As Jimin nearly fel backwards and lost his balance, a boy grabbed his hand to swiftly pull him back to his feet.
"Wow," the young man said, his jaw dropping in fascination. "You're beautiful."
Jimin looked completely taken aback by this unexpected stranger in front of him.
The boy had kind doe eyes that smiled warmly and a handsome face that made Jimin's heart pound a little faster.
"No I'm not. I'm a man silly kid," Jimin said, taking his hand back when he realised it was still being held by the stranger.
"Does that mean you can't be beautiful?" The boy asked, innocently cocking his head like a puppy.
Jimin shook his head and took a step back. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" He asked, shivering against the cold wind.
"Is that supposed to be an insult? I'm 19 you know," the boy said, scoffing with a smirk that sent a wave of tingelings through Jimin's stomache.
"Oh..." he said. "Sorry."
"My name is Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook," the stranger said, lifting his hand as he introduced himself.
Jimin looked at Jungkook's hand but didn't accept it. "I think we already touched hands enough for one meeting."
Jungkook frowned for a second before laughing. "You could be right," he said.
But just as Jimin thought the boy would drop it, he confidently reached for Jimin's hand and brough it to his lips, bringing them down ever so gently.
Jimin stared at the way Jungkook kissed his hand, feeling sparks soar trough his body that reached places that tinted his cheeks.
"Are you mad? Kissing a man's hand? Do you want to get beaten rascal?"
Jimin ripped himself away and gulped nervously.
"I'm sorry if I offended you," Jungkook said, a self-assured smile plastered on his face.
"You need to be tought some respect," Jimin said sternly, straightening his shirt and looking around to check if anyone had seen them.
"Kissing someone's hand is a sign of respect where I come from," Jungkook defended indignantly.
"For women yes," Jimin bit back as he rolled his eyes.
The man folded his arms, trying to warm himself as the cold wind still penetrated his thin clothes.
"Well, you're more beautiful than any woman I know."
And with that line Jungkook had stolen Jimin's breath away like magic.
"You're an insolent young man," Jimin said as he looked away, becoming extremely self-concious with himself for no reason he could think of.
"Why are you crying?" Jungkook asked, ignoring the stand-offish way Jimin was treating him. "It makes you look pretty but I'd rather see you smile I believe."
Jimin was trying to convince himself that this brat wasn't actually trying to flatter him, but the boy was making it very hard for him.
"It's none of your business," Jimin said, timidly tucking his hair behind his ear and chewing on his lips as the reason for escaping his brother and fiancé returned to him.
"Don't you want to talk?" Jungkook asked anyway, shoving his hands into his pockets and casually rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Or maybe you'd rather talk in private? Out of the cold?"
Jimin's lips parted but he quickly closed them, not wanting to show his outrage to the brat's nerve.
"Are you out of your mind? What are you? A third-class passenger? Look at your clothes, how did you even get on this ship?"
Jungkook chuckled, "for someone who can't stand to be around those pompeous first-class bastards you do seem to act like one." The boy playfully looked up through his lashes as if he were trying to charm Jimin. "You ran didn't you? I saw it. You came out here to get some air. To free yourself for a moment."
Jimin remembered the annoying cackeling laughs of his company back at his compartement and felt his stomache twist at the idea of having to return.
"It's not that easy. I can't just flee my life. Some people aren't meant to sleep with rats like others."
Jimin turned around and took a deep breath, scrambeling together the courage to reunite with his brother and fiancé.
"I disagree."
Jimin's dreading was disturbed by Jungkook speaking up again.
At first, he'd had no intention of
engaging into another coversation with the kid. But how could this boy dare to disagree? Jimin had spent his entire life wishing he could escape. Wishing to be dealt any other cards. But something like that was simply not possible.
"You don't get to disagree!" Jimin said sharply, turning to face Jungkook once more. "That's just the way it is. All you people see are rich folks with no worries or problems other than how much food they can stuff into their stomaches at dinner. But guess what, you're wrong! This life isn't paradise! Not for everyone! I'm not free, I'm stuck, like a fucking circus animal I have to perform my best and pretend like I want all of this. And for what? For my stupid parents, my hateful brother, who've only ever treated me as if I were nothing? As if I were a puppet to be controlled and played with. It's not fair, nothing is fair!"
Jimin panted after speaking his mind, slowly coming to realise how much he'd ranted into a stranger's face.
"Felt good didn't it? Saying what you thought for once?"
Jungkook looked at Jimin in a way no one had ever done before. His eyes venturing up and down Jimin's body as if he were scanning him, taking in all the details he could see.
"I believe..." the boy started, licking his lips slightly. "That no matter how stuck you think you are... there is always a way out if you're brave enough to walk the path."
Jimin stared at the young boy in front of his with eyes that twinkeled in the moonlight, filled with the tinyest amount of hope he still had left for a better future.
"You really think so?..." he asked insecurely, starting to wonder what this boy was thinking when he was examining Jimin so intesely.
Jungkook chuckled and nodded looking up at the dark sky. "Ofcourse!" He said loudly. "It's your life. Fly to the stars if that's what you want, no one can cut off an angel's wings."
Jimin laughed melodically, shielding his face with his hand. "You are a curious boy, do you know that?"
Jungkook looked back down at Jimin. "And you? You're a boy to right? Even though you act like you're not."
Jimin huffed as if he felt insulted. "I'll have you know that I'm 21 years old. I am an adult not a boy."
"You talk as if youthfulness is a bad thing," Jungkook smiled as if he had been told a hilarious joke.
"You brat! You are twisting my wor-"
"Jimin! Get back inside!" Yoongi yelled, making Jimin gasp quietly as his heart stopped in shock.
He immediatly turned around and walked away from Jungkook as if the two had never shared a conversation, falling back into his brother's controlling hands while showing no resistance, even though on the inside, he was screaming.
"So your name is Jimin!" Jungkook yelled after the terrified boy. "I like that name, it suits you."
Jimin felt that strange wave of tingelings venture through his stomache once more, the second time since he'd met that strange kid.
He couldn't say he hated the feeling, but it scared him all the same.
Someone had looked at him. Someone had listened to him when he wasn't playing a character, and showed interest. Gave him advice even. It couldn't be real. It was too good to be true.
Jimin didn't answer Jungkook while following his brother inside, but the fact that he wanted to, did conjure a small smile onto the boy's face, and suddenly, made the night a little less dark, and the stars a little more bright.