I Still Remember

2 - There Was Only You

Jin watched the retreating figure of the pink-haired boy with a mixture of curiosity and concern. His offer of kindness had been met with swift rejection, leaving Jin puzzled by the boy's abrupt departure.  Although not lacking in the food department, Jin's life wasn't as perfect as Yoongi would like to think.  Jin had recently changed schools and had not made any friends yet.  He was a kind, and friendly guy so he didn't understand why nobody seemed to want to be his friend.   

For Jin, food held a significance beyond mere sustenance—it was a gesture of camaraderie, a bridge between strangers in a world fraught with loneliness. With determination in his heart, Jin resolved to extend a hand of friendship, one egg-bread at a time.

As he savored the savory-sweet delicacy, Jin's strides carried him closer to the object of his goodwill—the cute boy who seemed reluctant to accept his offering. With a warm smile, he presented the napkin-wrapped egg-bread, hoping to break through the barriers of indifference and forge a connection.

"Here," he says with full cheeks, handing said boy a napkin holding the egg-bread as Jin devours his own.

Yoongi's eyes are as big as saucers. His heart's desire was enticingly placed in front of his hungry eyes. Quickly he grabs it before his stupid pride costs him his breakfast. Yoongi's stunned expression mirrored Jin's own surprise as the offering was accepted, a glimmer of hope flickering in the space between them. Jin watched with anticipation, his heart yearning for the possibility of friendship in the midst of unfamiliarity.

Meanwhile, for Yoongi, the gift of the egg-bread was more than just a meal—it was a moment of unexpected kindness that thawed the icy grip of his solitude. His heart swelled with gratitude as he savored the warmth of the gesture, a reminder that goodness existed in the unlikeliest of places.

Jin hopes his gesture leads to friendship. He waits for the dazed boy's response.

"Thank you," Yoongi mumbles between bites and walks off.

'What a generous guy,' Yoongi thinks all of a sudden at peace with the world, his grumpiness forgotten.

Yoongi's kind heart saves half the little loaf for little Jimin. 'Where is he?'

Jimin delivered newspapers in the morning before school, so he always got up earlier than Yoongi, but he was usually here by now.

The two friends miss each other sometimes since Yoongi stays up late working on his music and performing on the street for tips after work. Between his job, his music, and school, he was always busy and accordingly tired.

Jimin finally shows up and Yoongi hands him the egg-bread he's been patiently holding, in spite of how much he wants to eat it.

"Here," he says handing it to him.

"Thanks, hyung. How did you get this?" Jimin smiles cutely at his hyung that is a year older than him.

"Some guy just gave it to me,"  Yoongi says glancing over at Jin.

"That's strange. Does he like you?"

"No! I gave it to you and I don't like you," Yoongi retorts.

Jimin pushes Yoongi. "Liar!" 

Yoongi responds with, "You're ugly."

Jimin responds, "Liar, Shooky likes me!"

"Jimini-ya!" They walk off to class their stomachs a little less empty, playfully pushing each other.

Yoongi and Jimin walk into their first class and sit. Yoongi reminisces about the egg-bread, not the boy but the food.

"That was so good!" He says more to himself than to Jimin. "It's even better warm," he reminisces.

"Yes, it was really good, thank you Shooky," Jimin says sweetly, "You should've had it all. I had milk I traded for a paper."

"Yuk," Yoongi makes a disgusted face as he doodles in his notebook.  But he likes that Jimin has a pet name for him.  They pretend to bicker all the time but they are as close as brothers.

With Jimin's arrival, the bond of friendship was reaffirmed, their playful banter a testament to the depth of their connection. Amidst the chaos of their daily lives, they found solace in each other's company, their shared laughter echoing through the corridors of their shared experiences.

And as they settled into their first class, Yoongi's mind drifted back to the memory of the egg-bread, a simple yet profound reminder of the kindness that illuminated even the darkest corners of their world.

In the tapestry of their lives, Min Yoongi and Jin, the rich "Egg-bread" of the street vendor's cart, found themselves bound by the threads of fate—a chance encounter that would shape the course of their friendship in ways they could never have imagined.