ALL IN BLOOM || VMINKOOK ✅

5

JIMIN POV

In the days after the alphas left, Jimin gradually came to believe one of two things was true,the whole thing was a lie they made up, or it had never happened.

Maybe he'd been dreaming.

Maybe he'd stared a little too long into the ocean waves.

Whatever it was, he put it to the back of his mind, and when his uncle arrived a few weeks later.

Be was almost afraid to mention the alphas,in case they had been a figment of his imagination.

His uncle was his usual gruff self.

"Your aunt sent you this," he said, handing over a book.

Jimin took it eagerly, drinking in the cover.

A math book his favorite.

"And you need to fill out this," his uncle added, holding out an envelope.

Jimin opened it, pulling out a sheaf of paper.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Another of the princes is getting married. You're of age now, you have to submit a profile."

"Oh." His surprise must have shown clearly on his face, but his uncle mistook its cause.

"They'll fine us if we don't have it in on time. You can fill it out by hand, and your aunt will type it up and send it off."

"Yes, Uncle . Thank you. How's my dad? Is Jihyan back in school?"

"Micah is fine. Jihyan won't be returning to school until winter."

Jimin's heart sank. "He's still sick."

His uncle's expression was grim. "He's not getting any better. We have got him on a waiting list to see a specialist in the capital."

"But we keep getting pushed further down the list. I'm trying to get the funds together to get him seen privately, but it's a lot of money."

Jimin was under no illusion,he knew his uncle was stretched thin trying to support not just his own family but his's as well.

Which made the paper in his hands all the more important.

If there was any truth to Prince Jungkook's offer, he needed to play along. For his family.

"You're very good to us," he said softly.

"I was very fond of my brother. If it had been me who'd died and not him, I know he'd be doing the same for my family," his uncle said gruffly.

"Now, you get busy filling that out."

Jimin scrounged up a pen and started writing. Some of the questions were easy, basic facts about himself.

Others were trickier.

Employment? Goatherding.

Hobbies? Herding goats. And math.

He wasn't sure which was worse.

There were questions about schooling that were awkward to answer. Officially, no one could leave school before the age of fourteen. He'd left at twelve.

He hadn't gone without learning, though. His aunt had made it her business to see that he kept up with schoolwork.

Sending workbooks, textbooks, anything she thought would keep his mind engaged.

And on the long winter nights, with nothing else to do, learning had been his haven.

How to put all that into a tiny text box?