As soon as the car had come to a stop, Jimin's eyes fluttered open. He studied his surroundings only to find them foreign, however quickly recollecting past memories he spent at his grandparents' house. It had changed quite drastically since the last time he had seen it. The lawn appeared more catered to and the exterior of the small building now looked rather lively as opposed to scatched and untamed.
"We're here," his mother spoke softly as she pulled her hands from the wheel, placing them in her lap. Her gaze then dropped to her thighs.
"Mom," Jimin started as he looked at her disheartening state. He reached for her hands, pulling them into his own lap and made sure that his mother was looking at him before speaking.
"We'll figure this all out, okay? You're one of the strongest people I know. Don't let this change you. You can hurt, and you can cry. Sometimes fall, even. But you're a warrior and you always manage to fight your way back onto the battlefield despite your wounds," Jimin soothed and he noticed his mother's bottom lip quiver in response.
She simply nodded her head, pulling Jimin in for a warm embrace because she just knew that if she opened her mouth, the only thing mustered would be tears upon tears. Jimin held her close, threading his fingers through her hair and then planting a kiss to her cheek, pulling away. They exchanged encouraging looks and then the both of them departed from the car, closing their doors shut behind them.
Hand in hand, they both walked up the small porch and Miss Park knocked on the door, the two of them waiting patiently for it to swing open. It soon did, and there stood none other than Grandpa Park, looking as equally shocked and happy to see his daughter and his grandson standing on his front lawn.
However those mixed expressions soon faded as soon as he'd taken note of their current state. That being slight bruising on either of their faces and clear evidence that they had been crying. Without so much as a word, he swiftly ushered them into his home and closed the door behind them.
To Jimin, the smell he picked up wasn't the same as he once remembered. It was still soothing and inviting, however something lacked. Perhaps it could have been another strange man emerging from the kitchen with his hands placed on his hips, looking every part of a baker. He had flour on his face and his apron was dirty.
"Should I ask?" Grandpa Park finally questioned as soon as the three of them had taken a seat in the small yet cozy livingroom. Jimin and his mother were huddled up together on one of the sofas, meanwhile the older man sat solo on the other just for the time being.
Miss Park croaked quietly, and Jimin could sense that she'd lost all power to speak and the sufficient words she was most likely in search for possibly died down her throat every time she attempted to say something. And so he instead decided to take the lead, rubbing her back up and down with one of his small hands.
"...My father, he um...he did some very bad things to us," he explained vaguely and one of Grandpa Park's coarse brows raised in curiosity. He leaned forward, forearms pressed to his thighs as if diving in further to the explanation.
"What do you mean, Jimin? What did he do?"
"He, um...he hit us and he's cheating on my mom," Jimin confessed as he toyed with the sleeves of his hoodie, completely unaware of the burning fire in his grandfather's chest as well as eyes. The older man's fingers curled around the cushion and he had to stop himself from going ballistic.
"Lovebug," he said and his daughter looked up at him with sad eyes, biting back tears. It didn't take long for him to approach Miss Park on the couch, sitting next to her and pulling her into his side. She sobbed heavily into his shoulder and he pressed his cheek to her head, running his hand up and down her hair.
Jimin watched with admiration, wishing he had somebody to hold him close like that right now. More specifically a brown haired boy with a warmth and comfort incomparable to any other. Feeling his own chest tighten, he decided to stand from the couch and make his way to the bathroom, passing the other strange man on the way there.
He closed the door behind him and slid his back against it, sitting on the cold tile floor. He hugged his legs to his body and pressed his cheek to his knee, feeling a caustic sensation in his eyes. His throat hurt as he tried to swallow the need to cry away. However the longer he sat there in his own silence, his thoughts consumed and overwhelmed his weak state. He muffled his cries with one of his hands, eyes screwed shut.
"Jimin?"
Said boy jerked in response to his name being called suddenly, and more specifically by a voice in which he didn't recognize. He kept quiet, and curled his lips in. Sitting patiently, he waited for the voice to call out to him again, and it did.
"Jimin, I know we've never met but I've heard tons of stories about you. If you want to talk, I can listen. You don't have to open the door. I'll just sit on the other side. How does that sound?"
Jimin didn't answer, and instead felt weight hit the other end of the door. He peered down at the small crack, finding a shadow close to his own. He wiped at his eyes, a small sigh parting his lips to fan his knees.
"Who are you?" the boy decided to ask.
A short period of silence fell, however followed up by an answer Jimin definitely did not expect to hear.
"I'm your grandfather's boyfriend."
Shock immediately overcast his face and his heartbeat began to pick up. How come his mother never told him about this? About his grandpa having a boyfriend? It brought him some sense of comfort yet scared him all the same. Someone like him, but older.
"How hard is it?" he decided to ask quite vaguely, however the older man seemed to decipher his plain question quite easily.
"...It's hard. It's always been hard. I haven't known your grandpa for long, but he makes me feel like I've known him forever. But if you love somebody, you'll find a way to stay with them despite the hurdles. Because there will be a lot of them. There always is," he said. "Is there any reason in particular why you're asking such a question?"
Jimin's face turned a bright red and he went to cup his cheeks, glad that his embarrassed state was well hidden. He didn't realize just how telling of a question that was until he got his answer. In order to avoid the sudden interrogation he was in no way prepared for, he decided to counter the older man with a question of his own.
"How did you guys meet?" he asked softly.
"...Suprisingly enough, we met at group therapy. I'm better now, but I was there and still go because I lost my daughter in a car accident. The same car accident that took your grandmother's life," he explained quietly, and suddenly the atmosphere became much more dismal than before.
He knew that his grandma died and he knew how. His grandpa went in a downward spiral afterward and was being watched closely ever since it happened. He only knew all of this because his mother kept him updated seeing as he was too heartbroken to see it all for himself. He wasn't strong enough back then and he wasn't too sure if he had even gotten stronger since then. Most cases, he still felt weak and powerless.
But with Jungkook, he felt different. He felt alive and as though he held the world in the palm of his hands. Like he could conquer anything.
"I like to believe that I helped him through it all, but your grandfather is the strongest man that I know. Sometimes he has off days but always manages to pull through because that's the kind of person that he is. And I'm sure you're not very different, Jimin. Pardon my French, but your dad is a real asshole. No man should ever lay his hands on his kid or wife," he said and Jimin just listened closely, absorbing all of the man's words attentively. He almost felt obligated to tell him about Jungkook, and almost felt that he could trust him despite not really knowing him. But he just poured his heart out and Jimin believed that meant he had to do the same. He needed to get some things off of his chest.
"...Can you see anyone else around you? Is anyone else listening, mister?" Jimin asked hesitantly, and then heard a quiet breathy chuckle.
"It's just me and you, Jimin. What's up?"
"It's just..." Jimin started and fidgeted in his spot, reluctant to continue further. "I...I like boys and I haven't told anybody yet," he confessed and then buried his face into his hands, releasing small squealing sounds in a panic.
"...Is that it?" the other man questioned from the other side of the door, entirely expecting to hear something different. Dare he say something a little bit more scandalous.
Jimin lifted his face from his hands, frowning despite nobody being able to see it. "What do you mean 'is that it?'. It's a huge stinking secret and I'm afraid to tell my mom. She wants me to bring a girl home and I just can't do that. Every time I think about it I gag. Nothing against girls. They're pretty. Just not really my type--"
"Jimin."
"Yeah?"
"Her dad is bisexual. Do you really think she'd care if you were gay?" he pitched and Jimin sighed, playing with his fingers.
"But my father always said--"
"Who gives a shit what he says. Cheating is so much more deplorable than he believes homosexuality is. If you found someone who makes you happy then that's all that matters, don't you think? Your mother will be happy to know that you've found someone--"
"Wait, how do you know if I've found somebody or not?" Jimin interrupted him, puzzled.
"I can just tell," the man said and that only confused Jimin further. But what he was saying was true. It made sense. He didn't recall his mother exactly ever slandering gay relationships, however she never really promoted them either. Perhaps she only ever expected Jimin to bring girls home because he was a boy and sadly that made the most sense. His father only ever vocalized and physically showcased how repulsed he was by the idea of it all. And it only made sense that that was where his fear stemmed from.
Maybe being gay wasn't such a bad thing, he began to think.
"Thank you," Jimin expressed suddenly.
"For what?" the man questioned.
"I think I'm ready."