In the living room, there's an 'L' shaped sofa with a glass coffee table. Jungkook and Taehyung are sitting side by side, leaving a space between them. They both have their eyes fixed on Jimin. Jimin, who was seated in that empty space next to Jungkook, suddenly becomes flustered. He forgets to put away his phone and nervously looks at Jungkook.
Taehyung notices the commotion and puts down his game console. He frowns and asks Jimin,
"What are you taking a photo for?"
Caught off guard, Jimin slowly raises his head.
He notices Jungkook's smile and leans forward to confront him, "Um, are you taking a photo of me?"
Jimin quickly withdraws and tightly holds his phone, denying it by saying, "No, no."
Jungkook playfully questions, "Really?"
Jimin hesitates to answer, leaving the question hanging in the air. Jungkook then teasingly asks, "Why are you taking a photo of me? Is it because I am handsome?"
Taehyung snorts when he hears that, "Could you be any more shameless?"
He seems to think about something, "Is it because you want to report--"
But before he can finish his sentence, Jimin quickly interrupts him, "My female friends told me that I have a really handsome hyung. So they asked for a photo."
Taehyung stops in his tracks, surprised by Jimin's response.
"Haha, you have female friends?" he asks, laughing at Jimin.
Jimin retorts, "Yeah, so? I'm popular in my class too!"
Taehyung smirks and says, "Well then, let's take a good picture of me and show them how handsome your hyung is." He strikes a pose, trying to lighten the mood.
But Jimin's face turns even redder with embarrassment. He walks angrily towards his bedroom and adds,
"It's just too embarrassing to send them a photo of you."
There's a moment of silence in the living room, and the atmosphere becomes awkward.
Both taehyung and jungkook have different expressions on their faces.
Taehyung turns his head and looks at Jungkook, a hint of frustration in his voice. "I thought he was gonna take a photo to report me."
Jungkook's smile fades and he tries to stay calm. He simply responds with a quiet "Hm."
Taehyung takes a moment to process what Jimin said, trying to control his emotions. "Damn, this isn't as satisfying as reporting."
Silence fills the room once again.
"Woah." Taehyung can't contain himself any longer and stands up abruptly. "Just wait here for a bit."
Without hesitation, Jungkook follows him, trying to stop him. He chuckles lightly. "Bro, don't get into a fight with Jimin over this, okay?"
Taehyung: "....."
Jungkook: "Jimin can be a bit insensitive, so don't let it bother you too much."
Taehyung looks at him, his expression unreadable.
Jungkook pats Taehyung's shoulder, trying to hold back his laughter. "At this age," he says, "they just want to have some self-esteem. Maybe you could try to be more understanding towards him?"
Self-esteem.
Be more understanding.
Taehyung's frown deepens. "I get it, damn it. I really do understand."
As he listens, Jimin reflects on his reasons for eavesdropping. He finds it to be valid and understandable.
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Jimin takes out his phone and opens the photo he had snapped earlier. Although it's not the clearest image, it captures Jungkook's gentle smile from the side.
Feeling a sense of worthiness, a smile spreads across Jimin's face.
He gazes at the photo for a few more minutes, savoring the moment, before closing it and tucking his phone under his pillow. Taking a deep breath, he gathers his composure and acts as if nothing happened. Jimin glances at himself in the mirror, ensuring he looks presentable.
Satisfied with his appearance, Jimin clears his throat and conceals his phone. He opens the door and quickly surveys the room before making a beeline for Taehyung's bedroom. He settles himself at the table.
Jimin tries to concentrate on his textbook, but his mind keeps wandering to the living room. After a while, someone walks in.
Without even looking, Jimin knows it's Jungkook. He scratches his head and pretends to be engrossed in his work.
Jungkook plops down next to him and watches him. "Hey kiddo, give me your last final examination question paper to take a look?"
Jimin hesitates and then stops writing. He takes a deep breath and asks,
"Hyung, could you not call me that way?"
Jungkook lifts his head, looking confused. "Huh?"
Jimin looks at him and stays quiet.
Jungkook persists, "kiddo?"
Jimin nods.
Jungkook questions, "You don't like it when I call you like that?"
"Not really," Jimin murmurs. "It's just that I don't feel like I'm Jimin anymore."
"So You're not a kid?" Jungkook finds it amusing. "So now you feel like you have mature?"
Jimin presses his lips together and ignores him.
"But I am used to calling you that way." Jungkook express.
"Then you should change it. I don't want to be called 'kid' anymore." Jimin looked at Jungkook and firmly stated,
Jungkook, taken aback by Jimin's sudden outburst, paused for a moment to process his words.
With a playful smile, Jungkook leaned in closer, their shoulders gently touching. Jimin's hand trembled slightly as he tightly held onto his pen, his heart fluttering in his chest.
"Okay, then what should I call you instead?" Jungkook asked, his voice low.
Jimin continued to look at his notebook, he could feel the warmth spreading across his cheeks. He mustered up the courage and muttered,
"How about just 'Jimin'?"
"It still emphasizes that it's me, but without the 'little' part. It feels more fitting for who I am now." Jimin said,
His voice wavered slightly, betraying his nervousness. It was a simple suggestion, but it held a world of meaning for him.
The room fell silent for a moment as Jungkook processed Jimin's words, a soft smile forming on his lips.
Jimin finally looked up at Jungkook, their eyes met as they held each other's gaze. They were sitting so close to each other, feeling the warmth between each other.
Jungkook nodded lightly, understanding Jimin's perspective.
"From now on, I'll call you just Jimin."
Jimin smiles shyly.
until Jungkook decides to open his mouth again.
"So, 'just jimin'. Let's continue our study session. "
Jimin lets out a heavy sigh,
What did he expect?
Then he decides to let it go and focuses on his studies instead.
As they continue studying, Jungkook watches Jimin carefully,
Smiling to himself, remembering jimin's silly acts. It always amused him how jimin can thaught something so big in his small head. For his age he sure thinks ahead.
While looking at jimin focus face, jungkook notices that some strands of hair keep getting in jimin's eyes. Unknowingly, Jungkook reaches out and gently brushes the hair away, catching Jimin off guard.
Jimin freezes for a moment, surprised by the unexpected gesture. Sensing Jimin's reaction, Jungkook coughs and tries to play it cool.
"Your hair seems to have grown a bit longer," he says, trying to lighten the mood.
Jimin looks away and bites his lip, "I guess."
~
Jimin finished answering all the questions, feeling a bit relaxed. Jungkook glanced at his work, remembering what Jimin had said earlier. "You don't want a private tutorial?" Jungkook asked, checking the answers.
Jimin replied vaguely, "I don't want to learn."
Jungkook chuckled, teasingly saying, "Apart from studies, what else should you do at this age??"
Jimin choked on his words, feeling misunderstood. "You won't get it."
Jungkook pointed out the question Jimin got wrong, allowing him to take another look. "Okay, maybe I don't. You can do whatever you want, but make sure it doesn't interfere with your studies."
Jimin nodded, acknowledging the advice. "I know."
"Take some time to think about it," Jungkook said, closing his textbook. "Let's end the lesson here."
Jimin agreed, silently contemplating his choices.
Later, They both gathered in the hall to hang out and relax. Jungkook asked Jimin if he wanted to play games, so they sat on the sofa, each with their own console, playing games on the TV!
Then, Taehyung entered the hall with a plate of yummy sliced watermelon. His phone chimed as he got a message from someone.
While checking out his phone he Mumbled, "I'll go out for a bit, but don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Jimin immediately asked Taehyung, "Where are you going?"
Taehyung, swayed his phone and replied, "That's none of your business. Just enjoy your watermelon."
As Taehyung took out his wallet from the drawer, he suddenly remembered Jungkook, "Hey kook, do you want to come with me or stay here?"
But Jungkook's gaze remained fixed on the screen, totally engrossed in his game.
"I'll go a bit later. I still have to go to my part-time job. I'll head there directly from here." Jungkook finally responded,
"Okay," Taehyung said. "I suppose I'll be back home by the time you leave."
After Taehyung left, Both of them kept playing video games but after some time, Jimin lost the game, so now Jungkook was playing alone.
Jimin feels a bit bored and decides to strike up a conversation with Jungkook.
"Hyung do you know where he went?"
"He is off to find a date before valentine's Day." Jungkook said, sounding a bit disinterested,
Jimin's eyes widen as he realizes that Valentine's Day was coming, which is just a few days away. He turns to Jungkook and asks.
"What about you?"
Jungkook's fingers come to a halt as he finally looks at Jimin, a bit lost for words.
"Uh... I,
Suddenly Jimin remembers Jungkook's plan to go back home after graduation and build his career there.
What if he falls in love with someone in Busan.
The thought of Jungkook finding a partner and spending his life in busan fills Jimin with a heavy feeling. It's like a weight pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Summoning his courage, Jimin boldly speaks up,
"Hyung, don't date!"
His words come out without any expression, but deep down, he's feeling a mix of fear and desperation. He's afraid that if Jungkook starts dating someone, their bond might change or even fade away.
Jungkook looks at Jimin with confusion and surprise.
"What?"
Jimin holds his ground, determined to express his feelings.
"Just Don't date anyone," he says, still showing no expression.
Jungkook looks at Jimin for a moment, trying to make sense of his request. He can't help but burst into laughter.
"Jimin, why are you asking me not to date?"