The 100-Day love challenge | yoonmin

11

It's one of their last variety appearances before this round of promotions finishes, on day ninety-six, and Jimin is secretly a bit thankful. He thinks they all might be, actually; the group is tired, as they always are by this point, and they deserve some rest. Variety can feel like a performance, especially when they have to be prepped backstage before the show starts, getting directions first from management and then from Namjoon about what they'll be doing and saying.

There's limited seating in this backstage room. Coordi noonas and crew members bustle around them in the prep area, and the other members are practically piled on top of each other on the one couch that's available.

Jimin spots Seokjin getting up from the couch to get his makeup done-- but then Hoseok steals the empty seat before Jimin can. Sighing, Jimin resigns himself to standing next to the couch as their leader delivers his pre-show encouragement and instructions.

"How come Seokjin-hyung doesn't have to sit here and listen to this?" Jimin interrupts partway in, crossing his arms. "Does he know everything about interviews already?" He's aware that he sounds petulant, but he doesn't care.

"Don't worry about Seokjin-hyung," Namjoon chides. Jimin scoffs.

Hoseok rolls his eyes and pulls on one of Jimin's arms to draw him closer. Jimin follows along, confused. Once Jimin's close enough, Hoseok yanks on the back belt loop of Jimin's pants and sends Jimin falling into Yoongi's lap.

"There," Hoseok says gruffly, returning his attention to Namjoon as Yoongi and Jimin both squawk indignantly.

Apparently no one cares about their protests, so Jimin gives up and tiredly concedes to the seating arrangement. It's not like it's a foreign experience, to sit on the lap of one of the members. And, a voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Seokjin reminds him, he did sit on Yoongi's lap at the party after the four members came home from promotions. Not that that's anything to note, not that sitting in Yoongi's lap is ever a big deal anyway.

He settles in, and Yoongi follows suit, shutting up and craning his head around Jimin's side to see Namjoon.

Everything's fine until Jimin tries to adjust so that he's actually actually sitting up straight in Yoongi's lap. The movement makes him suddenly conscious of the warmth of Yoongi's body beneath him-- of the press of Yoongi's chest to Jimin's back. At the same moment that Jimin realizes it, Yoongi seems to, and freezes beneath him.

There's a static moment, where neither of them move, and it's like no one else is in the room. It's just the two of them, breaths held in, waiting for something unknown to happen.

Yoongi's hand makes it way onto Jimin's thigh slowly and rests there casually.

Unable to sit still, Jimin shifts in Yoongi's lap just a little, maybe a centimeter to the side, slowly, slowly, slowly.

Yoongi's legs shifts beneath him, slowly, as well.

Jimin lets his weight press into Yoongi's body, settling in. Then, Jimin shimmies a bit.

Without warning, he's dumped onto the lap of Hoseok.

Hoseok startles, and Jimin gasps and then chokes out an 'excuse me!', but Yoongi is already up and moving. He rapidly walks away from the couch in an unannounced direction, perhaps faster than Jimin's ever seen him walk, and succesfully disappears from the room in less than four seconds.

Namjoon stands and looks after Yoongi with confusion. "What..." he begins, then gives up. "What?" he turns to the other members, searching for an explanation.

Ignoring the group's questions, Jimin decides to disappear as well.

--

Yoongi is sitting on Jimin's bunk when he gets back to his room at the end of the day. Technically it's day ninety-seven now; Jimin is thankful that he hadn't waited until the end of ninety-six to tell Yoongi he loved him, considering that the older was basically ghosting out on everyone after the variety appearance.

"I'm sorry," Yoongi apologizes before Jimin can even open his mouth to ask why he's there.

"For what?" Jimin asks, surprised.

"Being a fuckboy today," Yoongi says. He stands up from the bunk. "You don't deserve that. I'm sorry."

He's all business, and Jimin doesn't think he's ever heard Yoongi say sorry that many times in the span of even a year. He also hears the echoes of Yoongi's words from the party, from their time together in this same room, at the same bunk, just days ago: You deserve the best. Only the absolute best for you, Jimin-ah.

"That was yesterday," Jimin corrects. "And I love you. hyung."

Yoongi cringes.

"Yoongi," Jimin begins, but the older walks right past him to leave the room.

"Good night," Yoongi says as he slips out the room.

Jimin looks at the empty doorway, helpless.

--

Something's off when Jimin catches Yoongi in the kitchen in the early morning of day ninety-eight. For one, Yoongi's up and awake before 8 am. But he's also completely out of it, sitting at the table and staring at nothing, looking even paler than usual.

"Hyung," Jimin says. It's just the two of them in the kitchen.

Yoongi looks at Jimin. His eyes are rimmed red, but his expression is totally blank.

"I love you, hyung," Jimin whispers.

Yoongi looks away.

He stands up and, wordlessly, hands Jimin his cell phone.

Jimin looks down at the phone. Nothing seems out of the ordinary with it. He looks back up just in time to catch Yoongi walking out of the apartment, no keys, no jacket, just going straight out the door.

Jimin doesn't see him for the entire rest of the day.