~One Week Later~
Taehyung hands the money over, almost sighing as he does. Groceries. God, he's always hated grocery shopping. He could never hide the scowl on his face whenever he had to choose between breads and soups. This is much more up Amira and Jae's alley. Normally they're the dynamic duo that do all the shopping, but here he is. And he's not alone.
"We should've bought more kimchi. You can never have too much kimchi," Amira's sweet voice says.
He's still so in love with her. Speaking of love, Jimin's out on a date with the love of his life. No, Tae's not kidding. That redhead is the love of Jimin's life.
They're spending time with each other every single day. Of course, she doesn't know about Jimin's real occupation, but that doesn't change that Jimin's sure she'll come with him back to Italy when the time comes.
Then again, Jimin already said he'd drop out of the program and work in Korea if it meant being with her. So yeah, Jimin's in love. Apparently Jimin was thinking of asking her to move in with them, which is a big no from Taehyung. Not that he doesn't want Jimin to be happy, he just doesn't want to hear the noises at night. Plus, he wants to be able to call his best friend 'Jimin' rather than Jae.
And while on the topic of real names...
Tae turns to Y/n, seeing her pile the bags into their cart. He chuckles at her speediness and watches the girl move rapidly to make sure she's done by the time the cashier finishes checking them out.
Y/n's been weird recently. Ever since she told Jungkook the truth, everything's been different. Jungkook's been distant lately, most likely to spend more time with his sister and process what he heard, but Tae hopes it isn't him being freaked out. Or worse: What if trusting him was a terrible mistake?
"How you feeling?" he asks, obviously referring to the Jungkook situation, but she pretends not to pick up on that.
"I'm fine. How are you?" she asks back, humming and strumming her fingers alongside the counter. Before he can answer, she excitingly pulls a pack of gum from out of one of the bags and opens it right away. "I love gum." She giggles, popping one stick into her mouth.
Soon enough, they're all paid and ready to leave, the two of them departing the grocery store.
"So... any updates on Jungkook?" Tae asks. He doesn't want to ask for two reasons: 1) he's in love with her and 2) he doesn't want to bring her any pain. Regardless, as the bodyguard, he legally has to ask.
She forces a smile. "Nope. Nothing. I'm sure he'll get back to us soon though. A lot to process, y'know?"
That's code for she's malfunctioning and needs help. Despite his question, she tries to seem as bubbly as possible. That's sign number one that she's having trouble processing her emotions.
She's quick to load the car with all their groceries, the two working side-by-side. Tae's dead silent. She's humming.
When they close the trunk, Y/n goes to leave when Tae grabs her arm. Not in a harsh manner, but with enough force to stop her.
"Kinky," she says.
Ah, at least there's a small hint of the old Y/n in there. Now he needs to bring it out fully.
"Y/n, you need to to talk to me. If not to Jimin, then to me. Someone. We're the only two you have. Please, we can't read your mind. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"
The girl softly smiles at that, roots of her old self starting to shine. "I miss him. I wish I could know what he's thinking right now."
There we go, finally. Some progress.
"Jungkook doesn't strike me as the type of guy to leave you," Tae says.
He desperately wants Jungkook to do just that. Tae knows he's awful for thinking it, but then he'd finally have a chance with Y/n. Part of him wants to lie to make her think Jungkook's an ass, but Tae's not like that. He doesn't want to bring their relationship down. Instead, he chooses not to interfere.
"I hope not." She softly sighs, glancing at Tae. "At least I know for sure you and Jimin would never leave me. You legally can't."
Tae chuckles and wraps an arm around her, not entirely sure why he's even doing it. Oh well. Can't back down now.
"Ami, this whole thing is gonna be over one day. A few years from now, you'll completely forget about it. You'll be living your best life out in the Bahamas drinking margaritas and dipping your toes in the water."
"What if I want to live in Las Vegas and get bitches?" she asks.
Ah, there she is. She's back.
"You're ridiculous, L/n," he says, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
"Not nearly as ridiculous as you," she replies, giving his hand a squeeze before going into the car. He follows, plopping down on the driver's side and making sure she's buckled before driving off.
Car rides have always been nice for Tae. Whereas grocery shopping and vacuuming piss him off, long car rides were always something he loves. The peaceful atmosphere and driving all day was always something he adored.
He loves traveling, another reason why he loves his job so much. He travels the world protecting people with his best friend. Sure, it sucks he can't have a real lover, but he's grateful he can do what he does. Sometimes when you love a job so much, having a partner isn't something you need. All Tae needs is this job and his best friend. That's it.
But whenever Tae glances at Y/n, he feels that urge to protect her on a personal level. With her, it's not just a job. He's mentioned it before, but it's only grown since then.
Tae gulps down his thoughts and drives a bit faster. Y/n, on the other hand, is staring out the window and tracing her finger across the glass. Tae softly smiles at the sight. She's beautiful. He hopes she knows that.
"You know, I think I might get into painting," she says, breaking the silence.
"Painting?"
"Mhm. I don't know, I feel like I might like it, even if I'm bad at it."
"Well, if you go into it with a good attitude, I'm sure you'll be a natural," Tae says.
Y/n softly laughs. "I like the positivity, Mr. Kim."
Shit, not "Mr. Kim." Her calling him that makes him swoon. He hates that it does, but he can't help himself.
"Can I take lessons with you?" Tae asks in a serious tone.
"Oh, you too? Wanting to draw? Hmm, I don't know, Tae, I feel like this is something really private to me."
"Putting a brush on paper is private to you?" he asks with a huff.
Y/n laughs. "Oh come on, you don't even tell people your real name most of the time!"
"Okay, but must I remind you I get paid for that?" Tae teases as he makes the final turn.
Y/n sighs, shaking her head. "You're insane, you know that?"
"Oh I know," he replies, pulling into their driveway. Tae parks as quickly as he can, turning to look at her. "You know he loves you, right?"
Y/n goes still at that. It takes a few moments, then, she finally meets his eyes.
"I do," she whispers.
Tae smiles, ruffling her hair, then he departs the vehicle. She does the same, the two joining sides and holding hands as they walk inside the house.
The two of them close and lock the door behind them, Jimin rushing into the mudroom to hug the fuck out of Tae. Y/n laughs while Tae gets his bones crushed and shakily hugs back.
"Jimin... it's nice to see you... but... my ribs," he coughs out.
Jimin giggles like a baby and pulls back. "Did you get the groceries?"
Tae nods. "Can you help bring them in?"
"AKA: You want me to do it for you?" Jimin asks.
"Yes please!" Y/n and Tae say in sync.
Jimin sighs and smiles. "What am I gonna do with you two?"
Seconds later, Jimin's departing to go get all the groceries. Tae and Y/n wait in the kitchen, opening the cabinets in preparation to put the goods away. Tae watches Y/n trace circles into the countertop, humming as she does so.
Her face is so passive, but Tae can still tell there are countless thoughts hiding behind her eyes.
So, he loves her. He can't have her, but he loves her. Tae knows he'll do almost anything for her. She's there for him at all times of the day, whenever he needs her. Ironic, isn't it? He's the bodyguard, yet here he is relying on her.
Jimin comes back, getting all the bags in one go and rushing in. Y/n eagerly goes over to help, but Jimin appears distracted. So distracted that even Y/n picks up on it.
"Minnie?" she asks. "What's wrong?"
Jimin places the bags down. "You have a visitor."
Y/n goes stiff, as does Tae. Visitor can only mean one thing. Jeon Jungkook is finally ready to talk.
On instinct, Tae follows Y/n. She rushes to the door, seeing it's already open, and Jungkook's standing there. Tae stays a few feet away, being careful to give them space.
"Hey... we need to talk," Jungkook starts.
"Damn right we do. How are you feeling?" she asks.
Jungkook fiddles with his fingers. "I'm alright. It's gonna be weird calling you Y/n from now on, though."
Y/n nods in agreement, motioning for him to come in. "Want to go to my room?"
"I'd love that," Jungkook says, about to step inside.
However, he never gets the chance to. Before he can step in, a loud 'bang' goes off.
A gunshot.
Tae gasps as blood is splattered on the floor with Jungkook screaming in pain. Tae's eyes bulge, and Jimin sprints over as Jungkook groans and holds his wound.
Tae goes completely still as the dread hits his bones.
They've finally been found.
~~~
STARFIELD WEEK, DAY 5
Starfield is my upcoming PJM fanfiction that will release on December 21, 2023. Here is additional information about the story to build anticipation!
In the first season of Starfield, Jimin is serving his prison sentence by working as a miner for a company named Argos Extractors. Only four days before his sentence is up, he stumbles upon something he shouldn't while in the mines, which catches the attention of the legendary space explorer group, Constellation.
Y/n L/n, a volunteer navy pilot and member of Constellation, visits Jimin and encourages him to join Constellation. Jimin is hesitant, especially since Y/n is from a faction he hates (the United Colonies, UC for short), but he eventually agrees after realizing Constellation are the only ones qualified to give him answers to what he saw.
From there, Jimin is taken to United Colonies territory and meets the Constellation members, who are stationed in a building called the Lodge in the Alpha Centauri system, located in the city of New Atlantis.
Constellation is made aware of Jimin's criminal background and warns him that making similar mistakes will cause him to get booted out of Constellation.
Does he listen? No, of course not. This is a Raven story, what were you expecting?
He immediately goes back to his criminal ways, resulting in him getting caught by UC security and starting the main plot of season 1.
Every character in Starfield has a set of special skills. Jimin's special skills at the start of the story are: pickpocketing/lockpicking, combat (particularly with shotguns and assault rifles), and having high stamina.
Check out my most recent message board post for more information + the official Starfield book trailer!