating them, and the only sound now that of his heartbeat, thrumming in his ears to the beat of Jimin’s name.

“I had a really good time today,” Jimin whispers.

“I did too,” Jeongguk agrees, “the best time, really.”

Jimin nods and his hand falls away from Jeongguks thigh to fidget nervously with the fingers of his other, “So… I know this was just one night for you, one date on what is probably a super long list of dates because let’s face it, you’re really hot,” Jimin says, rushing forward with his words before Jeongguk can protest or drown in embarrassment, “but I just wanted to thank you…even though I know it’s just luck that got me here. Everything about today was perfect, and I’m sorry I ruined parts of it with like… my allergies and um, getting territorial over you in the book store, and tripping Yong, but um…yeah…thank you, Jeongguk, for everything.”

This is it, Jeongguk thinks to himself, it’s now or never.

“Jimin,” he says after taking a deep, fortifying breath that does absolutely nothing for his nerves, “I’ve got a confession to make.” He turns in his seat, gets snagged by the seat belt, growls, and unbuckles himself angrily, “It’s not luck that brought us here.”

“What?” Jimin giggles, “If it’s not luck, what is it? Destiny?”

“No,” Jeongguk shakes his head, a little scared to admit what he’s about to say, “it’s not that either… it’s me.”

Jimin frowns, obviously confused by his cryptic response, “You? What does that mean?” His hair is falling in his eyes a little and Jeongguk gives in to the urge to brush it away, fingertips grazing soft skin as he tucks the strands behind one ear.

“It means that I’ve liked you for a long t-time,” Jeongguk replies, and even though he’s nervous and he stutters he doesn’t get frustrated, because Jimin doesn’t mind it so why should he? “It means that I maybe rigged the auction so th-that you would win.”

Jimin blinks once.

Blinks twice.

Tilts his head to the side like a confused puppy and god Jeongguk needs to kiss him like, yesterday.

“You what?” He asks, voice soft and uncertain.

“I rigged it,” Jeongguk whispers back, “I snuck into where the slips were, replaced every single one with your information, th-then destroyed the evidence after Coach got in touch with you so that no one will ever know just how romantic I really am,” he gives Jimin a pointed look, “except you, you’ll know, and you’re the only one who matters.”

Jimin is staring at him now, wide eyed and oh- oh no, is he crying?

“Me?” Jimin whispers? “You did that for me?”

“Um… Yes?” Jeongguk replies, not at all certain that the others response is a positive one, “It’s because I’m secretly like… really shy and I known people think I’m some hot-shot jock but I’m actually just this awkward kid who can run fast and kick a ball and that doesn’t make me cool but I’ve liked you since high school when we worked that b-booth together and I didn’t know how to-to tell you or even if you wanted to know because I’m really, secretly lame and I have th-this stutter when I get excited and I wasn’t sure if you would even give me the time of day but then I saw you sign up for the auction and I-I knew I had just one chance to go on a date with thee Jimin of all Jimin’s so um…yeah… I rigged it.”

“Oh shit,” Jimin murmurs, “holy shit.”

“Oh shit, holy shit in a good way or a bad way?” Jeongguk asks, looking up hopefully through his lashes.

The way Jimin flings himself into his lap definitely indicates it’s a good way. He catches him as best he’s able, which isn’t great but he only manages to hit his elbow on the door and his knee on the steering wheel and Jimin doesn’t seem to injure himself at all so that’s a definite win, but then he has a lap full of Park Jimin and what is he supposed to do with that ?

“Hi!” Jimin whispers excitedly, their foreheads pressed together, “That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me and I hope you know that you have just made me very, very happy.”

“Oh good,” Jeongguk whispers back, “because that’s all I ever wanted.”

“Oh my god you’re perfect,” Jimin says, “what am I going to do?”

“I have an idea,” Jeongguk says, “actually, I have a couple ideas, but first I want to ask you a question.”

“Okay,” Jimin says, “ask me a question.”

“Park Jimin, Jiminie, Jimin-ssi, will you be my boyfriend?”

The silence in the car is heavy, but not like stone, it’s like a weighted blanket, a jacket someone just shrugged off to wrap you up in. Jimin pulls back just a little so that he can meet Jeongguk’s eyes and he smiles, he smiles and it’s like every metaphor ever written is coming to life right before Jeongguk’s eyes. The sun breaks through the clouds, a shooting star falls from the sky, birds sing, the crowd goes wild, the band starts playing and then he says…

“Yes, a hundred times yes.”

“Oh fuck yeah,” Jeongguk breathes, then chokes, “I mean, um! Wow! Thank you!”

Jimin laughs and it’s music and light and fairy bells, it is New Year’s fireworks and mirror balls and spring, “Thank you? Really?” He teases and Jeongguk makes a wish to the universe that Jimin will be around to tease him every day forever and ever.

“Yes, I’m very appreciative,” Jeongguk replies, unable to hold back his smiles as he wraps both arms a little tighter around Jimin’s waist, “now onto my other idea.”

“What’s your idea, boyfriend?” Jimin asks, a sly little smile on his lips.

“Oh, idea temporarily abandoned to ask if you can call me boyfriend again,” Jeongguk replies.

Jimin laughs again and it’s now Jeongguk's personal mission to make sure Jimin laughs as much as possible, “Okay, but I’m really curious what your idea is, boyfriend.”

“It’s a good one,” Jeongguk assures him, “I’m certain you’ll like it just as much if not more than me.”

“Alright,” Jimin says, coy and sweet and exactly as perfect as Jeongguk always knew he was, “what’s this good idea, then?”

“We should kiss,” Jeongguk whispers like it’s the world's biggest secret.

“We should?” Jimin asks, but it’s teasing and soft and makes a volcano of lava butterflies erupt in Jeongguk’s stomach.

“Yes,” he replies.

“Do you think you earned it?” Jimin murmurs back and oh shit, Jeongguk’s in danger.

“I broke into my coach’s office…well technically I walked in because he gave me a key, but my point still stands—I worked hard for this moment Jimin, and I will keep working hard for all the moments that are going to come after this.”

Jimin grins, all bright moons and starshine, “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a good point there, I can only imagine what your dad would say if he knew.”

“Please don’t talk about my dad when you’re sitting in my lap.” Jeongguk begs.

“Oh, right, my bad,” Jimin replies, little hands coming up to cover his lips.

“Also don’t cover those,” Jeongguk says, unable to stop how soft his voice is, unable to hide how hard his heart is beating, “don’t hide from me.”

“Never,” Jimin whispers as his hands fall.

His eyes flutter shut as he leans forward and Jeongguk stares for a single moment, trying to burn it into his memory so that even when he’s old and gray he’ll recall the first time they kissed like it was yesterday. Time slows as if to allow him to register it all, the warm spring air, the way Jimin’s breath ghosts across his cheek, the weight of him in his lap and the feel of him in his arms, and the faint music still playing on the stereo…

I think my ever aftеr just came true

They kiss and it is exactly what Jeongguk knew it would be.

Perfect.

So perfect that they don’t even notice the incoherent screams of triumph coming from Jimin’s living room window.

Fin.