Okay.. but can you please just LOOK at him? Is he even real??
Seriously... I would sell my organs for him...
⋙ʝ⋘
He managed to avoid Jungkook and the rest of the four F-squat for the next two days, even Hoseok who was practicing for a performance which took up his entire time.
Jimin could finally relax a little, not having to worry they might appear out of nowhere and mock him for being a red, stuttering mess the other day. Not to mention rude since he had still not thanked Jungkook.
And hopefully they had forgotten about it now.
"All right, everybody, listen up!" the teacher called out, gathering everybody around him after her ballet lesson which left his body feeling both incredibly light and achy at the same time.
"As I'm sure you all know, we have another performance coming up: the Culture Café which will represent the best of what this school has to offer for both newcomers and important sponsors of culture and art. The audition is this afternoon in the auditorium B. As you should also know, it's an open audition not secluded to a special mayor or dance department, so everybody has the same chance to get any role they might want. However, should any of you manage to claim lead role in the dance performance, it will positively influence your grade, so try your best."
Jimin felt the giddiness in him almost bubble out of him, he was that excited. It would be a mixture of faculties, including dances, musical performances, crazy stage designs and more, making the most of each faculty. And not only had he seen the sneak preview of the dance they were planning, but there would be sponsors and benefactors siting amongst the crowed. And upping your grade was only more of a reason to take the incentive.
He hurried out of the practice room only to head to another, empty one, and then he did what he usually did when others went to get lunch: practice.
Practice until every move was so perfect, there would be no mistakes made.
He felt more than ready for the audition.
Misses Yang would be thrilled to hear he got cast in a lead role, just like she had been when he got that solo last week.
As expected, he was one of the first people to arrive in front of the auditorium. Only two stood in line already. They were from his class, but he had forgotten their names. He only knew the girl to the right was killer at spins. He had seen her do it for so long his eyes had started spinning too. And the blond next to her made jumping three feet in the air look like breathing, easy and simple. They were whispering excitedly to each other as Jimin sat on a nearby bench and put on his dance shoes, then lined up behind them too.
"I know. You really think he can do it? I mean... how crazy would that be?" the brunette squeaked- actually squeaked!
"Ugh, he is so perfect, I wouldn't be surprised if he managed lead role."
Jimin narrowed his eyes, zooming in on the conversation. The lead role was his- it had to be!
"Gosh, it's so bold of him too to audition from another faculty! It only makes him sexier."
"So true! But I've seen him a the clubs a few times and boy can he swing those hips! Even if he doesn't get the lead role, he might still be in the performance. Just imagine! Practicing all day long with Jeon Jungkook!"
Jimin sucked in a sharp breath and his heart might have stopped beating, because on the very moment his name fell, the door to the auditorium swung open and he came walking out like he had been summoned by his name.
It made absolutely no sense.
Jungkook's majors were photography, filmography and art- not dance!
The girls had turned very quiet, their eyes, however were screaming with their excitement and uncontained adoration for the tall, handsome boy.
And then it got worse as Jungkook found him standing there, yet again gaping like a fish.
His lips quirked up into a small smile, just one side and then he came slandering over, confidence in person.
Jimin was too surprised to see him here that he forgot not to look into his eyes. It was probably already too late and he was blushing furiously.
"Hey there, Jimin," he mused, looking down at him and Jimin could swear his eyes were actually sparkling.
So bloody damn perfect! He hated him!
"What are you doing here?"
His smile widened, like he was happy Jimin was talking to him, which also, did not make sense.
"I was auditioning of course. And I have to say, I think they really liked what I showed them."
Jimin's stomach dropped. There was no way...
"So, I guess since you'll be gettin' the lead role, we'll see each other a bit more?"
Jimin only kept gaping at him. He didn't get it. What did Jungkook get out of this? Was he just teasing Jimin? Was this a game to him? Was it fun to make him look like a complete moron. Or was ...
"Are you doing this because I haven't thanked you?"
It was out before he could even think it over.
Jungkook's smile dropped, his mouth parted and his eyes widened as if the question had caught him off guard.
Whose the fish now?
"What? No. You don't have to. Anyone would have done it. I just... don't know. Just thought it would be cool to try something new out."
So it was only a game to him. But for Jimin, this was his life!
"You don't seem as happy as I hoped you would be," Jungkook commented and Jimin realized his emotions must have been written plainly on his face.
"I...I just don't see why you bother."
A small smile appeared again, showing his teeth, and damn, even the slightly tilted front teeth only added to his looks. How could he make even a flaw look cute?
"You'll find out."
And with that he left, walking past him and brushing against his shoulder- no doubt on purpose. His entire body shivered as he watched him walk away.
"Prince my ass, " he murmured under his breath as Jungkook disappeared around a corner.
He turned back around and then let out a yelp of surprise as both girls had their faces inches from his, staring at him with super-large eyes.
"You know Jungkook?" the blond asked, immediately followed by the other blurting out: "What do you need to thank him for?"
Jimin took a step back, then another, getting some distance between him and the two hyenas who obviously overheard everything.
He glanced at the floor, feeling the familiar burn in his throat as it close off against his will.
"I... n-no idea."
"Something happened! Tell us!"
Jimin ground his teeth, pressing his palms against one another and rubbing them- something he always did when got uncomfortable.
This was exactly why Jungkook should stay away from him- nothing but trouble for him!
"I..I really d-don't k-know."
"Don't lie to us!" the blond snapped, clearly annoyed. " He even knew your name."
"Do you-"
"Yo guys! What's up Josey, Hanna ?"
A large someone appeared from the back, wrapping an arm around both of the girls.
He stared up at the soft, dark-brown eyes of Hoseok.
"Hey. Hobi! I thought you were busy with the hip-hop performance coming up?" The blond-Josey- explained and gushed up at Hoseok like he was the last piece of sweet, delicious chocolate cake. Hoseok smiled that bright, goofy smile of his which could melt away everyone's bad mood.
"You think I'd let a chance like this slip through my fingers? The Culture Café is a pretty big deal."
Jimin watched in fascination as Hoseok easily swept the two girls up in conversation. He asked the right questions, made the right jokes at the perfect time and gave compliments enough to be considered charming, but not sly.
In a matter of seconds, the girls had forgotten all about him and Jungkook and he let out a relieved sight.
That's when Hoseok caught his eyes and ever so slightly, winked.
***
He executed the audition dance perfectly.
It was a mixture of his practice and just the way he lost himself to the music.
For Jimin, dancing was the purest form of expressing his feelings.
The emotions rose to the surface at the first move of his body. They came without thought, simply raw emotions pouring out of him and he let it flow through his body, his movements, his expression. He danced with his heart, not his head, letting go of worldly matters as he was swept up by everything he felt and everything he always suppressed feeling. It's why he had chosen contemporary and ballet as his main styles, able to relate to the melancholy of it more perhaps.
He finished in a sitting position, his chest heaving heavily from exhaustion he hadn't been aware of. He closed his eyes, needing to pull himself back together, put up the walls once more, back to just being Jimin.
He glanced up at the judges, their mouths slightly ajar, their eyes wide.
"That... was beautiful. Thank you Jimin," his ballet teacher let out from the very left, disrupting the silence that had built.
Jimin bowed deeply. "Thank you," he let out and then quickly left, his heart pounding.
They had liked it then? Did that mean he would be cast as main lead? That would be fantastic.
The smile that had been building fell a little. Because if he did make it into the performance, that meant a good chance of having to dance with Jungkook.
He shook his head on the way to his locker, refusing to even consider that a possibility.
Sure, Jungkook was known to be good at everything, but it was practically unheard of for anyone from another faculty managing to get cast. The Culture Café was a representation of the school's ability after all. Surely, they would only cast the best.
Trying to think of anything else, he headed for his next class and made sure his mind was occupied with how to bend his body into so many different ways, it seemed impossible at times.
Sweaty and spend, he headed for the showers.
Friday was always the busiest of his days. He had school until five and his shift at the diner started at half past six, which meant he barely had enough time to take a shower, get cleaned up and then directly head for the diner at the other end of town.
The steaming, hot water felt so good, he might have stayed longer than he should have and barely made it in time, reaching the diner sweaty once more.
"Look who's walking a dangerous line!" a snappy voice greeted him as soon as he entered the service-door at the back.
He mumbled an apology, not wanting to look at what would surely be a very sour expression from his boss, a women in her late forties. Her heavy perfume filled he room again and he had to try not to gag. Mrs. Lee was the perfect example of a person pretending to be more important than she was. Even Jimin knew the amount of perfume did not make up for the fact that is was cheap and was probably bought in a convenience store.
Her face when he glanced up was plastered with so much make-up, it resembled more a clown's mask.
Jimin really shouldn't think like that. After all, she had given Jimin this job. A job he desperately needed to pay his rent and anything else he required for school and just generally living. So he would take her usually nasty attitude with little complaining.
He headed for the little changing room, getting dressed in the horrible orange-colored shirt, the blue trousers and then to finish of the worst possible outfit: an apron in a slightly different shade of orange. It was a sore to the eyes if he'd ever seen one.
"Oh, my little angle is here!" Someone exclaimed and Jimin felt his lips tug up into a smile.
Next to Misses Yang, Min-woo was the only one he could talk to without stuttering like a dimwit.
"Hey, Min-woo. Sorry I'm late."
"You're never late, Chim-chim, you are always right on time!" he joked, his smile wide and showing dimples at both cheeks. His eyes were the color of salted caramel, warm and kind. A nose piercing and a lips ring adorned his features and his face held something angular with the high cheekbones and yet soft with the puffy lips, much like Jimin's. But the true masterpiece was his hair, colored in all shades of the rainbow. Min-Woo made no secret of his sexuality, carrying it proudly for everyone to see. Jimin admired him for it, even though he never said so. Misses Yang was the only one who knew Jimin had always been attracted to guys. At least the only one still in his life.
"Gotta warn you though. Looks like today is gonna be hella busy. Most of the tables are already full and Jina called in sick, so we'll have to cover her tables."
Jimin groaned, let out a short: "Great!" but nodded his head.
"Well, at least it'll get my mind of things."
"Rough day?"
He snorted, thinking back to Jungkook's surprise appearance.
"Had an audition today," was his only offer of explanation.
"How'd it go?"
"Pretty well, I think."
"Uh," He whistled as a response. "If you say that, it must have been fantastic. You're way to critical with yourself. So what reason is there that you need to be distracted then?"
Jimin sighed, not ready to get into it. "Nothing big. Just some annoying kid at school."
Min-woos eyes narrowed, and suddenly the mixture of his pierced face and high cheekbones made his face a scary thing to behold.
"Is someone making trouble for you? You know you only need to say the word and I'll handle it."
He quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I can deal with it."
He had absolutely no intentions of seeing Min-woo face off with Jungkook and for what? Because he auditioned for a performance? He grew more frustrated by the second. Why was he even making such a big deal out of it. So what? It was Jungkook's right to audition. And he never specifically said it had anything to do with Jimin at all.
"Ey, you two lazy arses. Get out there, no time to waste! Chop, chop, chop or I'll fire you! It's paying customers!" Mrs Lee shouted from her little office, her legs probably popped up on the desk and her eyes on her phone while she popped bubble gum bubbles.
He looked at Min-Woo and they both rolled their eyes with a smile.
"She's in a brilliant mood again. This is the third time she threatened to fire me today," Min-woo whispered, leaning down to Jimin with mischievous eyes.
"Better not keep her waiting then, we both need this job." Jimin offered and got up.
"Yeah, unfortunately we do. You got table one to twenty. I'll cover the rest."
Jimin gulped hard. Twenty tables on a Friday night... This was about to be hell.
***
And it really was. For the millionth time today, he was sweaty and out of breath, so many orders swirling in his head, he saw double. His arms were aching from all the plates he'd carried and his hands raw from cleaning the tables with chemicals. It was half past eleven when he finally got a minute of rest, sitting on the little chair in the kitchen while Saya, the Spanish chef, offered him some left-over chicken and some boiled eggs. That was the other advantage of this job: free food. Well, leftovers, but at least they were cooked and not ready-made.
Min-woo came in a second later, and he looked possibly more exhausted than Jimin, dropping himself on the chair across from him.
"Gods, part of me hopes she does fire me." he let out.
Jimin swallowed his eggs in one gulp, feeling guilty. Min-Woo had done ten more tables than him all evening and he knew his day-time job at the postal service wasn't any easier, not to mention that he had to care for his two little sisters.
"Nah, nah, don't give me that look. You need your strength for school. I'd gladly take another hundred tables if you only let me be there on your next performance."
His mouth parted and he was about to tell him he didn't want pity, when Mrs. Less stormed in and Jimin could swear she had put on three more layers of perfume and make up, her lips turned into a scowl. She was also one of the few people who deserved to be labeled as having a resting bitch-face.
"What are you two doing sittin' there while new customers are waiting for their order to be taken? It's table forty, so get on it Min-Woo!"
Jimin jumped up before Min-Woo even had time to open his mouth.
"I'll do it. I just finished eating anyway."
He didn't allow either of them to complain as he already hurried outside, putting back on his apron and binding it tightly behind his back.
He grabbed a tray and his little note-book and hurried over to the table, putting on a fake little smile.
Someone should think working in service and being forced to talk to people all day would gain him some confidence. But really, Jimin never looked at any of the customers, always avoiding their gazes, just noting down their orders, rattling out the dishes of the day and then serve them their food without looking at them.
He only saw them from the corner of his eyes and repressed a groan. It was a full bunch of people, seated in a corner table. Who wanted to eat this late at a shit diner like this anyway?
"Hello, what would you like to order?" he mumbled out, keeping his head lowered.
He already had the pen ready on the paper, when he heard the little, all too familiar chuckle.
His stomach dropped. Impossible.
He looked up...
....and Jungkook smiled back at him, wide and open, revealing his teeth which reminded him of a bunny. A cute yet very nasty bunny, his camera dangling around his neck.
"Well, hello to you too, Jimin," he said, waving at him while Jimin stood there rigidly as all of the four F-squat looked back at him.
Shit!
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