Jimin had lain in bed longer than he normally did that morning. With classes all day and a private lesson tonight, he wanted an extra few minutes of relaxation. He probably wouldn't get a moment like this to himself until bedtime.
Taehyung was set to arrive soon to take Eunha to school, so he finally rose from beneath his downy comforter. Jimin then woke his sleeping beauty from her deep slumber; however, today, she was more like Maleficent than a sweet princess. Eunha was particularly grumpy.
"What's wrong, honey?" Jimin asked, brushing Eunha's bedhead out of her face.
"I had a dream you and Uncle Tae had another sleepover without me," she replied with a frown.
He laughed. "You're mad at me because of a dream?"
"Yes."
Jimin shook his head at the silly reason. Eunha crossed her arms and scowled.
"I promise you'll always be invited to our sleepovers," said Jimin.
She held out her tiny finger. "Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear," he pledged, interlocking their fingers. "Are we good now?"
"We're good, daddy," Eunha smiled.
Jimin returned the smile. "Good. Let's get dressed for school, yeah?"
There weren't any hiccups for the remainder of the morning. All Eunha needed was some reassurance and Jimin was happy to give it to her. He also didn't mind letting her blast Kpop music to keep her in high spirits as she got ready. Jimin could use the pick-me-up too.
"Whoa," Taehyung hollered when he entered the house. "I thought this was Park Jimin's place, not a club. I must have the wrong address."
At the sound of his voice, Eunha came dashing into the room. "Uncle Tae!"
"Hey, Shorty!" Taehyung picked her up and spun her around. Eunha squealed in delight. He then took her into the bathroom to style her hair—a French braid, something she had been requesting often in the last couple of weeks. Eunha doesn't like the way her father does it, citing that Uncle Tae is a better braider.
Jimin placed breakfast on the table for the three of them while Taehyung was doing Eunha's hair. His daughter and best friend later joined him for the meal.
"If you have time before work today," Taehyung began, "you should come with me to drop Eunha off at school. Her new teacher starts today. You can meet him."
He raised an inquisitive brow. "New teacher?"
Taehyung swallowed a piece of his omelette before speaking. "Yeah, he just moved here. Her old teacher is a stay-at-home mom now."
Jimin wondered what it would be like to be a stay-at-home dad. If he was, then maybe he would've known that Eunha was getting a new teacher. He's so busy with work most days and it pains him that he can't be with his daughter more often. But he has to remind himself that he's doing this for her. He wants the best life for Eunha. Though at what cost?
"I can come."
***
"Hurry, Daddy!" Eunha shouted, tugging on his arm. "We're gonna be late!"
Jimin, Taehyung, and Eunha walked into her classroom hand-in-hand. There was a tall, broad-shouldered man standing towards the back, greeting parents and students. When it was their turn to be greeted, the man smiled warmly. "Hi! I'm Kim Seokjin, the new kindergarten teacher."
He shook Seokjin's hand. "I'm Park Jimin and this is my daughter Eunha."
Seokjin bent down to shake Eunha's hand as well. "Hi, Eunha. I look forward to having you in class."
"Me too, Mr. Kim!"
"I'm happy to hear that," he chuckled. "Go ahead and put your book bag in your cubby and have a seat. We'll start class soon."
Eunha hugged her father and Taehyung before scurrying off to put her things away.
"She's such a cutie," Seokjin commented. He then gave his attention to Taehyung. "I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."
"I'm Kim Taehyung," he introduced himself.
"Are you Eunha's other dad?"
"No," he giggled. This was the first instance in which he'd been asked that. "I'm her nanny."
"Tae will be the one dropping her off most days," Jimin chipped in.
Seokjin nodded, acknowledging his words. "I should start class. It was nice meeting you both."
The men bowed and turned to leave to get their own days started.
***
7:58 p.m.
Although Jungkook still had two minutes until his private lesson, Jimin feared he may not show. Perhaps he changed his mind and decided that the contemporary team wasn't for him. Maybe Jungkook only wanted to do hip hop. Jimin could understand why. Contemporary was completely different from hip hop, after all. He could just want to stick with what he knows.
At eight o'clock on the dot, Jungkook entered the room. He was dressed in a black crewneck sweatshirt, matching sweatpants, and a black bucket hat that cast a shadow on his handsome features. Jungkook sat his bag on the ground and placed his phone on top. He finally noticed Jimin stretching lazily in front of the mirrors. Jungkook bowed to him.
"Right on time," Jimin beamed, getting up from the floor.
"I would've been here sooner, but my appointment ran over," he admitted as he came to the center of the room.
Jimin waved it off. "No problem."
"So what am I learning today?" Jungkook wanted to know while he began the stretching routine they'd always do prior to a dance class.
"I wanna work on making you more fluid. More...elegant on the dance floor," Jimin stated.
"Mr. Park, are you insinuating I'm not graceful?" he jested.
Jimin's lip quirked. "No, not at all."
"But you're smiling."
"Okay, fine," he gave in. "You're not graceful. Like, in the slightest. No offense though."
"None taken," Jungkook laughed.
"Alright, let's warm-up and make you pretty."
"Oh, so now I'm not pretty?"
Jimin put his hand on his hip. "I meant pretty on the dance floor."
Jungkook smirked. "Sure, Mr. Park."
***
The two of them practiced for about an hour. Jungkook's movements were improving, but he'd still need a few more lessons until Jimin had him where he wanted him to be. Jungkook had also talked more in this single lesson than he had in all classes combined. It appeared as though he wasn't as shy as Jimin once assumed.
When their lesson was over, Jimin offered to give him a lift home. Jungkook was grateful, but said he needed to finish closing down his shop. "I'll be there for a while. I'm sure your daughter is wondering where you're at, anyway."
"She should be asleep," Jimin replied. "As long as Tae isn't letting her stay up to watch cartoons."
Jungkook chuckled. "He seems like a fun guy."
"He is. That's why Eunha loves him so much," he giggled. "Now, are you sure you don't want that ride?"
"Wellll..." Jungkook let his words trail off.
Jimin nudged his shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get outta here."
***
"It's the black building on the corner," Jungkook announced as Jimin drove down a small, dark road.
"The tattoo shop? Bangtan?"
"That's the one."
"Is the place actually bulletproof?" Jimin quipped.
"Sadly, no. Just regular glass windows," he joked back. Jimin put the car in park and told Jungkook he'd wait for him to finish what he needed to. "Come inside. I have a couch you can chill on."
Jimin agreed, and the men walked up to the building together. "Do you own the whole shop?"
"Yep, it's all mine," Jungkook answered, unlocking the door and flipping on the lights. The studio was mainly black with red accents scattered about. Jungkook certainly had an aesthetic to him, didn't he? Overall, his shop was sleek and tasteful, yet exuded a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. Despite Jimin not having any tattoos, if he were to get one, this would be the perfect place for him to take that leap.
"I have two other artists working for me though," he continued. "Yoongi and Jisoo."
"Can I ask why you moved to Seoul?" Jimin inquired as he took a seat on the leather sofa. "You mentioned you're from Busan originally."
"Needed a fresh start, I guess," he shrugged. Jungkook began spraying disinfectant on the tattoo chair. "I was discharged from the military about a year ago. Towards the end of my service, I was shot in the stomach." He put down the spray bottle and raised his shirt to reveal a large vertical scar on his abdomen.
Jimin sucked air through his teeth, practically feeling sympathy pain for the younger man.
"It was an accident during weapons training," Jungkook carried on. "I lived in constant fear. Walking down the street, going to the convenience store, hanging out with friends. I was scared of everything. So, I figured if I escaped the place it happened, I'd feel better." He grabbed some paper towels to wipe the disinfectant from the chair and resumed his narrative. "I was originally planning to go to America, but my half-brother lives here in Seoul with his husband. I thought it would be best if I stayed closer to family for the time being. I may still go to America later on though."
Jimin was no longer sitting on the couch. While Jungkook was talking, he'd moved closer to him, his eyes teary from Jungkook's heart-wrenching story. Jimin reached his arm out, taking Jungkook's hand in his. "I truly hope you're in a better place now."
He expected Jungkook to rip his hand away. Maybe Jungkook would think it was weird that his dance instructor, whom he barely knew, was holding him, comforting him after he had just opened up. But Jungkook didn't move. Instead, he gave Jimin's hand a gentle squeeze and said, "I am, Mr. Park. I'm a lot happier here."
Jimin flashed him a sad smile. "You can call me Jimin if you'd like." He didn't want Jungkook dwelling on the past anymore tonight, didn't want him going into that dark space in his head, so he figured he'd change the subject.
"I must be special if we're on a first-name basis already," Jungkook chuckled, his expression almost immediately switching from despondent to cheerful.
"Looks that way," Jimin nodded. "You're actually the first student I've given private lessons to."
"Well, I'm honored to be your first... Jimin."
[AN] I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this story. I've been writing for Love Maze a lot these past few months, so that's where my main focus has been. I'm really going to try not to go four months between updates haha