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#yoonminau | someone like you Jimin begs his coworker Yoongi to play his boyfriend for the week on his annual family vacation, he's tired of being teased about being single. He's surprised Yoongi agrees so easily, unbeknownst to him, Yoongi's been crushing on Jimin for months.

Expect: -- unrequited love yoonmin -- min yoongi is completely whipped -- jimin is bad at feelings -- WAIT my parents are coming in for breakfast you have to spend the night in my bed because they'll expect you to be here when you get here -- seeing each other in their pajamas
-- practicing casual touching so they seem real around jimin's parents and yoongi's chest literally aches with want for his coworker -- bed sharing, of COURSE
“Jiminah!” His Eomma sing songs over the phone. “You and your boyfriend will be joining us on vacation next week, right?” Jimin panics. He lied during Chuseok when his parents asked if he was finally seeing someone. His brother had teased him relentlessly. “Of course he isn’t.”
“I am!!” Jimin replied defiantly. “I’m dating someone from work.”
“Oh yeah?” Hyun pressed. “What’s his name?” Jimin threw out the first coworker’s name that came to mind. “Min Yoongi.”
profiles:
nam2seok music director namjoon, producer hoseok, idol seokjin
jungkook & taehyung videographer jungkook, childhood best friend tae
busanbluesradio
🎧 mostly thread-fic with some social media elements tags: angst, fake dating, fluff, pining, oblivious jimin, endgame yoonmin, comedy content warnings: mental health mentions, past social anxiety 🎧 radio station universe, researched however job duties could be inaccurate
• qrts, likes, and engagement keeps me motivated • as always tags will be updated when necessary, if I ever forget to tag something properly please nicely let me know. • side pairings: nam2seok (secret relationship), eventual taekook
“Jiminah!” His Eomma sing-songs over the phone. “You and your boyfriend will be joining us on vacation next week, right?”
Jimin panics. He lied during Chuseok when his parents asked if he was finally seeing someone. His brother had teased him relentlessly. “Of course he isn’t.”
“I am!!” Jimin replied defiantly. “I’m dating someone from work.” “Oh yeah?” Hyun pressed. “What’s his name?”
Jimin threw out the first coworker’s name that came to mind. “Min Yoongi.”
“Show me,” his brother pushed him even further. Jimin kicked him from under the table but Hyun just grinned. “I just want to see how cute he is.”
Jimin groaned. His mother perked up happily, she even clapped. “Well why didn’t you say something sooner. Yes, please show us!”
He racked his brain. It would be weird to go to their company socials to pull up his professional photo, right?. “Well Eomma there’s no phones at the table and –”
“Yah!” Hyun said, eyes mischievous. “She’ll allow it just this once, right, Eomeoni?” he even batted his fucking lashes. Jimin sneered at his younger brother.
She nodded and looked at Jimin’s Appa. “We’ll allow it this once. Please, Jiminah. I’m sure he’s so handsome we would love to see him.”
Jimin swiped to unlock his phone and turned the brightness down so Hyun couldn’t snoop over his shoulder. Jimin and his brother had always gotten along but their love language was bickering and teasing.
He wasn’t surprised that Hyun was going to go to these lengths to make Jimin prove to his parents that he was dating someone.
Jimin searched through instagram. He certainly wasn’t following Yoongi. The two weren’t really friends. They just work for the same radio broadcasting service. Hell, Yoongi was sort of his boss.
Surely Yoongi had to have some social media presence if he was working for a radio company. Busan Blues Radio was pretty strict about public personas.
A few more taps and he found it, through Namjoon’s profile. Of course he and Yoongi were following each other. They were partners of the station, and Jimin thought Namjoon said something once about them being childhood friends too.
He had only a few pictures on his profile. Three out of the seven were of his cat. Jimin selected the latest one from the basketball game he knew Yoongi covered a few weeks ago.
He flipped his phone to Hyun first, replacing his stressed features with a smug look as his brother’s mouth dropped.
He then showed his parents. His Eomma smiled. “Oh, Jiminie he’s quite handsome, isn’t he handsome yeobo?” she asked his father.
Jimin’s father squinted his eyes. “He’s sure got some long hair,” he grumbled, then went back to eating a mouthful of rice.
“We’ve been dating for a while now but I just didn’t want to say anything until it was more serious,” Jimin put his phone back in his pocket, tucking away Yoongi’s picture.
𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑒, he thought. Jimin sighed in relief once the conversation turned to something else, hopefully now they'd leave him alone about dating for a bit.
He’d all but forgotten about the conversation until his mom calls on his lunch break Monday afternoon. “You and your boyfriend will be joining us on vacation next week, right?”
He chokes on his lemonade, spraying it near Hoseok, who sits across from him at the cafe. “Ohh, Eomma I don’t think so. I haven’t really asked him.” Hoseok looks at Jimin with alarm.
“What the hell?”
Jimin throws napkins at him and turns to the side, face in a permanent state of ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡.
“I already booked the tickets, honey," her tone is disappointed. "Surely he can get it off work too, hm? You said that your job was one where you could work from anywhere.”
Jimin bites back a groan. He regrets telling her that his job could be remote just so she would let him go on the vacation in the first place. But he loved the annual family vacation and this year they were going to Jeju which was even beachier and gorgeous than Busan.
His mom would be devastated if she wasted the money. “Okay, sure, Eomma. I’ll ask my boyfriend if he can come.” It tumbles out of his mouth before he even realizes what he's saying. It's Hoseok’s turn to choke on his ramen.
“I’ll call you later tonight, hm?” He wishes her well, tells her he loves her, then ends the call.
“Boyfriend?” Hoseok asks, eyeing Jimin carefully. “What boyfriend do you have that your best friend doesn't know about?”
Jimin is already packing up. “Don’t ask, hyung, I’ve truly fucked up,” he puts his pens in his bag, throwing his planner in too. So much for a productive lunch. “I’ll see you back at the office, I really have to go.”
Jimin had started out as an intern for Busan Blues, a popular and independent radio station in his college town, over a year ago. Quickly, his internship ended and he was hired at the end of those few months as the digital content manager.
Interns being invited on as full time employees was rare. Hoseok warned that he'd have to work hard through his internship to impress Kim Namjoon, the Music Director and owner of Busan Blues.
Jimin worked tirelessly over those months as an intern, being available whenever they needed him. He did everything from coffee runs to arranging the meetings of Idols and International stars for interviews.
Working for the radio show became entertaining. Most of his time in the office was spent researching the latest trends. He worked many hours with Jungkook the station's videographer.
Sharing a job with Hoseok, his college best friend and one of the show’s producers, was just an added benefit.
He feels badabout leaving Hobi at the cafe without an explanation but his phone is already buzzing in his bag loudly. He knew Hyun was calling. He had to be prepared with something to tell him.
He bursts through the door of the station building, pressing the button for the fourth floor over and over again. His leg bounces impatiently, waiting for it to arrive.
“Come on!” his phone buzzes again. He ignores it.
Finally, the elevator comes. Jimin thinks long and hard as it climbs 4 floors. How in the hell is he going to fix this mess? He could have just told his mom no. Hell, at Chuseok he could have just said he didn’t have a boyfriend. But he just had to prove Hyun wrong.
He also couldn’t hear his mother go on again for the fifth year in a row that if he didn’t hurry and date soon they might have to arrange someone for him. “The Lee’s have a very nice niece,” his father had said haphazardly.
Jimin shuttered at the thought. They hadn't even suggested a man? He was desperate, this had to work to get them off his back.
The elevator lets him off on the producers floor and his adrenaline starts to dwindle. What the hell was he thinking? He didn’t even know what he was going to say. He and Min Yoongi had spoken a total of…ten? times over the last thirteen months.
Most of those conversations consisted of “I put this on your desk,” and “can you just send me an email about the latest trends, I don’t really understand what you’re saying.”
The longest talk they’d ever had once was about the Producer’s Cat. He was wearing a sparkly black party hat during broadcast one morning. Jimin, not really knowing him wished him a happy birthday. The producer looked confused but it was time to go on air, he never responded.
A caller who must have followed Yoongi on social media dialed in to wish “Mingie” a happy birthday. Jimin listened as the producer laughed and adjusted the hat on his head. “Ahh, Mingie, thanks you. I’m sure she’s at home laying in her cat tree listening right now.”
After the broadcast was over Jimin approached him. “So it's not your birthday,” he asked?
“Oh,” the Producer said, tying up the chords neatly to end the morning show. “Well no, it’s my cat’s birthday. Mingie, she’s three today. Hoseok thought it would be funny to make me wear this hat,” Yoongi carefully took it off, patting the fuzzy ball at the top.
“Well, happy birthday to Mingie then,” Jimin smiled before exiting the studio to go to his office.
The Producer is sitting at his desk with Namjoon, the Music Director. They seem to be both looking at Yoongi’s computer. Jimin fidgets outside the door.
He doesn’t want to intrude, but he knows that if he doesn’t ask now then he’s never going to ask and he’s going to spend his entire family vacation miserable.
His mother will be upset about wasted money. His father will be scolding because Jimin lied. Hyun will be smug because he’s the perfect, 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 son. It will be a disaster.
Jimin’s phone buzzes again. He slips it out of his pocket to see text messages from Hyun.
He knocks on Yoongi’s window. Both heads snap up. Namjoon gives his great dimpled smile and waves Jimin in, straightening his back. “Jimin-ssi, I see you’re back from lunch early today,” he teases.
Jimin gives a forced smile and awkward laugh. He and Hoseok are known to disappear at lunch time quite often, but because they’re both so productive while they’re gone, Namjoon doesn’t really mind.
Jimin enjoys working for Namjoon. He’s large and wise like a seasoned oak tree. But gentle and patient. “Ahh, yes, I thought I’d come back and…work?” he fidgets again, adjusting his bag.
Yoongi looks up from his computer, sliding the laptop to the side of his mixing table. “Did you want to talk about that new podcast idea you emailed me about?” he asks.
Jimin smiles, relieved. Of course, Yoongi really thought he was here for work. Because why would they have a conversation about anything other than work?
“I’ll head out, but Yoongi please send me the proposal for that Idol, I’ll reach out to his company to see if we can get him on the show.” Namjoon bows politely to both of them before leaving, shutting the glass door behind him.
Yoongi gestures to the chair next to his desk for Jimin to sit. He does, awkwardly. His palms sweat as he takes his bag off and places it on the ground next to him.
The phone he just sat on the desk buzzes loudly, reminding him why he’s in Yoongi’s office in the first place. He silences it again. “Sorry,” he says.
Yoongi clears his throat. “So the new podcast, with Hoseok. You said you had an idea?”
“That’s not actually why I’m here,” Jimin admits. “I–” he sighs, drumming his hands on his legs. He looks at the producer who has no idea what's about to befall on him. “Will you be my boyfriend?”
Min Yoongi has worked for Busan Blues as a producer since the culmination four years ago. Several interns have come through this place, Namjoon thinks learning experiences are important.
“We have to give back to the community, hyung,” he’d said when they created a partnership with the university.
So many of those interns have slipped in through Yoongi’s doors, striking up a conversation with the Producer with the hope of three things.
1. Getting in his bed 2. Getting a promotion 3. On the very slight chance, asking real life questions about producing, music, or anything remotely to do with radio.
Park Jimin had been like none of those interns. He came barreling through the Busan Blues station doors thirteen months ago like a lightning bolt.
Somehow, he became "the intern who stayed". He showed incredible promise from day one, working hard and learning at any chance he got.
Namjoon loved being his teacher. Jungkook was excited to have someone closer to his age to work with. Hoseok was smug that his friend did well and enjoyed having a friend to work with. Yoongi was puzzled. He wasn't used to hardworking, dedicated, and passionate interns.
But none of that was directed towards him. Virtually, if it didn't concern work, they never spoke. The more Jimin stayed away from him, learning his craft without the “help” of Yoongi, the more he wanted to know about him. But the producer had never been good at making friends.
So when Jimin utters the words, “Will you be my boyfriend?” he’s stunned. He never expected him to be like the other interns. Nothing in their history indicated any sort of feelings at all from Jimin's side.
But he follows up quickly with, “Platonically, or well, I don’t really know how platonic it might be. But like, for fake. Fake boyfriend,” he’s tumbling over his words and Yoongi doesn’t think he’s ever seen him look cuter. He just allows him to keep talking.
He takes a deep breath. “Will you be my fake boyfriend, please?”
Yoongi opens his mouth and just the sound of air comes out for a second. He closes it before speaking again. “Why?” he asks. He has a lot more questions.
Like: Why Jimin isn’t in the realm for a real boyfriend, or girlfriend, or significant other? Why is Yoongi the one he’s asking? He’s seen Jimin flirt with everyone in the office so effortlessly but not a single time with him.
Hoseok had warned before he started, "Don't take him seriously, he's flirty by nature because he's a Libra." Yoongi didn't understand what that meant.
“Well I sort of told my family that I was dating someone.” “But why me?” “Well, as all claims go, I needed evidence to back it up. So I showed them a picture of you.”
Yoongi laughs. Jimin’s surprised by it. He’s only ever heard him laugh on air and it’s a deep, throaty laugh. It’s just like his speaking voice. His laugh now is higher pitched, his shoulders shaking with the force of it.
Jimin leans forward, putting his forehead on Yoongi’s desk with a groan. He’s so embarrassed. “Your family lives in Jeonnam, right? Couldn’t you have just told them we were dating and then never told me about it?”
Jimin’s phone buzzes next to his face. He sits up, panic on his features. “I’ll beg if I have to, I’ll get down on my knees right now and put my hands together and beg.” He starts to slide off the chair. “But I need an answer right now.”
Yoongi waves his hands back and forth. “Don’t, don’t, stay on your chair, damn. Just, why now?”
Jimin picks up his phone and points it towards Yoongi. He pleads, “My brother is calling, he wants proof of my evidence, please help me!”
“Okay,” Yoongi says softly. “No need to panic, let’s do this. Answer the video call.” They plaster on quick smiles as Jimin swipes to answer Hyun’s fifth and final call of the day.
“Hyun-ahhhhh!” Jimin whines his brother’s name. “I’m at work, we were in a meeting,” Jimin says.
Hyun stares into the screen with a scrutinizing look on his face. “Ohh, Jiminah, is that your boyfriend?” he asks, hoping to catch the Producer off guard.
“Hi,” he gives a polite wave and bow towards Jimin’s phone. “I’m Yoongi.”
Hyun straightens up. Jimin can see the superiority dissipating from his brother's body as he realizes that Jimin was in fact not lying (he was). He truly did have a boyfriend (he didn’t). “Ohhh, Yoongi-ssi, sorry to interrupt your uh…meeting?”
“You should be sorry,” Jimin says with light teasing, but means it. “Did you need something important, Hyun?” “No. No. It can wait until next weekend.”
Jimin nods, it looks like he’ll be able to get off the phone smoothly. Then come up with some excuse as to why Yoongi can’t make it next weekend.
They’ll have an amicable breakup while he’s on vacation with his family, he'll have Yoongi stage the thing publicly over a similar video call. His parents will feel bad because he’s upset and give him extra gifts for his birthday and–
“You’ll be there, right, Yoongi-ssi? Eomma said you were joining us in Jeju for Jimin’s annual birthday vacation.”
Jimin won’t make it to his birthday vacation to break up with his fake boyfriend. He’ll be in jail for murdering his baby brother.
Yoongi looks over at Jimin. He can see his eyes have gotten exponentially wider. Sure, he might be a little crazy for suggesting that they fake date just to satisfy this phone call.
He truly wouldn’t have planned on Yoongi going on his family’s vacation, that would just be insane. So with no strings attached he answers, “We were just discussing it.”
Inside his head Jimin is screaming, crying, throwing up. On the outside he smiles politely at both Yoongi and his brother. “Right. We were. So, Hyun. If that’s all, I’ll see you next weekend.”
The defeat is written all over his brother’s face, but only Jimin can notice it. For a second, it’s good enough to override his feelings of “what the fuck did I get myself into?” He hangs up the phone before anything else can be said.
Yoongi holds back a noise of surprise when his digital content manager throws his arms around him in a tight hug. The producer freezes, arms stretched out forward, not knowing what to do.
“Oh my god,” Jimin huffs forward, relieved. “Thank you so much, you don’t understand how you just saved my life.”
Neither of them noticed Hoseok standing at the door of Yoongi’s office until they broke away from the hug. “Oh my god, Jiminie, this is your boyfriend?” he claps a hand over his mouth.
He rushes in, taking a seat at the chair across from the pair. “You know I always wondered if the two of you would be cute together. But Yoongi Hyung, you’re just so quiet and Jiminie, well, you’re completely the opposite of quiet!”
“You told Hoseok I was your boyfriend?” Yoongi asks.
Jimin sighs, heavily. “No. My mom called today. To ask if my ‘boyfriend’” he put air quotes around the word, “would be joining us on vacation next weekend. Hoseokie was there. I left without an explanation because I knew my brother would be calling. Hyun is–”
“Annoying, arrogant, asshole,” Hoseok sassed.
“Complicated,” Jimin says through gritted teeth, giving Hoseok a warning look. “He looks for any opportunity to make my parents distrustful of me.”
“Forgive me for pointing out the obvious but if you’re lying to your parents about having a boyfriend, don’t they have a reason to be distrustful of you?” Yoongi asks.
“Oh my god," he rolls his eyes dramatically, "Are you always this logical? This is going to be a torturous ten days if so.”
“Wait, is hyung not your boyfriend?” Hoseok scratches his head. “I’m sorry for my fault, but please explain.” “Ten days?!” Yoongi catches on. “Are you expecting me to go on this vacation with you and your family.”
“I hadn’t really thought the whole thing through. At first yes, and then I was like well we could break up, and then Hyun called and he mentioned the vacation like the snake he is and then YOU” Jimin points at Yoongi. “You just played along so well so now you have to go.”
Hoseok wishes he had popcorn. The scene before him is so entertaining.
“You were going to get on your knees and beg," Yoongi whines. "Begging is for extreme situations only. What else was I supposed to do, Jimin-ssi?”
“You’ll have to drop niceties if you want his parents to believe you’re dating,” Hoseok pipes up. Jimin’s glare turns on him.
He throws his head back down on the desk. He truly was not thinking this through when he lied to his family two weeks ago. It was just a harmless little lie. It wasn’t supposed to spiral into this. Yoongi sighs next to him after the awkward and painful silence draws on too long.
“If..if I go, what’s in it for me?”
Jimin sits up slowly. Is Yoongi serious? He’s really going to indulge in Jimin's crazy quest to prove to his family (through a lie) that he’s not going to end up forever alone (he probably will, he’s terrible at dating).
“Well, the trip to Jeju is all paid for already. That’s what my mom called to confirm this morning.” He might actually give Yoongi puppy dog eyes when he mentions his mom.
Yoongi shrugs. “Okay, then. I’ll go. We’ll need to talk to Namjoon about how to work from Jeju and–” another bone crushing hug. A hot blush creeps across his face. He can see Hoseok holding in his laughter behind his hand.
“Oh Yoongi-ssi! Thank you, thank you so much. You won’t regret helping me or well you probably will but oh my god thank you!” Jimin clings to him and Yoongi really doesn’t remember ever seeing him be this touchy with people before. He pats his back lightly in the hug.
It’s then that Hoseok bursts out into a fit of laughter that sends him careening towards the floor. He’s out of his chair, butt sliding onto Yoongi’s carpet. He crawls back up and wipes fake tears from his cheeks.
The two have broken away from the hug and are staring at him, wondering why the hell he’s laughing so hard.
“Oh, if you’re going to convince Jiminie’s family you’re dating, Yoongi hyung you need to work on not looking like you got stung by a bee when he hugs you.”
“I do not look like I was stung like a bee,” he pouts, “I don’t get hugged often.”
“Oh that’s just sad,” Hoseok says. “Well Jimin can change that.”
That’s how project: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑦𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟 by Producer Hoseok begins. They’ve got exactly five days until they’re due to fly out to Jeju to meet Jimin’s family for the ten day stay. Hoseok gives them a list of things to work on in the meantime.
“As someone who dates two people very privately, I’m very good at what you exactly should not be doing in public. Therefore, please use this list of things to practice.” Hoseok passes a piece of paper over to them.
Jimin and Yoongi look at the list together. “Touching?” Jimin asks. “It sounds suggestive.” Yoongi lets out a groan, already regretting this. “People will never believe the two of you are together if you don’t touch,” he looks at them skeptically. “He’s right,” Yoongi says.
“Okay, we’ll practice touching, I don’t really know what you mean by that.” “A hand on his thigh sometimes, maybe like stroke his arm while he’s talking to you.”
“Stroke?” Jimin’s eyes almost pop out of his head.
Hoseok reaches forward to Jimin’s arm and slides it down. “Like gently. When he does something funny or kind.” “Are you funny?” Jimin turns to Yoongi to ask. Other than the jokes that he says on air, Jimin has no recollection of the producer being funny at all.
“Yes, I’m funny, Jimin-ssi.”
“Point two! Point two!” Hoseok interrupts them, tapping the paper.
“Terms of endearment,” they read together. Listed examples are “Yeobo” “jagiya” “naekkeo,” “sarang”
“You can speak comfortably,” Yoongi gives Jimin the permission. Sincerely, having others speak informally or formally never really mattered to the producer.
“Great, point three!” Hoseok was getting excited. “Point three is super important.” “Spending time together before you go on vacation?” Yoongi looked up at him. “Hoseok-ah, we work together.” “We see each other everyday.”
Hoseok rolls his eyes. Are his friends this clueless? “Outside of work. Where you can practice. The touching, the hand holding, all of that. We’ll go out to dinner tomorrow night, the whole group of us.”
The pair look at each other. As much as it seemed like a lot of work, the vacation was going to be more work. Although, Min Yoongi was quite looking forward to it.
Jimin has to text Yoongi later that night because his mom is asking all of Yoongi’s details for flight information and he doesn’t know them. He gets his number from Hoseok.
Jimin's surprised by his age. At just two years older he'd managed to create and co-own an entire business. Often times, he still wondered if there were other things out there that he could be doing, though he loved his job at the radio station.
Jimin giggles out loud, covering his hand with his mouth. Maybe he is actually funny. He doesn’t really have anything else left to say to the Producer. But, he doesn’t want to stop talking to him yet.
It’s a smooth move, Yoongi thinks, asking Jimin to send the first selfie. Hoseok would be proud. He’s always telling Yoongi that he needs to “get out there” more. Maybe this arrangement could be the way for him to get to know Jimin better.
The first selfie that comes through makes his throat dry and palms sweat. Jimin is gorgeous. Yoongi imagines he might be laying in bed right now, just like he is. Maybe he's in pajamas, maybe not. Either way it looks recent.
Another one comes through and Yoongi has to physically stop himself from making any kind of noise or texting back to tell Jimin he indeed is radiating boyfriend energy. All kinds of boyfriend energy, actually. Yoongi just wishes it was his boyfriend energy.
Yoongi laughs. If only Jimin knew how much the entire team admired him. A stream of new images comes through and this man really has no regard for Yoongi's soft heart.
Yoongi sifts through his photos on his phone. Most of them are of Mingie. He could easily just send one of her. She’s at the foot of the bed now, purring softly in her sleep. God, he loves Mingie so much.
He finds a few decent selfies he’s sent to Hoseok or Jungkook through snapchat. He thinks maybe a few of them were from the Busan Blues instagram story, but surely that won’t matter. He sits up and snaps one for good measure. His hair’s a mess but hopefully Jimin doesn’t mind.
Jimin thinks that he could have a worse looking fake boyfriend. He quickly selects his favorite of the photos and sends a picture back to Yoongi, confirming the contact change.
Jagiya Jiminie the contact photo reads. Jimin wasn’t expecting him to go along with it. He fires back a thumbs up, and then a good night. Yoongi replies quickly, telling Jimin he’ll see him in the morning.
Jimin falls asleep thinking this whole thing might be easier than he imagined.
Yoongi sighs as he clicks the phone and rolls over, planning to fall asleep. His day washes over him. Radio production can be unexpected. You never know what kind of caller you’re going to get, or what the music mashup might be.
Yoongi could have never expected this kind of day. Mingie wakes up with an annoyed “hrumph.” She lanks slowly up to Yoongi’s side, curling up near his face. Purring like a lawn mower, she nuzzles her head to his cheek before closing her eyes. It’s his cue to sleep.
So with Mingie in his arms he settles in, trying not to dream of sassy digital content managers.
Hoseok pulls Yoongi and Jimin into his office before broadcast the next morning. He’s got his crazy hair, because he’s running the show today, which always stresses him out a bit.
“Okay, so I was thinking last night and I think that you shouldn’t tell Namjoonie or JK that you guys are fake dating.”
The two look back and forth at each other. “Why?” Jimin asks.
“Well, they would be your test subjects. If you get them to believe you’re dating then of course Jimin’s parents and brother will believe you’re dating.”
“Hoseokie, I don’t know…” Jimin says. But again, Yoongi surprises him. “I think that’s a good idea. Just for this week, right? Then if we have to tell them it was all for show after we get back from vacation we can.”
Jimin nods hesitantly. He doesn’t like it. He’s spent his entire life telling half truths or harmless lies to his parents. It’s what kids do. But lying to Jungkook and Namjoon, well it seems wrong. But it does make sense.
If they need to convince Jimin’s parents and especially his sly brother who will sniff out the slightest inconsistency, they’ve got to start somewhere.
“Oh!!” Hoseok says. “We don’t have a lot of time so you need to do this later. But I watched this fake dating movie last night and they came up with rules.”
Yoongi chuckles at Hoseok watching a fake dating movie as if he and Jimin are some sort of experiment. “Rules?”
“Yes. You need ground rules. So I think you should have lunch together today and set those rules. It makes me sad to let my Jiminie go at lunch time, but it’ll start to make Namjoon and Jungkook catch onto you.”
Jimin doesn't always watch the guys do Busan Blues, but after Hoseok's suggestion of "spending more public time" with Yoongi, he decides to quite literally follow him around like a puppy dog.
Yoongi and Hoseok are co-hosting this morning. They slap on their radio persona's Suga and Hope, and greet the citizens of Busan.
"𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑆𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑜-ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑆𝑢𝑔𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑜𝑝𝑒.
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑊𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘." Hoseok purrs into the mic.
Jimin sits on the sideline of the studio with Jungkook. They must be shooting a segment this morning, because Jungkook is usually holed up in the visual studio editing and mixing content for their Youtube channel or Instagram.
Jimin likes working with Jungkook. Originally when he started the videographer was so quiet Jimin was convinced he didn't like him. Hoseok invited the two of them out to drinks and Jimin almost refused to go.
"It'll be awkward, Hoba. He hates me. Yesterday I told a joke, a good one, and he didn't even crack a smile!" Jimin whined over lunch. "Jungkookie is just so shy. You'll see. After a drink or two he'll warm up to you and then everything will be fine, I swear."
He'd been right. Jungkook was still eerily quiet at the bar table when they arrived. He only responded one or two word answers when Jimin would ask. He was a bit more talkative with Hoseok. But after the second round of drinks arrived, he started to come alive.
"I know," he slurred his words a little bit. Hoseok said he was a lightweight. His eyes were tight with smile, "that you think I don't like you," he pouted. "Hoseokie hyung told me. I'm sorry, Jimini-ssi, I just think you're so cool!" Jimin had laughed. "Me?!"
Jungkook nodded furiously. "You came in and you're so good already. You're definitely going to get hired at the end of your internship. I had to apply AGAIN last year after my internship."
"Wait...how old are you?" Jimin asks. He'd joined college a year late and hadn't quite decided on his major once he first entered. He assumed Jungkook was older than him by both his build and his demeanor.
"Uh, 97," Jungkook replied before taking another swig from his beer. All the while Hoseok watched quietly at the table as finally his work friend and his best friend were communicating.
Jimin gulped. "97? I'm 95..I thought you were older!" "Aish, another hyung? I'm forever the youngest in the studio crew," he tsk'd.
Over the months Jungkook became a big help to Jimin in realizing that he might be more interested in the content side of radio, rather than the show itself. "You don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn if you don't want to," he'd been sold.
Jimin also learned a lot about work ethic from Jungkook. He worked harder than anyone else Jimin had come across before. Every detail of the content he produced had to be perfect. Even though he didn't have to be up and at the studio as earlier as their Hyungs, he was.
Jimin sits in his lap now, teasing him before the show is to queue up again. "Jungkookie, are you going to miss me while I'm on vacation next week?" "No, my lap will be free all the time now. I don't know what I'll do without all the extra weight," he bounces his legs.
Jimin laughs and catches Yoongi's eyes over his microphone. He smiles and Yoongi returns it, though it looks a bit tight. "Okay, every hush, here we go," Namjoon says, running the show for the morning. "We’re live in 3, 2, 1, -”
Jimin likes the way Busan Blues works. Technically, Namjoon is everyone's boss. He's the executive and music director. But co-owns the studio's label with Yoongi.
The show is most often co-hosted by Hoseok and Yoongi, but the entire team makes appearances often, especially if they're interviewing Idols, hosting games, or there's a sweepstakes going on.
"𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝐽𝑖𝑛! 𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡, 𝐽𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒," Yoongi says.
Jimin notices how much more animated his voice becomes when he's hosting. Yesterday when they were in his office his voice was so quiet and gentle, just barely above a whisper between the two of them. He likes both voices.
The normal morning show itself lasts around two hours between music, weather & news, and calling in. Jimin likes that part the most. On Fridays is when Idols come in for interviews to promote new music, shows, and movies.
Jimin was looking forward to this Friday's interview the most. He'd been a longtime fan of Jin and had yet to meet him, even if he was dating his best friend. Jimin wondered how Hoseok did it, having a secret relationship with one of the most famous people in South Korea.
He imagined it must be hard, having to hide your relationship like that because the media and fans continuously sifted through every detail of your life. It didn't help that there were three of them involved in the relationship, which the media would eat up even more.
After the show is finished, Namjoon takes over to do the lunch hour news and music. He'll spend most of the day with one of the new interns running that. "Uh, Namjoonah," Yoongi says while Namjoon lines up an hour of straight music to get everyone a break. "Can we speak later?"
Namjoon clicks a few more buttons, then turns to him. "Sure, Hyung. Want to eat lunch together after I do the news?" Yoongi runs his fingers through his hair. Jimin's trying not to eavesdrop, but he's waiting for Yoongi. So he shuffles his feet nearby.
"Oh, well Jiminie and I are eating lunch together," Jimin doesn't miss how Yoongi speaks his name informally. Namjoon looks surprised. His eyes flick over to Jimin and the brunette forces a cheesy smile, hugging his laptop to his chest.
"Okay, just, um, text me when you're done, Hyung..."
Yoongi crosses the room and Jimin tenses when a large hand comes to rest on his lower back. He even makes a quiet sound of surprise. Namjoon looks at the two of them again, puzzled. Yoongi just waves and gives Jimin a small push out the door.
"So the rules," Yoongi says once they've sat down at a nearby noodle restaurant. "Hoseok is insane for actually researching this. He told me he watched To All the Boys I've Loved Before," he shakes his head.
Jimin perks up with a bright smile. "I love that movie!! I guess this is sort of like fake dating in that way. Except we won't end up together like Lara Jean and Peter," he whips out his phone to make a list. Yoongi tries not to physically deflate in front of him.
Their waitress sets down two bowls of steaming noodles in front of them. Jimin takes a long string and slurps them up quickly. A glob of jjang sauce makes it onto his cheek. "Oh, you have something--" Yoongi points to his cheek.
Jimin blushes before taking his napkin and dabbing at his face, missing the sauce. "Did I get it?" Yoongi shakes his head and points again but Jimin still hasn't quite cleared the black bean sauce off. He reaches forward with his own napkin, wiping Jimin's cheek.
Jimin blushes again but laughs. "Oh my god, you're such a grandparent," he smiles happily. "But thank you." They keep eating for a bit before Jimin directs them back to their original purpose for lunch in the first place.
"So the rules..." he says again. "I think obviously our first rule should be that we tell no one that we're fake dating. Like any of our friends, family, and people we come by have to just think it's real." "Except Hoseok," Yoongi says. "Except Hoseok," Jimin agrees.
He types it into the notes app of his phone then shares it with Yoongi. "Operation Yoonmin?" Yoongi asks once the note makes it to his phone. Jimin nods. "It's our ship name. Once it gets out on social media and stuff our radio listeners will start calling us this, I swear."
"Ship name?" Yoongi asks. "Its just a name that combines a couple's names together. You know like from your favorite tv shows or books." "So like if I thought the basketball player Jong-kyu and Rain would make a cute couple? It would be what..Rainjong?"
Jimin bursts into wild giggles. He's hunched over, hand over his mouth. Yoongi's heart flutters and he thinks about how proud he feels to make Jimin laugh like that.
"Rainjong sounds silly. It has to sound good together, like...Jonghoon would be nice because that uses his real name." "Oh...." Yoongi says, confused. "So anyway, Yoonmin sounds nice together." Yoongi thinks it absolutely does.
They spend the rest of the hour bouncing ideas back and forth to each other. Finally, they come up with a list of rules they 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 agree on.
"I think we should just hold hands, it's simple and nice." Jimin types it down. "Holding hands. Great, we can do the caressing thing later. Though, you haven't proven to be funny, yet." Yoongi rolls his eyes.
"I liked Jagiya Jiminie in your phone so I changed yours to Yeobo Yoongi because I think they both are good. Is it okay to call you Yeobo?" Jimin asks. "Yeobo is good," Yoongi's belly blossoms with butterflies as his preferred nickname is directed at him.
"But we shouldn't use them too often. Terms of endearment are...weird? Like, you can just call me Jimin and I'll just call you Yoongi most of the time. It's still informal."
"We should keep eating lunch together," Yoongi suggests. It's his own selfish way of getting Jimin to spend time with him. "It will make it seem real to the guys. Plus we can get more comfortable before the trip starts."
"I usually eat with Hoseokie, he's going to be sad." "He can eat with Namjoon. Namjoon is always trying to force me to eat lunch so he'll like being able to eat with Hoseok instead of waiting around for me."
Jimin puts his phone down. "You don't eat lunch? It's like...a really important meal." "Breakfast and coffee are more important. I work over lunch a lot, I forget to eat."
Jimin picks the phone up quickly typing it in. "Okay, we're absolutely eating lunch together every day so I know you're eating. Don't skip meals, hyung," he says gently.
Jimin ponders for a moment before moving on to the next point. "I feel like you should be getting something out of this arrangement. Like you've just agreed to an entire vacation with my family and they're a little...overbearing," he grimaces.
"I don't need anything, Jimin, it's okay." Jimin frowns. "There must be something. You said coffee is important. I'll bring you coffee every morning. It's very boyfriend-y."
"Okay. I can call you before bed. I remember you mentioned on your initial intro interview on the show that you like talking on the phone, right?" Jimin's surprised Yoongi remembers that. A few months ago once he was officially hired, Jimin was introduced to the listeners.
Hoseok fired question after question at him to try to get their audience to know the digital content manager a little better. Yoongi hadn't even been in the studio when they were live that day.
"Oh!" he smiles at Yoongi shyly. "You don't have to do that.." "It's okay, I want to." Yoongi types it in the shared note before Jimin can argue.
"I think that's enough. Surely, on vacation we'll have stuff to discuss but this feels fine. Then, after vacation things will end!" he types it in the note. "Well, what about the holidays?" Yoongi asks. "Christmas is in December. Won't your family want us to visit?"
Jimin chews on his bottom lip. "That's if they like you," he jokes. "But we can call things off after vacation." "Why don't we just..." Yoongi thinks of the right way to say it.."re-evaluate after vacation?"
Jimin doesn't understand how he got Yoongi to agree to this in the first place, let alone extend it for a few months. Then he pipes up, "My moms might want me to bring someone home for the holiday, so you never know I might be needing the favor too..."
It makes Jimin feel a little better, like he's not just using the producer for his own selfish accord. "Okay, we can re-evaluate." Jimin sticks out his hand to shake on the agreement. "Welcome to this wild ride, boyfriend." Yoongi tries not to swoon.
Between lunch, setting rules, and filming something in the afternoon with Jungkook, Yoongi forgets that Hoseok planned for everyone to go out for drinks. It’s a Wednesday night and the one lgbtq+ bar in their area has two for one Wednesday-Saturday.
Yoongi goes home after work and stresses about what to wear. Any normal day, he’s a tshirt and jeans kind of guy. He’ll throw a cardigan on top just to be warm, and it’s cozy. But Hoseok reminded him through text that “young grandpa chic” was not the vibe.
So now he’s standing in front of his closet staring at all of his clothes. What screams ‘gay, single, but not ready to mingle since you’re fake dating your coworker that you really wish you were actually dating so you want to look nice so he notices you?’
Not the cat sweater Jungkook got him for his birthday this year. His buzzing phone pulls him out of his thoughts and he groans. It’s probably Hoseok.
He picks it up from the navy comforter. It’s Namjoon. He freezes, their earlier conversation still very fresh in his mind. His hands are shaking now like they were then. He picks up quickly. “Hey Namjoon–”
“Hyung, it’s me. My phone is charging in Namjoon’s bedroom. I called because you probably are still thinking about what to wear and you need to leave in five minutes if you’re going to be on time taking Jimin.”
“I’m taking Jimin?” Yoongi asks. “Of course you are,” there’s a tone in Hoseok’s voice that suggests he’s not alone anymore.
“Ahh, it's Yoongi hyung. He doesn’t know what to wear.” He whispers some more away from the phone and Yoongi wonders if they’ve talked about their conversation. Namjoon wouldn’t do that, right? “Namjoonie says put on your leather jacket from university.”
Yoongi’s ears heat up with a shame he hasn't felt in a while...or maybe three hours. The leather jack from university holds stories in its stitchings. Namjoon is being coy. Yoongi isn't going to let him get the best of him. “Tell him I said that’s a great idea.”
After they get off the phone Yoongi steps back into the walk-in closet to retrieve the jacket from the very back corner. The jacket had been retired, forgotten, purposely. Touching it is like being warped into another world.
It faintly still smells of cigarette and weed smoke from parties in strangers' apartments that often ended in the cops getting called. It didn’t matter how many times he washed it. He hopes that's all it smells like.
He pulls on his pants while he calls Jimin because they never talked about Yoongi driving him to the bar. Realistically, they should walk. But it’s cold out and if he drinks too much he can just take a cab back.
“Yeah?” Jimin answers the phone, something off in his tone. “Is that how you answer calls for real?” Yoongi does up the zipper. He balances the phone between his shoulder and ear while pulling his white shirt onto the other side.
“I wasn’t expecting you to call. We’ll see each other in like…twenty minutes?”
Yoongi pauses the conversation to loop the tee over his head. “Well Hoseok said I was picking you up, I didn’t know I was picking you up.”
“Ohhh,” Jimin draws out the sound and Yoongi seriously does not like the tone that he’s taking, it seems…standoffish. “I was going to walk, it’s like ten minutes from my place.”
“Mine too, what’s your address? I'll come get you.” “33-6, Seolleungro-190gil” Jimin says and Yoongi freezes while he’s tucking his shirt into his jeans.
“Jimin, I said what’s your address, not mine. Also, how’d you get my address? That wasn’t in the info you needed for flights?”
Jimin makes an annoyed sound and Yoongi is half tempted to just hang up the phone. This isn’t how he imagined the night starting. “That is my address, what are you talking about?”
“Your address is 33-6, Seolleungro-190gil?” Yoongi pulls on the jacket hastily, then goes out to look at his mail because yeah he’s lived here for three years but surely he’s remembering his own address wrong. “Yes, Yoongi-ssi, that’s my address. Is something wrong?”
Yoongi stares at his piece of mail. “No..I just think we live in the same building.”
Yoongi meets in the elevator on the third floor, where apparently Jimin has lived for the past six months. “I thought you and Namjoon were roommates, why isn’t he coming with us?” Jimin asks once they get to the ground floor where the parking garage is.
“He moved out last year to a better apartment that’s closer to Seokjin so it’s easier for them to see each other,” Yoongi explains.
He unlocks the car and waits until Jimin slides in before climbing in himself. He sniffs the air subtly, hoping his car doesn’t smell weird.
There’s no reason it should, but he’s nervous and thinking about his car smelling weird is better than thinking about how the two of them are about to walk in like a couple with all of their coworkers and friends.
“So we live in the same place but we’ve never crossed paths?” Jimin asks. “Hmph, that’s strange.” “I don’t go out much anymore since Namjoon moved out,” Yoongi admits as he backs out of his spot.
Namjoon and Hoseok had been the ones to constantly drag Yoongi out, especially after college ended. In college it was a different story. But now, he goes from work to home to work again in a never ending cycle.
“Namjoon doesn’t really seem like the going out type,” Jimin comments. Yoongi notices that his tone still seems guarded. “He likes to drink or play games. Hoseok is the one that likes to go out, though. He just likes to have fun and make sure everyone else is having fun too.”
They sit quietly for a while. Jimin is picking at a loose thread in his ripped jeans and Yoongi thinks about how he’d like to reach over and hold his hand because he seems nervous. Maybe that’s why he’s annoyed too, anxiety manifests in interesting ways.
Yoongi doesn’t think what he’s going to say next will help at all, but Jimin deserves to know. “Namjoon is upset with me, by the way.”
Jimin keeps his eyes focused on the window, but Yoongi notices his jaw clench. He wonders if Hoseok knows and told Jimin. “Oh?”
Yoongi sighs. “And you know…” “Well, I accidentally overheard.”
Jimin had been going to Yoongi’s office late this afternoon to hand him the proposal for the podcast idea they were originally supposed to discuss yesterday. He truly wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but Yoongi never closes his office door.
Jimin has worked for Busan Blues Radio for thirteen months. He’s seen Namjoon frustrated, sad, and a myriad of other emotions. But in those thirteen months he’s never heard him raise his voice. He raised it then.
“What do you mean you’re dating our intern, Yoongi?” There was venom attached to it. Jimin couldn’t see him but he could bet Namjoon’s jaw was set tight the way it got when something wasn’t working on the mixing board. This however, was not the mixing board.
“We’re just…I don’t know, Namjoonah, we’re trying it out. Also he’s not an intern anymore.” Namjoon didn't like the correction.
“Trying it out enough for you to go on vacation with his family? That’s not trying it out, Yoongi.” He was pacing. “What the hell happens when the listeners find out that the co-owner of the show goes after interns? If this ends poorly between the two of you–like, like–”
“Don’t,” Yoongi’s voice was still quiet but got darker. Jimin hadn't heard either of them speak like this before. “He’s not an intern, Namjoon. He’s fully hired on staff. Besides, I’m not the only one dating someone else from the station.”
It was a blow that wasn’t meant to be one, but Namjoon took it that way. He stormed out of Yoongi’s office. Jimin shrank back into the wall and held the proposal over his face, hoping his boss hadn’t seen him as he stalked the opposite way. He never did go into Yoongi’s office.
Jimin didn’t know if he was more upset with Namjoon’s disapproval or the fact he still saw him as an intern. Either way, it made him feel like shit.
“I just don’t know why you didn’t tell me," Jimin says. They've arrived at the bar but he's still in his seat starring out the window. "We should call this off right now,” he suggests bitterly.
Yoongi sighs. He’d told Namjoon to come to his office just to say he was going on vacation and would be doing the show remotely while he was gone for the ten days.
He hadn’t expected Namjoon to so quickly put two and two together. “Jimin’s going on vacation at the same time with his family,” Namjoon had said, there was an air in his voice that sounded frustrated.
Yoongi stayed quiet for a long while. His lips twitched. His fingers itched in his lap. “Right. We should talk about that too.”
Namjoon turned to him, eyes already sporting that pinched together look of disapproval. Yoongi hated that look. “Talk about what, Hyung?”
“Jimin and I,” Yoongi wasn’t sure how to put it. Hoseok hadn’t coached them through this part.
“You and Jimin, what? You planned vacations at the same time…?” Yoongi wanted to roll his eyes. Was Namjoon really going to make him say it? He already knew.
“Namjoonah,” Yoongi was losing his patience a little. “You know what I’m talking about. We’re dating. Jimin and I are dating.”
He hadn’t expected Namjoon to throw him a party, to congratulate him or anything of that nature. Namjoon knew Yoongi’s dating history. It was nonexistent, but not without experience. Namjoon hated Yoongi’s dating history. He hadn’t however expected him to get so upset.
He sighs when he looks at Jimin now. “Namjoon will get over it. Besides, your Eomma already bought my ticket. You’re not taking my free vacation away from me,” Yoongi removes the key from the ignition. He hopes Jimin doesn’t see how his hands are shaking.
Jimin groans, throwing his head back into Yoongi’s leather seat. “But he hates me now! I worked so hard to get this job and then I fucked it all up because I had to one up my brother and lie to my parents.”
Yoongi reaches out to put a hand on Jimin’s thigh because it feels like the right thing to do. Jimin jumps slightly at the touch. “He doesn’t hate you. You’re his favorite student ever. He doesn’t even hate me, he’s just protective of Busan Blues." Which Yoongi understands.
They put their heart, soul, and wallets into this company. Didn't Namjoon know he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it? "He thinks things will end poorly and it will impact the show.”
Yoongi doesn’t need to tell Jimin about the evidence Namjoon has that suggests it might end poorly. “Well it can’t end poorly, it’s not real,” Jimin says, sounding a bit less bitter.
Yoongi retracts his hand from Jimin's leg. He touches the door handle, poised to leave the car. He waits a beat to control his voice. “Right, of course,” he makes his tone sound light.
“Okay,” Jimin sighs. “Then let’s go in. Maybe we’ll keep Hoseokie’s touching thing to a minimum, I don’t want to upset Namjoon.”
Dopamine is located in a tiny back alley of the Beomil-dong district in Busan. It’s known as the town’s only “gayborhood” where locals and visitors can enjoy entertainment, clubbing, eateries and more.
It’s the safest place to be gay in Busan, though most everywhere is safe these days thankfully.
Yoongi’s parked in the side parking lot so he exits the car with Jimin and follows him around the corner to get to the alleyway. At first glance, it looks like the perfect place to go ahead and get mugged or murder.
That was Jackson’s point when he bought the building. He didn’t want people who wouldn’t enjoy the scene to accidentally stumble upon the party destination. Also, he told Yoongi he liked the idea of being the party guy. "It's like every night I'm hosting my own personal party."
It’s quite literally a hole in the wall, but it’s a whole in the wall that feels comfortable and fun. They come upon the neon purple sign and Jimin takes a deep and shaky breath.
He knows his coworkers are already in there. He’s afraid of walking in. Did he make a mistake asking Yoongi to go out of his way to help him like this?
“It feels like an appropriate time to hold hands,” Yoongi suggests as he notices Jimin lingering before the door.
Jimin’s mouth twitches. “Yeah, okay."
Yoongi grabs his hand, interlocking their fingers. Yoongi’s hand is warm where Jimin’s is cold. But Jimin laughs. “Oh my god, is this how you hold hands? No, no, this isn’t going to work!”
Yoongi’s mouth drops in feigned offense. “What do you mean? How do you hold hands?”
“This feels like…too much, let’s try this,” Jimin unlaces their fingers and cups Yoongi’s hand instead.
Yoongi frowns. It feels uncomfortable. He realizes that if anyone were watching they might look ridiculous standing outside of this club, trying to figure out how to hold hands. They wouldn’t be fooling anyone. “I don’t like my hand on bottom,” Yoongi says.
“Ohhh, you’re a top,” Jimin looks him in the eyes.
Yoongi’s throat aches with the approaching choke. He gives Jimin a blank, yet somehow panicked stare. He was, but it didn’t feel like the appropriate time to talk about sex dynamics in their fake relationship.
Jimin cackles. “Yoongi , I was kidding, breathe! But okay, let’s switch.”
Yoongi cups Jimin’s hand instead, the smaller fitting nicely on the underside of his large fingers. “Better?” he asks.
Yoongi nods. “Yeah, this is good.”
Jimin rolls his eyes with a laugh again. “Thank god we’re practicing before next week. Hyun would have a field day with us not being able to know how to hold hands.”
They step through the doors of Dopamine, hands clasped.
The lights are purple this evening. Jackson's DJ, who Yoongi can't remember the name of, changes them almost every evening to fit some sort of vibe. Jackson's the first to greet them, checking IDs even though they spent four years going to college together.
"Everytime?" Yoongi asks. "Is it really necessary?" Jackson gives a sly smile. "I just like to remind you how old you are." "I'm one year older!" Yoongi defends.
Yoongi spots their table of friends. They're in the same spot as usual, closest hightop to the dance floor, because Hoseok loves to make Namjoon twirl around, no matter how clumsy he is on his feet.
Jungkook looks to be Hoseok's dance partner currently. Yoongi can't help but smile, he appreciates the way Jungkook comes a little more alive as he drinks.
As someone who's also often the quietest person in the room, and is livened by a bit of a drink, he feels connected to their youngest studio member in a way.
They make their way to the bar to order drinks. A man with high cheek bones donned in glitter takes their order. "First round is on me," Yoongi says, pulling out his wallet. "Uh-uh," Jimin shakes his head, sliding his card across the granite. "I'm indebted to you for life."
"Jiminah, free vacation. You got my coffee order right this morning. I think I can pay for drinks. Besides, I'm the hyung," Yoongi moves his card out of the way and hands his to the bartender.
Jimin rolls his eyes before retracting his plastic card. "I will be buying your drinks at some point tonight," he slides it back in the leather wallet at his hip. "Start a tab," Yoongi smiles and Jimin grits his teeth.
Once Jimin is holding quite literally the fruttiest drink Yoongi has ever seen, and he's got a beer to carry, they rejoin their hands to approach the table. Thankfully, Hoseok and Jungkook have sat back down so they don't have to greet Namjoon alone.
"Ahhh, you're here!" Hoseok claps once he sees the pair. He stands to move two chairs next to each other, because they were at opposite ends of the roundtable. He pats the chairs, "Sit, sit, I was just going to beckon someone over to order shots."
"Shots?" Namjoon asks. "Hobi, we have to work in the morning..." Hoseok waves Namjoon away playfully. "Oh, we'll be fine. It's just one shot.."
Yoongi notices Namjoon eyeing their hands. Jimin must too because he lets go once they sit down. Yoongi pretends he needs to hold his beer with both hands, the absence of Jimin's hand leaving his feeling a little cold.
Yoongi drinks faster than he intended too, because the awkwardness between he and Namjoon is getting to him. He doesn't quite know how he should be acting. Namjoon seems to be actively ignoring him, though he's speaking to Jimin.
After their round of shots, Hoseok pulls Jimin and Jungkook away to dance. "I'll be back," Jimin purrs against Yoongi's ear, touching his shoulder on the way and he shivers. Namjoon heaves a heavy sigh.
Yoongi isn't confrontational normally, but he's on his second beer and feeling bold. "Namjoon-ah, we're not the fighting type. So, just come out and say more than you said earlier so we can get through this," he feels his words coming out slower than normal.
Namjoon turns to him. The anger must be dissipating because his stare is less cold than before. "We put our blood, sweat, and tears into Busan Blues," Namjoon begins. "I've seen the way the other interns were with you. You said you were trying to change and I believed you."
"You still should. Busan Blues means just as much to me as it does to you. You don't think I care about our company? It's not like college, Namjoon."
Yoongi looks to the dance floor where Jimin is grinding against Jungkook, a flurry of jealousy coils in his stomach. If it were like college that feeling wouldn't be there. College Yoongi didn't care if who he was seeing were with other people.
"I won't let anything get in the way of Busan Blues," Yoongi looks at him sincerely. "I swear, Namjoon." His friend's shoulders slump.
The conversation seems to need to end there as Jimin comes over, breathless. He picks up Yoongi's beer from his hand and takes a swig. "You're not going to dance with me, hyung? Or you Namjoonie? You guys are boring!!"
Hoseok comes over to take a long pull from his own drink and joins in on the teasing. "We're here to have fun! Come on, dance with us."
"Please, hyung," Jimin bats his long lashes. Yoongi swallows. He looks at Namjoon who shrugs. "We can't be the boring boyfriends, now can we?"
"You're supposed to stand in solidarity with me!" Yoongi calls after him, but Hoseok is already too busy dragging Namjoon away. He's left with Jimin. "Let's go," he holds his hand out.
"I'm a really bad dancer," Yoongi shakes his head. "Seriously, you'll regret choosing me to fake date on account of my bad dancing alone." "I'll do all the work, come. Jungkook is asking questions about us ever since we came in holding hands. We've got to give them something."
Yoongi wonders if Jimin studied acting in college because the way he's putting on a show right now could fool anyone. They're in the middle of the small, lavender lit dance floor.
"Just bounce a bit, I'll do the rest," he'd said before turning his back to Yoongi. Ever since he'd been swaying his hips languidly to the beat of some song.
He's just barely up against his front but Yoongi's thinking of every repulsive thing in the world to keep his body from reacting. Jimin's also dancing with Jungkook, so the youngest doesn't feel left out. He's got a wide smile on his face as they jive to the beat.
Without a command, Jimin's hands come back to grab Yoongi's, guiding them to his sides. He plants them firmly on and keeps them there, wordlessly showing Yoongi how to follow the roll of his hips. Yoongi bites the inside of his lip.
"You're not so bad, yeobo," Jimin turns his head to give praise. Yoongi tries so hard not to respond with something snarky. At one point Jimin pushes back harder and Yoongi freezes. It's too much. He backs away slightly, creating space between them.
He can't see all of Jimin's face but he swears there's a ghost of a smirk there. The purple lights flicker off and on his face. He must get lost in the music because his back end presses into Yoongi's front again moments later. The producer steps away. "I'm going to get a drink."
The night stretches on until Hoseok is a little too red in the face to stay out anymore. The morning show starts for the producers at six, which means they really should be in by five or five-thirty at the absolute latest to make sure the equipment is running right.
By the way Hoseok looks, Jimin imagines that Namjoon and Yoongi might be co-hosting in the morning. Namjoon slings an arm around his boyfriend's waist, holding him close. "You're directing and hosting tomorrow, yeah?" Yoongi asks. He's a bit tipsy himself.
Namjoon bobs his head. "I set all the controls to be ready for the show in the morning, knowing this would happen." Jungkook, who barely had anything to drink is napping on the table as he waits for everyone to be ready to leave. Jimin has found him to be quite the lightweight.
Jimin, who drank the least out of anyone, is standing in the peripheral examining his friends. He grabs Yoongi's hand quietly, making him jump as always. "Hyung," Hoseok calls with his eyes half closed as they're finally leaving. "You make sure you get Jimin home safe."
After a quiet car ride, Yoongi drops Jimin off at his door. “Do you think we convinced anyone?” Jimin asks.
He’s leaning up against the wall, more tired than tipsy, and Yoongi can’t help but think he looks incredibly cute that way. He holds back a sigh. “I don’t know. Namjoon calmed down, I think we’ll call that a win for now.”
Jimin nods and yawns. “I should get to bed. You too, you’re the one with the early day tomorrow.”
He types the passcode into his door and hangs back for a moment, catching Yoongi staring at him in a longing way. He must be way tipsier than Jimin thought. “See you in the morning, hyung?”
Yoongi breaks out of his trance. “Yeah, in the morning...” That night he dreams about his hands on Jimin’s hips over and over again.
“So how long have you been seeing Yoongi hyung?” Jungkook asks Jimin out of the blue the following afternoon when they’ve sat down to edit their latest reel for instagram.
Jimin collaborates with Jungkook the most out of anyone at Busan Blues, as the digital content manager it’s his role to understand every video Jungkook produces.
“Um…” Jimin puts his pen down and turns to face his friend. “A little while.” “I’ve never even seen the two of you speak before last night,” Jungkook says, splicing a clip of Hoseok together. “How did it happen?”
He and Yoongi had discussed this at breakfast this morning after he’d gotten in, knowing it would come up eventually. They were surprised Hoseok hadn't made them get the story straight before.
He came in late that morning, accidentally having slept through his alarm. He didn’t even drink a lot but the night weighed on his bones. He dragged through his morning. He threw on the show to see how they were filling the time.
There may or may not have been more commercial and music breaks than normal.
Yoongi’s voice sounded deeper and quieter than it usually did, Jimin noticed. After washing his face, but opting not to shower, he dressed in something comfortable.
It was a content heavy day and he’d spend much of it in his own office or Jungkook’s as they got things ready to head into the weekend.
He continued to listen to the show on his ride to the office. He could drive, but he quite likes taking the bus and watching the Seoul streets go by. Besides, he thinks that he and Yoongi should probably start riding home together soon so their relationship seems even more real.
He got in just as the morning segment of the show ended and Yoongi was wrapping up the news for the day. “And remember joining us tomorrow morning is a very special guest, Jin, to promote his new single The Astronaut.”
“And that’s been the news on Busan Blues,” Hoseok said, comical as always. “Now for an hour of uninterrupted music to start off your day.”
Namjoon flipped a few things on the soundboard and the three of them took off their headphones as Jimin stepped in. They looked a little spent, especially Hoseok, who Jimin thought even looked a bit…green.
“I’m never drinking on a weeknight again,” he shook his head, a chill vibrating down his small spine. “It was your suggestion,” Yoongi said, tipping a hangover drink into his mouth. He scrunched his nose and tossed it into the trash beneath the desk.
"Well, I brought something to help out,” Jimin held up a bag. He’d stopped at the cafe close to the studio to get everyone steaming bowls of haejangguk.
“Waaah, Jiminie, my hero,” Hoseok made grabby hands for the plastic to-go container. Jimin divided them up to each of them, saving Yoongi for last. Namjoon bowed politely. “Thank you, Jimin-ah.”
Yoongi stood when Jimin approached him. Awkwardly, the two looked back and forth between the container and each other. Hoseok couldn’t stifle his laugh quick enough. “Should we–,” Yoongi started.
“Eat in your office?” Jimin suggested softly. Yoongi nodded. He tried to make it look absentminded as he placed his hand on the smallest curve of Jimin’s back to guide him out, but the younger jumped at the touch.
Yoongi pulled away immediately. Hoseok eyed them and gave a slight shake of his head, displeased with their performance. He pulled Namjoon’s attention towards him with some whining about a headache just to be able to sit on his lap while he worked.
They walked quietly to Yoongi’s office as Jimin held the warm soup in his hands. The other people who shared the studio with them didn’t pay them any mind at all, they seemingly looked like the digital content manager was going to work with the producer.
Yoongi followed behind, giving Jimin a full look. He was wearing a light gray sweatshirt that made him look softer somehow, and looser jeans. Normally he opted for a button down shirt, or a sweater. But today the laid back look was working. Flutterings began in Yoongi’s stomach.
Jimin stood to the side as he waited for Yoongi to type in the code to his office. “It’s um, 0914,” he says over his shoulder to Jimin.
“What is?” Jimin followed him into the office. He was surprised at how clean Yoongi kept it. Hoseok’s desk was always a mess of papers, snacks, and pitches he wanted to give to Namjoon.
“The code to my office. I figure that’s another thing you should have..you know to make this whole thing believable.” “What’s the significance of 0914, your birthday is in March, right?”
Jimin remembered celebrating last year when he was freshly an intern at the studio. Hoseok decorated the radio studio with balloons, streamers, and played every version of happy birthday every ninth minute of the hour. Yoongi’s mouth dropped. “Only the most important day ever."
When Jimin didn't catch on Yoongi looked only slight hurt. "It’s Mingie’s birthday.”
He flipped the frame on his desk around to show Jimin. The younger bursted into uncontrollable giggles. Inside the frame was a picture of a black cat wearing a tiny blue sweater, looking incredibly displeased by it. “Yoongi, what the hell?”
“Excuse me. Mingie is the love of my life.”
Jimin laughed again and turned the frame back around to face Yoongi. He pulled the two soup containers from the bag and passed over chopsticks. “Mingie looks like she hates her life in that sweater.”
“She loves her sweaters,” he defended seriously.
Without knowing what to talk about, the only sounds that could be heard in the producer’s office for a few minutes was the slurping of soup. He tried to think of topics but everytime he almost said something he got nervous.
Jimin was just too cute. Hoseok was going to be so ashamed of him, he couldn’t even talk properly to his pretend boyfriend.
“Oh!” Jimin finally piped up, breaking the silence. “I think we should have a story straight for how we got together, you know, when my parents ask.” Yoongi nodded. “Well they know we work together, right? We’ll just say we met here.”
“Yeah, but Hyun will press for details.”
Jimin was making his younger brother out to be some sort of menace and Yoongi would be lying if he wasn’t a bit afraid of keeping up appearances. Especially if the two continued jumping when touched by the other.
“Uhh, at the apartments. It works for the guys too. We’ll just say that we ran into each at our apartment–” “He invited me in for dinner,” Jimin says to Jungkook now, just like they rehearsed. “Did you know Yoongi hyung is a really good cook?”
Jungkook gives him a wide stare. “Cook? What did you have?”
“Bulgogi,” Yoongi had said. “You like bulgogi, right?” “I like kimchi jiggae a lot, but maybe that’s not first date worthy, you wouldn’t have known that.”
“Okay, maybe it was kimchi jiggae. Like maybe–” “He was in the elevator with me and he had all the ingredients for kimchi jiggae from the store and I love kimchi jiggae so much and I said so, so he invited me in.” Jimin lies so easily.
“He made you kimchi jiggae? Jeez, he really was trying to win you over,” Jungkook says, returning to his task. Jimin lets out a silent sigh, if they could pass with Jungkook, they would pass with Hyun.
s.l.y: chapter 3
Jimin didn’t exclusively go into radio to meet famous Idols, but he decided it was one of the perks. Over his last year he’s gotten to see some of the people who fill the playlists he listens to on his ride to work, when he’s not tuning into Busan Blues.
Today, it’s chart topper Jin. He’s the fastest riding idol in the industry and somehow, their independent radio show is able to interview him for each comeback.
The office is buzzing with nervous energy as the interns work around the clock to set the station up for his arrival. Jimin’s job in the approaching days became more fast paced as he pushed through online content in anticipation of his visit.
He would spend time in the studio during the entire broadcast, giving live updates to fans from around the world. It was probably one of his favorite parts of the job, controlling the social media side of things.
Within a split second any of their videos from today could go viral and gain Busan Blues a larger audience.
Flowers come by the dozen one after one. Gifts from galaxy to thank Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi for having Jin on the show.
Jin calls them his ‘galaxy’ because every star needs a place to call home.
Galaxy began to line the studio hours ago, everyone waiting to catch a glimpse of the star as he came in.
With everything set up, Jimin has a few moments to sit around and text with his best friend, the biggest Jin fan he knows. Taehyung has been blowing his phone up all morning.
Taehyung and Jimin had been inseparable their entire childhood, growing up next door to each other. But Jimin wanted more than what their district offered. Taehyung was happy to stay back, engrossed in their incredible art school.
They visit each other when they can, and stay in constant communication. Sometimes, it’s like he never left.
Jimin sighs, which catches Yoongi's attention momentarily. It's enough to make him pause in his stride. Jimin fires off a final text.
He puts his phone down after Yoongi walks by for the fourth time. He’s clearly pacing. Jungkook is busy making sure the recorder is working. Namjoon is adding two more songs to the lineup and a commercial break.
The intern announced a minute ago that Jin had arrived so Hoseok went down to greet him.
Jimin watches as Yoongi sits down, then stand up again, fixing a piece of equipment that doesn’t really matter. His fingers shake, Jimin notices. This is only the second time they’ve interviewed Jin since Busan Blues gained its popularity.
Yoongi doesn’t always participate in artist interviews that take place in studio. He prefers to do the ones over the air, the phone, or virtually.
Jimin wants to distract him by asking a random question as a distraction, like if he packed enough underwear, because their flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. They were texting last night and Yoongi kept asking a bunch of questions about what was and was not allowed on a flight.
Jimin indulged, because it was good for him to remember. But, he couldn't help but wonder if the producer had never flown before.
He never got around to asking in their conversation because Jimin fell asleep in the middle of his bed, suitcase open, laundry surrounding him.
Hoseok and Seokjin walk in before he can say anything. Everyone stands.
The first thing Jimin notices is the sheer amount of people who flank the Idol. His bodyguard drops off at the door, but Jimin feels his grand presence like a beacon, waiting for any threat to approach.
Two videographers film his every step. His manager sits in the corner, going through the schedule quickly with Namjoon. They’ll have an hour with the idol which includes an interview, debuting his new single, questions from the fans, and a quick game.
Yoongi’s been worried about the timing all week and Jimin hopes for all their sake they can pull it off.
Both Jungkook and Jimin shoot his entrance. Jimin fires off a quick Instagram story on the Busan Blues Radio page. Then shares the video to their twitter feed.
Jin asks his staff to stop filming so they can speak comfortably for a moment. There’s five minutes until they go on air.
The second thing Jimin notices is both how tall and genuinely beautiful Seokjin is. Last time he was on the show Jimin was still an intern. He was only able to see the Idol from afar as he was in charge of arranging the studio that day.
He’s met him once or twice over video when he would call Hoseok from the road, but this will be the first time he’s spending prolonged time with him.
“Jimin-ssi!” Seokjin greets him happily like an old friend, wrapping him in a tight hug. “You’re much smaller in person.”
Yoongi chokes on his coffee. Seokjin zeroes in on him next. He regards the producer with a hundred watt smile. “You're not much bigger yourself," the producer frowns but Seokjin hugs him anyway. "Yoongi-yah, oh how I’ve missed you!”
Yoongi gives back a genuine smile but wriggles quickly out of the hug.
Jimin notices how Hoseok’s eyes have been glued to Seokjin’s every move since he’s walked in. It’s been months since they’ve been in the same room. Jimin can’t imagine what it must be like not to be able to touch and talk to your lover. He trails after him longingly.
Seokjin bows politely to Jungkook before clapping the youngest on the shoulder and ruffling his locks. “I’ve missed you, Jungkookie. I hope you’ve been well.” Jungkook leans into the touch and shakes his head.
When Seokjin reaches Namjoon, Jimin feels like he needs to look away. He regards him with a gaze so loving, so warm, it threatens to give Jimin butterflies. He reaches back, extending his hand to Hoseok. The three of them lean in close.
It’s then that Jimin turns from the intimate moment, he locks eyes with Yoongi. He shares the same look.
They get Jin situated in the artist‘s chair before everyones headphones go on. Jungkook sets up a shot to record the entire interview, while Jimin’s fingers fly off tweets.
“Ahh Jiminie let me see the company phone, I’ll send something to my galaxy!”
Hoseok kicks off the show moments later. “Good morning Busan Bluesies, It’s Producer Hoba greeting you with the most special of guests today!” Jin’s ears begin to turn bright red and he hides his smile behind his hand.
“He’s been number one on Melon for five days straight since the debut of his new single ‘The Astronaut’ please welcome, Jin!!” The studio erupts in applause.
“Ah Hoseok-a-ssi,” Jin corrects himself quickly. “I’m so honored to be back here on Busan Blues Radio,” he bows towards all the staff. Jimin makes sure to capture every interaction.
He zeros in on Yoongi as he prepares the first question. “Jin-ssi, it’s been a year since you’ve last been here. Please tell your fans what you’ve been up to. I’m sure they’re very eager to know.”
“Ahh, Yoongi-ah,” Jin leans forward to rest a hand on his arm. Jimin remembers hearing that Seokjin went to college with the rest of them, but pursued the Idol industry before graduation. He can tell from their interactions that they’re old friends.
“I’ve been very busy preparing for my upcoming album abroad and, well, this is a secret I’m probably not supposed to spill, but” he leans in to whisper, “my summer tour.”
The studio feigns a gasp. When Namjoon received the running sheet from Jin’s manager detailing the events they’d like to discuss including his album, tour, and the impending break he’d be taking. They would announce that at the end.
The three producers bounce back asking questions they all developed as well as ones Jimin gathered from fans earlier in the week.
The studio is filled with laughter and light as Seokjin’s dazzle quite literally takes over the room.
“And now playing on Busan Blues Radio for the 100th time since debut, The Astronaut by Jin!” Namjoon announces. The headphones comes off for a five minute break.
Jin’s staff flutter around him, fixing his hair and makeup. Someone hands him water and dabs balm on his lips at the same time.
Jimin looks up from the company Instagram, having just posted a story, and catches Yoongi’s eye.
Yoongi’s been watching Jimin all morning, whether he’s noticed or not. Yoongi knew it was a big day for him, but as digital content manager Jimin would be incredibly busy. He’d been the one in charge of all of the promotion this far for Jin’s arrival.
He hadn’t displayed an ounce of unease. His smile was still wide and unfaltering, even as thousands of fan interactions came flooding in.
He documented it all, from the flowers to the lines to Jin’s entrance. Yoongi knew they’d hired him because he was good, but this morning he proved that.
During the break he stands from his chair, acting as though he needs to stretch, and takes a bottle of water over to the content manager. “Drink something,” he says offhandedly, not even meeting his eyes.
Jimin looks up from the phone. He sets it on the table in front of him. He takes the bottle. Yoongi undoes the cap for him, wordlessly. Jimin is still trying to catch his gaze as he takes a swig.
“You’re working well,” Yoongi says. “Don’t forget to hydrate, hm?” Jimin’s surprised when he reaches out to push a strand of hair off his forehead. His pulse throbs in his throat for a moment.
“Uhh,” he’s stunned. “Thank you?” Yoongi nods, smashing his lips together. Jimin sees Seokjin staring at the two of them from behind, an almost smirk on his lips. Jimin uses it as the perfect opportunity for some acting.
He too holds the bottle out to Yoongi. “You should drink too. Your voice must be getting tired, Hyung,” he says so softly. It makes Yoongi’s stomach swoop.
He accepts the bottle then places his lips were Jimin’s just were. He tries hard not to think about it. It’s just water. You share water amongst friends all the time. But Jimin reaches out and caresses his arm, squeezing. “You’re a really good producer, Hyung.” Yoongi chokes.
“Yah, Jiminah, you can’t just say things like that,” he rolls his eyes, wiping the water from his chin. He passed the bottle back. Jimin just giggles and Namjoon announces thirty-seconds in so Yoongi scurries away.
Seokjin’s charm carries them through the show with ease. Jungkook is eating up how much footage he’s getting and he can’t wait to put out the video later next week.
They play the game, take a few calls from fans, and then gear up for Jin’s grand announcement to close out the show.
“Tell us a little bit more about your upcoming schedules,” Hoseok prods. Jin smiles, dazzling. Jimin can understand why his hyungs might have gone after him. “The Astronaut is a stand alone solo. I know my Galaxy have been speculating many things since the release.”
“Ohh, Jin-ssi, you’re speaking of the music video, right?” He nods. “At the end it seems as though I’m bidding them goodbye. I wanted to make sure I was in a place I felt comfortable, surrounded by friends, when I announced this.”
The room goes stagnant. “When an Idol goes on a period of rest or break it’s a very delicate thing for fans to deal with. There’s always speculation about whether the Idol will return, if there’s bad blood between the company, if we’re tired,” he explains.
“That’s not the case for me. I love my Galaxy so much, I owe everything to you. I’d like to keep loving you all for 30, 40 more years. So I’d like to announce I’ll be entering an official period of rest.”
Jimin’s phone begins buzzing in his pocket. Text after text comes through and he knows it’s from Taehyung. He doesn’t pull out the device. Instead, he stands in the studio with his hands frozen over the keys of their Twitter.
He knew about the break announcement, but as a fan he didn’t know it would feel like this.
“It’s just a few months. I’ll still be preparing my album here and there but after the last three schedules on music bank for The Astronaut I won’t make any public appearances until comeback.”
Sympathetic noises echo around the small studio. Even Jungkook’s doe eyes are round as he listens intently.
“My period of rest will allow me to spend the holidays with my family and people I love here in Busan.” Hoseok and Namjoon look at each other. Finally, after years, they’ll have time together. “I’ll return officially in May with my album comeback and tour to follow.”
Jin presses his lips together for a moment, then takes a breath. His voice quivers just slightly. “My Galaxy please do not be sad. This break will allow me to recharge and return to you happy and strong so we can play all summer together.”
Jimin captures his words quickly.
“Jin-ssi,” Yoongi says. “Busan Blues Radio owes some of its popularity to you. We are grateful that you felt comfortable to share the news with us and your Galaxy. We hope your period of rest is fulfilling.”
The mood is somber throughout the studio as Jin bids his fans goodbye with promises to do well on his upcoming music bank performances. The cameras cut as the show ends. Namjoon is the first to reach him. A gentle hand rests on his shoulder.
He takes his headphones off, placing them on the table in front, before allowing himself to start sniffling. “I just—” he pauses, a stuttering sob in his chest, “I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Jimin’s own eyes gloss over with stinging tears. Hoseok pulls Jin up and out of the chair, arms wrapping around his torso. Jungkook sniffles from behind.
Yoongi watches Jimin watch his friends finally come to terms on what this new life might be like with Seokjin around with them more, but at the cost of interacting with his fans.
“You could never disappoint them,” Namjoon says, hand resting on both Seokjin and Hoseok’s backs. “They know how much you love them.”
Yoongi feels the urge to stand next to Jimin. He passes by his trio of best friends and nods to Namjoon, acknowledging that they need some time together. “Let’s go get everyone some tea, hm?” He suggests. He places his hand on his back. Jimin reaches out to Jungkook. “Okay.”
After tea is had, Jin’s makeup is touched up, his cheerful demeanor returns. It’s slightly muted, maybe like a sunset rather than a full blown sunny day, but Jimin can still feel his warmth. “Will Namjoon Hyung fire me if I ask Seokjin-ssi for a selfie for my friend Taehyung?”
Yoongi laughs. “Jin-hyung loves taking selfies with fans. Please ask, he needs a pick me up.”
Jimin approaches as he signing a copy of his single to hang up in their studio. “Jin-ssi,” he starts. “Call me Hyung,” he corrects quickly. “If we’re going to be going on throuple plus double dates then we’re friends, Jiminie.” Jimin gasps.
“I saw the two of you. It might be a secret,” he puts a hand over his lips, “obviously I know how to keep one of those. So I won’t tell.”
For some reason Jimin blushes. “Okay, hyung. I was, well my best friend Taehyung is like your biggest fan I was wondering if we could send him a selfie?”
He straightens up. “I would love to!!!” They take a few, then Jimin fires one off to Tae who responds with more tears immediately.
“I should be back in my apartment next week. I look forward to getting to know you better, Jimin,” Seokjin waves before it’s his time to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At three in the morning Jimin lays in bed his stomach in knots. He can’t sleep at all. His brain keeps coming up with a million scenarios on how this fiasco is going to go wrong.
Their plane leaves at 1pm. They need to arrive at the airport by 11 to park Yoongi’s car in the lot where he’ll leave it for the ten days. Jimin’s family called hours before he went to bed.
“Hi Eomma!” He greeted her through the screen. “Jiminie!” She gave him an identical smile. “Do you and Yoongi have everything packed and ready to go tomorrow?”
Jimin sighed. “Yes, Eomma. I checked.” “Plenty of swim trunks?” Hyun asked. “We’re going to be doing tons in the water.” Jimin rolled his eyes. “It’s Jeju, Hyun. Of course we packed swim trunks.”
Jimin was surprised when his father piped in, he was generally a quiet man. “Where is Yoongi this evening?” “Oh he’s upstairs,” Jimin replied smoothly. “He lives a few floors above me.”
“He does?!” The whole family asked at the same time. Jimin couldn’t help but giggle. “Yes, that’s how we became friends.” “Boyfriends?” Hyun corrected.
“Boyfriends. Right. Anyway, he’s probably asleep already. You know, we have a busy day of travel tomorrow. So do all of you.”
“Your flight gets in an hour after ours so Hyun said he would wait for you at the airport with the other rental car. We got two for the week so we can all share,” his mother said.
“Okay, Eomma. Hyun, I’ll call you when we arrive, then.” He wasn’t surprised his sniveling little brother had volunteered to stay back to drive them. They would be on stage from the moment they landed.
It’s not the text messages that rouse Yoongi from his sleep but Mingie’s unhappy howl as the buzzing wakes her up. She has a habit of sleeping right above the producer’s head, right on top of his phone. He groans and reaches for it now that she’s hopped off the bed, sulking.
He flips on a soft light. The cat jumps up on her window hammock and settles back down to sleep but not before giving Yoongi a very pointed glare. “It’s not like I’m the one texting this late!” He defends himself to her.
It’s Jimin. He’s sent a series of messages over the last ten minutes and it must have been a call that finally got Mingie because he’s missed one.
He texts back “Jimin 😡” but that just earns him another phone call. He whines when he picks up. “Hyung?” Jimin asks.
Yoongi sighs. “It’s three am. What’s going on, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” “I can’t. My brain won’t shut up. I keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong.” Yoongi flips the light back off since it’s not an emergency that requires him to get out of bed.
“It’s a little too late now, right? Flights in some hours. It’ll be fine, Jimin.” His voice is already sounding like he’s drifting off. “I just can’t stop my brain from filling with all the scenarios.”
Yoongi puts him on speaker for a moment. “Tell me them while I do something.”
He relays How Hyun will pick them up. He shares with Yoongi how he’s not excited to be “on” right away after the flight. “We’ve been on all week,” Yoongi reminds him. “Besides, we must be convincing somehow, Jin-Hyung asked when we were all going on a throuple-double,”
Yoongi shakes his head. “Whatever that means.” Jimin giggles. “A date with he and Hoseokie Hyung and Namjoonie Hyung.” “Ohhh,” his sleepy voice vibrates.
“They’re just going to ask a million questions. I’m not ready. I might slip up and say your cat’s name wrong.” Yoongi does a few more taps. “It’s Mingie,” she purrs louder at the mention of her name but still refuses to get back in bed, stubborn as ever.
“I just sent you something,” Yoongi says. “It’ll help you sleep.” Jimin checks his phone.
Jimin laughs. “You don’t have to call me jagiya when it’s just us!” “Nah, we should stay in practice. Besides, if your brother is like you say, maybe he’ll look through our text messages.”
Jimin gasps. “Oh my god I didn’t think of that!!” He whines. “Jimin, I’m kidding. Take a deep breath. It’s just ten days. We can do this. Listen to the music and sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jimin sighs, Yoongi’s right. Ten days, what in the world could happen?
Jimin meets Yoongi downstairs at his car when it’s time to head to the airport. The playlist Yoongi provided had helped in putting him to sleep. It also helped him oversleep. He spent the morning running around grabbing all of the last minute items to shove in his suitcase.
Yoongi called twice when Jimin was ten minutes over their time to leave. “I’m coming, I’m coming I swear.” He balanced the phone between his shoulder and his ear. “I just need to find this pair of shoes.” Yoongi hears a crashing sound. "Fuck!" Jimin yells. "Ow, ow."
"Are you okay?" he's alarmed on the other side of the phone, half of him wanting to run up to Jimin's floor just to see what's going on. "Yeah, yeah, just stubbed my toe. I swear I'm coming."
"Jimin, we have to be at the airport by 11. We're going to be late and then miss our flight and then your mom is going to hate me and I'm going to make a bad first impression."
"Do you have intrusive thoughts?" Jimin asks. "Yeah, like all the time." He huffs and laughs. "I can tell," the silly jab sounds closer than Yoongi was thinking and he looks up to see Jimin walking out the door, a suitcase in tow and a duffle slung over his shoulder.
"Let's hit the road, boyfriend!" he grins. The producer bites back a huge grin and butterflies explode in his stomach. Yoongi's so fucking screwed.
He helps Jimin load his stuff in the trunk. They agreed that Yoongi would drive to the airport to leave his car and they'd split the cost to leave it in the lot for the ten days. They have more luggage than they would for a normal trip because they'll also be working.
When Yoongi re-approached Namjoon to let him know that he was going on vacation for ten days he promised for them to film content, and he'd wake up to do the show from Jeju a few times. "We'll be fine here," Namjoon said. "Just enjoy your trip, hyung. You deserve one."
Jimin hops in the passenger seat and immediately takes over the music controls. Their apartment is located near the Igidae Coastal Walk, so they've got just over an hour of driving time before they get to the airport.
He's got sunglasses on, the window is down, even though there's an October chill beginning to roll in, and the sun is basking over his golden skin. Yoongi thinks that only an idiot would choose not to fake date him.
"So we're at 2F for Jeju air check in, so we need to park in the second passenger lot, it's closer," Jimin looks at the tickets on his phone. Yoongi nods and turns smoothly onto the expressway into the mid-morning traffic. "I read that last night. I reserved us a spot."
"Oh, perfect." Jimin switches the song to something upbeat and poppy. Yoongi recognizes it instantly from one of the spins he did a few weeks ago. "Wait, you listen to this group?"
"Jungkookie and I listen to you on the afternoon show sometimes when we're working on content online. I like them, we should try to get them on the show for their next comeback."
Yoongi grins. "I wish! Their label is impossible to get in contact with, they move like the CIA." "I'm sure I can figure something ou--" Yoongi has to swerve a bit as a transport truck leans into their lane. But it's not that action that startles Jimin.
A loud and feral yowl emits from the backseat that has Jimin shooting up straight from his lax position and whipping his head around. "You brought your fucking cat with you on vacation?!"
Yoongi's gripping the steering wheel and looking in the rearview mirror. "It's okay, Mingie, my darling. I'm sooo sorry I'll watch out for those trucks better." An annoyed growl comes out as if the cat is responding and Jimin's mouth is still dropped in astounded awe.
"Yoongi, hyung, the cat? Explain?" he demands. "Well I couldn't just leave her home for ten days," he shrugs. "So I brought her." "You brought her? On our family vacation?" Jimin shakes his head and laughs in complete disbelief. "What about a pet sitter?"
"Mingie hates other people." "Even Hoseok?" "Especially Hoseok. He pets her too much, she only wants affection when she asks for it." "Oh so she takes after you?" Yoongi gives him a narrowed glare.
Jimin just grins back, amused with himself. There's something about teasing Yoongi that he's starting to enjoy so much now that they're getting closer.
"What about just leaving her and someone comes ot feed her?" "God no, she'd get depressed without me. She'll be an angel, Jimin, it's fine." It was not going to be fine.
Mingie whines through the entire airport experience. She hates the sights of the people, the load noises, and cries especially when her carrier is sat down for her to be weighed. Jimin's ears are so red by the end that he wishes he could disappear.
"This is why people don't bring children on vacation, Yoongi hyung, they're embarrassing." Yoongi shushes him and sticks a finger inside the carrier to calm Mingie. "She'll get her anxiety med here in a minute and be asleep for the entire plane ride" he hesitates, "I hope."
They're in the front of the plane so one of the first boarding classes to be called. As he said, Mingie is fast asleep in her carrier. Jimin hopes she stays that way. He's never heard an animal so unhappy before, he'd hate for her to be upset through the flight.
He tucks duffle above their seats and grabs Yoongi's small laptop bag to do the same. "Do you prefer the window seat or the aisle on a flight?" Yoongi shrugs. So Jimin gives him the window because it's the nice thing to do.
He slides his sleeping cat underneath the seat, stowing her away for the flight. Then he reaches out to the manual and begins reading it like a book. Jimin's on his phone, texting with Hoseok who's giving him reminders by the minute.
Jimin laughs and puts his phone down for a minute. "Yoongi, hyung, what are you doing?" he purposely leans into his space, attempting to touch his arm. "Reading the instructions in case we die."
Jimin giggles. "We're not going to die. Have you never flown before?" Yoongi looks at him earnestly. "No."
The younger gasps but then claps giddily. "Oh, this is amazing. You're a virgin!" he says it a bit too loudly and Yoongi's ears tinge pink. "I mean a flight virgin!" he corrects even louder and Yoongi disappears behind the manual, hoping to become invisible.
Hoseok texts back which just makes Jimin laugh even harder. Somehow he managed to find a clip of himself from one of the Busan Blues Radio videos.
"Will you save me if we start to go down? Actually, no wait, you have to save Mingie." Jimin sighs. "We will not go down and I will not save your cat." "Do you hate cats or something?" Yoongi asks. "Because cats are actually a better man's best friend than dogs and--"
Jimin rolls his eyes, texting Hoseok back. "No, I love cats."
Jimin tucks his phone away on airplane mode as the captain comes on to greet everyone. Yoongi has adjusted his seatbelt three times, checked on Mingie, who's still sleeping, and is drumming his hands on his thighs. Jimin senses his anxiety like the empath he is.
"Hyung, you're scared?" he asks. Yoongi meets his gaze with wide eyes, which is unlike him in the first place because he can't make eye contact to save his life. "A little."
"So it's like a rollercoaster." "I hate rollercoasters, they make me sick." Jimin huffs. "Oh, dear. Okay. Wait, just a second." He unhooks his seatbelt even though the flight attendant is giving instructions.
He reaches in the overhead compartment to grab two things from his duffle and sits back down. He hands them both to Yoongi. A weighted plushie and a mint candy. "Both of these will help."
Yoongi sets the plushie in his lap. It's a white cat, just the presence of the animal eases him slightly. He holds onto the candy for a bit longer. He startles as the plane starts moving backward, backing out of its spot. Instinctively, his hand flies to hold Jimin's.
Jimin smirks, a little amused, but adjusts their hands so their fingers are intertwined and he can run his thumb over Yoongi's knuckles for comfort. "If you get really scared just squeeze, I'll distract you with something dumb."
Yoongi pops the candy in his mouth as the plane starts to race down the tarmac. The world outside the small plane window is moving faster than he ever thought possible. He's both terrified and in awe.
When the plane lifts off the ground his stomach feels a lot like the first time he laid eyes on Jimin. Weightless, floaty, in his throat. It's a wondrous and scary feeling.
He squeezes his hand tight and Jimin starts babbling about the Jeju sights they'll get to see in a while and "oh my goodness isn't the ocean pretty from here?" he asks, "have you ever seen anything that pretty before?" Yoongi had.
The plane coasts in the air above the water and Yoongi can't believe it. "We're flying, we're really flying." Jimin giggles. "Wow, hyung. This is like a core memory!" He reaches forward for his phone to snap a picture and realizes they're still holding hands.
Yoongi reluctantly let's go. Jimin leans back to snap a few pictures. "I'll upload these to my story when we land. Everything should be documented. I'm hard launching you this week." "Hard launching?" Yoongi asks?
Jimin smiles. "It just means showing my boyfriend to the world by posting you on social media." Yoongi nods. "Ohhh. What's a soft launch then? I assume there is one?" "You catch on very quickly. A soft launch basically is posting without the person's identity revealed."
"Oh, those like private but not secret things. Hoseok does that sometimes with Jin-hyung but he's like, I don't know how he does it because the world would be insane if anyone ever found out Jin hyung was dating people."
Jimin agrees. "My best friend Taehyung will mourn for months, I can attest. When Jin-hyung starred in that bl two years ago he was both obsessed and jealous through the whole film."
Jimin appreciates how easy it's become to slip into conversation with Yoongi over just the past week since their arrangement began. He's more entertaining than he thought. Yoongi yawns though, putting a pause on their conversation. "I woke up too early," he whines a bit.
Jimin notices that his face always has a natural pout to it. He thinks it's kind of cute. "You probably have time for a nap. I'll play a game." He grabs his Switch that he took down and flips it on. "I'll wake you up when we land."
While he plays, Yoongi settles into a light slumber. At one point his head lolls to the side and slowly falls until ends up on Jimin's shoulder. It feels comfortable, snuggled like that. Jimin leans into it, a lover of affection, happy to oblige for a while.
The flight ends quickly and Yoongi wakes when the wheels hit the pavement. It's a quivering stir as he comes into consciousness. He tips his head, only for his nose to be met with Jimin's chin. He must have also fallen asleep and wasn't at all roused by the landing.
Yoongi's cheeks burn as he sits up. Cuddling with Jimin hadn't been the plane. He adjusts himself accordingly as Jimin finally comes to. "Ahh, we're here," his voice is rather rough and sleepy. He pulls out his phone and quickly uploads the picture. "Hyun follows me," he grins.
Yoongi reads the caption on the photo from over Jimin's shoulder. He can't help the blush that follows nor the desire for the words to be true. "My love," he thinks. How nice that might sound coming out of Jimin's mouth.
Park Hyun, though Jimin’s younger brother, stands a few centimeters taller, and a bit wider than his Hyung. Jimin spots him in the terminal, sunglasses on, a key dangling off one finger and his hand holding the hand of his childhood best friend turned lover.
Yuna is the first to throw her arms around Jimin. To him, she’s like the younger sister their parents never gave them. Shes kind, hilarious, and sometimes Jimin doesn’t understand how she’s dating his brother. But he’s happy she is.
“Ahhh, it’s time for vacation to finally begin!” She squeals happily.
Hyun however is still leaning against the wall, sunglasses have been pushed to hold up his long fringe. Though it is subtle, Jimin can tell he’s scrutinizing. Pulling away from the hug, Jimin steps back to place a hand on the bottom of Yoongi’s back. He jumps slightly.
“Yoongi-ah, this is my little brother Hyun and his girlfriend Yuna.” After a brief pause, Hyun steps forward to stick his hand out. Very smoothly Yoongi goes in, meeting palms. “Great to finally meet you in person.”
Yuna steps in and shakes hands too. Hyun is still giving Yoongi a look that Jimin can’t place. Yuna must notice the unease in the air. She tucks her hands behind her back. “Okay, can we go? The beach is calling my name!” Jimin fucking loves her.
Sitting in the backseat with Yoongi, who’s been quiet for the entire drive to their rental, Jimin takes some time to watch him. He mostly stared out the window, watching the sea whip by on the expressway. It’s was a beautiful sunny day in Jeju.
He’d let his hair grow over the last few months, and it was tucked neatly behind his ears, only one strand falling forward to kiss his nose. His large hands rested comfortably in his lap. Jimin thought he looked a lot softer here in this car than he did at work.
He noticed the way his brows would raise slightly at something that would capture his attention. The smallest twitch of his lips, usually resting in full pout, they were begging to smile. Jimin took the opportunity.
He scoots over, not caring about his seatbelt, and slides so that their legs are touching. He feels Yoongi’s surprise. Purposely, he leans in as he points out the window. He can see Hyun’s eyes on them in the mirror.
“So we’re headed that way,” he points to the horizon. “Hallim is where our family’s rental is that we stay every year.” “Ohh,” his voice still sounds dry from sleep earlier. “Hallim has beaches, right?” Yuna turns. “Jeju has beaches everywhere. Have you never been?”
“Hyung’s never left Busan,” Jimin replies. Yoongi’s cheeks flush as he remembers the tiny detail.
“Ohhh, really?!” Yuna says. “Then we have to show him everything over the next ten days.”
When Jimin was younger, his mother had an accident that took her a long time to recover. He was too young to remember it, but it’s what started their family vacations. She wanted to make sure that at least once per year they were honoring life together.
Hallim became his second home. They reside in a small three story cottage right up against the sea in west Jeju. The home itself is quaint, with a backyard that leads down a rocky area straight onto the sanded sea. Jimin loves this place more than anything in the world.
Yoongi pauses for several moments when they give him the tour. He stares at the ocean line and for a moment, Jimin thinks he can physically see his body relax. His lips don’t look so pouty, his shoulders appear less tense. He grabs his hand lightly. “Come, let’s go inside.”
Park Jiyoung might be the warmest person Yoongi has ever met in his life. Jimin’s mother hugs him as though she’s known him for years and squeezes just like she did her son a few moments before. Yoongi hasn’t been hugged by a mother in so long. He wants to lean into the touch.
Jimin’s father, Park Cheol-min, is full of energy and firm handshakes. Yoongi shyly asks if Mingie’s presence is okay to which Jimin’s mother claps. “Absolutely! We love cats.” Yoongi smiles and nudges Jimin’s shoulder.
His father is already grilling up meat and there’s an assortment of banchan and fruits on the table.
“Why don’t the two of you go put your stuff in the basement room. Settle Mingie , wash up, and return for lunch. Things should be prepared by then.”
Jimin stares at his mother. “The basement room? Eomma but that’s my bedroom isn’t it..well I’m not sure if it’s enough space?”
Hyun smirks. “Jimin hyung, It’s the whole basement. Why wouldn’t that be enough space? Yuna and I are taking the two rooms here and Eomma and Appa will take their room up top.”
Jimin really hadn’t considered this. He figured that there would be some sort arrangement change. He just forces a smile and nods. He grabs one of Yoongi’s bags so he can carry Mingie. “Come with me,” he beckons.
Once they’re out of ear shot around the side of the house that leads to the ground floor Yoongi speaks. “What’s wrong with your room? Is it really that small?” He asks. Jimin gives a shake of his head. “No. It’s not small at all, it’s just,” he pauses, “there’s only one bed.”
Jimin opens the sliding door to reveal his bedroom. It hasn’t changed much over the years. Since they’re only here a few times, he doesn’t keep much here. But there’s still some posters littering the walls of groups he likes, a bookcase with novels, and some other knick-knacks.
There’s a large couch and a tv mounted on the wall. The side door leads to a room with a shower, sink, and toilet. “Why um,” Yoongi clears his throat as he sets things down. “Why do Hyun and Yuna sleep in separate rooms if they’re also together?”
Jimin laughs. “My mother’s greatest fear is Hyun procreating before graduating college. She’s extra cautious.”
Yoongi chokes. “Right. She can get pregnant. We can’t.” “Thank god for that,” Jimin sighs.
Yoongi sets up the travel little for Mingie, her food dishes, and her favorite toys before letting her out of the carrier. She complains the whole way out as if being cooped up for hours was the worst thing to happen to her.
Jimin approaches to pet her and Yoongi holds his breath. Mingie isn’t a mean cat by any means. She would just rather not interact with anyone else in the world except for him. So when she pushes her forehead into the palm of Jimin’s hand and nuzzles his fingers, he’s shocked.
Jimin gasps quietly, not wanting to scare her. He continues to pet and pet her dark fur until finally she gets tired of too much affection and cooks away with a low, warning hum-like growl.
Yoongi laughs. “That just means she’s done. But that’s surprising she let you pet her at all.” “I have a way of winning people over,” Jimin says smugly.
Yoongi sighs when he turns around to wash up. He knows it.
Jimin’s parents are very animated at dinner. “There’s a no phone rule,” Jimin had told him before they came upstairs. “So just know you’ll um, have to talk.” Yoongi had laughed. “It’s crazy I do that for a living so I think I should be fine.”
Jimin swatted him playfully on the stairs. “You don’t seem very social. I’m just warning you, they really love meal times.”
He wasn’t wrong. “So Yoongi you’ve lived in Busan your whole life?” Jimin’s father asks. “What’s that like?” Yoongi shrugs, mouth still a little full. It’s the fifth question in a row. “It’s been nice. My family moved from my childhood home, though, so it’s just me.”
Jimin can sense a bit of darkness in the way Yoongi says it. But thankfully his father doesn’t press on. “So tell us,” Hyun says. “How did the two of you really get together?”
They were grateful to have practiced on Jungkook. Yoongi relays the apartment take. Jimin’s mom claps when she hears about the kimchi jiggae. “Oh, that’s so thoughtful!” “You should make it for us here,” Yuna suggests. “Hyun and I can’t cook for sh—” she corrects, “at all.”
Jimin snorts. Yuna comes from a family raised only by her oldest sister and her mouth often gets ahead of her brain. “Of course,” Yoongi replies. “I’ll help with meals anytime.”
Jimin’s father sticks out his hand to shake it firmly. “Oh welcome Yoongi, welcome welcome.” Jimin sees his mom swooning already and a weight had lifted off his shoulders. It’s working.
Jimin hadn’t checked his phone since landing and then with the no phone rule at the table, it had been hours since Taehyung had sent the texts. He followed with more since Jimin wasn’t answering.
He has a few missed FaceTime calls from Taehyung too. He sighs. He probably should have told his best friend before the hard launch.
He looks up from his phone, eyes cast on Yoongi. He’s sitting on the couch with Mingie in his lap, petting her slowly. Jimin thinks he looks small, curled in on himself like that.
Yoongi gives a small sigh, but his eyes are still cast down. He’s been quiet since they left from helping clean up lunch. Jimin wonders if maybe they talked too much at lunch and he’s feeling overstimulated.
“Do you want to go change first or do you want me to change first?” He asks. They’re supposed to be heading down to the beach with Hyun and Yuna. Yoongi’s petting pauses for a second. His eyes don’t move from Mingie when he answers.
“Oh. Um, it’s okay I don’t mind going after you.” Mingie purrs louder and tries to press deeper into Yoongi’s belly. His slightly shaky fingers keep petting. Jimin frowns, though Yoongi doesn’t see it. “Are you okay, hyung?”
Yoongi nods but doesn’t speak. “Are you tired? I can tell Hyun and Yuna you are and I’ll just go swim. You can take a nap and I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go in the city for dinner.”
Jimin sees him visibly relax at the mention. He looks up finally, still not quite meeting his eyes. “Is that okay?” “Yeah! Flying is hard, even if it not so long. We’ve had a long day. Please, rest.” “Your family isn’t going to like, think something is wrong?”
Jimin shakes his head. “No. It’s fine,” he smiles. Then he tosses him a pillow and a knitted blanket from his bed because he doesn’t really look like he wants to move.
When Jimin comes out of the bathroom in trunks and a tshirt, Yoongi’s already turned on his side, facing the opposite way, with headphones on. Jimin grabs his towel and walks out the side door quietly. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Yoongi isn’t joining him.
“Where’s Yoongi?” Hyun asks when Jimin meets them at the top of the pathway to the beach. “He’s taking a nap. I think travel is just wearing on him. It’s already been kind of a long day.”
Hyun looks like he wants to say something but Yuna pulls his hand towards the water. Jimin takes one last look at the door to his bedroom before he follows them.
When Yoongi is certain Jimin is gone he sits up. He huffs heavily. He’s feels like such a coward. Mingie keeps trying to knead him, not liking the anxiety he’s projecting. “I know, I know o need to stop worrying,” he says and scratches her ears.
He pulls out his phone. He’d put music on but hadn’t checked his notifications. He had afee texts from his work friends. Namjoon, asking a work question and if the flight had been okay. Hoseok, asking about the flight and progress with Jimin. Jungkook, asking about the flight.
Had he even let on how nervous he was about the flight? It wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be. He was mostly worried about Mingie, but she slept the whole time. Then when Jimin let him grab his hand…he pushes the thought out of his brain.
Calling Seokjin actually seems like something that feels right. His Hyung will give the best advice.
Even clicking on Seokjin’s contact starts to make him feel at ease. It’s a picture of the two of them, taken in college. They used to be roommates.
With Seokjin traveling around the world, Yoongi misses those times. He’s excited for his success, but grateful for the break he’s going to take. He’s missed his best friend.
It’s a few minutes before Seokjin calls but Yoongi feels like crying as soon as he picks up. “Right, just check the stage setting and I’ll be back,” Seokjin says to someone over the phone. Yoongi can hear music in the background. It’s not too loud, but it’s obvious he’s busy.
“Sorry. You’ve got me now, I’m in my green room.” “Oh, that’s right. You’re filming music bank. Shit, Hyung I’m sorry. We can talk another time.”
“Min Yoongi, I’ve know you got almost ten years at this point. You only text when something is wrong and you need Hyung’s advice. I’ve got time, not a million hours, but enough for you.”
Yoongi has to take a breath before he speaks. “I’m in Jeju.” “You’re in Jeju? Oh, you got on a flight finally. How exciting did you like it? Who’d you go with?”
“Jimin,” Yoongi replies. “Ahh, yes. Park Jiminie, my darling’s best friend and the object of your affection if I remember correctly from that night last year.” “Hyung,” Yoongi whines. “Please don’t tease me about last year again.”
Seokjin laughs. “My lips are sealed. Continue. So you’re in Jeju with Jimin. Why?” Yoongi thinks for a moment about telling Seokjin a lie, but it just doesn’t feel right. He’s the only one who’s truly known about his crush on Jimin for months. “Well, you see, we’re dating.”
He quickly follows up. “But it’s fake.” He feels comfortable talking because he knows no one is around. Jimin’s parents had left after lunch to go into the city where everyone would meet them later. “Do explain more, Yoongi. You’re starting to sound like a drama I starred in.”
“We’re on vacation with his family. For some reason during Chuseok he told his family he was dating me and they expected me to come on this trip. He seemed really desperate and Hoseok’s always telling me to just figure it out between us so I don’t know I said yes.”
Seokjin bursts out laughing. Somehow, even his mocking laugh is a comfort. “Oh my goodness. Yoongi-ah, my darling Hoseok might be a genius. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get closer to Jimin.” Yoongi starts letting Mingie again. “Yeah, but Hyung, we’re in Jeju.”
It takes Seokjin a moment to realize why Yoongi keeps mentioning where the vacation is. “Ohhhh. You’re in Jeju. With the beaches.” “Surrounded by a beach actually,” Yoongi swallows. “Hyung, there’s so much fucking water. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this.”
Someone calls Seokjin’s name and he sighs. Yoongi hears him whisper five more minutes and feels bad for taking his time. He always talks about how tight his schedules are. “Yoongi-ah, maybe you can say you’re allergic to sea salt. Just stay on the beach the whole time.”
“I’ll seem like I’m having no fun, which will make other people not have fun.” “Where is everyone right now?” “Jimin and his brother and his girlfriend are at the beach, where I’m supposed to be. His parents are in the city. It’s just me and Mingie.”
Seokjin snorts. “I’m not even surprised you brought her on vacation.” “Why would you be?” “Anyway. Maybe just tell Jimin you won’t be going in the water.”
Yoongi sighs. “But he’ll want to know why.” “So you’ll fake date him and go on a family vacation but you cross the line at sharing trauma with him?” “Yes, actually,” Yoongi replies.
Seokjin sighs. “You, Hoseok, and Namjoon are the most important people to me in this whole world,” he pauses, “and Galaxy. But what I’m saying is if all of you find something in this Jimin, I don’t know Yoongi, I think you could tell him.” Yoongi chews on his lip.
His Hyung is probably right. But he thinks it’s a bit stupid to share something so deep on the first night or the trip. “I’ll think about it.” “You better think about something. How long is the trip?” “Ten days.”
“Ten days?! Of avoiding the water? Oh Yoongi. Go get a tattoo, there’s your excuse. Make sure it’s my name.” It gets Yoongi laughing and he feels lighter, which was the point. “I’ve got to go now, okay. My break starts soon. Call Hyung anytime.”
Yoongi feels a bit better after Seokjin’s call. He’s probably not ready to have the conversation with Jimin, but at least he feels less shameful for avoiding the water. He spends a bit of time replying to his friends messages to pass the time.
He’s wandering around Jimin’s room when the side door opens quickly and slams against the wall. Jimin’s scrambling to close it as Hyun runs up with what looks to be a water gun. One stream gets through the opened door, somehow hitting Mingie who howls and dashes under the bed.
Jimin manages to get the door closed and he’s laughing, dripping wet, and shirtless. Yoongi’s mouth runs dry. Holy shit.
Jimin’s heaving, chest rising and falling deeply as he tries to catch his breath against the wall. Yoongi’s eyes are locked on his ribs where a large tattoo lies. His trunks are lower rise, happy trail meeting them nicely. He looks back up and Jimin definitely caught him staring.
He smirks. “Like what you see, Hyung?”
Yoongi caen speak for several moments. When he finally snaps out of it Jimin is walking towards him. “I um,” he stutters. “I—” Jimin passes by, almost close enough to brush up against him. But he just grabs another towel from the stack and starts drying his hair.
“He got Mingie wet,” is what Yoongi’s mouth lands on. It feels like a much safer topic because he’s afraid he’s going to say something so hay panic he can’t come back from it.
Jimin bends down to peer under the bed. Mingie growls and he comes up chuckling. “I think she was just scared. Did you have a good nap?” He pulls a shirt over his head and Yoongi is just so grateful that he thinks he can speak again. “Yeah, it was um, short. But I feel better.”
Jimin smiles. “Good. We need to get changed for dinner. I’ll head in the bathroom to fix my hair if you want to change here,” the smirk from earlier returns. “Or I can watch so we’re even?” “Bye!” Yoongi chucks a pillow at him. Jimin giggles the whole way to the bathroom.
For dinner Jimin’s parents take them to a restaurant that serves a staircase of sushi by the beach at sunset. It’s one of the most extravagant dinners Yoongi’s ever had before. Jimin’s parents keep dishing out more food and telling them all to try as much as they want.
“I’m going to gain so much weight on this trip,” Yoongi smiles after swallowing another piece of sushi. He puts a piece on Jimin’s plate when he sees that it’s empty again. Jimin nudges him politely. “Thank you,” he says quietly.
Hyun and Yuna have been drinking, because this is the first time they’re of age to do so, so Jimin isn’t surprised his brother gets a little loose lipped. “How long did you say you two have been seeing each other again? You just seem so..stiff together.”
Jimin throws him daggers from across the table. Yoongi just places a hand on top of his, caressing his knuckles with his thumb. Jimin relaxes into the touch. “It’s been about three or four months now.”
“Ohh, still fresh,” Yuna defends. She swats Hyun and tells him to leave them alone. Yoongi doesn’t let go of Jimin’s hand for the rest of dinner for good measure.
Yoongi drives the second car back, following Jimin’s parents, since Hyun had been drinking and Jimin didn’t really like to drive. The car’s quiet. Hyun and Yuna might be making out in the backseat, Yoongi thinks he hears the smack of their lips every few minutes.
Jimin turns up the music to drown them out because he’s been dealing with this for years. “Oh, we need to do a test run for virtual radio on Monday morning. Will you help me, Jagiya?” Jimin tries not to laugh. Yoongi still doesn’t sound 100% convincing. “Yes!”
Hyun and Yuna stumble out of the car giggling like the youngest members of the house they are. They’re holding hands the whole way into the house. Jimin and Yoongi watch after them. “Should we be acting more like them?” Yoongi asks. “God no,” Jimin says. “They’re young.”
Yoongi nods quietly. “Okay.” “But c’mon. You have to cuddle with me while we watch this movie with my parents.” He says it so nonchalantly as he walks away. Yoongi’s stomach burns and he didn’t even drink any alcohol.
Yoongi should have never agreed to watch Train to Busan. But Jimin’s entire family had never seen it and he tried to warn them that there was probably a reason, but they were insistent.
Jimin sat next to him on the couch at first, plopping down with two beers in his hands. He opened one and gave it to Yoongi. His leg was barely pressed up against his thigh. But they were the only two on the smaller couch b
Jimin’s parents took up another while Hyun and Yuna laid on a pallet together on the floor.
Gradually, throughout the film, a Yoongi felt the weight against his leg growing heavier. His nervous system was reacting to every subtle touch. It felt like something was coming alive inside of him, a hum under the surface. It was just a leg, what the hell was wrong with him?
Until it wasn’t just a leg. Soon after, Jimin angled his body so that his back rested against Yoongi’s right arm. So his leg was on his, and his body was too. It was fine. Yoongi was fine. Everything was fine. He held his breath.
Jimin, frustrated with the position, wriggled. Yoongi took it as a cue to move his arm. He pulled it out from underneath the younger and draped it over his shoulder. Jimin sank in deeper. He gave a contented sigh. Yoongi still held his breath.
But the end of the movie, Jimin was halfway on top of Yoongi with one leg over his and his back against his chest. It ended up being the right choice though. Because when the end of the movie came, and Jimin started sobbing, Yoongi started rubbing his hair to calm him down.
“Shh,” Yoongi comforts him. “It’s okay.” “It’s not okay!” Jimin gives a deep sob. “Oh my god I’ve never been this sad over a movie in my whole life.” His breaths come out in little spurts. Yoongi holds his hand.
“Well that fucking sucks,” Yuna bull red from the floor. She’s sitting up now, hair in a giant bun and tear stains on her cheeks. “Hyun, why’d you choose this movie?!” She shoved his shoulder so hard he falls.
He gives a laugh. His eyes are a little red. “I didn’t know!” “Hyunnie, you don’t get to choose tomorrow,” their mom says.
“Ugh, now I’m exhausted,” Jimin whines. “Come, let’s sleep.” He stands and pulls Yoongi up with him. Yoongi bows to his parents, who both remind him not to be so formal. When they walk away, he’s still holding Jimin’s hand.
Mingie is waiting on the couch when they get back. Jimin’s actually the first to pet her and she seems interested in him again. “You can shower first. I’m pretty sure I need Mingie to purr my sadness away,” Jimin pouts. Yoongi laughs and heads for his suitcase.
“Just don’t pet her too much. She will bite you. Ask Hoba how he got the scar on his pinky.” “She tried to kill me!” Jimin mocks Hoseok’s voice. “Jiminie all I was doing was trying to give her affection and—” “She tried to bite off my pinky!!” Yoongi fills in.
They both burst into laughter. “He’s so dramatic,” Jimin says. “That’s very rich coming from you, I think.” It’s Jimin who throws the pillow this time.
Once they’re both dressed for bed the inevitable bed question arises. “I’ll just take the couch,” Jimin says. “You’re the guest and you agreed to this crazy fiasco. I can sleep on the couch for ten days.”
Yoongi frowns. “You should sleep in your bed. I mean, it’s your bed. I’m not a great sleeper anyway. It’s fine, Yeobo,” he says the last part in a firm, but playful way.
“Jagiya.” Jimin bites back. “I really insist. Take the bed, I’ll take the couch.” Yoongi shakes his head and just throws himself on the couch, grabbing the blanket from earlier. “Wow, crazy. I’ve already claimed the couch.” Jimin growls and rolls his eyes.
“Fine. But don’t whine to me in the morning about your back hurting.” “I do not whine,” Yoongi says.
Jimin climbs into his bed. “Oh, you absolutely do. Especially in the mornings. When you’re preparing for Busan Blues before your coffee kicks in, so whiny.”
Yoongi huffs. Mingie jumps up on his chest as the light goes out. She curls into his neck, happy to finally be going down for the night. “I don’t whine,” he says finally.
Jimin just laughs. They’re quiet for a while and the day passes by them both. Yoongi still can’t believe they’re here, in this room together. It’s been a whirlwind. It feels like the silence at a teenage sleepover. You’re tired, but not ready to sleep.
Jimin’s the one to break it. “Hyung, you’re okay here, right? Like you’re not regretting it?” “No,” Yoongi replies. “Not at all.” “I think my family really likes you,” Yoongi thinks he hears a smile in his voice.
“They’re nice. They make me miss my moms,” Yoongi admits. Jimin yawns. “I’m getting sleepy, but you’ll have to tell me about them tomorrow.” Yoongi pets Mingie’s fur. She’s purring lower, almost asleep. “Okay, Jiminie. Sleep.”
Jimin yawns again. “Good job today, Yoongi-ah. One day down already, just nine to go,” his voice drops off and he’s asleep. Yoongi feels a tightness in his throat. He’s not sure he likes the countdown.
And that’s the end of chapter 3, babes. 💗 I’m really enjoying this little universe so far and if I’m being honest, I think this fic might end up being really long? I have a lot planned. But I also want ideas so if you have anything you’d like to see: curiouscat.live/taesaus
Jeju: Day 2
Jimin has had issues sleeping ever since he was a teenager. The doctors attributed it to a possible growth spurt coming on. But when he turned sixteen and hadn’t grown a single centimeter again for the second year in a row, they ruled that out.
Jimin tried melatonin, meditation, sensory sleep training and all. Eventually, he just gave up. He was resigned to believing he was meant to sleep like an infant, awake every three hours like clockwork.
Falling asleep is never the problem, he’s pretty much out as soon as his head hits the pillow. But he never stays asleep for long.
On the first night of the trip he's frustrated, it’s every two to three hours. The first time it happens, he’s disoriented. He forgets that he’s at home in one of his teenage bedrooms.
It startles him for a moment. Once he gets his barrings he turns towards the couch. Yoongi is curled on his side, Mingie is at his stomach. The two of them are sleeping. His mouth is parted a bit and he's snoring just slightly. Jimin finds it a bit endearing.
Jimin settles back into his comforter. He focuses on the waves of the ocean and Yoongi’s sleepy sounds to lull him back under.
A faint glowing light catches his attention the second time he wakes around 3am. Yoongi is sitting up on the couch, a blanket pooled in his lap, Mingie laying on his stomach, and a laptop resting on his knees. Jimin's surprised.
He has headphones on and his fingers type rapidly at the keys. Jimin watches him quietly for a little bit.
There’s a small wrinkle in his eyebrow, and his everlasting pout is molded into his lips. Jimin thinks he looks kind of cute like this, cuddled in a black hoodie that bunches around his ears. Mingie’s purr is loud enough that Jimin can hear it in full force.
After a few moments Yoongi sighs and tips his head back. Jimin wonders what he’s working on. He looks frustrated. The moment appears personal. Then, without warning, Yoongi slams the laptop closed. The room goes dark, save for the glow from the moonlight streaming in.
Jimin can just barely make out Yoongi putting the computer on the ground, Mingie whining about being jostled, and then settling as Yoongi turns on his side. He’s staring out the doorway, the sea lapping at the rocks below. Jimin loves this sound so much.
Yoongi appears bothered by it, he hasn’t taken the headphones off. He closes his eyes and wriggles on the couch a bit. “Yoongi..,” Jimin whispers out to him, but receives no reply. He assumes they must be noise canceling.
His fingers are still petting Mingie softly as he falls asleep. Jimin counts the strokes until he himself grows tired. He falls asleep again, but can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong with Yoongi.
Jimin awakes in the morning to find his bedroom empty, except Mingie who is laying at the foot of it. He makes a noise with his tongue to call out to her.
The black cat’s tail flies up and she makes a happy clicking sound before prancing over happily, pushing her nose into Jimin’s fingers. Her fur is soft, and she’s very warm as she weasels her way closer to Jimin.
He continues to pet her as they cuddle together. He doesn’t understand why Hoseok is afri– “Mingie, ow!!” Jimin yells as she turns feral, kicking his arm away and growling incessantly when she hops off the bed.
He retracts away and checks his arm for marks. “If you want someone to stop petting you, you’ve got to find a better way to tell them." She slinks away, laying to bask in the morning sun like nothing happened.
The morning seems early, but the waves and the sun are awake so Jimin must be too. He climbs out of the bed and slides his feet into slippers. There are footsteps and voices upstairs so he assumes that’s where Yoongi has gone.
When Jimin started working at Busan Blues Radio, if someone would have told him that one day he’d seen the Co-Producer of the show in his childhood kitchen wearing an apron and flour on the tip of his nose, Jimin would have called them a liar.
But this is the scene he walks into as he enters the main house. Hyun is laying on the kitchen table, looking downright exhausted, while Yuna and Yoongi bop around the kitchen making breakfast.
Yoongi looks up when Jimin enters and gives him a smile as bright as the morning sun. It makes him want to blush for some reason, he looks down at his feet and gives a shy, “Good morning.”
“Oh Jiminie!” his mother says, coming from the hall. “You’re finally awake. Yoongi is making pajeon for breakfast!”
Jimin sits at the table across from Hyun who might actually be snoring. He’s not a morning person at all.
“I love pajeon,” Jimin smiles up at Yoongi. “Do you need any help?” Yuna is the one to laugh. “Don’t step foot in this kitchen, you’ll set something on fire.”
Jimin scoffs. “It was one time!” Yoongi lets out a laugh and flips the pancake in the air effortlessly. “There was one?? Oh, please do tell!”
Yuna recounts the time when Jimin came home to visit from college a few years ago. He was attempting to make fried chicken from scratch. “He put the whole chicken in the pot with too much oil!” Yuna exclaims.
“He almost burned down the entire kitchen,” Jimin’s father adds from the couch. He doesn’t even look up from his newspaper, he’s told this story so many times.
Yoongi bursts out laughing but Jimin just buries his face in the crook of his elbow, hoping to disappear forever. “It was an accident,” he sighs, looking up.
“I’ll have to teach you a thing or two in the kitchen,” Yoongi suggests. “Why don’t we start now, come here, you can help cut up the fruit.”
Since he's not a genius in the kitchen, Jimin didn’t know there was a wrong way to hold a knife, but apparently he was doing it.
Yoongi is using a ladle to add the last of the pajeon batter into a skillet while Jimin slices apples next to him. He turns and a horrified gasp comes out of him, a sound Jimin didn’t even know he could make.
“Jimin, you’re going to cut your finger off,” he says. Without even thinking, he moves and reaches to adjust Jimin’s hold.
Their hands freeze. Yoongi’s large fingers cover Jimin’s smaller ones easily. He’s standing behind him, pressed up against Jimin’s back as he holds both hands. It feels intimate in a way that Jimin wasn’t expecting them to get.
“Um,” Yoongi clears his throat when Jimin shifts against him. “You need to hold the apple differently.”
Gently, he guides Jimin’s fingers into the right position, then slides through the apple with ease. “This way you get even cuts and you won’t hurt yourself.”
Jimin nods, unable to speak. Yoongi moves their hands again. Jimin can feel his breath against his neck they’re so close. His heart gives a thump harder than he’s used to. “I-” he stutters. “I think I got it?”
“Oh, right,” Yoongi steps away and a blush creeps across his cheeks. He steps away to flip the pancake, Jimin's back feels cold without his warmth.
Jimin helps set the table while the rest of his family gets ready for breakfast. He lines the dishes that Yoongi made. He's still preparing one last thing in the kitchen. He takes the opportunity to snap a picture for his instagram.
It reminds him that he needs to reply to Taehyung’s messages. His best friend is going to keep texting if he doesn’t respond. But his mom swoops down as Yoongi sits next to him, setting down the final dish.
“No phones, Jimin-ah,” she scolds. He sighs and slips the device in his pants pocket.
Hyun wakes amidst the breakfast commotion and immediately begins digging in. With a full mouth he says, “Yoongi-ssi, this is so good!”
Yoongi pinches at the skin of his neck. “Thank you, um, you can call me hyung.” Hyun gulps down orange juice. “Really?!”
Yoongi nods and swallows his small bite of food. “No need to be so formal,” he gives Hyun a smile.
Jimin can tell his mother is in awe, the way she looks affectionately after his boyfriend–fake boyfriend. She praises his cooking skills.
“Your Eomma must be so proud to have a son like you,” she regards him. “Both of them are,” Yoongi replies.
“Oh?” Jimin’s father asks. “You have two mothers?”
Jimin is mortified that he asked so blankly. His stomach plummets and he sets his fork down. He prepares for his old school father to say something accidentally insulting. Yoongi responds back so smoothly.
“Yes,” he smiles warm heartedly. “They’re the most amazing moms in the world. My brother and I are very lucky.”
Jiyoung smiles at Yoongi again, placing her warm hand atop of his. “Two moms, how lucky you are." Jimin relaxes, but only for a moment. "Has my Jiminie met your mothers?”
“Not yet, I was hoping to take him there for the holiday.”
Jimin almost spits out his juice. He chokes and covers his mouth, trying to play it off like a cough. Yoongi’s hand comes up to softly pat his back even though he’s still deep in conversation with his family.
“They moved from Busan to Sokcho-si a few years ago so I really only go home for major holidays since it’s so far. I know they’d be so happy to meet him.”
When Yoongi mentioned needing to take Jimin home for the holiday he thought it was just something to say in passing to make him feel better for using him. But now, he’s sitting here on only day two of their trip, committing to more months of this arrangement.
Jimin can’t do anything but smile when his parents both agree.
Yoongi’s waiting for Jimin to finish getting ready for the day by petting Mingie on the couch. He’s changed from his long sleeve tshirt into something more fitting for a day hiking to the waterfall, shorts and a short sleeved tee.
The cat purrs in his criss-crossed lap, Jimin glares at her when he comes out from the bathroom. “What?” Yoongi laughs. Jimin likes his laugh a little bit.
“Your cat attacked me this morning when all I was trying to do was pet her,” Jimin narrows his eyes at the pair.
“Well did you pet her too much or too fast?” Yoongi holds the large cat up to his face, nuzzling their noses together. “She doesn’t like too many pets, do ya my girl?” he coos at her.
“What does too many pets even mean?” Jimin throws a few things into a backpack, then slings it over his shoulder.
Yoongi puts the cat down on the gray couch. She whines for a moment until he tosses one of her toys in her direction. “She usually gives a warning, maybe you missed it.”
“I’m just lucky her claws missed me, maybe Hoseok was onto something.” “My Mingie is an angel. I’ll teach you how to pet her later.”
Jimin just sighs and rolls his eyes, sliding on a pair of sunglasses. “Let’s go, boyfriend. I think there’s a waterfall calling our names.”
〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰
Hyun was the one to mention at breakfast that they were going to the Jeonbong waterfall.
“It’s the only waterfall in Asia that flows directly into the ocean,” Yoongi had replied. Giving random facts was one of his ways to combat anxiety.
Hyun and Yuna kept talking about how excited they were to swim in that part of the ocean and all Yoongi could think about was figuring out how to get out of it.
They take a train across the city until they reach the bottom of the hiking trail to head towards the waterfall. Hyun and Yuna are giddy as they take the front, holding hands and teasing each other along the way. The sun is high and blazing, leading them on.
Jimin’s parents bring up the rear, happy to walk lackadaisical behind. His father, a gardener, points out all the fauna that he sees along the way.
“Have you ever seen a waterfall?” Jimin asks. “We like to visit each of them every few years. But this one is my favorite.” Yoongi shakes his head. “Never.”
“Are you excited?” Jimin is in such a cheery mood, Yoongi can’t help but smile, despite his anxiety bubbling beneath the surface.
Fumbling to come up with an answer that doesn’t seem off putting, Yoongi looks off into the distance. He stumbles on a loose rock in their path. Jimin grabs his hand to steady him.
Yoongi’s pulse speeds up, he attributes it to almost falling and thanks Jimin quietly. “I’ll just keep holding on for good measure,” he smiles and wiggles his fingers. Yoongi can’t hide the smile that makes it onto his face. He wiggles his back.
They make it up the trail after about forty-five minutes. Each of them is sweating once they reach the top.
“I can’t wait to dip in,” Yuna says, pointing to the small swimming area at the base of the waterfall. She ties her hair up. “But first, pictures!”
Yoongi can’t stop staring at the waterfall. Thousands of pounds of water rain into the hole that leads out to the sea. He’s never seen something so terrifyingly beautiful in his life. The mist from the force of the water cascades over his skin, cooling him slightly.
“Hyung, what do you think?” Jimin asks, grinning. His eyes are squinty, he looks so much lighter out here than he ever has in Busan. Yoongi replies with a sigh, “Beautiful.”
Jimin’s parents take over as the photographers for Yuna and Hyun, happy to snap what seems like a hundred pictures of the couple. Jimin snaps a few of just the waterfall himself, uploading them to social media.
“I should um, launch you on Instagram,” Yoongi says, taking his phone out of his back pocket. Jimin giggles, turning back towards him. “Hard or soft launch?”
Yoongi tells Jimin to pose and begins taking a few photos. Jimin’s humorous demeanor comes out as he sticks his tongue out, throws up a peace sign, and smiles so hard his eyes disappear.
Yoongi can’t help but smile back. But then a soft look comes over Jimin’s features as he catches Yoongi’s eye. They hold each other’s gaze for just a moment. Yoongi snaps the photo. Jimin looks down at the ground.
He glances at his phone, he somehow managed to capture the very moment Jimin looked at him. He uploads that one to Instagram immediately.
hard launch ♡, he captions it.
“Yoongi and Jiminie!” His mother yells. “We need a good picture of you for the family photo book!” Jimin still hasn’t met Yoongi’s eyes again since the small moment they shared. He does now, to ask if it’s okay. Yoongi shrugs and the two of them turn towards the parents.
They stand awkwardly off to the side of each other, not knowing what to do with themselves. They’ve never taken a picture together, let alone as a couple.
Jimin’s father takes a few pictures but frowns. Yuna is giggling next to Hyun. “First time taking a picture?”’she asks. Hyun eyes the both of them.
Jimin springs into action. “No, of course not. We um, we take pictures all the time!”
He quickly scoots over and slings an arm tightly around Yoongi’s waist. He wraps both arms around his side, tugging him close. Yoongi freezes up.
“Yoongi-ah,” JiYoung smiles at him. “Our family is not offended by your affection. Please relax and smile,” she tells him.
So he does. He drops his shoulders and leans his weight into Jimin. He dips his head down to the side so he can look at him. From this angle Jimin’s a little lower. He tips his head up and their noses almost touch. The camera shutter goes off.
A fluttering sensation starts in Jimin’s chest. Yoongi looks at him, long and soft. A smile plays at the corner of Jimin’s pink lips. Yoongi thinks about what it might be like to kiss him.
Would it be soft or hard? Would Yoongi take the lead or would Jimin, prying his mouth open to whisper soft promises between pillowy lips. Who would grab who’s neck? The thoughts race in the minuscule space between them.
It would be so easy to just lean forward and—
“Ahhhh you two are so cute!!” Yuna claps loudly, breaking through their moment. They scramble apart quickly. Yoongi clears his throat and busies himself with taking pictures of a waterfall he doesn’t really care about.
He begs himself not the think about kissing Jimin for the rest of the day.
A while later it’s time for the family to swim, Yoongi brings out his master plan, food.
“Ahh, I’m sorry I was just so hungry!” He says, shoving a piece of gimbap into his mouth. “I couldn’t wait until after. It’s okay, you all swim. I’ll just sit over here,” he points to a large rock off to the side.
They’d packed fresh gimbap and sandwiches to have as a later lunch on their way back. But Yoongi knew the second he put it in his bag that it was his ticket out of the water. “I can’t swim after eating,” he feigns an unhappy sigh.
“Ahh, Hyung c’mon I’m sure that’s a myth, you’ll be fine!” Hyun said from the water, already wet from head to toe. Just the sight of the laps waves made Yoongi feel dizzy.
“I brought a book,” he lifts the novel out of his bag. He’s truly thought of everything, he was quite proud of himself. His plan was going smoothly.
The Park was disappointed, but understood. Jimin tried to stay near to Yoongi’s rock, but Hyun kept dragging him over to even larger ones, challenging him to jump.
If their current arrangement wasn’t a testament to Jimin’s competitiveness, the diving competition the two of them initiated sure was.
Yoongi grows tired just watching them.
But Jimin is so happy. He chases his brother in the water. They team up in splashing Yuna, an unfair war between the three.
He even manages to get his father to agree to a swimming match, that the elder wins.
Yoongi enjoys seeing the family together so much. It once again makes him miss his own. He thinks about how he should probably call his moms soon.
He can’t help but feel a bit left out of the fun. He thinks about getting in the water, even just to stand in it. The mere thought turns his stomach and threatens to make him faint.
In his grand plan this morning, Yoongi hadn’t planned for was the Jeju heat. Jeongbong Waterfall is located in the most Southern part of South Korea, the temperatures were much higher here during the October months than Yoongi thought they might be.
As they walk back to the train station, it’s when the first signs of heat exhaustion start to hit.
He fidgets, holding onto the metal bar of the train. They opted to give Jimin’s parents seats. Hyun is on on chair with Yuna on his lap. Jimin and Yoongi definitely weren’t doing t h a t, so they just said they would stand. But then more people kept filing in.
The train is packed with people in the evening returning to their homes from work. Yoongi is wedged close to Jimin, his back pressed up against his front. It wouldn’t even bother him really, the proximity, if he didn’t feel so damn hot.
He sighs heavily as the warmth spreads down his spine. He closes his eyes, he feels a bit dizzy. The jolting movement from the train stopping isn’t helping. He wiggles again.
He sighs heavily as the heat spreads down his spine. He can feel the beads of swear rising to the surface. He closes his eyes, he feels a bit dizzy. The jolting movement from the train stopping and starting isn’t helping. He wiggles again.
“H-hyung,” Jimin chokes out. He’d been holding his breath because Yoongi was so close. It was mostly fine when if he wasn’t moving.
But, anytime he wriggled or the train stopped, he’d press further into Jimin’s frontside and he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to stop his body from responding.
Yoongi hums in response to Jimin acknowledging him. He’s sort of tipped his neck back so his head is resting on Jimin’s shoulder.
They’re the same height so if Jimin would turn just slightly to the left he could easily plant a kiss on his cheek. He thinks that’s a strange way to realize how close they are.
“Are you okay?” Yoongi gives a small sound of discomfort in the back of his throat. “I’m hot. It’s too stuffy in here, I don’t feel well,” he admits.
Now that Jimin thinks of it, Yoongi does feel warm against him, but he thought it was the normal kind of warmth. He looks and sees the flush of his skin, especially in his neck and the bridge of his nose. “How much sunscreen did you put on today?”
“Huh?” Yoongi’s leaning even more into him now, limbs growing tired. His eyes are still closed, if he can’t see the movement he doesn’t think he’ll feel nauseous. But he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep himself upright.
“I think you have a sunburn,” Jimin says. “You didn’t get in the water so you never really got out of the heat today.” He starts to pull at the hem of Yoongi’s shirt, revealing more of his skin. There’s a big difference in shades. “Yeah, hyung, I think you got too much sun.”
Jimin knows they joke about Yoongi being whiny. But in reality, other than normal complaining, which is does do quite often, he hasn’t actually heard him whine. But when the train comes to a jolting stop where they’re supposed to get off, Yoongi’s whine rumbles in his back.
“Jiminah,” he groans, words a bit mumbly. “I really don’t feel well.”
Things go a bit downhill from there. All of his life, Jimin’s been a natural born caretaker. He’s the type of friend to bring someone soup when they’re sick and sit with them when they’re sad.
So when it’s day two of their vacation and he has to usher Yoongi out into a bench to sit him down before he passes out, well Jimin just feels guilty. No one had thought about the heat. It was October and the temperature shouldn’t have been as high as it was.
But they were experiencing an unseasonably warm time of year. If it were Busan it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But being more south, the sun rays are stronger and the heat’s more intense. Yoongi spent the entire day in the sun, of course it was effecting him.
He plops heavily onto the blue bench with Jimin’s help. His body feels like it weighs a million pounds so even sitting up feels hard right now. Without even really realizing, he leans into Jimin’s side. Jimin’s arm on his back is the only steadiness that Yoongi feels.
Hyun is the one to crouch down in front of him but Yoongi kind of wants to tell him it’s a bad idea to squat there because he thinks he might get sick. He just nods and shakes his head no through the questions he asks, and then he springs back up, disappearing.
“Hyun is going to medical school. He said he thinks you have heat exhaustion. They’re calling us an uber so we don’t have to walk the rest of the way, but maybe we should take you to the hospital.”
Yoongi becomes a bit more alert. “No,” he says quietly, then more forceful. “No, no hospitals.” Jimin stares as his face. His eyes seem a little hazy, like he’s almost out of it. His cheeks are so rosy and he doesn’t know how it happened so fast.
He reaches into his bag and hands Yoongi a bottle of water. “Drink this, he said for you to stay hydrated.” Yoongi tries to open the cap twice but he feels so shaky he can’t get a grip. Jimin reaches over to unscrew the top. Yoongi wants to thank him but he’s so tied.
Jimin even helps him drink from the bottle. He only gets a few sips in before the nausea he feels intensifies and he turns away with a shake of his head. Jimin rubs his back gently when Yoongi lays his head back down. He thinks he really must not feel good if he’s laying here.
“The car will be here soon, Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin murmurs. Yoongi tries to focus on the soothing motion of Jimin’s drawing circles in his back and not his tumbling stomach or pounding head.
They pile into a van that will take them back to their house. Jimin’s mom takes over checking on Yoongi, keeping him at least responding to his questions. Every second that ticks by that has hasn’t fainted Jimin thinks is a blessing.
But he’s wound up in knots thinking about it happening. He should have told Yoongi to get in the water anyway, or at least out of the sun. He should have reminded him about sunscreen and staying hydrated. He feels horrible.
But not as bad as Yoongi. Because when the car pulls up to the front of the house Yoongi’s flush face turns paler and paler by the second.
He fumbles with the lock of the car door and tries to push out of his seat. “Yoon, slow down,” Jimin says, the nickname slips out of him absentmindedly. But Yoongi can’t. He’s been drunk in the back of an uber enough times to knows there’s a fee for getting sick inside.
He slides the door open and hops out, just in time enough to bend over, hands on his knees, and get violent ill.
Everyone springs into action then. Jimin’s parents thank the driver a million times and throw a large tip at them, even though Yoongi wasn’t sick inside the car.
Yuna rushes off towards the house to gather materials that Hyun is spewing after her. “Water, Yuna! Not too cold. Advil, not Tylenol. Um, towels and—” his voice cuts off the further away he gets.
Jimin got out with Yoongi so he’s just grimacing as he rubs his back until he pushes himself into an upright position. “Fuck,” he sniffles, voice still thick. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yoon,” Jimin says it so gently, he’s surprised. Yoongi didn’t know he spoke in tones other than bratty or sarcastic. “Please don’t be sorry. C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”
Yoongi starts shivering while Jimin prepares the bed for him. He no longer feels like he’s going to pass out from being overheated, but the exhaustion has seeped deeply into his bones. He truly fucked up not paying attention to the heat.
This whole staying out of the water thing had already gone too far.
Jimin helps him climb in and then asks a million questions. “Are the pillows okay? Is the blanket fine? Are you comfortable? You’re shivering are you too cold should I turn off the A/C?” He moves to get off the bed but Yoongi grabs his hand.
His teeth are literally chattering and Jimin can see that goosebumps have exploded against his skin. “Wait, stay, please,” Yoongi says. His eyes are wide and pleading. “J-just p-please come here,”’he asks.
Jimin scoots in the bed close to him. He leans against the headboard,l. He must be freezing from the temperature change because be pressed himself into Jimin’s side, searching for warmth just as Mingie does at night.
“I think you need to drink the water Hyun brought in,” Jimin says. “M’tired,” Yoongi’s drowsy voice slurs. “Just a few sips, and the Advil. It will help.”
He groans. “Ok-Kay, but quick,” he says between clicking teeth. Jimin reaches to his bedside table and grabs the glass and the pill. Yoongi takes a deep breath to steady himself before swallowing in one gulp. “Just a little more,” Jimin says. A whine follow. Jimin giggles.
“Ahh, Hyung you are like a child!” He teases, but Yoongi can see the clear concern in his eyes as he looks down at him. He’s sort of laying half on Jimin’s chest, half on his stomach. It’s the warmest, more comfortable place. “Just another sip.”
He glares as he sits up, quivering still. He’s never felt this bad before, but he’s no idiot. He knows he needs to fight the dehydration and heat with fluids. He takes two sips and feels strong enough to stick his tongue out at Jimin as he’s lays back down on him.
Jimin’s giggle sounds like music.
Yoongi falls asleep almost instantly. Jimin really wishes he could have convinced him to eat something too but he was hanging on by a thread. Mingie hops onto the bed and snuggled her way up near Yoongi’s face, which means she’s in Jimin’s lap.
She pushes her nose against his, nuzzling it a few times, before she settles down to sleep herself. Jimin wishes he could sleep, but he’s still on edge.
He hopes Yoongi feels better when he wakes up. Now that’s he’s cooled down he examines his arms and they don’t look as red before. He might have a slight sunburn, but it’s not as bad as he thought.
Jimin doesn’t notice he’s running his fingers though Yoongi’s hair until he stirs a bit, shifting to try and press himself even closer. He shudders again in his sleep and Jimin pulls the blanket up higher.
Jimin looks at Yoongi in sleep, eyes frisking along his round nose and soft face. His eyelashes are so long and dark they rest against his high cheeks. He’s got the kind of hair that’s wispy and light. It falls against his forehead and slips between Jimin’s fingers.
His lips are parted just slighty, enough that Jimin can see his top teeth poking out. He’s snoring, just lightly, but Mingie’s purrs are so loud it drowns it out.
With dark hair, sharp features, and milky skin that looks soft to the touch Jimin realizes, Min Yoongi is quite beautiful.
He’s startled out of his thoughts by his mother knocking on the side door of his bedroom. He waves her in. She’s got a tray with an assortment of foods on it and a few other things. “How is he?” She asks.
Jimin shrugs and drops his voice to a whisper so he doesn’t wake him. “He just seemed really tired. Hopefully he’ll be okay after some rest.”
She sets the try on the coffee table then sits on the couch for a moment. “I think he gave you quite the scare.” “He gave us all a scare,” Jimin replies.
A light smile plays at the end of JiYoung’s lips. Jimin has seen that look a million times. “You looked about as pale as he did. Are you okay? It’s hard seeing someone you love get hurt like that. We’ll have to be more careful for the rest of the trip.”
Jimin nods. His hand is still in Yoongi’s hair. His mother notices. “He’s very sweet, Jimin. We’re really happy you have someone for you that’s so kind.” He is, Jimin thinks. Yoongi might be the kindest person he’s ever met. Hell, he puts himself through this just to help him.
“Yeah,” he agrees quietly. JiYoung stands and pats the bed on her way to the door. “We don’t expect you at dinner. Please let Yoongi rest and take good care of him Jiminie. We’ll check in with you in the morning.”
Yoongi shifts again in sleep when the door shuts. Jimin holds his breath in case he wakes, but he doesn’t. He makes a soft sound of discontent before rubbing his nose in Jimin’s t-shirt, his grip around his waist tightens and then he settles.
Kind. Jimin sighs and thinks he might slip into sleep himself. Min Yoongi is full of both beauty and kindness, Jimin thinks before dozing off.
tae || aus ✎ updated!
hi my name is tae !! bts aus, mostly yoonmin. '95 {she/her} bi black girl. minors DNI. turn on notifs it’s fun !! no reposting/ no translations.
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