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It was a well-to-be spent Saturday. Jungkook was going to get a lot of his homework done and indulge himself in video games the rest of the day. If he had just enough time left, he would wind off at the skating ring set at the small city's downtown throughout the new year season.
What he is doing instead, is fancying as the sixth member of an unconstitutional party, on the watch-out for hacker boy Jimin to beg their way behind the bush, quite literally. They line up in front of a pink wooden house bounded by a small garden, one of the many traditional cabins in the street. On their way, Jungkook noticed that the house was only two streets away from the park where they met and the cafe where they hung out that day.
His stomach churns gruesomely. Is Jimin even going to remember him?
"Are you sure this is where he lives?"
"Positive. The source is reliable."
Jungkook sucks in a breath with doe eyes, blinking anxiously. Among these badly-behaved students he feels like the disoriented kid he was back in primary school, except the ends of his dirty shirt don't unevenly poke out of his pants and his snot doesn't run down his lips anymore. Other than that, totes same.
The Secret Services climb up the porch stairs in their usual professional element, easily establishing a bowling formation as they wait for the door to be attended. Jungkook strays behind, eyes glued to the door — he supposes he is a little silly for trying hard to the point that his eyes cross and he has to blink feverishly to regain his eye sight.
It finally cracks. Jungkook holds his breath.
She is a portly senior lady, dressed in a soft pink gown that reaches a little under her knees and pink fluffy house slippers that restrain exactly behind the Welcome carpet front the door. A bit down the frame is a little guy holding her hand mightily, only half of his body showing behind her leg where he shyly hides.
Jungkook can't help but smile when they unite eyes for a brief second.
"Can I help you?" the lady asks pleasantly surprised, inquisitively scanning her surprise visitors.
"Oh, hi!" Jin sings cheerfully. "We are looking for a Park Jimin. He lives here, right?"
She smiles unsurely, taken aback by the question. Jungkook wonders if they are in the right house. There is a chance they are Jimin's mother and little brother (logically guessing), but then he doesn't trust the methodology in which the members attained Jimin's housing information one bit, to begin with.
"Not really," she replies, petting the hair of the smaller who is pulling at her dress.
Jungkook sighs. He scolds himself for wasting his time with nonsense, he should know better. Seriously! It's not like Jimin is waiting for him with open arms anyway, even if he lived here! On a second thought thought over more than a couple five times, he is pretty much obsessing over a guy he just met once in his life and it's already been two weeks since that incident!
"But he is my neighbor," she speaks again, at which everybody beams, including Jungkook who throws the entirety of the little rant he just had in his brain meeting out of the window. "I can take you to him if you would like?"
"Yes, please! That would be lovely!" Jin sets the deal and thanks her a million times, shuffling everyone around to make an easy path for her down the porch. The lady laughs at his anticipation, clasping the little boy to her arms as she shuts the door and heads towards the backside of her house.
Now that is confusing.
"Are we supposed to follow her?" Jin whisper-shouts as the rest of them raise on their tiptoes in curiosity to watch the lady and the boy disappear through the corner of the house's wall.
"She probably went to pick up something from her backyard," Yoongi pulls Jin back by the arm annoyedly, preventing the boy last minute from sneaking behind the lady. "Have some manners you idiot!" He smacks Jin's head sourly, having to cover his mouth in regret right after because Jin is an idiot who will reflexively whine at anything.
Frustration increasing second by second, Jungkook can't say he is less than startled when the little boy's head suddenly peaks from the corner of that same wall, blinking weirdly at the disoriented group. His head ducks automatically in confusion, trying to make sure that the little boy is now pointing at him.
"Me?" Jungkook mouths, own hand coming to point at himself.
The little boy facepalms.
"What are you guys waiting for?" he asks with voice just as soft as himself, half-slurred half-audible. He sighs when everyone exchanges eye contact unsurely, waving his hand in his direction. "Come!"
Jungkook clears his throat.
"I totally knew we had to follow her. Everyone's a nitwit in here." he shamelessly complains, leading the way in complete ignorance of the betrayed expression of the team, Yoongi and Jin for openers.
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Fool's paradise come to life, Jungkook can say he finally hit the jackpot. Something apparently decided to go right in his life for which good deed he doesn't remember doing. He must have, at some point in his life. Because boy, that is one blond beauty in his natural habitat and Jungkook has stepped into said habitat.
That can't be no other but Jimin.
"Don't get me wrong, but I seriously love you right now," Yoongi whispers with a gone smile, which is pretty awkward because did he just confess to Jimin at whom he is staring, or to Jin whose hand he is persistently holding unto? If Jungkook studies hard enough, maybe he might even take on the confession since he is standing next to Yoongi too. "That's fucking him!"
Jungkook might be side-tracking conversations but honestly? He doesn't give a fuck. That is Jimin right there, sitting at the picnic table under the shadow of the wicker patio umbrella, sipping on some coffee-colored drink as he interchangeably goes through his notes and computer and Jungkook doesn't have a growing head bump this once — so he is pretty much openly ready to admit to himself that he likes what he is seeing, to an unhealthy degree.
"Legend of the blue sea..." Minji sighs from his other side, Jungkook's eyes perking up. She grins dreamily. "I'm just saying... If Lee Min-ho got sick and he needed a replacement, I wouldn't mind watching Jimin run the legend."
Jungkook doesn't particularly like hearing that, however he is not going to bother arguing with some random female student about Jimin's grace (not because he wouldn't mind a Jimin legend either).
As the little boy loiters around in the garden, the lady talks to Jimin, whose attention finally catches their group. He squints his eyes, trying to make out the strangers and visibly decides he doesn't know any of them. Jungkook feels awfully stupid, because why is he even here? Does he realize what he is just going to propose to Jimin? Fuck, Jimin is gonna throw them out!
Breathe, Jungkook reminds himself. Jimin is walking in their direction.
The closer he gets the more desperate Jungkook realizes he becomes to make eye contact. It finally does happen but it's nothing illusory as he intended to be, as Jimin equally distributes his attention between everyone and Jungkook wants to pout at his luck.
"I don't think we know each other," Jimin says.
Jungkook is close to swearing out loud.
"Ah, Jimin-ssi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Jin butts in with his flattery, tone switching to that mellow overly manipulative debate discourse Jungkook knows too well of. "We heard a ton about you."
Jimin raises an eyebrow. "About me?"
Yoongi chuckles, rolling his eyes obviously. "Who else is Jimin here?"
Yeah Yoongi has expressiveness issues and things don't exactly come out of his mouth as smooth as he thinks of them, but Jimin doesn't know that. And Jimin is not very happy right now. Yoongi is then trying to make up for his rude remark with an apology because Jin is on the verge of murdering him if he doesn't set things right at that place and time.
"Y-you are very famous in Gidae University," Yoongi rambles, face flushed. "We have something to discuss with you." Jimin keeps his composure, waiting for more explanation. Yoongi probably kind of wishes to disappear. "A favor..."
Jungkook bites his lip, praying upon the heavens for Jimin to at least consider. At least agree to listen.
Jimin hums, watching his shoes brush the grass. Then he hums some more. Then he hums some more and some more and Jungkook decides he had some hypertension issues his parents never warned him about because it never came to manifest itself but look! Look, now he is turning a lot red in the face and he totally can feel his left eye twitch! And Jimin is humming some more as if he waited for Jungkook to have his first hypertension episode to get thoughtful.
"Five minutes," Jimin finally speaks, and Jungkook's lungs empty a chunk of air. He realizes everyone else is on the edge too. Tension has been holding the air captive. "You all are Gidae students, aren't you?"
Jungkook finds himself pointing at Shady (dude he never got to trust since that first day at the Secret Services meeting and decided to name Shady to facilitate association), watching the square sunglasses hang unto the bridge of his nose painfully. They are gonna fall down dude, he wants to say but instead he utters, "We're not sure about him."
All the members' eyes are on him in lightening speed, which he observes happening in slow motion for some reason.
Belatedly, he gulps in realization.
He totally slipped that.
Fuck.
He meets Jimin's gaze hesitantly, telepathically begging for mercy. He swears he didn't purposefully ruin their chances with him!
Dead scared of the outcome he deserved to get in case it happens, he tries not to shy out of Jimin's eyes digging into his. He is sweating bulks, can feel droplets sliding down his back (there are many of them because his back is expansive) — but then Jimin's expression makes a sudden U-turn, corner of lip twitching into an unexpected smile that makes Jungkook's heart stop right in spot.
"Kay," Jimin shrugs, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking away. "Just five minutes."
Yes'es chant in the air as Jungkook tries not to collapse right there and then.
He is fucking hyperventilating.
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Jimin is the same person as the day Jungkook met him. That brings Jungkook an immense amount of relief, saving him from the burden of what ifs he drowned himself in since he found out they were visiting Jimin. He is attentive, kind and warm-smiled. He asks questions and indulges himself in the little conversations Jin makes amidst being the spokesperson. He is indeed so invested in this prank idea that Jungkook can already see them working together.
"Well have you guys thought of what you are going to perform? It has to be a dance for sure, I mean, to this day, no mascot has skipped a good routine at the winner games."
Jungkook feels funny in his stomach. He didn't dance in front of anybody before and he definitely didn't think the day would come. He has always been the behind the scenes guy if not for his YouTube channel in which he did nothing more than small-scale pranks. Now he has to face an entire crowd and make 'em love himself. It's tough, adding to the sorrow that his friends are oblivious to his anxiety.
Now Jimin has expectations too.
"Once we get Jungkookie to be selected, everything will pretty much work out," Jin beams, tapping impatiently at the wooden table with his fingertips. He watches and watches Jimin's face for any reaction other than the pretty smile he has been putting on since they have introduced their reason for visiting, but the blond's glued expression is nowhere to go. It's weird a little, like they are in a frozen movie frame that's lagging too long to be comfortable around. Jungkook wishes there was an Esc button he could hit.
"Ahem, so..." Yoongi interrupts, eyeing the two boys who seem to have started a wordless staredown. "When are getting on with the hacking? The selection is made by the end of Sunday so we need to get working as soon as possible."
"What hacking?" Jimin blinks cutely at Yoongi, being the first one to cut the eye contact. It's sickeningly sweet, of a mocking kind Jin is not happy to acknowledge.
"Jimin-ssi," Jin draws out, not much patience left after all the talking he made. "I thought we were on the same page here?"
"Nope," Jimin shrugs, leaning back at his chair nonchalantly. "I never said I'd do any hacking."
Jin grits his teeth, growing the type of angry that brings about a nagging episode. It's not a good attitude to take on if they really want to convince Jimin. "You sounded interested." And Jimin did, he looked so invested that Jungkook was surprised they didn't have to do any convincing to have him in the team.
Jimin hums, watching Jin go through all sorts of emotions without an ounce of care. "That is probably a misconception, since we all take different point of views to look at things."
"Excuse me but are you toying with us? Do you think this is a joke to us?" Yoongi is bothered too, nodding excessively as he challenges the man next. Jungkook wants to bitterly add that of course it isn't a joke with them since they are taking his money for this absolutely ridiculous mission but this time he keeps his mouth shut.
"Your attitude undeniably isn't, but your common sense? Absolutely." Jimin is sweet no more, in fact Jungkook spots a bundle of angry clouds around him. He isn't even bothering to wear the fake smile anymore. He seems genuinely annoyed. "I respect that you invested in this plan enough to come find me, but did you seriously expect me to agree to it?"
Jungkook wants to flip the table and shout PREACH, because he, told, them. He literally opened his mouth and brought himself to say: Are you people out of your minds.
"We obviously chose you for a reason," Shady intrudes mindlessly, squaring his shoulders as if that could intimidate Jimin. "Look man, the school system isn't even that secure. This should be child's play for you."
Jimin chuckles bitterly, massaging his eyes to catch some relief. "You guys are impossible." He peeks at them behind his fingers, amused by their obliviousness. Jungkook feels like he doesn't even have to explain himself and they need to get out of here before bothering the innocent boy further, but Jimin is determined in getting the idiots to understand. "I was suspended from Gidae for a prank I made three years ago, and for an indefinite amount of time. You know what that is? It means Gidae doesn't give a shit about taking me back anymore. That I have to spend my life waiting to go back if I want a diploma, because I'm not allowed to take on any credits from any other institution either."
There is absolute silence in the garden, nothing but Jimin's heavy breaths heard.
"Good luck with your prank show, creators. But I don't have chances to take with my life anymore, and I especially don't want to go to jail." Jimin smiles bitterly, specifically aiming at Shady. "Yes, it might be child's play for someone like me. But not everything is a game, okay smart aleck? Do it yourself if you think it's that simple."
Jungkook feels like a bag of shit when he looks up to find Jimin staring at him this time, eyes lacking of that glint he loved by first sight and kept close to his heart when he thought of the blond. Now there is a new look craved into his mind about Jimin, and he will definitely not want it to stick around for too long.
"The bump," Jimin ghosts his hand over the back of his head sloppily, reminding Jungkook of the day he caused him to fall at the park. "It's making you do dumb things, I see."
Jimin leaves after that, shutting himself inside a trailer truck sitting at the furthest back of the backyard.
Jungkook officially hates the Secret Services team, and yeah, himself a lot more than them. He let this idea grow, and he was stupid enough to trust Jin and Yoongi again. Now he lost Jimin before he even had him and his purpose of life doesn't even hang by a thread.
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