#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.

Yoongi has never slept with anyone before. He doesn’t count Jin climbing into his bed once when they were in university and he was too drunk and he really just wanted to cuddle. But Yoongi’s not a cuddler. He doesn’t enjoy people in his space that he isn’t comfortable with.

In college he had plenty of hookups, too many if you ask Namjoon, but no one who ever turned into anything serious. There was no one who he ever wanted to stay the night.

Yoongi’s never slept with anyone before. So when he wakes up, the sunset casting an orange glow over the bedroom, he’s confused as to why he’s laying in bed with Jimin. He’s confused why he’s got his arm wrapped around him and he can hear Jimin’s heartbeat underneath his ear.

He’s confused, and alarmed as fuck.

He panics. He doesn’t know whether to move or lay still. If he moves, Jimin might wake up and realize that Yoongi was cuddling him. Had they fallen asleep that way? When did he even end up in his bed?

He tries to turn his neck to see if Jimin’s awake, because the rise and fall of his breaths are quiet even, but his head swims. He bites back a groan of discomfort. Right, he starts to remember. The heat, the sickness. He overdid it in the sun today. That’s how he ended up here.

A phone vibrates somewhere in the bed and Jimin stirs. It continues going off, each buzz louder than the last. Yoongi still doesn’t move and he can tell Jimin is trying to shift as little as possible in an attempt not to jostle him. He smiles lightly.

He must find the phone because Jimin whispers, “Yeoboseyo?”

Yoongi can hear the other person on the line clearly. “Jimin hyung, stop ignoring my text messages. You have a boyfriend?!” There’s a click, click, click, of Jimin turning his volume down and then he’s shushing his friend.

“Tae, please, I’ve been on vacation. I’ll explain.”

Yoongi can’t hear what the other person is saying anymore but Jimin laughs. Yoongi really likes it when Jimin laughs. It shakes his belly, which jostles Yoongi’s head.

His head still kind of hurts so he wants to turn over, maybe slide off to at least not be literally on top of him. But for some reason he just, doesn’t.

There's something about laying here with Jimin that feels comforting to Yoongi, even though he's never in his life done something like this before. He's warm and soft in all the right places.

He listens to Jimin talk to his friend quietly. His voice is so soft spoken. He apologizes to his friend for not responding. Then apologizes for not telling him about his boyfriend. God, Yoongi will never get over Jimin calling him his boyfriend, even if it’s just pretend.

“Tae, you can meet him when you come to Busan for your birthday, he’s sleeping right now I’m not going to turn on the camera.”

Yoongi thinks he’s heard Jimin talk about ‘Tae’ before. He knows he has a friend who’s a big fan of Jin. He took a week off last year to go visit him. It was Yoongi’s least favorite week in the office.

Jimin laughs again and Yoongi’s head really hurts. He thinks it’s probably a good time to let Jimin know he’s awake so he can move. His mouth feels dry and he kind of has to go to the bathroom. Slowly, he starts to roll over.

“Oh!” Jimin looks down at him. “Tae, I’ve got to go. Yoongi’s awake,” he giggles one more time. Yoongi bites his cheek so he doesn’t start smiling like an idiot. “No! Bye. Yes, bye Taehyung!” he presses the screen and puts his phone down on the blanket.

Yoongi sits up. By the grimace in his face and the scrunch of his nose, Jimin imagines he’s in some kind of pain. “I’m so sorry for waking you up.”

Yoongi shakes his head but then presses a hand to the side of it. “You didn’t, it’s okay,” he huffs. “What’s wrong?” Jimin asks. “Do you feel sick again?” His eyes are a little frantic.

Yoongi groans when he remembers he got sick outside of the van. How embarrassing. The tips of his ears start to turn red at the mention of it. “No, my head just hurts.”

Jimin climbs off the bed and holds out a bottle of pills and a glass of water. “I think you can take just one more of these, it should be okay for you.” “Thanks,” Yoongi reaches out with shaky hands. “How long was I out?” he looks to the window, the sun is almost down.

“I think just two hours?” Jimin flips his phone back over. “It’s almost seven.”

Yoongi swallows the pill. He drinks a little more water because he feels so dehydrated but doesn’t want to overdo it. “I’m sorry for all the trouble. I should tell your parents too. That was stupid of me.”

Jimin strokes Mingie once then retracts his hand the second she even starts to ruffle. “It’s not your fault. The Jeju heat can sneak up on you.”

He nods. He’s sitting criss cross in the middle of the bed now. His skin still feels a little warm, he can tell. But nothing about him is as worse off as earlier. “I think I should shower.”

“Maybe eat something first?” Jimin suggests. “My mom brought some food down. It might help you feel more human.”

They eat cucumber and gimbap quietly for a little while. Yoongi’s still on the bed, Jimin refused to let him get up to get anything. But Jimin’s placed himself on the couch.

Yoongi pretends to pay attention to his phone. He’s got text messages he should respond to. One from Namjoon asks about the test run tomorrow morning.

“Oh,” Yoongi looks up. “We need to call in for Busan Blues in the morning, or well, I do.” “Right,” Jimin says. “We can set up your equipment at the desk,” he points to the corner of the room where a large desk is. “That should be a good space, yeah?”

Yoongi nods. “Namjoon thinks we should just do the conference thing like we do when we have artists come in. But I’m not sure how to set it up, he usually does.”

Jimin stuffs his mouth and talks around the food. “I know how. That was one of the things he taught me in my internship. I’ll help. But that means I have to get up early, don’t I?”

Yoongi has overheard Jimin talking with Jungkook before about how neither of them like getting up early in the morning.

“You know I chose my position for the sole reason of not having to get up early unless it was an Idol day,” he sighs heavily. “Whatever will my beauty sleep become of me now.”

Yoongi gives him a smile. He still looks a bit worn out but his skin is already returning to a normal color. “Beauty sleep, ha.”

Jimin feigns hurt. “I am beautiful! Even you know it, I saw you staring at me yesterday.”

Yoongi chokes on rice. He tries to clear it but it turns into a coughing fit and then he’s a bit red in the face and Jimin’s getting up. He’s handing him water and Yoongi gulps it down, cursing the tiny white grain that tried to end his life.

Jimin’s frozen. He’s afraid Yoongi’s going to feel hurt again and the empath in him just really can’t handle that right now. “Hyung?”

“I’m fine,” he says with a scratchy throat. “I’m going to shower.” He pauses outside the bathroom and calls back. “But I was not staring at you!” Jimin bursts into a fit of giggles.

While he showers, Jimin takes the liberty in setting up Yoongi’s radio equipment. He’d brought it all in a duffle bag. He hadn’t even complained when he had to pay the extra baggage fee for it when they boarded the flight.

He hooks all the wires up to his computer and sets up the standing mic. He doesn’t know Yoongi’s password so he can’t really test to see if things are working or not, but he thinks it looks right.

He’s surprised to return to his phone to see a few texts from Hoseok.

Yoongi returns from the shower, dark hair a bit curly from the water. He’s in a white t-shirt and black pants. The shirt looks old and stretched out which means it hangs loose against his neck. "You look good," Jimin says. "I mean, um, better."

Yoongi takes a seat next to him on the couch. Mingie hops up in his lap instantly, whining a bit like he was gone forever.

“I feel better,” he says. “Do you have any aloe, though? I think I have a sunburn on the back of my neck and arms.” “Yeah!” Jimin says. “My Eomma keeps it in the refrigerator so it’s soothing. I’ll run up and grab it, do you need anything else?”

Yoongi looks down a little bash fully. “Do you guys have any um, popsicles?” He glanced back up hopefully. Jimin grins. “We’ve got dozens. I’ll bring back just what you need!”

Yoongi pets Mingie and plays with his phone a bit, finally going through all of the messages he missed today. Hoseok and Seokjin’s stand out the most.

Jimin returns with a bunch of snacks in his hands. He’s got multiple different kinds of popsicles and ice cream. “I didn’t really know what you liked,” he smiles.

Yoongi laughs as he piles it all on the table in front of him. His phone buzzes again and he rolls his eyes. “Are you texting Hoseokie?”

Yoongi nods and responds quickly. “Oh, Namjoon says we need to get on early in the morning for the test run. Tell him I told you.”

Yoongi picks a tangerine flavored popsicle from the pile and peels back the paper. He gasps as the explosion of flavors hits him. “What is this?? It’s amazing??” Jimin looks at the ice candy in his hand. “Ohhh, it’s a Jeju tangerine pop. They’re amazing.”

“Jeju tangerine?” Jimin grabs a banana pop before putting the rest of the snacks in his mini freezer. “Mhm,” he sucks the ice candy. “Jeju is known for tangerines.”

Yoongi’s eyes light up. “Tangerines are my favorite fruit. Can we get some while we’re here?” “Of course!” Jimin beams. “We’ll go tangerine picking. Maybe not tomorrow, you should probably rest another day. But the day after?”

Yoongi grins up at him and Jimin doesn’t know if he’s seen him smile like that during the entire trip so far. “It’s a deal.”

Jimin suggests they put on a movie. He’s not tired and Yoongi says he isn’t either. “But nothing sad this time,” he declares. “Well what’s your favorite movie?” Yoongi asks while scrolling through the streaming service. “I guess a boyfriend should know that, right?”

It’s the first time Yoongi had referred to himself as Jimin’s boyfriend. The younger fidgets. “Oh, um. The notebook.” “That’s horribly sad!” Yoongi says.

“Yes but there’s so much love. He loves Allie more than anyone in the world. I can’t even imagine love like that existing.”

Yoongi gives a shake of his head. “I think it does. The right person just has to come along.” “Well so far I’ve had all the wrong persons,” Jimin sighs. “What’s your favorite movie?”

Yoongi hums as he thinks. He does that a lot, just before his thoughts come out. “Tarantino movies are good. Inception too.” “I’ve never seen any of those,” Jimin says.

“I’m not tired if you’re not. We can watch inception, I think it’s on here.”

“Okay. But wait, you should put that aloe on before. So your skin can start to heal.” “Right,” yoongi agrees.

He picks up the cool bottle and squirts some in his hands. He rubs the clear gel together and coats the back of his arms where he felt the sting in the shouter. Then he does his cheeks and nose thoroughly.

“Hyung, can I?” Jimin asks. “The back of your neck, um, could use some.” “Oh, uhh, sure,” Yoongi says.

Carefully, Jimin places gel in his hands. Yoongi’s sitting on the couch so he sits next to him and has him turn around. With shaky fingers he reaches forward and pulls Yoongi’s shirt down a bit so he doesn’t get the aloe on the cotton.

Yoongi both sighs and jumps when the gel touches the warm sunburn. But Jimin is so gentle. His hands work in small, soft motions, applying an even layer. “I don’t think it looks too bad. You probably won’t even peel.” Yoongi can’t speak. Jimin has switched to massaging.

His thumbs press in just slightly, kneading the skin a bit. They get a little lost in it until Jimin realizes what he was doing. “Sorry, you seemed tense. Um, does that feel better?”

Yoongi turns with flush cheeks that he really hopes just look like sunburn. “Y-yes. Thank you. Should we start that movie?” Jimin nods and slides to the other side of the couch.

“What do you mean they can be in each other’s dreams, Hyung what the fuck is going on?” Jimin says halfway through the movie.

Yoongi laughs. They’re on the couch, Mingie exactly in between them. Yoongi’s happy for the space so he doesn’t do something stupid like fall asleep on him again. “That’s the whole point, Jimin. He goes into their dreams to steal their secrets.”

“Right I get that. But that guy too?” Yoongi nods. “Well then how can they even tell when they’re awake and when they’re sleeping. I’m so sorry maybe I’m not awake enough for this, I’m confused as hell.”

Yoongi pauses the movie. Despite what he just thought, he scoots closer to Jimin. “Okay, listen.” He goes back to the start of the movie and explains the entire plot thus far. Jimin follows along intently, watching Yoongi talk with his hands.

He gets so animated as he lays out the details clearly so Jimin can understand what’s going on. It’s kind of adorable.

“Ohhhhh. Okay, okay. Start it again, Jimin says.” He stays pressed up against Yoongi’s side for the rest of the movie.

“Well what the f-uuck,” Jimin yawns. “I’m more confused now than I was an hour ago.” “Every time I watch it I get something different. I think this time it’s just trying to say that reality matters the most.”

Jimin strokes Mingie twice. “I get that. There was also something about the guilt he was feeling but—” another yawn cuts him off. Yoongi chuckles. He runs his fingers through hair. It’s dried in waves that Jimin’s never seen before. “I think it’s time for bed.”

Jimin closes his eyes and tips himself backwards, crashing into a pillow. “Perfect. I’ll stay here, take the bed.”

Yoongi sighs. “Jimin, it’s your bed.” “Can’t hear you, I’m already sleepy on this couch,” the brattiness in his voice does something to Yoongi.

“Jimin, just,” he sighs. “Just sleep in the bed with me.”

Jimin cracks an eye open and angled his neck so he can look at Yoongi. “Huh?” “It’s a big enough bed. We both don’t need to suffer on the couch or argue about who’s going to suffer on the couch. We can just,” he plays with Mingie’s fur. “Share?”

Jimin’s cheek flush, Yoongi spots it as the pink tint spreads across his nose. “Are you sure? I really don’t mind taking the couch but you should take the bed because you’re the guest and—” “Jimin.” Yoongi voice is so stern Jimin stops talking immediately. “I’ll go wash up.”

Yoongi climbs in the bed and Mingie follows quickly. “My best girl, you have to make room for Jimin, hmm?” He pats her a few times. She makes happy noises and pushes her face into his hand. “Are you liking Jeju? You’ve been such a good girl here,” he coos.

Jimin comes out with a clean face and changed from his quick shower. The saltwater smell is out of his hair and Yoongi catches the scent of his floral shampoo. He likes it a lot. Jimin starts to make a beeline for the couch but Yoongi’s glare stops him. “Just come.”

He sighs and slides in under the cover. He turns the light off immediately so there’s no opportunity to awkwardly stare at each other.

“I don’t um,” Jimin starts. “I don’t sleep very well. So if I annoy you when I wake up just kick me out of the bed.” A laugh rumbles out of Yoongi. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I either sleep like the dead or wake up a lot. Last night I woke up a lot.”

Jimin turns his head to the side. Yoongi’s laying flat on his back, Mingie is in his stomach and his hands are busy with her fur. “I saw you awake this morning. Were you just uncomfortable. Or did I snore? You had headphones on.”

“You don’t snore,” Yoongi replies. “The waves,” he sighs a little, “they’re kind of loud.” “Oh. You’re not used to them being this close. Let me know if it’s a problem tonight. We could turn on the tv or music?”

Yoongi doesn’t understand how someone so purely kind exists. Jimin, who says he has trouble sleeping is willing to create even more issues for himself just so Yoongi can sleep. “I’m sure it’ll be okay, I’m just getting used to them.”

They get quiet again. Jimin yawns and shifts. They’re not touching at all, but Yoongi can feel the small amount of space between them. He sort of wants to break it. But then Jimin turns on his side, away from Yoongi. He yawns again. “Goodnight, hyung. Day two down already.”

Yoongi hums back and shuts his eyes. There’s only eight more to go. He tries not to dwell on the countdown. What will eight more bring after these past two have already been so eventful. He reaches out hesitantly and without thinking, rubs Jimin’s back.

“Goodnight, Jimin. I hope tonight you sleep well.”

Can you believe???!?! That’s a wrap on chapter 4. We’re just shy of 30k words. curiouscat.live/taesaus

chapter five: days 3 & 4

Yoongi’s floating, at least that’s what he thinks at first. He can feel the water behind his ears, touching his back, lapping at his legs. It’s a nice sensation, being suspended like this in a body of water. It’s peaceful. But then he can’t open his eyes.

He tries, three times and they feel stuck. They roll beneath his lids and feel painful blocking out his sight. It’s his inability to see that makes him panic initially. Then, it’s the wind. He hears it pick up speed around him. The water shifts and this time, it’s not nice.

Without much warning, he’s sucked beneath the surface. His body folds like a puppet. Saltwater shoots up his nose, pushing into his mouth and the scream he tries to let out is drowned out, much like he’s about to be. He still can’t open his eyes and now he can’t swim away either.

He’s frozen in place as the waves of the ocean slam him into the floor.

He fights with the water and with himself. When his eyes finally open they’re clouded by the liquid, stinging and blurry. He doesn’t know what’s better, being blinded or having barely an ability to see.

He screams again, creating bubbles around him. His shoulders thrash as he tries to get himself off the floor. But the lack of oxygen is starting to get to him. His body feels weak and the water weighs ten thousand kilos.

It might be easier to just give up at this point. He could let the water win the war. But something in him screams again and—

“Hyung!” Jimin is shaking him awake. The bedside lamp is on and Jimin is hovering over him with wild eyes. His hands grip Yoongi’s t-shirt, shaking his shoulders like Yoongi did in his dream. No, his nightmare.

Yoongi’s eyes fly open with a gasp and his chest aches like he was suffocating. Maybe he was. His eyes meet Jimin’s frantic ones and he looks very close to crying. Yoongi knows he feels like it.

“Hyung?” His features soften. “You were screaming in your sleep.”

Yoongi blinks and realizes his eyes are wet. He sits up quietly, still trying to catch his breath a bit. He scrubs at his eyes, wiping away the tears. Jimin’s still looking at him with a face full of concern.

“I’m fine,” Yoongi says. Mingie’s in his lap now, pushing her nose into his stomach. She’s sort of whining. She does this a lot when Yoongi has nightmares.

“Well I’m not,” Jimin admits. “I was asleep, like completely for the first time in ages. You scared the fuck out of me.”

Yoongi doesn’t stop stroking the cat’s fur and watching his hands do it. His throat feels tight so he holds his breath. He often cries after a nightmare and he thinks after yesterday’s events that crying in front of Jimin might just be more embarrassing than getting sick.

So he keeps stroking his cat and stays quiet.

The only thing that fills the space is the sound of the waves crashing into the rocks below the home. It reminds Yoongi of the dream and makes his stomach turn.

“It’s okay, you know,” Jimin says after a while. “We all have nightmares.”

Yoongi doesn’t know how to tell him that the nightmare isn’t really a nightmare. How it plagues his dreams quite often and leaves him wrung out. How this nightmare and the event that caused it has been impacting his life for almost twenty years.

“What time is it?” Yoongi crashes back into the bed, throwing a hand over his face so that Jimin can’t see his eyes well up with tears. He can’t stop it from happening, it seems.

“Almost 4, we have to be up in a little over an hour.” “Okay. Turn the light off and go back to sleep.” “Hyung, we can talk about it. What happened?”

“Just go back to sleep. It’s fine,” Mingie’s on his chest now, she’s pushing her nose into Yoongi’s chin. She can tell he’s upset.

“Yoongi-Hyung just tell me—”

“Jimin. I don’t want to fucking talk about it, sleep.” It comes out much harsher than he intended it to but his throat was closing up.

He felt like he was going to sob because the waves outside seem so loud and he can’t get rid of the water behind his eyes no matter how hard he tries.

So he needs Jimin to fall asleep so he can fall apart.

“Okay,” he says quietly. The mattress dips for a second and Yoongi thinks he’s just turning over. But then the comforter doesn’t move for him to get under it.

After a beat Yoongi realizes, Jimin got out of bed.

He thinks about apologizing but he hears the creak of the couch and knows it’s too late. So instead he turns on his stomach and holds his breath so that hopefully by the grace of god, Jimin can’t tell he’s sobbing.

An hour later Yoongi’s alarm goes off on his phone and Jimin sits straight up because he never fell back to sleep anyway. Before the nightmare fiasco Jimin had been sleeping the best he had in years. It was the first time he remembered getting more than three hours in at a time.

But after, he couldn’t get rid of the weight on top of his chest. He tried focusing on the waves. He counted the stitches in the couch that he could see. He even created a story in his head, nothing worked.

All too soon the alarm was blaring in the bedroom, causing Mingie to hop off the bed and scurry under the couch with a hiss.

Yoongi shuts the alarm off and sits up with a sigh. Jimin’s off the couch and into the bathroom before Yoongi can even say good morning. He sighs and climbs out of bed.

As a peace treaty, Yoongi goes into the main house to make them both iced americanos. He thinks it’s the least he can do since he got upset with Jimin. Also, he’s getting up before the sun and he’s not even a part of the radio show today.

If anything, Yoongi should make him breakfast too if they had time.

He tiptoes into the house and is surprised to see Cheol-min sitting at the kitchen island drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. He’s got large round glasses perched at the very end of his nose.

“Ahhh,” he says quietly, voice just above a whisper. “So the boy who gave us all the fright of our lives returns,” Jimin’s father smiles at him.

Yoongi notices that the curve of his mouth is identical to Jimin’s. Cheol-min might be in his fifties but he barely looks his age at all. Yoongi can tell where Jimin gets his looks from. He laughs and rubs his shoulder awkwardly.

“I’m sorry for all the fuss,” he starts to rummage around the kitchen to find glasses for their coffee.

“All is fine if you’re feeling better. Did our Jiminie take good care of you?” Yoongi blushes. “Yes.”

Cheol-min smiles. “You’re up quite early, what’s got you making two coffees before sunrise?” “Jimin and I need to do our radio show a few times while we’re here. He set everything up for me last night and he’s helping this morning. I thought coffee might make it more bearable.”

Jimin’s father almost spits out his coffee. “Jimin…is awake…? Right now?!” Yoongi nods with an amused smirk. He loads ice into the glasses.

“Oh he must really like you. His mother and I used to fight with him every morning before school. I’ve dragged him out of bed with my bare hands more times than I can count.”

Yoongi laughs but blushes again deeply. He then imagines a very stubborn teenage boy clinging to his bedsheets as his father pulls him out. “He’s very dedicated to our radio show, we’re lucky to have him.”

Yoongi pours the cold coffee from the refrigerator into the glasses and shakes them a bit.

“He talks about all of you like he really enjoys what he does. It must be fun, working in radio. A lot more fun than being a trauma surgeon.”

“It is fun. You should come down and watch us one of the days, if you’re always up this early. But sir, what you do is important.”

Cheol-min waves him off. “Please! Radio is important too. Humans would die without music and entertainment. If humans all died, well then Yoongi I’d be out of a job,” he winks.

Junín is sitting on the couch staring at the floor with very wide eyes when Yoongi re-emerges with coffee in his hands. “Jiminah? What’s wrong?” Jimin keeps his eyes trained on the floor but whines. “I’m so fucking tired.”

Yoongi chuckles and crouches down to press coffee into his hand. He looks like a zombie. “Let’s do this and go back to sleep.” Jimin sips the black coffee and sighs contentedly. “Okay, wait. This coffee might be worth it.”

Yoongi signs into his computer and loads up the software that he needs for the show. Jimin explains how to get to the broadcasting site that he and Jungkook set up months ago for calling in.

“This way Hoseokie and Namjoon hyungnim will just be able to conference you in, but it’ll basically sound like you’re in the studio.”

“Are we good to call now? Namjoon is texting to ask if we’re ready.” “Yep,” Jimin says, sipping his coffee again. “Let’s do this.”

“Gooooood morning ladies, gents, and my non-binary favorites. It’s Your Hope right here! A Monday morning and a beautiful day in the land of Busan Blues Radio!” Hoseok’s voice is so cheery no one would even believe he’s probably the least morning person out of the three hosts.

“Our very own produ Suga is joining us with content manager Jiminie from a very special location. Would you like to tell us where you are?” Hoseok asks.

Yoongi clears his throat and Jimin giggles a bit from next to him as he snaps a picture for their social media page. “We’re live from Jeju-do this morning where the weather is all blue skies. If any of our listeners are from Jeju, Jiminie says he’ll reply back to you on Twitter.”

They run through the Monday morning usual specials. Yoongi talks about the upcoming releases for the week. He gets extremely animated when reading the announcement that his favorite rap trio is making a comeback.

Jimin doesn’t have much to do while the show goes on. Jungkook is supposed to send him some videos later on this afternoon for him to embed into their website. He has a blurb to write for the upcoming release announcement, and he could work on that now, but he’s exhausted.

Now that the tension has seemed to have ebbed away from earlier the lack of sleep weighs on Jimin. He’s practically sitting up with his eyes closed when Yoongi ends the call.

He shoves him, just lightly and Jimin’s so tired he loses control of his limbs and ends up on the floor. Yoongi laughs louder than Jimin’s ever heard before.

“Jungkook apparently wants to call us to talk about a Jeju segment. He thinks we should do a vlog of one of our activities,” Yoongi says. Jimin glares at him from his spot on the floor. “You kick me and that’s all you have to say?”

“I didn’t kick you!” Yoongi laughs. “I simply pushed, very lightly. It’s your fault you fell.” The glare deepens. Jimin doesn’t get the chance to quip back before Jungkook is calling.

“Good morning hyungs,” he says. His voice is still sleepy which means he probably just rolling into work. If Hoseok had them up all drinking last night then everyone is dragging around the studio today. Yoongi can’t help but miss them all, just s little.

“We were talking last night about new content for the show. I thought we could start doing vlogs. It’s perfect since you two are in Jeju. You just need to record a bunch, I can edit everything.”

Jimin thought about it from the floor. It seemed like a fun idea. It would be a good way to capture interesting content to get the listeners more engaged with the radio show staff. “We didn’t bring a camera, though.” “I did,” Yoongi reveals.

“I thought Hyung might. He likes photography,” Jungkook says. “Your camera records too right?” “Well I have both. But yes.” Jimin looks over at Yoongi. This is new information for him. All he knows about Yoongi has always been related to music and producing the show.

“Perfect. Maybe just send me something in the next day or so. We want to try to put these out on the Fridays that we don’t have guests in the studio.”

“Sounds good to me. Does that work for you, Jimin-ah?” Jimin shrugs. “Sounds fun. We’ll get something good for you, Jungkookie!”

They hang up and Yoongi opens his computer again. Jimin could fall asleep to the sound of his fingers on the keys. “Jimin, go get in bed. Take a nap or something.” “I’m fine here,” he yawns, eyes closed. Yoongi sighs heavily. Jimin laughs.

“Do you have a hatred of your own bed or something?” “Mmm, not really. I didn’t sleep down here a lot when we vacationed here. I don’t like to be alone so I usually slept upstairs in Hyun’s room or on the couch.”

Jimin can’t see it, but Yoongi’s looking at him softly. For someone who comes off sometimes with so much brazen, Yoongi’s surprised to hear him talk about feeling alone. Jimin seems like everyone’s best friend, never lonely at all.

“Are you saying you just don’t want to be in your bed by yourself?” Jimin’s quiet so Yoongi thinks maybe he’s fallen asleep on the floor, which would be a little funny. But then he opens his eyes. “Yeah kinda.”

“Oh.” Yoongi clears his throat. “Uhh—” Jimin fidgets. “I just slept a lot better with you there. So if you don’t mind….?” “C’mon,” Yoongi closes the laptop again, “let’s go take a nap.”

They’re both on their backs in the bed. Yoongi is looking at the ceiling because he doesn’t know if he can even sleep. He hadn’t gone back after his nightmare, but his brain felt a bit wired now. It was probably the coffee. Jimin lay next to him with his arms above his head.

He’s tapping the headboard lightly with short nails. He sighs and pulls his phone out after he doesn’t fall asleep instantly.

Yoongi decides to scroll on his too. They must see the post at the exact same moment because they each turn on their sides, facing one another. “Hyung…oh my god,” Jimin giggles.

“You called me cute on the internet?!?!”

There’s a flood of comments under the latest Busan Blues Radio tweet. Many of the people are responding, stating they’re from Jeju. But there’s another slew of comments that are reacting to the post. “Did Media Manager Jimin call Producer Yoongi cute?!”

“They’re on a trip to Jeju, together!! They must be dating.” “Ahhhh, this is adorable!! Does everyone on Busan Blues Radio fall in love?!”

The last one makes Jimin laugh so hard he almost falls off the bed.

Yoongi groans and locks his phone. “Jiminnnnnnn,” he looks at him through narrowed eyes. “Whoops. Must have been my sleepy brain. It’s fine. They were bound to start talking about it at some point, the listeners follow us all on Instagram.”

Yoongi sighs and closes his eyes. Maybe he should sleep. “Yeah, I just didn’t know how far we’re taking this lie.” Jimin reaches over to cover his mouth. “Shhhh, the walls have ears!” Yoongi freezes. Jimin’s really close to him. So close he can count his eyelashes.

Jimin looks down from his eyes to his hand over his mouth and back up again. “Whoops. Sorry,” he uncovers it. “It’s fine. The whole thing is fine.” “It is. This helps our case a lot.”

Yoongi shrugs. “Do we have anything planned today?” Jimin yawns. “Napping. You need to rest one more day and then we can return to the fun.” Yoongi can’t argue with that really. Between yesterday, his nightmare, and the breakdown to follow his head aches. He could lay around.

Jimin grins at him with eyes closed, ready to fall asleep. “Besides, tomorrow is going to be so much fun. I hope you like the zoo,” he says in one breath, and in the next he’s fast sleep. His smile still plays lightly on his lips. Yoongi sighs before closing his eyes himself.

He hopes he dreams of that smile.

In the late afternoon, Yoongi wakes with warmth spread all over him. Sometimes napping does this to him, where he feels too hot and groggy to actually know if the nap was worth it. There’s also a weight on his shoulder that feels a little heavier than Mingie.

He tries to angle and see’s that Jimin is curled around him. His head rests on his shoulder and one of his hands fists the bottom of Yoongi’s shirt. A small fluttering starts in his chest. He sighs and settles back in, he wonders how long they’ve been out.

The sun seems brighter than it was before, streaming in through the large door that leads outside. The waves are calmer during the day time, they’re not so daunting.

Yoongi thinks it’s probably time to explain to Jimin why he’s been so weird about the water. It’s not a fun story to tell. Nothing about trauma ever is.

He’s not ready for the pitying look he knows he’s going to get.

Jimin groans in his sleep and Yoongi’s hand immediately goes to rub his back. He traces shapes in his spine, making him wriggle. “Yooon,” he whines, voice low and gravely.

Something warm swims in Yoongi’s gut.

Jimin rubs his nose on Yoongi’s shoulder and then giggles when Yoongi tickles his spine again. “Were you wanting me to wake up?” He says, tipping his head to look up at him. Yoongi smiles down. “I get a little bored in bed sometimes.”

Jimin yawns loud and dramatic, stretching his arms above his head. He still settles back down against Yoongi’s side. “So I should have warned you. All of my friends say I’m a little clingy. Is this okay?”

Yoongi hums. “It’s okay.” Jimin grins up at him. “It can be like a currency exchange. You seem to enjoy it too. Or at least you did yesterday,” his voice is teasing. Yoongi tickles his back again, Jimin bursts into giggles that make Yoongi want to keep doing it.

“Hyung, stop!!!” Jimin laughs when it turns in to full blown tickling. His small fingers reach to pinch Yoongi’s side. He gasps, acting offended. “Hyung!!” He starts to whine. “You know I think you called me the whiny one before but Jiminah I think it’s you.”

“You’re the only one that makes me whine,” he replies. Yoongi holds his breath.

“So what should we do? What time is it anyway?” Yoongi tries to change the subject. Jimin rolls to grab his phone then comes right back. “Mmm. It’s like 2pm. We should definitely eat, I just heard your stomach growl for the third time.”

“Should we go walk somewhere to get something, like one of the beachside shops?” Yoongi says.

“Nu-uh,” Jimin shakes his head. “You’re resting today. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Yoongi sighs. “I feel fine.” “You can feel fine from bed. I’ll go make us something to eat.” Jimin sits up.

Yoongi does too. “You?!?” Jimin nods, slipping off the bed. “Yes. I can—um, I’ll go find my mom!” He grins before scurrying out of the room.

Yoongi queues up a movie on the tv while he waits for Jimin. While on the bathroom he brushes through his hair and throws cold water on his face. He needs to stop panicking everytime Jimin touches him, it’s very…gay panic of him. He thought he was past the gay panic phase.

But there’s just something about Jimin that makes his heart flutter, his palms sweat, and like he’s a teenage boy discovering other boys for the first time.

He thinks about texting Seokjin or Hoseok to ask for advice. But they both might tease him, so he opts not to.

Jimin returns a while later, two bowls in hand. “Okay, everyone else is gone for the day. But there was kimchi fried rice in the fridge so I just heated that up. You shouldn’t die.” He passes a bowl to Yoongi. “You know, you really should learn how to cook.”

“You should teach me while we’re here. I can’t make any promises about fires, though.” Yoongi laughs before taking a bite.

They spend the afternoon in Jimin’s bed. Jimin’s a very fidgety person so he doesn’t stay laying down for long. He’ll switch between sitting up, on his stomach, on his side.

“Jimin-ah!” Yoongi finally says at the end of the Notebook. “This is your favorite movie and you haven’t even sat still enough to pay attention.”

Jimin sits criss-cross next to him. He sighs. “Sorry, that nap gave me too much energy. I don’t think I can focus on a show.” “We can go for a walk then?” Yoongi suggests. Jimin glares at him. “Hyung, you need to rest and—”

Yoongi puts a hand on Jimin’s thigh. “A walk won’t kill me. Let’s just go down to the beach, I haven’t been yet.” Jimin thinks for a second. “Okay but you have to let me put sunscreen all over you.”

Yoongi laughs. “I think i can do it myself, Jimin. Go get dressed.” Yoongi can’t tell if he’s imagining his voice getting deeper when he says “Yes, sir.”

Park Jimin has never thought about what it might feel like to hold a hand.

Would it be soft? Would their skin fit together nicely? What if his hand started sweating, would they think it’s gross? Do his fingers go under or over? What if it’s a cupped hold? What if he holds on too tight?

He’s never thought about what it might feel like to hold a hand, but right now he can’t stop thinking about holding Yoongi’s.

They’re on the beach, after Jimin watched him apply thick layers of sunscreen even though the sun will set soon. “Hyung, you missed a spot behind your ears,” he said, reaching up to fill it in. Said ears turned bright red and Yoongi didn’t speak until it was time to leave.

They’re walking along the shore, Jimin on the outside closest to the water, Yoongi on the opposite side. His hand is just dangling there, swaying every few steps, and Jimin thinks it would be nice to hold.

The night they held hands at Dopamine felt so far away, even though it was just a week before. Yoongi’s fingers brush up against his and Jimin’s breath catches. Yoongi pulls his hand away, reaching up to scratch his shoulder. Jimin almost sighs.

He doesn’t know why he’s thinking about holding Yoongi’s hand. They’re just walking. They haven’t even spoken, really. Yoongi said the beach was pretty, but not much else. Jimin didn’t miss the very deliberate way he placed himself away from the lapping waters.

“How long do you want to walk for?” Jimin asks. The cool breeze blows through Yoongi’s hair and his nose gives an adorable twitch as he tries to move it away. “How long does it go?” His hand drops back down to his side. Jimin could just grab it.

But what’s the purpose of holding hands while no one else is around? Jimin sticks his left hand in his pocket. “Ohh, probably about ten minutes to the end? Hyun and I used to race to the end when we were younger.” “He always won, right?” Yoongi elbows his side.

Jimin throws him a glare. “Why would you think that??!” Yoongi kicks sand as he walks. “He’s taller than you. Logically, he covers more ground faster.” “You’re the same height as me!” Jimin defends. He itches to touch Yoongi so much, he shoves his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Yoongi smiles lazily. “And I don’t think I’d ever win in a race against Hyun,” his grin is so cheeky Jimin has to look away at the horizon.

“I won,” Jimin says and pauses. “Once.” Yoongi bursts out laughing. “Did he trip or something?” Jimin pouts and throws his hands up. “Yes!” Yoongi tosses his head back this time. Jimin thinks it’s such a nice laugh.

They stop in the middle of the beach, because Jimin tells Yoongi they can’t go all the way to the end. “Another day,” he suggests when they settle into the sand. “Today you’re supposed to be resting.”

“You know,” Yoongi looks at Jimin earnestly, “I’ve never been good at resting. I spend a lot of my time doing nothing, but being forced to rest for the sake of it has always been hard.”

Jimin pulls a bottle out of the bag he had slung over his shoulder. He gives Yoongi a suggestive look, “Soju for your sunset thoughts?” Yoongi nods. “Why not?”

Jimin uncaps it and hands it to Yoongi to take a swig first. He shudders at the burn and passes it back over. Jimin puts his lips where Yoongi’s just were. The glass rim is still wet.

“So no rest?” Jimin asks. Yoongi shrugs and brings his knees up to his chest. “I just don’t like to be forced not to be productive. It doesn’t give you room to grow,” Yoongi takes another long pulls from the bottle, “if you don’t grow, then what’s the point?”

Jimin laughs. “Hyung! I was asking you to rest to get better. How did that stop you from growing?” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “I mean in general. Like with work. Namjoonie and Hoseokie say I work too much.”

“You’re at the studio really early and really late, right?” Jimin takes a drink and burrows his feet int the warm sand. The sun is setting now, the sky looks so pretty when it’s pink.

“I am, but it’s important to me that Busan Blues Radio does well. I put my whole life into that place. If I don’t work hard, well, we won’t grow.”

They finish the first bottle easily between the two of them. Jimin’s glad he thought to pack snacks too so they don’t get too drunk, they still have the trek back. But he opens another bottle.

“I think working hard is important. But there has to be limitations to it. Life is supposed to be fun, otherwise what’s the point if we’re just working all the time?” “But I like my work,” Yoongi says it so quickly Jimin understands it must be nothing but the truth.

“I had a lot of fun in college, too much, probably,” he takes a perfectly timed drink of alcohol, it makes Jimin giggle. “Too much fun almost cost me my dream.”

The sunset casts pretty shadows over the high tones of Yoongi’s features. Jimin thinks about holding his hand again. It’s sitting right between them, it’d be so easy. “I partied too much, I got caught up with people I shouldn’t and—” Yoongi sighs.

“I’m just lucky the guys still decided to put up with me when I decided to get it together.” Jimin passed him the soju because he sounds like he needs it. Their fingers brush.

“We never crossed paths in college even though you’re only a few years older,” Jimin notes. “Why?” Yoongi shrugs. “You just graduated last year. We only would have gone together for one year. That was the year I got it together and Busan Blues really started to take off.”

The second bottle is already almost gone just like the sun. Yoongi’s blush matches the sky. Jimin tries not to think about his hand. “But I went to parties with Hoseok all the time. I saw Namjoon a few times too.”

“I stopped drinking and partying completely for that year. I just started up again maybe last summer? I just couldn’t handle it in college.”

Jimin doesn’t want to pry. They’ve spent so much time together recently and he thinks if he asked any question Yoongi might answer, but somehow he wants him to tell this story himself.

Jimin nods and tucks his own legs close to him. Yoongi is staring at the horizon with a look as deep as the sea it touched. He sighs heavily. “I should probably tell you about the water.”

Goosebumps ride on Yoongi’s bare arms. It’s not really cold, a little breezy. Jimin doesn’t think they’re from the weather. He’s hugging his legs with one arm, tighter than before. He’s not looking at Jimin at all. He keeps opening and closing his mouth, unsure how to speak.

Yoongi’s lose hand plays in the sand. He let’s the grains soft between his fingers, buried them underneath, just to pull them up again. “You don’t have to,” Jimin looks at the side of his face. Yoongi turns, but he’s looking at Jimin’s stomach. He can’t meet his eyes.

“I do,” Yoongi sighs. His chest feels heavy bye tries to take a deep breath and keeps playing with the sand. “I do because I can’t keep getting heat exhaustion. I do because if I don’t talk about it,” he finally looks up. “I’ll never grow.”

And his hand. His fucking hand is still right there between them. It's just a hand, attached to a boy, and Jimin could grab it so easily. He drinks the soju instead.

The moon has come out now and in a while they won’t be able to see each other anymore. Yoongi flattens his mouth. A wave crashes into the shore. They're meters away but Jimin still sees the way Yoongi's hold gets even tighter on his legs.

"It actually started when I was young," he begins. "I was like, six?" Yoongi thinks to himself. Jimin keeps quiet. The second bottle of soju is gone and he doesn't think it's good idea to open another. He allows his fingers to play with the threads of his jeans.

"I was born in Daegu but we moved to Busan, just like right before primary school. So the water was so new to me. You know how excited every tourist gets about Haeundae Beach," his fingers play with the sand again.

Haeundae Beach is the most popular beach in all of Busan. It's one of the busiest, largest beaches to go to. Every single summer the sand is lined with families, students, and tourists alike.

"Everything was--" he pauses for a second and huffs. "Everything was fine at first. I was playing close to my moms. My hyung was with me too, but he'd already made friends at school. He didn't want to watch me for long."

"You have a hyung?" Jimin asks. He's never heard him talk about his brother. Yoongi nods. "He moved when my moms did. We're not really close. I don't--this might be why."

He blows air through pursed lips. His voice is so soft when he speaks. "I went under so fast." At first he doesn't know what he's talking about. But the way that Yoongi's eyes are trained on the water, like a small animal caught by prey, he understands. Jimin holds his hand.

Yoongi stills when he does it and for a moment Jimin thinks it was the wrong thing. What if Yoongi pulls away--what if he gets the wrong idea--what if--Yoongi intertwines their fingers. His shoulders visibly relax.

"There was a shell that I thought was pretty. I still remember it, lilac in shade, small, and shiny even under the water. It was the last thing I saw before the wave swept me." His fingers move but he makes no point to let go. "I leant down to grab it and it came out of nowhere."

Yoongi shrugs but it's not in a way that he's brushing things off. "We don't have waters like that in Daegu. It's lakes and ponds and streams and rivers. Nothing like that beach. I don't even think it was a big wave. There were hundreds of people there."

It's darker, almost pitch black except the moonlight streams in front of them. Jimin can make out Yoongi's tight smile. "I was small as a child, probably like you," he nudges him, "so I just wasn't prepared." Yoongi's tone changes and it's not dark, but it's not soft anymore.

"I fell on my back, that was the problem. It wasn't just one wave, it was a few and it felt like they just kept coming," he looks down at the sand. "My hand been buried just like yours are now so I got stuck. What's the most common thing people do when they get scared?" he asks.

"They gasp," Jimin says. "I gasped," Yoongi clears his throat and Jimin can tell it's getting tighter. "Underwater."

Jimin waits a beat for Yoongi to keep speaking. The waves crash and he wonders how he's sitting here now, telling the story in this atmosphere. Yoongi makes a sound that's almost a whine. Jimin squeezes his hand.

"I just panicked. I'm not used to panicking, I've always been a thinker. A great thinker, actually. But I panicked and I kept getting thrown back against the sand and--and," Yoongi sounds close to tears.

Jimin strokes his thumb across his knuckles, it's the only comfort he he knows how to give. "There was saltwater in my nose. It burned like hell, I don't think I got that feeling out for a week. I screamed when I gasped, which was stupid because I was using oxygen I needed."

He shrugs. "But I was six. I'd never been to a beach before. I'd been so excited," his voice catches on the end.

"When my mom pulled me out I wasn't breathing. I don't really remember everything that happened. They made me go to the hospital and I hated the doctor when I was little, I still do now. Everything ended up being fine but I said I was never going in the water again."

The grip on his legs loosens a bit. "My moms tried to fight it at first. They didn't want me to be living in one of the most beach filled cities in all of South Korea and not know how to swim, but I refused. I threw tantrums about it," he laughs a little. "Tantrums? You?"

Yoongi leans into his side for a moment. He's still holding his hand. "Huge ones. It drove my Hyung insane, not that he didn't feel guilty. But I think his guilt manifested as anger or something, I don't know my therapist says shit like that sometimes."

He sighs. "Can we lay down? I kind of don't want to look at the water right now." Jimin nods. He tips back instantly, dragging Yoongi down with him. It makes him laugh at least. He's happy to hear his nice laugh again.

"Anyway. So I went all through life not getting in the water. Showers were fine, but baths could never happen. I didn't go to the beach again until college."

Jimin's afraid this story is a bad one too. He turns his head to the side. They're so close his nose almost brushes Yoongi's cheek. He looks back to the sky.

"I already told you I used to party in college. My parents moved away right before I enrolled, which they tried to get me to go with them but at this point I knew I was stuck in Busan forever with my misery and all," he laughs. "So I stayed."

He's silent for a long time. "But I don't really know what happened. It could be freedom, it could be confusion. But I just went wild in college. It was my first time on my own and I was going to do whatever I wanted. So I had way too much fun with way too many people."

Jimin tries to figure out where this is going and how it ties in the grander picture of this conversation. "I got by in my classes, things were fine during the day mostly. Especially with Namjoon, Hoseok, and Seokjin hyung around. But nights and weekends I was just reckless."

Jimin feels their palms pressed together between them. It's not too hot at all. "Without getting into specifics because it still brings me a lot of shame, I did some things that I made me have to earn their trust back. But this one night a girl I was seeing," he pauses.

"She dragged us to a pool party. I'd gone to the beach a few times before, but just managed to come up with enough excuses to stay out of the water. I tried this night too."

Jimin feels sick for a moment at the words "I tried this night too". "Yoongi--" he speaks for the first time in a while. His voice holds the kind of pity that Yoongi usually hates when he tells this story. But somehow coming from Jimin it feels comforting, to feel cared for.

Yoongi shakes his head. "It's fine. I was drunk, too drunk. Hoseok and Namjoon had wanted to go home but I swore that I really liked this girl and we were just going to stay an hour longer. But I was being stupid, being that drunk near the pool."

He's silent for so long Jimin thinks he might just stop telling the story. He's surprised at what comes out of Yoongi's mouth. "Fuck, I need a cigarette," there's a harsh, heady laugh at the end. "You smoke?" Jimin asks. "I think my dad has some at the house--"

He feels, rather than sees Yoongi shake his head. "No, not really anymore.I should just skip through this part because it sucks. It fucking sucks. I fell in and Namjoon had to jump after me because obviously I can't swim--" his voice breaks again. Jimin feels like holding him.

He settles for squeezing his hand.

Yoongi's not sure how he remembers it so vividly with how drunk he was. That girl she really loved to party. Yoongi really loved that she loved to party with him. But he remembers when Namjoon pulled him out. "He slammed me on the ground. It hurt worse than the fall."

Jimin has been so attentive this whole time. Yoongi thinks he's been able to make it through without completely losing it just because of that. "He was screaming at me in front of everyone. How I was fucking up and if I kept fucking up I was off the team."

Jimin remembers, they formed Busan Blues Radio before they all graduated. They worked for local stations and their college network just to save the money to be able to open up their own.

"They were everything to me. I was nothing in Busan if I didn't have them. So I stopped everything that semester. I stopped going out, I focused on my studies and I put down the deposit to buy the building we're in now, just to show Namjoon I was committed."

He turns his head to look at Jimin. "I worked really fucking hard to earn their trust back. I'm really lucky they still believed in me."

He shivers and Jimin asks if he wants to go back to the house. It's so dark at this point. Yoongi shakes his his head. "In a minute," he sighs. "I just, I don't want you to think I regret being on this trip or that I'm suffering or anything."

"Okay, hyung, well you almost passed out," Jimin says to the sky. Yoongi chuckles. "That was a misjudgment, it won't happen again. But I'm happy to be here even if I am really fucking weird about the water, okay?"

Jimin didn't know that Yoongi's face was still turned to the side until it was too late. His cheek falls to the left and his nose brushes against Yoongi's, they both freeze.

Lightning cracks in the sky and they scramble apart. “W-we should go back,” Jimin says. “We’re going to get caught in the rain. Do you hate rain?”

Yoongi stands, brushing the sand off of his clothes. He’s smiling as he shakes his head. “The rain can’t drown me.”

Jimin extends his hand, because it feels right. “No, but it could get you sick. Let’s run.”

They don’t beat the rain, it's pouring by the time they stumble into Jimin’s bedroom, both a soaking and giggling mess.

Mingie howls as water drips onto her. She was waiting by the door and got caught in the crossfire. She hisses when they laugh at her.

Yoongi stands in the middle of the room, water dripping off him. They’re not holding hands anymore. Jimin’s chest is heaving as he tries to catch his breath. His clothes are stuck to his frame, outlining each detail of his body.

Yoongi swallows. “We should um, get out of these clothes.” He swears he sees Jimin physically shutter. He must be cold.

“We should sleep too,” Jimin says. “We’re going to the zoo in the morning.” Yoongi gasps happily. “The zoo?”

Jimin slaps his forehead and makes his way over towards the closet. “Fuck, it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“I didn’t even know Jeju had a zoo.” “Just pretend you still don’t. My dad wanted to surprise you since I guess you talked at breakfast about how you love animals.”

Yoongi’s at his own suitcase looking for pajamas. He turns around to respond and drops the pants in his hand.

Jimin’s just lifted his shirt over his head. His back muscles ripple. He’s still wet enough that there’s water dripping down his back. He takes a towel and starts drying. Yoongi's mouth is drier.

He short circuits for thirty seconds until Jimin turns and catches him staring. “Oh, c-can I have one of those?” Yoongi stumbles over his words and his feet as he reaches forward for a towel.

Jimin hands him one and Yoongi immediately busies himself with drying his hair.

They dress and change. They brush their teeth together in silence. Yoongi applies lotion to his sunburn. Jimin arranges the blankets on the bed.

They both climb in.

The storm rages outside. The waves are loudest tonight, crashing against the rocks. “Is that bothering you?” Jimin turns to Yoongi. “I can turn on the tv.”

Yoongi turns on his side too so that he can face Jimin. “It’s fine. Maybe some music? I don’t want to sleep with my headphones on again, they’re not really comfortable.”

Jimin giggles. “I didn’t think they would be.” He sets up his phone and a speaker with a lo-fi playlist he’s heard Yoongi mention before.

Yoongi’s still on his side, one arm under the pillow, the other rests in the sheet just a centimeter from Jimin.

Jimin looks down at it. “Can I?”

Yoongi nods quietly and Jimin intertwines their fingers. He rubs lightly again. The low piano plays in the background, the bass surrounding it.

They’re silent for so long. The only sounds around them the music, rain, and waves.

“Yoongi,” Jimin whispers. They've somehow shifted closer. “If we kissed right now are we drunk enough to blame it on the alcohol?” “No,” Yoongi murmurs. Jimin feels each syllable on his lips.

Jimin leans in anyway, closing the space between them.

okay hobi is live i'll finish this chapter tomorrrrooooow ily. pls give it love. curiouscat.live/taesaus

Jimin’s hand was warm, Yoongi thought. It felt like comfort. Their hands fit together nicely, Yoongi’s larger intertwined with his smaller. His skin was soft, and he was sweating a little, but Yoongi didn’t mind, it wasn’t gross. Jimin held underneath. He held so delicately.

Last night anyway, that’s how Jimin held Yoongi’s hand. But he’s standing next to him now, surrounded in a literal zoo of couples and families holding hands and Jimin hasn’t touched Yoongi once.

It’s not like Yoongi hasn’t tried. Their fingers have brushed a dozen times over the last thirty minutes and they haven’t even made it halfway through the park. Jimin’s been animated, talking loudly with Hyun and Yuna. His words for Yoongi are less than usual.

He doesn’t understand, everything was fine. Last night, everything was perfect.

Jimin had leaned in and the world zeroed in slow motion. He was so close Yoongi could calculate the distance between the two delicate moles on his forehead. He shouldn’t have been thinking about his forehead, he should have been thinking about his lips as they pressed into his.

His lips felt so much softer than they looked for how plump they were. It was a long peck, his bottom lip caught in between Yoongi’s. He was so stunned he realized his eyes were still open. He closed them just as Jimin pulled away.

“Ahh, Hyung,” his voice was barely a hush against Yoongi’s mouth. “I’m so sorry are you sure?” Yoongi looked at him now. “Y-yeah,” he responded by kissing him again, hungrier than before.

Content warning: Sexual content ahead, not smut but related.

Jimin cupped the back of Yoongi’s neck, tugging him closer, even though there was no space between them. They brushed their teeth but Yoongi could still taste the soju in his tongue. It made him intoxicated in such a different way.

His hand went up under Jimin’s sleep shirt, resting on the warm skin. Yoongi’s mouth felt so lazy, moving so slow against Jimin’s. But in that space down there in Jimin’s bedroom, time was all their own.

They go so long Yoongi had to push a way and come up for air. Jimin gave a needy whine. He followed up with hard, fast pecks pressed to wet and swollen lips. Yoongi gasped as Jimin’s leg came up to hook around him, his erection pressed into his leg.

Jimin obviously felt they weren’t close enough. He pressed his hips into Yoongi’s as he deepened the next kiss. Yoongi succumbed to his powers and allowed him to continue guiding, for only a moment longer until his instincts took over.

He pushed away again, rolling Jimin onto his back. Jimin looked up at him, chest heaving. They were as breathless now as they’d been when they ran from the rain. “Jiminah….,” Yoongi paused, his name felt so different coming out now. Jimin grabbed his shirt, pulling him down.

Yoongi kissed him so desperately his entire body curved into him as he allowed Jimin to tug him in. He wasn’t prepared for Jimin to bite his lip. He pulled away with a gasp but Jimin giggled low and just rolled his eyes playfully. “Fuck, you don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

“Oh yeah?” Jimin asked. “Do something about it.”

“You’re such a fucking brat,” Yoongi shook his head. He leaned his weight back into Jimin, making sure to press his groin against him before closing his mouth over his lips once more.

Jimin’s tongue slipped in for the first time, licking hastily as he craved for more. Yoongi was moving his hips and with each lapping motion Jimin got closer to moaning.

“So quiet,” Yoongi said in a moments pause. Lips pressed again. “Such a good boy, huh?” Jimin groaned. He pulled away roughly, eyes blazing with heated annoyance.

“Don’t,” he huffed, looking intently at Yoongi. “You’ll drive me crazy if you talk like that, god, Hyung how’d you know I like stuff like that?” Yoongi chuckled. “You love praise, Jiminah. You could get off on it alone.”

Jimin didn’t understand how he’d pegged his personality in such a short amount of time. It scared him a little. The thunder cracked loudly, reminding them that a world outside of this room existed.

Jimin looked up at him suddenly. “We should sleep, you have to get up for the show in a few hours. We don’t…” Jimin searched for the right words. “We don’t want to move too fast.”

Yoongi nodded. He unpropped his elbow and sank down next to Jimin. They both tried to catch their breath for a moment. “That was…” Jimin laughed. Yoongi smiled up at the ceiling. “Yeah,” he sighed.

“Okay. Sleep,” Jimin said. “I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.”

Yoongi had fallen asleep before he came back. It might have been how much energy they worked up. It might have been the alcohol and the pure contentment and peace he felt, even though he was coming down from a high, but either way he was lulled into slumber.

Jimin was still asleep when Yoongi woke up to for Busan Blues. He didn’t see a need to wake him, but pressed a kiss to his forehead before climbing out of bed.

By the time the show was over two hours later, Hoseok signing them off with his usual sunshine report for the day, Jimin had quietly dressed and slipped upstairs.

Yoongi took his time getting ready. He made sure to apply sunscreen thoroughly and pack more to reapply later. He fed Mingie, cuddled her, changed her temporary litter, and packed the rest of his bag for their outing.

Jimin never came back down.

Everyone was in the kitchen around a table of breakfast, except Jimin. “Good morning!” Yuna greeted Yoongi. He’d learned that she was a morning person while Hyun appeared exactly the opposite.

“After a day of rest are you feeling better?” Jimin’s mother asked. Yoongi nodded as he buttered himself a croissant. They had a rather interested spread of mostly breads and fruits. “Much better.”

He popped a strawberry in his mouth and Jimin’s father set a glass of iced coffee in front of him. Yoongi tried not to appear anxious as he glanced around the open house. Jimin was nowhere in sight.

“You’re already dressed for the day, good” Hyun said. “We can leave as soon as Jimin gets back.” Yoongi furrowed his brow. “Back?”

Yuna nodded. “He took the car to gather simple foods for the—um our outing,” Yuna grinned. Hyun elbowed Her in the side, she smacked his arm but kissed his cheek when he frowned.

Yoongi remembered he was supposed to be surprised about the zoo. So he simply nodded and continued to finish his breakfast. He wondered why Jimin hadn’t told him he’d gone or asked him to go with.

“Oh!” Hyun said w few minutes later, looking at his phone. He was standing at the island and not at the table so he was allowed to have it. “Jimin’s here. He said he’ll drive so we can all get in the car when we’re ready.”

“Appa and I will take the other car. You kids go with Jiminie,” their mother said. Yoongi hurried to clean up after himself and help Jimin’s father with the rest. He used the task to divert from the fact that he didn’t know why Jimin hadn’t called him.

When he climbed into the front seat Jimin greeted him with a simple smile and a bland question. “How was the show?” Yoongi almost dropped his jaw. But Jimin looked like he was waiting for a genuine answer. So he just mumbled ‘fine’. He turned away, the faux smile still on.

The drive to the zoo isn’t far but it’s filled with Hyun and Yuna’s music suggestions. Finally Jimin just tells them to connect their own Bluetooth to control it. “Yoongi shouldn’t have to listen to your commands.” Yoongi thought it might have been a turning point.

Jimin said nothing more up until Yuna spoke five minutes before they arrived. “Oh. None of us told you where we were going. “I spoiled it,” Jimin looked at her in the rear view mirror. “Appa isn’t in the car so he can’t even get mad.”

Hyun laughed. “Yoongi Hyung you’ve been here for only four days at this point and our parents already like you more than us.” “But not more than me,” Yuna leaned up in the space between them. “I’m their favorite.”

“She’s not,” Jimin rolled his eyes. “She’s just the only girl. My mom loves having another girl around.” “Thank god Jiminie doesn’t date girls,” Yuna says. “So I’ll always be Eomma JiYoung’s favorite.”

Yoongi grins at her. “I think they only like me because I cook.” He waits for Jimin to tell him he’s wrong. He just flips his left blinker on and announces, “we’re here!”

Jimin’s hand was warm when he held Yoongi’s last night. His mouth was too. It’s pressed into a thin line now. He’s staring at a meeekat who’s trying to burrow. “Hey,” Yoongi comes up next to him. He runs a hand down Jimin’s back, resting at the bottom. Jimin turns quickly.

“Yuna! We should race go carts now!” He suggests. “I’ll kick your ass like last year!” He allows himself to be dragged away without even a response for Yoongi.

“I call Yoongi!!” Yuna says, grabbing him as they pair up for go-cart races. “It would be so sad to have our guest on the losing team,” she sticks her tongue out at Jimin. Jimin rolls his eyes. “The brothers against the—“ “Significant others?” Their mom fills in.

Their parents are poised and ready with cameras. The annual go-cart race and Raon Zoo is one of their favorite traditions. Yuna won last year and Jimin hasn’t known peace about it since.

Yoongi gets strapped in with her, she says she’s driving. “Fine with me, I’ve never done this.” She gasps and claps happily. “All the more reason to win, Yoongi!!”

She takes off around the track, laughing happily as they gain the lead. Yoongi hair blows all around him. His head turns, searching for Jimin. He’s smiling wide.

They do end up winning, zipping around the track much faster than the pair behind them. He’s frowning next to Hyun.

Somehow, Yoongi chases the same tension from last night. “I want to race with Jimin now.”

He climbs out of Yuna’s car before anyone can protest. Hyun gives Jimin a long look before he undoes them belt around him. “C’mon, Hyunnie,” Yuna grins, “let’s show Jimin who the champions are all along.”

Yoongi fumbles with his belt purposely. “Jimin, what’s wrong?” He finally asks, tired of skirting around whatever looms in the space between them. Jimin shrugs. “Nothings wrong. We need to beat Yuna or I really will never hear the end of it. Are you buckled?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “It won’t click right. Help me.” Jimin sighs. “Hyun got it fine. You were in over there, right?” He gestures to Yuna’s car. The pair look back at them, hands thrown up in confusion. Jimin holds up a finger.

“I don’t know what’s going on. Just help me,” he softens his voice, “please.”

It’s a desperate illusion to something else. Jimin sighs. He reaches down for the buckles of Yoongi’s belt. His fingers brush his stomach. Yoongi hopes it gives him the same flashback from last night. Jimin’s hungry hands gripping his belly, pulling him closer with each kiss.

Yoongi touches his. “Jimin.” Their eyes meet. Jimin’s dart back and forth trying not to keep his gaze. For once in his anxious life, Yoongi makes himself hold on.

“Jimin,” he whispers again, channeling the same hush as hours ago. Jimin moves his hands. He plasters on a smile. “We’re ready to kick your ass this time Yuna!!” Yoongi does everything he can not to deflate.

By the time they make it to the end of their trip, Yoongi’s ready to leave. He attempts to salvage his mood by feeding a baby bunny with eyes so dark they remind him of Jungkook. Thinking of Jungkook makes him think of all the guys. Thinking of the guys makes him think of Busan.

Thinking of Busan makes him think maybe he should just go home.

Maybe with was a bad idea all along, to allow himself to get wrapped in Jimin like this. He knew his own feelings going in. He shouldn’t have expected Jimin to simply fall for him just because.

But Jimin kissed him? Jimin took his hand? He doesn’t understand.

“Aigooo,” Jimin’s mom sighs after they finish lunch. “We should head to the next place before I get to tired to go!” She says it with so much happiness, Yoongi doesn’t think she could get tired if she tried.

They make their way to the car. But she makes everyone freeze at the entrance. “Excuse me! Excuse me!” She calls to someone walking in the park. “Can you take our picture, please?”

The other woman steps away from her family for a moment. She’s got three small children who look incredibly excited to be here. Yoongi smiles down at the little girl who keeps a tight grip on her hand. He used to be like that at her age.

Jimin’s father is the one to arrange everyone. “Jiminie, lean into Yoongi a little. Act like you like each other!” He jokes. “Yea,” Yoongi whispers. “Act.” He feels Jimin fidget against his side.

“Smile!!!” The woman says. Even though he has no clue what’s going on. Even though the signals are more mixed than they ever could have been, it’s their family photo. So, Yoongi plasters on the best smile he can conjure. He hopes it looks as nice as Jimin’s.

“Hyun,” Jimin’s mother says before he gets in the car. “Can you drive us so I can rest a little. Appa doesn’t want to. Yuna, you come too. I have those snacks you like.” “Ooh, snacks,” Yuna says, climbing out of the car.

Jimin and Yoongi are already in the front seat, buckled in. “Eomma, wait. I can drive and Hyun can take this car—” He reaches in the window to cup Jimin’s face. “No, way darling. This way you and Yoongi can have some alone time, we’ll meet you there.”

She turns with a small smirk in her smile. Yoongi sees her wink at him when she climbs in the car.

Jimin turns the music up when they start their drive. It’s some soft pop song that quite frankly is getting on Yoongi’s nerves. He turns it down. Jimin reaches forward and turns it back up. Yoongi turns it down again. Jimin sighs.

“Jimin,” Yoongi says. Jimin’s eyes are forward, which is fine, because he’s obviously driving, but he doesn’t even act like he heard Yoongi. “Jimin.” He says more firmly. Jimin sighs again.

“What the hell is going on?”

They’re at a stoplight. Jimin turns, his eyes casting on Yoongi. Yoongi realizes last night he was looking at him. Right now he’s looking through him. His stomach swims. “What the hell is going on?” He tries one more time.

It’s such a loaded question, Jimin thinks. He’s been trying to answer it for himself all day. What the hell /is/ going on?

He’d slipped into the bathroom. He’d watched Yoongi curl up, looking blissed out with pink lips and the cheeks to match. Jimin needed his own space. He would have gone outside if it wasn’t pouring rain. He shut the door and almost didn’t turn the light on.

But if he didn’t then maybe Yoongi might come knock. His soft knuckles on the door. He’d ask Jimin if he was okay and how was he to tell him he wasn’t?

They’d just had the most exciting, exhilarating make out session of his entire life. He would have stayed wrapped in that bubble forever if someone let him. But as soon as he came up for air, real air and the world gave way, realization set in.

Hoseok had said something once right after Jimin started working. He’d been in the office only three days at this point.

He hadn’t even been allowed in the recording studio yet. Most of his time was spent with outside workers and doing trainings. But Namjoon had told Hoseok to invite him to the Monday morning show.

Jimin had stepped in the room and froze right on spot. He’d only seen him in pictures on social media posted by the radio show. He had headphones on as his large hands worked the mixing board. He was sending songs through the queue up before they were set to go on.

His head dipped forward and his hair followed, revealing more of his face. Jimin let out the most audible, sad sigh. Min Yoongi was fucking beautiful.

They’d never met before. He heard about him, all over campus, on the show, and from Hoseok too. He was legendary as one of the most successful graduates of their department alongside Namjoon and Hoseok. Jimin couldn’t stop staring at him. “Fuck,” he whispered.

Hoseok shoved him in the room, having been stuck behind him as he was frozen in place.

He elbowed Jimin hard in the ribs. “Get a grip, Jiminie. You can’t be like all the other interns who try to fuck Yoongi Hyung, you’ll never succeed at Busan Blues that way. Don’t even think about him.”

So when his hands had gone for Yoongi’s belt, Hoseok’s words began circulating in his head. That day he swore he’d never be like those interns, going after success by getting Yoongi into their bed. And yet…here he was.

He was taking advantage of Yoongi’s kindness, mistaking it for affection, and doing exactly what he swore he wouldn’t. He felt sick with himself.

He sat on the other side of the door long enough that his legs felt numb. He hoped Yoongi was sleeping by now. He could go to sleep and in the morning he’d just act like it never happened. Yoongi would probably want that.

Jimin can’t believe he almost let his dick cloud his better judgment. Yoongi was…amazing. He agreed to this craziness and here Jimin was just reverting back to who he was in college, trying to fuck without a single thought. Yoongi deserved so much better.

He got up after a while. He washed his face again. His lips still felt swollen. He opened the door quietly and padded softly to the bedroom. Yoongi was on his side, hand splayed out, breaths even, perfect even in sleep.

Jimin thought about taking the couch, but Mingie was laying in the middle of it. He thought if he moved her she might hiss at him and wake Yoongi up. So, he gently climbed in. He turned away from Yoongi and let the overthinking run long enough to put himself to sleep.

He awoke to the sounds of Yoongi's deep voice. He cracked an eye to see him over at the desk, headphones on, clearly recording Busan Blues Radio.

Tuesdays were usually Yoongi's heaviest day. He did Tips n' Tricks Tuesday. It was a segment where listeners and social media followers called in to have Yoongi make up a tutorial on the spot for anything they could think of.

He was known for his vast knowledge on Busan Blues, always happy to share random facts and history he'd picked up over his lifetime. It was one of their more popular segments.

Jimin thought about capturing some shots for their twitter and instagram of Yoongi recording in his pajamas. They might get a kick out of how laid back he was.

Yoongi stretched, revealing a sliver of his stomach. Jimin remembered the goosebumps he caused on that skin last night. He bolted from the bed, cursing himself and his thoughts as he dressed.

He busied himself with helping his father through the breakfast spread. "Where's Yoongi this morning? Will he be up to going to the zoo?"

"He's working. We'll go after," Jimin responded, starting coffee. He moved around the kitchen quietly. Hyun and Yuna emerged from their rooms a bit later, immediately digging into the food. Jimin couldn't eat. He barely sipped his coffee.

His mother came and rubbed a hand down his back. "Jiminie, you're so quiet." "I'm fine," he said, he took another drink. He wished he could lean into her touch. He wished he could tell her that it was all a hoax and he was a horrible person and he was sorry.

Yoongi could return to his life and not pretend to be his boyfriend anymore because then Jimin wouldn't continue to develop whatever he was developing and have the want to take advantage of this situation. But he couldn't. So when he asked if he was fine, he snapped at her.

He was angry with himself. He apologized immediately. "You seem crabby, darling," his mother said. "Why don't you go get snacks for the trip. A drive always helps you clear your mind."

The drive hadn't helped. He drove most of the way without turning on music because he was so focused on how today was going to go. He needed to stay away from Yoongi. If he stayed away then maybe he wouldn't feel like this.

But it was hard. Yoongi was being so...kind. All day long he'd try to talk to Jimin or involve him or even be cute together like Jimin knew they were supposed to be doing.

But he couldn't. Every touch felt like betrayal to Yoongi. He was supposed to be pretending, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

Hyun noticed. Because Hyun noticed everything. "What the hell is going on with you and Yoongi?" he asked in their go-cart. Jimin shrugged. "We had an argument," he lied.

Hyun rolled his eyes. "Well you better make up. You don't even seem like you like him and it's too late now, Jimin, we all really like him. He's great, and that's coming from me."

Jimin knew he was great. That was the problem. He was great and he deserved better. He deserved real. He deserved not Jimin.

The drive now isn't helping either. He's staring past Yoongi out the window because if he meets his eyes he knows he'll fall apart. He doesn't know what the hell is going on. "Last night everything was fine," Yoongi says quietly.

"Everything was not fine," Jimin turns to put his eyes on the road as the light turns green. "Oh."

They keep driving. Yoongi doesn’t know what to say. If everything wasn’t fine then maybe they weren’t on the same page. He knew that it had been…a long while since he’d kissed anyone. Of course Jimin, beautiful Jimin, had different standards.

He sinks down in his seat for the rest of the trip

Jimin pulls onto the street of Gyulhyanggi Farm. With the windows down, the smell of fresh tangerines floods the car instantly. Jimin takes a deep breath to center himself. This place smells more like home than others.

“You said tangerines were your favorite fruit,” Jimin still won’t look at him. “This is the best place to get them.”

He tips backwards onto the headrest of his seat. His parents, Hyun, and Yuna still haven’t arrived.

Jimin keeps his eyes closed for a long while and allows the low music, the tangerine kissed air, and cool breeze to ground him.

“Did I do something wrong?” Yoongi speaks and it startles Jimin so much he opens his eyes. Yoongi’s twisting his hands in his lap. “Did you not like h-how I was kissing you–or—,” Yoongi pauses, but it’s the tone of his voice that almost breaks Jimin.

“I just want to know what made everything not fine,” he looks up, “because I really thought everything was fine...more than fine.”

“You think your kissing is bad?” It’s the only thing Jimin asks. “Do you think my kissing is bad?” Jimin rolls his eyes and dips his head back again. “Fuck! No, Yoongi. Your kissing isn’t bad!”

“Oh.” “That’s the problem!” Jimin says. “Oh.”

Jimin turns to him. “Your kissing is quite the opposite of bad, actually. It’s too good.” “Oh.” Jimin sighs. “Stop saying oh.” “I don’t know what else to say. I’m confused.” “Me too,” Jimin chews on his lip. He sighs. “Hoseokie Hyung told me not to sleep with you.”

Yoongi sits forward so quickly the seatbelt close lines him. He chokes, making a horrible sound, and Jimin reaches forward to undo the buckle. Again his hands brush Yoongi’s stomach and he just doesn’t know why touching Yoongi has such an effect on him but he moves away.

Yoongi catches his breath and coughs. “He told you not to sleep with me?! When?” “When I started at Busan Blues.” Yoongi’s eyes bulge. “A year ago?!!”

Jimin nods. “He said that every intern tries to sleep with you. I didn’t want to be like those interns, Yoongi I swear!” He undoes his own seatbelt so he can turn to the side. “I swear I’m nothing but grateful you’re here helping me, fuck I took advantage of that and you—”

“Stop.” Yoongi says. But Jimin keeps going. “And—and when we were making out m. God I swear it was good for me. It was too good actually, that’s the problem. I know you said we couldn’t blame it on the alcohol but maybe that’s why I got bold and I made a bad choice and—”

“Stop!” Yoongi says again, only a little louder this time. Jimin does. “Hoseok is a fucking idiot.”

Jimin’s quiet. “What?” “Or maybe he’s a fucking genius, I don’t know.” Jimin furrows his brows. Now he’s confused. Hoseok is Yoongi’s best friend, the platonic love of his life probably. Jimin knows he has Yoongi’s best interest at heart.

“I don’t know why he said that to you…a year ago. Did you tell him you wanted to sleep with me?” “No.” Jimin replies.

“Not that I don’t. I mean—I do, but like I don’t ??! I just thought you were attractive. Really fucking attractive hyung. I think I was drooling it was embarrassing.” Yoongi laughs and suddenly Jimin can breathe again.

“The interns do try to sleep with me. But I’ve never cared about any of them. None of them caught my eye. None of them were you.” “Oh.”

Yoongi blows air through his nose. He reaches forward and rests a hand on Jimin’s knee. He hopes it’s okay. “You aren’t taking advantage of me. I’m here because I want to be. I said yes to this trip, to this whole crazy fucking scheme because I already liked you.” “Oh.”

Yoongi rubs his thumb across Jimin’s knee. “I thought you said to stop saying oh.” Jimin smiles softly. He licks his lips and takes a deep breath. Something eases inside of him. Yoongi keeps rubbing his knee. “Okay. You liked me.” “Like, actually. Still do.”

Jimin nods. He smashes his lips together and keeps nodding quietly. Yoongi starts laughing. “Don’t laugh” Jimin whines unhappily. “I’m processing. I thought I was a horrible person for wanting to sleep with the person I was fake dating. You do see how horrible it sounds, right?”

“It’s a little horrible. Maybe it means I’m a good actor.” “I don’t think so. You jump when I hug you.” Yoongi gasps. “I said that no one ever hugs me!”

“I’ll hug you more,” Jimin offers. “If that’s okay with you?” “Yeah, let’s start now.”

They stand in front of the car, toe to toe. Jimin’s looking down at their shoes because he can’t look at Yoongi yet. He feels a little stupid. For once, Yoongi’s the one to initiate affection. He leans forward and slips his arms under Jimin’s. He holds Jimin close.

Jimin rests his head on his shoulder and with a quiet sigh, he allows himself to give in.

He hugs Yoongi long and tight. “I’m sorry I’m so bad at this.” “It’s fine.” “I can’t believe you thought I thought you were a bad kisser.” He feels Yoongi’s laughter against his chest.

"Where's your family?" Yoongi asks. They still haven't let go. Jimin shrugs against him. "I think they left us on purpose. Hyun thinks we're fighting." "We were," Yoongi says. Jimin nuzzles his nose in Yoongi's neck. "Not anymore."

He holds Yoongi for a long while. The breeze rises and the scent of tangerines gets stronger. Jimin thinks he won’t be able to smell them again without thinking of this moment.

“You seriously left us alone?!” Jimin hollers into the phone. “Anytime someone says I’m sneaky and scheming I’m going to say it runs in the family.”

“It was Eomma’s idea,” Hyun confesses. “She told me to turn the car around. You’re not allowed to come back until the two of you have made up.”

Of course it was his mother who conspired to get the two of them to reconcile. Jimin throws up his hand and huffs. “Is it in our blood to get into other people’s business?”

“Appa says bring back extra tangerines for all of us!” The line goes dead as Hyun hangs up.

Yoongi is standing a few steps away from him waiting to enter the fruit farm, fingers flying quickly on his phone. Jimin emerges and peers over his shoulder. He laughs at Yoongi’s texts.

“Please leave him in suspense,” Jimin says. “I’m not texting him again for the rest of the trip,” Yoongi slides his phone in his pocket. “Let’s go pick tangerines.” Jimin’s belly swoops with butterflies when his gums poke out in his smile.

Jimin takes his hand, slipping his fingers underneath like Yoongi likes. “Okay, fake boyfriend, let’s do this.”

Gaemomul Tangerine Farm was one of Jimin’s favorite places in all of Jeju. Many of the activities were for children, but even in his teenage years he enjoyed feeling the animals, riding the train, and enjoying the most delicious tangerines in all of South Korea.

He and Yoongi check in and get a basket for picking. “Wait, so how does this work?” Yoongi asks. He’s already standing in the middle of a tangerine filled field, eyes wondrous and bright. “How do we pay for them?”

Jimin smiles and picks one off the stem near him. “At the end. We can take as many as we want, they just weigh them.”

“As many as I want?” Yoongi smiles like a child. Jimin giggles. “Yes, just grab a bunch.” “I think you underestimate how much I like tangerines. It’s a thing on our show you know, all of the listeners even know.”

Jimin picks another then goes to stand closer to Yoongi. “Is that why you have so many tangerine themed things in your office and workspace?” Jimin had noticed it a few months into working. Yoongi would emerge holding a tangerine pen or a mug with a giant tangerine on it.

He found it a little silly and never really understood the meaning behind it. “Hoseok told the story on air of the time I ate too many tangerines in one sitting and made myself sick.” A burst of laughter exits Jimin. “You did not!”

Yoongi holds out a small tangerine and puts it on their shared basket. “I did. But the kicker is, I ate more the next day. I love tangerine season so much.”

Jimin shakes his head. “We’ll get a ton and then if we run out we can always come back.” “Fuck,” Yoongi grins so wide. “I love Jeju.”

They pick tangerines for a while. Jimin takes out his phone to record a few videos for the show. They promised Jungkook they would vlog. So when it’s time to ride the small rollercoaster-like train Jimin takes his phone out.

But Yoongi isn’t smiling. He’s holding on to the seat in front of him with blank eyes. There’s two other families on, but for the most part the farm isn’t that busy on a Tuesday afternoon.

“You said rollercoasters make you sick but this isn’t fast or that high, I swear it feels more like a train,” Jimin tries to reassure him. Yoongi jumps when the train begins to move, his hand clasps around Jimin’s.

The vehicle starts the slow process of taking them towards the other side of the farm. Jimin’s thumb cascades lightly against Yoongi’s knuckles. He visibly relaxes. “Okay, it’s not bad,” he gives a silly chuckle. He doesn’t let go of Jimin’s hand, though.

“So tell me something about you that I don’t know,” Yoongi looks at Jimin. There’s a light dusting of freckles on the bridge of his nose from his new sun exposure. It makes him look more attractive.

“Well,” Jimin says but shrugs. “There isn’t really anything that comes to mind.” “I tell you my entire traumatic life story and you’ve got nothing?”

“My mom almost died when I was little,” he says. Yoongi wasn’t expecting that at all.

He turns to Jimin with a softened expression. Yoongi’s moms were his lifeline. He couldn’t deal with them being hours away, let alone almost wiped from this life. “It was some sort of accident. She doesn’t like to talk about it. That’s why we go on these trips,” Jimin sighs.

“When I was a teenager there was a year that I didn’t want to come, my twentieth birthday, actually,” he says. “We come for my birthday because I guess she recovered around this time of year,” the train pauses at a part of the field for the two families to get off.

Yoongi and Jimin opt to stay on. “Anyway, for my twentieth birthday I threw a fit. I wanted to go out and drink you know, because I was of age. I said I wasn’t coming..and I didn’t,” Jimin looks down at his lap.

Yoongi has only seen him shameful a few times. Usually it happened when he was working with Namjoon and he messed something up. Jimin took so much pride in his success.

“But I kept feeling guilty. She gave me this life, you know? And I’d almost lost her even though I don’t remember it, but I just don’t know what I would have done if I grew up without her.” It’s Yoongi’s turn to stroke Jimin’s knuckles. “So did you end up coming?”

“I took a flight at two in the morning. I showed up at the house sobbing, apologizing and telling her how much I loved her. She had seaweed soup already waiting for me.” Chills rake up Yoongi’s spine.

“She wouldn’t even let me keep apologizing. She just hugged me, told me to shut up and eat my soup and then she put me to bed. Tucked me in like I was five and in that bed for the first time all over again. “You’re a good son,” Yoongi says. “They’re lucky to have you.”

Jimin gives a gentle smile. “They meddle in my life, smother me, and gave me the most annoying little brother in the world,” he looks off into the horizon with a longing in his gaze, “but I love them more than life, and I’m not good at loving anything at all.”

His eyes meet Yoongi’s when he says the last part.

The train comes to a halt at the end of the farm. There’s a giant greenhouse in the middle of the field and another large enclosure to the right. “Are those…” Yoongi’s voice goes up an octave in surprise, “alapacs??!” Jimin grins. He knew this place way a great idea.

They get dozens of videos of the two of them feeding the animals. Yoongi is over the moon and Jimin isn’t sure he’s seen him this happy before. He talks to the animals in small voices, a different one for each.

He gives them food and pets and wows each time one of them does anything at all. Happiness has a way of bringing the innocence out of him. Jimin finds it incredibly endearing.

“My appa texted to ask me to get strawberries. He doesn’t text so it must be important,” Jimin slides his phone in his jeans. “Should we pick some then head back to the house for dinner?”

Yoongi pats the dogs head that’s leaning on his leg. There’s animals that just roam through the enclosure and one of them took a liking to him. “Sure, let’s go.”

“Oh!! Let me add a picture of you to my story,” Jimin says. “Pose with the strawberries.”

“Ohh, excuse me?” A girl working in the garden waves at Jimin. “Do you two want a picture together?” He looks at Yoongi. Other than the pictures that his mom took, they don’t have any pictures together on either of their social medias. “Hyun will think it’s great.”

Yoongi nods quietly. “Yes, of course,” he turns to the woman. “Would you please?” Jimin holds out his phone.

The two of them stand next to each other. Jimin slings an arm around Yoongi’s waist. She clicks a few photos and then hands it back. “You two look very cute together,” she smiles before going back to her task.

Jimin swipes through the photos, choosing the best one. He can’t help but notice, Yoongi just looks so happy.

Yoongi falls asleep on the car on the way back to the house. Jimin imagines that between the early morning shoot, the exhausting afternoon, and maybe still a bit of recovery, the nap is warranted.

He drives quietly, allowing his thoughts to overtake the silence. He’d been stupid today. He’d left Yoongi doubting that he was anything less than amazing, all because of his own worries.

He made himself swear last time that he would be a better communicator. For Yoongi, who was naturally quiet himself but wise and observant, he’d have to try harder. He’d do it though, for Yoongi he would.

“Yoongi You’re invited to every family vacation for the rest of forever,” Yuna drools over the strawberry in her mouth. “I saw Jimin’s story. I can’t believe you managed to pick all the best ones!” Hyun rolls his eyes. “Yuna is obsessed with strawberries.”

“Yoongi’s obsessed with tangerines,” Jimin says. “No wonder they get along.”

Yoongi smiles from behind the counter. He’s helping chop vegetables for the pajeon batter. Jimin’s mother is standing next to him at the counter, mixing as he tosses them in every few seconds.

His father is on the back porch grilling kalbi. Jimin’s very excited for food.

The table is set and banchans are passed from hand to hand. Their dinner is alight with energy.

“So did you like the farm?” Jimin’s father asks. Yoongi swallows and nods. “Oh, yes, very much. I didn’t know so many beautiful places existed in Jeju.”

“It’s an island of many adventures,” Yuna says. “Tomorrow we’ll do the best one.”

Yoongi turns to Jimin but he shrugs. “I never pick the activities. If it were up to me I’d lay in bed for twelve hours straight watching a drama with snacks.”

JiYoung sighs. “Jiminie comes here every year and complains about how much we do. But maybe if you didn’t lay around so much at home…” she teases. “Yoongi-ah,” Yuna pipes up, “what activities do you like? You should pick some.”

“Yah, Jimin. Why haven’t you been telling us what Yoongi likes?” Hyun says. He’s started drinking at dinner, they all are. But Hyun is much more impacted by alcohol since he hasn’t been drinking all that long. “What does he like, hyung?” There’s a hint of challenge in his voice.

Jimin picks at his food. He tries to think back to things he’s learned through Busan Blues. “Umm..” “I like basketball and pretty scenery.” “He likes to take videos,” Jimin says. “Pictures,” Yoongi corrects.

“Right, pictures. And um, he likes animals.” “Cats right. Your cat is downstairs. Why don’t you ever bring her up to the main house?” Yuna asks.

“God, absolutely not,” Jimin says. “Mingie is a nightmare.” Yoongi scowls, which makes Jimin laugh because he just looks cute, not intimidating at all. “She is not! She’s just antisocial.” Jimin rolls his eyes.

As usual, Yoongi helps clean up dinner. Jimin tries but he pushes him from the kitchen. “You’ll find someway to get hurt.” Jimin frowns and plops down on the couch. He lays his head in his mom’s lap. “Appa is taking all of Yoongi’s attention,” he huffs.

She laughs and runs her fingers through his hair. “Appa is very happy to have him around, I think. I’m glad the two of you worked things out.”

Jimin turns to look up at her. “That was evil of you.” “Oh nooo the evil mother works wonders to make her son happy, please make it a headline,” she smiles down at him. Jimin giggles.

They retreat to Jimin’s bedroom early. Yoongi has to get up for Busan Blues again. “Namjoon says that there’s an idol coming on the show when we get back,” he’s sifting through his emails while they lay in bed.

They’re not touching. Yoongi knows they had their talk and they very well could be, but he doesn’t know how or if he should initiate it. “Which one?” Jimin asks.

“He hasn’t said. I guess we’ll find out when we get back.”

Jimin sighs and closes his eyes. “I can’t believe tomorrow we’ll already be halfway through the trip.” Yoongi nods quietly and puts his phone down, having responded to everything he needed to. “I told Yuna that we should go to the caves tomorrow.”

Jimin turns to him. “The caves?!” “Manjanggul. Hyun said your family had only gone once when you were really little. He was the one that suggested it.”

Jimin growled low in his chest. “My brother is trying to kill me.” “Why?” Yoongi laughs.

It’s Jimin who scoots closer. Without a word he placed his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. He takes his hand and starts playing with his fingers. “I’m afraid of bats.”

Yoongi scoots closer. “Bats?” Jimin is tucked against him now, body languid almost on top of Yoongi. Yoongi makes Jimin let go of his hand just to throw an arm around his waist. Jimin’s skin tingles.

Jimin groans and rolls his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just, I’m afraid of bats. Something happened when I was little in those caves. I’ve never gone back.”

Yoongi’s nose starts to graze along the bottom of Jimin’s chin. Goosebumps begin to arise. “Okay,” his voice is a whisper. “We don’t have to go. We can lay in bed for twelve hours instead.” “A man after my own heart,” Jimin giggles. “I am,” Yoongi says.

Jimin looks up at him. His eyes are terrified. “Yoongi—I,” he sighs unhappily. “I’m not good at this stuff. I don’t, I can’t promise I’ll be worth it.” “We don’t have to label anything right now,” Yoongi says. Because he can see it, the fight or flight look in Jimin’s eyes.

He used to have that look, mostly flight, the second anyone mentioned commitment or relationships. The terms boyfriend or girlfriend or significant other used to make him nauseous. “We’ll just keep doing this. We’ve easily convinced your family we’re together,” he says.

“We have,” Jimin says. Yoongi’s nose is back at his chin so he can’t see what he looks like. He hopes he’s not disappointed. “That’s all we came here for, right. If the rest follows, it follows. Let’s just,” Yoongi plants a warm, wet kiss to Jimin’s jaw. His belly goes hot.

He starts to suck at the divot there’s. “Let’s just take it slow, jagiya.” Jimin begins to unravel.

Okaaaaaaay. That’s the end of chapter 6, can you believe. Thank you for sticking with me. I’m going to plug my ko-fi for the first time ever. But here’s my cc too ofc. ko-fi.com/taeaus curiouscat.live/taesaus

Let’s also do a quick voting.

tags update: - fwb to lovers - smut - top!yg/bottom!jm - denial of feelings - each scene is blocked with emojis so if smut isn’t your thing you can skip it! - possibly more tags to come

7.

Yoongi sucks for a moment until Jimin makes a sound between a groan and a whine. He bares his neck more, stretching his body to give Yoongi more access. Yoongi chuckles against his throat. “So can we take it slow?” He pulls away from him.

Jimin lay fully clothed next to him, the spot blooming already on his milky skin. His eyes are half open, gaze low on Yoongi. “Slow?” It comes out like a hush.

“Let’s just leave feelings aside. I feel like we can benefit from this situation in other ways,” Yoongi’s hand goes out to caress Jimin’s hip where a sliver of exposed skin has appeared.

Jimin laughs, low in his throat, his head thrown back slowly. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Yoongi purses his lips. “Good old fashioned friends with benefits. Fake dating on the side.”

Jimin ponders it for a moment. If Yoongi was really willing to put feelings away and purely focus on the physicality that had clearly been blossoming between them, Jimin could probably get behind that. “Can you do that?”

It was a selfish question. Jimin liked him. He was starting to care about him. But he wasn’t ready for what Yoongi might be ready for. He could settle for friends with benefits. He couldn’t commit to anything else.

Yoongi nods, his thumb still trailing against Jimin’s skin. “Yeah. I think it’ll work. Mutually exclusive benefits in my opinion.”

“Okay,” Jimin says, there’s a lazy smile on his face. “It’s a deal.”

Yoongi moves to hover over him. He leans down, eyes capturing Jimin’s. “Every good deal is sealed with a kiss,” Jimin catches him off guard when he says it. He’s the one to lean up and close the distance between their lips.

It’s slow. Yngi’s breath is hot inside Jmin’s mouth. Their languid lips meet and Jimin stretches up to deep the kiss. His tongue works his way to meet Yngi’s, lapping. Yoongi cuts off to bite his lip. His head dips down to nip at his jawline.

Jmin makes tiny sounds with each bite. “You c-can’t leave marks,” he pants. Yngi pulls away and frowns. “No marks?” “My Appa will kill us,” he replies.

Yngi sighes. In five days time they’d be back in Busan. In five days he would leave marks across Jmin like a necklace. “Fine,” he grits his teeth together.

Jmin goes back to kissing him, pulling Yngi down so all of his weight is pressed against him. He likes it like this, being completely enveloped in all of Yngi.

They start to get warm quickly. Jmin keeps his back arched and Yngi’s hand holds him there, but he can feel the sweat collecting in the divot. Yngi breaks away from the kiss which makes Jmin whine. “Are you getting too hot, do you want this off?”

Jmin hums. “So You’re the care taking type?” Yngi blows air through his nostrils. It tickles Jmin’s lips. He wants to be kissing him again already. “Maybe. Your pleasure is important to me. You can’t be pleased if you’re uncomfortable.”

Jmin sighs. “I’m fine. I’d be better if we went back to making out.” His fingers go up to tug Yngi down by how hair. He’s happy to oblige.

They kiss until their lips go numb and they’re too aroused to not do anything about it. Jmin is straddling Yngi, riding him as Yngi whispers in his ear. “Mmm, you’re so good,” he mumbles as Jmin’s lips break away for a moment.

Jmin thinks he could come like this, fully clothed. He feels like he should. He didn’t come on this trip with any protection and he doubts Yngi has any either. He picks up pace and adds more pressure. Yngi’s panting.

“Jmin, w-wait,” his eyes are lidded, pupils almost blown. “Fuck,” he removes his hands from his hips.

Jmin stills. “We can stop if you want to, we don’t have to do anything–”

“No!” Yngi’s eyes fly open. “You’re just so fucking hard right now and I can feel you but I want to feel more, but I don’t want to come so far, it’s been a minute, you know?”

Jmin realizes what he means. “Ohh,” he giggles a little. “I’m not laughing at you.”

Yngi growls. “Sure,” he throws an arm over his eyes.

Jmin leans down, purposely pressing his erection into Yngi’s crotch. He grabs his arm and kisses the spot next to his mouth. “I’m not,” he tucks his hips forward, rolling his ass in the air.

Yngi groans. “You’re teasing me.”

Jmin giggles and noses his way into Yngi’s neck. He licks a strip from there to his jaw, nipping at the sharp angles. Each sting makes his cock twitch. “Brat,” Yngi says. Jmin nips harder.

Jmin rides him slowly, the only sound that can be heard is their lips smacking loudly in Jmin’s bedroom. Yngi starts to grow uncomfortable in his pants. “Jminah,” his voice is strained.

Jmin freezes. “I should suck you off, hyung.” His lips are so pink and swollen, Yngi imagines them wrapped around him. “Y-yeah, okay.”

Yngi’s dragging his pants down quickly, unable to contain how much he wants this. “On bottom,” Yngi commands. “Wanna fuck your mouth.”

Jmin grins, lips still glistening with Yngi’s saliva. “Oh, please, hyung.”

It’s Yngi’s turn to straddle Jmin this time, his legs on either side of his cheeks. They’re red with heat. Yngi thinks he looks so fucking gorgeous like this. “Touch yourself.”

“So bossy,” Jmin says. The words ghost over Yngi’s tip and he almost reacts by shoving it in, but he reminds himself to be patient. It’s been too long since he’s come from anyone but himself, but he can do this. He can ride it out. He’s not a teenage boy for godsake.

Yngi didn’t know what it would do to him having Jmin’s small hand wrapped around his cock, but the second it happens he’s so aroused it hurts. Jmin’s so slow, on purpose. His tongue plays with the slit, moving up and down as saliva collects there.

He slurps, humming as he takes Yngi in his mouth.

Yngi almost moans out loud, too loud. He’s terrified someone might hear them. He bites down on his lip and thrusts himself forward into Jmin’s mouth. Jmin’s so good, he takes all of him easily, barely a hint of struggle in his features.

Jmin bobs, quickly, taking more and more of Yngi as if somehow he'll disappear. He's desperate for him. “J-j-Jmin,” Yngi stutters. “M’close, s-slow down.”

Jmin comes off with a pop. He sucks hard, swallowing the precum. “You taste so good, hyung.”

Yngi sighs. “Are you getting off? I can’t tell if you’re enjoying this.”

Sex with people for the first time can feel so awkward, especially since the two aren’t used to being intimate. Yngi doesn’t know his favorite pace, the places to touch to drive him wild, the tempo that makes him scream. He wants to learn all of him.

Jmin gives a huff of a laugh. “Am I enjoying this?” he rolls his eyes. “Hyung, hell yes. Let me make you come, that’s the greatest pleasure for me.”

Come he does. Jmin gets up on his knees and grips Yoongi’s left hip tight as he bobs up and down, making deep gulping noises as the pace picks up. His other hand strokes his own cock in unison.

Yngi’s got one hand in his hair, but Jmin’s moving so fast he isn’t even really guiding him, he just needs something to hold onto.

He can’t even give a warning as his stomach tightens harshly, heat spreading down into his groin. He doesn’t mean to, but he presses himself further into Jmin’s mouth, losing his balance a little as he loses himself in Jmin. Jmin’s jaw opens wider.

Jmin flexes his throat muscles around Yngi and he stills. “J-jmin, jmin, jminie I’m-” he unravels. He spills into Jmin, too much and too fast, it leaks out of the sides of his mouth, but he swallows as much as he can. Yngi’s legs shake with the force of his orgasm.

His own hand has stopped moving underneath him and as Yngi’s knee goes back to adjust his holding, he rests in something wet. His stomach squeezes again, coming even more as he realizes Jmin’s reached orgasm too.

He strokes and strokes until he feels like he’s rung Yngi dry. Only when he’s satisfied, Jmin collapses onto his back, completely spent. There’s cum already drying down his neck. He’s grinning happily, blissed out and proud of himself. “Hyung,” he giggles.

“You weren’t lying, that was so…quick.”

— end smut —

Yoongi shoves his shoulder when he falls next to him. They need to clean up. They’re both soiled with bodily fluids, sweat, and there’s the smell of arousal in the room that they need to air out. But he feels like he just ran a marathon.

Yngi still tries to attach his mouth to Jmin's neck as a thank you. Jmin squirms away with a laugh. "My appa--" "Has probably given a hickey before."

Jimin fakes a gag. “I think I hate you,” he says. His voice is so lazy and Yoongi can tell he’s barely keeping his eyes open.

“I highly doubt that will ever be true,” Yoongi starts to push him towards the edge of the bed. “Now, get up. We cannot fall asleep covered in both of our cum.”

Jimin whines. It makes Yoongi want to kiss him again, but he’s too tired to move. “I’m tired,” he sighs.

“Up,” Yoongi says. Jimin doesn’t budge. “Jimin,” his voice is stern and low. Jimin’s belly pools with heat again.

“Hyung, I’m just wondering….” he sits up on his elbow, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. His eyes wander curiously over Yoongi. “Did you bring condoms with you?”

Yoongi’s mouth drops open just slightly. He searches Jimin’s face, but he’s just wearing an amused smirk. “Uh–”

“Because I didn’t,” Jimin admits.

Yoongi swallows. How bad does it make him look if he confesses the truth? “Well I mean everyone should go on vacation prepared for–”

He’s cut off by Jimin’s laughter, bubbling out of him high and loud. “Oh my god, you’re that into me?” he teases. Yoongi shoves him off the bed.

Jimin lands with a hard thump on his ass “I hate you,” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “You’re such a brat.”

Jimin pops up from the floor, not even upset to have been knocked down. He drags Yoongi out, pulling him to the bathroom, but he laughs the whole way there.

After they’ve showered (together) and made the bed (only Yoongi), Jimin falls in dramatically like he’s never been more tired in his life. Yoongi laughs as he collapses next to him. “You’d think you’d never given a blowjob before.”

“If we want to talk about brand new to blowjobs we should probably talk about you coming so fast,” Jimin says. Yoongi can still see his smug smirk even though the room is only lit by moonlight.

“If you’re going to tease me forever maybe we should stop here,” Yoongi quips back.

Jimin leans over and gives him a full kiss, pulling off by tugging Yoongi’s lip with his teeth. “No way. That’s probably just a testament to my talent, huh, hyung?” He plants another wet kiss under Yoongi’s jaw. He shudders.

“You’d love to hear me praise you,” Yoongi’s voice is rougher.

“I would,” Jimin sighs. He slips his arms under Yoongi’s and buries his nose in his chest, rubbing it back and forth with a yawn. “Another night, though,” he yawns again. “M’ sleepy.”

“Okay, jagiya,” Yoongi says softly and Jimin freezes. “I’ll praise you more tomorrow,” he makes his tone lighter.

Jimin sighs heavily. He looks up at Yoongi. “Friends with benefits don’t do this, you know,” he gestures to his hold on Yoongi’s torso. “But I want to, if that’s okay.” “It’s okay.”

“Just don’t want to give mixed signals. I’m a whore for cuddling, that’s all.” Yoongi swallows. He rubs a hand down his back for good measure. “It’s okay. Sleep, Jiminah. We’ve got a fun day tomorrow.”

Jimin’s quiet thirty seconds later, breaths shallow and long. Yoongi stays awake for another hour, holding him, brushing his fingers along his spine, pushing the hair off his forehead.

He counts the moles on his cheek and neck and memorizes the curve of his lips until they’re the last thing he remembers when he finally drifts off.

Mixed signals? Min Yoongi’s never heard of them…

okaaaay. that's officially the end of chapter six! can you believe we're at 43k? i'm taking suggetions and ideas for future vacation activities and as always would love your feedback over on cc i love you i'll be back with more updates..TOMORROW curiouscat.live/taesaus

seven: days six & seven

Yoongi awakes with Jimin’s ass pressed up against his front. His alarm is going off underneath his pillow and he can’t even break through the haze of his sleep to register it, because Jimin’s ass is firmly pressed against his front.

Which is causing Yoongi to have a very normal, very scientific morning reaction…

“Yoongi oh my god!” Jimin grumbles sleepily. Yoongi thinks he's talking about his body but then Jimin starts fumbling around for Yoongi's phone. He twists his body around, slowly, which makes everything ten times worse and Yoongi holds his breath.

He tries to think about anything…anything in the world so he can stand up out of this bed with his dignity.

Jungkook’s gross food combinations, Hoseok doing that incredibly horrible drunk dance he does, Namjoon going on about quantum physics but also why water is wet at the same time.

The alarm stays untouched, Jimin's given up finding it. Five more seconds….Yoongi thinks he’s got it under control and….Jimin makes a low level whine a bit like last night.

Yoongi almost passes out from lack of oxygen.

He manages to turn off the alarm and Jimin goes completely still, which allows Yoongi to gulp deep breaths and remind himself that he's not a teenage boy...again.

He hadn't thought about the implications of starting something physical with Jimin then being constantly attracted to him. He fears he's in danger.

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Yoongi hadn’t ever been a morning person before joining the radio world during University. He still thinks he isn’t a morning person when he drags himself out of bed bright and early on Thursday morning to broadcast Busan Blues. Hoseok is out sick.

Yoongi thinks it's either due to Seokjin’s timely break beginning this week, too much alcohol, or a combination of both. Either way, he’s running the show with Namjoon from afar which means he has to be extra witty.

Jimin’s back to sleep like a rock when Yoongi can finally get out of bed. It's 4:40 and he has fifteen minutes to make coffee and get back down.

He tries to shake him awake, hoping Jimin can shoot some content, but he shoves back with a deep grumble. “No, go away,” he whines firmly.

Yoongi rolls his eyes with a sigh. “Jiminah, Jungkook says we have to shoot content today.”

They had been too busy on Wednesday with Jimin’s family, doing their annual game marathon. Yoongi hadn't even been warned about it.

He and Jimin had woken up later in the day, the activities from the previous night had caused extra exhaustion and Yoongi didn't have to broadcast on Wednesday, Namjoon had said.

Jimin had been the one to wake him up with a hand on his belly that caused warmth to pool beneath instantly. "We should make out a little, or a lot," he suggested. His eyes were barely open. "We should," Yoongi agreed.

Jimin had climbed on top of him, straddling Yoongi's hips with his tight thighs. He dipped down and gave Yoongi a warm, open mouthed kiss. Yoongi held his tiny waist firmly.

Jimin was a great kisser. He knew when to apply pressure, when to come up for air, and used just the right amount of teeth. Yoongi grew hard beneath him.

Jimin pressed his ass down harder which earned him a delicious groan. Jimin's hand had just started to travel down south towards Yoongi's pajama pants when Hyun and Yuna came bursting through the door.

“OH MY GOD!” Jimin screamed, rolling off of Yoongi and pulling the covers over both of them although they were fully closed. “Hyun you’re supposed to fucking knock!” He yelled.

Yoongi was mortified. His ears were so hot he thought they might take off in flight. It took everything in him not to slip down under the comforter and disappear for the rest of the trip. He could live their happily.

Hyun shrugged. “I tried calling your phone, twice.” Yuna held up a package of uno cards. “It’s tournament day.”

Jimin had sat up with a gasp. He grabbed Yoongi’s hand, pulling hard to get him up. “Holy shit, today?! We never even talked about it!” He hopped out of bed. “Appa said it’s going to rain all day long,” Hyun said. “Better get your ass upstairs, Uno starts in five.

He and Yuna ran back out of the room as though they hadn’t walked in on Jimin just seconds away from giving Yoongi a handjob. Yoongi looked at Jimin with unblinking eyes and his mouth slightly parted. He was still sat in bed while Jimin was changing clothes.

“Yoongi-ah, let’s go! This is a teams thing. For years I’ve been stuck on my parents team, now I finally, finally have someone to help me best Hyun and Yuna.”

“What the hell os tournament day?” Yoongi asked, rolling his eyes as he got out. He walked over to the couch to pet Mingie who had somehow slept through all of the commotion.

“It’s our family game day. Each year on usually a rainy day we do a full day of games. It’s either board games, trivia, and card games. At the end of the day whoever loses has to cook a full feast for the winners. Hyun and Yuna won last year, I have to beat them.”

Jimin threw a sweatshirt at Yoongi. “You need to get dressed we have to go.” Yoongi went towards the bathroom to change and Jimin laughed. “I literally sucked your dick last night, you can change here.” Yoongi had to admit, he had a point.

The day was long. After five rounds of Uno, Yoongi won against Jimin’s appa with a strategically kept wild and draw 4 card. This allowed for he and Jimin to advance to pick the next game.

Yoongi chooses the dalgona game, because he’s craving something sweet. Jimin’s tiny fingers helped them win the second round by being able to pick off tiny pieces of the sweet honey comb.

They lost the third game, though. Pop-Up Pirate was all based around luck and it didn’t happen to be on their side. Jimin cursed the tiny swords over and over while his Eomma clapped happily as her husband pulled them out correctly.

Hyun and Yuna were in third place and they weren’t happy. Hyun started teasing that everyone was cheating. “Jimin you haven’t won in two years this is ridiculous!” Jimin laughed and filled his eyes. “Yoongi must be my lucky charm.”

The tournament lasted all day and got heated in it’s finally moments of playing Sorry! Jimin rolled one two many and he wasn’t able to bring his last piece home. Hyun and Yuna were one piece behind them.

The final point came down to Yoongi. He picked up the die to shake it inside his hand. “Wait!” Jimin grabbed his wrist. He brought it up close to his mouth and for a second Yoongi was confused.

He leaned forward, pursing his lips. He looked up from underneath his lashes, straight into Yoongi’s eyes as he took a deep breath and gave a sultry blow. Yoongi’s brain short circuited.

“For good luck,” Jimin said innocently. Yoongi tried to act normal when he shook the die inside his park palm. He rolled it and dropped it on the board. Jimin screamed, it was exactly three, the number of spaces they needed to win the game.

Jimin tackled him into a hug, throwing Yoongi’s body backwards onto the floor. “We did it, Hyung! We won!”

Jimin teased Hyun and Yuna the whole time as they tried to navigate the kitchen. Hyun ended up throwing a carrot slice at Jimin which had him chasing him around the house, threatening to kill him. Yoongi just watched in awe and deep, shoulder shaking laughter.

He was so happy on Jimin’s family vacation.

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But because they were in the house for the entire precious day, they were low on content for Friday’s vlog. Jimin’s birthday was tomorrow, so they wouldn’t have time to film. That entire day was going to be packed with activities.

Yoongi had had a conversation with Jimin’s family when he slipped away to the bathroom to plan him a surprise. There was no way they could fit in extra time for filming.

“Jimin-ah,” Yoongi shakes his shoulder again. “Get up.”

“Absolutely not,” Jimin mumbles into the pillow. “Goodbye, hyung.”

“What if I give you a blowjob?” Yoongi suggests. Jimin cracks an eye open. “I’m listening?”

Yoongi laughs. “I knew that would get your attention. But we don’t have time. Up, now. I’ll be back with coffee. If you’re not out of bed I’m dragging you out.” Jimin’s jaw drops. “Did you just offer then DENY me a blowjob?”

Yoongi shrugs. “That’s for not locking the door yesterday and letting your brother barge in!” He shouts back before hurrying outside. Jimin can’t help but be amused.

Jimin’s sitting at the edge of the bed looking like he’s contemplating life when Yoongi arrives back downstairs with two glasses of iced americanos. One of his hands pets Mingie’s fur. She’s curled up next to him, purring loudly.

“I think she’s taking to you,” Yoongi says, setting the glasses on the nightstand. Mingie makes a noise of surprise when she hears Yoongi’s voice. She’s up and away from Jimin like he never even existed.

He scoffs. “Everyone in this room hates me,” he reaches forward to grab the glass. “Whyyyy do I have to be awake for this broadcast?” He whines after a sip. Yoongi tugs on a sweatshirt. “We’re doing a special segment today. Jungkook’s going to be on too.”

Jimin frowns. “If only I we’re in Busan to complain about the early wake up with Jungkook, he’s the only one who understands me,” he sighs heavily throwing himself back against the bed.

Yoongi laughs. “And you call me dramatic.”

“Okay so we’re going to try broadcasting outside,” Yoongi says, carrying his equipment. “A sunrise segment of sorts. So Jungkook wants you to get some shots of me doing that this morning. It’ll show the viewers a side of working virtually that’s um what did he call it?”

Jimin giggles. “Aesthetically pleasing.” “Sounds like antiseptic,” Yoongi shakes his head.

Jimin sets up a few shots to share to their social media. He pushes them out on his phone. They’ve got about five more minutes before they go on and he’s sat next to Yoongi with headphones on, shivering.

Yoongi stands wordlessly and Jimin starts to panic. “Oh my god, where are you going?? We’re about to go on air and—” Yoongi ignores him. He’s only gone for about thirty seconds before he comes back, tossing Jimin a hoodie that he knows belongs to Yoongi. Jimin blushes.

“Okay, let’s begin,” Yoongi says.

“Gooood morning to the beautiful people of Busan,” Namjoon’s deep Morning tone tings through his microphone and into Yoongi and Jimin’s ears, also to the thousands of people who tuned into their show everyday. “It is Thursday, October 12th and very sunny skies.”

Jungkook’s hesitant voice comes on next. “How’s the weather in Jeju, hyungs?” He asks.

Jungkook has said a million times before that he’d rather be behind the camera and never the mic. But Namjoon and Hoseok are adamant that every team member of the core crew should co-host a few times per year. “It’s a bit chilly,” Jimin answers. Yoongi taps his toe, “louder.”

Jimin blushes. “Whoops, im new at this please forgive me. But it’s a bit chilly here this morning. It should warm up soon. Do we have any listeners in Jeju with us today? I’m looking out for people to reply to on twitter!”

“We’ve got our special media guests here with us this morning because, well everyone tomorrow is our Jiminie’s birthday,” Yoongi says into the mic. “He’s been with Busan Blues Radio for over a year now so we want to make sure we celebrate him the right way.“

Jimin furrows his brows. He didn’t know this morning’s segment was going to include him. “So we thought,” Namjoon’s tone becomes playful, “it might be a good time to play 25 questions for 25 years of Jimin.”

Jimin looks at Yoongi with a deep glare. “What???” He mouths. Yoongi smiles. “Jimin’s on Twitter right now ready to answer your questions love. After this musical break we’ll be back!”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I thought this might be a fun interactive thing to do. Send over any questions to ask Jimin in Busan Blues this morning. I’ll be back in a few hours to write more ♡ the wittiest, funniest, spicy (radio appropriate) questions win. curiouscat.live/taesaus

Namjoon turns on the commercial break and music playlist. They’ve got ten minutes to round up questions for Jimin. He turns to Yoongi. “I did not agree to this!” “Hyung I thought you said you’d talk to him?” Jungkook asks.

Yoongi looks at the zoom screen where he can see Jungkook. “I am. Now. Jiminie it’s just for fun, for your birthday!”

Jimin scratches the back of his neck. He also was one to stay behind the lens and not be on air. Even when he did broadcasts in college he tended to run the mechanics instead of hosting.

“We did this for Jungkook’s first birthday after getting hired too,” Namjoon says. “It’s a Busan Blues birthright.” Jimin sighs then looks at Yoongi. “Okay, but you’re going to be the one who probably regrets this.”

The questions start off easily. The team scrolls through Twitter, selecting a few that they like. “Busanblusie asks, Jimin if you didn’t work for Busan Blues what else would you be doing?” Namjoon starts.

Jimin ponders for a second. “Well, I think I might like to travel for my job. I really enjoy seeing new things and going on adventures.” “Speaking of traveling,” Jungkook says, “bbfan23 wants to know what’s been so fun about Jeju?”

Jimin lights up. “Ohhh, definitely tangerine picking. I love the little farm they have here. And the sea is pretty. My family comes to Jeju every year for this trip for my birthday. This year has been really special.”

The questions come flooding in after that.

There’s so many Jimin can’t keep up with him and the other three hosts take over. “Oh, this listener is asking what your ideal type is,” Namjoon says. “I like someone tall, broad shoulder, but then people who can make me laugh too.”

Jimin smiles at the zoom screen. He knows Namjoon is talking about both of his boyfriends. “Ohh, my ideal type?” He looks over at Yoongi.

Jimin giggles. “Are we being superficial or do you want the deep stuff?” “Both! Both!” Jungkook chants. “Well, I like nice eyes. That’s usually what I look for. With a cute smile, I’m a sucker for a cute smile. Dark hair for sure. Not taller than me? I think.”

Yoongi can’t help but lean in. He latches onto Jimin’s every word. “Someone who’s a good listener and fun. But also who will lay with me for fourteen hours because I’m kind of lazy,” he giggles. “Someone who can fit in with my family because they’re important to me.”

A ghost of a smile passes over Yoongi’s lips. “Oh this question is asking about Hyung!! They want to know how vacation is going um..since you’re together?”

“Jiminie’s family is great,” Yoongi says. “Jeju is really pretty I haven’t been here before.” “Yoongi Hyung is a nice travel companion, except he brings his cat along.” Yoongi scoffs. “True Busan Blues listeners know that Mingie is the star of the show.”

Jimin laughs out loud as he looks down at the Twitter feed to see it filled with questions from their friends.

“Oh Hobi Hyung asked if I’m going to post pictures of myself on our Twitter? Well I could…Jungkook can you tell them about what’s coming on Monday?”

Jungkook launches into a very exciting announcement about the new vlog series on Busan Blues. “You’ll get to see all of our favorite Busan Blues employees and their daily lives. Yoongi Hyung and Jimin Hyung are going first since they’re traveling.”

“How about we take some questions from some callers?” Namjoon asks.

“Hiiii,” a shy voice comes on from the caller line. “Happy birthday, um, Jimin. My friends and I are really big fans of your guys’ show we all listen together.” “Oh thank you,” “thanks so much” Wow, really?” “Oh thank you!!” The team says all together. The listener giggles.

“We um, well we wanted to know if you were single?” Jimin looks to Yoongi for the umpteenth time during the broadcast. He’s lucky they’re not filming today. He tries to ask Yoongi with his eyes what to say.

Jimin gives a soft chuckle. “I um, have my eyes on someone right now.” He says.

“Awwww,” there’s a chorus of both girls and guys together. “Next caller!” Jungkook says, switching lines. “Hi Jimin, happy Birthday! If you could tell us your favorite thing about each Busan Blues member that would be so so cool!”

Jimin claps. “I love this question. Let’s see. PD Namjoon is soooo smart and a really good leader, I felt like I learned a lot from him in my first year.” He moves through each member smoothly.

“Jungkookie has been a saving grace to work with. He’s so versed in technology and so much fun.” “Producer Hope is a DJ genius and a really good friend. I’m very grateful he helped me get on at Busan Blues.”

There’s a long pause. The caller clears her throat. “What about Producer SUGA?” Jimin’s ears heat. “Oh, oh my goodness he’s right next to me so I just—I’m sorry I didn’t forget you, Hyung,” Jimin puts a hand on Yoongi’s thigh. He jumps.

Jimin squeezes. The producer holds his breath. “Hmmm, there’s so much to say about Yoongi Hyung. He’s very….patient,” Jimin’s fingers travel up, walking slowly towards his crotch. “He’s so giving,” Jimin rests his hand there innocently. “He’s a musical genius.”

Namjoon agrees. “Hyung has the best recommendations in the studio.” “I very much enjoy my partnership with our Producer,” Jimin cups him through his pants. “Break!” Yoongi says loudly into the mic.

Jimin’s eyes haven’t left the zoom at all so Namjoon and Jungkook are confused. “Please enjoy our 200th spin of the Astronaut!” Yoongi says and clicks a few things through the screen. They go off air. “Hyung what the hell?” Namjoon asks. “Uh, the connection is getting bad.”

“Let me just turn the zoom off quickly, we’ll be right back.” Their screens go black. Yoongi turns to Jimin. “Oh my god?” Jimin giggles. He bats his lashes. “Two can play the teasing game, hyung. You denied me a blowjob.”

Yoongi smirks. “Jimin, I think you underestimate me because of my kindness. This is game on.” Jimin leans over, his lips ghost against Yoongi’s. He’s licked them so they’re wet. His hot breath wafts over his mouth. “Oh, hyung,” he puts on a sultry pout, “I’m so going to win.”

Yoongi turns the zoom back on. “Sorry, I think we fixed the problem.” The problem being the growing boner beneath his pants. He’s scooted a bit further away from Jimin just got good measure.

“Let’s do a rapid fire round,” Jungkook suggests.

“Okay, rapid fire questions, are you ready? We’ll do some of these, take a few more calls, and that will conclude our sunrise segment in Jeju,” Yoongi says. “I hope the listeners can keep up.”

“Five year old Yoongi or five Yoongis?” “Five Yoongis.” “As expected,” Yoongi replies. “Busan or Jeju?” “Mmm. Busan. We’re on Busan Blues Radio—” “Radio for healing!” Jungkook, Namjoon, and Yoongi all day in unison.

“Ideal date.” “A picnic. I like food and being outside. Bonus points for sunset.” Yoongi takes a mental note.

“Some questions about love!” Jungkook says. “Our Jungkookie is the hopeless romantic,” Jimin says. “Speaking of, one of our listeners asked your ideal type?” Jimin can see Jungkook’s blush even through the computer screen. “Uhhhhhh,” he hums. “Men?”

The three of them burst into laughter.

“Tell us your first and your last kiss,” Jungkook says quickly. Jimin pauses. “Hmm,” he scratches behind his neck. “We’ll my first kiss was my best friend Taehyung, which I agreed to never speak about on the radio. Sorry TaeTae, I love youuuu.” He sips his coffee for a pause.

“My last kiss was someone who I won’t name on air but it happened here in Jeju. I’ll leave the mystery up to the listeners.”

“Ohhhhh,” Namjoon and Jungkook hype up Jimin’s answer. “Jiminie we need you to answer Hobi hyung’s question.” “Ahh,” Namjoon says. “The illustrious bang, marry, kill. Please think carefully.”

“Instantly killing Hobi Hyung. When he asks why tell him to check Yoongi hyung’s text messages.”

“Marry? Namjoonie Hyung and Jungkookie I’d marry the both of you. I think you’re both soft, the marrying type.” “I guess that means you’re banging Yoongi Hyung?” Jungkook asks.

Jimin laughs wildly, his giggle filling the listeners ears. Yoongi thinks it’s the kind of sound to wake up to in the morning. “I guess so.”

Namjoon is the one to call a commercial break next. “We’ll be back with our final questions for digital manager Jiminie in a few!” They go off air. Yoongi’s still gaping at Jimin’s last answer but he shakes his head when Namjoon calls their names.

“Okay, phone calls and then you two can log off. Jungkook and I will close the show today.” Yoongi can tell by the slight off-tone of his voice he’s a bit unhappy. He hopes Jimin can’t tell.

“Also I didn’t think you’d broadcast tomorrow since it’s Jimin’s birthday. So just get the vlog stuff to Jungkook.” “I need really good footage. Are you doing something fun today and tomorrow?”

Jimin shrugs but Yoongi immediately says yes. Jimin throws him a questioning look. But Yoongi deflects. “I think three more callers and then we’re done?” The crew agrees.

“This caller comes all the way from the US!” Jungkook says. “I listened to Billie on your show when you had her there and I’ve been hooked ever since,” she starts.

“I think I speak for all of the listeners when I saw that we’re loving seeing your content with Producer Yoongi. I can’t wait for the vlog. But I really just want to know about all of your tattoos? Any hidden ones?”

Namjoon visibly relaxes. “Oh! Yes! If you follow my socials, musicialpjm, I think you can see them on there. Maybe I’ll upload a picture from the beach so you can see my back tattoo.” “Whoa!” Jungkook says. “Busan Blues is already trending, you’d break the internet Jiminie.”

“Hi Jimin! Happy birthday! I just want to know if you could assign a mythical creature for each Busan Blues member what would they be?” “Thank you!!” Jimin gives it a thought. “Producer Namjoon is a dragon. Please look at his eyes in his insta pics, very intense.”

Yoongi’s shoulders shake with a laugh. “Hoba is a pixie. He’s a bit mischievous and I think I’d like to carry him around on my shoulder. Jungkookie is Phoenix.”

Jimin thinks about Yoongi for a second and smirks. He remembers the purple bruises he sucked into his skin. “Yoongi Hyung is a vampire,” he laughs. “Because he’s pale?” Jungkook asks. “Sure,” Jimin replies. “And for other reasons too.”

“For our final caller we’re going to take a call from a very special person who wants to wish our Jiminie happy birthday,” Namjoon says. “Producer Hoba you’re on the line.”

Jimin is beaming. “Oh Hyung, hi!! Are you feeling better?” “Your laugh has been filling my ears all morning, of course I am. Our Hyung is very lucky to spend all of this time with you. Please come home soon, Jiminie. We all miss you both.”

Yoongi smiles. “We’ll come back safely in just a few days.” “Three more after today,” jimin says. “Now I saw you on Twitter but what other question could you possibly have?” Jimin asks.

“So many, Jiminie. It seems like our listeners are really interested in your love life. So instead of me asking you a million questions about Yoongi Hyung,” Hoseok gives a dramatic pause, “maybe you could give the listeners some love advice?”

Jimin blows air through his nose. The sun has fully come up and it’s cascading nicely over Yoongi’s high cheeks bones. He’s busy queuing up more songs. Jimin watches his nimble fingers for a moment. “Love advice, you ask?” Yoongi turns to him.

“Okay I’m going to give you the biggest piece of relationship advice, it’s riveting, are you ready?” Hoseok plays along, making a sounds of surprise. “Have more sex,” Jimin says, his eyes are locked on Yoongi.

“Uh?” Hoseok laughs. Jimin does too. “That and—” he sighs and looks out at the lapping waters. “Find someone who is patient with you. Love takes time. It takes trust, honesty and vulnerability. So find someone who will walk with you quietly like a stroll at the end of the day.”

Jimin clears his throat. “I’m young. I’ve lived 25 years and tomorrow I’ll start my 26th. I’m certainly no expert in love and I’ve got a lot to learn. But what I do know is that love is a choice,” he sighs.

“It’s lying in bed when the world seems loud. It’s sharing the parts of yourself that are scary.” Love is, well listeners it’s hard. So don’t love until you’re ready. Find someone who’s willing to wait. Find someone who makes the world go quiet and those nights not seem hard.”

Jimin tríes to act like he’s looking at the horizon, because he can’t look at Yoongi. If he looks at Yoongi and their eyes meet he’ll blur the lines. So he doesn’t look at Yoongi who is looking at him so softly.

“When you find that person I swear it’ll click. You’ll just look at them one day,” he gives a giggle that hurts Yoongi’s heart. “And you’ll think, oh! I was looking for someone like you.’”

The sunrise is coming in over Jimin’s head, the golden light hitting his cheeks just right. Yoongi inhales a deep breath of the salty air.

Hoseok makes a low rumbling sound of awe on the line. “Wowww. Our Jiminie is getting wiser with age, everyone.”

A blush creeps up Jimin’s cheeks. He catches Yoongi’s eye and touches his headphones. He laughs again, light and bubbly. “No way, Hoseokie, hyung.”

“He must be getting some inspiration in Jeju,” Hoseok replies and Jimin goes so red even Namjoon and Jungkook notice over the video call.

“And that concludes 25 questions for 25 years of Jimin!” Yoongi yells into the microphone. “Thank you so much for all of your questions today. Please don’t forget our Jiminie’s birthday is tomorrow. I’ll tweet with official hashtags,” he smiles over at Jimin.

“So you can wish him happy birthday all day long.”

Jimin laughs with a hand over his mouth. “My birthday is just a day everyone, but thank you so much for playing with me. DJ SUGA hyung and I will be posting something special so please look out for it!”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Jimin thinks that if murder weren’t illegal, he’d kill Min Yoongi.

It starts when they emerge upstairs after they finish shooting the Busan Blues morning show.

“Yoongi-yah!” Jimin’s father calls from the couch. He’s got his glasses perched at the end of his nose and his coffee mug is barely dangling off his fingers.

Yoongi and Jimin are at the counter bickering about what they should eat for breakfast. Jimin firmly thinks that rice will suffice. Yoongi thinks they need something of substance.

“Why don’t you teach our Jiminie how to cook something this morning?” Jimin’s Appa suggests. Jimin gives Yoongi an unimpressive look. “I’d rather starve than learn how to cook.”

“You’re going to starve your whole life if you don’t figure it out,” Yuna says as she comes out of the room, eyes half closed. She gives Jimin a playful shove as she plops down on the bench next to him.

Jimin purposely leans into Yoongi’s shoulder, resting his chin there. “No I won’t, you wouldn’t let me starve, right, hyung?” he gives his best puppy dog eyes.

Yoongi gives a deep laugh and swings a leg over the wood. “C’mon, Jimin-ah, you’re going to be 26. You should learn sometime.”

Jimin gives a deep groan. “I hate you all!” he whines as Yoongi drags him into the kitchen.

It starts off so innocently that Jimin doesn’t notice it at first. A light hand over his to show him how to cut the carrots properly. “Curve your wrist like this.”

The hairs on the back of Jimin’s neck prickle with Yoongi’s soft breath against him. Jimin adjusts his hold on the knife, doing just as Yoongi says.

“Such a good job, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi leans in closer, lips right up against Jimin’s ear. “You listen so well.” Jimin preens.

His parents are just in the other room. He can see his Eomma pressed into his Appa’s side, both of their eyes on the television screen. The news is playing.

Yuna is laying upside down on the arm chair, her phone practically touching her nose, it's so close.

Hyun is still sleeping down the hall.

Yoongi puts a hand on Jimin's side, large fingers skating underneath his t-shirt. He makes it look like he's turning Jimin to the side towards the stove where the water boils. But he pinches his stomach lightly, teasing and nipping at the skin. Jimin holds his breath.

“The rice should be extra sticky, right?” Yoongi asks Jimin’s Appa. His hand travels south, beneath the counter and to the line of Jimin’s pajama pants. His father looks over, Yoongi purposely pauses his hand, resting against his pubic bone. Jimin is starting to buzz. “Yes!”

Jimin swallows slowly. He tries to keep his eyes trained down, neutral. Yoongi’s fingers dance as his waistband. Jimin can feel the arousal lick up like heat in his spine. Yoongi reaches forward, pressing himself into Jimin’s ass. His breaths are shallow at his ear as he stirs.

Yoongi’s hand starts to move. Jimin tenses up, rigid against him. “Stop,” his hisses through gritted teeth. Yoongi moves his hands off immediately, moving to step away but Jimin’s hand flies back, pulling him towards. “Oh my god I didn’t really mean stop,” he whispers.

Yoongi chuckles. He cranks the heat on the stove to get the water boiling for the rice. “Oh, so you want this?” his voice has dropped to that low, hushed octave again. It makes nerves dance in the bottom of Jimin’s belly. Jimin hums in affirmation, nodding slightly. “Yes.”

He puts his one hand back on Jimin’s hip, the other resting to cup his ass. “Let’s chop some more for the gimbap,” he announces loud enough for everyone to hear all while swiveling Jimin back towards the counter.

He allows Jimin to cut vegetables and the prepared eggs and meat, thinking twice about touching him through his pants while he’s holding a knife. But his hands never leave his sides, sometimes grazing beneath his shirt to touch soft skin, making goosebumps rise to the surface.

“You’re a natural, Jiminah,” His breath tickles the back of his neck. “You’re such a good student.” Jimin tries not to choke on his spit.

The second Yoongi moves away to take the rice out Jimin almost wilts. He needs his hands on him. He craves to be touched. He almost whines with deep want. What the hell is Min Yoongi doing to him?

Yoongi washes his hands before returning to the task of dumping and cooling the rice for gimbap. He guided Jimin through the proper measurements to season it, praising him each time he does something correct. Jimin never knew cooking could feel like…this.

“When you’re at the counter for a long time you’re going to want to spread your legs,” Yoongi says, sliding his hand back down at Jimin’s middle, pushing his thighs to open up his hips. “I showed you how to roll so it’s all you, jagiya,” Yoongi’s voice practically vibrates.

He presses in close again, whispers against Jimin’s neck. Yoongi makes sure to appear as though he’s just observing, a watchful eye over Jimin’s shoulder. His hand grips Jimin tight through his pants and the younger tries hard not to gasp. “Oh h-Hyung!” His voice catches.

“Yes?” Yoongi responds smoothly. “Like this?” Jimin asks, gesturing down. “Just like that,” Yoongi fondles. Jimin’s belly swoops. “I’m so proud of you, you learn so well.”

Jimin’s legs feel like jello. He tries to adjust his stance but Yoongi’s hand grows heavier between his legs. Jimin forgets how to breathe properly.

Yoongi gives a low level laugh, rumbling against Jimin’s back. “You’d like it if I got you off right here, wouldn’t you?” Jimin’s bitting his lip but he lets it go from between his teeth. “P-please.”

Yoongi palms him further. Jimin’s almost hard. He can also feel that he’s trying to push himself back against Yoongi’s front, equally as teasing. “Oh, Hyung!” Hyun calls as he walks down the hall. He beelines directly for the kitchen. Yoongi drops his hand immediately.

Jimin’s going to jail for killing them both.

Jimin has to stand up against the counter for several minutes, unmoving while the blood moves to other places in his body. Hyun came in and grabbed one of the already finished rolls of gimbap for himself, not caring that they weren’t already cut.

But he didn’t leave. “Are you teaching Jimin Hyung to cook?” He asksYoongi, mouth full of rice, seaweed, and veggies. Yoongi flicks the water into the sink and starts drying his newly cleaned hands. “A little. Gimbap is hardly cooking.”

Jimin’s Eomma stand then from the couch, joining them. Jimin pretends that rolling this next piece of food is the most important thing in the world and he needs to be…incredibly close to the wood to do it right.

“Oh, but Yoongi, it’s all about the tightening of the roll.” She begins to inspect the ones they’d already put together. Yoongi stands next to her, placing a hand on Jimin’s side again. He smiles over at Jimin. “I did tell him all about everything needing to be tight.”

Jimin’s heart almost comes out of his throat when Yoongi pinches his side again. “The tighter the better,” he practically purrs.

The teasing doesn’t stop there. Jimin’s fingers dance over Jimin any chance he gets through breakfast. He touches him beneath the table. Never enough the get Jimin fully hard. He’s so nonchalant about it, it makes it hotter. Jimin’s practically wriggling in his seat by the end.

“Hyung, let’s go get ready for the day,” Jimin suggests from his spot at the table. As innocent as ever Yoongi smiles over at Jimin’s mom. “I think I should probably help clean up since I made this mess.” His hand is cupping Jimin’s thigh.

Jimin rolls his eyes. “Hyun and Yuna should clean up since they didn’t cook.” Yoongi squeezes, sliding his hand up further towards his dick again. He’s driving Jimin wild. He’s going to be blue balled before this is all over. He needs Yoongi downstairs now.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I love being a helping hand.” Jimin almost fucking chokes on his coffee.

Yoongi’s innocent smile turns on Jimin this time. “Are you in a rush to shower for some reason?” Jimin’s clenches his jaw. The fervor is coursing through him.

He wants to shower. He wants Yoongi to press him up against the wet wall. He wants teeth on his skin and a quick hand on his cock. He’s warm just imagining it. But once again Yoongi stops touching him, leaving Jimin nowhere close to satisfied. He tries not to whine.

He’s stuck at the table as the hormones rearrange themselves in his body and he feels like he can breathe again. Yoongi already up from the table, washing dishes like nothing ever happened. Jimin thinks he both lusts and hates him.

“Okay, everyone needs to look their best today,” Jimin’s mom says once the kitchen has been cleaned. “Be ready back here in exactly thirty minutes, not a hair out of place.”

They’re racing against the clock so when Jimin tackles Yoongi onto the bed when they get downstairs he laughs and shakes his head. His eyes are alight with the happiness of his teasing. “Nuh-uh,” he grins. “We don’t have time.”

Jimin growls. “Yes we do. Just suck me off or something Hyung, please!” He begs. Yoongi pushes him up so that they’re both in a sitting position. Jimin is kneeling in front of him on the bed, Yoongi likes the way he looks, so…proper, so pretty. “No way. We have to get ready.”

He slides off the bed. “I’m showering first.” Jimin’s mouth drops. Yoongi pulls the shirt over his hand and tosses it to the ground, revealing his smooth, yet supple stomach. “First?!?” Jimin scrambles from the bed. “We can go together!”

Yoongi laughs. He pulls down his pants so he’s only in boxers. Jimin can tells he’s a little hard too, and there might be a small wet spot of precum on the fabric. “All in due time, Jiminie. But not this morning.”

Jimin wants to rip out his hair. He wants to crash to the ground and yank Yoongi by the hips, straight into his mouth. He wants to ask him if he’s good and hear him reply “so good” he wants to get sloppy and loud. He wants to have fun sex with Yoongi. “But we’d save time!!”

Yoongi just grins and shakes his head. “See you in a little while, pretty boy.” Jimin flops forward onto the bed with a groan of annoyance, hoping to suffocate in the sheets. Yoongi laughs the whole way to the bathroom.

“Eomma, you’re kidding me!” Jimin yells as they pull up to the Yongduam seaside. Jimin hadn’t been here since he was ten or eleven…?

JiYoung spins from the passenger seat and smiles back at him. “Oh Jiminie, hush. A photoshoot on your last day of twenty-five is just what we need.”

Jimin glares at the sign ahead. “Miya’s Closet: Hanbok & Photoshoot Rental” it reads. He looks over at Yoongi and grimaces. “I’m so sorry I got you into this.”

Having had a very near death experience, Park JiYoung has always been incredibly sentimental. She’s the first to snap a picture to “keep the moment going forever”.

If she has one too many glasses of wine she’ll talk someone’s ear off about old memories for hours. She’s quick to cry and even quicker to hug.

So every few years she makes her family take a traditional family photoshoot dressed to the nines in Hanbok. Jimin hadn’t even thought about it being a possibility on this year’s trip since they just took one last Christmas back home.

“Eomma,” Jimin whines next to the rack. “We don’t have to do this this year,” he tries to reason with her. Even though he knows it's too late, they’re already here and according to the photographer “we start in thirty-minutes.”

Yoongi stands next to Jimin, pondering the hanbok in front of him. He’s worn one plenty of times but his family has never been wealthy enough to afford an entire photoshoot coordinating.

He has no clue what to choose and he’s also….horrible at taking photos. His palms are sweating a bit. “Jiminah, what’s the big deal?” He tries to ease them both. “It’ll be fun, right?”

Jimin turns his glare in Yoongi’s direction. He hasn’t spoken to him since he left him blue-balled in bed an hour ago.

“You have a weird sense of what fun is, Yoongi-ssi,” his voice has a bit of priss to it. “Just wait until JiYoung says ‘Oh Yoongi you’re smiling but your eyes are dead’.”

Yoongi gives a deep chuckle. His pinky brushes against Jimin's hand. “My Eomma once told me I looked like a boiled dumpling in a picture next to a celebrity, so I’m sure it can’t be worse than that.”

Jimin bites his lip hard to keep from laughing. He’s still bitter and mad. He definitely thought they were going to Snoopy Garden today. He’d been begging to go there all week and so far no one else was entertaining it.

He sighs heavily. He looks after his mother who is smiling widely at Hyun and Yuna fighting over which color to match. "She's lucky I love her."

Jimin’s still choosing between two styles when the photographer announces that they’re starting in ten minutes.

“Jiminie!” JiYoung yells. She’s already dressed in a pretty lavender ensemble and her husband wears something deep burgundy to match.

Yuna and Hyun decided on pretty light green ensembles to match, and Jimin hasn’t seen what Yoongi has picked, he disappeared a while ago.

“You still need the stylist to touch up your face too,” Hyun says. “God forbid you look like…that for our family picture.” Jimin swats him hard in the stomach, his brother doubling over with an “umph”, his girlfriend giggles.

“Deserved,” she grins at him. She then looks at the choices in Jimin’s hands. “I think Yoongi would like this one, it goes well with what he picked.” “You’ve seen?”

Yuna nods happily. She’s a bit like a golden retriever puppy, always bubbly and bouncing. Jimin thinks she and Jungkook would get along well. “He looks…well,” she looks over her shoulder at Hyun who is whining to his mother about Jimin. “You have a good one, Jiminie.”

For some reason, it makes Jimin blush. He doesn’t “have” anything. But he just dips his head and goes with the option in his left hand.

Jimin’s mouth has gone dry. His eyes won’t focus, are his palms sweaty? He doesn’t think he can quite catch his breath.

Yoongi has just walked out of one of the stylist’s rooms. Jimin only allowed his to play with his hair a bit and dab on foundation to add a bit of glow. But Yoongi is…

Jimin can’t think straight. His skin looks almost luminescent, it’s so creamy and perfect. His dark, long hair has been styled in a way Jimin’s never seen it done. It frames his face and accentuates his sharp jawline. Jimin thinks about sucking kisses into the perfect skin.

Yoongi stands across from him, pinching at the skin of his neck. It’s puckering red, driving Jimin wild. He reaches forward to make him stop. “You’ll look like you have a hickey for the photoshoot,” he says quietly. Yoongi looks so hot it’s almost not a bad idea to give him one.

He’s wearing a silvery light brown hanbok. Jimin can see the traditional black clothing underneath it. His lips look a little pinker than normal, Jimin’s own twitch, thinking about leaning forward just to capture them for a second.

It doesn't mean…anything. They’re just lips. It’s only an outfit. His hair is just, hair. He’s just a pretty boy.

Yoongi turns towards the sea and the light catches his cheeks just right. Jimin gulps. Min Yoongi is a very pretty boy.

Yoongi whips back towards him, smiling. “You look nice,” his mouth becomes a thin line.

Jimin just nods. He can’t think of anything to say. Nice isn’t enough to cover it. Beautiful might seem like too much. ‘You too’ seems plain, it doesn’t encapsulate how he feels about how Yoongi looks in traditional clothing.

“Boys!” Cheol-min waves them over to the bridge, tugging Jimin out of his swirl of thoughts. His family is already getting set up without them.

Jimin just sighs, a little dreamy, a little lost. “Let’s go,” he ignores how tight his voice sounds.

Jimin’s been very…quiet during the shoot. The weather is gorgeous, a little breezy with the salty sea air blowing around them. Yoongi’s mostly been standing off to the side while the family takes pictures. He just keeps saying “not yet” and pushes them all to keep going.

Truth be told, he’s afraid that Jimin’s actually upset about this shoot because it’s weird. Even to Jimin’s family they haven’t been “dating” for long. For Jimin, Yoongi can’t help but think that he might hate seeing his fake boyfriend in his family pictures years from now.

But it’s Yuna who ends up coming over and pulling his arm hard enough to drag him into the middle of the bridge. She shoves him next to Jimin, their arms pressed up against each other. Yoongi feels him go rigid.

He tries not to sigh. Every time they take a few steps forward, they practically fall backward. He takes a breath and tries to relax. “Yoongi,” JiYoung leans over, glancing at him. “You look very nice, smile.”

He does and it might be a trick of the wind, but he swears he hears Jimin’s sharp in take of breath before the shutter of the camera.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Yuna says, whipping out her phone. “Jimin said you two needed to film for your radio show. You should um, go over there, yeah?” She turns her head towards the photographer. “Can we do their couple shots?”

Jimin can feels the heat seep into his cheeks. “Yuna we don’t have to film couple shots. We can just do the family ones and I’ll have Jungkook cut the video so your guys’ faces are out of it.”

“My face should be in every video,” Hyun says. Yuna is the one to roll her eyes. “This is Jimin’s birthday and Yoongi and Jimin’s couple shoot, right Eomma?” Her tone turns syrupy and Jimin narrows his eyes.

“She’s right, Jiminie. Life is very short, capture these beautiful moments. You and Yoongi look so great together today.” Jimin is convinced the entire family is out to get him. “Okay,” he just says quietly.

They’re stiff at first. So much that every single member of the family comments on it. “Jiminah, step closer to him,” Cheol-min waves his hand to the left. “You should lean in a bit,” JiYoung adds. “Put your hands on each other oh my god I know you know how!” Hyun yells.

Jimin thinks about killing him for the umpteenth time.

“Why don’t you just sit and talk?” The photographer suggests. “I can do candids.” Suddenly every word in the Korean language becomes foreign to Jimin. He doesn’t have a single thought in his brain that isn’t about how Yoongi looks. It doesn’t make for shame-free conversation.

“Your family is so nice,” Yoongi says and it’s so soft Jimin almost misses it. He’s looking at them while another photographer takes photos of Hyun and his father. “They’re okay,” Jimin tries to play it off. The shutter clips around them.

But Hyun trips and almost falls into the water below and Jimin laughs which makes Yoongi laugh. Jimin doubled over, head against Yoongi’s thigh. The camera goes wild.

“I still can’t believe you agreed to all of this,” Jimin says, gesturing down to their clothes. “This definitely wasn’t what you shined up for.” Yoongi shrugs. “No, but I’m having a good time.”

“Can you lean in to him again?” The photographer asks Jimin. “The way he lit up a bit makes for a good picture.”

Jimin just sighs heavily and throws his hands up. “Okay, what the hell.” He presses into Yoongi’s space as they sit, draping onto his lap.

He dips his head backward and grins up. “It’s fake, let’s play pretend in a way that would make Hoseok proud.” Yoongi almost forgets to smile as the camera goes off.

Park Jimin hates his birthday. Well not hates, but thinks it’s way more unimportant than other people (his family) (Busan Blues) (Taehyung) make it out to be. It’s just another year of life that passes by insignificant in the grand scheme of all things.

So when he wakes up on the seventh day of their trip, on the couch because he purposely sexiled Yoongi last night for blue balling him during the day, he’s grumpy.

His back hurts from sleeping on the couch. He’s a bit hot because the weather is supposed to be warmer today and he forgot to adjust the AC. He had to sleep awkwardly because Mingie decided she liked him and wanted to be by his head.

Yoongi opted not to broadcast for Busan Blues today and they sent in their vlog to Jungkook the previous night. It was to debut directly after the show.

So he’s still sleeping in the bed, curled up on his side with his mouth cracked open. Jimin actually hates how cute his stupid face is. With his pouty lips and pretty lashes and a nose worth pecking, Jimin’s angry with want.

They got a few pictures back from the family shoot already. Jimin’s Appa put them in the family groupchat and quite frankly, he couldn’t stop sneaking peaks at this one particular photo of he and Yoongi throughout the day yesterday.

He was leaning in Yoongi’s lap and he remembers that he made him laugh. His eyes had disappeared, crinkling in the corners. His smile was gummy and wide. Jimin had been looking up at him. If anyone else would have seen the photo, they would have thought they were in love.

But they weren’t. They were just two people who…were faking. Jimin sighs loudly and stretches his limbs. Mingie hisses from the end of the couch, fed up with Jimin’s movements already and hops up on the bed, waking Yoongi in the process.

He cracks and eye open and gives a lazy smile in Jimin’s direction. Jimin scowls. “Happy birthday,” Yoongi says, voice so deep and raspy with fresh sleep it makes Jimin’s belly swoop. “If you’re done sexiling me I could give you a morning birthday present.”

Jimin quirks a brow, vowing still not to speak. Yoongi had tried to tease him in the backseat on the way home yesterdays afternoon by hanging his hand in between his legs. Jimin loved the game they were playing, each touch exciting him further. But Yoongi never offered more.

Yoongi sits up with a yawn. His long dark hair is ruffled from sleep. His cheeks are a bit rosy from the warmth of the sun bathing into the bedroom. From Jimin’s perspective, he’s already got that ‘just fucked’ look going on just by the waking up. He’s even more enticing.

“Sooo,” he purrs in Jimin’s direction. “Your family has a whole day planned I’m sure.” Jimin nods. They always do. He knows there’s a breakfast waiting for him upstairs, his favorites, prepared by his Appa. Hyun will have some lame gift and his mom will smother him in kisses.

Yuna will give a morning toast about how Jimin is the best non-brother she’s ever had and she doesn’t know what she would have done if he wouldn’t have saved her from falling out of the tree they both weren’t supposed to climb.

And that’s just the morning. They’ll plan some afternoon excursion to “see something new from Jeju” and have a way too expensive dinner right on the seashore. It’s all very grand and Jimin complains each year but they’ve never changed a thing.

“So I think we should start with a blowjob just in case we don’t have time for anything later.” Jimin rolls his eyes, sit up and gives a forced laugh. “Yeobo,” he bites. They’ve taken to teasing their names of endearment. “How is it s present for me to give you a blowjob?”

Yoongi smirks and slips out of the bed. “Jagiya,” he quips back harshly, falling to his knees in front of Jimin. His voices drops down. “I never said the blowjob was for me.”

[smut warning, will tag when finished]

Jimin’s in shorts, Yoongi’s fingers graze his bare thighs. “It was mean of me,” he brings his mouth down to plant a kiss at the smooth skin. Goosebumps explode to the surface. “To tease so hard yesterday,” he nips. Jimin gasps. “Wuh-wait,” his hand goes to his hair.

Yngi pauses, looking up. “You don’t want this?” Jmin rolls his eyes, which makes Yngi’s hold tighten. It’s such best behavior. “Of course I want this, f-fuck,” he loves how his thighs are being held. “But we need to lock the door and close the blinds.”

“Oh,” Yngi nods. “Right, of course.” “I’ve gone twenty-six years without being walked in on during sex, we’re not about to break the streak.” Yngi just laughs as he gets up. “Be right back. Don’t move a muscle.” His voice is so commanding, it turns Jmin on even more.

He’s back between his legs faster than it took for him to even close everything down. The room is darker now, so Jmin flips on the side light. Yngi brushes his fingers through his hair so it’s out of his face. “How quick do you want this to be?”

Jmin ponders. Realistically, it’s already after nine. His family will come looking for them soon if they don’t emerge upstairs. And they’re definitely going to need to shower after this. But he wants to savor this experience, his first birthday blowjob.

He shrugs. “Take your time, but not too long?” He suggests. “Very specific,” Yngi laughs. He returns to planting kisses along his exposed skin, switching to nipping and sucking every few seconds. “If I leave marks, what will your family say?” His lower lip glistens with spit.

“Don’t leave marks,” Jmin’s breath is heady. Yngi already proving he knows what to do with his mouth. “Jminah,” Yngi’s laugh is so deep. “I can’t not leave marks. It’s my..speciality.”

Jmin sighs. “Fine. Higher, where my trunks can hide it.” Yngi takes the opportunity to push the swishy black fabric up, hand cupping Jmin’s cock directly. He shudders. “As you wish.”

Once his thighs are decorated with blooming mouth bruises, Jmin is panting heavily. Yngi keeps teasing him through his shorts and with his tongue as he tastes his salty skin. “Y-yoon,” Jmin grimaces as Yngi’s hand travels up his length through his shorts. “P-please.”

Yngi hums in the back of his throat, his mouth suckling Jmin’s soft skin. He pulls off harshly, the sting making Jmin’s dick twitch. “So needy, you sound so pretty when you beg like that.”

Jmin seethes, Yngi’s hand is wrapped around him, but it’s not enough. Jmin needs his shorts off. He needs his mouth on him, now. His hand prods and strokes, Jmin grits his teeth, his eyes fluttering. “Pretty boys deserve presents on their birthday, hm?”

The neediest whine explodes out of him.

“P-please, oh please. I’ll return the favor I swear, Y-Yoon,” Jmin can’t stand the hand over his shorts any longer. His erection is steak gong unbearably against them. Yngi laughs. “Ok, Jagiya. Let’s get you out of these, hm?”

Yngi’s got small lips, compared to Jmin’s anyway. But he knew exactly how to work with what he was given. He makes use of his mouth by wrapping it around Jmin immediately, teasing long forgotten.

It’s warm and wet, Jmin doesn’t think he’ll be able to last long. Yngi works both his mouth and hand in succession, stroking and sucking at the same time. Jmin keeps closing his eyes, then forces them open because he wants to see Yngi like this, cheeks puffed out to take him in.

Yngi takes no time going deeper, tongue flat against the underside. Jmin’s belly tightens in the midst of his heavy breathing. “I think-oh f-fuck, Yngi m’ gonna-”

He just sucks faster and faster until Jmin’s body grows taut. Surprisingly, he stays on and swallows as much as he can.

[end scene]

Yoongi helps Jimin clean up the leather couch before heading off to the shower, together again. Jimin offers to suck him off, his erection popping out as he slipped off his shorts to climb in. “Nah, it’s your birthday. Let’s just give each other a quick handy.”

Jimin’s surprised how bold Yoongi had become over the last week. He used to jump at a single touch and now he’s giving him a handjob in the shower with his family upstairs. He can’t wait to ask more about his sexual past that has made him this way. But for now, he’ll take it.

They’re just finishing getting dressed as Jimin’s phone starts going off loudly. He picks it up and a grin splits his face as he answers. A deep operatic version of happy birthday bellows from the other side. It’s such an abrasive sound, Mingie hisses and dashes under the bed.

Jimin just laughs. “Thank you, Taehyungie.” “I still can’t believe you ditched me this year and went to Jeju with your family and your stupid boyfriend.”

Yoongi gasps, fully feigning hurt end slips into the frame behind Jimin. He’s only seen Kim Taehyung in pictures, but just by the mischevious quirk of his boxy smile, he can tell why the two are friends. “Hello, stupid boyfriend here.”

Jimin covers his mouth as he snorts. Taehyung gasps. “Oh-oh my god. Jimin you didn’t say he was in the room!” He bows towards the screen which just makes Yoongi laugh. “Nice to meet you, Taehyung-ssi.”

Taehyung covers his face and then bursts out in surprise. “Jimin, I just. I can’t believe, you’re dating DJ SUGA!” It’s Jimin who giggles the hardest then.

They manage to make it upstairs after 10am. Jimin’s entire family is also dressed and ready for the day. “I know it’s your birthday and all,” Yuna says, “but you cannot just keep us waiting.”

Jimin laughs and takes a bite of french toast. He loves the western break at he gets every year. “Blame Yoongi.”’ Yoongi chokes on his coffee.

“What did Yoongi do?” Jimin’s Eomma asks. Jimin watches his ears turn incredibly red. It’s his first way of getting back at him for the previous day. “Oh, nothing,” Jimin says. “Just an early morning birthday celebration. You know, singing and congratulations and all that.”

“Hyung, you sing?” Hyun asks. Yoongi makes to answer but Jimin puts a hand on his chest. “He’s so modest. He’ll say he doesn’t, but I promise he has a mouth of many talents.” And it’s then that Yoongi almost fucking dies.

Jimin doesn’t know what other worldly entity is out to get him but there’s no way his mother could have possibly picked the Manjanggul Cave as his birthday outing. He and Yoongi are in the backseat of his parents rental, while Hyun and Yuna drive the other.

When his father suggested, pack nice clothing, but wear something comfortable he didn’t expect this. He was thinking they would hike to another waterfall. He tries not to show his disdain as they climb out of the car. But Yoongi must notice because he asks quietly “You okay?”

Jimin nods, sticking his hands in his shorts pocket. “You’re okay from the car ride, right? I could see if we can switch with Hyun and Yuna later.”

A smile plays at the corners of Jimin’s lips. Of course Yoongi remembered the random information drop he’d given about getting motion sick int the backseat of vehicles. Yoongi remembered everything. “I’m good,” Jimin says, feeling a bit endeared.

The Manjanggul Cave is Jimin’s greatest nightmare. They brought him once when he was younger and he ended up being swarmed by bats, something they company swore never happened to other guests. It happened so early in the trip that they didn’t even get to see the place.

He swore to never return. “We thought Yoongi would like it and twenty-six is a good time to face your fears, Jiminie,” his eomma says as they get in line.

They’re given specific instructions on how to follow the tour guide and then told that they’ll have free roaming time at the end. “But also, is anyone’s name here Park Jimin?” The guide asks. He pauses, whipping his head up from the ground. “Uh? That’s me?”

The tour guide smiles and steps forward with an envelope. “This is for you, happy birthday?” She says.

His name is scrolled in messy writing in the middle, a scrawl he’d know is Yoongi’s anywhere. He slips his finger underneath the lip, tugging it open. There’s a small blue card on the inside. “Park Birthday Boy Jimin” It’s addressed to him. “Here’s your first clue….”

Jimin spins around to look at his family but everyone’s eyes are on Yoongi. His ears are bright red and there’s a smile playing at his lips. "I know you don't think birthdays are a big deal but...."

Jimin doesn't even read the card before rushing forward and enveloping Yoongi in a bone crushing hug.

Yoongi’s almost knocked off his feet and he’s laughing, holding Jimin tightly. The hug actually feels more platonic than romantic, it’s nice. Jimin breaks away, smiling widely. “I LOVE scavenger hunts,” he’s beaming.

“So your mom said, go on, read the clue,” Yoongi gestures with his hands.

“We’re going to hike a while, so don’t get off track. But first, look inside your backpack,” he reads aloud, his voice growing higher in octave with excitement.

With furrowed brows he removes his backpack from one shoulder. He’d just finished packing it right before leaving this morning.

Another envelope is inside that wasn’t there before. It’s Hyun who is at the tips of his toes, waiting for Jimin to open it this time. They’ve fallen behind in step behind the original tour group, but the family doesn’t care.

“You may be afraid of the caves, and I might stray away from the sand. Together we can make it through, as long as you hold my hand."

Jimin looks up at Yoongi with the blush creeping across his cheeks. He thinks it’s very cute. In reality, Yoongi didn’t expect Jimin to be reading these aloud to his entire family.

“Wow, hyung you’re very….oof!” Yuna backhands Hyun in the stomach before he can finish teasing them.

“Clue number three is at the end of the cave, just hold onto me and you’ll feel brave. ” Jimin looks back up at Yoongi with a sigh. “You’ll protect me from the bats?”

Yoongi feigns a puffed chest and holds his head high. “With all of my honor,” he extends his arm out, wiggling his fingers. “Let’s go find clue number three, shall we?”

The Manjanggul is actually quite beautiful once Jimin gets over his fear. He does hold onto Yoongi’s hand the entire time for dear life. Yoongi finds this quite endearing.

Normally on his best brat behavior, Jimin takes to listening to Yoongi very well as he guides him through the caves.

Jimin’s family has all but left them alone, going off on their own and leaving the two. They’re nearing the end without incident. Jimin gasps, the cave is softly lit and filled with rock pillars and stalactites.

“Oh this is so, so pretty,” Jimin marvels at the cave with wide eyes and an even wider mouth.

They read about the lava fixtures and how they came to be hundreds of years ago. “Now, aren’t you glad you made it through this time?” Yoongi asks once they reach the final part in which visitors are allowed to explore.

Jimin nods, bottom lip trapped between his teeth. “It wasn’t that bad, but there were no bats.” Yoongi laughs, “Yes, the no bats probably aided in the experience.”

Jimin grins. He just feels so light and happy and the day has just barely begun. “So, where am I going to find this third clue?"

“Well, it’s actually hidden somewhere…,” Yoongi’s voice darkens and he gets closer to Jimin’s ear, looking out at the other visitors around them. “On my body.”

Jimin pulls back with the hush of a gasp on his lips. Yoongi is smirking in a way that makes Jimin’s belly feel warm. “How am I supposed to find that with everyone else around?”

Yoongi nods towards a darker space of the cave where less people are taking pictures. “Just take a moment to face your fears, hm?” Jimin grits his teeth. “You’re evil, you know that?” But he allows Yoongi to take him with his guiding hand in that direction.

Once they’re out of earshot from the rest of the guests, Yoongi spins to give Jimin directions. “So you can either play a game of hot and cold, or you can explore on your own.” The way he shrugs his shoulders is smug.

Jimin is still surprised at where all of this boldness has come from, but he likes it.

Jimin enjoys using his hands so he reaches out to put his hands on each of Yoongi’s shoulders. It’s innocent enough of a touch for the public. They might be a bit covered by darkness, but he doesn’t want to do anything too graphic. He can’t imagine Yoongi would plan for that.

“Hmm, cold,” Yoongi hums deep in his throat.

“What am I even looking for?” he asks. His hands raise up as Yoongi shrugs, that same stupid hot smirk on his lips. Jimin runs his tongue across his bottom lip. He feels like kissing him a little bit. But it feels too romantic with other couples around doing the same.

His hands trail down Yoongi’s arms. He makes him spin and turn, lifting each sleeve to see if something is written in his milk skin. Yoongi laughs and just keeps saying “you’re not getting any warmer,” which is driving Jimin wild.

It’s not until he accidentally plants a hand against the front of Yoongi’s belly that the older gasps. His fingers are pointed so that they’re grazing his pant line. Jimin wiggles, teasing. “Hmm, hot,” he’s able to strain out.

Jimin giggles and without looking at all of the other visitors, skates his hand up underneath Yoongi’s shirt. He remembers telling Yoongi how much he liked his stomach in the heat of the moment the other night. “It’s very, biteable,” he’d said.

“Explain biteable,” Yoongi had murmured into his neck where he was trying to mark him even though Jimin wouldn’t allow it. “Would look so pretty with my teeth marks littering it, don’t you think?” Jimin nipped at him before going down on Yoongi.

There’s an envelope just sitting in his waistband. Jimin plucks it out with the roll of his eye. He makes sure to pinch Yoongi a bit for teasing him so much in public.

“Now that you’ve gotten braver for 26 and done something spooky, it’s time to head to your favorite place…the land of Snoopy.” Jimin gasps and it’s another hug that Yoongi is pulled into.

If surprising Jimin with all of his favorite things earns him this much affection, Yoongi thinks that he might just do it more often.

They’ve just about made their way back when Jimin stops to take a pull from his water bottle. Yoongi is busy reading facts about lava on the wall. They’re in another dark part of the cave, which Jimin should have realized was a horrible place to stop.

But he’d been feeling brave and excited. That is, until he hears the first flap of wings. His head snaps up, eyes squinting. “Y-Yoongi,” he whispers.

Yoongi isn’t paying attention, too engrossed in learning. His features are very focused and poised. Jimin might think it was attractive if he wasn’t scared shitless right now. The sound of scratching is all Jimin can hear.

He looks up to see that he’s stopped under an entire family of bats. He freezes.

He suddenly feels very cold and shaky, but he doesn’t want to move to wrap his arms around himself. He doesn’t want to move at all. He closes his eyes and the images from his childhood of the bats fluttering around him sears into his eyelids.

A flap echos above. He snaps his eyes open and realizes they’re a bit wet. He blinks the tears away and takes a deep breath, trying to find his voice. “Y-Yoongi,” he whispers again.

Yoongi is across on the other side of the wide expanse, but somehow he hears Jimin’s plea for attention. He turns back and sees him stuck in place. It’s dark, but Jimin’s gone so pale, that much he can tell.

“What’s wrong?” he rushes forward, which ends up being the wrong thing to do because the bats startle above, exploding about in different directions.

Jimin shreaks, diving into Yoongi’s embrace once He’s close enough to do so. His face goes into Yoongi’s neck and he’s shaking so hard Yoongi thinks he might just rattle out of his arms. “Jimin!” He shouts over the flapping. His hands trail against his small back. “It’s okay.”

It’s not okay. Jimin hates bats and they’re closing in on them and they going to surround them and they’ll never get out. Yoongi doesn’t let him go as he takes three steps back, into s brighter part of the cave. “Jimin, they’re not even flying lower,” his voice gets soft.

He murmurs against his hair. “You’re okay.” Jimin peaks his head out from Yoongi’s neck, peering into the cave. The bats are still flying, but it’s so high above there’s no way they even look like they’re coming down.

Jimin Let’s out a dry sob of relief. He clings to Yoongi for a few more moments. Strong arms hold him tight. He pulls away again and breathing in some gulps of Yoongi’s musky cologne, a calming scent. “Can we get out of here?”

“Of course, let’s go,” Yoongi steps away and Jimin’s hand darts out to grip his tightly. “Please don’t let go of me.” Yoongi gives him a soft smile. “I won’t, not even for a second.”

Jimin’s family has actually left him. When they get out of the cave and their cell reception returns a flood of text messages come in through the family groupchat.

Hyun: Yuna hurt her leg Yuna: Hyun TRIPPED me Eomma: Enjoy your birthday with Yoongi, Jiminie Appa: be safe, have fun! Hyun: Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

“They’re gone,” Jimin sighs. “Apparently Yuna hurt her leg or something. Either way it’s just you and me, is that okay?” They’re almost to the bus stop now and Yoongi notices that Jimin is still holding his hand. He gives it a tight squeeze. “That’s completely okay.”

They take the bus to Snoopy garden, because Jimin’s family leaving then had been the plan all along. Yoongi knows that Yuna’s leg is fine and that his family is back at the house by now preparing the rest of his surprise. He can’t wait for Jimin to experience it all.

They stop by a record store on the way where Yoongi buys Jimin an album because “music makes me think of you,” which Jimin tells him is cheesy but he hugs the vinyl on the bus the entire way to the garden. He falls asleep against Yoongi’s shoulder during the last hour.

Yoongi dozes a bit himself but mostly tries to stay awake to revel in this moment. His heart aches a bit, with Jimin’s nose pressed to his neck and his pretty hair fanning across his forehead, arms hugging a record.

Yoongi knows Jimin will love this day and it will hurt him in the long run later.

But it’s worth it. Jimin’s face lights up when they approach the garden. The sun is out and shining in the early afternoon. They’ve been so lucky with the October weather thus far. He rushes forward into the park like a little kid, thanking Yoongi over and over again.

They experience everything from the cafe of delicious pastries, the stamps they earn at each turn, until they come to Jimin’s favorite part; the hill.

He’s so excited that he practically runs, leaving Yoongi heaving behind him. “When I was young these things made me feel so small. They don’t seem all that big now,” Jimin says with a soft smile.

Yoongi’s still panting, a bit breathless. Jimin has laid down in the grass so he plops down next to him, collapsing on his back. Jimin’s looking up at the sky. “You have more clues don’t you,” there’s a smile in his voice.

“Just one,” Yoongi says. “Riddles are hard.” “Can I get it now?” He’s so happy and so eager. Yoongi laughs. “Let’s just rest here a while, hm?”

Jimin allows the sun to warm his face. “I really don’t like my birthday, you know.” “You’ve told me before. But you never really said why.”

He turns on his side so he can face Yoongi. He’s on his back with his hands folded over his chest. His eyes are closed and his cheeks are flushed. It’s another one of those moments where Jimin realizes how breathlessly pretty he is.

“Getting older,” Jimin’s voice is quieter, “sounds horrible.” “How so?” Yoongi asks. Jimin sighs heavily. “People just expect so much out of you. That and, my youth just seems further and further away.”

“Youthfulness is around every corner,” Yoongi says, finally opening his eyes and looking at Jimin. “I saw it here today.” Jimin gives a light chuckle but Yoongi sits up, resting his hand on his chin. “No, really.”

He looks at Jimin earnestly. “There are people of all ages here enjoying themselves. Youthfulness is, subjective. You might not be younger anymore, but Jimin we’re still young.”

“But the expectations of getting closer to 30, they’re looming. I mean—” he gives Yoongi a pointed look. “We wouldn’t even be here together right now if the expectations of my age weren’t there.”

A small pit settles in the bottom of Yoongi’s stomach. Jimin’s always quick to remind him of the true purpose of this trip. Yoongi doesn’t have a reply. “We should take some pictures. I think your next clue is almost ready.” He sits up and pushes himself to stand.

It’s Yoongi who falls asleep on the ride back to Jimin’s house. His cheek is pressed against the bus window and Jimin thinks he understands what he means about youthfulness being everywhere. Yoongi looks several years younger in sleep.

He pulls out his phone and replies to his friends and family’s birthday greetings. He looks at the Busan Blues Twitter where listeners have left birthday messages and reactions to their new vlog.

He allows himself to read through almost everything, soaking it in. He isn’t surprised when the comments very quickly turn to to further speculations about them being together.

He looks over at Yoongi. He looks so..soft in sleep, so relaxed. Jimin sighs. He’d break him, just as he’s broken everyone else. Just as he’s broken himself. They’re better off friends with benefits who fake date to keep the expectations of growing up away.

They’re just about to the bus stop near his house when he realizes he doesn’t know the final clue. He tries to look in his and Yoongi’s bags but there’s nothing. He frowns. He could wake Yoongi up but he doesn’t really want to, he likes watching him sleep.

It’s exactly 6pm when a notification on Jimin’s phone goes off. *New post from pdmyg* Jimin furrows his brow. Yoongi is completely asleep and has been for the last hour. Also, he’s never gotten post notifications before. He clicks and a small, pouty gasp exits his lips.

“Yoongi,” Jimin shakes his shoulder. “Yoongi wake up.” He does, with a frown and a groan. “Are we there?” “Are you getting in the water??” Jimin asks.

Yoongi’s fully awake then. “My post—” “Are you planning to get in the water for my birthday?” Yoongi’s nose twitches. “I’m planning to try.”

They’re standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the secluded beach. Jimin can see an entire array of picnic supplies waiting for them. “You don’t have to do this,” he says. “This isn’t—” “We have three days left after this, Jimin. If I don’t try now I might not.”

“We don’t have to go to any more places with water.” “You love water,” Yoongi sighs. “Come on, let’s just go. Our food is waiting.” Jimin doesn’t get in another word as Yoongi descends towards the shore.

A/N: do not bookmark. I’ll finish this chapter tomorrow!!!