It's a weekday afternoon when Jungkook receives a text from the Secret Services about a meeting. He's lucky they reached out to him when he was in campus. With the energy that he pumped in his awesome marketing lecture he feels like he is ready to take over the brainstorm committee.
But when he gets to the Debate Club room, there is an interesting situation.
A quarrel rolls in the hallway between his friends and some other people he doesn't recognize, some sort of disagreement that has everyone's nerves thrown off. He can hear Jin holler at a girl he hasn't seen before, but her presence and squad are nowhere less intimidating than Jin's angered condition.
And then there is a poor Minji trying to get everyone's nerves down by offering them cold lemonade from the vending machine, but it doesn't work further than creating a seconds long silence - the bickering resumes, if not louder now.
Jungkook manages to catch her just as she is storming off in frustration.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?"
Minji doesn't recognize him immediately (thank you busted basement floor lightings), squinting her eyes and only then greeting him. "We got neighbors, that's what. And you know what's the best part?"
Jungkook fears asking.
"They are bunch of losers," Minji spits anyway. She throws an annoyed look at the gang, rolling her eyes at the ongoing sight. "See that one?" she flashes at the girl bickering with Jin determinedly. "She's the main culprit of this whole mess."
She doesn't look like a culprit though, is what Jungkook wants to say but of course he doesn't because then he wouldn't be breathing - Minji would have killed him with her looks, if not with her hands. The girl she is bashing has platinum blonde hair cut into a classic bob with bangs, a round hat on her head and feather earrings dangling from her ears. Jungkook would call her pretty stylish from what he can see, which would cause him to stereotypically assume she is not the type to get into meaningless quarrels: the front-row fighter type in the woman rights movement protests instead.
He is just assuming two sides of the discussion.
At the end of the altercation, no one is satisfied, no conflicts are resolved. Both parties dash into their lined rooms in chagrin and bang the doors like emotionally clogged couples. Jin ends up going off at the members in the room like they signed up for taking his crap in situations where he can't control himself, though he also ends up apologizing and sitting himself to calm down.
Turns out he caused the problem to get bigger when he refused to compromise with their new neighbors.
It's all because the university decided to give a crappy room to a newly formed school club, a band, to be more specific. They were under-appreciated, just like the Debate Club (which actually is very noble in the ranking of nation-wise clubs but somehow doesn't favor Gidae because of their outspoken nature) and however they made it into the socialites book of clubs, this band was assigned a room as it states in the Clubs Charter of Rights.
They are musicians. They have instruments. They make a lot of noise.
And Debate Club keeps secrets.
They can't afford banging instrumentals and screaming vocals at the brink of their very private endeavors, operating under what they call Secret Services.
"Sorry you had to witness that," Yoongi sighs at Jungkook, massaging his eyes tiredly. "We lost our cool."
"Oh, it's totally fine," Jungkook reassures, making eye contact with Minji who seems to be the only sane one around. She was trying to peace-make when everyone fought and Jungkook appreciates that she was able to take on the responsible parent role at a situation so tense. "You'll figure something out, right?"
Minji puffs her cheeks, shrugging unknowingly.
Everyone is pretty down. Jungkook figures they are not having a meeting.
"Anyway, we called you in," Yoongi raises his head, distractedly speaking to the air. "But your business is not with us. And I'd say we're running late," he turns to the girls. "Who is taking him?"
"I'll do it," offers Ae Cha before Minji has to move from her spot. She passes a grateful thumbs-up at Ae Cha who smiles at her and walks to Jungkook. "Come on, hustla. Got people to meet."
Jungkook clicks his head forward questioningly, shifting his butt on the corner of the table where he is leaned. "Who? What?"
Ae Cha shows him a toothy smile, squeezing his shoulder. Jungkook winces.
"Don't be late! We got a new client later!" Yoongi calls after them as she drags Jungkook out of the room with an unexplainable power, the door clicking shut behind them to muffle Jin's wishes of luck into the sounds of their feet shuffling in the hallway.
"Where are we going?!"
She doesn't answer until they are out of the building, skipping on the grass and soaking in the sun that shines into her skin. Jungkook always wondered how she manages to switch emotional states so abruptly, but never took enough interest to ask. She was just the nerdy weird girl to him. Still is, honestly.
"So you are a mascot. You have to accept the fact like your identity," she says hopping backwards, the colorful string wraps on her hair bouncing along.
Jungkook makes a face. "I already do."
She claps her hands and pauses her steps unexpectedly, right in front of Jungkook's face in an eyeblink. Jungkook watches her cross-eyed. "Good. Next thing you have to do is dance. Because that's what mascots do!"
Jungkook blinks. "I don't... I don't dance, I don't know how to."
She makes out a laughing breath. "Which is why we are making you meet the experts. Be a gentlemen, because your coaches very well appreciate graceful treatment."
Just like that Jungkook finds himself staring at the bunch of grouped cheerleaders on the huge basketball field on campus. The sun is out, sure, but the weather is still not as hot as a skirt apparel would require, yet these girls (and two guys) are jumping up and down through their exercise routine, dressed in black and white knee-length skirts and sleeveless shirts.
Literal chills.
Jungkook and Ae Cha's presence doesn't much affect the group's groove, except for the long-haired brunette who leads the dance practice - eyes hooked on them as she jumps through some energetic moves, a secure smile on her lips. Jungkook shrieks when Ae Cha starts dragging him by the arm, and thanks to her emotion now he is face-to-face with an overconfident cheerleader chewing over him and refusing to unhook her hand from her hip.
"Hi, Yong-sun!" Ae Cha greets. "How's practice going?"
Yong-sun smiles wide and bright, glancing slightly at the team resuming the routine at the background. "We're caught up. This season will be great!"
"So this is our guy," Ae Cha puts one hand on Yong-sun's shoulder and the other on Jungkook's. "He is Jungkook."
Yong-sun bows her head upon which Jungkook follows, common sign of curtesy between the parties. Jungkook notices that she is exceptionally elegant; she must have easily crushed all the other candidates with her perfect fit to the beauty standards of the Korean woman.
"Nice to meet you, Jungkook. I'm the cheerleading team's captain, Yong-sun, but you can call me Solar if you'd like," she says amiably, never letting go of her smile. Jungkook wonders if that's the persona she has to take on as a cheerleading protocol or whether she actually is a very much smiley person on the daily.
"Nice to meet you. Are you guys going to perform at the Winter National University Games?" he shows the team with his eyes, earning an immediate nod from the cheerleader.
"Ah, but of course we are! What game goes without a cheerleader team?!" she clasps her lips together for a while, running her eyes over Jungkook - which okay, for an initial meet up is pretty forward. Jungkook doesn't mind, raising an eyebrow challengingly when she meets his eyes again. "Have you danced before?" she tips her head upward.
Jungkook might have a great physique but he has seen enough good-looking guys make a mess out of themselves while trying to dance so he is pretty nervous when he shakes his head. Yong-sun hums, passing a questioning stare at Ae Cha.
"He is a fast learner," the team member replies, at which Jungkook rolls his eyes. It's not like his father is registering him for the neighbor's part-time job opening. "And a great team player. We've worked with him, he's trustable."
Yong-sun adjusts her weight from one hip to the other, still contemplating. "It's a busy season for me. I'm at the top of the cheerleading camp coming up next week and I have to keep up with my classes, which unfortunately don't get any easier over the years. So if I accept you...'" she points at Jungkook, head tilted to the side. "...for the sake of our good accord with the Debate Club members, you have to give me some sort of credence that you'll do well."
Frankly, Jungkook didn't even care about dancing before this mascot deal came up. His life was made up of hobbies that he pursued considerately, invested his time into and made a big deal out of: he was into skateboards when he was in middle school so his father registered him to their local skateboarding community and he became a pro at it soon enough; he got interested in video gaming in high school so he made their basement into a gaming room and dedicated all of his free time into breaking leaderboards; he was intrigued by cameras at the summer of his high school graduation so his parents gifted him a filming set for his YouTube channel and let him study Communications at Gidae, a much smaller city compared to Seoul that held no ration behind Jungkook choosing to live in if it weren't for his intrigue in Gidae University specifically.
Now if he gets into dancing he knows he won't be able to back his mind out of it and will devote his existence into said activity, which is not good for the many things he is trying to juggle in his life.
Especially if his GPA starts falling he is fucked.
"Why don't we try something?" Ae Cha interrupts. "Show him some moves and see how easily he can learn them."
"Uh-"
"Great idea!"
Before he even has a say, he stands in a circle of cheerleaders who have their arms tied, judgmental expressions on their faces as they wait for Jungkook to copy the moves Yong-sun shows one after the other.
Jungkook hadn't gotten to the field with intentions near dancing that day, but blood shoots through his veins, his eyes sparkle darkly and his heart beats fast on his chest as he follows every single movement Yong-sun does with killer focus and ambition.
His competitive buttons are being pushed.
Dancing, it is.
He's gonna show them.
◢
◤
It appears that Jungkook is pretty good at copying dance moves... genuine surprise. Not at dancing though, he still insists, even though Ae Cha bickered all the way back to the Debate Club room about his knack for being good at stuff and had the Secret Services members pat-shower him on the back to death.
Now he has to go shopping for dancing wear because Yong-sun apparently has more discipline to her layers than she shows. She won't accept Jungkook at dance lessons unless he has proper, flexible clothes that fit the sport.
It sucks because he might have to miss another gaming session with Eun-Bi twice in a row the same week, but he doesn't have spare time if not for today. His schedule is full at the moment, and it's kind of frustrating to think that his life is getting more and more packed, even if it's going to be made up of things that he enjoys doing. Maybe he doesn't want to have schedules at this point with so much going on, maybe he wants to be able to choose what he wants to enjoy doing.
Still, he shouldn't complain.
His days are pretty busy now, and that's better than sulking at home with no idea what to do with his life like he did three weeks back in time.
He shrugs his hoodie hat off as he walks inside the mall, the usual loud hum of the complex filtrating his ears. It doesn't appear busy today to his luck; he hates being squished in cramped space with tons of people.
Strolling through the floors and trying to spot some good sportswear store, Jungkook finds something else he didn't expect instead. He stops dead on his tracks and holds motionless, trying to match the man far inside the store he's looking at with the person he knows - thinks he knows.
He is modeling a formal casual attire towards a camera one of the store workers holds in her hand, strutting back and forth to show off his expensive looks: unbuttoned blazer, casual shirt and chinos, all polished and black. The blond of his hair makes up for that needed lovely contrast, an empowering spark in his stance that tells of his uniqueness, how only he can pull off prestige while still looking welcoming.
It's Jimin, of course it's him. Yet again, him, surprising Jungkook with another side of his that Jungkook didn't know to exist.
Jungkook is not sure if it's the appropriate time to butt in with Jimin, but he is sure that this is a great sportswear store to shop so of course he is going to square his shoulders and step inside.
The classy place it is, a store clerk immediately assigns herself to his duty, asking him various questions to ease his shopping experience. He gives some random preferences and the lady accompanies him around the options, clueless that the whole of Jungkook's attention is on Jimin. Jungkook doesn't know why he is trying to disguise himself among other customers at the expense of Jimin noticing him, but he is doing it. They are only two aisles apart now and Jungkook can hear the conversation Jimin is having on the phone, the lady from earlier still holding it towards him: it has to be a video call.
"This is a super trendy look. Don't you like it too?" Jungkook hears Jimin say, giving one two turns in front of the mirror where he watches himself brush the side of his hair.
That was cool, Jungkook will admit. In fact, Jimin is looking so damn handsome that he is unable to focus on another word the clerk is telling him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Jeon?"
Jungkook blinks out of his little investigation, snapping back to the woman who is holding pairs of sweatpants towards him.
"Ahem, sorry. So, these are the ones you got?"
The lady speechlessly stares at him for a few seconds, but soon recovers her smile and regains her professionalism. "These are the ones you chose among the many that I showed you. We are shrinking our options, aren't we?"
Oh. Jungkook must have lead her on without realizing. He actually needs the sweatpants too - he thought they were the most comfortable to dance in. He takes a proper look at the pieces, liking what he sees immensely. Everything is reeking of quality, the design of something as simple as sweatpants ranging so widely from piece to piece.
He grabs one casually, holds it towards his hips and looks at himself on the mirror, one ear on Jimin who is now laughing at something the caller says as another clerk takes off his blazer.
"I thought you trusted me more than this," Jimin teases, shrugging his shirt to smoothness while approaching the camera. He thanks the lady holding the phone for him (who is definitely sending flirty looks his way) and grabs the device himself, sending a nod to confirm the pieces he's chosen for the clerks to pack as he continues chatting with the caller.
His clerk awakens Jungkook yet again. "Would you like to try it on in one of our cabins? This is one of our best items, it will look very good on you, Mr. Jeon."
Jungkook sends her a little smile, thinking of a way to turn down her proposition without angering her because Jimin is at the changing rooms section and he can't go there. There must be a lot more he can eavesdrop on Jimin, a lot more he can learn about his mysterious ass that refuses to synch in with whatever Jimin tells him about his life.
He has to be rich. There is no way Jimin can shop at such an expensive shop while making ends meet through tutoring. But then nothing else makes sense because Jungkook was pretty convinced about Jimin's identity from the much that he had told him.
He manages to loiter around with the sweatpants and looks into some other clothes until the lady gets bored with his indecisiveness and walks off to take charge of another more composed-looking customer that walks into the store. Jungkook couldn't be less than relieved, though the feeling fleets when he realizes Jimin is not where his eyes had left him earlier.
Disappointment floods through his system when he looks around: the blondie is nowhere to be spotted.
He sighs, holding the sweatpants up in the air and deciding to buy all three of them because who the fuck cares. They are all good. They are his size too, should be good to go.
"Mr. Jeon?"
Jungkook jumps at the sound hitting his ear from behind. His stutters upon finding Jimin stare at him closely, a mischievous expression on his face. W-when in the world...
"J-Jimin hyung?"
Jimin giggles, taking a step back and giving Jungkook space to recover from his shock. He knows exactly what he has done, indeed, seems to have planned on giving him the heart attack with the way he sneaked on him.
"What are you doing here?"
Jungkook gulps, remembering the clothes in his hands. He shows them at Jimin lamely, the silly expression still on his face. "Shopping."
Jimin rolls his eyes, bouncing the many bags in his hands for better grabbing angle. "Because I can't see that."
Jungkook can't help but flush in embarrassment. "I need some dancing clothes," he ends up saying, which causes the blond's eyebrows to perk up in interest.
"You dance?"
The attention is making Jungkook squirm. It's like being caught carrying a guitar bag except he is beginner student who knows nothing about chords if they ask him to play it. He'd have something to brag about if he could say yes, but he guesses it's still cool to even be associated with the activity. "I'm taking classes. My instructor..." he internally laughs bringing the cheerleaders in front of his eyes, they are definitely not what anyone would expect by the mention of a dance instructor. "...said that I needed some proper dancing gear so... here I am."
"Wow," Jimin nods, impressed. "You gotta show me some moves when you are good enough."
Jungkook flushes again, nodding with a smile on his face. He loves that Jimin always takes interest even in the little things he mentions about himself, since the very first day that they met. "How about you? Aren't those bags heaving you down?" he teases, signing the many white carton bags squished in Jimin's hands. His eyes don't leave the hands for a few beats, realizing for the first time how small they actually are.
Cute.
"Very funny," Jimin twists his wrist a little difficultly, confirming Jungkook's earlier statement. "It's not like I can drag them on the floor, is it?"
Jungkook snorts. What?
"I meant, what you doing with so many bags? It's not Black Friday as far I know, oh! In fact, today is Thursday."
Jimin fakes a laugh. "Again, very funny. I'm on duty right now, which means I don't have time to spend on your lame jokes, Mr. Jeon," he entertains the amused expression on Jungkook's face by lining his feisty statements one after the other. "If you'll excuse me."
He turns around to leave, but Jungkook calls him out.
"Hey, hey, wait! Lemme pay for these and we can hang out. You got time?"
Jimin pauses in disbelief for a bit, and then lets a laugh slip. "I'm on duty, I said, if you remember that part."
Jungkook tips his head forward like he doesn't get it, which he doesn't. "You're shopping. What duty?"
Jimin is at the limit of his patience which Jungkook finds ironic considering the fact that didn't even properly explain what was going on. "I'm not shopping for myself, obviously. Do you think I can fucking afford this?" Jimin shows his bags, which Jungkook very thoughtfully looks at.
Hm.
Jimin shakes his head and turns around to walk, but Jungkook this time catches him by the arm. "Just two minutes, lemme pay and I'll walk you out of the mall at least?"
That awakens a soft smile on Jimin's lips, the man considering his offer for a few seconds before tipping his eyes towards the counter. Jungkook grins wildly and takes off for his life, motivation roofing by Jimin's chuckling sounds from behind him.
◢
◤
"How do you have time to drop me off? I thought you were working."
"And I thought you were gonna stop courting me."
Jungkook pauses his hand on the air, ice cream breathing coldly on Jimin's lips as the elder passes him a knowing glance through the red traffic light. Is he caught red-handed? Was he actually courting Jimin?
"No I wasn't..?" he defends himself, pushing the tip of the ice cream towards Jimin's lips abruptly until the older has no option but to part his lips and taste it. "If you want, eat it by yourself. I was just helping you out cause you are driving."
Jimin yeah rights him, taking a big bite out of the chocolate crust anyway, eyeing Jungkook suspiciously. He can't keep himself from talking. "I didn't even ask you for ice cream."
Jungkook sighs, retrieving his hand. "Just chill, maybe? I'll eat it if you don't want." He makes an annoyed pouty face and holds the two ice creams towards his mouth, almost taking them both inside it if it weren't for Jimin pulling on his arm in laughter.
"I want it, you idiot," Jimin grabs the ice cream by the stick and focuses on the road as the light turns green. Jungkook grins victoriously, his own ice cream tasting better now that they are sharing the experience. He had managed to keep Jimin waiting for another two minutes before exiting the mall as he dived into the supermarket to get them ice cream, with the hope of loitering Jimin a little bit more before he'd leave.
But Jimin had offered to drop him off, which... was well unexpected.
"So what's this duty about?"
Jimin smiles like he'd been expecting the question.
"Why do you ask so many questions? Can't you just take a fact for what it is?"
"You take joy in torturing my curiosity," Jungkook sulks, rolling his eyes to his side of the window. They are inside the same glorious red car that Jimin was driving on the day of costume pickup.
"Curiosity killed the cat. And I don't want you to die."
"I'm not a cat."
"Right. You're a rabbit."
Jungkook's eyes grow. "How'd you know?"
Jimin breaks into a loud laughter, unable to stop himself from peeking Jungkook at intervals. "Are you, a rabbit?"
Jungkook tips his head up knowingly, humming shortly. "My family calls me Gribbit because they say I look like one."
And that throws Jimin into further laughter, kyeowo being one word he keeps repeating as he steals more glances at Jungkook, who actually tries looking like a bunny by widening his eyes and pouting with his lips. He ends up dissolving into a huge grin by the end of Jimin's enjoyment of the nickname so much, taking the ice cream from him because he is gonna drop it with the little control he has over his body when he is laughing too hard.
"Gribbit," Jimin mutters, rubbing the cream he smeared on his chin involuntarily. "What is your zodiac animal? Is it rabbit, too?"
Jungkook shakes his head, taking a big lick out of his ice cream. "I'm ox. You?"
"What a shame, would be a great match," Jimin comments. "I'm pig."
Jungkook is amazed by that. "Hyung! It's your year!"
Jimin chuckles in his cute way, nodding as he opens his mouth and ahs, which come on - can't get cuter, because who was resisting 'courting' just a minute ago. Jungkook doesn't hide his smirk as he leads the ice cream towards Jimin's lips, watching him take a delicious bite and slurp the rest of it that gets stuck on the corner of his lips.
Jungkook gulps, unable to stop looking at his lips.
No matter how friendly Jimin wants them to stay... Jungkook will have a hard time brainwashing his attraction preferences into considering pink and plump lips "not a turn on".
"Have you heard of the Armantos?" Jimin asks out of the blue, making Jungkook blubber an eh? in reflex. Jimin throws a side glance at him, and to hell if he doesn't look a thousand times more handsome with his formal attire today. Jungkook is having a hard time concentrating. But of course he knows who Jimin is talking about.
"Oh, of course I do, hyung. They are like the Kardashians of South Korea. Who doesn't know them?"
Jimin hums, nibbling on his lips like he is not sure if he should talk about it. He holds his breath, briefly locking eyes with Jungkook. "Keep this a secret, but you're now sitting in the car of an Armanto."
And Jungkook has brain freeze.
And then he doesn't.
"What are you talking about, hyung?" he giggles, expecting Jimin to break into a fit of laughter too but there is no sign of insincerity in Jimin's face, which causes Jungkook to respectively have his second brain freeze.
No way.
"Don't tell me you are an Armanto."
As if everything else he said made a whole lot of sense, Jimin bursts into such a big laughter that Jungkook flinches on his seat, back hitting the door. Jimin goes on for a while but eventually recovers, hand reaching out to pull Jungkook back to his sitting position.
"No, Jungkookie, you think that's possible?" he cleans a happy tear running down his eye.
"Oh my god. You are a real outlaw then, aren't you?"
Jimin huffs playfully, checking the mirror as he replies. "I don't think so Jungkookie, but you seem to have a fantasy of such in your mind."
"As if!" Jungkook agitatedly points around, checking the car for any sign that might say it belongs to the Armanto legacy. "How can you say that it belongs to the Armantos and expect me to believe it so casually?!"
Jimin taps his leg repeatedly, trying to get his attention while controlling his laughter, Jungkook still conducting his little investigation around the vehicle to confirm any of Jimin's lunatic allegations. "I'll tell you everything. I swear I'm not lying."
Jungkook snorts condescendingly, throwing his head back on the headrest and watching the road. Does it even make sense to joke around like that?
But he can't stop being lured, if not absolutely curious about what Jimin is going to tell him. What if... what if he is actually sitting inside the car of the high-profile Korean multimillionaire family...?
Oh dear Lord. No way.
His eyes find Jimin faster than he intends, awakening a pleasant smile on the blond's face.
"You know Alexa Armanto, lady of the house, supermodel and actress. I actually work for her," Jimin pauses to check Jungkook's reaction, resuming when he notices his attention all his. "I know her from before she was even famous... or the Armanto household. She has three sons," Jimin checks again with Jungkook, who nods. "Three years back? Yeah, I guess. Wow it has been so long?" Jimin cracks a small laughter. Jungkook thinks he might be doing it to bluff, to add to the realistic aspect of the crazy story. "So yeah, three years ago, she posted an add online. She was basically looking for a shopper, somebody who could go shopping for her since she is allergic to any type of dust and can't leave the house."
"Lemme guess, she hired you!"
"Mm!" Jimin protrudes his eyes, ignoring Jungkook's cackle. "I'm serious! She is a shopping addict so she wanted someone to go buy stuff for her!"
"Jimin hyung," Jungkook sighs. He is pulling a prank on him, Jungkook is sure of it. "Why would she hire you, when she is the richest lady of the nation?"
"Yah, it's three years ago, you punk," Jimin shakes his head, prolonging each syllable like cotton candy, accent a thicker Busan one though his voice is sweet and persuasive. "She wasn't that rich back then. She hadn't met Mr. Alex Armanto back then! Anyway, I took the job blindly, since I was thrown out of college and I needed to get my hands on as many opportunities as I could. And since then I've been working for them!"
"If you are working for them," Jungkook throws in a hypothesis, much mockingly. "Okay, let's say you are working with them. Then how come you are not rich?"
Jimin whistles. "My boy. If you think they rain money on simple shoppers like myself, you got your head on the clouds." Jimin rolls his head to the side, stopping the car as they reach another red light. "I work for Alexa-nim on Thursdays only. And I don't handle her shopping matters anymore. Her second son, lives abroad and she loves shopping for him. Turns out..." Jimin says and Jungkook's eyebrows shoot to the ceiling, causing the older to burst into giggles.
"Hyung," Jungkook warns comically, watching as Jimin fights against his instincts of giggling. He is expecting Jimin to cut it off and give in to his lies at this point.
"I swear this is true," Jimin speaks, tapping Jungkook's shoulder and keeping his hand there for credibility. He holds Jungkook's gaze and tries to keep in the lie. "I swear."
Jungkook sighs, ready to turn his head away but Jimin swears one more time and Jungkook sighs another time as well. "Okay I'll listen to you once, only because you are swearing so much."
"O'! Yeah! Just one time!" Jimin shakes his finger in the air, wetting his lips excitedly as he has Jungkook's attention again. "Jjin-jja, jjin-jja Ggukie, I swear it's the truth just listen to me."
"Okay, I got it, hyung! Just go on!"
Jimin lowers his head a little, making his eyes big and looking into Jungkook's ones deeply. He is being really silly right now and Jungkook lives for it. He might as well let him speak for hours. "Her second son lives abroad and she loves shopping for him."
"You said this part already."
"Yeah, okay, so that's clear," Jimin quickly rearranges his bangs, tuning back in with Jungkook. "Turns out... my body proportions match exactly with his..."
Lord have mercy on Jungkook because he is holding back a roar of a laughter at the base of his throat and it's getting pretty painful to keep it there.
"And for that reason..." Jimin goes on, speaking slow as a sloth. "I go shopping for his son and try on the outfits to see if she likes the looks on me. And if she does, I buy it for her and she ships them off."
One beat... two beats... three beats... four beats of silent eye locking later, Jungkook has reached his final limit and erupts into a volcanic laughter, his body bent in half as he cackles and cackles in Elmo, unable to stop even after Jimin has started the car again.
"Yaish, that's enough!" Jimin laughs with him too, poking him and tapping on his back nonstop to stop him from making fun of him. He obviously knows he is being ridiculous too. "Jungkook-ah, are you making fun of your hyung, Jungkook-ah?"
Jungkook is low on breaths when he leans his cheek on his knees, staring at Jimin while clutching his stomach.
"You killed me, Jimin hyung. I don't think this is what you actually meant by curiosity killed the cat."
Jimin shakes his head, pointing at him in determination as he keeps his bluff going. "Are you accusing me of lying? Oh, Jungkook-ssi, let's be honest here. You've barely known me and you're accusing me of lying? Jungkook-ssi. That breaks hyung's heart."
Jungkook is exhausted from all the muscle exercise he did just by laughing and he can't speak anymore, just watching Jimin with a fond expression and trying to get down from his high.
Jimin glances at him shortly, passing him a nod. "What?"
"You're really funny," Jungkook says, feeling his stomach jump again. "Ah, I don't think I laughed that hard in such a long time."
Jimin taps Jungkook's back, nodding repeatedly now as he stares at the road. He has this let do this! pursing way of his lips where he has submitted to fate and looks funny while doing it, causing Jungkook to softly chuckle as he ducks his head down to check the roads.
"So we're almost at your house," Jimin informs and that's a sudden mood downer for Jungkook. He raises from his position, checking whether it is true and banger... they really are in his neighborhood. "What? It sounds like you don't wanna go home? Hm?" Jimin laughs, slowing the car down as he scans for the right building.
Jungkook couldn't be more obvious. He lets his weight fall on the seat-rest and turns his head to Jimin, watching him lousily and of course, pouting openly.
Jimin eventually stops the car. He shifts so that he is leaning his shoulder at his own seat-rest and looks nicely at Jungkook.
"Are you full now? That whole laughing must have made you feel full."
Jungkook smiles, though he looks super sleepy as he is pretty tired, both from laughing but mostly from the events of the day. He can feel muscle pain slowly getting to him, as he had his first almost-dance-practice in the afternoon, but getting back to Jimin's point, he actually feels full despite not having eaten anything since breakfast.
Not only full in the stomach, but also full in the heart.
"What? Speak, don't just stare like a dumbass," Jimin nudges his shoulder and Jungkook is giggling all over again. He feels pretty drunk. "Do you want me to help you carry your bag upstairs?"
Jungkook shakes his head, grinning while rubbing his eyes. "It's a bag of sweatpants hyung, it's nothing."
"I told you my Armanto story," Jimin makes an eyebrow dance, as Jungkook goes back to staring at him dreamily. "How about you? How'd you afford those sweatpants? All three," Jimin bops his nose, and Jungkook involuntarily scrunches it, along with his shoulders that shrug once. "Are you the stealthy wealthy one?"
"I am not stealthy wealthy, at all," Jungkook feels needy now, starting to gravitate more towards Jimin's seat subconsciously. "My parents are just well-off and I don't have a credit card limit. Though I never use their money, I make my living through the channel."
He is a little distracted with speaking to notice the soft look Jimin is giving him, almost like he is admiring Jungkook with the fear of being caught too deep into it. "Is that so?" Jimin asks quietly, Jungkook humming in response as he drops his head on the corner of the head-rest and continues staring at Jimin like that.
He looks so, so, so good Jungkook is going crazy.
"You are a pretty cool kid," Jimin chuckles, breaking eye contact, tapping his fingers on the wheel uselessly. "I can't believe you are younger than me when you speak sometimes."
"I'm not a kid."
Jimin is amused. He looks back at Jungkook, using the puffy arm rest to shift closer to him. It's unexpected, Jungkook's suddenly blinking faster, heart accelerating when he finds Jimin's eyes so near his ones.
"You are not?"
And just like that, he forgets to breathe again.
He shakes his head, and Jimin smiles wider at that. "That's what bratty kids say though."
Jungkook doesn't want to talk, all he can think is how badly he wants to grasp Jimin by the neck and kiss him hard, how he wants to attach his fingers on his locks and use them to guide their moves, how he'd jump the seat to feel Jimin, to run his hands all over him if Jimin let him - meanwhile Jimin is calling him a kid, clueless of the dirty things that go through his mind just by staring at him.
Just because you promise not to crush on someone doesn't mean you will be able to.
Doesn't mean you can control your heart when they look at you in that special way that makes you assume they'd hand you their vulnerabilities if you promised to keep them. That is the promise Jungkook wants to make, and that is the only one he can keep, he realizes.
They watch each other for a bit longer, until Jimin breaks the silence.
"You sure you didn't flirt with me earlier?"
He is being dangerous. Jungkook is losing touch with reality, too Jimin-ed everything to remember he is not supposed to fall for him.
"Did you want me to?" he says using his softest tone, causing both their eyes to fall down to their lips.
He is not supposed to fall for him.
"I was just wondering," Jimin smiles, bringing their attention back to their eyes, though the smile is not as strongly reciprocated there. "You said just last night that you were attracted to me."
Jungkook doesn't understand him. What is he trying to find out?
"I did," he says shortly because he doesn't know how else to play Jimin's game.
"You're such a cool person," Jimin whispers, reading into his eyes, so closely and tenderly that Jungkook wants to give him his heart right there and then. His mind is racing kilometers, his ability to make decisions blurred and he is scared.
He is starting to get hopeful again and that is the scariest thing in the world.
He is not supposed to fall for Jimin.
"Y'know, I never was able to confess to someone I liked," Jimin speaks now shy, averting his gaze to the little space between them and Jungkook buckles up to lean closer to him, hand coming on Jimin's jaw to guide him into his eyes. Sparks fly when Jimin looks at him again, something trembling, fluttering in their confined bubble of stares. "I had a girlfriend in high school," Jimin opens up continuously, allowing Jungkook's skinship to take over him. "I liked her first but she was the one who said it first."
It's surprising to hear all this from Jimin because as far as Jungkook remembers... Jimin had talked about doing the courting himself. But then there must be a difference between fucking around and confessing your real feelings to someone...
Jungkook has to briefly push away his creeping feelings of jealously and focus on his protective instincts instead. He moves his thumb on Jimin's jaw kindly and cherishes the space Jimin gives him to do that. This... this is so precious, this moment... he'll engrave it to his mind, he'll remember Jimin's exact eyes, the sound of his exact breaths, how tenderly they land on his skin when he is close like this...
Jungkook gulps, he is falling and he is not supposed to.
Jimin is puckering his lips, growing emotional as his speech advances. "I appreciate it when someone takes initiative, because I know how hard it is to do that," Jimin smiles but he doesn't look all happy now, and Jungkook is hurting because he knows now that Jimin must have gone through something rough to be like this.
When he flirted with Jimin, when he asked for his number and when he asked him out, he never thought it would mean that much to him, who put him off nonchalantly and resumed his ways. He never thought that his random spurts of bravery meant so much to this lovely creature who is thanking him for expressing his attraction towards him.
Fuck.
Jungkook has to blink a couple times because his heart is beating too fast and all he wants to do is kiss Jimin and ease his worries, show him he can take care of him and... and everything.
"And I'm sorry for turning you down, and even after then you were so nice, I just..." Jimin takes a sharp breath in and Jungkook can see his eyes get blurry. No. He hates it, he hates the sight of his sad eyes and he fucking wants to wrench the world but see Jimin cry. "I can't, I'm not, I just..."
That's it.
Jimin doesn't get to say more because Jungkook is pulling him into a tight hug, so tight indeed that he forgets to breathe with his hands clutching unto his clothes.
"You don't have to explain yourself," Jungkook says into his shoulder, feeling Jimin's chest stutter against his own. He forces himself not to squeeze him harder or caress his body, this is already too intimate for the level of acquaintance they have.
Or the commitments they can make.
"You're such a cool dude," Jimin repeats again and Jungkook can't help but softly chuckle.
"I'm not that cool, trust me. You haven't seen my unwashed gamer hair at 3 a.m. in the morning. I can get pretty disgusting."
It successfully gets Jimin to laugh, and they pull back from the hug, both feeling much lighter and calmer.
Jungkook doesn't want him to get emotional again, so he holds Jimin's hands and makes him look into his eyes.
"I'm okay with whatever you're okay. If you don't want a relationship, I'll be your best friend," Jungkook smiles, sparkles in his eyes, heart fluttering when Jimin smiles back at him in appreciation. "You don't have to explain yourself or anything, too, but whatever you're comfortable with sharing, I'll listen."
Jimin is unexpectedly groaning, throwing his head back on the headrest though he doesn't remove his hands from Jungkook's.
"God, can you stop getting more and more perfect every second?" he murmurs to himself and Jungkook can't help but laugh. He lets go of Jimin's hands and crosses his elbows on the arm rest instead, throwing him a playful look.
"I think you like me more than I like you, hyung?"
Jimin giggles, swatting at him.
"Shut up, that's not true."
And Jungkook bites his lip because damn, maybe Jimin just confessed to him without even being aware of it. It doesn't change the fact that he doesn't wanna date for some reason, and Jungkook is repelled by the idea of forcing someone into a relationship. He won't die if he won't date Jimin (at least for now) and his company is the most important thing out of all momentarily, which is why he assumes he is not heartbroken by the fact that Jimin won't accept his proposal.
It's all good, at the end.
He can come to enjoy moments like this with him and have a good time... until and if Jimin changes his mind... or his life circumstances? Jungkook has absolutely no idea what's going on. He kind of wants to keep it that way for now too. He seriously doesn't need more drama than the dance lessons and the mascot promotions.
He is supposed to get his life together, not fall for Jimin.
Mental face slap.
Focus, Jungkook. Focus.
"Anyway, it was fun, even if we didn't do much," Jimin settles on his seat, adjusting his seatbelt and Jungkook sighs loudly and goes on to retrieving his shopping bag from the back seat. "Are you free on the weekend?"
Jungkook is surprised he is making plans for them just like that, though Jimin had stated before that he wanted them to hang out.
"Lemme see. Sunday? In the afternoon?"
"Why, cuz you'll be sleeping in the morning?"
They both laugh at that. Jimin got it right.
Jimin speaks again. "Let's do something?"
Jungkook smiles warmly, nodding through the excitement of their first official hangout as friends. "What do you do for fun?"
"Okay, we are getting into another deep conversation now and I'm kinda running late since I added your house as a stop so..." Jimin hisses through his teeth.
"Oh! Right! My bad!" Jungkook rushes himself. "Sorry for keeping you."
"It's okay, we'll talk about it over the phone."
Damn, they are having their first call too. Jungkook is pretty excited.
"Sure thing, hyung!" he says as he exits the car, waving at Jimin quickly through the door crack so that he is late no more. "Thanks for the ride!"
"Yah," Jimin leans forward to have a proper look at him. "You have to call me, okay? I don't have your number."
They just can't seem to be parting, though Jungkook has got the perfect teasing opportunity in his hands because wait - he'll show you.
"Oh..." he makes this dirty lip thing where he slides his tongue over his lower lip and raises his eyebrows, circling to Jimin's side of the car and leaning his elbows on it when Jimin slides down the shades. "Who is desperate for the number now?" he says naughtily, making Jimin almost jump out of the window while cursing at him and laughing at the same time.
Jimin leaves, finally, and Jungkook is standing at his porch with the silliest ever smile on his face.