Jungkook jogged after Jimin like a playful puppy, a mischievious grin on his face as he followed the older boy.
"Who was that guy yesterday? The one that told you to come back. Your father?"
Jimin continued walking hoping the younger boy would leave him alone. "He's my brother," he mumbled reluctantly.
"Oh, he seems like an uptight prick but that's just my opinion."
Jimin stopped walking abruptly, causing Jungkook to crash into him.
"Well no one asked for your opinion right?" He said sharply, turning to face the boy.
But unlike Jimin had expected, Jungkook didn't retaliate with a snarky remark and instead, took advantage of the small space between the two.
He gazed deep into Jimin's eyes, seemingly getting lost in their entrancing quality.
Jimin gulped, feeling like he should move away or push Jungkook back. But he didn't want to. He wanted the boy to look at him forever, he wanted to feel like he was worth being looked at.
"Why is it you feel so trapped?" Jungkook asked, speaking softly not to scare Jimin out of their moment.
Jimin had never been this close to a man before. His heart was pounding as if it was trying to escape his chest. "Because there are walls surrounding me," he chuckled, even though his smile faded just as quickly as it had formed.
"Didn't I tell you before..." Jungkook said, his eyes getting dragged down to Jimin's lips. "That you could fly if you really wanted to?"
For the first time Jimin saw Jungkook swallow harshly, showing finally that even the strange boy could be nervous.
"If there's something you want with all your heart, all you have to do is fight," he said, whispering so softly that his voice almost blended in with the howling wind.
Jimin's eyes darted over Jungkook's face, looking for an answer as to how he could feel so warm in the presence of a complete stranger.
"Have you ever had to fight for something you wanted?" Jimin asked, subcontiously making the distance between them smaller as he was drawn in by Jungkook's mysterious aura.
Jimin felt Jungkook touch his hand ever so delicately as if he were a flower that could perish. "How do you think I got here?" Jungkook chuckled.
Jimin was so very close to losing himself to the engulfing feeling of being wanted by someone, feeling his face draw closer to Jungkook's before someone interrupted them.
"Jimin? There you are."
Jimin pushed Jungkook away so forcefully the younger boy nearly lost his balance and slipped, only staying upright since he managed to hold onto the railing of the ship.
"Namjoon, you're back," Jimin said, feeling as if someone had thrown a bucket of icewater over his head.
"Yes..." Namjoon said, frowning at the boy behind Jimin. "Who is that? Would he like to join us on the tour?"
Jungkook looked to Jimin, then to Namjoon, and then to Jimin again. "No..." he said, akwardly scratching the back of his head. "As a prince I do not have any interest in that sort of... stuff..."
Jimin rolled his eyes even though he couldn't help but swoon a little.
"A prince? I... I do not remember seeing a prince on the firstclass passengerli-"
Jungkook quickly spoke through Namjoon's words.
"Yes well that's very nice but I have to go now, I have to do some... prince duties..."
The boy slowly started retreating backwards, "by the way, Jimin?"
Jimin looked at Jungkook right away.
"If you really want to know what I'm fighting for, meet me here again tonight. I promise I'll tell you everything."
With that Jungkook turned around to flee away, and Jimin could imagine the playful smirk the boy was probably wearing as he did so.
"A prince? I have to say I honestly didn't know... are you two friends?" Namjoon seemed completely confused.
"Eh... yes you could say that..." Jimin said, smiling fondly as he remembered the boy's proposal.
Was he brave enough to accept? Did he have the courage to change his path and do something differently for once?
~~~
"Tae! Tae! I met him again!"
Jungkook bursted into the cramped little room with two bunkbeds that him and his bestfriend Kim Taehyung stayed in in thirdclass.
Taehyung forced his eyes open against the harsh light of day. "The disrespectful beauty?" He asked with a groan.
"Who else?" Jungook wondered with a frown.
The boy sat down on the lower half of the other bunkbed but could barely keep his excitement contained.
"Tae, when I tell you he's the prettiest man I have ever seen you have got to believe me," he said with a gleeful smile.
"Prettier than me?" Taehyung asked smugly.
"Like way prettier!" Jungkook said, holding onto his head as if he couldn't comprehend it.
Taehyung rolled his eyes before he closed them against the bright daylight. "Alright so he's pretty. But what about the rest of him? Because he seems like a major prick to me."
"He is not! He's just bitter. He thinks the world hates him. That everything is out to get him. All he needs is a little hope. I saw it in his eyes when we spoke."
Taehyung hummed but he sounded unconvinced.
"Oh and when we were talking Taehyung, we were standing so close together. I... I think he wanted to kiss me..."
Taehyung frowned immediatly. "Okay now I know you're being delusional. A rich guy like that wouldn't kiss scum like us. By the way he's a man. Men don't kiss men in their world Kook."
Jungkook pouted but he didn't know how to retaliate. "Then I'll take him to my world..." he mumbled.
Taehyung laughed. "Ha, good luck with that."
Jungkook sighed. He wanted to tell his friend about how he'd asked Jimin to meet him on the top deck tonight. But he was afraid that if Jimin didn't show up, he'd have to face that humiliation for the rest of his life with Taehyung as witness.
"I don't need your luck," the boy said, staring at the little window in their room."I brought cologne."
~~~
"Yes we received a small warning that there could be some icebergs on the route we're taking, but I'm sure those will have melted by the time we get there."
Namjoon stabbed his fork into some meat and smiled kindly at Yoongi, who had requested more information about the tour he had missed.
"That sounds serious," Jimin said with a frown, not having heard this from Namjoon before.
"Oh do not worry. We have it all under control."
"We believe you ofcourse," Yoongi said, shooting Jimin a quick glare.
Jimin lowered his head and spoke quietly. "Yes... ofcourse."
Namjoon nodded. "It's quite alright. I would just hate if people would panic for no reason."
Ella came into the room then, throwing a charming smile at everyone at the table as she arrived quite late.
"Sorry, lost track of time," she said, blushing as she took a seat.
Jimin looked at his fiancé, feeling as if he got stabbed in the heart when he noticed a peculiar mark on the girl's neck.
"Looks like you've had fun," he whispered to her.
Ella covered her neck with a shawl right away and coloured an even deeper red.
"Jimin, aren't you running late for your meeting with the prince?" Namjoon asked after checking the time on his pocketwatch.
Jimin felt Yoongi's glare peirce through him like a pointy knife.
"What prince?" He spat immediatly, demanding an explanation.
"Uh...ehm... uhm.. eh... uh..." Jimin stammered nervously, trying quickly to come up with something.
"Your friend. He seemed like a wise man," Namjoon noted, chewing his dinner as if he were in deep thought.
"Oh really? Maybe you should introduce me to this prince," Yoongi said, perking up as his curiosity spiked.
Jimin's eyes widened. No! his brain immediatly shouted.
"Maybe some other time. We were planning on talking in private... about things that wouldn't interest you..."
"
Like what?" Yoongi asked with squinted eyes.
"Mechanics... books.... art..."
Yoongi's face contourted with disinterest. "Ugh... you might be right. Fine, but maybe later tonight you could-"
Jimin rose from his seat abruptly and chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah sure, right, maybe tonight."
He backed out of the room as stealthy as possible, shooting nervous glances at everyone as he tried to leave. "See you all later, maybe, yeah, later, alright, uhm... bye."
~~~
Jungkook had been waiting outside since the sun had lowered from the sky.
"He's gonna show... don't worry... he'll show..."
Jungkook paced around nervously, praying that this man that was way out of his league would meet him.
Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he was a fool to believe this boy would pay him any mind. He was poor and had nothing offer other than a key to the cage Jimin was trapped in.
What if that wasn't enough?
Jungkook's thoughts were driving him mad. Maybe he shouldn't have done this... he was too damn impulsive... maybe he made a mistake asking Jimin to meet him.
"What was I thinking?" The boy groaned, crossing his arms as he shivered against the cold.
"Do you ever think?" Jimin asked, smiling fondly at the young man before him.
Jungkook's eyes widened as he saw Jimin walking towards him, all his doubt disappearing into thin air and making place for the most happiness the boy had ever felt.
"I think a lot..." Jungkook said, his eyes venturing over Jimin's body the way they had done before, tinting Jimin's cheeks a light rose.
Jimin chuckled shyly before taking Jungkook's hand and dragging him with him. "We have to go to your part of the ship before my brother decides to join us."
Jungkook blinked like a mechanical doll as he allowed Jimin to guide him inside the ship.
"Come again?!"