Actions

Work Header

My Best Friend

Summary:

Jimin and Jungkook have been best friends since childhood. At the age of 19 Jimin has to say goodbye to Jungkook who is moving to America. Four years later, Jimin is a hardworking kindergarten teacher in Seoul who suffers from crippling anxiety and is extremely shy. What happens when he gets reunited again with his best friend. A best friend who now is a K-pop star in a band with 5 other members and still madly in love with Jimin. Both things Jimin isn't aware of. And what happens when Jungkook's friends, aka bandmates, also take an interest in Jimin?

Notes:

Chapter 1

Notes:

Hi,

So this is the start of a new story. I hope you enjoy it, I'm excited to continue.
Also, quick note that their hair colours might not always match in the pictures I use in the story, so for now:
Jimin: black
Taemin: black
Sehun: Black
Jungkook: Black
Taehyung: Brown
Jin: Purple
Namjoon: Silver
Yoongi: Black
Hobi: Red
 
Please tell me your thoughts :)

Xo,
I.

Chapter Text

                                        jiminTaeminSehun

 

Waking up with a hangover is never fun. Don't get the wrong impression though, Park Jimin never drinks on weekdays and when he drinks in the weekend it's one glass, seeing as he is a serious lightweight, but with the now sour aftertaste of all the chocolate milk he drank yesterday, whipped cream and marshmellows included, he can't wait to get to the bathroom and brush his teeth. On his way there he trips over bodies strewn over the floor, the bodies of his best friends Taemin and Sehun. He's met them about four years ago, all of them going to the same college. They all started out in the teaching department, but Jimin is the only one who stuck it out and graduated. The two other boys quickly made the change to the art department, pursuing musical theater and dance. Both men are older by one year which according to them makes them wiser than their younger friend, to Jimin it just means one year more of stupidity and childishness. He loves them though, they accept him for exactly the person he is, they don’t need him to be someone he isn’t. If you ask him, Jimin’ll tell you that he isn’t the easiest to be around. For one, Jimin is the biggest workaholic. When he isn’t working, he’s sleeping because being a kindergarden teacher is very tiring. He teaches five - year- olds who have way too much energy and are too curious for their own good. On the daily he has to google answers to their questions in order to not look more stupid than he already does sometimes, so time for going out and adventuring with his friends is rare. When they do adventure it is nothing too exciting, the most thrilling thing they’ve done in the past few years is the escape room they defeated yesterday, for his 23rd birthday, other than that they’ve travelled to a few places in Korea. Never spontaneous though, seeing as Jimin would never go somewhere without having everything fully planned out, every tiny detail must be written down. He isn’t one for surprises, not with the panic attacks he suffers from. Another thing about himself he doesn’t like is his shyness. Talking to other people is a no go, going out to social places is a bigger no no and when there are other people involved outside of his friends, well… Jimin is one lost, little lamb. He isn’t an interesting person so he has nothing to say to others, his fear of being judged is another thing that is holding him back. To round it off, he considers himself a nerd. He loves everything from anime to superheroes, from Harry Potter to Lord of the rings to Doctor Who and so much more. The amount of comic books and films he has are endless, he could make his own library and theatre, something he wants to do if he ever has the chance of living in a bigger place than the apartement he is renting right now. If only being a kindergarden teacher earned him more money.

 

Having arrived at the bathroom, he looks in the mirror after putting on his black rimmed square glasses. His reflection looks tired, big bags under his reddened eyes, and his skin is paler than usual. Grabbing his toothpaste, he twists open the cap, squeezing some out and put it on his tootbrush that he then holds underneath the water for a little bit. Jimin closes his eyes while finally getting rid of the foul taste in his mouth, thinking back of the day before. They finished a Sherlock themed escape room with 9 minutes to spare, afterwards they went home and played a game of Cluedo, obviously he played with his favourite character Miss Scarlett. As always when they play boardgames together he lost, but it was still fun. They finished the night off with The Notebook, which the three friends have seen so many times by now that Jimin only gets away with it on his birthday. He opens his eyes again, spits out the toothpaste and cleans his mouth. The black haired boy then combs his hair that is the spitting image of a bird’s nest right now and puts on a beanie, something that always comforts him when he is feeling a bit under the weather. He decides against juwelery before walking out and making his way to the kitchen, once again stepping over his two best friends who are still knock out on the floor. He smiles fondly at the sight in front of him, thanking whatever god out there for bringing them into his life.

 

While waiting for the water to cook so he can make himself a comforting cup of Earl Grey tea, in the evening he always drinks English Breakfast because he’s that much of a rebel, he looks for his phone and finds it between the sofa pillows. He didn’t really look at his phone yesterday after ending his birthday call with his parents, which happened late afternoon after they finished the escape room, so he didn’t feel the need to hold on to it for the rest of the evening. Jimin loves to live in the  moment, to do that he oftens just puts his phone away or just turns it off all together.

 

He unlocks his phone screen and sees the text symbol at the top of his screen. Only one, he sighs a little in disappointment, as always most of his family and all of his colleagues forgot his birthday. He’s wondering which one out of the aformentioned did think of him. Before clicking on the app he looks at the picture on his screen. He whistfully stares at it, his heart hurting a little everytime he looks at the photo. Jimin has been wanting to change it for the longest time, but he just can’t make himself do it.

 

                               

 

The picture is of the last time he saw and got to spend time with his Jungkookie - hyung. It’s been four years now, the picture was taken a day before Jungkook moved away to go to university in America, his first three years of uni he'd spend in Busan, Jimin didn't like that either but at least they were reunited every weekend and during holidays. When Jimin finally graduated high school and applied to the same college as his best friend, Jungkook got the offer to move to the states. Jimin was heartbroken but knew he had to let his hyung go so Jimin decided to just attend Seoul College. Jungkook never came back to Seoul as he had secured a job in one of LA’s biggest companies “Big Hit”. When Jimin first got the news he was so proud of his hyung, but once Jungkook hung up the phone the younger cried his heart out.

 

He remembers, when this picture was taken, burying his face into the older’s neck, trying to hang on to his smell, and holding onto him tightly, refusing to let him go. Before Jungkook left that day, he promised to visit him and call him as much as he could. In the beginning he would call every other day and visit once every three months, but when the months passed, Jimin rarely heard from Jungkook. He understands how busy school is though, so he never complained, but his heart aches for his hyung. Even after all this time he still misses him with everything he has. For 12 years they spend almost every day together and now all of that was gone. Jimin can only hope that Jungkook is having fun and not missing him too much.

 

They’ve known each other for 16 years. Jimin, at the time 7 years old, moved into the house next to 10 year old Jungkook and his younger brother. Both set of parents pushed Jimin to befriend the younger Jeon, but it just never clicked. Junghyung, Jungkook’s sibling, couldn’t stand Jimin’s shyness, disliked that he rarely spoke and didn’t understand his need to hide himself from other people. So Junghyung ignored Jimin and blatantly refused to hang out with the boy.

 

Two weeks after their move Jimin is sitting on the step in front of his house, crying his eyes out, his little hands trying to wipe away the tears, willing himself to stop when suddenly a tissue is held in front of him. He looks up and stares straight into dark brown eyes belonging to the older Jeon brother. Jimin accepts the tissue in silence as he expects the older to just turn around again and walk home, but instead he sits down next to him and puts his arm around Jimin’s shoulder.

 

”Can I call you Jimin-ah?”, his neighbour asked him.

 
Jimin nods yes, looking at the boy next to him with the most innocent look.

 
“Jimin-ah, why are you crying?”

 
The boy shakes his head, too nervous and scared to say anything, because what if this nice boy next to him also leaves him?

 
”My eomma and appa told me to go play with Junghyung, so I went up to him, but he was playing with other children… I was very scared to speak to him, so I just waited for him to see me, when he did he came over and pushed me. When I fell on my bum, he just laughed, the other boys too and then he called me stupid.”, the boy says in a whisper.

 
”Ugh, my brother can be so dumb sometimes. I apologise for him Jimin-ah. He is not a smart boy. Always playing with those bullies… How about I’ll be your friend then?”

 
Jimin plays with his tiny fingers, plucking at the string of one of the holes of his jeans.

 
"Really? You want to be my friend?”

 
"Yes, we already are Jimin-ah. You can call me Jungkookie, or hyung if you want. I’m fine with both”.

 
That day he called Jungkook ‘Jungkookie - hyung' for the first time and he never stopped since. 

 

 

--Text--

 

From: Jungkookie - hyung

To: Jimin

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMIN-AH!

I’m sorry to text you so late on your special day

but I’ve had had a lot of work to do. I promise

you I didn’t forget it! Jimin-ah, I hope you had the

best day, with good food and a cake. Eat as much

as you want today, it is your birthday after all.

One day without dieting won’t kill you.

 

I miss you a lot!

Kookie hyung

 

PS: Your gift is on the way!

 

Jimin almost drops his phone, not expecting his hyung to text him. He’s never forgotten his birthday, but the last text message he’s received was almost two months ago and the last time Jungkook answered his phone calls had been five week ago. Yet, here on his screen, is a text message from his favourite person in the whole wide world, and of course he still worries about Jimin, even from a distance. 

 

-- Text--

 

From: Jimin

To: Jungkookie - hyung

 

Thank you hyung.

My day was great, I spend it with Sehun hyung and Taemin hyung.

Broke out of an escape room, played cluedo and watched The

Notebook. We didn't have cake, I just didn't feel like it, it's

just not the same if you aren't here to light the candles.

 

Anyway, I miss you more.

Don't overwork yourself.


xx
Jimin

 

By now the clock shows Jimin that it’s 8.30 am, so he has to leave to start the last day of his work week. After grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl on his kitchen counter, dropping his beanie on his coat hanger next to the door, he leaves a note behind for his two friends who are still peacefully sleeping, telling them to eat whatever they want for breakfast and to take a shower if they need one, he closes the door silently behind him. He’s left his friends in his apartment more than once on their own without any problems, he trusts them endlessly. Both men also have the key to his place, so more than once they come over to crash on his couch when they are wasted instead of driving home themselves and whenever Jimin’s sad or upset his friends show up without him having to ask and climb into bed with him to give him all the cuddles. So to say Jimin isn’t worried at all isn’t a lie. He knows that when he comes back home after his work day, his home will not be burnt down to the ground.

              Teacher outfitColour of the day

 

Jimin feels like a rockstar walking into the school, all the toddlers love him, no matter what age, they all run up to him for hugs and the additional kisses. Even the kids in the primary school part of the building all love him, among the teachers he is by far the most popular one, even if it is only his first year as a teacher. They wave to him from afar, yelling his name to get attention. This is why Jimin went into teaching young kids, they still appreciate the effort you put into them and reward you with more than a fake smile and a forced thank you when they leave their classrooms. This week’s topic in Jimin’s classroom is colour so every day he changes clothes whenever he arrives in the school and his kids are still enjoying recess. Today’s teacher outfit gets changed into a full blue attire, next week he will finish up the theme with pink, blue, black, white and rainbow. He especially can’t week for that friday, he is planning a rainbowparty with all the snacks and mocktails, hoping all his little beans will show up in their favourite colour. In two weeks he has to work around travelling for 10 days, seeing as Jimin has never left Korea, it is a theme that actually makes him nervous. He feels like he can't make a mistake this year, like he has to be absolutely perfect in order to keep his position in this school. The black haired boy has been using Naver non stop to look up information about countries he's never been to and learning sentences in languages he has never heard before. He still has a week, but he is already extremely worried on how it's going to go...

For now he focuses on the little kids that all have just entered his class sitting in a circle waiting for him to start role call. Once that is over and done with, they talk about the weather, the day of the week and who will be Mr Jimin’s special little helper of the day. For his arts and crafts moment, they make a blue fish out of a carton plate and a lot of paint. After two hours of painting, Jimin has blue paint all over his hands and therefore ends up swiping some on his cheek, chin and nose. He doesn’t realise it, as usual because it is not the first time this has happened, and none of the kids tell him so, Mr Jimin is always handsome in their eyes, but he is even better with more colour. They sing, dance, play tag and to finish up the day the teacher tells a story about the colour blue who is feeling blue. At 3 pm he opens the door to his classroom and sends them all back to their parents, wishing them a great weekend. Of course no child leaves without at least a high five or fist bump and more than half demand a hug, to which he easily complies.

                            

 

When everyone has left, Jimin cleans up his classroom, grabs his bag that now contains his folded up teacher outfit and closes the door behind himself, ready to start the weekend. Earlier today he had gotten a text from Taemin saying that him and Sehun are still at Jimin’s, waiting for him to get home. They’ve made him dinner as a thank you to let them sleep in and stocking up his fridge with their favourite breakfast foods. Knowing his friends they’ve also browsed his Netflix, already picking a film or series they know he has been wanting to see for a long time. Walking through the hallway on his way out, he says goodbye to his colleagues and the few kids still waiting for their parents.

Not looking around, Jimin doesn’t notice the small group that has gathered at the steps of the school, squabbling excitedly. Once he looks up from his phone, finally having send a text back to his friends, the group has gone  and only one person is left standing. Jimin does a double take, eyes going big and mouth falling open. Shock courses through his body, followed by complete happiness and elation. He looks at the older man in front of him, a smile growing on his face, his eyes twinkling. The man, who is wearing a plaid black and white shirt underneath a leather jacket and a black bucket hat adorning his head, looks right back at Jimin, waving at him with one hand, in the other he's holding a cupcake with one candle. The anticipation between the both of them is growing, until the man motions Jimin over. That all is the teacher needs to run down the stairs and throwing himself in the arms of the taller person who is waiting for him. Jimin is clinging to the man’s jacket for dear life, secretly smelling the scent that he has missed so much, that has always given him comfort. The man in all black doesn’t mind, he in turn hugs Jimin closer while putting his cheek on Jimin’s head, trying to keep the tiny flame of the candle away from Jimin. 

 

                       

”Happy birthday Jiminah.”, he whispers softly as to not break the reunion between them just yet.

Jimin always wondered how it would be to see Jungkook again, whether it’d be awkward between them, but being this close to the older man he can say with certainty that nothing between them has changed.

”Thanks Jungkook hyung.”, Jimin finally looks up, inspecting Jungkook’s face from up close, taking in every detail he was so afraid he'd forget but remembering everything. It is clear that Jungkook has been taking him in as well. Jungkook silently hands over the cupcake, Jimin accepts it greatfully, blows out the candle and takes a big bite. 

”Jimin, you’ve got something on your face.”, While saying this he takes his phone out to take a picture, “cute.”

“Hyung!”, whines Jimin, “why did you take a picture of me? I’m sure I’m a completely mess right now.”, mouth still full with his birthday cupcake.

”No, you look perfect. Besides I needed a new picture for my background”, Jungkook shows his phone, with a picture of Jimin covered in blue, to the black haired boy, “You are not the teenager anymore I left behind. Djeez Jimin-ah, I knew you were handsome with the pictures you send me, but those are nothing compared to the real deal.”

”Ugh, I’m glad your back home hyung, but flattering isn’t going to get you anywhere”, he says while rolling his eyes, “ So…Where are you staying? And when are you leaving again?”, he asks the last question with a sad softness, but he knows it’s better to prepare himself now than dealing with his surprise departure like last time.

“I’m actually staying in Seoul for a while. There’s no end date yet. I still have to work obviously, but I’m working from Big Hit Seoul headquarters. I told them I wanted to be home for a bit. Not being home for four year does something with a person. Don’t get me wrong Jimin-ah, living in the US is great, but I started to feel more American than Korean. Luckily, my boss understood and put me on the first flight here.”

”Woah Jungkookie - hyung, you have the best boss! So you aren’t going away again?”, Jimin hopefully asks.

”I’m not, you’ll be seeing a lot of me. I just have to find a place to stay, for now I’m staying at a hotel.”

”What about your mum and dad?”

”They’ve moved two years ago. Junghyung moved out three years ago to a student dorm and told my parents he would find an apartment afterwards, which he did by the way. So my parents moved to a smaller place. I could put a matress in the living room but I would have to deflate it every morning and inflate it every evening. The commute to work is also over an hour, so that’s a bit of a hassle.”

”My place isn’t all that big, but I’ve got a big bed that I can share. If you don’t like that, we can move the sofa’s and put an airmattress in the livingroom that you wouldn’t have to set up every day. I also have enough room on my two sofa’s. One even turns into a bed, according to Taemin and Sehun it is comfortable, but they can sleep anywhere, including my bedroom floor. Speaking of those two, they are at my place with food, you can finally meet each other! Finally all my favourite people in one room. Anyway, think about it Kookie hyung. You can stay permanently or until you found something better.”

“I would love to stay with you Jiminah. You are sure it’s not bother?”

”Never Kookie hyung! So where will you sleep? The bed, the sofa or the mattress?”

“We’ve shared beds before, so if you sure you don’t mind let’s revisit the past?”

”Great! I remember to always sleeping better when you were with me.”

Walking to Jimin’s place they quickly fall into hold habits. Whenever Jimin laughs hard he throws his entire body against Jungkook’s, eyes completely closed and Jungkook who still remembers Jimin not being able to see when he smiles takes a hold of his hand in order to keep him upright, because Jimin has a superpower in finding all the uneven spots on the pavement. He entwines their fingers as they always did before, looking down and smiling at it.

”Jimin-ah?”

”Hyung?”

”Can I ask you a favour?” Jungkook asks hesitatingly

”Anything, you know that.”

”I didn’t come here on my own. My best friends came here with me. I met them in the States and before we knew it we lived and worked together. They are now staying with me at the hotel, but I’d hate for them to be there when I’m living comfortably with you. Besides I want them to meet you.”, hopefully the older man looks at the black haired boy that is walking next to him.

Jimin’s heart stings a bit when his hyung calls other people his best friends, but he also understands that the both of them have been apart for a long time, even if nothing feels changed, maybe some things did. For now, all he wants is his Jungkookie - hyung close by and if that means dealing with a few more people, what harm will it do?

“Sure hyung, I don’t see a problem. How many people are we talking about?”, expecting another two or three people, Jimin is surprised to hear of five more. Five best friends, that aren’t him…,” We’ll fold open the sofa, the mattress can hold two people and the smaller couch can hold one person. It might be a bit cramped, but we can also call that charming and cosy.”

Jungkook thanks the teacher profusely and straight away sends the address to his friends. They tell him they’ll be there in half an hour seeing as they never really unpacked. The front door to Jimin’s appartement opens to loud music, the playlist with Western artists Sehun has made, and the clattering of plates and cutlery.

”Jiminah! Your home! Finally! We were so bored without you! Honestly, we told you to take today off as well, why didn’t you listen to us?”

”Hyung, I can’t just not go to work, what about the children’s education?”

”Jiminah! Taeminnie is right, you should have stayed home. Sometimes you need to relax, don’t forget that your panic attacks have had some serious flare ups in the last few months young man! You need to take care…”, Sehun drops a spoon at the sight in front of him,”of yourself.”, he finishes his sentence completely gobsmacked.
”Hyung? Are you okay?”, Jimin asks worried.

”Jiminah? Your friend?”, Sehun starts, but shuts up straight away, because in front of him stands a wild Jungkook shaking his head with pleading eyes that basically tell him, he’ll inform him later. When a bewildered Taemin joins them, he stops talking the minute his friend pinches his side, cocks his head towards Jungkook and basically tells him to shut up with the look on his face. Luckily Taemin gets the message and closes his mouth, before continuing,” I don’t think we’ve been introduced?”

”Taeminnie, Sehunie, this is my Jungkookie - hyung. I’ve told you about him.”, Jimin turns to Jungkook and with a soft smile says,” all good things, I promise.”

”Nice to meet you! Luckily we made enough food for four, so join us.”

Jimin awkwardly scratches the back of his head when he informs that five more people are going to join them, so with a bit of grumbling Sehun and Taemin, with the help of Jimin put their food in containers and place them in the fridge for another day and order black bean noodles, fried chicken and gimbap for 10 people, just in case someone has a big appetite. When all the food, and drinks are ordered, the bell rings loudly. Jungkook walks to the door and opens it to the five people ,who are expected, all piling in. They automatically take their shoes off and form a line, but at a stern look from Jungkook they losen up and just wave.

 

                                         



”Jimin, Taemin, Sehun, meet my friends, Namjoon hyung, Jin hyung, Yoongi hyung, Hobi hyung and Taehyung hyung.”

Niceties are exchanged between the nine men, all of them already somewhat getting along, everyone except for Jimin who sort of regrets to having so many people into his place. In the euphoria of having his hyung back, he totally forgot about his crippling anxiety, which now just hit full force. So he gives himself 15 minutes to make a basic cup of tea and wash his face, being quite sure that no one in the living room misses him.

”Jimin-ah? Why did you disappear on me?”

”I’m sorry Kookie hyung, I just needed a warm drink.”

”Mmm, is that still code for you feeling uncomfortable?”, Jungkook asks kindly,"Here, let me help clean up your face."

Jimin’s eyes are roaming around his kitchen, while Jungkook is wiping away the blue paint… He’s always dreamt of telling Jungkook he is done with anxiety, that he has overcome it, but instead it's only gotten worse since he left, which is not the thing to confess to when being reunited again after so long.

“Jiminah, it’s okay. Just keep close to me, and if my hyungs bother you, I’ll keep them in check. Have I ever not protected you?”

Jimin shakes his head no, but thinks back to the last four years when Jungkook wasn’t around… Jimin learned to adapt with two other protectors by his side and at the moment that felt more comfortable, but how could he explain that to the boy who had been by his side for so long?

”Jimin-ah? Ah hiding in the kitchen again. Come on, Sehunnie will keep you safe from the big, not so bad men in the livingroom, but you can’t hide here forever.”, Sehun takes Jimin’s hand and pulls him closer, already rubbing tiny circles on his skin. Jimin visibly relaxes and clings onto his friend. With their backs turned away from Jungkook both boys don’t notice the annoyed look in the older’s eyes and his tongue poking the inside of his cheek.

Chapter 2

Notes:

Hi,

So how are we liking Butter? I'm obsessed, it's been the only thing I've listened to today.

Just the reminder that the hair colours did not change since last chapter. So Jimin still has dark hair.
I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've written this basically everywhere I went as I didn't have a lot of free time.

Xo,
I.

Chapter Text

                           

Jimin ends up sitting on Sehun's lap, with his head on the other's shoulder, as they've done so many times over the past few years. So many people in one room tire him out immensly, always has. Especially on days where he is already tired, because of his chocolate milk hangover and his job, but when he experiences heavy emotions like being reunited with his Kookie hyung... well, Jimin is just exhausted, emotionally and physically. Whenever he needs comfort it's always Sehun who volunteers, when he needs to be brave it's Taemin who holds his hand.

Jungkook is sitting in the middle of the room, just staring at the image in front of him. He knows he is the one who moved on from Seoul for years, but he never moved on from Jimin. His eyes are almost shooting daggers at Sehun, who he knows, when he is thinking reasonably which he is not right now as he is jetlagged or so he makes himself believe, is doing the right thing in giving Jimin what he needs. But in his heart that is still Jungkook's job. He always thought that nothing would ever change between Jimin and him, yet here the younger is almost asleep on another man's lap, with another man combing his hair out his face and humming softly in his ear to calm him down. It takes everything in Jungkook to not rip Jimin away from the both of them and craddle him in his own arms, keeping him safe forever, but it seems like he doesn't have the right to do that right now. It seems like Jimin moved on from him, although he doesn’t even know if he was Jimin’s to begin with in the first place.

Jungkook still notices specks of blue on Jimin’s face, which endears his a lot. Jimin never really cares about what he looked like, he cares about his friends and family over looks or popularity. He always wants them to be happy and does everything within his power to do so. It’s clear he still has that attitude, to this day, and puts it fully into his job.
When Jimin told him he wanted to be a teacher, he could just see it. His best friend had always been the kindest to everyone, it just shone through and really attracted kids wherever they went. One time he was sitting down in the grass amongst the most beautiful flowers, the park they always went to was always prettiest in the spring, so Jungkook would always pick up Jimin from school and go there with him to enjoy a little break before the younger would go home and dutifully finish his homework. Sitting between the flowers, Jimin would start a flower crown that he would give, without hesitation, to Jungkook, but by the end of their free time together, he’d be surrounded by kids, who would always keep their distance from Jungkook as if they feared he would eat them, teaching them how to make beautiful crowns in the most simple way possible. The specks of blue remind him of those times, Jimin explaining the assignment with simple words while not being afraid to make his hands, and face, dirty. He always wanted to see Jimin at work, maybe one day he can join him to school for a day.
For now he just wants to pick up the, now fast asleep, boy and clean him up to just cuddle him throughout the night. So he does at least the first part. He walks over to Sehun, takes Jimin from him and carries him bridal style to his bedroom, to which he now knows, thanks to the house tour, has a bathroom attached to it. He lays the teacher down on the bed, releases him from his overly blue shorts and socks, puts the blankets over him and walks to the bathroom to get a luke warm cloth. It takes him a while to find one, but once he does, he carefully moves it over Jimin's skin in order not to wake him up. The blue disappears bit by bit, making room for a red blush coming through on his cheeks. He always finds Jimin adorable, but the little pout he has going on when he's asleep, just begs to be kissed. The older refrains himself, instead caresses said cheek and gives a small little peck on his forehead. With one last look he turns around and joins the others in the livingroom to set up the sofa's, the mattress, and hopefully kick out Jimin's friends, in a gentle way. They seem nice enough, he doesn't really have issues with them, but at the moment the younger seems to like them more and he just doesn't like that idea. 

The moment he returns back to the livingroom, seven sets of eyes focus on him. He looks back at them, challenging the men into commenting on what he just did. No one does, instead they silently stand up and help get their sleeping arrangements ready. All of them silently agree that questions can wait till the morning. With Jin and Yoongi sharing the sofa, Namjoon and Taehyung on the mattress, Hobi takes the smaller couch on his own. Taemin and Sehun, not ready to leave Jimin alone with all these men, who honestly seem really nice, for the younger’s sanity they take the small camping matts out of Jimin’s closet and walk into Jimin’s bedroom. They lie themselves down as they did the night before, ignoring the little huff coming from Jungkook. The older in turn, tries to reduce his annoyance a little bit, but is clearly not succeeding. He climbs in bed next to Jimin, keeping his distance. Jungkook hates not being closer to the boy, but he has noticed the hesitation throughout the evening on Jimin’s side. He understands that Jimin needs to get used to his presence again before he can just cuddle him. Jungkook silently prays that they can get back to normal again as soon as possible, this uncertainty between them is driving him insane.

When Jungkook wakes up, seven hours later, he hears people softly talking. He recognises his friends murmurs, but the other voices are unknows to him… Jimin’s friends are still here.. Great… Sitting up in the bed, he notices that Jimin is still fast asleep, the cute pout still on his face, now joined by a small nose scrunch. No one ever looks good sleep and then there’s Jimin. Ever so perfect when everyone else looks like a troll. He silently makes his way out of bed and into the livingroom, ready for his first cup of coffee of the day.

”So Jinssi, how did you become a band? I mean, I know Mr Bang put all of you together, but you never really talked about how you were discovered.”

”First of all, call me hyung, if we are going to see more of each other, we can start here. Why don’t you call all of us hyung. If I’m not mistaken, you guys are younger than us. Seeing as our Jungkook is the maknae in Bangtan and he is older right?”

”Not sure. How much older than Jimin is he?”, Taemin asks curiously.

”I’m three years older”, he answers from the bedroom door he just closed behind his back.

”Ah yes, then you are all our hyungs. We’re older than Jimin by a year.”

”Didn’t you all start university at the same time? That’s what Jungkook told us when he talked about Jimin.”

”Ah yes, Sehunnie and I were in high school together. We had to double our final year. Both of us were just not good at focussing and sitting still, especially in our final year, so we ended up having to do that year twice. Straight after we went to Seoul College, not because we wanted to, but by our parents wishes and that is where we met our Jimin-ah. On the very first day of school he held open the door for us and together we found the way to our classroom. That’s how we discovered all of us were in the same department, teaching. Sehunnie and I gave up after a year. We totally sucked at it. Both of us are very impatient and don’t actually like children all that much, but we thought it’d be the easiest thing to study… Guess we were wrong about that. So with Jimin’s help we transferred in our second year to the drama department for musical theater and dance. That’s the only reason all of us graduated last year. Jimin as a teacher, which he is so good at, seeing him with those little creatures is actually adorable. Jiminwise, not kidswise. Both of us are trying to make it into the acting and dancing world. So we are taking extra workshops at SIDA.”

”Woah, SIDA?! How did you get into that?”, Taehyung whistles impressed,”Our Hobi studied there too.”

”SIDA?”, Namjoon asks confused.

”Seoul Institute Of Dramatic Arts. It’s mainly acting, but they also teach different dance styles that are used in musicals, so mostly ballroom, latin and musical Jazz.”, Hobi answers proudly,” It’s really hard to get into, mostly you only can get it if a scout sees you act or dance and offers you a spot. I studied there for a year, that’s how I got my place at Big Hit. After a year at the school for dance, they told me I should try out at entertainment companies. They loved my latin dancing, but they early on understood that Hip Hop and Streetdance were my actual passion. So they wrote me a recommendation letter that I got to use in case I needed it. I auditioned at four companies and was offered a spot at two. One here in Seoul, one in LA. The one in LA told me I would have more creative controle, that we would be able to write our own narrative on what Kpop is and as someone who loves creating freely, I picked that option. I was the fourth person to join the company and I haven’t regretted it at all.”

Sehun and Taemin listen carefully to everything that is told to them, seeing as this is all new information. They are sure that it’s not secret information, but the band has always tried to keep as much as they could private seeing as they want to be known for their music, not their personal lives.

”I’m the first one to join the company. Nine years ago I joined Big Hit Seoul, after I was scouted after a rap battle in an underground club. I was 18 at the time and it was my first big breakthrough. Mr. Bang believed in my talent even if I was quite young and I’ll be forever grateful. When I turned 20, he told me he wanted to start a Kpop band in America. One that redefined the genre and I loved the idea. Seeing as I was the first one on board and at the time we had been working together for two years, he instantly made me leader. I was levelheaded enough to deal with stress and problems that might arise later on, the trust we had in each other also well established. So I agreed, we both flew over to LA and while Mr Bang focused on making Big Hit America a well respected company, I did everyting within my power to make all the trainees feel at home. Observing them, I learned a lot and with that knowledge I went to Mr Bang. Together we made sure Jin and Yoongi joined the band.”

”Both of us joined the band at the same time, but hyung will say that he is the second to join the company, seeing as he signed his contract, 2 minutes before I did. Being a fast reader has it’s perks, I guess. Anyway, I joined after Big Hit America held auditions for rappers and singers. I won in the rapper part of the competition, with Mr Bang telling me I was pretty impressive. At 21 I had almost given up hope at becoming a rapper and had wrapped my mind around being only a producer, they need a lot of those, but I signed on to Big Hit to becoma a trainee, for three years, until I was placed in our band and debuted a year later as a rapper and in the meantime already working as a producer. After three years I just can’t imagine not being both anymore. The dancing I can do without, but it’s not that bad.”, Yoongi said the last bit jokingly.

”As Yoongi-ah said, we joined the company at the same day. We did everything together. Only I auditioned in the singing part of the competition, which was in the morning, the rappers did their thing in the afternoon. Mr Bang told me I had the voice of an angel. Later on during my training days he told me he was stunned by my beauty, I knew he was going to admit to that eventually, it is quite clear to anyone that I am Worldwide Handsome, but it was nice to hear. Us being trainees together, and roommates for that matter, created a bond early on, so it only made sense that Yoongi and I signed on on the exact same day. Two week later Hoseok joined us.”

”Three weeks after those four came together, I was added to the team. To be fair, I never planned to become an idol. I just moved to the States for a year to take a gap year. One year turned into two because I enjoyed my freedom so much. Never took just one job, I did everything that came my way and nothing longer than 3 months. In the evening I busked on the streets and that’s how I got noticed by a our manager. He told me to audition for Mr Bang, which I thought was a joke at first, but I took the chance anyway. He placed me with these guys and I immediately started training with them.”, Taehyung looks at Jungkook,"It's your turn now, or do you want us to tell them?" 

"And tell us why you never told Jimin.", Taemin looks sternly at Jungkook.

"I'll tell you guys, but I'll make it quick, I don't want Jimin-ah to hear it. Not yet, I'll tell him everything on my terms. Deal?"

Everyone nods, wondering why he’s so myserious about it. Sehun and Taemin listen attentively, still wondering why such a grumpy cat made it into a group with such bubbly characters.

“I was around 22, when I was found in a karaoke place of all people. I was there for a birthday with some of my college classmates, Mr Bang was there with his siblings, he heard me sing and offered me a place in this band who he knew I’d fit right in. I didn’t say yes immediately. I was still studying accountancy in Busan and Jimin was almost joining me there. We would only be together in college for one year, but I was planning on finding myself a job in Busan so we could still live together. Ever since we met, when I was 10 and he was 7 we did everything together and to think my parents pushed my brother to be his friend… Anyway, it’s not like I really wanted to study accountancy, but I was and still am good with numbers so it was an obvious choice. The thing that convinced me to go to America was the idea of being stuck at a desk in front of a computer for the rest of my life. I just didn’t have the heart to tell Jimin-ah that I was going to live this fabulous life, because a) he couldn’t join and even if I asked, he probably wouldn’t. Jimin isn’t big on crowds of people and attention, which is a big part of the job, b) what if this failed and we didn’t end up debuting? I didn’t want to go home and tell the one person who always had faith in me that I had failed. Then there’s C) I selfishly didn’t want to miss out on any of it, new friends, big town, being my own boss for the most part. With Jimin-ah not being interested in music I knew a lot had to happen for him to find anything out. So I told Mister Bang ‘yes’ and met these guys two days later. With me joining, we officially became Bangtan Sonyeondan. I thought I could make it work, combine my new life with my old. Jimin would never hold me back, but in a way he would because I would always stay around him, to keep him safe. I still wanted to do that, but for the first time I wanted something even more. Or so I thought. We’ve been apart for four years and I couldn’t make it work… I had to choose between neglecting my job or Jimin… Letting down five other people or one. Anyway, so I told him I got an offer from an American college and I’d be back in a year. After that year I told him I had a job at Big Hit and that I got to study producing on top of that, which isn't a lie as Yoongi hyung taught me everything he knows, something he knew I always wanted to do but my parents didn’t really approve of. So of course he was happy for me. Whenever we talked it was always about me. So I checked his IG to find out how he was doing… He always seemed so happy, so I was satisfied and was able to push the guilt away. All was good until he deleted his social media and didn’t answer my phone calls for three months or so. By the time he contacted me again, I was only able to reply to his texts and his phone calls a handful of times. I contacted his parents a few times in those four years for updates on how he actually was, but the last six months they had no idea what was happening with their son. They met up, but he never really talked. That’s when I decided that I needed to hurry back to check up on him. Luckily for me all of us needed a break so we all flew back home. It's been nice, keeping my life and Jimin separate. Knowing that he won't look at me differently because of my job has been refreshing. He's kept me sane, even from a distance, without him knowing, now it's my turn to be there for him again. I've neglected my best friend status and duties for too long.”

Taemin nodded, understanding everything, “So, how did all of you end up here?”

"Well... that's all of Jungkook's doing. None of us wanted to go home, not just because of the journalists and fans following us around but also because our parents would never let us go. We get it, we've been gone for a long time but once you are used to freedom... so we booked us a hotelroom and came up with a plan. This dude here", Jin pointed at Jungkook," who we thought had no more secrets from us reluctantly pulled his phone from his pocket and showed us a picture of the most adorable human."

                                         

“What Jin hyung is trying to say is that all of us just needed to see the cutie that is Jimin-ah. Seriously, can you believe that Kook kept him a secret for four years?! His phone is full of pictures of him. Full of them. We’ve seen him grow up in front of our eyes in a timespan of 10 minutes. Jungkook is still reluctant to share his memories with Jimin, even if he already told us the basics, so we told our Kook that it’s about time we met him. Seeing as het met our friends it’s only fair we met his. He told us he was normally going to introduce us around Christmas, as all of us wanted to come home to see some snow, which we haven’t seen since we left here, but seeing as Jimin was the best option to get some peace and quiet our youngest was willing to expedite the meeting, that is if Jimin was up for it.”, Yoongi informs them.

”So we allowed our Jungkook to meet up with Jimin on his own, reunite with too much noise and chaos. I’ll be the first to admit that we are a loud bunch and from what we noticed the little cutie and loud noise are not going well together, but I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say we’ll easily stay quiet if that helps him feel more comfortable around us. Just looking at him, you want to protect him. It’s become more and more clear why Jungkook didn’t want to share Jimin, he is even more adorable in real life than in all those pictures we were shown. Also all the blue on his face yesterday, just made me want to squeeze his cheeks! He’s too cute! On top of that he is probably the most handsome person we've ever seen, and we have Jin hyung in our band, so that says a lot!”

”I agree with Taehyung! He is such a little puppy. When he looked lost yesterday and you were calming him down, none of that felt weird to us. We just wanted to know what to do, so we can help in the future when you aren’t around,” Hobi says softly.

“Right, and his button nose! Oh my god, I just want to poke it and hope that it makes him smile. Do you realise we haven’t seen him smile yet? I really wonder what his laugh sounds like, whether he giggles or if he rather has a soundless laugh. As the leader I try to keep my members safe from harm, but I have never felt this protective over anyone and we’ve only been around an overwhelmed Jimin for a few hours.”, Namjoon admits.

“Good luck on that, Jimin isn’t good with new people, let alone have people protect or comfort him. It took us six months and we are still working on that. Jimin would rather suffer on his own than ask for help. So, we had to learn all the signs of a stressed out Jimin, so we could comfort him before he suffered a proper breakdown. We know we have a lot to learn, but our Jimin is the best, so he’s worth the effort.”

Listening to the boys who are sitting at the table, while keeping an eye and ear on the bedroom door, Jungkook rolls his eyes. If anyone knows Jimin it’s him. He knows him at least ten years longer, that counts for something. Rolling his eyes, he’s ready to give the boys a peace of his mind when he is interrupted by Taehyung, who in turn wants to know how Taemin and Sehun knew that Jimin was the right person to befriend.

Jungkook scoffs, because what a stupid question is that? Of course his Jimin-ah is the right person, anyone could see that from a mile away. If only Jimin wasn’t their best option to be safe, he could've still kept him to himself. Honestly, Jungkook doesn’t like the idea of sharing his best friend, especially not now that he finally has him back, or almost has him back.

”How did we know he was the right person? Because he is one of the few people who still holds open a door. Because he refused to accept our money for anything, even after he found out our parents have a lot of money. We aren’t rich, but we have more than enough and treating someone to a coffee will not make a difference for us. He's never accepted it. Whenever we buy him a birthday present that he knows is expensive, he gets mad and has us return the gift. The first time he met my mum and both of Sehun’s parents he bought flowers for our mums and a bottle of expensive red wine for my dad. He couldn’t really afford it, but to him making a good impression was worth more than having a good meal every evening. So knowing he spend half of his pay from his student job on it, without ever reminding us or trying to make us feel guilty about it, touched us immensly. As we said, he would have never allowed us to bring him meals, so in turn we stocked up his fridge with his favourite, fresh, food whenever he was working so we couldn’t return it. It’s the first and only time he accepted it, only because he hates to waste food, but I think we ate half of it anyway. Jimin-ah even babysat my nephews so Sehun and I could go to, funnily enough, your concert and then covered for us by being the witness my parents needed. Seeing as, normally, Jimin never lies they trusted him immediately and paid me for a job well done. Money I in turn tried to give to Jimin and he denied, again. So I bought some of the expensive paint he needed for school and secretly put it amongst the bottles he already owned. At least that way the money still went to our little Jimin. It’s the small things like that. Soon enough, we noticed his nervous habits, how he always feels too much, how he overworks himself because he has this need to be perfect, how he hides from people he doesn’t know and how he hates going out, doing things normal people find easy,  how even entering a grocery store on his own can cause an anxiety attack. Jimin has always given us self confidence, made us love ourself and see our own self worth, it made us sad to see him be this fluffy ball of nerves all the time. It never ends, unless he is around children. The last thing he wants is for any child to go home being the way he is, so he tries to show them a confident person, so they can copy him. He showers them in compliments and accepts that every child is different and he loves them equally, seeing their differences as their special traits. His class motto is: ‘You are all perfectly imperfect in your own way’. Too bad that it’s always the people who lift others up the most, who are continuously feeling low.”, Taemin tells them, a light sadness in his voice. Jungkook hates how good Jimin's friends know him and how much they actually like him. He can't fault them for wanting to be close to him, but he is determined to get as close to Jimin as they once where and if it's up to him they'll be even closer. 

”Poor Jimin-ah, if only we were there for him, we could have hold his hand every time he felt panicky, or just do things for him. He wouldn’t have to do everything on his own.”, Hobi says dreamily. He then looks at Sehun and Taemin and point from one to the other,” Besides, are you always this touchy feeling with your maknae? Does he like that? Does he even want it?”

”Oi, chill Hobi hyung! We don’t call it touchy feely, we call this being protective thank you very much! If he sits in our lap or holds our hand, whenever he cuddles us or accepts a piggyback ride, that’s all because he wants it. Either he initiates it or we offer and he accepts, knowing very well he can reject our offer without hurting our feelings. We aren’t going to force anything on him. That’s not friendship.”

While the eight men are talking and eating breakfast, Jimin finally wakes up. It’s past 10 am and even though he’s slept for at least 9 hours he still feels utterly exhausted. The matts on the ground tell him Sehun and Taemin stayed over, which makes him calm down considerably. It’s only morning and Jimin already feels on edge, not really understanding why. He’s just scared it’s going to be one of those days, where every small thing puts him in a frenzy and he’s just not ready for it. The comfort he seeks for lies in the arms of the two boys who are probably getting breakfast ready, so he crawls out of bed, makes his way to the bathroom, brushes his teeth and quickly combs his hair. Normally he’d try to tame his bedhead with some water, but his friends have seen him in a worse state, so with pyjama’s that are a bit too large and cover both his hands and feet, Jimin shuffles towards his door and into his livingroom. His eyes are still half closed, trying to fight the sleep that’s trying to consume his mind and body again, so he misses all the eyes that are on him. When he finally reaches his destination, the kitchen, he takes out a cup and his tea box while boiling water.

”Did you sleep well Jiminie?”, he feels arms around his waist, a stomach pressed against his back and he leans straight into it. He nods and rubs his nose with the sleeve of his pj’s.

”Still so tired Sehunnie.”, he mumbles tiredly.

”Why don’t you go to bed again Jiminie? You had a heavy week. Your birthday celebrations, work with those little gremlins, meeting six new people…”, at that last bit Jimin almost drops his cup. He knew there was something nibbling at the back of his thoughts. He puts his cup back down, turns his face in Sehun’s chest.

”Sehunnie? Did everyone see me like this?”, his muffled voice asks.

”What? In your pyjama’s? Of course they did, but you don’t have to worry, we are all still in our sleepwear and we all look a mess. At least you still look adorable.”, Sehun chuckles, “we all look like we survived a storm.”

”’M not cute though.”, Jimin denies, still shy and slightly embarassed.

”Jimin-ah? Did you sleep well?”, A soft voice reaches both boys ears.

Jimin reluctantly looks up, straight in Jungkook’s eyes. He nods softly and smiles his biggest smile, his eyes closing completely and immediately the older is met with a memory from the time he just met his little neighbour.

Hyung, stop making me laugh. I can’t see when I’m laughing, I can’t see.”

To which Jungkook just smiles and continues his tickling attack on Jimin. The sight in front of Jungkook has always been one of his favourites. Jimin is the most beautiful when he laughs with his entire face, so the longer Jungkook can see that image, the more he’ll reach for it.

                                                       

Shaking the memory away he focuses back on Jimin in the present, who is taking in all of his hyung's features, scared he’s going to leave him again, even though he told Jimin he’d be staying with him for a while. Jimin looks up at Sehun to silently ask permission to go to Jungkook, which he is granted straight away. His older friend is the last person to stop him from doing anything. He also knows how much Jimin missed his hyung, so if he can help Jimin close that gap that grew in between them, he’s happy to help. The younger steps back from the hug and turns his entire body to Jungkook, who in turn opens his arms. The other men watch all of it happen with curious eyes, slightly jealous that they aren’t the one’s Jimin is looking at. The dark haired boy walks straight in the arms of his once, and hopefully soon again, best friend putting his face in his neck, his arms around the taller man’s neck.

”I’m so happy I didn’t just dream you Kookie hyung. I’ve missed you so much, I was so scared this morning when I woke up alone in my bed that you were just a figment of my imagination.”, Jimin whispers, pressing himself closer to Jungkook, enjoying his warmth and the way his hands slowly caress his back.

”Jimin-ah, I’m right here. For now I’m not going anywhere. So stop worrying your pretty little head and let hyung take care of you. I made you breakfast, come.”, He takes Jimin by the hand and puts him at the head of the table on his own chair, Jungkook standing behind him, hands on Jimin’s shoulders. In front of the younger is a plate with two sandwiches on, homemade by his hyung, like they did when they were younger and Jimin stayed over. Looking back up at Jungkook, Jimin rewards him with a second big smile, teeth visible, crescent shaped eyes completely closed. Everyone at the table coos at the younger. This answers at least the question of what Jimin looks like when he smiles, now they still need to know whether he laughs in silence or whether he’s loud when he laughs. Does he giggle? They’ll make it their mission to find that out next.

With Jimin now wide awake, he excuses himself from the table after having finished the sandwiches Jungkook made for him. He tells everyone he needs to put the finishing touches on his lesson plans for the next week, which includes making examples for his arts moments in class, finding short stories to end the day with, some colourful decorations in pink, purple, black, white and rainbow and last but not least his outfits for every day. So that’s how Jimin spends his Saturday. In the evening, after a warm shower to get rid of the paint that found itself once again on his hands and face, he sits himself in between Jungkook and Sehun on the sofa, ready to watch the film they’ve chosen when he is handed a plate with sushi to eat, which he is sure he didn’t pay for.

On Sunday the group of men leaves the trio on their own for the afternoon, seeing as their families travelled to Seoul for the day to see their sons. While Bangtan meets up in a tiny cafe in the outskirts of the city, Sehun and Taemin drag Jimin out of his apartment to the nearest park so he can breath in some fresh air. If it were up to the younger, he’d crawl back in bed and sleep some more, but his friends believe that physical excercise improves both the body and the mind, it's safe to say that Jimin doesn't share the same ideal.

”So Jiminie… Jungkook hyung is a bit intense isn’t he?”, Sehun says carefully, as to not anger his friend. 

”Oh, Is he? I’ve never noticed that. He’s just protective I guess.”

”Protective is one thing. Planning our murder in is head is a whole other thing. I’m sure he’d even justify it by saying that it was a murder but not a crime.”, Taemin adds and then high fives Sehun, so proud of himself for adding the musical theatre reference.

”And then he goes to jail and tells them all about how he murdered you in a song? Not everyone is as dramatic as you are.”

Both boys are honestly impressed with Jimin’s knowledge on musicals, so for the next two hours they talk all about it, seeing how much he actually knows. When all three of them are tired they go home after deciding to watch ‘Rent’ before bed. They have to wait for the other’s to come home anyway, seeing as Jimin hasn’t been able to fix doubles of his keys, so it’s the perfect way to pass the time.

                                                       


During the week, Bangtan sees the three friends come and go. Taemin and Sehun are not ready to leave Jimin behind with six strange men and Jimin is not ready to be left behind just yet. So when the youngest begs his friends to stay, they agree in an instant. Taemin and Sehun often leave for their classes or take on a shift at the garage, Jimin leaves daily, before anyone else is awake, in his teacher clothes and comes home to five men stopping whatever they are doing everytime he enters, to admire him in his colourful outfits and flushed face full of paint. If there is something Jimin can’t do, it’s painting neatly. The sixth person, Jungkook being, doesn’t miss a day to pick him up from school. On Friday, because Jimin stays away longer than normal, he finds his way into the school and asks a teacher the way to Park Jimin’s class. The teacher who, to his surprise, starts rambling and screeching points to the end of the hall. At second glance it should have been clear that that is Jimin’s class, seeing as that part of the corridor is like a rainbow has vomited on it. He promises the teacher to take a photo with her if she doesn’t mention she’s seen him to anyone, including Jimin. After repaying his debt to the woman, he shushes her again and thanks her profusely when she tells him that he’s her favourite Bangtan member. Quickly he makes his way to Jimin’s room and knocks on the door. The younger who hasn’t heard him and is singing along to children’s songs whilst cleaning the tables and putting the chairs back in order, doesn’t notice Jungkook taking out his camera and filming him. If in that moment Jimin had turned around he would have noticed the heart eyes on Jungkook, but for now the teacher is non the wiser.

Chapter 3

Notes:

Hi,

This chapter features Ill Jimin, who has to deal with more than just the flu. Next chapter will be the halloween party. If you've got questions, you can always ask them. I'd love to answer them, hopefully, in the chapters still to come in this story.

Xo,
I.

Chapter Text

 

Shivering out of his skin Jimin wakes up at 4.36 am, running to the bathroom feeling his stomach’s content making it’s way up. Right on time he opens the lid of his toilet bowl and throws up everything he has eaten earlier that day. He sinks to his knees and holds on to the seat with the bit of strenght he has left. When his stomach stills for a bit he puts his head on the cold wall next to him and leans against it, sweat dripping down his forhead, yet cold shivers racking his entire body. He isn’t aware of the other person who walks into the bathroom straight to his cupboard to take out a washcloth and dampens it with lukewarm water. He feels the presence in the room though, when he feels the cloth being pressed against his forehead, fingers smoothly combing his sweaty black hair out of his face. Before he can thank Jungkook, he throws himself back over his toilet, he’s holding his stomach willing himself to stop feeling this ill. He falls back down, only this time he doesn’t even feel the wall, but is wrapped in Jungkook’s arms. He puts his head against the older man’s neck, who in turn realises that Jimin is burning up, hard and fast.

So he does what his parents always did for him. He picks Jimin up, giving him back the comfort of his soft bed, he finds a bucket in the kitchen that he fills up halfway with water, putting it next to Jimin’s bed with the message to just use the bucket when he feels the need to vomit. Jungkook doesn’t mind cleaning out the bucket every time, not if that means Jimin can stay in bed and be at least a little comfortable. He uses the cloth to clean Jimin’s mouth and gives him his toothbrush to get rid off the foul taste on his tongue. Then he goes back to the kitchen, making the younger some tea with honey to ease his stomach and searches his entire place for painkillers to soothe his fever, he eventually finds them in a cupboard in the livingroom. Quietly he makes his way back to the bedroom silently stepping over his members, trying not to wake them up, because the last thing Jimin needs right now is five more people in his room who are overbearing. Right now that’s just his job… And if Jungkook is completely honest to himself he also doesn’t want to share Jimin, especially not now. He always loved taking care of the younger, this is his moment, even though Jimin being ill does suck.

Jungkook keeps checking Jimin’s temperature by putting his hand on the younger’s forehead. Sure he could use a thermometer, but with how hot Jimin is feeling he doesn’t need one right now and the little bit of physical contact feels too good to give up. With Jimin barely awake, Jungkook hands him his medication and helps him take them with water. The minute Jimin’s head hits his pillow, the younger reaches out for Jungkook, a whine stuck at the back of his throat. The singer crawls in bed, before even sitting comfortably a clingy Jimin is tucked at Jungkook’s side, head on his Kookie hyung's stomach, one arm surrounding his own stomach and the other one holding Jungkook’s hand. It’s in this position that Jimin falls asleep. Still sweating profusely, Jungkook feels both of their pyjama’s getting wet. So before he closes his eyes to get some sleep in, he makes the mental note to change their pyjama’s the next time they are awake again and have Jimin sip of the, probably then cold, tea. 

 

Jimin is on the sofa, coughing his little lungs out, moving hurts and his head is pounding. His stuffed nose adding to his tiredness. Right now Jungkook is feeding him spoonfuls of soup, 10 sips of soup later, Jimin is ready to fall asleep, his eyes closing on their own. Jungkook puts the bowl on the table next to the sofa and pulls Jimin on top of him. The boy moves around a little bit until his face is pressed into the older’s neck and his little fists on top of his hyung's chest. This is how Kook’s parents find them, fast asleep, when they come home from work. They decide to let the boys sleep, but once they are awake they need a word with their son. Two hours later Jungkook wakes up, his first instinct is to move to a better position, but with Jimin still fast asleep on top of him, he stays the way he is and endures his cramping legs.

”Jungkook-ah”, his mother  whispers,”Why are you on the sofa with Jimin? You have to meet with your tutor in half an hour don’t you?”

"Eomma, I know, but when I was in math class I got a text from Jimin’s school saying that he was ill , falling asleep on his desk, and needed to go home. I called his parents, but they didn’t answer their phones. So I picked him up. He has a fever eomma, I couldn’t leave him to suffer in the sick bay on his own. Don’t worry, I already got all my homework over e-mail and rescheduled my tutor appointment. He understands that family comes first. I’m seeing him on Saturday in the library for three hours instead of 1,5 hours.”

His parents nod in agreement, Jungkook has always known his priorities, so seeing him fix everything on his own, at his young age, made them feel very proud of their son. Jungkook’s parents love Jimin, he’s very welcome in their house, always, so more than not he arrives unannounced with a polite hello before bouncing to his friend’s room, so it’s no surprise that Jungkook is now at home with an ill Jimin sprawled on top of him.

”Jungkook, have you told Jimin’s parents that he’s here?”, his dad asks, “I can text them for you?”

”Ah no need appa, I already texted his mum and dad. Mr Park texted back that he’s picking Jimin up at 9pm. They both have a day filled with meetings they couldn’t get out of and they knqw that he is safe here. So I told him that I’ll keep my eyes on Jimin until his dad is here. I’ll do my homework afterwards and tomorrow morning before school.”

”For a thirteen year old you are such a responsible kid.”, his dad ruffles his hair, leaving Jungkook to take care of his friend.

"Jungkook-ah?”

”Jimin-ah?”

”Thank you for taking care of me and sorry for pulling you out of class. I just didn’t know who to call when my eomma and appa were unreachable.”, he says softly in between coughs and sneezes.

”No no, don’t you apologise. I’ve told you I’m always here when you need me. Thank you for trusting me enough to take care of you. Now go back to sleep, silly. I’ll be here when you wake up.”


Jimin wakes up from his dream, clutching his stomach again, rolling around to the side of his bed, right in time to grab the bucket. Not a minute later he feels Jungkook’s hand on his back, comforting him, letting him know he’s not alone. Placing the bucket back next to his bed, Jimin rolls on his side looking at Jungkook, who’s already out of bed, fixing a cloth, a new cup of tea, some more painkillers, and a new set of pyjama’s. He wipes Jimin’s face again, helps him take the medication, blows the tea in order to cool it down to room temperature so that it’s easier to drink. He then grabs Jimin's pyjamas from the end of the bed. First Jungkook takes off the pants of his dirty pyjamas and changes him into the clean one’s, then he does the same to the top part. Once the bucket has been cleaned and filled up again, next to Jimin’s bed again, he changes into his own clean sleepwear, starting the washing machine with the dirty pj’s, the washing cloths and the blankets Jimin’s sweat through. Luckily a new set of bedding is found in the bedroom, so Jimin is tucked in quite quickly, ready to fall asleep again. Once again he places himself next to Jungkook.

”Kookie - Hyung?”

”Yes Jimin-ah?”

”Can I sleep… with you… like when we were children?”, he asks shyly, needing Jungkook to take care of him, but not wanting to be a bother.

Before he knows it, Jungkook has picked up Jimin and placed him on top of him. Jimin recreates the position he slept in when he was younger and finds his way to dreamland almost immediately.

 

When the afternoon hits and both Jungkook and Jimin haven’t rejoined the Bangtan members, they get worried. They also woke up during the night because of Jungkook scuffling around, it was about time they got an explanation for that too. The boys look at the door to Jimin’s room, it’s Jin who stands up first, too worried about the other two. The rest follows him closely. Everything becomes clear when Jimin is still lying on top of Jungkook, both looking exhausted, Jimin with a sheen of sweat covering his forehead, the bathroom lights still on, a bucket on Jungkook’s side of the bed. Closing the door to the bedroom, all of them gather again around the table.

”Okay, so Jimin-ah fell ill last night… Jungkook was probably walking around looking for something to take care of Jimin.”, Namjoon observes.

”Why didn’t he wake us up? He knows we are well equipped to help him. We take care of him all the time when he is ill…”, Jin says slightly disappointed.

”He’s been hogging Jimin so much the past few days. When will we get a proper chance to get to know him? It's like we don't even live here...”, Tae sulks.

”Guys, guys, I want to get to know Jimin too, but right now he is ill and needs to be taken care of. Maybe Jungkook too, if he’s been up with Jimin-ah the entire night he might have gotten the bug too. That’s our main priority now, the rest comes later.”, Yoongi says sternly, keeping the other men focused.

”Yoongi hyung is right. The best way to get to know Jimin-ah is to help him out and put his needs before ours. If he sees we have his best interest at heart, he’s more willing to get close to us. So, who does what? We need to go buy food and drinks for an upset stomach, medication, clean the bathroom and maybe put a washing machine on, someone needs to call Jimin’s school because I don’t think he’ll be better by Monday, the flu is mostly 5 days of intense suffering, and someone needs to cook all the food after we've bought it. So… Again... Who does what?”, Hobi asks, taking a piece of paper and a pen to start writing a grocery list.

Hobi and Tae end up buying the groceries and the medication, Jin and Yoongi prepare diverse soups and congees, and Namjoon ever the diplomat calls Jimin’s boss to explain how he’s fallen ill and has to stay home. The principal, surprisingly, tells him to keep the teacher home for the entire week since Jimin works too hard and deserves to rest up. Lastly Tae and Hobi join Namjoon into cleaning up the bath – and bedroom and slightly open a window to let some fresh air in.

It’s 2pm when Jimin finally wakes up and because of that, Jungkook as well. Jungkook walks into the kitchen, ready to make some toast for Jimin, when he is bombarded with questions about the ill boy. Exactly how ill is the maknae, what exactly is wrong with him, what is his favourite food because what if soup and congee isn’t good enough? Jungkook answers as best as he can, trying to get back to the younger as fast as he possibly can. 

After having eaten half a bowl of chicken soup and the promise of eating the congee for dinner if he could stomach it, Jimin is ready to fall asleep again. He is reassured by Jin that there is more than enough soup if necessary and that the congee can be kept in the fridge until his stomach gets more stable. While his eyes are closing, Jimin hears someone say to just yell whenever he needs them. The very last thing he registers before officially shutting down is Jungkook’s voice humming the lullaby he always sang to Jimin whenever he couldn’t sleep during their sleepovers when they were younger.


Two days later Jimin is about to walk out of the door, ready to leave for work, when he feels strong arms wrap around his waist.

”Jimin, what do you think you’re doing?”

”Hyung, I’m going to work. What else. I’ve already missed a day and I’m feeling good enough to handle eight hours of teaching.”

”Nope, not happening. We’ve informed the headmaster of your school and she has given you clearance until the end of the week. Back to bed you go.”

”Hyung…”, Jimin whines,”I can do it. I’m not that ill anymore.”

”Is that why you are swaying on your feet, still sweating through your shirt and looking like you’re about to fall asleep any second now. Also, are you able to keep your food down?”

Jimin shuffles on his feet, looking down to his hands.

”You haven’t eaten have you?”

The younger shakes his head, pouting.

”Come on Jimin-ah”, Jungkook takes him by the hand, lacing their fingers together, and leads him back to bed,” Hyung’ll reheat some soup or some congee if there’s any left.”

”Jungkookie - hyung?”

”Yes?”

”Can I eat something else?”

”Sure, name it.”

“Remember the toast you always made for me?”

”Of course I do, a bit of butter, lots of strawberry jam.”, he winks at Jimin, leaving his bedroom ready to make the teacher’s food. Jungkook doesn’t say it out loud, but he feels extremely happy that Jimin still remembers the comfort food he made him and requests it after all this time.

When the toast is done and fully in Jimin’s belly, satisfyingly smacking his lips, Jungkook leaves the room to let Jimin sleep again. Mostly he is attached at the hip with his friend, but right now he’s in need of a shower and maybe a walk to stretch his legs, so Jimin let’s him go, ready to sleep alone for the first time in days. Two hours later  Jimin comes out of his room though, six people ready to give him everything he needs, but instead he walks to a freshly washed Jungkook, sits on his lap without saying anything and closes his eyes. Different emotions are seen on all their faces. Jungkook’s happiness fills his entire being, Jimin voluntarily choosing his hyung to take care of him, he couldn’t ask for anything more. Well, he could but he is trying to not be greedy. Taehyung shows pure jealousy, desperately wanting to be in Jungkook’s position, Namjoon’s sad thinking he’s never going to have that with anyone. Jin’s worried, seeing Jimin this tired still, he just wants to be the one to take care of him, by feeding him and cuddling him close, putting Jimin’s needs before his own and be the one to make him better. Yoongi’s face shows indifference, like almost always, but sitting next to Jungkook, he takes Jimin’s hand in his, holding onto it. Seeing as Jimin seems to like physical contact when he’s distressed this might help him. Hobi smiles softly, he loves seeing Jungkook, and the other members, happy and seeing as he has enclosed Jimin in his heart too, he loves seeing the younger calm and not in pain. He’s happy when they are happy, or in Jimin’s case not in agony, but if Jimin ever let’s Hobi take care of him then he is going to take that opportunity with both hands. He feels the little spark of jealousy too, the same he sees on the other members of his band, except for Jungkook, but he refuses to give in to it. Not yet anyway. For now Jimin comes first, and from now he is probably always going to come first.

Over the course of the next couple of days Jimin is treated like a king. The minute he moves, there is someone at his bedside, covering him back up again with a blanket, offering him food, beverages and medication, cuddles and lullabies. Jimin, who by now is feeling a lot better, is done with the copious amounts of attention. He has had it and he’s about to burst. So that is exactly what happens when the six boys storm into his room around breakfast and almost shove his food into his mouth while forcing him on someone’s lap, he has no clue who because of the chaos that’s happening around him but he assumes it’s not Yoongi or Hobi seeing as they are the first to give him space and it’s not Jungkook as he is still in the doorway looking bewildered and upset for not having reached  Jimin’s room first.

”THAT IS IT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OOUUUTTT! ALL OF YOU! I AM DONE! DONE I TELL YOU! I AM NOT A DOLL THAT YOU CAN FIGHT OVER OR CODDLE! I AM A BOY! A REAL BOY!”, Jimin who realises he now sounds like Pinocchio, takes that as a sign that he misses his toddlers not that he is a child himself, ”MAN! I AM A MAN! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!”, Jimin tries to calm himself down, but is failing when no one leaves his room. That’s why he stands up and leaves them instead. He puts on his shoes, coat and beanie, pulling the door behind him with a bang.

 

He misses Sehun and Taemin. Unfortunately they had to leave a few days ago to prepare for their annual All Hallows ceilidh. They understand exactly what he needs when he needs it and accept when he refuses their help, they understand that he’ll come back to them when he’s ready to accept their aid. His friends never make him feel like a baby. Still, even in his annoyance, he understands that Jungkook’s friends have the best intentions. He’ll even admit that he’s grateful for their presence the past few days and, even with being ill, Jimin enjoyed them taking care of him, but they need to understand that enough is enough. He is a provider of care every day to little children and even he understands that sometimes they need their space. He doesn’t really understand what goes through the hyungs heads, but he’s not going to allow it. They say they want to grow closer with him, Well... this is not the way.

The cold has fully engulfed him now, so he decides it is the right time to go back home. A full hour in the cold is more than enough, he is still in his pyjama’s after all and he isn’t ready to fall ill again. He’s also calmed down considerably, ready to talk if the other’s are.

Arriving home, they all sit together, faces unhappy and worried. It’s then that Jimin realises he didn’t tell them he was just going out for a walk and never replied to their texts seeing as his phone is lying in the middle of the table, locked. Guilt seeps under his skin, but he also feels somewhat satisfied that by forgetting his phone he got the peace and quiet he needed, it prevents him from killing them right now, figuratively of course. He sits himself down, folds his hands on his lap and takes a deep breath, hoping they’ll understand where he is coming from. Yes, he is clingy with some people, but he’s known those people for years and trusts them unconditionally. Right now, sitting in front of everyone he wants to ask them to be a bit more patient and let him initiate the physical contact so that he can learn his, and the other’s, boundaries with each person.



Jimin is sitting in the middle of the sofa, that is still Jin and Yoongi’s bed, surrounded by the six other boys. The talk went so much better than he expected, especially when they admitted to coddling him. From now on Jimin gets to make the first move when it comes to physical contact. In turn they confess that they love spoiling the people they care about. All six of them are affectionate people, which Jimin understands. So he agrees to letting them do their thing, as long as he gets to tell them when they go too far, to which they then immediately have to back off. So as of an hour ago they started anew, that is why they are looking for halloween costumes to tomorrow party together. Sehun and Taemin are expecting them, hence why the dresscode has changed to masked where as normally it’s just ‘do as you like’, so that the boys can stay anonymous and celebrate Halloween normally for the first time in four years and keep their identity hidden from Jimin for a while longer. They did have to promise both boys to upload a dance rehearsal in funny costumes as they normally do on their Bangtan account, but seeing as that was still part of the deal with their management for getting a longer break than usual, that promise was easily made.

                                      


While his laptop is passed around so everyone can pick their outfits, Jimin is engrossed in his phone, his costume is the first that was decided on with the unanimous approval of Bangtan so his attention is only needed when the others ask for his opinion or blessing. In the meantime he is making the best of the quiet around himself to look up some sentences he can use is class next week. He’s missed week one of the travelling theme, he needs to make week two phenomenal. To Jimin, the pressure is on. He never stays home ill, he feels like it messes with his track record and the kids education. So, before he can have fun later today, he has to work. He gives himself an hour to actively work, that way he is done around lunch and they have plenty of time to go to the stores in town that have their chosen costumes.

“Hallo, Ik ben Park Jimin. Guten Tag, ich bin Park Jimin. Bonjour, Je suis Park Jimin. Hola, soy Park Jimin. Hello, I’m Park Jimin.”, he whispers, hoping no one hears him. Jimin know his pronunciation is probably extremely horrible. When his laptop lands back on his lap and everyone scatters around, some off to make lunch, some to finally take a shower and others just to leave Jimin so he can focus on his work, he goes on youtube to find the right pronunciation so he can repeat it and teach his kids the right sentences. The others may or may not still keep an eye on the maknae, cooing as he gets frustrated over the different languages. Everything sounds exactly, to Jimin, like the automatic voice or so he thinks until Namjoon sits himself next to Jimin and tells him softly that his French isn’t exactly right. He explains the difference to the raven haired boy. He first pronounces it as Jimin says it and then the way it should be actually said. It drives Jimin up the wall because to his ears, there is no difference, so Namjoon takes his phone, opens the recording app and says the sentence himself. Knowing how important it is for Jimin that everything goes right in class, he tells him to just use his audio, but that he is also available to keep helping Jimin until he gets it right, whichever he wants, feeding into Jimin's stubborn's nature. There is no judgement in Namjoon’s eyes, it’s just a genuine offer. Jimin smiles at the elder and hugs him, which throws Namjoon off, not knowing how to react right now. Especially after their conversation earlier today. While holding on to Joon he asks him in a whisper about his knowledge of the French language. Namjoon who almost spills the beans on how they always learn some sentences in the language of the country they are touring in that day can stop himself just in time.

”I had to take French in high school Jimin-ah. I’ve forgotten a lot, but the basics are still there.”, which isn’t a lie. Overly bright Namjoon took extra classes in school as to not get bored, French was one of them.

Jimin smiles at him, asks Namjoon if he can call him Joon hyung which is obviously accepted by the elder with a blush on his cheeks, and tells the older that he's very smart. Then he admits he would love to be the person to teach his kids the right way to say ‘bonjour’, Namjoon promises him that he’ll help him out, but that they can’t learn on an empty stomach and with so much still to do. Jimin keeps the audio file of Namjoon's pronunciation to be safe, but we all know Jimin doesn't need it and is going to nail it by the time he teaches his kids about France.

If Jimin and Namjoon feel five pairs of envious eyes watching them, they don’t acknowledge it out loud and continue to enjoy the few more minutes they spend together.

 

Chapter 4

Notes:

Hi,
I'm sorry it took me longer than normal to upload this chapter. My laptop decided to quit on me and erase 3000 words, so that frustration stopped me from writing for a bit. That's hasn't been the only setback this week, but it was the biggest one. If something could go wrong, it did -.- As an apology, I've come back with the largest chapter so far in this story.

Anyway, as always, I hope this is enjoyable and my frustrations don't shine through.

Xo,
I.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

                               

Before the boys can even think about the Halloween party they need to stock up on food because their fridge is as empty as empty can be. The one block of cheese, lying on the middle shelf all on it’s own, is not going to feed seven grown men. They also have to pick up their costumes and get a snack prior to the party. Knowing Sehun and Taemin, there will be a lot of food, but the party only starts at 9pm and they don’t want to arrive completely starved. So in order to wake up without worries the next day, doing groceries first it is. Luckily for our boys the two stores where they need to go for their costumes are in the same shopping center. They don’t have to drive all around town, which saves in time that they’ll need to dress up. The plan consists out of shopping for food, shopping for clothes, finding a food stall for a light snack and lastly dressing up, which the boys will do at Jimin’s place, the the teacher will do at Sehun and Taemin’s. The older men didn’t like that last part of the plan, but Jimin always helps out with the last details at the party and he wants to surprise the other’s with his costume. Jimin doesn’t like surprises himself, but he does like to surprise others. Granted, they have helped him choose his outfit, but they don’t know what it looks like on him, or what he plans to do with his make up and hair. The full picture is still a mystery to all of them, including Jimin, who always lets Taemin, who is in charge of hair and make up, do his thing. He convinced his hyungs last night by batting his eyelashes and pouting, something he knows has and will always work on Jungkook and as he learned the previous day, has the other’s cave as well. Jimin stores that piece of information in a small corner of his brain in case he needs it again.

Walking out of the door, after having had the best lunch cooked by Jin and Yoongi who have taken all the cooking on them without anyone even having to ask, they are ready to shop together for the first time. It’s a bit of mess due to all the boys trying to walk next to Jimin. The only one who is always certain of his spot is Jungkook, perks of being childhood friends, but the younger who is probably the kindest person they’ve ever come across places himself next to different people every other so many minutes, dragging Jungkook with him. The singer doesn’t complain as long as he is next to his smaller friend, so he willingly follows Jimin around. By the time they arrive at the shopping center everyone has a smile on their face because of the attention Jimin has given all six of them. As a result Jimin is tired, he still isn’t good with people or dividing his attention, but seeing as the older boys have cut down on their coddling, he’s trying to put in more effort. Bangtan sees Jimin rubbing his temple and eyes, a soft yawn escaping his mouth.

”Jimin, are you alright? If you want to, some of us can go grocery shopping, while some stay behind. That way you can rest up a bit?”, Yoongi says calmly. Even if he is the last to push himself onto Jimin, he is the first to observe the younger, always, and offer help if needed.

”No no, I can shop hyung. I’m just a little tired, it’s probably still fom having been ill. They say tiredness is always the last to go when you are sick and it has already been an emotional day so far with the fight this morning and me sucking at French… I’ll just nap at Taemin and Sehun’s later today. That way my face is a very still canvas for Taemin to experiment with.”

”You shouldn’t overdo it Jimin-ah and there is nothing wrong with asking for help. You are too stubborn for your own good, even when you shouldn’t be. Your health comes first. Once we go in the store, you can’t pause and rest up anymore as we are on a tight schedule.”

Jimin looks at Yoongi, then at the rest of the guys who encouragingly smile at him. None of them minds Jimin staying behind and catching his breath. He’s overworked, barely healed from the flu and very emotional. Bangtan learned on day one that Jimin is quickly overwhelmed, which makes him tired. It gives them extra reason to take care of him, but they remember their promise of not coddling him, so this is his call. The only thing they can do now is show the younger that they are supportive of him, no matter what he decides.

”Hyung”, Jimin turns back to Yoongi, ”Will you stay with me?”

”Of course Jimin-ah,” the black haired rapper offers his hand. Jimin takes it while placing himself close to the elder.

                                         

The others clearly aren’t happy with his choice, but they do understand that six of them were going to be disappointed. They quickly rearrange their faces back into the supportive smiles they were carrying before, but unlike earlier these smiles don’t reach their eyes. Jimin is too tired to notice, but Yoongi smirks, for once he’s happy that his calmer tactics have finally paid off and he is not going to feel guilty about it. He knows Jimin’ll pick someone else next time and  he’ll go back to being the supportive one in the background. So today he is simply going to enjoy, do his best for Jimin so he gets noticed more in the future instead of Jungkook or Namjoon. So Yoongi handles everything quickly by giving the grocery list to Jin, who is the chef in the kitchen and knows what ingredients are best to use just as well as Yoongi does or maybe even better, the rapper does not mind admitting that to himself. They agree to have half an hour to do the grocery shopping, if they need longer for whatever reason, they’ll text Yoongi. All of them put their masks on and once they step into the market they all put on some caps or bucket hats, they don’t need screaming people attracting Jimin’s attention. All of them have enjoyed the calmth that comes by being completely anonymous except for the few people here and there when, luckily, the teacher wasn’t around. If it was only about them they might have taken more risks, but this is also about Jimin’s privacy. Some of their fans have the tendency of researching every aspect of their friends’, colleagues’ and aquantences’ lives in orde to make sure that Bangtan isn’t dating anyone that they don’t approve of. Going out in public with someone they want to protect, is always a delicate thing, but they make it work so far. They also always have bodyguards around, except for now. Normal people do not have protectors, so neither does Bangtan on their time off. They’ve told Jimin that wearing masks out are very important right now seeing as it is flu season and he isn’t fully recovered yet, therefore they have to be considerate to the other customers. Jimin easily agreed, already putting on his mask at home. At the moment the only one who has to put his mask on is Yoongi, so he quickly does that while guiding him to the nearest empty bench. He sits down, still holding Jimin’s hand, which automatically has the younger follow his movement. Once they are seated, Jimin looks at Yoongi with his signature big, puppy eyes. The rapper knows what the raven haired boy wants, but just as before he is not going to push Jimin into anything. If Jimin wants something he is going to have to ask for it, which he does timidly.

”Yoongi hyung? Whenever I feel tired, Jungkookie hyung lets me cuddle him. I know you don’t like that all too much, but would you mind if I… Cuddled… with you?”, he looks down, slightly afraid to get a negative answer from the older. Jimin wouldn’t blame him though, he already feels like he forced Yoongi to stay behind with him, he doesn’t want to pressure him into something else.

”I may not like physical contact Jiminie, nevertheless you are an exception to the rule. If you want a hug, or hold hands, just tell me. As long as it is with you, I’m all here for it.”

Jimin’s eyes close in little half moons indicating that he is smiling brightly. He puts his head on Yoongi’s shoulder, holding his hands over his ears and eyes closed, trying to lessen the stimulation of his surroundings. The loud noises from the intercom and the people around him, the flashing lights of the big screens all over the place and the too many shop windows… It’s just too much for Jimin today. 

Twenty minutes later the five boys who went grocery shopping find the two other boys on the bench. Jimin who still has his eyes closed, face pressed in Yoongi’s sweater, doesn’t see them mouthing frantically to the man holding him, thumbs pointed to the store. He does notice some screeching girls, which makes his head turn in the direction of the disturbance. Jimin sees a group of 5 girls running towards them and actually gets frightened. The prospect of having to talk to such loud strangers is not a fun foresight. In a flash Bangtan lift Jimin up from the bench and surround him, so even if the girls catch up he’s still hidden from their sight. Luckily for them they are still in the shopping center, so with trained professionalism they just need to quickly look at one another and with a few hand signs Bangtan splits up in duo’s and one trio, hiding in several shops.
Jimin and Jungkook walk into the nearest flowershop, Yoongi and Taehyung go to the nearest clothing shop and Namjoon, Jin and Hobi practically run into the DIY outlet.

”Kookie yung, what happened? Where are the rest?”, Jimin asks confused.

”Ugh, teenage girl, you get it. They see some handsome men and go bananas.”, Jungkook cackles.

”Did you just call yourself handsome? Did you just… Run away because of some teenagers? Woah, who knew you loved yourself that much?!”, Jimin says baffled.

”I did call myself handsome Jimin-ah, but also my hyungs and I’m sure if those girls saw you they’d drop us all and go after you.”, he looks at his best friend and then turns his face away from the younger and mumbles, “I already have too much compition…”

”Well, since we are here, we can look around until you feel it’s safe to go find the others. I’ve always loved flowers.”, Jimin takes Jungkook by the hand, walking around the store with him, “Do you have favourite flowers hyung?”

”Not really, I’m not into flowers all that much. Do you have a favourite?", Jungkook asks the younger.

"I love the Iris Koreana, they’re quite pretty and stand for wisdom, hope, valor and trust. Very majestic don’t you think.”, Jimin hums to himself, pleased with his own answer.

Jungkook hums, still looking around, holding on to Jimin’s hand in order to not lose him. He has no idea whether those screaming fans are still outside, but being inside in this quiet store that has clearly calmed down Jimin, he’s at peace and completely enjoying himself. The fact that Jimin is sweetly singing along to the song on the radio that is playing softly in the background is a bonus. It takes him a while to realise that it’s his song, well Bangtan’s. The quiet Jungkook is feeling is rapidly changing into panic. Does Jimin know more?

”Jimin? What song are you singing?”

”Ah, eh… No idea. I’ve heard it a few times on the radio in the teacher’s lounge at school. It’s quite catchy isn’t it?”

Jungkook breathes out, relaxing again. His Jimin-ah is still as clueless as ever. There are still some certainties in life. Another thing that is certain in life is that Jungkook loves to spoil Jimin and being in a flower shop with a boy who loves flowers, ofcourse he is going to find the perfect one. Underneath every different type of flower is a little card stating the meaning, so while Jimin is oohing and aahing, commenting on the pretty colours, Jungkook is reading everything diligently. When the teacher finally turns around, his eyes fall on the singer who's holding out a small bucket of Heliothrope flowers, Jimin looks at them and comments that they are very pretty. To which Jungkook smiles and hands them over to the younger, seeing as they haven't heard anything from the other's yet, Jungkook takes it as the coast not being clear just yet. So he lets Jimin look for the flower so he can see what the meaning is. When Jimin reads the little card underneath the flower, his eyes tear up. "Eternal Love", he doesn't know what to think of all this, but he knows that it makes his heart yearn for the older. He knows he always felt something for his Jungkook hyung, hence why it hurt so much when he moved away and practically disappeared on him, but is this really how his Jungkookie hyung feels? Before he can ask the older, his vision disappears by larger hands covering his eyes. 

"Guess who", a voice whispers into his ears. 

"Tae hyung?"

"Ah, Jiminie knows my voice already, I'm the luckiest.", he winks at Jimin and holds him closer, "So what do you have there?"

"Kookie hyung gave me flowers!", Jimin says enthousiastically with a smile so bright it could lit up the entire place. For a short moment Tae's expression turns gloomy, but it's gone before anyone can notice. 

"He's got good taste. So beautiful.", Taehyung says while looking at Jungkook, a challenge in his eyes. 

"Mmm, yes. I'm going to put them in a vase to enjoy them, after that I'm going to dry them so I can keep them forever." 

“Would you keep my flowers?”, Taehyung asks, a cheeky look in his eyes.

”Ehm… Yeah… I think so”, Jimin answers shyly, hiding his face behind Jungkook’s flowers.

”Good to know! Let me go find you the perfect flowers then.”, and without a proper warning Taehyung has left Jimin’s side, disappearing between the insane amount of flowers.

The youngest boy notices that his entire group has returned and are all looking around, so he decides to follow their example and continues to make his way in the store. He discovers a little outdoors area that contains a beautiful greenhouse smack in the middle of trees, bushes and the most yellow sunflowers he’s ever seen. Birds are happily flying, bees zooming past him and colourful butterflies find their way to the tallest flowers. Jimin sees a little welcome sign on the greenhouse door and makes his way there. The inside is quite dark, even though outside the sun is shining bright but it’s beautifully lit by several strings of different colour fairy lights, it’s also way warmer so Jimin takes his hands out of the pockets of his coat. He finds his way to the small fountain in the middle of the greenhouse. The water makes the softest tinkling sound, moving the pink lillies around. He sits himself down on the bench opposite the fountain, enjoying his view and the soft lighting. This is the perfect atmosphere for him. He calms down immediately, no loud sounds, no bright light and most of all no screaming girls. Closing his eyes, he breathes out and smells Jungkook’s flowers, letting his mind wonder back to the moment they shared. Still lost in his thoughts, he feels the presence of someone else, so slowly he opens his eyes and notices Jin standing in front of him. He pats the bench as an invitation to his eldest hyung to sit down and join him.

”Hi”, Jin says gently.

”Hi”, Jimin replies shyly. He always liked Jin, but never really got the chance to bond seeing as he is always calmer and let’s him be when he is overwhelmed, overworked or tired. The teacher really appreciates Jin for it, but now that they are living together for god knows how long he wants the awkwardness to disappear.

”I’m glad I found you alone. I wanted to give you something as a little thank you for letting us stay with you even though you really aren’t into big groups of humans and for causing you nothing but trouble. I want to warn you though, it seems like I have not been very original in my idea, but it is meant with the best intentions. I’ve looked long and hard for it and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.”, Jin’s face carries his sincerity and honesty and it makes the younger even more shy.

Jin moves the hand that was hiding behind his back towards Jimin and hands him a small bouquet of white Camellias. The black haired boy looks at the elder and back to the flowers, he accepts them, holding them close. He even puts the flowers he got from Jungkook down on the bench next to him so he can closely focus on Jin’s gift.

”Hyung, you shouldn’t have. I really did nothing to deserve this.”, Jimin says, his face covered up by the flowers, a soft smile on his face.

”You do deserve it Jimin, simply because you are you. You deserve to get gifts every day even if it’s something very small. That’s why I have been cooking. I want you to have the best food you can get and a full stomach. It’s such a small gift, but I’ll keep doing it every day for as long as you want me to. Today, I could give you another gift… Less original, but still heartfelt.”

”Hyung, I’m going to want to eat your food forever. It’s better than anything these fancy restaurant can cook. If you want to cook for me forever, I’ll never let you leave.”, Jimin smiles, his eyes closing automatically, his hand taking hold of Jin’s, “Thank you hyung. I love them so much.”

”You want to know why I chose these?”, Jin looks at the younger next to him, tucking away a lost strand of hair that had escaped his hat. Jimin nods, leaning into Jin’s small touch.

”This flower stands for adoration and affection towards the person you like or have a crush on.”, he whispers to Jimin, as if it’s a secret between just the two of them.

”Hyung?”, the youngest whispers back looking at Jin with a question in his eyes, ”Are you?...”, but before Jimin can ask his question, a loud ‘WOOP’ fills the air, both boys looking up seeing a wild Hobi walking towards them with another bouquet of flowers in his hands. He stops in front of a shell shocked Jimin and sets himself on one knee.

”My dearest Jimin-ah, I bring you these flowers. They remind me of you, of course they can never compare to your inner and outer beauty, but I was inspired by you and these were the prettiest, cutest flowers I could find. Peonies stand for love, passion and respect. Jimin you are the most passionate person I’ve ever met, those little kids are so lucky to have Mr Park who only wants the best for them, not only that... the amount of love that oozes out of you. You might not be good with people, but once you are, you love with everything you have and that is very beautiful to watch. Lastly I also want to tell you that I respect you. We may not have shown it in the beginning by undermining the things you’ve tried to tell us, but I vow to listen to everything you want to tell us from now on, whatever it is. So please, accept my gift?”, Hoseok looks up at Jimin with the biggest heartshaped smile.

Looking at his hyung’s smile he just can’t deny the flowers even though Jimin doesn’t like that he has to do it in front of Jin, with his flowers still in his hands, who he was having a moment with. All of this adds to Jimin’s confusion, not really understanding what is happening right now. The youngest takes it one step at a time, which for now means accepting Hobi’s flowers. The last thing he wants to do is disappoint someone, so after quickly looking sideways at Jin who is smiling at his younger brother, he thanks Hobi and accepts his gift, furiously hoping that Jin really isn’t angry at him for accepting the peonies.

The three of them enjoy the quiet of the greenhouse before going back to the main part of the flower shop. With the teacher walking in last, he is whisked away by another one of his hyungs who takes him by the hand and walks him to an empty corner of the store. His hyung looks at the flowers in his hand and sighs, another person realising they aren’t original in their idea, but decides to talk none the less.

”First of all I want to say thank you for letting me take care of you earlier, for trusting that I want the best for you and want to see you happy and healthy. I’m here for you whenever you need me. That’s all I wanted to say, well no… But I’m not good with words on the spot, so… Here.”, he hands his flower to Jimin, turns around and leaves, a blush slightly dusting his cheeks.

Jimin notices that his hyung has brought him to the place where this particular flower is placed in the store, which makes it so much easier to find out what it stands for. “Lilac: symbolizes first love”. Jimin turns around in haste, almost tripping over his own feet, Yoongi’s name on his lips when he feels someone else walk up to him.

”Jimin-ah, do you have a minute to spare for me?”, Namjoon asks quietly, his eyes locked on Jimin’s hands.

”Ah Joon hyung, yes, of course. What’s up?”

”Ehm, nothing really, I guess I just thought the same as my friends. It tends to happen when you’re close.”, he rubs the back of his head, smiling awkwardly.

“That’s true. Taemin, Sehun and I often think of the same thing at the same time.”, the younger smiles while thinking of his friends, ready to see them later today.


”Yes, it’s good that you have such good friends Jimin. Anyways… Ehm… Why I’m here, in front of you is… Ehm… Well… I also bought flowers for you. I just don’t want you to misunderstand these yet. This is where I hope my future leads me. Red tulips stand for deep love, which is not where we are now, but if you give me a chance to get to know you better I really think we can go there. Don’t worry, I’m not going to pressure you. If you never have feelings for me, that’s okay, I’m not going to get angry at you for that. Forcing feelings is the last thing you should do, I’m just asking you to consider me if you think I’m a worthy suitor for your heart. To show you that I don’t want to pressure you and adore you already, even as a friend I bought you a yellow tulip as well, they symbolize cheerful thoughts, which I have all the time when I think of you. Also, if I’m not mistaken yellow is your favourite colour so that works out as well.”, Namjoon winks at the small boy, having found his confidence again.

Jimin is speechless. He doesn’t really understand what is happening right now. All of them giving him flowers out of the blue, blows his mind a bit. He hasn’t had the time to think of how he feels about the boys staying at his place right now. Sure, he like them well enough, but is he as fond of them as they are of him?

”Jimin! Here you are! I have been looking for you! I finally found the perfect flowers!”, Taehyung excitedly yells, breaking the younger from his thoughts,” ah… But so did someone else?”, Tae inquires.

”Ah, yes… I’ve gotten flowers from all the hyungs. I’m sorry, I didn’t tell them to do it.”, Jimin looks down, scared that he’s offended Taehyung.

”No worries, my flowers are better than any of those. Are you ready for them?”

Jimin nods, curiosity filling his face,  trying to look behind Tae’s back. Even with all these unexpected flowers in his hands, he still doesn’t like surprises…

”TADAAA!”, The second youngest hyung holds up a bunch of Violets, “These mean devotion, loyalty and faithfulness. What I’m trying to say with these is that you are the only one I want to be with. I know I come off strong Jimin-ah, but ever since seeing your picture on Jungkook's phone my heart flutters when I’m around you. I’ve never felt this way before. Every day I discover something new about you and fall even deeper for you… That doesn’t mean I’m going to expect you to like me and be my boyfriend, but that does mean I’m going to try and win you over until you tell me to stop. Also… Namjoon hyung is right, your button nose is adorable”, Taehyung boops the small nose, hoping to lighten the tense atmosphere he accidentally created. He knows he’s succeeded when Jimin giggles, actually giggles and if Taehyung thought before that he had fallen hard, well, he has to reconsider his heart and feelings again.

 

                                                                               

 

After having spend at least an hour in the flower shop, if not longer, it is time for everyone to go home, get those groceries in the fridge and get dressed for the party. The snack they wanted to eat is not going to happen now. Bangtan doesn’t want to take risks and Jimin hasn’t even thought of a snack with his feelings all tied up in a knot. Leaving the shopping complex is no easy feat though as the big screens in the entrance hall are playing Bangtan’s latest music video. Normally they’d be very honoured about that, take lots of video’s and show the world through their several social media accounts, but right now they do everything within their might to get Jimin out of there without revealing their identity to the teacher or attracting another group of screaming fans. Jimin being tired and disliking large groups of people plays in their advantage. Jungkook convinces Jimin to carry the younger out so he can rest his head for a few minutes, something Jimin never says no to. The youngest wraps his legs around the older’s middle and places his face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the comforting and familiar scent of his berry and cedarwood cologne. Out of precaution the rest of the boys encircle the both of them, quickly removing themselves from the building. Waiting for Jimin at the front door of the mall is Sehun on his motorcycle, second helmet already in hand. This is the sign for Jungkook to put Jimin down again, very much against his will. Before they can seperate though, Jimin takes all of Bangtan by surprise by giving each a small kiss on their cheek. While his hyungs are all touching their face, completely gobsmacked, Jimin gets on the motorcycle and disappears from their view with a loud ‘see you later hyungs’ and a small wave, then turning around properly holding on to Sehun’s waist.

Arriving at the party location, Jimin takes a bottle of water out of the pantry and puts his flowers in there, rearranging them into one bigger bouquet, seeing as his friends never bought a single vase compared to Jimin who own quite alot. To Jimin it seriously represents his heart right now. A lot of feelings that he can’t separate from one another, let alone choose one to investigate. Jimin has never been good with feelings, so he has always put them deep inside of him, locking them up, so having to deal with them now is utterly confusing. For now he decides to just enjoy his small bunch of flowers and get ready for tonight. Something he can’t escape from seeing as Taemin is already approaching him with his entire make up case. So Jimin sits comfortabley and accepts the sandwich Sehun pushes into his hands after he was informed by Jin hyung, through text, that Jimin hadn’t had a snack yet and must be very hungry. While Jimin is munchin on his food, Taemin orders him to close his eye and so commences the transformation from teacher Jimin to wood nymph Jimin with leaves and flowers all over his face and arms, a flower crown and leaves braided in his shiny black hair and gold swirles adorning his neck. There’s a lot of usage of the colour green and pink, but yellow shows up too as it is the younger’s favourite colour. In one ear he wears an orange butterfly earring, in the other one a dangling crystal blue dewdrop. He wears a long forrest green tunic, with golden touches and a brown belt. The bottom half exists out of dark green tights and woven brown sandals to which they add more pink and yellow flowers. His mask is a simple green mask that has some butterflies attached to the upper corners, the entire underside is covered in small yellow flowers, all of this handmade by Sehun. Jimin know his hyungs will find him seeing as they chose his costume with him, yet he hopes that the mask and the make up add to a surprise effect. Secretly he hopes that all of them love it. Obviously he dressed up tonight for himself, it’s one of the things he likes doing, turning into someone else that isn’t scared, shy, introverted him. He does it at school a lot, of course it is much more simple but it motivates his class to do better and learn more, because they are carried by their imagination. Tonight he wants to do the same thing, imagine he’s at a fancy ball dancing with his friends and maybe meeting a prince charming.

Three hours later, the doors open to already a lot of guests that have arrived. It’s a sea of colours, everyone following the one rule to wear a mask. Music blasts from the boxes, bodies swaying to the beat, snacks are being devoured, lights are dimmed to create a more intimate atmosphere. Jimin has been forced to the dancefloor by his two best friends, fizzy drink in his hand because even tonight he doesn’t really feel like drinking, the three of them jumping up and down, singing loudly most likely resulting in a hoarse voice the next day.

Jimin has been looking around for two hours now, but so far there is no sign of his hyungs yet. Or so he thinks… They arrived an hour into the party, finding the darkest corner in the room to stay hidden until more people got drunk, before coming out to party like everyone else. They are hidden with their masks on, but in the past they have been identified by their hands only, so they stay extra careful. It also helped them in finding Jimin, watching him enjoy himself with his friends, a side none of them have seen yet. Not even Jungkook, who always kept Jimin away from parties to spare the younger from panic attacks. Watching his best friend now, so carefree and happy, he has to agree that Taemin and Sehun are extremely good friends to him and that maybe he held him back too much in the past because he was, and to this day still is when it comes to the maknae very overprotective. Seeing his hyungs all look at Jimin makes him nervous and slightly annoyed, but he also understands it. Jimin is radiant. All the lights in the room find him, putting him automatically in the spotlight, hiding everyone else in the dark.

”I’m going to get a drink”, Tae yells to the group, disappearing between the dancing bodies.

”The food looks delicious. I’m going to try some of it.”, Hobi continues, but before he can leave, he feels a hand wrap around his wrist.

”I’m going with you. Might learn something nice to make for you guys”, Jin screams.

The rest of the boys chuckle, because with ‘you guys’ Jin clearly meant Jimin, but they can’t hold that against him. Jin only wants what is best for the younger, just like all of them. Taking care of the teacher is easier with more people, if one of them forgets something or messes up there’s always someone else to do better or help out.

”I’m going to find the bathroom, this music is giving me a headache. How can people dance to this… I need a break!”, Yoongi grumbles, living up to his old man persona.

”Jungkookah, I’m going to just walk around, I’ve seen some nice paintings that I want to see up close. Do you want to join?”, of course it’s Namjoon of all people that is going to check out the art at a party… Jungkook shakes his head no, he’s good where he is, admiring Jimin.

In the middle of the dancefloor the little wood nymph is approached by a lit up skeleton with a bone mask. He smiles at the younger and takes his hand at the exact moment a slower songs starts playing, twirling Jimin into his hold. It’s clear that this person is a great dancer. The black haired boy just knows that this is one of his hyungs, but for some reason he really doesn’t know who it is, so he just lets them lead, following their every step. When the song ends, the skeleton takes Jimin’s hand giving it a small goodbye kiss. Stunned the younger looks up, but his skeleton hyung is already gone.

Ten minutes later a vampire with a black lace bat mask taps Jimin on his shoulder. The fangs and white hair throw the younger off, but just as with the previous person it is clear that this person is living with him right now. Trusting that the vampire won’t hurt him, he accepts the dance, which is a bit more gangly but still as enjoyable as the first dance. With this song coming to an end, the vampire bends down a bit and kisses the wood nymphs button nose. A blush spreads on Jimin’s face and just as before this person is gone before Jimin even realises it.

The third person goes up to Jimin some time later. The Joker with his gold Harlequin mask and big smile is a little more daring when he draws Jimin closer with his hands on the younger’s hips. This song is particularly slow, both of them dancing on the one tile they are sharing right now. The Joker looks down to the nymph trying to convey his adoration for the boy dancing with him. Not much later their song ends too, so the Joker disappears with a lingering kiss on the teachers cheek.

Jimin is whisked away by his friends again for all about 15 minutes when a wizard in a blue suit with golden touches waves at him. His pointy hat is dark blue with golden ghosts on which continues in his mask. The nymph responds to the little wave and goes up to the wizard when he beckons him forward. It’s clear that whoever this hyung is, isn’t really into dancing, his movements wooden. But him being on the dancefloor when he’s not comfortable there just to spend time with the younger, warms the black haired boy’s heart. Today has been so overwhelming and it doesn’t seem to stop any time soon. With a faster song playing, the wizard gently takes a hold of Jimin’s wrist, caresses it to then place his lips on his pulse point.

Some time goes by before Jimin is approached again. It’s just past midnight, the younger still at the party, not running away and leaving a slipper behind. Normally he’d be home already, tucked in bed, but not today. He’s only seen four hyungs so far and he wants to know if the other two will come up to him. The only thing he’s certain of is that he hasn’t been approached by Kookie hyung yet, but then again… How certain can Jimin be when they did go all out with hair dye and make up… What if his Kookie hyung was the vampire or the skeleton… That would show Jimin that four years apart changed more between them than he would like to admit to himself. The younger didn’t have the chance to get lost in his head as Jack Sparrow, without a bottle of rum, asked him to dance. The nymph laughs at the elder’s crazy antics, perfectly portraying his character. Jack takes Jimin in the perfect Waltz position, twirling him around gracefully. The people around them giving them a bit more space, completely in awe of Jimin’s ethereal beauty. The pirate gently takes a hold of the woodland creature’s head, placing his lips on his forehead where they stay for a solid 15 seconds. With one last graceful bow he leaves the younger behind, going back to the spot in the darkness where they gathered at their arrival a few hours earlier.

The last of his hyungs makes himself known by wrapping his arms around his waist from behind and putting his head against his neck. It’s the perfum that gives this one away and if that weren’t a clear indication, then the intimacy of his hold is. Jimin closes his eyes while melting in the soft embrace. This is how they sway back and forth, barely moving. The youngest feels the tiredness seeping in his bones, feeling safe in his Jungkook hyung’s arms he just lets himself feel it, knowing that he won’t let him fall if he becomes unsteady. Jungkook whispers along to the song in Jimin’s ear, enjoying his moment with the younger. Once the song is finished, the nymph turns around in the elder’s arms with a lot of effort, but he really wants to see his costume. Jimin giggles at the devils ears in Jungkook’s hair and the suit with shorts on the 26 - year – old. Instead of the glasses that normally go along with the Conan costume, he just wears a black leather mask.

”Kookie hyung, you look so good! And your hair! Aaah hyung, you are so cute!”

”Just this once I’ll accept you calling me cute. From tomorrow on I’m back to being your strong hyung. Deal?”

”Deal!”, Jimin’s bright smile lights up his entire face.

”Jimin-ah”, Jungkook starts,”You look absolutely beautiful. There is no one in this room that can compare to you. I’m just breathless looking at you.”, Jungkook nuzzles his nose into Jimin’s hair to then quickly drop a kiss there. Before he leaves Jimin to his two friends who are patiently waiting for the younger, Jungkook whispers in Jimin’s ear to come find him when he wants to go home, quickly adding a peck on the younger’s earlobe. The maknae swiftly grabs his Jungkook hyung’s larger hand in his smaller one, informing him that he is in fact ready to go home. He’s had his fun for today. Jimin’s feeling blissfully happy but also twice as confused as to what the soft flutter in his stomach means. All of the attention he has gotten tonight fills his heart and mind, but so does the confusion and the doubts. That confusion on top of the heavy emotions of earlier today and the remnants of him being ill have fully tired him out. He’s ready to go to bed, falling asleep in the arms of his Kookie hyung, or any of his hyungs if he is honest with himself, which he is not… yet…

Notes:

In case you are wondering, this is the list of songs the boys ask Jimin to dance to at the Halloween party:

Hobi: Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer
Namjoon:I knew I Loved You - Savage Garden
Taehyung: At Last - Etta James
Yoongi: Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
Jin: Make You Feel My Love - Adele
Jungkook: Unconditionally - Katy Perry

Chapter 5

Notes:

Hi!

First of all, I'm really sorry about cutting Jimin out of the group pictures, but seeing as he's not in Bangtan, it was a necessity. I really didn't enjoy it... Who knew it could hurt that much.

On a brighter note, happy belated birthday to @PowerpuffJoonie! As I said before, consider this chapter your birthday present :)

Finally, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for reading! I'm forever grateful.

Xo,
I.

Chapter Text

                                           

With Jimin at his best friends’ place to pick up the bouquet of flowers he left there yesterday and spend the day with just the three of them, the Bangtan boys find themselves sitting in a circle, all of them looking at their hands or the corners of the room. There has never been an awkward atmosphere between them, well… Maybe the first week of them being trainees together, but after that they were so comfortable with one another that nothing was ever too weird to talk about. Yet, here in this moment, the six boys don’t know where to start, although they do know what they want to say. So when Namjoon stands up, taking the lead in this conversation, all of the fidgeting becomes worse.

”I’ll just start, because I can feel that this is uncomfortable for all of us. Yet, it’s about time we talk about this… I’ve noticed that all of us are fond of our maknae, I guess I just want to know how much you like him… “, he looks at all of his members seriously, ready to talk about it, but not exactly ready to hear their answers.



Namjoon sits at the kitchen table with Jin, watching Jimin who is still struggling with the English pronunciation to a children’s song, even though he’s been practicing with the elder for a while now. Both of them just look at each other and smile. The maknae’s furrowed brow, scrunched nose and pout whenever he gets something wrong is the most endearing thing to them. The leader want nothing more than to help Jimin out, spending every minute with the younger, but that wouldn’t help Jimin. He needs to learn it on his own, in his own time. He’ll ask for help if he needs it. So for now he’s just looking at him, with his eldest hyung next to him.

”Namjoonah, can I ask you a question?”

”Of course, always hyung.”

”Okay, I need you to answer it honestly. No matter what the answer it and how much it might hurt me.”

Namjoon nods, looking intently at Jin, who keeps his eyes on Jimin clearly too nervous to look at the man sitting next to him.

”Do you like Jimin?”

”Define like…”

”Would you date Jimin?, Jin stares at Namjoon anxiously. He knows what the rapper is going to say, but he needs to hear it from the leader himself.

”Ah… Yes… The only thing stopping me to not ask him out is Jungkook. It’s clear the guy is also head over heels for him and I don’t want to mess things up for them.”

”Namjoonah… It’s not just Kook who likes Jimin…”

”No? How do you know. Did someone talk to you about it?”

”Not exactly no…”, Jin says hesitantly.

”Then how…”, but before Joon can finish his sentence, he is interrupted by the elder in a desperate fashion.

 " It’s me, I like Jimin too. I like him a lot. Just like you I haven’t done anything about it because it’s clear Kook likes him, but if I’m honest… I don’t think the three of us are the only one’s who like him… Did you see how jealous Tae gets? Or how soft Yoongi is around him? He never really shows his emotions, but the fact that he is always worrying about him, he even let's Jimin hug him… And Hobi… Well, he gets twice as energetic when he’s around Jimin and if he goes full parent mode with us, then watch him closely when he’s around our maknae. It’s never overbearing, but he’s caring in a way I can’t explain… Maybe they see Jimin just as their friend, but I doubt it…”, Jin sighs, finally being able to talk about all this out loud. He’s kept his thoughts to himself for a while now, but he feels like he is about to burst.

”What do we do? I don’t know if I can just ignore my feelings… Not with Jimin, I’ve never felt like this before. He’s smart, funny, sweet, but also independent and strong. You can talk with him for hours about everything and the way he worries about all of us even though we are still practically strangers to him… I can’t wait to spend more time with him…”, Namjoon gushes, just thinking of the teacher makes his heart melt.

”So… What are we talking about?”

A chair scrapes the floor, being pulled from underneath the table and 5 seconds later Tae sits across from the two men who are talking softly amongst themselves while still having most of their focus on Jimin.

”Ah… ehm… Well..”, Namjoon hesitates, not sure he wants to let Taehyung in.

”Just tell him Joon. This way we’ll know where he stands. Even if we don’t like it, at least there’ll be a bit more certainty and maybe this is the push we need to talk about this with everyone… Because this has the potential to ruin a lot if our suspicions are correct and that’s the last thing all of us want.”

”True…”, the rapper turns to the younger singer, taking a deep breath,”We are talking about Jimin and how we feel towards him.”

”Don’t tell me you like him too?!”, Tae practically yells.

”Ssshhh! Not so loud! We do not want Jimin to overhear this conversation. Not  yet. Not until we know how all of us feel towards him.”, Jin shushes Tae with a hand on his mouth,”I know it’s not fun to find out that more people like him, but it is what it is and we need to deal with it between all of us before we can even involve Jimin in this. If you think it’s hard on us, imagine hearing you might have stolen six people’s hearts…”

”But to answer your question, yes Jin hyung and myself like Jimin. We are also quite sure about Jungkook. The guy never stops having heart eyes when it comes to Jimin, which I noticed the minute he started talking about him.”

“Hyung, I understand that you like Jimin. You were always quite transparent when it came to your feelings. I mean, if I was jealous of any of you for being able to spend time with Jimin then you were up there with me. I just never suspected Jin hyung... You never said anything…”


”I decided on giving him the space he asked us for when he exploded on us. I’ve learned from that mistake. To be honest, I would love to get to know Jimin better, but pushing him in getting to know me when he has to deal with six people in his house… I’d rather get to know him a bit slower than force a panic attack on him. My turn’ll come. I have faith in that and if our moment is as nice as the short while we spent together when I gave him my flowers… I’ll be so honoured and flattered. Ugh… Jimin is just perfect isn’t he. Just look at him. He’s not really doing anything right now and I’d still offer him the whole world.”, Jin sighs, looking at the younger, totally besotted.

”What are we going to do if Hobi and Yoongi feel the same way we do? And what will we do if Jimin doesn’t like us. Granted, it would make for a good album with some emotional ballads and some angry rejection songs, but we’ll be a band of six with just broken hearts. How is that going to work?”

”Tae, you can’t put that on Jimin. When he let us stay he had no idea we would fall into like with him. I’m sure if he did, he would never had said yes to us being here in the first place.”

”I agree with Namjoon. The boy doesn’t even know we’re fighting over him. Look at him, so clueless, so innocent.”

”Honestly, I don’t think I can say I ever fell in like with him. I think I skipped that step all together. I just fell in love with him. Or maybe not yet, but it is definitely more than like. Who knew someone could have such an effect on me. I’ve been in a band for four years with all you hot people and never even felt an inkling of romantic love for any of you, but then I see this picture of this cute little human being and BOOM! He’s all I can think about. All of my songs I’ve been writing are cheesy love songs… Seriously, it’s as if I’ve forgotten the Bangtan Sound.”

”Tae, you do not want to hear my raps right now… I can’t write anything without adding Jimin to it. It’s seriously bad!”

Jin watches his two friends fawn over the youngest boy currently sitting on the sofa, very unaware of all the hearts he’s been conquering. He knows they are going to have to talk, soon… This can’t break their friendship, he won’t let it, but he also doesn’t want to not do anything. If he has to step back and let one of his friends date Jimin, then he will if it keeps the peace, but knowing what or how is better than living in secrecy and indirectly hurting each other.



”Look, I haven’t been subtle… I’m sure you all know I like him… You should also know I kissed him last night at the halloween party.”, Tae starts, being interrupted by a collective shock sound that comes out of five other mouths, “before you start stressing out, it wasn’t on his lips okay. I gave him a kiss on his cheek, but seeing as we are being honest I thought it’d be best to tell you this.”

”Ah.. Well, I gave him a kiss on his wrist”, Yoongi says unbothered, it’s only the slight mouth twitch that gives away how he really feels,” I have been subtle as I didn’t want to scare him away, but I told him when I stayed behind with him that I’m here for him always and I want to make it very clear that I mean every word. I’ll back off if he needs me to, but otherwise… Yeah… I think you get the message.”

”Who knew he’d have Yoongi wrapped around his very little finger like this. If Yoongi is a goner then what do you expect of us? Safe to say, I’m right there with you. I kissed his hand like a prince, because he deserves to be treated like one. I want to do that, so bad. On the other hand, I’m scared it’s going to mess things up between all of us… So, if I have to, for the sake of our friendship consider me no longer a candidate for Jimin-ah’s heart, but for now consider me there with you.”, Hobi sighs, clearly conflicted.

”I’m on the same page as Yoongi is. I’ve been sutble and I’ll be here for Jimin until he sends me away. I don’t need to say more, you know me well enough to understand that I’ve always been quiet about the things I’ve been passionate about laughing it away with a lot of jokes. I’d rather show our maknae than just use words. I’ll back of too if he asks me to or as Hobi said, if we’re about to hurt our friendship, but otherwise, I’m here. Jimin is special, it wouldn’t be wise to let him go. Oh, I kissed his forehead… Yeah… I guess that’s me.”

”I kissed his button nose. Seriously, I don’t know what it is with his nose, but it’s the cutest little thing, just like it’s owner. Is it just me who wants to wrap Jimin up in a coccoon and keep him safe and warm forever. I’ve always felt protective when it comes to you guys, but with Jimin it’s on a whole other level… As if my life depends on his safety and happiness… So now that we know all this…”, Namjoon turns around to Jungkook,” I guess it’s your turn.”

”I think you already know. I’ve kept him a secret for four years and only introduced you to him so we could have some privacy, but also because I needed my best friend asap. I’ve missed him and I still miss him when I’m not near him. Leaving him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I adore all of you, but thinking that my past could have had more Jimin in it leading into a future that could have been fully Jimin based with him potentially being my boyfriend… I sometimes wish I made a different choice. Ugh, he’s just so beautiful inside and out, even with his anxiety and severe shyness he is still the best person to exist. He just makes you a better person by being around you. I’ve been in love with him for years and I never told him… Jimin and love isn’t a great combination. He overthinks so much that he would actually talk himself out of loving someone. If he ever falls in love it needs to happen slowly. I hate that all of you like him, but I’m not surprised. Where do we go from here? I don’t want to lose you guys, but I also don’t want to lose my Jimin-ah.”


* Over at Sehun and Taemin’s*

Jimin is sitting at the table, holding on to the waterbottle that contains the flowers that were given by his hyungs the other day, with his friends across from him. They are looking at him with curious, yet concerned eyes. Their friend is clearly lost in thought, both of them having a suspicion as to why that is with him clutching onto his water bottle filled with colourful flowers, but not knowing how to help him. Sehun and Taemin have seen Jimin talk himself out of having feelings for someone, they have seen him cry over not wanting to be hurt by others or having his trust taken away from him, they have seen his heart break every time he talks about his hyung. They know better than Jimin how he feels towards people, but never push him into admitting it to himself or others. Right now, they see him struggle with the idea of liking his hyung and his five friends… At the same time… They both agree on the fact that Jimin never does things half way. 

 

   

Jimin’s phone lights up, showing a selfie of him and his Jungkook hyung. It’s a notification from some social media app, so nothing that important, but Jimin keeps staring at his phone until the light dims on it’s own. He then grabs his phone again and unlocks it. A new picture, of him and all his housemates, pops up. Jimin quickly swipes away the notification, then smiles at the picture. He has this feeling in his heart that he can’t place. Since their adventure in the flower shop and the dances at the Halloween Ball Jimin has been even more confused. Does that flutter mean something or is it just him being happy he gets attention for a change. He never wanted to be the center of attention which worked out well because his parents never really praised him. They already had high expectations when it came to him and that only worsened when he came out to them. His parents didn’t mind him liking boys but they understand how society works… They want their son to have every opportunity, hence why he needs to be perfect in their eyes. If the only thing out of the ordinary is him being gay, then they can’t really fire him or bully him if he’s better than anyone else in anything else. Jimin doesn’t agree with that logic, he feels that society just needs to mind it’s own business, but his parents worked hard and gave him every opportunity, therefore he always knew he would have to repay them. Because he never got compliments, he doesn’t take well to them. So having all this attention now, from all of his hyungs… Jimin doesn’t understand it. The kisses, the flowers, the nice words, the extra care they give him… The teacher’s brain just boils over thinking about it and the more he thinks about it, the more he is convinced they are just being nice because he gives them a roof over their heads.

”Come on Jiminie, let’s do something fun now that it’s just the three of us. Stop overthinking already. Let’s clear your head by doing something you’re good at.”

Taemin walks up to his tv, starts Jimin’s favourite game, ‘Let’s dance’, and picks the first song. The three of them start dancing and laughing, continuously hitting their hands and arms against each other. One of the songs the boys dance to is Dynamite by Bangtan and if Jimin had paid a bit more attention to the vocals, he would have recognised the sweet voice of his Jungkook hyung, but as the three of them are singing along loudly at the top of their voices, the band's voices disappear in the background and Jimin is yet again non the wiser.

After five hours of fun it’s time for Jimin to head home again. He’s really tired and hungry. The youngest could have eaten at his friends’ place, but he made a promise to his hyungs to be home for dinner, to enjoy Jin’s food. Ever since he admitted to Jin that his food is better than that of those fancy restaurants, the eldest hasn’t skipped a meal. He’s been feeding everyone three times a day, solely to impress Jimin even more. So, after he put on his coat, beanie and scarf, Jimin hugs his friends, grabs his flowers and walks home. The boy’s giddiness has reached a level he has never felt before. He doesn’t know whether it’s thanks to Taemin and Sehun or because he is going home to six people who are genuinely happy to be around him. The maknae grips the bottle of water that holds his bouquet of flowers close and skips his way home. He’s thinking so much of the boys at home and how much his heart flutters with every thought of them that he misses the entire giant wall full of billboards covered by Bangtan advertisements.

                           

 

* A few days later*


RING RING RING RING

The loud ringing wakes Jin up from his afternoon nap. He has been suffering from migraine since the day before and decided to sleep it off. He quickly picks up once he sees it’s Namjoon.

”Hyung, I need your help!”, a panicked voice reaches his ear before he can even greet the younger.

”What’s up?”, Jin answers, trying to wipe away the sleep from his eyes.

”I need you to come pick me up from Big Hit asap and drive to Seoul National University Hospital.”

”Namjoonah?! Are you okay? What did you do?!”, Namjoon’s panick finds it’s way to Jin, who is already half way out of the door, ready to drive the leader.

”No no, Jin, it’s not me. It’s Jimin. He called me from the ER. Apparently he fell from the stairs in school, hit his head hard, lost a lot of blood which always happens with head wounds, he also lost consciousness for ten minutes. So they called an ambulance to get him checked out. He has a concussion and a swollen ankle, hence why he can’t walk home or take the bus. He didn’t want to call Jungkook seeing as he’s out with his family and he knows Yoongi is busy with work, that’s why he called me…”

”You need someone to drive you…”

”Yes, but mostly Jimin-ah. Hyung, I’m fine with you driving him home and me taking the bus back. I just don’t want him to be on his own for too long.”

”I’m already out of the door Joon, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Obviously I’ll drop you both off, I’m not cruel. Besides, you are my leader and one of my best friends, I’m keeping you safe too. Hanging up now! See you soon!”, Jin hangs up the phone, shoves it in his pocket and drives straight to Big Hit where he finds an overly nervous Namjoon who basically jumps in the car while it’s still moving just so they wouldn’t lose time to get to their maknae.

Speeding through the streets of Seoul, both Jin and Namjoon are being extremely worried about Jimin, not sure what they’ll find. After parking the car, they run inside and ask for Jimin’s room. Bystanders jump out of the way when the two elder boys run through the hallway. Even though they are in a hurry, they are stopped several times to take a picture. Both men do so, as they don’t want to be impolite to their fans, but ask them to not post anything online of there whereabouts. Luckily they all accept while pocketing their phones in their jackets, letting the two Bangtan members run to their final destination. They find the younger looking pale, his head on his arm, fast asleep, half his face hidden by his sweater. If the men, who are walking silently towards the younger, hadn’t know that Jimin was hurt they wouldn’t have know from the image in front of him. He looks so comfortable and soft. They regret waking him up, but the nurse who showed them the way had told them to wake the teacher up seeing as he’d been asleep for a bit now and with concussions you need to wake the patient up regularly. Normally it’s every two hours, but he’s been fast asleep for an hour now so better to be safe than sorry. Namjoon softly puts a hand in Jimin’s hair and slowly combs it out of his face. The younger looks so small underneath his own big hand, the bags under his eyes very visible, the sleepy pout absolutely adorable. It’s only then that the Bangtan leader notices the band aid on the side of Jimin’s forehead. He gives a small kiss on top of it, while also still trying to wake up the younger. A few seconds later the maknae’s eyelashes flutter, his eyes slowly open, this dopey smile on his face.

”Hyungs, you came. Thank you!”, Jimin who is still half asleep hides his face even more in his sweater, pulls the hood over his hair to protect his head wound and puts his hands in his sleeves, “I’m sorry to be such a bother though.”, he looks down with a small frown on his face.

”Hey Jimin-ah, you are no bother sweetheart. It’s totally fine. We are friends right?”, saying the word ‘friend’ hurt Namjoon a little, but it is what it is… For now…

“How are you feeling?”, Jin asks, standing next to Jimin on the other side of the bed.

”Like my head is splitting in two… Also, a little embarrassed… How clumsy can I be…”

”Jiminie, we all made some stupid falls. No reason for your embarrassement. You are still the coolest person ever. Did you get a painkiller?”, Namjoon softly massages his scalp, feeling how Jimin is searching out his touch everytime he’s about to take back his hand.

”Are you ready to go home? We’ll have you back in bed in no time, with a good cup of tea and a whole lot of cuddles.”, Jin promises.

”Ah, I would love that hyung. And to answer your question Joon hyung… I’ve gotten painkillers, they put them in my bagpack. I’m allowed to take one every four hours, on a full stomach. They make me a bit woozy though, I don’t like that very much… But I am ready to go home.”, Jimin answers in a tiny voice, making grabby hands towards his hyung as a plea to help him.

"How is the ankle doing? Can you stand on it?", Both men ask while inspecting his foot. 

"Yes, I can walk on it, I just have to be careful and not overdo it."

They both take a hand and place the younger securely in between them, ready to catch him if he falls. Both Jin and Namjoon have learnt from their previous mistake, so they both put on a mask and hat before leaving Jimin’s hospital room. It also helps that all of them dyed their hair back to their natural hair colours, nothing flashy to stand out, but the hard core fans will recognize them either way, so they go as fast as they can with a somewhat wobbly Jimin. 

Having placed the younger in the back of the car, they start the vehicle, ready to bring Jimin home and put him to bed, that is until his stomach starts grumbling loudly.

”Jimin-ah, are you hungry?”, Jin asks, still looking at the traffic going on around them, but peeking through the rear - view mirrow every few seconds to keep his eye on the younger.

”Yeah, I didn’t get to eat much in the hospital. The medication kept me asleep most of the time. I think I even fell asleep during the one sandwich I was trying to eat earlier.”, the younger says sheepishly.

”We’ll stop to eat first. Anything in mind?”, the eldest hyung asks.

”No, everything is fine. As long as I get to eat."

They stop at this tiny noodle restaurant that doesn’t seem to have a lot of customers. As before, both boys take Jimin’s hand and hold him up once he's out of the car. The younger loves the feeling of his smaller hand in their bigger hands, softly smiling to himself. Jin and Namjoon lead him to a table and sit him in between the both of them. He feels weird holding their hand as he isn’t trying to stand up anymore, but he misses the warmth surrounding his hands. When they are ready to order Jin’s phone goes off, so he quickly goes outside to keep the attention off of them. In the meantime Namjoon helps Jimin picks. The younger is stuck between two dishes and as someone who is very indecisive, he appreciates the help. Jin walks in four minutes later, grabs his coat and tells Namjoon work needs him with a pout on his face. He doesn’t leave without telling Joon to look after Jimin as if his life depends on him and to call him straight away when they need him. The rapper promises and tells the elder to be careful. Traffic is always dangerous so they never fail to remind each other to be careful. Jimin is a little confused, not really sure what all of them do, except that they work in the music industry. So when he turns to Namjoon after waving goodbye to Jin, he straight away asks the question.

”Oh, well, Jin hyung and Tae are visual project managers, myself and Yoongi hyung are producers and songwriters, Hobi is a choreographer and Jungkook is a music project manager but also helps out as a producer whenever he has some free time,” it’s clear to Namjoon that Jimin doesn’t really understand most of these jobs, but he tries to keep it as vague as possible to not ruin their story. Seeing as all that is the truth, Namjoon doesn't feel too bad about the lack of information. None of them are great at keeping secrets and he doesn’t want to be the one to ruin everything with Jimin, “Anyway Jimin, I wanted to ask you something and you have to know that you can say no. I won’t be upset. Maybe a little bit, but it won’t change anything between us. Got it?”

”Yes hyung, I get it.”, Jimin nods, eyes big, lips in a small o. It’s so clear that Jimin really doesn’t know how cute he is, but Namjoon keeps melting everytime the younger pulls an innocent face.

”Jimin-ah… I don’t know if you know, but… I have feelings for you. It’s not just me. You must have noticed that all the boys absolutely adore you. Now, normally we would have sat you down on the sofa and told you together, but… God, I might be doing this completely wrong… I just thought that six men telling you at the same time… That we have feelings for you… It might have been to much… So, that’s why I am telling you here, just the two of us… I’m sure we will talk about it all together, we are going to have to… We love living with you, but we don’t know how much longer we can stay if you don’t return feeling for at least one us. We have been dying to tell you, to hold you and if you’d let us… You know… Just… Kiss you…”, Namjoon looks at his hands, scared to look up at Jimin and seeing anger or worse… hatred.

”Hyung… I… Honestly, I didn’t know… Yes, you were caring and kind, but I just thought you were being good friends to me because of my hyung… Thank you for telling me here, because I don’t know how I would have reacted if you told me all together. You were right, this is a much better way. I just… Hyung… I don’t know how I feel, but the thought of you not living with me anymore… No… I’ve gotten so used to you guys… If you leave, I’ll just come with you. Don’t leave me okay. Seriously, I’ve been so confused the past few days, weeks even. Never have I given in to my feelings, ever… Whenever I did I got hurt… Also, feelings are just confusing and often too much to handle. It gives me headaches and anxiety. No one knows how to handle me and my insane amount of emotions except for Sehun and Taemin, also Junkookie hyung but I’m scared to tell him because he’ll end up leaving again. All of you will… What if I like one of you… Or more… How would that work? You’ll leave hyung, you belong to America. I don’t, I belong with my babies in Seoul. Seriously, how would I even survive there? My English sucks! You know that better than anyone Joon hyung… And what about society? My parents accept that I’m gay, but with more than one person? Or maybe one who is more American than Korean? I can’t even think of it… Oh, and the rest of my family will be so ashamed… I just… Hyung… What if I feel too much?”, Jimin is holding his head between his hands, tears in his eyes, anxiety clearly making it’s way through the youngers body. His foot is bouncing up and down, his face drained from all colour.

Him being in an already bad condition isn’t helping of course, so Namjoon takes both Jimin’s hands in one of his hands and with the other hand he moves his chair closer to the younger boy. He then guides Jimin’s head on his shoulder, which the teacher gratefully accepts by pushing his face closer to the elder’s neck. If it were up to him he’d put Jimin in his lap, but with the younger’s spiking anxiety and worries about society, he decides to help him out by just holding him closer. It’s more of a friend thing to do than lap sitting, or that’s what he’ll tell the younger if he starts panicking about the position they are in.

”Jimin-ah, it’s fine. You don’t have to worry about any of it. We’ll take it one day at a time. None of us are going to expect you to agree to things or do things you don’t want to do. I’ll also make sure that we’ll keep our jealousy under wraps. The only thing you have to do is be you. You want to go on dates with one of us? Great! You want to go on dates with more than one person? Also great. Is dating not your thing, cool. We’ll find something else. If in the end you like none of us, we’ll still be friends. If you like one of us, then the rest will accept that and move on. As long as you are happy, we will be happy. If you like all of us, well… Be prepared to be the most spoiled young man ever. About America… Jiminie, we can stay here… No matter where we work, we’ll be fine. Maybe we’ll have to go on business trips to America or somewhere else in the world, but then you might come with us and we’ll translate everything for you. Or if you change your mind, which you don’t have to, you can move to the US with us. I’ll gladly teach you English and there are so many translation apps around, you would be fine. Don’t think about that for now though. We aren’t in a hurry to go back there. We have time off, with once in a while a day of work when they can’t go without us. We are here, with you, for as long as you want us. So how about we do this slowly?”

Jimin nods, face still hidden, hands still engulfed in Namjoon’s.

”Sweetheart… Wait, can I call you sweetheart?”, the rapper asks, not wanting to do anything to upset Jimin more.

Jimin nods again, albeit a bit slower as he tired and overwhelmed.

”Sweetheart, can I hold your hand?”

”You already are”, the black haired boy whispers.

”Properly Jimin-ah”, he smiles, intertwining their fingers, showing the younger so he can decide whether he wants it or not.

Namjoon feels another nod against his neck.

”Okay, last very important question, but don’t forget, you can say no. I won’t mind… Here goes… can I, no we… Can we call this a date?”, Namjoon carefully asks, showing the younger that he can actually deny the offer.

”I would love to hyung, but if the other hyungs also like me as you say, then we have to tell them. I don’t want to hurt them…”, Jimin looks up at Namjoon, fear in his eyes.

”Jimin? Why are you scared?”, Namjoon caresses Jimin’s cheek, comforting the younger.

”I don’t want to hurt you either… Maybe you wanted to keep this secret? Hyung…”, the teacher whines, clearly conflicted.

”Sweetheart. It’s okay. I don’t mind being honest with the other hyungs. I told you. You do you and we’ll follow. We also can’t make this work if we aren’t honest. That doesn’t mean we have to tell each other all the details, but at least the important things. We all told each other that we gave you a kiss at the Halloween party and we know about the flowers too. We’ll do it like that. Is that good?”

”Yes, that’s good. You think the other’s will agree with this?”

”As long as you give them a chance to prove themselves worthy of your heart, they will surely agree with this. There might be some jealousy, but you don’t have to worry about that. Our end goal has always been each other’s happiness and that will stay that way. Only one thing has changed. You are our top priority now. If we ever upset you, don’t hesitate to tell us okay.”

Jimin nuzzles Namjoon’s hand, nodding, a small smile visible on his face. The rapper’s heart skips a beat by the adorable sight in front of him.

”Hyung?”

”Sweetheart?”

”Can you order noodles for me? I really can’t pick between the two dishes… I’m also too tired to think more. I just want to enjoy this now.”

Namjoon smiles. The fact that Jimin let’s him pick for him, shows some sign of trust. Taking care of the younger is everything he wanted lately, now that he has the chance to do so, he’s taking the opportunity with both hands.

Both boys enjoy their noodles, sitting close together, talking about everything and anything, giggling every time Namjoon drops his chopsticks, which happens a lot seeing as he keeps trying to eat while holding both of Jimins hands, who in turn keeps fighting for freedom so he can eat, but not actually putting a lot of effort in it as he enjoys Namjoon’s touch.

When they are done eating, they decide to walk home. Because Namjoon is the one who asked Jimin on this date, he obviously also is the one who is paying, much to Jimin’s dismay, but he is still too tired to complain too much and he also remembers that his bag, including his his wallet, is still in Jin’s car. Both of them agree that next time Jimin will pay the bill. Namjoon puts one arm around Jimin’s back to make sure he doesn’t fall over and with his free hand holds on to Jimin’s hand. Luckily they aren’t too far from Jimin’s place, so Namjoon only has to stop the younger two times from falling. By the time they arrive home, Jimin is ready to fall asleep, but when they open the door and see the other five people waiting for them, he knows he is going to have to wait for a bit. Namjoon looks at him, the maknae nods. Honesty, starting from now on.

”Guys stop worrying, Jimin is fine. He’s a bit woozy from the medication he has to take, but he ate well and walked all the way home without falling.”, Namjoon says with pride lacing his voice.

”Barely though hyung.”, Jimin scoffs.

”Sweetheart… I’m still proud of you. You did so good! Also, Jimin and I have to tell you something. Do you want to tell them Jimin-ah?”

Jimin shakes his head, heavily leaning against Namjoon’s side at this point.

”Okay, I’ll do it then. We went on a date. Our dinner turned into a dinner date… I also told him about all of us having feelings for him and Jimin-ah agrees to give us all a chance if we can do it at his pace as to not overwhelm him. He doesn’t really know what he feels and has a lot of worries, so we take it one step at a time, slowly. If we are jealous of one another, talk about it, but don’t be mad at Jimin, he has no say in our feelings. Got it?”

”Got it.”, all of them easily agree. Happy that the younger wants to give all of them a chance, but jealous of their leader and secretly yearning to a date of their own.

”I’m going to put Jimin in bed now.”, Namjoon starts moving forward when Jungkook stops him.

“Hyung, Jimin sleeps in his bed with me next to him. I’ll take care of him. Why don’t you sit down and tell everyone more about the agreement with our maknae?”

”Fine. Take care of him Kook. Sweet dreams Jimin-ah, call us when you need us.”, The leader plants a small kiss on Jimin’s cheek in front of everyone. Jimin blushes, then waves at the rest of the boys who are looking back at him with a lost puppy look. When Jimin and Jungkook disappear in the bedroom, the rest sit together in silence.

In the bedroom, Jungkook sits Jimin on the toilet while brushing his teeth and then undresses him to put him in his favourite pyjama’s which are a pair of wide black training trousers he stole from Jungkook and a dark yellow hoodie he got from Sehun and Taemin when he turned 22. Then he covers Jimin’s body with his blanket and gives his medication again. When Jungkook leaves the room he tells him they’ll wake him up in two hours because he still suffers from that concussion he keeps forgetting about. With a last quick hug, he lets the youngest fall asleep and joins his hyungs.

”Joonah, I need to ask… Did you pressure him in that date?”

”Yoongi hyung, I would never. I asked his permission to hold his hand, to call him sweetheart and to turn our dinner into a date. He said yes to all three. He also confessed that he has feelings when it comes to all of us but is scared to find out what they mean seeing as our life in America and because of society’s judgement, including his family's… I promised we’ll take it slow and that us, his hyungs, will not show our jealousy when Jimin is around. We are adults and we actually like each other. Let this not be the reason we fight with each other. If we go for transparency, something he also agreed with, and keep our friendship safe I actually think we can make it. We always said we wanted to see each other happy. Lately we have said we wanted to see Jimin happy too. Does that still count?”

The five people nod, looking at their leader. Still quite jealous of him, but ready to put aside their unhappiness in order to think of Jimin’s happiness.

”Hyung, do you think there is a chance he’ll actually like all of us?”, Tae asks, doubt in his voice.

”To be honest… I don’t know. But with how scared he was of hurting one or more of us, I’d say… Yes… I truly think it’s either going to be all of us or none of us. I might be wrong though, so don’t be angry with me if he does choose one of us. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. If he doesn’t pick any of us, all of us can still be friends. I honestly can’t imagine my life without him anymore and I do know for a fact that he doesn’t want us to leave him either. That’s a start right?”

All boys realise that keeping their friendship intact is the most important through this, because even if Jimin picks all of them, they’ll be his boyfriend, but not each other’s. Only the notion. So they do what they always do. Movie night with snacks, no alcohol though because they have their maknae to look after, and lots of laughter. If they stay this close, the end result won’t matter because they’ll still have each other and that will always be enough.

Chapter 6

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

   

“Woah Jimin-ah, who knew you could move like that? I would have taken you out to dance sooner. Wow! I’m completely mind blown. Has anyone ever seen you dance like this?”, Hobi says, truly in awe of Jimin’s dancing, not just saying it to woo him.

”Outside of Sehun and Taemin, no… Well… Jungkookie hyung too, but he doesn’t know I still dance sometimes. I told him I gave it up, because I did… It was too hard to combine with my studies and now with work.”

”Don’t you miss it?”

”Hyung, yes… Every day.”

”Then why would you quit?”, Hobi questions, feeling sorrowful for the smaller boy.

”It just wasn’t a priority… I had to make my parents proud. Dancing didn’t do that… Having good grades and a stable job did that. That’s why I made the choice that I did… Honestly, I regret it every day, especially because Sehun and Taemin still studied it and now are working to make their career out of it… I’m happy for them, but I’m also slightly jealous.”, Jimin replies, sadly. 

”How about we do this more often then? You get to dance more and I get to take you on the most swoon worthy dates?”, Hobi smiles his big heart smile, fondly looking at Jimin.

”I would love to hyung. That sounds amazing. Only if you don’t mind. I can imagine you dance enough as it is with you being a choreographer.”, Jimin smiles shyly, not wanting to be a bother.

”I love dance, but I love spending time with you even more and being rewarded with your smile is more than enough. Maybe also a hug at the end of each date, that would be nice too.”, Hobi winks playfully.

Jimin blushes, turning away from his Hobi hyung. He really doesn’t know how to deal with all this attention and flattery. The teacher doesn’t really believe that he is worth all the other boys’ time, but he is enjoying it. He gave them permission to hug him on the regular and hold his hand, so now he is engulfed by a way bigger body and his hand is held by a larger one. Jimin loves that he can feel small and protected without someone telling him off for it, but he is confused, non stop. Still somewhat too scared to find out how he feels. The maknae wants to figure it out though, but doesn’t really know where to start. Talking to people is out of the question… Who is going to understand him being interested in six guys and maybe down the line falling for them? The only one’s he would trust with that secret are Taemin and Sehun, but he doesn’t really know where to start and wonders whether they'd leave him because they consider him a freak once they find out… His heart would break into a thousand pieces. For now he’ll try to figure it out on his own, hence why he said yes when Hobi asked him during breakfast if he could take him out on a date. The original plan was to show Jimin his dancing, so the younger got to know something more about his hyung, but once the teacher admitted into being a dancer himself it turned into Hoseok fawning over the younger and complimenting his every move.

”Why don’t you take a shower so we can go eat something. My treat, you can pick anything.”

”Hyung, I can pay too. I agreed to the date you know and I do have money…”, Jimin whines, ready to pay for his own share or both his and Hobi’s. With everyone paying for him he starts to feel like a charity case, which he doesn’t really like.

”How about you pay me in holding hands or a cuddle or maybe both? Only if you want to of course. A simple thank you is good enough too, especially when you smile so sweetly with it.”, Hobi looks at Jimin, wanting to comb his hair from his forehead, but not really sure whether he’s allowed. So when Jimin moves closer, looking at the elder through his eyelashes, he knows he’s gotten his permission. The rapper knows that he is being overly cautious right now, but all the boys promised to set boundaries first with the youngest and only become a bit more daring when they know what is allowed and what isn’t. If all of them have to ask permission for every little thing when it comes to Jimin, they will. Anything to save Jimin from his anxiety and panic attacks.

 

*A few hours later*

”Hyung, you don’t have to cook anything. Hobi hyung payed for lunch. We ate so much I’m still full.”

”Jimin-ah, it’s not just me cooking you food. We are both going to cook. You’ll see, by the time our food is ready you’ll be hungry again.”, Yoongi says, absolutely sure of himself.

”I can’t cook though.”, Jimin says doubtfully, scared he is going to ruin this date.

”Honey… I can assure you you are not going to be worse than Tae or Namjoon. They are disasters in the kitchen. If you follow my instructions, you’ll be golden. Don’t be afraid to ask for help though. Good?”

”Good. I think I can do that.”

”Okay, first things first. Washing of the hands!”, Yoongi says while actually washing his hands. Jimin follows his example, giggling at the way his hyung gave that first intruction.

”Okay, now what?”, Jimin is fully ready to start this date properly and hopefully impress his hyung.

”First, I need you to answer this question, because I noticed my slip of the tongue before.”, the atmosphere becomes serious when the elder looks at the teacher, face devoid of it’s previous smile, “Jimin, is it okay for me to call you honey? You can say no if it isn’t.”

”Oh, no no… I mean, don’t worry. It’s fine. I prefer nicknames over my actual name. Joon hyung calls me sweetheart and now you call me honey. Maybe all of you can come up with something. I would like that.”, the last part is whispered by the younger. He starts biting his lip as a way to deal with his nerves. His family never called him anything than Jimin. Not even Minnie or Jimin-ah. Jimin, that’s it. He couldn’t complain, seeing as it is his name after all, but the flutter in his stomach everytime Namjoon calls him Sweetheart or when Yoongi called him Honey is so addictive, he wants to feel it all the time. Yet he also doesn’t want to be demanding… Ugh, the inner struggle.

”I’ll tell the other boys, I’m sure they’ll love coming up with nicknames for you. I know I do. Honey it is. Thank you.”, he holds his hand out to Jimin, who takes it quickly, letting Yoongi lead him back to the counter where their ingredients are.

They both make sure all the ingredients are ready, place the right pan on the stove and lastly gather all the spices. Then, Jimin is placed in front of Yoongi right in front of the fire. Yoongi hands all the right ingredients to Jimin so the younger can throw them in the pan. With his chin on Jimin’s shoulder, Yoongi keeps an eye on the food as to not burn it. With every ingredient in the pan, Yoongi showers Jimin with the cutest compliments so by the time they finish cooking their kimchi fried rice, Jimin is blushing hard, his entire face smiling, his eyes bright. According to Yoongi, this is the most beautiful Jimin has ever looked and he vows to himself in that moment to always strives to see the younger glow like this.

They made too much fried rice, so they share it with the other boys. On the side they made some extra eggs, sunny side up, and some more meat. All of them enjoy the food and listen to Hobi and Yoongi talk about their dates while Jimin is, once again, furiously blushing. They don’t push the younger into telling them anything as they hear everything from their band mates already, but the others who are still waiting on their turn to take the maknae out are trying to keep their jealousy at bay and failing… hard… Luckily Jimin has taken to given all of them a kiss on the cheek every time he leaves the room to go to bed, which helps a little bit in their fight against the green monster.


*Two weeks later*

It’s been two extremely busy weeks for Jimin. A few of his colleagues fell ill with the flu that’s going it’s rounds right now, so the teacher has more kids in his classroom. Whenever a teacher falls ill, their kids get divided over the remaining teachers. Jimin never minds taking in more kids, the more the merrier, but seeing as for the past two weeks he had seven 3 – year old’s in his class he really is knackered. The black haired boy is used to five – year olds who are so much more independent, so being needed for every tiny little thing, he is not used to that anymore.

With all the kids slowly going home again, Jimin is happy that the prospect of rest is in his future. He says goodbye to the extra grateful parents of those 3 – year olds and accepts all their kisses and hugs. Funnily enough, when his own kids go home they cling even harder to their teacher, telling him how great he is, how much they missed his undevided attention and how they can’t wait for next week when it’s just his class and no more babies. Who knew Jimin had to deal with jealousy both at home and in his classroom. If someone had told him that a year ago he would have laughed, out loud. Never would he have thought that he could be this loved. Jimin doesn’t think he’s deserving of all this love, but he gladly accepts it.

Walking home, he enjoys the fresh air and the soft sun. Even in autumn, he thinks Seoul is the prettiest city he’s ever been too. Granted, he’s never really seen anything besides Seoul and Busan, but still. The leaves falling down, crisping under his feet, the birds chirping, even the sound of traffic. It’s all so familiar and welcome. Especially after two busy weeks. Jimin is already counting down for winter to arrive. If he loves autumn then he adores winter. The cold that forces him to dress even warmer, the even fluffier sweaters, the late night hot chocolate milk with marshmellows while watching his favourite movies, christmas and non - holiday, being covered by a blanket, wearing his onesies all day when he doesn’t have to go out, the massive amount of fairy lights that are strung around the city. Jimin doesn’t necessarily like Christmas, but the decorations, the music, the warm glow that embraces the city… Yeah, he’s ready for it.

Out of the blue something very hot hits him in the face, dripping down covering and seeping down in his sweater underneath his coat. His face burns, pain slowly creeping all over his body. Jimin looks up, seeing two girls run away as fast as they can, their loud cackling echoing on the objects around them. Right before they cross the street they yell loudly ‘STAY AWAY FROM BANGTAN YOU CLOUT CHASER!’. To say Jimin is confused and shocked is an understatement… Has he heard of Bangtan? Sure he has, who hasn’t. Famous K-pop band that was founded in the USA, being the first of it’s kind, then made it big all over the world. Does he know names or faces? No… He doesn’t need to. It’s not like he googles his doctor’s private life either… Being a singer is a job like any other, let them live… Right? Has he been too naive in his thinking?

With the coffee going cold, so does Jimin, except for the burning on his cheek, under his eye and the side of his neck. His entire left side feels like it’s on fire, everything else is ice cold, including his heart. The maknae is rushing home, but slowly starts to feel empty. He just doesn’t understand the threat that was thrown at him. Did he do anything wrong? Did he look like someone Bangtan knows, because no way can it be him, he's never even met them…

He opens the door, takes his shoes off and walks straight to the bathroom, dropping his dirty beanie, coat, sweater, tshirt, pants and throwing them straight in the washing machine. Then he takes a shower. Normally his water would be warmer, but right now he cannot stand the warmth on his burnt skin. The luke warm water is still too hot on his body, but too cold for the parts that aren’t burned. His shower is finished quickly, which annoys Jimin to no end as he normally takes half an hour showers, absolutely adoring the warm feeling and the quiet of the bathroom. He would sometimes even sing songs that have been stuck in his head since forever, mostly children’s songs but often also Bangtan songs because they are played non stop on the radio. Not anymore, he thinks to himself. Bangtan songs are banned from his house from now on. Jimin wipes the steam away from the mirror, looking at his own reflection and getting even more annoyed at the bright red spots that are covering his left side. He now notices that the coffee also burned his left shoulder and small parts of the top half of his chest… The coffee must have seeped way lower in his clothes then he originally thought. Of course he is out of lotion that helps to soothe burns, so he decides to continue his shower but with even colder water now until the burning stops. It doesn’t really stop, but the pain is doable, so he sends a message in the groupchat asking if one of the guys can pick up some lotion. Straight away all six of them reply, telling him they’ll be home soon after asking him if he’s okay. Jimin tells them he’s fine and that he’ll explain everything to them later.

Jimin starts his laptop up, while dressing into comfortable pyjama’s. A cup of tea is waiting for him on the table in front of him together with a cup of noodles. The younger promised Jin to never spoil his appetite before dinner, but he is aware that dinner will be later than usual tonight. Cup noodles don’t fill his stomach up too much, but it’s still delicious and comforting. He’s especially in need of the last part. Jimin’s mum always told him that nothing can’t be fixed with a good cup of tea and noodles and he has been sticking with that for as long as he can remember. Obviously, a lot of things can’t be fixed with the hot drink and food, but it’s still a nice thought. With his laptop now ready, he takes a quick sip of his drink and takes a first bite of his food, then opens several tabs. In one he opens his facebook, another one starts his twitter and lastly he types in Naver. Thinking he would quickly scroll through his social media to stay somewhat up to date with his family and friends, he is quickly proves wrong. Jimin thinks he’s dreaming, none of it sinking in. So he calls Taemin and Sehun, maybe they can tell him he’s gone insane or they see it too which would prove he is still sane and if that’s the case… Well…

”Jiminie… What the hell… Have you clicked on it?”

”No … I’m just confused and to be honest… Absolutely terrified of what I’ll find. Maybe it’s just accidental right? There’s more than one person with my name. Right, Sehun?”

”This would be a very big coincidence Jiminie.”, Taemin who sits next to Sehun looks at his friend. Obviously they know Bangtan is staying with Jimin and this feels like the right time to tell him, but is it up to them? The men want to tell Jimin themselves which they want to respect, but Jimin is their best friend who has been there for them unconditionally. Their best who right now is terrified… They decide against telling him, but to keep Jimin company even if it’s over the phone.

”We’ll click on it together. Ready Jimin?”, Sehun asks, really wanting to run to his best friend, but being stuck at home instead with some hometown friends visiting.

”No…”, Jimin says with the smallest voice, sounding so lost.

”You’ve got this. We are here with you. Jiminie, you are not doing this on your own. On the count of three. 1…,2…3!”, Both Jimin and Sehun press the top trend on twitter which reads ‘#ParkJiminIsACloutChaser’. Jimin doesn’t even know what that means and the fact that it’s the same thing those girls from earlier yelled at him… Now he’s a trending topic? Jimin, who has literally 20 followers on his social media and not one of them of Bangtan, who he in turn also doesn’t follow. He started his social media a few years ago so that he could stay in touch with the people that matter, now he was attacked by thousands of people who don’t even know him.

 


His screen changes in thousands upon thousands of tweets of people insulting him. Jimin being called a clout chaser isn’t even the worst of it. They call him ugly, fat, disgusting, an attention whore, a waste of space, garbage, they complain on how he looks like a complete baby… He scrolls down, reading every tweet that confirm how he has felt for years. Maybe people do know him better than he thought? After the umptieth insulting tweet, he finally notices a video attachment.  The video clearly shows Jimin leaving a restaurant with his hyungs. The quality is a bit grainy, but it is unmistakable. In the background people are talking to one another, saying things about Jimin’s appearance and wondering who he is. At first they are guessing a staff member, then a friend and they end with the possibility of him being hired by Bangtan to satisfy their needs as he seems quite feminine. When Video Jungkook holds his hand, the people behind the camera go bonkers, not in a good way. Swear words are thrown at Jimin and plans are made to get him properly out of Bangtan’s way. This isn't the only threat to his being though, there's people planning his murder, planning to hurt him and others want to frame him in order for Bangtan to leave him behind. 

Continuing his Twitter search he notices picture upon picture of him with one or more of his friends entering or leaving a restaurant and the shopping mall, sitting down with Yoongi on the bench in front of the grocery store, all of them in the flower shop, the halloween party they attended a few weeks ago. Jimin at the ER, him holding hands with Jin and Joon, Namjoon and Jimin on their date, them walking home, him at the dance studio with Hobi, even a picture in which Jimin and Yoongi are standing in the kitchen, Yoongi behind Jimin, one hand on his hip. That one especially creeps Jimin out seeing as they were at home. So someone must have just taken a photo from the outside looking in. All the other pictures are also an invasion of his privacy, but all of those moments were in a public environment, he can’t stop that, but his home… Sitting on his own on the sofa, with his laptop on his knees he suddenly doesn’t feel safe anymore. He closes all the curtains, switches off all the lights, sits himself on the floor with the blanket now covering his entire being, trying to create some sort of barrier between him and the outside world.

The pictures keep coming through, pictures of him being picked up from work by Jungkook, of him grocery shopping with Yoongi and Jin, having a stroll in the park with Taehyung and Hobi, even that one day he went bike riding with Namjoon, there’s even pictures of just himself doing the most ordinary things. A new batch of pictures arrive, better quality now. It’s clear that they have been taken from his parents’, brother’ and friends’ social media. Jimin starts to freak out even more. How did they find out his name, all these pictures, his home address, his work… He’s kept his life so private and yet… So many details… Even parts of interviews in which Jungkook is talking about his childhood best friend that have people speculating whether it could be him or not. Jimin keeps scrolling, keeps reading all the comments, most of them are mean and demeaning, but some notice how good he looks surrounded by Bangtan, like he is one of the band… A band existing out of his best friend and housemates who he now also considers his friends, a band full of people who are dear to him, a band of people that lied to him…

It’s too much, Jimin’s head is spinning, anxiety fills his heart making him sweat profusely, breath coming out in fast puffs, fingers tingling. He calls Jungkook, who answers almost immediately and starts counting from 100 down to 0, by deducting three, when he hears Jimin’s wheezing.

”Jimin-ah, we’re going to count down from hundred. 100, 97…”

Jimin follows Jungkook’s lead and keeps on counting down, he feels himself become a little calmer, the tingling in his fingers slowly leaving. The maknae thanks his hyung quickly and hangs back up, being a nuissance enough as it is. He throws his phone on the sofa, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone. Then goes to Youtube and types in Bangtan. There’s a fifteen minute interview that pops up. Six people are smiling in the thumbnail and even though Twitter confirmed that Bangtan is made up by the people living with him, it still comes as a shock to Jimin.

He watches the video, then another, then another and then... He ends up watching interviews for quite some while, listening to every word, not understanding what any of this is. The confusion grows even more. The amount of details they give to the audience without actually giving them any information. He notices how close they are, which slowly makes him understand why Jungkook never told him anything. The younger always knew he was easily replacable. His biggest fear was for his hyung to find people who were better than Jimin and it was quite clear that he did... In the next interview, one from two years ago, all boys express their love for the LGBTQ community, while also revealing that all of them are a part of it. Namjoon and Jin come out as pansexual, Yoongi points at the tiny bi flag on the bottom of his shirt, Taehyung is queer, not needing another lable right now. The second youngest in Bangtan makes it clear that he just isn't straight and that, when he is certain about his sexual identity in the future, he'll let his fans know. Jungkook is gay, just like Jimin. Of course... It's funny though how Jungkook has come out to his fans, who he doesn't personally knows but never mentioned anything to Jimin, who now clearly understands how much he has been replaced in his hyungs life. Tears are falling from Jimin's cheeks, hysteric sobs trying to escape his lips, but he presses them together, hard. Not ready to lose it just yet. Not when he has music video's, award shows performances and another way too many interviews to watch.

Two hours later, Bangtan finally comes home. All of them anxious after the panic attack Jimin had suffered earlier on, especially because they just couldn’t leave work earlier and hadn’t heard from the younger since. Their messages went unanswered, which is something Jimin never did. He always answered, always. They find him in the darkness, a soft light coming from underneath the blanket he’s hiding in. It’s not their intention to scare him to death, so they make as much noise as they can and turn on the light. Even though they reach Jimin in about 30 seconds, it seems like forever. Finally Hobi slowly removes the blanket, which reveals a crying Jimin, hands over his mouth trying not to make a sound, watching their latest music video. They all look from each other, back to the maknae, their heart breaking. It’s then that they also notice the twitter tab that has the hashtag about him being a clout chaser. They go from scared and confused to angry, anger that turns into fury when they see the first degree burns on the youngest face and neck.



”Sweetheart?”, Namjoon asks carefully, not really knowing what to do. Does he ask about the burns, about how he found out about Bangtan, about the hashtag or does he straight away apologise…

Jimin looks up, a hurricane of emotions in his eyes. He points at the laptop, not really having to ask…

”We’ll explain, but I need an answer from you first. I promise we’ll answer all your questions afterwards.”, when Namjoon uses the word ‘promise’, Jimin sceptically looks at him, as if his promise doesn’t mean anything and right now… They can’t blame him, ”Jimin, are those burns?”

He nods, not really knowing what else to say. Is he really going to throw their fans under the bus?

”Jimin-ah, you have to tell us who did this to you. We’ll make sure this never happens again. Your safety is our priority, you should know that. Two of our bodyguards will follow you around when we can’t. At least two, if you want more… Done!”, Taehyung tells him, honesty lacing his voice.

That’s when Jimin finally loses it. Hysteric sobs leave his mouth. Bangtan reach for Jimin all at once but he steps away from them. He is tired, he is in pain, he is hurt, he is scared.

”Where were those worries when you moved in here?”, he yells at them, tears stream over his cheeks, to his neck, splashing on his pyjama,”I don’t want a bodyguard! Or two, or more! I wanted the truth from the get go so that I could have been more careful! Why didn’t you tell me anything? Scared that I would open my social media and reveal you were staying with me? My twenty followers would not have cared, but I also would have never done that! I don’t even know Bangtan! I would have been happy for you and your success, but I would not have cared at all! You would have still been my hyungs! Did you not trust me at all to hear you out and help you keep your secret? Do you think that low of me?! You honestly believed that no one would figure out where you were or where you were staying? Funnily enough you said it in one of your interviews, they recognise everything about you, even your hands! YOUR HANDS! They would have always found you and now in turn they found me. My name, my age, my family’s social media, my work place, my home address! What’s next? My social security number? They came to my school and threw hot coffee in my face telling me… No screaming at me to stay away from you. Do you know how much that hurts? And not just physically?! Then I come home after a long and tiring day, hoping to have a nice and calm evening to find out that thousands of people are insulting me and want me dead… All because I’m housing six people, who apparently are the biggest K-pop band of all time and me… Idiot that I am… I didn’t even know! I knew I wasn’t important anymore to Jungkook’s life when he left and slowly but surely disappeared, but I could have never guessed that I was replaced by people who are scary as hell! I deserved the truth… I can’t do this right now… I don’t want answers. I just… I need to get out of here…”

”Jimin… Stay here, please. It’s not safe for you out there…”, Jungkook begs, he’s ready to fall onto his knees if that means that Jimin is staying with them.

Jimin shakes his head, clutches his hips and takes a big breath. He feels like he’s about to faint. The teacher can’t let that happen though, not now… He needs to go somewhere people won’t find him right away, where he’s safe from wondering eyes and recording devices.

”If you care for me at all, as you claim you do… Please let me leave”, Jimin whispers, the fight finally leaving him,” I can’t stay here right now and not say hurtful things. I’m too upset, don’t you understand that. This is my home and it doesn’t feel like home at the moment. Even with you in it, I’m too scared to stay, but you can stay here, be safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you. And that’s why I’m upset, because you clearly don’t want that for me. I’m not upset about you being in a band. If that’s what makes you happy then I’m happy for you, so I was never going to be angry about your job, but I’m upset about the lies, about you not trusting me and thinking I’d faint or fangirl over you and not treating you like normal people, I’m upset that you couldn’t give me the same amount of trust as I gave you, I’m upset because I held on to our friendship when you clearly didn’t need me anymore.”, the last part is directed to Jungkook, who stops breathing, ready to break into pieces. Never once did he think about how his decisions would affect Jimin and it’s clear to him now that everything hurt the younger so much more than he could have ever imagined.

“I’m also upset because I like all of you too much and right now,  it all just seems very one-sided.”

Notes:

Hi,

So what did you think? Poor Jimin right?
And what about his hyungs?

Also, my brain has left me today. I wrote half of this chapter in my native language, on accident, and while translating every English word just didn't seem right. So please forgive me if this is jibbrish.

Xo,
I.

Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

     

 

Jimin arrives at Sehun and Taemin's in his pyjama's, his face hidden in his coat as he completely forgot a face mask and a hat, but he wasn’t going to risk another coffee in the face. He realised too late that he was already in his sleepwear but didn't want to go back home and dress himself in warmer clothes, because the rest of the men would never let him go again. He also chides himself. Jimin should stop going out in his pyjama's when he's upset. That is just not a good habit to form. Both friends quickly drag him inside, place him on the sofa with a blanket over him and put on a Disney film. Something they know Jimin loves to watch but rarely does seeing as people around him comment too much on how Disney is for kids. The add on to that first comment is then that all of them understand why he is so good with kids, he shouldn’t be teaching them as he is one of them. It has always hurt Jimin, because everything he does get judged by the people surrounding him. If it’s not him being gay, then it’s him being a child himself, it’s him being weak and an attention seeker with his anxiety, it’s him being too female because of his voice and his soft body and tiny waist, or it’s him being too fat because of his cheeks. Now he can add unworthy to it, unworthy as a friend or a potential boyfriend… He mentioned that last bit to his friends right after he stepped into their home, adding it to the list of insecurities. Hence why they put on Hercules, even though they had do convice Jimin that Disney is in fact for all ages and some people are just too judgemental for no good reason.

With the younger sitting in the couch, sipping on a cup of relaxing tea, Taemin and Sehun text his room mates that he is safe with them and to not expect him for a few days. They also add how massively dissapointed they are in them. Bangtan had after all promised both boys that they were going to tell him the truth. Taemin and Sehun had kept their mouths shut because it wasn’t their story to tell, but them not trusting Jimin with their secret, no… That was something they just didn’t understand. Jimin who would have never told a soul he knew a famous band, Jimin who would have kept their secret, Jimin who would have put their needs before his in order to keep them hidden. Thinking about it, he already put all of their needs first, because Jimin always puts himself last.

The friends just shake their heads. It’s as if Jimin always gets hurt because of other people’s actions… They dread having to tell him that they knew, but they know they have to. Jimin has been lied to enough. Before they can talk to each other though, someone knocks on their door. Under the impressions that it’s Jimin’s potential future boyfriends, Sehun opens the door, only to be blinded by a sea of flashes and people trying to rush indoors. Taemin who isn’t rooted to the spot, goes out, threatens to call the police and manages to close the door with a bang. Unfortunately some of the photographers managed to take a few pictures of a very soft and sad looking Jimin watching a children’s movie while being seated under a blanket. The picture spreads like wild fire on social media and just like everyone else in his life he gets judged for being a child and being too soft. It gives more reason to Bangtan fans to shun Jimin even more seeing as the band mostly has a rougher image.

Both boys immediately call Bangtan and explain what happened. The six of them ask Sehun and Taemin to look after Jimin, they’ll fix it. So that’s what they do and the first thing on their list is finally coming clean to Jimin, after he finishes the film.

It takes them about ten minutes to explain everything from start to finish with Taemin taking the lead and Sehun interrupting him every five seconds to add to it. They don’t want to keep lying, so they are planning on telling Jimin everything. After the entire explanation the youngest stays silent, eyes closed, head in his hands.

”Did everyone know but me? Is that’s what going on here? Was I that blind?”, Jimin sighs, feeling like an absolute idiot.

”Jimin-ah. No… You weren’t. You just didn’t know because you're not that into music. Also, you are kind of a workaholic and the only music you listen to are children’s songs or songs that have a contemporary feel to them. You just don’t care for singers private lives. Which is honestly admirable. I wish I could do that, I could be like that, but I’m too curious. That’s why I knew who they were and you didn’t.”, Taemin winks at him, showing the younger that there is nothing wrong with him.

Jimin easily forgives them for not telling him the truth, he even agrees with them on that it was not their secret to tell. He also understands why Bangtan didn’t tell him in the beginning… But now… With them claiming how much they like him… Jimin isn’t exactly mad, more so frustrated, annoyed and hurt. He’s also conflicted. Right now he just wants to be with Bangtan, but then again he doesn’t. He wants them to call him, but on the other hand he just wants to be left alone… This continues for three days, three days of a distracted Jimin who spills two bottles of paint in his classroom and drops his favourite cup filled to the brim with tea. He’s so full of emotions and so confused that he even starts crying seeing his cup in pieces on the floor. While cleaning up his shards Jimin hears his phone go off. Out of habit he grabs it, unlocks it and starts reading. He regrets it, but then he also doesn’t. He misses them, a lot. The teacher needs them, but it still hurts to know that they don’t need him in the same way he needs them.

*Groupchat*

Namjoon

Jimin, I’m sorry for bothering you, but I just wanted to let you know that we are busy working on keeping you safe. I thought you’d want to know that.

Yoongi
I know you said no bodyguards, but for now we placed two in front of Taemin and Sehun’s place. They will follow you to your school and back. We are sorry about that and we will dismiss them the minute our statement is out.

Seokjin
We promise Jimin. Also, we have been working hard on identifying the coffee throwers and we know who they are now. They can’t hurt you anymore.

Hoseok

We’ve also tracked down people on twitter Jimin, whenever we found names, we found addresses. A lot of people are being sued. We are giving you back your safety and freedom.

Taehyung
The photographer who took the picture of you at Taemin and Sehun’s has already lost his job, forever. He can’t go back to taking pictures for a living. The picture has also been destroyed. You can’t find it anywhere anymore. We know that someone probably will have a copy somewhere, but for now… it’s gone.

Jungkook
Lastly, I… We have to apologise again Jimin. We do trust you, a lot. We just enjoyed having you for ourselves and we loved being unrecognisable… We took it too far. You don’t have to forgive us, but I hope you do. I miss you.

Namjoon
Yeah, I miss you too.

Hoseok
Me too Jimin.

Yoongi

It’s very quiet without you here

Taehyung
I still hear the echo of your giggles in my head, but knowing you aren’t laughing because of us…

Seokjin
I miss cooking for you Jimin. I love knowing that you are not hungry and you are healty because of me.

Jungkook
I need to hug you again. Have you in my arms and know you are safe. Please come back to me when you are ready. We were dumb, so dumb. We’ll do better Jimin. So much better.



Jimin reads the messages over and over again. He misses Namjoon calling him Sweetheart and Yoongi calling him Honey. Even the lack of 'Jimin-ah' bothers him, but then again, he changed their names too. No more cute names or hyung, just their actual names. It all just hurts too much. Thinking back on how much he missed Jungkook the past few years and now that he is here in Seoul, in his house, and still Jimin isn’t with him… He hates it. He wants to go back, but they need to talk. No more lies, ever. You don’t lie to the people you love, unless you’re trying to surprise that person. He wouldn’t want to spoil someone’s surprise.

Jimin
Are you home tonight?

No use of hyung, no nicknames, nothing. His heart weeps, but he can’t give in before their talk. Bangtan needs to understand that he is hurt and it’s not just from the burn of the coffee that still hasn’t healed yet.

Hoseok
Yes, for you we will.

Jimin
I’ll be there at four

Jin
Can we pick you up from work?

Jimin
I didn’t go in today. My boss told me to stay home for a few days, I’ve been a disaster.

Yoongi
We are sorry Jimin, this is all our fault.


Jimin doesn’t reply anymore. It’s not their fault, he needs to learn how to separate his personal feelings from his work, but he knows his hyungs will fight him on that.


Nervously Jimin stands in front of his own door. He had tried to calm his nerves by watching another Disney film, he is still ashamed of himself for liking them, but sometimes he just can’t care and needs them, like this morning. Sometimes he just needs a bit of optimism and feel good, even if the stories aren’t real. So standing in front of his own home, totally forgotten to take keys with him when he stormed off, he knocks three times and before he can get knock a fourth time, the door opens to six men, all showing relief on their faces.

None of the men had actually thought Jimin would show up even though he is the most trustworthy, but it would be the ultimate payback to have them wait for him and never talk things over. All of them knew better, but the fear had settled in, so when Jimin knocked on their door at 3.52 pm, all of them held their breaths until they were sure he had returned to them. They all look at the maknae, he always looks so mature, but normally there is something about him that gives away that he’s the youngest. Today he seems way older than any of them, like he has aged 40 years in the three days he’s been gone. Maybe it is the missing twinkle in his eye.

”Jimin-ah, you came back.”, Jungkook approaches him slowly, as if he is trying to calm down a scared animal.

”I told you I would…”, Jimin replies, his voice not giving away how he’s actually feeling.

”I know, but still… You have every reason not to show up.”, Jungkook answers back.

”I always do as I say Jungkook, I don’t lie.”, the stab by Jimin is definitely deserved, Bangtan just accepts it without complaining, “If I couldn’t have made it today I wouldn’t have set up this meeting, or I would have at least texted…”, the maknae still doesn’t call him hyung, doesn’t look at any of them and his voice is hard. It feels like a slap to the face, but they can’t say anything, they brought this upon themselves.

”I know Jimin-ah, you really are better than all of us combined and we don’t deserve you, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we’ll do better. If you let us, we’ll start today.”

Jimin nods, so they start telling everything. How they were formed, their rookie years, the moment their success happened, how they handle all the fame, the award shows, but also mention the hardships, the hatred towards them, the fatigue. It takes them a long time to get through things, but eventually they stop talking. Jimin understands why they kept everything secret, especially after they mentioned the death threats, the constant paranoia of being followed around and the harassement of friends, families and past lovers. Jimin is shocked to learn that Jungkook has always loved Jimin in more than just a friend sort of way and that that’s why they kept it a secret at first. With all the members falling head over heels for Jimin, they decided to keep everything secret a bit longer. Not because they didn’t trust Jimin, not because they wanted to hide him and certainly not because they didn’t think he wasn’t worthy of fully knowing them, their lives and their secrets. If they ever really wanted to open up to someone it was the maknae, but his safety came first, even though by keeping the secret his safety came last. Him not being able to defend himself, or know what to expect made this entire situation possible and Bangtan still feels extremely guilty about everything. When the youngest tells them he forgives them, all of them tell him not to. The teacher should at least keep them accountable for this entire mess, so once again they promise to do better. No more secrets ever, about anything.

After all of them make the promise to never lie again, Bangtan shows Jimin all the security measures and ask him to accept the bodyguards for now. It’ll make them worry less about him being out and about. As a thank you for agreeing to the precaution, they promise to stay around him as much as possible so that he doesn’t have to interact with those beefy guys he doesn’t know and keep his anxiety at bay. So they make a new schedule that shows who drops Jimin off at school, picks him up, when they bring him to Big Hit so he doesn’t have to sit home alone, when they drop him at Sehun and Taemin’s, or when all of them go home together. They also ask him to think about buying a bigger place. One with at least more rooms, because even though they don’t mind staying in the cramped apartment, it is still that, too tiny for seven grown men or nine when Jimin’s friends join them. The youngest agrees, but ask them to take it slow. He knows he likes them a lot, he knows that it is more than like, but his fears still hold him back. Jimin can’t just give in to what he feels as he wants to know Bangtan better, but also still has to face and deal with the pressure of his family, society and now the band’s fans who clearly do not like Jimin. 

To show the youngest that they are still serious about wooing him, they stay home for a whole week, even with them slowly working on their next comeback. A date hasn’t been set yet, announcements haven’t been made, so Bangtan can go as slow as they want with new music. In order to prove themselves to Jimin they told their manager and boss everything. Where they live, how they all like the same person and how his privacy has been taken away from him. With how supportive Big Hit is, they aren’t surprised that a statement is sent out of how Jimin is now officially under Big Hit’s protection and any action against him will immediately result into jail time or worse. In the previous statement Bangtan had already mentioned that Jimin was important to them, but if there was still some flicker of a doubt then it is completely squashed now. Mr Bang also told them that Jimin is welcome to enter and leave the building whenever he wants, giving him a permanent visitor ID. When they hand it over to the maknae they also offer him free dance classes with their choreographer and whenever they find time with Hobi, Jungkook or both. Jimin can barely contain his happiness, balling his hands to little fists, shaking them enthousiastically around. Bangtan know that he’ll find a way to repay them as he still isn’t a fan of accepting things for free, but they’ll convince him over time that it’s all fine. The only thing he can offer them that they want is to spend time with the teacher, everything else is a waste of money and energy.


That night, after they went over all the security measures, showed Jimin the statement and gave him the Big Hit badge, they settle on the sofa. While Netflix is loading, Jin quickly fixes snacks, Hobi runs to the bedroom to pick up Jimin’s and Jungkook’s blanket, Namjoon fixes tea under the watchful eye of literally everyone. They don’t mind him being clumsy, but they do mind him getting hurt because of it. When the film ends two hours later everyone is fast asleep. Jimin in the middle, surrounded by the six other men who are uncomfortably cramped on the sofa, on Jungkook’s lap who refused to let him go from his embrace the minute Jimin allowed his hyung to hold him. Bangtan, for once, didn’t mind. They understand how Jungkook feels, especially after being separated from Jimin for four years and only now finally having him back. From tomorrow on though, Jungkook is going to have to share again whether he likes it or not. The entire band missed their maknae. If Yoongi wakes up in the middle of the night because of a cramped back and carefully carries Jimin to bed to keep him from the same faith, no one really mentions it later on except for a small thank you to their bandmate for thinking of Jimin’s health. All of them start to see the perks of Jimin having six boyfriends, besides the younger himself.


He is still as clueless as ever and dealing with his belief that he can only have one boyfriend at a time, which seems so cruel towards the other five. His inner battle is insane. Jimin’s insecurities take on the voice of family, telling him to just choose one boyfriend, preferably rich and a doctor or lawyer. If he is going to be gay, then he needs to fend for himself because society will not help him and maybe even hurt him more by limiting him for loving another man… Or six… Being in a relationship with more than one person is still frowned upon, especially when all of them are not even straight. His parents’ words of him having to be perfect keep plaguing him, he hates that he can hear them, but doesn’t that mean they have a point. Jimin decides on letting the other men lead him so he can fully experience his time with them and hopefully pick one of them, while staying friends with the other five. He doesn’t want to lose any of them and it’s going to be hard already, giving up on five potential boyfriends simply to please and appease society. 

The next day after everyone wakes up, has breakfast that is prepared by Jin and gets dressed they decide to take Jimin to a beautiful public garden full of brightly coloured flowers. They just can't forget the surprised but content look Jimin had on his face when they were in the flower shop a few weeks ago. Flowers have always calmed Jimin down and that was noticed by Bangtan that day, maybe if they are lucky they can take home a new bouquet for the dark haired boy. 

Jimin has been flitting from flower to flower, tree to tree, running on the tips of his toes, smelling everything. Everyone who passes the dark haired boy is very endeared with him, so much so that the old woman from the fruit shop in the middle of the park gives him some persimmons for free, “Sweet things for an even sweeter thing”. Jimin thanks the older woman profusely, promising he’ll come by again and actually buy something from her then. The woman tells him that as long as he just talks to her, he can get all the fruit he likes. “Kids these days just aren’t as cute and polite as you are young man. Don’t change”, she says with a last wink. Jimin smiles and waves at her. He then turns around ready to go back outside where he knows the six Bangtan members are waiting for him, probably with their camera’s out filming every move the maknae makes, when he walks straight into a hard body. Looking up the smile on his face grows.



”Kai hyung? Eunwoo hyung? Oh my god! It’s been forever! How are you?”

”Jimin-ah? Oh wow! You have only become more handsome in the past years!”, Kai exclaims.

The six men outside, who are now very invested in the conversation, are not happy about the compliment, at all. Do they agree? Absolutely! Do they think someone but them gets to say it? No, not in the slightest. They promised to give Jimin space though and that promise is the only thing keeping them from dragging their, hopefully, future boyfriend away from those slimey men.

”We are sorry we didn't stay in touch. It wasn’t on purpose. We swear! It’s just that I dropped my phone and lost all my contacts, except for my parents. That same day Kai’s phone got stolen! We know it sounds like the plot of a typical drama, but you know... Fun story to tell the grandkids or something… By then we were moving to Japan and after a while we had just forgotten about everything. It’s funny though, we bumped into Sehun and Taemin like two hours ago who gave your phone number. We wanted to invite you for dinner to show you our new place now that we have officially moved back home. It’d be the both of us, Sehun, Taemin and you. Game night like old times? Some pizza or noodles, or something completely different and before bed we can watch a film to wind down. We already bought your favourite tea.”, Eunwoo holds up the bag with groceries, pointing at the tea box that is visible through the bag.

“How funny that all of us had the idea of coming here today. So Jimin, what do you say? Yes or Yes?”, Kai says, looking Jimin straight in the eyes, bright smile present on his face.

”I would love to!”, Jimin replies enthousiastically, “Thank you for the invite. But ehm… Can I ask for a favour?”

”Sure. Anything!”, Eunwoo says and Kai nods.

”Do you see those six idiots outside?”, Jimin points outside where his hyungs are talking amongst themselves, all of them a frown on their faces, pretending to not listen in when it’s quite clear to everyone who pays attention to the situation that they are eavesdropping. His friends nod, a small smirk on their faces when both Kai and Eunwoo realise that these are the men Sehun and Taemin told them about. Not too much though, it is still Jimin’s story to tell, but also too excited to share that their younger friend is finally getting wooed and how it seems that he’s actually letting them. Both boys have always been protective over Jimin, honestly whoever meets Jimin feels the need to keep him safe, he is just too precious, so they take the six older men in in case they ever need to kick their butts.

“Would you mind if I brought them along?”, Jimin looks at the floor, the blush on his cheeks very visible.

Eunwoo and Kai just can’t refuse their friend, so they happily agree. The more the merrier, especially if Jimin is comfortable with them.

“Thank you so much hyungs! I’ve missed you both so much!”

Jimin goes to hug the two men in the fruit shop who already have their arms open to catch their shorter friend. With the teacher’s face pressed in their sweaters, both boys turn their heads around with a sly smirk looking straight in the murderous eyes of six very jealous men.

Notes:

Hi!

Just a few little things. I won't have a lot of time to write this weekend, as both my parents have their birthday. Also next week will be hard to find time to write seeing as I have to work late hours, that combined with the crazy heat we are dealing with right now I'll probably be really tired. I'll do my best to update asap, but I'm not promising anything. So I kindly ask for your patience in case it's needed.

Secondly, I might start another story while also writing this story. I would alternate between stories. The other story would be ot6 + Jimin and later on evolve into ot7.
Short summary: Jimin joins bts a few years after the other members. Ot6 is secretely dating and ready to debute as a six member band, so when Jimin arrives they aren't happy about this. It's only when something happens to Jimin that Bangtan finally understands how horrible they have been to the younger. When they want to make up with jimin, he doesn't want to anymore. Will Bangtan fight for the younger, or will they let him go.

My question is now, would you guys like to read it now or do I end this story first? I don't k ow how long this story is going to be, but for now we are still going.

Lastly, thank you for reading and all your sweet comments.

Xo,
I.

Chapter 8

Notes:

Hi,

I'm sorry for the longer wait on this chapter, but I have started a new story and uploaded 3 chapters so far. I'll be alternating between this story and the other one (Bangtan Minus One). Chapter 4 of the latter story will be uploaded next.

This chapter contains a revelation, a date, some jealousy, a shocked Bangtan and a blissfully unaware Jimin in it.
Enjoy!

As always, thank you for reading :)

Xo,
I.

Chapter Text

It’s safe to say game night is fun, yet filled with jealousy and attended by a very oblivious Jimin. Kai and Eunwoo have fun teasing all six of Jimin’s suitors, by continuously holding the teacher’s hand, hugging him close and making sure Jimin is a part of their team at all times and always adding Sehun and Taemin, so that Bangtan has no other choice but to play against him. Ruthless is their middle name when playing against Jimin’s friends, but when it came to Jimin… Oh, how easily they lose, basically throwing the game away without making it too obvious. Jimin never liked winning easily and Jungkook had told his band members so. Everytime the youngest scrunches his nose in concentration, Bangtan basically gives up whatever game in order to take their maknae home so they can boop his nose throughout the entire night in private. Them not being able to do so almost sends them in a complete meltdown. Jimin’s friends are so done with Bangtan friends by the end of the night, but in the best way possible. They are endeared by them, but also think one night of them continuously losing it over their dark haired friend is more than enough. Of course they are happy for their youngest friend, but the lovey dovey behaviour of six guys who profile themselves as tough and mysterious from the start of their career is a bit too much. So when Namjoon and Yoongi finally drag Jimin out of his friends’ house with the rest following close by they accept his yelled “THANKS FOR TODAY! SEE YOU SOON HYUNGS!” as his goodbye. Satisfied they close the door to the chaos that just left, happy they can finally calm down from whatever they had experienced through the evening.

Outside they all climb in the van they had come with, Jimin in between Namjoon and Hobi, as Yoongi is the one behind the wheel, something he would normally enjoy, but not right now. That is until Jimin pets his hair and thanks him for his sacrifice. The smile on Yoongi’s face turns so big he basically flies them home. Once they arrive at their place everyone steps out of the car silently, Jungkook carrying Jimin inside. The younger boy fell asleep halfway through their drive to the soft background music coming from the radio. The combination of many people together playing chaotic games while feeling elated, loud laughter and screaming their heads off can do that to a person. With one last kiss on the forehead by all of his hyungs, Jungkook closes the bedroom door behind them, all of them dispersing to their own beds, finally closing their eyes and dreaming of the younger boy they all have fallen for.

In the morning they all eat breakfast together, blueberry pancakes, the biggest one is obviously for the teacher who doesn’t even realise that his pancake is twice the size of the other’s, drizzled in syrup. When he leaves the table to get dressed, Yoongi, Hobi and Jungkook leave for their daily workout. Taehyung follows Jin to the grocery store and it’s Namjoon who stays behind to make sure Jimin isn’t on his own. Every since the attack on Jimin they don’t really like to leave him on his own. While waiting for the younger he opens his mail and replies to some of them. One of them is from Pdogg, Bangtan’s songwriter and fellow producer, who wants to know who was in the practice room a few days ago. Namjoon quickly replies saying it’s Jimin, he has been making good use of the visitor badge he has gotten by visiting the practice rooms at least three times a week dutifully taking a bodyguard with him, but then wonders why. Instantly he gets an answer back, apparently Jimin sang part of a song out loud, probably thinking he was on his own while waiting for Bangtan to pick him up after their meeting, and according to Pdogg his voice sounds like heaven. Or how he imagines the choir of angels at the gates of heaven to sound like, to be exact. It hits the leader that none of them have actually heard Jimin sing properly. Of course he sang along to songs on the radio, but that was always in a hushed whisper or soft mumbles. It never sounded bad, but they also didn’t pay a lot of attention to it as he mostly did it unconsciously. Even if they had paid attention to it, they’d probably hand him all their singing awards because to them Jimin was good at everything. So to hear their songwriter and producer describe his voice as angelic, it filled Namjoon’s heart with glee and his head with an idea.

Jimin is basically dragged out of the door by Namjoon the minute he steps out of the bathroom. Unconsciously they grab hold of each others hand, intertwining their fingers while speedwalking to the Big Hit studio. Namjoon keeps pulling Jimin along until they are in front of his own studio, named Rkive, and settles Jimin in front of a microphone. He asks him to sing any song, it doesn’t have to be a Bangtan one, but Jimin decides to sing one of their latest songs. Dynamite suddenly sounds a whole lot different, according to the leader it sounds even better than the original song, but it’s when Jimin starts singing Spring Day that Namjoon just gives up. He stops functioning, mouth wide open, heart eyes laser focused on Jimin. The maknae is singing with his eyes closed, feeling the words and the emotions of the song. With the last note ending, Jimin opens his eyes again and places the headphones in front of him on the stand. Shyly he looks up to the big glass wall that seperates him and Namjoon. 

”So… How bad was it?”, Jimin asks quietly, bracing himself for some negative feedback.  

The elder looks at the teacher with disbelief on his face.

”Bad? Sweetheart? Are you serious?! Do you not hear yourself?! Woah! I don’t know how I’ve never noticed it before. Your voice is a gift when you talk, but when you sing… Jimin-ah… It’s a miracle, it’s… I’m honest to god speechless right now. Can I ask you a favour?”

The youngest listens, ready to say no if it is too much. Don’t get him wrong, if he can help Namjoon out he will do and he will put in all his energy, but right now he fears he has to do with Bangtan. Jimin doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, at all, so if it’s collaborating or featuring, he might say no.

”Sweetheart, would you like to do some background vocals. None of us sound as heavenly as you and we have some songs that need your voice in order to work. Don’t worry, there won’t be music videos from these songs, they will just be on an album.”

”Ehm, Joon hyung, I… I don’t know… I don’t want any attention, so… People know my name now, if it’s mentioned in the album… They hate on me enough as it is, I’m not feeling the idea of even more bodyguards… And what about the rest of the band? They might not like my voice or me on the song… I… You know I want to help you, but I just don’t know if I can or if I should.”, Jimin is so conflicted, also panic is slowly starting to spread under his skin. Knowing he might disappoint Namjoon who is so excited about this and always so helpful when Jimin needs him… The panic can’t properly settle though because Namjoon is there, in front of him with his arms open. Jimin walks into the hug, body completely stiff. One of the leader’s hands settle on Jimin’s back, the other one finds it’s way in the younger’s hair.

”Sweetheart calm down. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want, but let me explain first before you make your final decision. At the moment we are all still writing and creating new sounds. No songs are set in stone. What I mean with being the backing vocals on a song is that it’s a song I have been writing, feel like there is something missing and want to complete it. Then I’ll let the guys listen to it, if they like it we’ll probably put it on the album or we’ll keep it for another album if we decide to go with a different vibe. We don’t have to mention your name if you don’t want us to, but you might have to sign a document for that. If we do put your name in the album, I promise you we’ll protect you. You helping us out and being on the album doesn’t mean we’ll put you on a stage or that you’re suddenly the seventh member of Bangtan, although if you ever want to join I’m sure the rest of the guys would agree to it immediately.”, Namjoon feels a little head shake against his shoulder. He coos inwardly at the cuteness of the boy in his arms. Namjoon will never understand Jimin’s urge to keep himself hidden from the world, but he respects it. Anxiety is not an easy thing to deal with.

”So, how about we just try it. Then we listen to it. If you think it’s good enough, we’ll let the rest of the guys listen to it. If you don’t like it, we can try again or forget about the whole thing. Yes? Or no? It’s okay to say no Jimin-ah", Namjoon reminds the younger, "I won’t be upset.”, Namjoon’s voice goes soft showing Jimin that he is actually okay with whatever the youngest decides. Jimin agrees to try, but tells the leader to not have any expectations. So, Namjoon goes back to his seat, rummaging through papers on his desk while Jimin puts the headphones back in place. Once the lyrics are in Jimin’s hands, Namjoon plays the guide he has on computer and apologises profusely to Jimin for his bad singing. The younger smiles and graciously tells him it’s not that bad. Even Namjoon knows that’s a blatant lie. Jimin asks to listen to the songs one more time and then decides to give it a try. He ends up singing each song three times, every try better than the previous one thanks to Namjoon’s guidance. The teacher feels elated, the thrill still coursing through his body when the rapper tells him to come out of the recording booth. Namjoon hugs Jimin close and kisses him once on the forehead and once on the nose, his love for Jimin’s button nose growing stronger every day. For sure the rapper would dedicate an entire song to said body part, but that might a bridge too far and then we aren’t even talking about the secret file of love songs on his computer he has written with the younger in mind. With Jimin on his lap they listen to the songs that turned out to be some of Namjoon's best work. Jimin tells Namjoon it's okay for the rest of the men to listen to it. The leader smiles and rewards Jimin bravery with a peck on his cheek. 

”Thank you for today Jimin, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you. I just… Maybe I’m selfish saying this but, well, I just don’t want this to end just yet. We rarely get to spend time together where it’s just you and me… So, would you mind spending more time with me? As in a date?”

As a reply Jimin takes Namjoon’s hand, enjoying the feeling of his hand in his hyung’s.

”I would love to Joon hyung. What would you like to do?”

”Is it okay if I rent us bikes and show you some of my favourite places? I know it’s quite cold, but we have been cooped up in here for a few hours and my brain just needs some oxygen.”, Namjoon says, swaying their hands, waiting patiently for Jimin’s answer.

”Yeah, I would love to hyung. As long as I’m with you, I’m good. And maybe when it gets too cold you can warm me up with cuddles?”, Jimin playfully adds and if in that moment Namjoon’s heart skips a beat, he doesn't speak of it. 

Both boys put their masks back on, so they don’t get bothered by fans or paparazzi, and Namjoon hands over his beanie to Jimin seeing as the younger didn’t have the chance to grab his when the leader dragged him out of the house. Having extra caps in his studio, Namjoon grabs one of those and puts it on his head. It’s considerably more cold on his ears, but watching Jimin wear his beanie and looking all adorable fills his heart with an incredible warmth.

 

Riding next to the Han river, they talk about everything and nothing. Even though they know each other for only a few weeks, their flowing conversation makes it seem as if they know each other for years. At the moment it’s mainly Namjoon asking Jimin questions, like why he chose to become a teacher, whether he’s always lived in Seoul and what his hobbies are, all to get to know the smaller boy better. The conversation always goes back to Jimin’s voice though, how Namjoon is still not over the magic that happened in the recording booth and how he hopes it is not the only occurence. He is working on a mixtape though, so even if Bangtan doesn’t like Jimin vocals, he’s keeping his fingers crossed for Jimin to lend his voice to his own music. He’ll even come up with an artist name to keep Jimin’s identity hidden if he agrees on taking on a larger part in one of his songs. Before they know it, they stop at the first place the elder wants to share with Jimin. It’s a bench hidden underneath a weeping willow in a small park where not a lot of people go.

”I love coming here. No matter what season, not a lot of people come here. They go to the bigger parks in the city that have more flowers and a playground for their kids, hence why it’s so quiet here. I’ve written some of our most famous songs here. Being hidden really helps with calming your thoughts, hearing the little creak nearby and in summer and spring it’s filled with flowers that you can only see once you’re under the tree. It’s my go to hide out place that I’ve not shared with anyone. Sadly enough we don’t have a place like this is LA, so I come back here whenever we are in Seoul, even if it’s for a short amount of time. This is the first thing I’ve splurged my money on. This little park is officially mine, I was too scared they were going to get rid of it, so I bought it. Best investment I’ve ever done. Now this can be your place too. Whenever you are stressed out and anxious and it feels as if the walls are closing in on you, come here. I promise you it will help. My plan is to come here again with you when it’s a bit warmer, convice Yoongi or Jin to make us a picknick and spend more time here, but with the freezing tempeatures… Let’s continue, I don’t want you to fall ill.”

Jimin is listening intently to Namjoon, while looking around, trying to take everything in. Even now, in the cold winter weather, it’s idyllic and calm. Jimin can see himself sitting here, finding comfort whenever he needs it. He already knows this is where he is going to come often once the guys go back home, when he misses them. Jimin shakes the sad thought out of his head, right now they are still here and they aren’t talking about leaving yet, so he shouldn’t think about it. They both get on their bikes again, to the next destination, which is a small mural village in Ihwa-dong.

Whenever Namjoon falls without inspiration and doesn't have the time to sit on the park bench for hours, he comes here. He has always wanted to bring someone special with him and Jimin, who is curious by nature and loves to explore new things, is the perfect person. Their first stop is a blue wall with large white wings painted on it. The rapper puts the younger in front of it and takes a picture. Without a lot of effort it turns into one of the best photo’s he had ever taken, all thanks to the already angelic beauty that is Jimin. Now he has it on camera. They pass several stairs with fish on, a giraffe pulling a weird move... Jimin’s favourite stairs they come across is the one covered in colourful flowers. Namjoon places him on those steps to take another picture. Secretly, he is sending all the photo’s to the groupchat Jimin isn’t a part of so they can all coo and gush over the younger. A lot of heart eye emoji's fill the chat, but Namjoon knows he isn't in the clear with the band. At least one of them is going to nag about the unplanned date, but right now he just can't care. Jimin is looking around with the biggest eyes, a childlike innocence so very clear in them and he just... It's then that Namjoon decides to move on, otherwise he might walk up to Jimin, hold him in his arms and kiss him. If that were to happen he would be unable to stop himself from kissing his date with the perfect lips and none of his bandmates would forgive him that. Especially when half of his friends hadn't even had the opportunity to take Jimin out on a date. 

Namjoon knows the next stop is going to make it harder to not kiss Jimin because of the more romantic setting, but he’ll settle with handholding, which he will most definitely do if Jimin allows him. The younger has been getting better in letting his walls down and allows all of them to hug him or hold hands but they still love to get his permission. What he agreed to yesterday, he might not like today and that is fine. So after 15 minutes they arrive at the National science museum. Namjoon leads Jimin to the planetarium where they take their seats. Jimin reads the leaflet on what they are about to see, unfortunately it’s in English so he turns to Namjoon and very shyly asks him to translate it. The rapper obviously jumps on the chance to impress Jimin with his language knowledge. He tells the younger that they are going to get a tutorial, named Starry Night, on how to see certain stars and celestial objects and afterwards they go outside to see if they can actually find anything in the night sky. The entire course is 90 minutes long and will be in English, but Namjoon ensures Jimin he’ll translate from start to finish. The younger never mentioned to anyone that he loves looking at the stars, but watching his face light up is enough of a sign for the older that he might have made the right decision. When the lights go out and the lecture starts Jimin is enthralled, sitting on the edge of his chair, taking everything in. Goosebumps are present on his skin all the way through the video they watch to them stepping inside the observatory, whether it’s from all the information and knowing they are about the watch the stars or from Namjoon’s husky voice in his ear, he isn’t sure. Suddenly the roof starts moving, opening partly so the sky becomes visible. When the stars appear Jimin unconsciously takes Namjoon’s hand in his, squeezing it softly. Namjoon lets him do it, doesn’t complain about it, if it grounds Jimin then who is he to stop the smaller one. It’s when Jimin starts talking that Namjoon slowly loses his cool.


”Woah Joon hyung! Look look, so beautiful!”, Jimin points his small finger to the sky, hopping a little up and down, eyes shining.

”Yes… Yes it is”, only Namjoon isn’t looking at the sky, he’s watching the most beautiful star of them all, the boy standing next to him.

It’s quite late when both boys arrive home, when Jimin opens the door to his place he tiredly leans against the wall, trying to untie his shoes but massively failing, almost falling over. Jin appears in front of him and he is so tired he doesn’t even wonder when his hyung arrived. The elder bends down and helps Jimin with his shoes, he then lifts the younger and holds him up while carrying him to the couch. Carrying a sleepy maknae around has become one of their favourite things to do, especially with the younger being as light a a feather, even with Jin's non stop cooking. Preferably they want to keep carrying him all day every day for the rest or their lives. All of them see how tired Jimin is, but for a short while they want to have him around as they only saw him in the morning. Bangtan missed Jimin, jealousy ran high watching the pictures in the groupchat, so for just a few minutes they want to.. no they need to, calm down. When Jin sits down with the maknae on his lap, Jungkook takes hold of one of Jimin’s hands and Yoongi grabs the other one. Taehyung places himself on the ground next to Hobi, both putting their head against Jimin’s leg. The men then turn to Namjoon with upset faces.

”Hyung! Not fair! You’ve had two dates while I had none so far! Nothing! You should learn how to share or just wait your turn again! Oh and also... was he wearing your clothes?", Tae whines while complaining.

”only my beanie Tae and it's not like it was planned. I first had to deal with what turned out to be the best surprise ever and then I just couldn’t let go of Jimin-ah just yet. Believe me when I say, if you were in my position, you would do the same thing. So either just get over your jealousy and listen to me so you are in on the shock I dealt with today, or keep being annoyed and I’m not telling you anything.”

All the members are intrigued, Namjoon was rarely ever vague. Only when he wants to build momentum, which he is doing right now. The guys calm down, if his story turns out great he'll be forgiven, otherwise they can still be angry afterwards. So everyone closes their mouth and looks at their leader, having faith in his reason.

”I’m going to let you listen to something first. It’s a song I’ve been working on for the next album. Yoongi and Hobi will probably recognise it as they wrote some of the lyrics too. Just listen and tell me if you hear something different from our normal sound.”

It’s Jin who notices the high notes first, because even if he is normally the one to hit all the high notes, this is a note he could never hit and he easily can admit that. Slowly but surely all of them start commenting on the high notes, the incredibly angelic falsetto that runs through the song. They don’t know how or where their leader found a singer with this insane voice, but it makes them so excited to continue their work and make their songs even better.

”Hyung, we need that voice on a song I’ve been working on! The harmonising would be… Mindblowing!”, Yoongi says, “You should take a look at the lyrics too, you promised you would. I’ve mentioned the song before. Telepathy?”

Namjoon nods, remembering that conversation. For now he loves watching the guys faces. They go from shock to admiration to just being absolutely speechless.

”Hyung? Where did you find this voice? What is… I’m just…What?!”, Jungkook is lost for words and needs an explanation, before he loses it completely.

”This, Kook, is the voice your best friend and our maknae.”

Everyone turns to Jimin who by now is fast asleep on Jin’s lap, his head on the elder's shoulder, still holding hands with Jungkook and Yoongi. His face is so calm, so peaceful and all of them instantly lower their voices. Looking back at their leader, it’s clear that all of them have questions so Namjoon just starts talking. He tells them about the mail from Pdogg inquiring who was in the dance studio, explaining that that person had the most amazing voice and they just needed to use it, to him dragging Jimin to his recording studio, convincing him to sing for him, how he chose ‘spring day’ and ‘Dynamite’, and then asked him to sing ‘Life goes on’ and ‘Your eyes tell’. How they potentionally have to find Jimin an artist name so that he could get the credit he deserves and gets paid for his work, also to ensure that legally everything is fine. He also explains how Jimin doesn’t want people to actually know it’s him and how he doesn’t want to join the band. How Jimin did seem to have a passion for singing and might help Namjoon out in the future for his mixtape and hopefully some more Bangtan songs. Agreement fills the room, if they can have Jimin sing backing vocals on every album from now on, they’ll make more than just songs, they’ll make art. He then tells them that he just couldn’t let go of Jimin after that, that he wanted to thank him for all his help, but also needed to get to know the angel better, that he wants to establish more trust between them so dat Jimin might be more eager to help them in the future. When every single one admits they would have done the same if they were in the leader’s position, they go back to normal and Namjoon then plays them ‘Spring day’ and ‘dynamite’ with Jimin’s voice laced through it.

They all want to release the songs instantly, deciding to give the songs to their fans for free as a thank you for their undying love. It’s also a good way to see how people react to Jimin’s voice, so they immediately upload the songs on Soundcloud and tweet about it. Twenty minutes later the internet has gone bananas, trying to figure out who the mysterious singer is that is added on both tracks and if it is a Bangtan member, which one? Jimin’s voice is a trending topic on social media for hours on end, millions of  people freaking out over his falsetto and vibrato. Everyone is convinced Bangtan must have hired a woman but on the off chance that it is a guy they’re guessing that it must be Jin, who is very flattered by the compliment. The eldest hyung looks down at the sleeping boy on his lap, softly thanking him for helping them out, caressing his cheek and giving him a light kiss in his hair. They’ll have to profusely thank him later, for now he hands Jimin to Jungkook who brings him to the bedroom, makes sure Jimin is tucked in properly and then joins his hyungs again, and if they miss Jimin already no one mentions it.

Right now they go over all the legal things that ensure Jimin’s privacy, but also make sure that he gets the recognition he deserves for lending his voice. They hope nothing ever goes wrong between the six of them and the teacher, but on the off chance that it does and the maknae decides to take revenge, which they doubt he'll do because Jimin is too nice for that, they don’t want issues to arise later because of him helping them out for free and without credit.

”I honestly don’t know why he kept his voice a secret like this.”, Yoongi says, still not over Jimin’s voice, urging their leader to play the songs again so they can make sure they haven’t dreamt everything that happened this evening.

”His voice is so heavenly, so glorious... send by God, just like the rest of Jimin-ah. Everytime I think he can’t get more perfect…”, Tae says dreamily, basking some more in the feelings Jimin’s voice has awoken inside of him.

The younger is blissfully unaware of everything going on in the livingroom, while he himself is spending time in his own perfect little dreamworld, where he already belongs to the six people he loves most in the world without any judgemental looks, worries and doubts. Where he can keep al six men instead of having to choose one. 

Chapter 9

Notes:

Hi,

Chapter 9 has arrived. If there are a lot of mistakes in here, I'm so sorry! I still have to proofread this, but that'll be for tomorrow evening! I'm seriously tired, so I'm off to bed!

How are we feeling about Permission to Dance? I'm loving it!

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Xo,
I.

Ps: Find me on twitter for some updates on my stories. Also if you have questions or suggestions, Twitter's the place to go.
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

“Ugh love,” Hoseok has decided to make that Jimin’s nickname for him when he found out from Yoongi that the maknae was okay with them calling him something cute, “I honestly didn’t think you would cheat on us. Here we are, all fighting for your hand and you just accept flowers from someone else? Are we not good enough?”

”Yeah, that’s just… Rude… When hyung told us… Baby, we are not thrilled about this.”, Tae says annoyed.

”This comes as such a shock to us! Were our flowers not good enough darlin?”, Jin questions.

”Oh my god! You cannot be serious! It was one daisy given to me by a 5 – year old that he had plucked on the grassy side of the playground! How are you jealous of that?!” Jimin laughs exasperated. He is in complete disbelief, no way are his six hyungs nagging him about this and no way are they jealous of a toddler who has his first crush…

“This is a serious matter Minnie, if he plucked the flower and only gave it to you once school was out, then how long did he keep it safe, huh? He was holding it in his tiny hands so he could give it in front of hyung and make him jealous!”

”Jungkook hyung, you are being ridiculous! He held onto it because he was scared that I was going to turn him down.”, Jimin roles his eyes at the childish behaviour.

”You should have though, you are already dating six men and we don’t share sweetheart.”

”If you react like this with a toddler, then how are you going to react when one of your fans gives me a compliment? Not that that's going to happen, but never say never. Also, how unfair of you to react this way when you tell me to not be jealous of all your fans, who by the way are so much more beautiful than I am? And yet, here I am dealing with it like an adult, because I believe you when you say you only have eyes for me, which is honestly stupid seeing as basically everyone adores you guys. What I'm trying to say is that it would be nice if you accepted my words too and learned to actually trust me. I would never cheat on you. I thought you would have known that by now.”, Jimin deadpanned, not sure whether he should be endeared or thouroughly annoyed.

Today Hobi picks him up from work. Every day, since the coffee attack on Jimin, someone waits for him outside his classroom and walks him home. No one notices the Bangtan members as they are going incognito, but even if they did the men couldn’t care in the least. Jimin’s safety is far more important than their privacy. Picking Jimin up is one of their favourite things to do, seeing him interact with those toddlers is one of the most precious things they ever had the opportunity to experience. Or so they thought. Today though, Hobi is ready to rip this certain young boy away from his favourite person. Everyone else is very endearingly looking at the scene in front of them , but not the rapper, he is so done. He knows he is being unreasonable, but he just can’t care.

”Teacher Jimin?”

”Yes Seungmin? Are you okay?” The younger boy softly pulls on Jimin’s sweater to get his attention.

”I want to give you this flower.”, The pupil says shyly.

”Oh, thank you Seungmin, this is the prettiest  flower I have ever gotten. I’m going to take good care of it.”, The younger blushes at the words coming from his teacher.

”Teacher Jimin?”

Jimin, whose attention is still on Seungmin, smiles encouragingly at the younger.

”When I’m older I’ll get you a bigger and more beautiful bouquet of flowers and then… and then I’ll marry you!”

Before Jimin can react the young boy runs to his dad and hides his face in his father’s sweater. The man pickes his son up, smiles to the teacher, thankes him for the great care he provides his son with and walks  to the exit while his son shyly waves at his favourite teacher.

Once all the kids are gone home, Hobi comes from out of the shadows. He walkes up to Jimin, clearly upset.

”Hobi hyung? Is something wrong?”Jimin asks worried.

”So… His flower is the prettiest flower you’ve ever gotten? What about ours?”

If only Jimin knew what would be waiting for him at home, but he isn’t prepared for six sulking grown ups who all are jealous of a 5-year-old with better flirting skills than they have.

The next day Jin picks Jimin up and luckily today there is no drama, only appreciation for the Christmas decorations Jimin has made with his kids in class.

He in particular likes these mini beanies that are strung above the door. The boys had been talking about getting their own christmas tree, which would be the first one for Bangtan that wouldn’t be bought and decorated by Big Hit, and Jin had asked Jimin if he wanted to make the decorations by hand with him as a date, instead of simply buying them. So it would be just the two of them where Jimin can teach him some arts and crafts as he never really had the time to try such a thing. Sure, as a kid they had arts every Thursday afternoon, but as an adult he only ate, slept and worked and sometimes they would film a travel show or episodes for their variety show. Jin loves his life, but sometimes he wants to do something simple, something easy, something mindless and if he can do that with the prettiest teacher by his side then why would he say no to that?

“Darling?”, Jin calls for the teacher who is cleaning up his cluttered filled classroom. As usual paint and marker have found it’s way on Jimin’s hands, and face but to Jin he is still the most beautiful person ever, even more beautiful than himself.

”Hyung?”, Jimin’s head appears at the door, “Did you call for me?”

”Who else would be my darling Jimin-ah?”, Jin asks teasingly.

”I don’t know Jin hyung, could be anyone really…”, Jimin replies, still in denial of the fact that he has six men liking him for him.

”Darling, it’s about time you realise that you are it for me.”, Jin places his hand on Jimin’s cheek,” If it’s not you, it’s no one. I’m 100% honest here. Just so you know, if you refuse my feelings I will accept it, but I’ll wait in the wings forever, until you want me. Even if it’s never, I’ll still be there and love you from a distance.”

Jimin is blushing furiously, butterflies wildly tumbling in his tummy. With every passing day he is more and more certain that he doesn’t want to chose between the six men living with him, but how would that work. His worries because society has only gotten worse and thinking about telling his family freaks him out completely. They are fine with him being gay, but six men… Are they that open minded? The newest worry in his head is how the six of them would react to it. How would they deal with it? Jimin is scared he’s going to lose all of them if he choses all six, but chosing just one seems so wrong… They all just complete him. Jin is the one who takes care of him, Yoongi is the one who tells people off whenever Jimin can’t, Hobi takes away his worries by being a literal sunshine, Namjoon is the one who offers all the answers to his problems whenever he dares to confide in him, Tae is the one who brings out his youthful side and supports the nerdy part of himself and Jungkook… Well, outside of being his best friend he is also his biggest cheerleader. How do you pick one over the other? Especially when they all love to cuddle him and shower in love, none of them look down on him for being this clumsy, anxious and sometimes very clueless person. They embrace it and love him all the more for it. Having people take care of him has always been a bit weird especially because Jimin never knows how to repay them, but with Bangtan he doesn’t feel the need to. It’s okay for him to feel small and vulnerable sometimes because he knows they’ll love him even harder that day until he feels better. The more Jimin thinks about having to give that up, the more he starts to freak out. For now though, he is going to focus on one thing only and that’s spending time with his eldest hyung.

”So darling, who made those little beanies? Or did you buy them?”, Jin asks, still holding on to Jimin’s cheek.

”I did hyung. Why?”, the maknae leans in to Jin’s hand, enjoying the soft touch.

”Is it hard to do?”

”Oh no hyung, it’s very easy, it just takes a bit of time.”

”Perfect, I want us to make these as decorations, just like the little tassles all the kids have at their schoolbags, although I guess those are bought by the parents.”

”Hyung, those aren’t bought either. I made them too as a welcome gift at the beginning of the year. They all have two, one yellow as we are the yellow classroom in this school and then they all have one in their favourite colour. Once you’ve got the hang of it you make one in not even five minutes.”

”You think your old hyung can do it too Jimin-ah?”

“You aren’t old hyung, don’t say that. So young still.”

”Ah, I’ve trained you well darling. Thank you for the compliment. So, can your hyung make these decorations.”

”Of course hyung, I’ll explain it in detail, step by step. You’ll be a pro at it in no time. Give me five more minutes to clean up and then I’m all yours.”

”I like the sound of that. You’ll get six minutes because I’m feeling generous, but no longer darling. I don’t like being away from you.”

Jimin blushes furiously, runs into his classroom and finishes the last bit of cleaning in under four minutes. He’ll do everything to make his Jin hyung happy. 

While walking home they quickly stop in the local hobby store to buy ‘all the yarn’, according to Jimin, and some paint. Mostly he makes his arts in his classroom during his lunchbreak, but seeing as they are going to make these decorations in their own free time at their own place Jimin doesn’t really want to borrow the schools materials. Jin is looking around with the biggest eyes, completely taking it all in. It’s such a different world to him. He’s used to screaming fans, not to people calmly picking out their materials to take home and make something with it. When they do arts and crafts it’s their staff that buys everything, now walking around in this shop seeing all the millions of options and the insane amount of colours Jin is happy that job doesn’t befalls him. He is so lost, so confused. Is it just him or do most of these shades of pink all look the same? Luckily Jimin just picks a pastel and a bright version of every hue the store contains, so Jin doesn’t have to figure out what shade he likes better. Next they find their way to the paint. Seeing as they want options they take a bottle of every colour, just like they did with the yarn. On their way to the till Jimin picks up a bag with little bells, he’s mind is already giving him ideas on what to use them on and he’s becoming even more excited. Jimin also grabs a bag with four small bottles of glitters in, he knows glitter gets anywhere, but he doesn’t care. He wants to give Jin the joy of arts and crafts and glitter is just too important a part of that.

Jin pays for everything and carries the bag, which has Jimin pouting. He gives in though when his hyung holds his hand and tells him that this way he shares his strength. Obviously Jimin knows it’s all a lie to make him feel better, but he’ll humour the man next to him because he is too kind to stay upset with.

It’s already early evening when they arrive home, so the first thing Jin does is make food for the both of them. The others are out, enjoying dinner with the five of them and apparently ordering food for the seven of them because they keep forgetting that Jin and Jimin aren’t with them. The groupchat gets stalked every 15 minutes, but both men ignore it for now basking in each other’s attention. Jin prepares his famous tteokbokki and makes it a little bit more spice than he normally would, all because he knows Jimin likes it that way. The younger rewards him with a kiss on the cheek and his adorable eye smile that all the men adore and want to see more of. Jimin has been nervous all day, going on a date with his eldest hyung has conjured more nerves than he normally has and as a result has been missing his mouth while trying to eat, Jin who notices the struggle takes Jimin's chopsticks and feeds him. Jimin accepts the sweet care the oldest singer provides. Jin loves taking care of Jimin, there is something about the younger that he doesn't really understand, but it awakens this protective and overly caring side in himself. He is learning to embrace it because he wants the best for the teacher and his comfort comes first. The food has been devoured not much later and Jimin cleans the table and washes the dishes. He threatens Jin with a wooden spoon when he wants to do everything on his own, so the elder gives in not ready to get hit on the head. Jin stays put in the kitchen though, watching Jimin’s every move in case the younger needs his help. Once the dishes are done they both move to the livingroom table and put their materials on the table. Jimin then opens his laptop and opens youtube, because he wants to watch an easy tutorial with Jin on salt dough decorations, when he notices a few recommended Bangtan video’s that talk about him. Normally he wouldn’t click them but seeing as all of them are uploaded in the previous hour… So while Jin is still distracted on his phone, replying to the groupchat, Jimin clicks a video. 

Park Jimin. Boyfriend, friend, acquaintance or attention whore?
We are inclined to say option four, but it’s up to you to make your own conclusion.

It shows six different moments, one for each hyung. The first one is Jimin back hugging Namjoon who just lets it happen. Jimin remembers this moment, it was a day where all of them had gone out for a walk in the park and Namjoon had said something funny that had Jimin laughing, standing next to the leader he quickly held on to him knowing he would otherwise find his way to the ground. Namjoon didn’t mind being his pillar at all, but the video made it seem as if his hyung was annoyed with him.

Next up is Jin’s moment and it’s actually a cute moment between them. It was during a game night at their home, where Jimin was paired up with his eldest hyung and they were on a winning streak. Jimin smiles at the memory, until he realises that it’s yet again a video taken of him in his home and he shivers. These things creep him out so badly. The video had yet again made it seem as if Jimin had thrown himself in the hug and Jin had no other option but to follow. Jimin didn’t like it one bit.

Yoongi appears third in the video. This video shows Jimin holding hands with the rapper while shopping for gifts for the teacher. He had tried to refuse earlier that day not wanting his hyung to spend money him, on things he didn't need, but being in the shopping center already Yoongi wanted to treat Jimin to everything he wanted to have. It was basically the elder dragging him around while tightly  holding on to his hand. The voice-over told the viewers that it seemed to him that Yoongi just wanted to leave and Jimin could see it. Maybe they are right and maybe he did annoy all of his hyungs.  

Fourth up was his Hobi hyung. In this video Hoseok was trying to keep Jimin warm by wrapping his coat around Jimin while still wearing it himself. Bodyheat solves everything, or so they say and Hobi was ready to test that theory out. Jimin had forgotten to bring his coat with him that morning as he had overslept and just basically had jumped into his clothes and left for work. So when Bangtan picked him up later that day, the man had tried to keep Jimin warm this way. Yet again the video had edited it completely by insinuating that Jimin had no money for his own coat and therefore imposed himself on Hobi.

Fifth in the row of video’s was him lying on top of Taehyung on the sofa in the lobby of Big Hit. They were looking at Jin’s diving antics in Malta and laughing every time he landed wrong. Jimin had asked for permission to lie on the couch with Taehyung and it was the elder who told Jimin to just make himself comfortable on top of him, so Jimin had done that after making sure Tae was actually fine with it. Now it seemed as if he was suffocating his hyung.  

Lastly, it was a video of Jungkook back hugging him in his classroom. It was a day where all of them had come to pick him up, they were free from work and other obligations and therefore suprised him by showing up together. They knew he had to work longer than usual seeing as it was parent teacher conference day, the first one of that week, so they showed up with food which they proceeded to eat at his school. Jungkook had been working very hard that week, almost locking himself up in the studio and had even missed several days of sleeping along side Jimin, so the minute he could hug the younger he did. The singer then dragged his best friend to the floor, placed him between his legs and didn’t let go for the rest of dinner, or that day really. Yet again, the video made it seem like even though Jungkook was laughing, he just couldn’t look at Jimin and that the youngest was being very intrusive.

The video ended with a ‘Make your choice in the comment section below’ and obviously most of the comments called him an attention whore, to make matters worse, people recognise him from the coffee attack and the unwanted pictures in the gossip magazines and websites online and because of all that the Big Hit statement on how he was already Jungkook’s best friend and now someone very important to Bangtan and therefore under the company’s protection. People were still mad about that, mad that they can’t just blatently hate on Jimin as he now stands in the way of them spending that much time with the band. Jimin feels awful though, he never wanted this and maybe they are right… Maybe he did push himself on his hyungs. Maybe he isn’t worthy of calling them his hyungs. Before he can click on the video again to examine how much he actually annoys them, the laptop is closed shut and Jin scoffs loudly.

”They missed an option in their title.”, he states dryly.

Jimin’s heart falls, scared of what Jin is going to say next. The demons in his head are yelling loudly and the teacher is listening intently to them. “Ah? Which is?...”, Jimin trails off.

”Love of Bangtan’s life.”, Jin winks, “and that is the only right answer.”

Jimin blushes, hard, and he is ready to tell his hyung to stop lying. He never gets the chance though, as Jin puts his finger over the maknae’s plump lips.

”Just accept it darling. I told you this earlier today already, but I’ll repeat it over and over until you believe it. You are it for me Jimin-ah. It’s you or no one else and you know the rest of Bangtan feels the same for you. You are our perfect little angel and if you don’t believe me, I will work my hardest to prove it to you. And so will the others. So… Where do we start with the decorations?”

By asking that simple question the tension of the previous situations falls away, which Jimin is very grateful for and he focusses on showing off his basic arts and crafts skills to the man sitting next to him, the man who captured his heart and keeps it safe and warm.

It’s two hours into their date when the other’s come home, but decide to still give the two of them space, so all five of them sit themselves on the couch, watching the two giggling from a distance.

They are impressed with how gentle and patient Jimin is whenever he has to explain things more than once and how he never loses his smile when Jin messes up for the umptieth time. The moment when Jin tries to eat the salt dough and Jimin literally slaps it out of his hands away from his mouth the other five actually lose it. Those two are too precious together.

A while later Jimin runs to the door when he hears his bell ring. A delivery man profusely apologises to him for being so late, but he hadn’t noticed the package in his car seeing as it was hiding behind all the big boxes, yet he still wanted to hand it over today so here he is. Jimin tells the man that these things can happen and thanks him for making the detour. Curiosity fills the other boys, yet the question of what’s in the box isn’t immediately answered as Jimin places the box on the kitchen counter and starts placing the second batch of salt dough decorations in the oven. The first one has just come out and ready to be painted. He tells Jin to wait five minutes until they are cooled of more so he can’t hurt himself, but his hyung ignores the warning. Luckily for them no burns were acquired, even though it is a close call.

With all the decorations painted, glitter on top of them and bells added to the stars, Jin places them on the kitchen counter to dry, while Jimin cleans of the table. The elder takes pictures to show off his work on social media.

”Darling?”

Jimin turns around, looking at his hyung with fond eyes.

”Would you mind if I tell our fans that you helped me make them?”

The maknae is taken aback, not sure what to say or do and it’s then that Jin tells him that the boys talked about easing their fans into Bangtan being around Jimin by slowly including him into pictures, interview answers, tweets, Bangtan Bombs… They are done with hiding Jimin if he is okay with being exposed a little bit more to the audience. Jin promises him that they’ll keep everything but his name private though, they just want to do it so that their fans learn that he’s important tot hem and to show that they’ll never give up on him. Jimin gives his permission to do it after asking him if he can review everything he appears in first before it’s posted. With everything that has happened Jimin just wants to be twice as careful and it is still his life they are talking about. The men easily agree, promising to keep him safe in whatever way is needed.



Jin posts a collage of their handiwork with the caption: Arts and Crafts with Min 🧶✂️

Jimin thanks Jin for a nice date and in return receives a kiss on his forehead and one on his cheek close to the corner of his mouth. Hiding his, once again, burning cheeks from the elder he turns around reaching for the box that had arrived an hour earlier. When the content of the box is revealed Bangtan is just baffled.

”Baby, are these our albums?”, Tae asks, not really understanding what he is seeing.

”Ah yes! After I found out who you guys were I started listening to your music and watching the music video’s. I actually really like your songs, but that’s not why I bought all of these. It’s just that… Well… I always support my friends… When Taemin and Sehun do a dance show I also always buy my ticket, I don’t allow them to gift it to me seeing as the money goes to new uniforms or props. I wanted to support you guys too, but I also know that if I mentioned that I liked your songs you would have given me all of these for free and then how would I show my support? Actually, I can’t wait to see who’s photocards I have. If I’m lucky enough to have all six of you, I might hang them above my bed”, Jimin add the last comments with a goofy grin and sparkling eyes and his hyungs melt on the spot, “Oh also, I didn’t know you released a new song, but it’s a bop! And the choreography? So simple! Ugh, I’m going to dance it everywhere without me realizing it… Do you know that Sehun and Taemin want to do a dance cover to Permission to Dance and they want me to join them? I told them no, but –“

”You should join them love.”, Hobi says sweetly, ‘I would love to see you have fun to our song.”

The rest of the boys nod, it’s the first time Jimin actively experiences a comeback and they want to see him do their choreography or sing along to it or even just hear and see his reaction when he watches the music video when they are sitting next to him. Bangtan wants him to enjoy the song and maybe, just maybe they want him to be proud for knowing them, for working hard and for spreading joy.

Before they can actually convince him though a loud ping interrupts their conversation, so Namjoon takes the laptop and opens up the new e-mail, which is an update from their Soundcloud account. It notifies them that the versions of Spring Day and Your Eyes Tell have surpassed over half a million streams in exactly one week. They all look at Jimin, as much as they want to him to be proud of them, right now all of them are beaming with pride for him.

Chapter 10

Notes:

Hi!

We have arrived at chapter 10! Woop!
This one involves another date, house hunting and a blushing Jimin!

I hope you enjoy it.

Xo,
I.

PS: Find me on twitter
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

The kitchen is filled with the decoration Jin and Jimin made the night before, making Yoongi huff. He knows the salt dough ornaments had to dry overnight and last night, being tired and honestly just very jealous of Jin, the prospect of having to move everything and having to spend more time with Jin while being in a sour mood was reason enough to let it be. Today though, at 10 am in the morning, with breakfast on his mind Yoongi wishes they’d at least cleared the counter last night.

At 11 am everyone else is sitting at the kitchen table that is filled with American breakfast foods as Yoongi was really craving pancakes, with the exception of the two youngest men. The others, who all woke up in a great mood, are slowly falling in the rabbit hole that is their sulky, grumpy mood. They had completely forgotten that Jungkook and Jimin were going to pick out a christmas tree. They also have a busy morning ahead of them, hence why it is a good idea for Jimin and Jungkook to go off on their date, but then again… Is there ever a good moment to not spend time or not be around Jimin? All of them know that they are being greedy, they want to spend as much time as they can with their maknae, unfortunately Jimin is still figuring everything out, which means they will have to be a bit more patient for now.

”Hyung… When are we going to tell Jimin that he doesn’t have to choose?”, Tae asks, while picking bits and pieces off of his strawberry jam donut.

”If we explain that we are all fine dating him, as long as we don’t have to date each other…”, Hoseok trails off.

”I’d say as soon as possible, but we need to be able to offer him more.”, Namjoon replies seriously.

”Like what? If it costs money, we can already delete the plan, Jimin is never going to allow us to spend money on him.”, Yoongi adds.

”I beg to differ. If our splurging can give him a feeling of security and a sense of belonging, he’ll agree to it.”

”What are you thinking hyung?”, Namjoon asks curiously.

”I’ve been looking for houses here in Seoul and in LA. That’s why I asked you to keep your morning free. Out of 25 options I’ve selected five houses in both places that I think can work for us. They all have six big bedrooms so that Jimin can stay with any of us and we have some privacy once the door closes, there is a smaller bedroom in each house that can be Jimin’s. That way he has a place to go to whenever he needs to be alone for whatever reason. There’s also several bathrooms, A big garden, a swimmingpool. I also know how important it is to have studio’s for the rappers, so near the basements are extra rooms we can turn into studios, and they also have room for one or more dance studios. We have ours at Big Hit and Jimin can still use them too, but I think it would be nice for him to have one at home. It might take his mind of things whenever he’s suffering from his anxiety. It’ll take some work, but I can see all of  you in it. The places in LA will be visited by our Big Hit people over there. They’ll send video’s and pictures, that way we can decide. I think it might be fun to take Jimin there some day on a holiday. If we decide to stay there we already have a house, if we decide to live in Seoul we will always have a holiday home. So eat up! Because we are going house hunting!”

”Hyung, do Jimin and Jungkook not want to be there?”, Hobi asks.

”I’ve asked them. Jungkook told me he was fine with whatever as long as he has a room of his own, there is a garden and maybe room for a home fitness but with Big Hit having three different fitness rooms it wasn’t a necessity. Jimin told me he trusted me with everything and that making choices causes him stress. He just wants us to be happy and to make sure it feels like the seven of us. Which is the whole plan ofcourse. I think I should also add that our house needs to be the safest place to live for Jimin-ah's sake. We are used to the craziness, but he isn't.”

Everyone agrees, the next place they are going to stay at, that they are going to call 'home' should be one for the seven of them, even with their own personal rooms and studio’s.


-- Meanwhile at Jungkook and Jimin’s date. --


Spruces pop up left and right when Jungkook drives Jimin to the christmas tree patch. The teacher’s eyes grow double their size, his mouth is formed in a soft smile. Winter is his favourite season and  Christmas might just be his favourite holiday as of this year. Normally he doesn’t really care for holidays, maybe Easter because of all the chocolate, but that’s about it. This year though, with the six people he adores most in the world, it can’t be anything but great, even if they just planned a quiet day in.

”So Minnie, what kind of Christmas tree do you want? Big, small, somewhere in between?”

”I don’t know Kookie - hyung. I’ll know it when I see it.”, he replies, while his sparkling eyes are taking everything in, his hands on the car window.


The minute Jungkook turns the car motor off, he turns to Jimin making sure he is completely warm and cozy. He places the beanie that he had put in the backseat before they left because it was too warm in the car, on Jimin’s head and then grabs the hood of the younger’s coat and puts that on top of the beanie, adding an extra layer of heat to his head and ears. Then he takes Jimin’s gloves from his own pockets and helps his best friend's tiny hands in them, securing the gloves with the sleeves of the teacher’s coat so that no cold wind can get in. Lastly he redoes the scarf around Jimin’s neck, making sure it isn’t askew. Jimin looks like a little snowman, which makes Jungkook’s heart melt, it only gets worse when the younger smiles, turning his eyes into little moonshape cresents.

To Jimin, Jungkook still looks effortlessly cool, even with his beanie and gloves on. Jungkook’s coat is a light leather jacket and no scarf adornes his neck, but the man doesn’t seem to feel the cold which Jimin is very jealous of. Even though he loves the cold, he’s not good with it, it seeps very quickly into his bones. Whenever that happens it takes forever for Jimin to warm up again so he always has to deal with the feeling of needles attacking his entire body which he does not appreciate. So even though Jimin is very warm and comfortable, he secretly wishes he could look as cool as his best friend even in this cold weather.

Once they enter the patch of land filled with spruces Jungkook takes hold of Jimin’s hand, walking extremely close next to him. They take the liberty of walking around with no face mask, but there is a bodyguard always in the neighbourhood. For the sake of not attracting attention they are dressed in normal clothes pretending to look around for a tree themselves. Luckily for the two men, there aren’t a lot of people and the few who are present, are too busy looking around for the perfect Christmas tree.

Their hands swing between the two of them, something they have done a million times before but right now it makes both boys blush. They won’t admit to it, so instead they focus on the conversation they are having. Jungkook and Jimin are talking about the house they might soon share, about the previous dates Jimin has been on. At first he didn’t really wanted to share the details to any of the other men to make sure no one got jealous or upset, but once he found out all the boys keep each other posted and talk about the jealous feelings, it makes it a bit easier on Jimin. He’s still careful in the way he words things, but it feels nice to talk about his conflicting feelings. The younger also apologises to his best friend for not automatically picking him, but Jungkook tells him it’s fine. In the end he’s the one that left  instead of staying and confessing his feelings, he’s the one that moved to America instead of giving Jimin a chance and he’s the one that came back with five band members and best friends. The only mistake Jimin made was to be so perfect that his band mates caught feelings. The singer hoped for a long time that they would lose interest once they were over Jimin being the most adorkable little bean, but he’s given up hope on that one. He had Jimin for himself and let him go. He can’t fault the younger one for getting the know the five other men and for liking them. Keeping his fingers crossed is the only thing that Jungkook can do and if the younger decides to not go for his best friend then at least he’ll always be that… His best friend. 

After two hours of walking around in the cold, their feet buried in the snowy grass Jimin finally let’s out a happy scream. The tree he sees isn’t the biggest or the most green tree out of all the one's they've passed, it even has a few bendy branches, some brown spots, a few places miss needles and yet… He falls in love with it immediately. Jungkook isn’t certain about the tree, but with the way Jimin is hugging it he can’t just walk away to pick another one.

”Hyung! This one is the best one. I love it! Please can we take this one home?”

”Minnie… Are you sure… It looks a bit… Well… I don’t know…”, Jungkook stammers, trying to find the words that won’t hurt Jimin’s feelings.

”No no, this is it. I’m sure of it. I know it isn’t perfect, but if I wanted perfection I would have picked the first tree we came across… This tree has character Kookie hyung. You can see it’s been through a lot and yet it still stands. It deserves to shine simply because of that.”, Jimin says, eyes shimmering.

”So this tree is like you then. You survived so much on your own, you deserve to shine too.”, Jungkook bends down, readying himself to give Jimin a kiss on the cheek, but right when he’s about to put his lips on his best friend's face, the younger boy turns his head to his hyung wondering what he’s up to and instantly their lips find each other and properly meet for the first time ever. For exactly ten seconds they are just standing there, lips on lips, unmoving. Jungkook wakes up first from his blissful trance and starts moving his mouth, encouraging Jimin to do the same, who accepts the older’s invitation. Jungkook draws the teacher closer, embracing him so tight Jimin’s breath almost escapes him. The younger places both hands in Jungkook’s coat pockets and steps even closer, enjoying the warmth and homeliness. Eventually they have to stop to catch their breath, but Jungkook just can’t step away from his best friend so he places his forehead against the smaller boy in his arms and smiles at him brightly. A smile that is answered with an even bigger smile coming from Jimin, flush cheeks and eyes that shine brighter than any star out there. They stay in that embrace for 30 more minutes, regularly kissing each other, happy laughter bubbling from their mouths, when it gets too cold for Jimin though, Jungkook drops him off at the car, puts the heater on and goes back to find the owner of the patch in order to buy Jimin’s favourite Christmas tree.

While they are waiting for the tree to be chopped, packed and placed in the trunk of their car, Jungkook takes out a thermos of hot coco and some plastic cups. He hands Jimin his own cup and conjures up a bottle of whipped cream. He also puts on the Christmas station on the radio in the background. With Jimin mindlessly humming along to the music on the radio and enjoying his cup of hot chocolate milk, Jungkook quickly uploads a post on his Instagram, both are very short video’s of Jimin looking absolutely adorable in his wintery outfit. He captions it: ⛄️🎄 
Bangtan is slowly going to introduce Jimin to the public, so no need for lengthy love confessions or tagging him yet. Simple but effective for now and maybe in the future he can summon his inner Shakespeare. 



Looking up from his screen, he sees a little dollop of whipped cream sitting in the corner of Jimin's mouth and before he even registers what he is doing he kisses Jimin, effectively cleaning the younger's lips. Jimin blushes furiously, but turns his head to Jungkook looking straight at him, too nervous and shy to ask for a kiss out loud, hoping his eyes convey the message. Luckily for him the singer doesn't need words to understand Jimin and kisses him again. The younger smiles in the kiss, a happy sigh leaving his lips once they sit back up, drinking his chocolate milk. Jimin is over the moon that this is something he can do now, something he wanted to do since forever. The little voice in the back of his head reminds him that he wants to do that with the five other men as well, but before he can properly think of how selfish that makes him, the car's trunk gets opened and the tree they picked is carefully placed into it, effectively taking Jimin away from his previous thought when he starts enthousiastically wiggling left and right in his seat. 

The drive home is filled with loud singing and laughter, Jungkook holds onto Jimin’s hand whenever he doesn’t need both hands to drive, Jimin’s hand ready to embrace the elder’s one whenever he gives it back. The rest of the boys aren’t home when Jimin and Jungkook place the Christmas tree in the living room. They had to push the sofa’s closer together to make room for the tree, but seeing Jimin’s excitement it was the easiest and quickest thing to do.

Decorating the tree is not part of the date with Jungkook as Jimin promised Taehyung that they could do it together, so they sit themselves down and decide to warm up some more, or Jimin warms himself up and Jungkook helps by pulling him in his lap, hugging him close and kissing him until their breaths run out.

-- Househunting with Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hobi and Tae --

”These rooms are gigantic!”, Tae exclaims enthousiastically, “I thought you said they were going to be normal sized. Even the smaller room is big. Did you know the gym on the top floor has crazy good accoustics? We might have to take out the equipment and turn it in the record studio!”

”I don’t even understand why this place has two gyms, they can easily fit into one room.”, Yoongi huffs, clearly no fan of gyms and physical excercise even though he has been buffing up in the past few weeks. If someone asks him if it’s to impress Jimin he’ll easily answer no with a straight face, but everyone will know the actual answer to that question is a resounding yes.

”Well, if we put all the gym equipment in one room, we can turn the other in a dance studio. It’s big enough for us to have practises in if the Big Hit studios are swarmed by fans again or for last minute tv appearances, but it would mainly be Jimin’s. That way he can practice any hour of the day and he’ll be safe.”, Jin explains.

”That’s a very good idea hyung. Jimin’ll love this! Also the massive garden to this place, he is going to enjoy being able to go out, not being cooped up inside the entire time. Jungkook is probably going to freak out over the swimming pool and the gym, before we know it, he is going to be double his size in muscles. Make sure both those rooms have a lock he can’t break in case he ever goes too far and needs to detox from gym time!”, Namjoon laughs.

”Joon, we can say the same about you. You’re like the freaking hulk!”, Hobi looks at him, a frown on his face, “ Don’t talk about Jungkook that way if you are equally as bad.”

”Come on… I’m not that bad, Jungkook practically lives in the gym, he barely ever leaves. I just go there every day but I do leave every time.”

”Sure, after spending a good four hours ever day. That cannot be healthy!’, Hobi replies, “maybe we don’t need a gym in this house, it’ll be more of an excuse to practice even harder. Can you imagine living here because we need Jimin close by in a not so cramped shoe box and then only living here with five people because the other two have made their own home in the gym. Poor Jimin-ah. He is going to leave his home behind and for what?”

”Hobi, has someone ever told you that you’re quite dramatic?”

”Better to be dramatic than a fitness nut Joon.”

The dancer walks away from the conversation in favour of checking out the security of this place. Mentioning Jimin to Namjoon reminded him that if the security is not top notch, they will either have to install it or buy a different house. Nothing but the best for the maknae, especially after the coffee attack and the unwanted pictures. Obviously they can’t stop all the attention he is getting right now and will keep getting once people notice he’s more involved with Bangtan than they think, but they can at least offer him a safe space in his home. They’ll probably talk him into having a bodyguard with him at all times eventhough they told him it’s only temporarily. Jimin’s safety comes first, if he refuses the bodyguard they might have to do it sneakily or turn it into a school policy, if they can get the principal on board.

”I can really see Jiminie in this place,” Taehyung says out of the blue, catching them all by surprise as the five men have been silent for the past ten minutes, just looking around and creating their own dream house in their minds, “Maybe we can add a little arts and crafts station for him, so he can come home after school and work on his school decorations here, while we cook for him, clean the house and take secret pictures of him pouting unconsciously or sticking the tip of his tongue out whenever he’s struggling with something so that when he’s done with his work we can all help him move it somewhere to dry or keep safe and then sit together in the sofa while watching some tv. I don’t want him to the housework when we are home. Honestly, he has the hardest job out of the seven of us, I just want him to come home and relax.”

The others nod, agreeing with Taehyung. Namjoon is already silently coming up with a chores schedule that excludes Jimin so he can have all the time to work for school or relax, but nothing else. They can do it. All of them know Jimin is going to fight them on it, but whenever they are touring someone needs to keep the house clean, so Jimin can do it then, although they’ll probably hire a housekeeper to come every day for three hours when Jimin’s at work. No way are they going to come home to a stressed out boy who feels guilty about forgetting a speck of dust because he didn’t have the time to clean properly seeing as he works already 8 hours a day and then prepares for the next day at home. The ideal situation would be for the teacher to join them on tour, but they don't know if that's something the  younger wants.

”I’m kind of sad we aren’t going to be spending the holidays in this place, but then again once we move in here I’m going to miss Jimin’s tiny apartment.”

”It’s a good thing we learned how to live together in that shoe box, “Yoongi agrees with Jin, “At least now we know we’ll be able to live together. Imagine how good it’ll be when we have a bit more space too. There’ll be even less frustrations.”

Namjoon hums in agreement, looking around, ready to move in with his best friends and, hopefully one day soon, his boyfriend. Sticking around a bit longer than normal in one place, not living in different hotel rooms for extensive periods of time, fighting over who’s going to share a room for the night, hopefully holding Jimin close whenever he wants.

”So, how about we go home and start ordering furniture, look up paint colours, find the best security systems?”, Hoseok is already halfway out of the door, excited to make this place their home.

”Or maybe we can call the real estate agent and tell her we’re taking the place?”, Yoongi comments, rolling his eyes.

”I’m on it!”, Jin grabs his phone straight away dialling the number of the woman who can make their dreams come true. Five minutes later he puts his thumbs up, his mouth forming the biggest smile.”It’s ours! We’ll have to fill in some papers, but we can do that at home. Once we’ve done that we can start decorating. Get excited boys! So who is going to tell Jungkook and Jimin?”


-- Back Home--

”So… We have to say something”, the house hunting crew says at the same time Jungkook says the same thing, albeit in a more awkward fashion. Jimin is in the bathroom taking a warm shower trying to get rid of the cold that engulfed his bones, even after kissing Jungkook for a long time.

”Does it have to do with your date?”, Namjoon asks.

”Yes.”

”Is it something Jimin needs to know?”, Taehyung looks at Jungkook intently.

”He already knows, but I don’t think he wants to be here when I tell you.”

”Why is that?”, Hobi questions.

”He would feel very embarrassed and guilty.”, Jungkook looks at the others, “Is what you need to say something Jimin needs to know?”

”Yes”, Jin replies, “and I also know what you want to tell us.”

Jungkook looks at his hyung with a bit of unease, wondering how they are going to react if Jin actually knows what he is going to tell them.

”Ah…”

”You and Jimin kissed.”, It’s out of Jin’s mouth before he knows it and he knows it’s true when Jungkook looks at his feet.

”Jungkook, seriously, you act like you didn’t enjoy it.”, Yoongi laughs.

”I mean… I did… I really did… But I… I don’t want to brag about it or hurt your feelings… Honestly, I’m only telling you because we’ve been very open about everything, but I also know this can’t be fun to hear. It is Jimin’s first kiss after all… I can imagine you all wanted to…”

Before he can continue Namjoon smiles softly at him.

”It’s nice that you think about our feelings Jungkook, but I don’t think any of us is surprised right now. We all expected you to be Jimin’s first kiss. You guys have history. From the get go it was clear that there was more between you. It’s good that you finally get to find out what it is exactly and experience it together. We are happy for you!”

The other’s agree. Obviously they are all dissapointed that it’s not them that got to kiss Jimin first, but for some reason it feels right for Jungkook to have his moment.

”Well, thank you for telling us”, Taehyung says mischievously,” but you didn’t tell us everything.”

”What do you mean? Do you want all the details? Well, it was right after Minnie found the perfect tree and it was all very accidental.”

”Kook, you can tell us the story later.”, The younger is massively confused right now until Taehyung looks at him with a glint in his eye, “How was it?”

”Oh my god hyung, Jimin’s lips are heaven.”, Jungkook smiles dreamily, reliving the moments in his head, “and he fits perfectly in my arms. I don’t ever want to stop kissing him.”

At that moment Jimin opens the bathroom door and steps out in his fluffly pyjama’s that make him seem twice as small. They all look at him like love sick puppies.

”Oh my god Kookie – hyung… You told them, didn’t you?”, When Jungkook answers their maknae with the biggest Cheshire cat grin on his face, Jimin hides his face in his hands, his ears bright red, which results in the other six cooing at his adorable reaction.

Eventually Jimin ends up in Hobi’s lap, hands intertwined with Namjoon. He is listening to the enthousiastic babbling of his housemates on what to do with the house they are buying. They are showing him the pictures, telling him what room is going to be what. Jimin doesn’t really care, as long as he is living with the six men he calls his home, he’s more than fine. 

”So, we are thinking of putting  the house under all our names. You know, to make it clear that we are more than a tight knit unit, that we are a family always. What do you say Jimin, do you want to officially be a house owner?”

When Jin doesn’t get a reply, they all look up at the youngest who is fast asleep on Hoseok’s shoulder.

”I’ll take that as a yes then.”, Jin grabs the nearest fountain pen and writes down Park Jimin as the first owner of their shared house. 

Two and a half hours later all papers have been filled in and send to the real estate agent. They are now sitting at the table eating dinner that for once isn’t made by the two eldest hyungs but ordered online to celebrate that all of them bought a house together.

”So Honey, I got another mail from SoundCloud today with an update on our songs that include your voice”, everyone intently listens to this, it is important to them that those songs do well as those results will hopefully boost Jimins confidence, “Spring Day has reached over a millions streams. Your Eyes Tell has over 900000 streams. People clearly love your voice.”

Jimin is once again blushing furiously, he doesn’t really understand it seeing as he never thought his voice was that special.

”How about you cover our newest song sweetheart? If you don’t want to dance to it with Sehun and Taemin maybe you can sing the chorus for us? Or the full song and we’ll put it on soundcloud and call you MinMin or something.”, Namjoon tells Jimin in a supportive way.

”Maybe I can sing the chorus and if that does well, I’ll do the full version or something? I don’t want to push it just yet. Is that okay?”

”Whatever you want Love, we’ll adore it either way no matter how long or short.”, Hobi answers, Jimin smiles at him holding on to his hyung’s pinkie with his own. 

While still feeling brave, Jimin quickly takes his phone, opens the recorder app and sings part of their latest song ‘Permission to dance’. Once he’s done he quickly sends the file to the groupchat and locks his phone. He knows it isn’t perfect, but this is for fun, he isn’t featuring on the actual song. Maybe if he decides to sing the full song can he put more time and effort in it, but right now this will have to do. When he looks up he sees five men with their mouths wide open and their eyes almost popping out of their sockets, the sixth person is smirking, happy that the other’s have the exact same reaction he had when he had Jimin with him live in the studio. Namjoon then looks at Jimin, lifting one eyebrow, basically telling him with his eyes that his reaction wasn’t exaggerated when he heard him sing the first time. Jimin shakes his head, still not believing that the biggest band in the world right now is stumped by him, a basic kindergarden teacher who only sings along to children’s songs.

They quickly upload the little snippet on Bangtan’s IG account. And in minutes it has over 100000 likes, the comment section is wild and people are demanding more. Jimin is massively overwhelmed but with the support of his hyungs he records the entire song. It’s clear that it isn’t in the most professional setting, but people are still jumping on his version, demanding Bangtan to feature this artist on the next album. Other people are wondering if this is another Yoongi alias as MinMin could easily come from his last name. The boys don’t shoot that idea down, but also don’t reply to it. That way the idea might start to live it’s own life and keep Jimin’s identity safe. It also makes their fans think that the picture Jin posted the other day on his IG meant he was doing arts and crafts with Yoongi and seeing as his face isn’t in those pictures they just run with that. They all agree to not call Jimin ‘Min’ or ‘Minnie’ on social media from now on, to not blow his cover. 

So they quickly pick a picture from an earlier shoot they did, in which they dragged Jimin to take several pictures with them, mostly for fun but also for moments like these where they want to show their fans that he really fits in with them, and caption it “Friends and Roommates 💛”. 

While the comments and likes are piling up, Bangtan just let it happen. With all of them ready for bed, Taehyung quickly takes Jimin by the hand before he can get into his bedroom and drags him closer. He caresses Jimin's cheek and then pecks it. 

"I can't wait for our time together tomorrow Baby. Sweet dreams Jimin-ah", Tae winks at the younger who has no idea to react, except for holding on to the hem of his pyjama while blushing once again from the attention he's getting, "I'll visit you in your dreams tonight."

Jimin is on the verge of completely losing it, when another pair of arms wraps itself around his waist. Jungkook. Someone please save Jimin from these six men who don't let him breath, but mostly from his treacherous heart that has embraced all of them with no intention of letting them go any time soon.

Chapter 11

Notes:

Hi,

Sorry it took me longer to update this story. I had more inspiration for 'Bangtan Minus One', so I wrote two chapter for that story first. Then I went on a 3-day vacation where I didn't bring my laptop. Chapter 11 is here now and it's almost 6000 words. It's just a whole lot of fluff, so I hope you enjoy it.

As usual, thank you for reading. I'm forever grateful.

Xo,
I.

Ps: Find me on twitter for updates on my current stories, polls whenever I need a second opinion, etc.
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

A notification pops up on Jimin’s phone. It’s an IG photo from Jungkook he is tagged in. Jimin is sitting on the sofa leaning into Taehyung, planning where to exactly hang the decorations and what to do with the Christmas tree.

”Aren’t you going to open that?”, Taehyung asks him, his eyes on the notification on Jimin’s phone.

”I mean… We are planning everything, isn’t that more important?”, Jimin replies.

”To be fair, I know you’ll look adorable in it so I would love to see it. I’d go to his IG page myself, but I honestly have no idea where my phone is. So I’ll have to make do with yours.”, Taehyung winks, a cheeky smile on his face.

”But… Tae hyung, this is our date…”, Jimin says hesitantly, the last thing he wants to do is make his hyung jealous.

”Baby, I can share you with Jungkook, it’s fine. Open it, look at it, let me see and then reply. All in all you’d be spending under five minutes of your time, I can deal with that. Besides if you don’t open it and put down a comment, Kook is going to be sulky for the rest of the day. Don’t do that to him. He is still your best friend after all.”, Tae tucks a strand of hair behind Jimin’s ear, then bumps his nose softly against Jimin’s cheek.

The Instagram page takes a few seconds to load, opening up to a picture of Jimin and Jungkook on the friends’ morning walk in the snow. Both of them have the biggest smile on their face. The picture is clearly taken by one of their hyungs, but Jimin doesn’t remember for the love of him who was taking pictures.

Jeon Jungkook @Bangtan_JK
Winterwalk with my hyungs and this
little one. Best way to spend the morning


Jimin smiles at the picture. If he's being honest with himself, he has to admit that they both look good in it. His Jungkook hyung always looks good, but for once he doesn't hate this picture of himself. He also looks happy... Very happy. 

"Hold up! Did he just cut the rest of us out of that picture? Rude Jungkook! Very rude! But you look perfect as always Baby, you look like a little angel. Can I keep you safe in my pocket?", Taehyung flirts and Jimin's cheeks turn the brightest pink.

Taehyung grabs the phone out of Jimin’s hand and starts scrolling through the comments.

Bangtan_Files @BangtanFiles
Woah, Jungkook looks amazing as usual, but the guy next to him? *Wolf Whistle*


”They aren’t wrong Babe.”, Taehyung says casually, while still looking at the comments.

HourlyBangtan @Hourly_Bangtan
Do I think the perfection in this picture is fair? No!
Do I think the little one can be any cuter? Probably not, but who knows.
Do I think I’ll start a fan account once I find out who he is? HECK YES!

JungkookGroupie @JKGroupie
@Hourly_Bangtan, that’s Park Jimin, the guy who was attacked with hot coffee and whose pictures were published without his permission, simply for knowing Bangtan! You should hands down start that fan account, the guy deserves all the love for making our JK smile like that!

HourlyBangtan @Hourly_Bangtan
@JkGroupie, Hold up! It is him! Thanks for telling me. He looks so much more beautiful when he is smiling. The little BooBoo’s scared face broke my heart! How I wish I could delete those pictures from the internet! Let me go make an HourlyJimin to post pictures in which he smiles. Allthough, we have one picture. Whatever, I’ll just put different filters over it and post the same picture hourly if I have to! The boy deserves everything good in this world!

Jungkook’s_GF @JKisMine
Ugh… He could literally take pictures with his members and show off their hotness, but instead he gives us this mess… No thank you. Please delete this JK!

JungkookGroupie @JKGroupie
@Hourly_Bangtan, Jungkook posted two short video’s of Jimin the other day and didn’t they also post that group picture with Jimin? The one where they are dressed in all bright colours? You can post that one too! You aren’t going to use any of those paparazzi pictures right? Not even the one’s where he is out with one or more of the boys?

@JKisMine, stop being delusional. He is showing off his friend, who he is clearly fond of. If you can’t accept his happiness, then can you call yourself a fan?

HourlyBangtan @Hourly_Bangtan
@JkGroupie
 I wouldn’t dream of it! I’m only going to post official pictures of him, pictures on his social media and the one’s the boys post. Pictures that have been approved by Jimin. Just like I do with the other boys. The little BooBoo doesn’t need more stress in his life.

@JKisMine, Jungkook is only his own person… So stop claiming him and stop attacking his friend. How rude!

Kim Seokjin @Bangtan_Jin
Did you just cut all of your members from this picture? Cold man! Stone cold! Luckily Jimin-ah looks like the cutest little snow fairy. That saves this picture with your ugly mug on! Shame on you!

Min Yoongi @Bangtan_Yoongi
Yeah, I agree with Jin hyung dude! Rude! Jimin sweetie, you look absolutely adorable, but I told you that this morning too.

”I like that they are about to start a fan account for you. Let me help them out a little.”, Taehyung smirks.

”Hyung, what are you going to do?”, Jimin asks, trying to grab Taehyung’s hand to keep him from leaving him on his own on the couch.

”You’ll see my little baby.”, Taehyung winks, while sitting back down next to Jimin. The younger wraps himself around his hyung, his arms around his waist and left leg on top of Taehyung’s lap. He places his hand on his chest, snuggling close. It’s clear that decorating has to wait for a bit, so Jimin decides to make himself comfortable. That is what dates are for right?

    

   Afbeelding

 

Kim Taehyung @Bangtan_Tae
To make sure you guys have more pictures of this cutiepie that you can post.
@Hourly_Bangtan, @JkGroupie Thank you for respecting his privacy and loving him almost as much as Bangtan does!

”Hyuuuung, you did not! Your fans are going to think we are dating…”, Jimin pouts, whining cutely.

”Isn’t that exactly what we are doing baby?”, Tae asks, grinning from ear to ear.

”I mean… yes we are, but do your fans have to know? How will they react? Hyung, there are going to hate me even more and I do not want another cup of hot coffee over me…”, Jimin says softly, eyes down, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Bangtan’s fans hating on him.

“You can’t win over everyone. So far, a lot of people seem to like you already. Besides if they are really our fans they refrain from hurting you in any shape or form because we will come down on them hard. I haven’t specifically told them we are dating, friends can love each other too. You’re good baby, I’ll make sure you are safe. So will the hyungs and Jungkook. Just trust us. Can you do that for me?”, Tae is looking deep into Jimin’s eyes, a finger underneath his chin, making sure that Jimin can’t look away. The teacher nods. It’s clear that he is still scared for other people’s reaction, but to Tae it means the world that he is listening to them and that he accepts their comfort in both their words and their touch.

Taehyung and Jimin go back to planning everything out while Taehyung’s IG is left in shambles. Both accounts mentioned by him are freaking out and everyone else is jealous about not being tagged. All the comments about Jimin are positive in the hopes that another member will pick up on them and ends up tagging them in their next post, but most of them are actually well meant. If Kim Taehyung makes a post about how much he loves him, then how can they hate on the cutiepie?

Not much later Jimin’s phone goes off again, multiple times. It’s clear that the other’s have seen Taehyung and Jungkook’s IG posts… Very clear, as they posted their own pictures of Jimin. Pictures Jimin hadn’t even seen himself. He knows that they’ve been taking pictures left and right, but they never showed him and he never asked.

   

Kim Seokjin @Bangtan_Jin

Seeing as we are turning IG into a fanpage for this cutie, here is my contribution!
Can we just look at this pretty angel 👼

 

Jung Hoseok @Bangtan_Hobi

The most colourful sprinkle of magic in my life 🌟 If I can squeeze his cheeks for the rest of my life, I'll be the happiest person alive!





Min Yoongi @Bangtan_Yoongi

This little one is the only person I will ever give piggy pack rides to and match outfits with. 


  


Kim Namjoon @Bangtan_Joon

I couldn't pick so I'm adding four pictures to the collection! 
1) Just look at him, look at him! He's so tiny 😍 I feel so protective over him. 
2) What happens when you take him with you to a photoshoot and the stylists get their hands on him. Utter perfection!
3) Playing pillow for the little sweetheart. 
4) Just this morning, simply because he looked adorable. 


Jimin is touched. Even though the boys always compliment him and tell him how much they like him, it just never sinks in. To himself, he is probably the least special person out there. There are so many more fish in the sea that are far more beautiful, intelligent and talented than he is. Having six people take care of him… It just doesn’t make sense.

”Baby, what are you thinking about?”, Taehyung whispers, it makes Jimin shiver.

”Nothing hyung…”, Taehyung lifts an eyebrow, looking unimpressed at the younger urging him to talk”, just… That’s a lot of pictures with not so hidden meanings… What if you lose fans because of me?”, Jimin sighs.

”Then they weren’t fans to begin with. Let them leave. You are our priority and we are done hiding you. That doesn’t mean that we are going to throw your or our private lives on the internet for everyone to see, but it does mean that we are going to show you off. If normal people can do that with their dates and future partners… Then why can’t we?”

 “Hyung… They will kill me for only picking one person though… I mean, I’ll end up hurting five of you. Maybe you should delete all the pictures and after this date, maybe we should just call this off…”, Jimin says, looking down at his fingers, his voice wobbly.

The teacher is on the verge of crying, but hurting five people or just himself… His choice is easily made.

”Baby, we are not going to do that. I love the rest of my friends enough to see at least one of us happy and all of us are too infatuated with you to see you hurt. If being with one of us makes you happy, then that is what we want for you. Don’t ever feel guilty about that. You told us from the start that you would pick one, you warned us and we still agreed. So, don’t worry tonight. Let your pretty head rest. We wanted to post those pictures because, whether as a future boyfriend or just our friend, you will always be our number one source of happiness and we want to share that fact with our fans. For now, I just want to see you smile and have a good time on our date, so how about we go decorate the living room and the Christmas tree. Jin hyung is not going to forgive us is he comes home in a few hours and his decorations are not hanging in that tree.”

So that’s what they do. They follow their plan step by step. Fairy lights are hanging everywhere, even stockings with their names on that Jimin had secretely ordered online. Whatever happens in their future, they will be living together in the new house Bangtan bought for themselves and Jimin, the stockings wouldn’t go to waste so he didn’t mind spending a bit more money on it. Taehyung had complained to him about it, seeing as Jimin didn’t earn that much money as a teacher, but the younger just shrugged. For the first time in his life he was going to properly spend Christmas with a family, he wanted to celebrate it right.

Not everything was handmade by Jin and Jimin, they had also gotten decorations from the member’s parents. They were told by their sons that this would be Jimin’s first Christmas with people who cared about him, so they wanted to make it special for the teacher. It’s not like they had met the little one yet, but seeing the love in their sons’ eyes was more than enough to already like him. Whatever or whoever made their kids happy, would make them happy. All the mums and dads are already invited to the housewarming. Clearly they will all be there, a fact Jimin doesn’t want to think about just yet seeing as he is extremely nervous to meet them.

 

The tiny apartment looks amazing though. A colourful christmas tree, stockings, fairy lights, christmas pillows, wreaths with leftover baubles, beautiful poinsettias in the middle of their dinner table, scented candles spread all over the place. The candles are handpicked by Jimin who decided on several different smells in order for all the boys to have at least one scent they like, some smell of pine tree, others of snickerdoodle, there are some with the scent of warm cranberry and apple, then there are candy cane ones, also roasted chestnuts in an open fire and the last scent Jimin has bought is hot chocolate milk. Six different scents for six different hyungs. He hopes they at least like some of those candles even if they decided to share some of them and never lit some of the others.

”Oh Jimin-ah, those candles smell amazing! Should we burn one already?”, Taehyung asks while deciding which one he likes best.

Jimin who isn’t big on scented candles but knows that his hyungs like them, nods. He can always desensitize in his room later. Taehyung picks the snickerdoodle one and lits it, taking in the fragrance, while placing himself behind Jimin, pulling him closer. The older man wraps his arms around the younger’s waist when the maknae’s back touches the front of his sweater.

”That really smells amazing baby. This is such a nice surprise.”, he softly pecks Jimin’s neck, “talking about suprises, I have one for you. Can you turn around please?”, He whispers the last question in the teachers ear, who feels goosebumps errupt on his skin. The younger turns around in Tae’s hold.

The singer’s face is extremely close, with him being taller his lips are right in Jimin’s line of sight. The teacher gulps, averting his eyes to anywhere but his hyungs lips.

”Look up baby.”, Taehyung softly places his forehead against Jimin’s, noses nudging together.

Jimin slowly turns his head, to look up where he sees Taehyung’s hand holding a little plant with white berries.

”Do you know mistletoe Jimin-ah?”, Taehyung looks intently into Jimin’s eyes.

The younger can’t look away, he doesn’t want to either. He fits perfectly in Taehyung’s embrace and his view isn’t looking bad either. The elder’s lips are dark red, a bit swollen from biting on them. Clearly the singer is quite nervous himself, he doesn’t want to push the younger into something he doesn’t want to do, but he also really wants to kiss his baby.

“Yes”, Jimin whispers, “I do. Where did you get that?”

”When I told Kook we were going to decorate, he joked about hanging up mistletoe. I told him not to joke about these things, so when you went tree shopping I sent Jungkook a text, asking if he could bring home mistletoe from the tree patch if they sold it there and luckily for me they did.”, Taehyung smiles, watching Jimin’s eyeslashes flutter.

”Oh. That’s… I didn’t know…”, Jimin says, eyes locked on Tae’s lips.

”I know, I wanted it to be a surprise. Do you like it?”, Taehyung becomes a bit more serious, gaging Jimin’s reaction.

The younger nods and hums. The older smiles again, pulls Jimin even closer, there is no more room between them. Jimin’s reaction is instant though, his eyes flick from Tae’s lips to his eyes, to the plant in his hyungs hand. He gives his head a little nod, takes a deep breath and before he properly realises, the maknae stands up on his tippy toes, wraps his arms around his hyung’s neck and places his lips on Tae’s bright red one’s. The elder reacts immediately, he wraps both hands around Jimin’s waist and lifts him up. The teacher’s feet leave the floor, his right leg lifts itself up, like a proper foot pop. Just like Anne Hathaway experiences in the Princess Diaries, one of Jimin’s favourite movies. Jimin sighs in Taehyungs mouth happily. They kiss for quite some time and enjoy it so much that when the singer wants to put the teacher back down, the maknae just wraps his legs around Tae’s middle, refusing to let him go. So Taehyung just sits himself down on the couch with Jimin in his lap and continue their kissing. Once they are done they can’t stop laughing. Taehyung’s hands find themselves to Jimin’s cheeks, caressing him all the time, getting to know all the details of the younger’s face and with every part that he discovers he kisses it several times before moving on to a new part of his face. They are completely lost in each other, so much so that they startle once they hear the door. Jimin quickly drops himself next to Tae, trying to calm down his beating heart and willing away his flaming cheeks.

”Woah, it’s look so pretty in here.”

”So festive, this is great!”

”Our house in LA could never be this cosy!”

”You put in so much effort!”

”Is everything done?”

Both boys have to properly listen to catch all the comments from their friends. They are happy that they like the decorations though and love the amazement in their eyes.

”Oh, to answer the question whether everything is done, not yet. I only need to hang to mistletoe.”, Taehyung replies, “I was about to do that.”

”But you got distracted when you decided to hold it over Jimin’s head to kiss him, which you ended up doing.”, Yoongi replies while rolling his eyes.

Taehyung smiles smugly, Jimin ducks in his shoulder trying to hide his burning cheeks.

”It’s okay Jimin-ah, we don’t mind. After your kiss with Jungkook this was bound to happen. Besides with that mistletoe hanging here, believe me when I say that you’ll get a lot of kisses. We don’t need to come up with excuses now, we already have one.”, Yoongi lifts Taehyung’s hand that is holding the mistletoe and pulls Jimin closer, kissing him softly on the lips. When a shy smile appears, he softly takes Jimin’s hands in his. Jimin nods, so Yoongi puts their lips together again. He keeps it soft and gentle, very aware that the other members are watching this. The singer doesn’t want to make his friends jealous, he did want to kiss Jimin though, so for now he is happy with this delicate kiss, “We’ll spice things up when we are alone,” the older whispers to the younger, still hard enough for everyone to hear. Jimin giggles and softly hits Yoongi’s chest.

”This is enough kissing for now! We are all getting out of the hallway! How else am I going to get to the kitchen to cook dinner?! Besides, we need to discuss what we are going to do for Christmas so we can go shopping or order the food so it can be delivered on time!”, Jin says at the top of his lungs trying to get rid of the somewhat awkward atmosphere that’s hanging between the boys. They know they’ll be fine once they’ve asked Jimin to be their boyfriend, but for now, they can’t help but be slightly jealous of each other.

”Anyway, don’t you have better things to do then just standing there gawping at our Jimin? Let the boy live! CHOP CHOP! Gifts aren’t going to pack themselves, the table isn’t going to set itself… Just to give you an idea!”, Namjoon says, fulfilling his tasks as a leader, even though right now they aren’t working.

With everyone leaving, for their own beds to stash away the gifts they’ve been buying while Tae and Jimin were on their date, the teacher turns to the leader giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a thank you. Namjoon smiles, telling him that it’s no big deal. For Jimin and his anxiety it is though, showing his appreciation is the least he can do.

The few days that lead up to Christmas are filled with lots of laughter, good food, Christmas movies while being covered by soft blankets and drinking hot chocolate milk, snow fights, most beautiful snow man competition, all of them are won by Jimin obviously. Namjoon’s, Tae’s and Jin’s families also come over to spend time with their sons, their band members and the one boy they are madly in love with. Their parents, including the other three men’s parents are very open minded, especially after they get to know the younger. They all leave with the message to take good care of their precious little gem. Everyone’s already completely smitten with the maknae. Jimin learns for the first time in years what it means to be part of a functioning family and is able to put aside the disappointment of his family’s absence. He has called them, they have answered, told him to not bother them during this time of year, that they would not come over for the housewarming party and hung up. So yes, it does help to get to know three sets of parents up front, it makes him less nervous to meet the other two seeing as he already knows Jungkook’s, but it reminds him of his parents who clearly don’t care about him as much.

Of course the six men notice Jimin’s eyes grow sadder the closer it gets to Christmas, so they up their level of enthousiasm, the compliments and the attention they give to the younger. On Christmas eve Jimin is continuously wrapped in someone’s arms, carried everywhere he wants or needs to go, they watch all his favourite films and approximately every 17 minutes someone drags him unterneath the mistletoe. It’s never a kiss on the lips, Yoongi and Taehyung already did that so the rest wants something special for their first kiss, but he would get small Inuit kisses or little pecks on his forehead, button nose, chin and cheek. Jimin’s giggles fill the place which is a proper indication for his hyungs that they are doing a good job in keeping their little angel happy and safe.

If you ask Jimin he will tell you that Christmas is the most perfect day. All of them are sitting in Christmas onesies in front of the television with their umptieth cup of hot choco filled to the brim with whipped cream, tiny colourful marshamallows and red/green edible glitter. The room is lit by their Christmas tree, The fairy lights and some lit candles. They have been watching all the films Jimin really wanted to see throughout the week but didn't have the time for. The movies range from Nativity! to Elf, from The Holiday to Arthur Christmas, from White Christmas to Love Actually. After every film ends people are leaving the sofa’s to stretch their legs, have a bathroom break and fill up on snacks and drinks, they also change places so that they all sit next to Jimin for at least two hours. Evening has started now, all of them trying to hold on to stay up for as long as possible. At the moment they are watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, the younger is leaning into Hobi with his feet on Namjoon’s lap. He is ready to fall asleep with how comfortable he is until Jin mentions that they still haven’t opened the gifts and that they need to eat dinner. For the occasion they ordered their food, seeing as it was delivered around noon they still have to warm it up but according to Jin and Yoongi it wouldn’t take that long. So about half an hour later they are all enjoying Bulgogi with Sweet potato noodles and Kimchi. For dessert they are having steamed rice cake decorated with a lot of fruit. Around ten o’clock, their food is gone and the film has finished. They put the dishes in the sink, they’ll wash them tomorrow.

”JMin? Are you ready for your gifts?”, Jungkook asks him, a nervous smile on his face.

The younger nods, quickly receiving the presents from all the boys’ parents. They range from perfume to earrings, from cute socks to sweaters, from arts and crafts material for his class to a large leather briefcase. Jimin didn’t see this one coming. The fact that all those gifts also include little letters full of compliments, the maknae is on the verge of crying happy tears.

”Darling, we all have individual presents for you, but we also bought one from all of us. It’s the most important one, so is it okay if we give this one first?”, Namjoon asks, biting his lip.

The teacher nods. He told them he didn’t need presents, so he seriously doesn’t care about the order of presents or what they cost. Although he prefers for them to not have spent too much money on him. They hand him a bigger box wrapped in the cutest paper with adorable snowmen on. Jimin slowly peels the tape of the paper, not ripping it open, but carefully opening it as if it’s the most precious thing he’s ever gotten and knowing how much he disliked Christmas, it probably is. The boys watch him opening his gift with his small fingers and his tongue peeking out from him lips. All of them can’t help but to nervously look at each other with the softest smiles on their faces. Every time they think Park Jimin can’t get any more adorable he proves them wrong. When the wrapping paper hits the floor, he swiftly opens the lid of the box. The younger is confused. Sweater after sweater fill the carton box, all of them looking identical, except for the colours and the names on the back.

”Darling, you have to hand us our own sweater. Will you do that for us?”, the instruction coming from Jin, who looks at him encouragingly.

So that’s exactly what Jimin does.

”Yoongi hyung, this blue one is yours. Then we have purple for Tae hyung, Hobi hyung is orange and then there’s green for Joon hyung. Pink for Jin hyung and yellow for Kook hyung,” with all of the sweaters handed over to the six men, he finally grabs the last sweater, “lastly, this tie dye rainbow one is mine.”

Looking up at his housemates, who are sitting on the edge of their seats, he tilts his head in question, a silent  ‘now what’?

”Close your eyes love, then slowly count to ten”, Hobi tells him.

Once again Jimin follows the instructions perfectly. Opening his eyes, his mouth falls open wide, his eyes double in size. The sweater he is holding falls to the floor without him noticing. In front of Jimin are the six men standing up in order of age wearing the coloured sweaters the younger handed them a few minutes ago. His eyes sweep over the white words over and over again.

”Honey”, Yoongi looks at Jimin with so much love in his eyes,”can you please read your sweater out loud?”

Jimin finds that his lap is empty of any sweater. He quickly looks around and sees it on the ground. The back of the sweater reads Jimin, the front of the sweater reads “Angelic Boyfriend to Boyfriends nr 1, nr 2,  nr 3, nr 4, nr 5 and nr 6.

”Minnie…”, the teacher looks up at his best friend who is wearing the sweater that says ‘Boyfriend nr 6’, “if I tell you that I’ve been in love with you since forever, want you to be my boyfriend and am willing to share you with my friends who have also fallen madly in love with you… Will you…”

“What Jungkook – ah is trying to say Baby is that we don’t want you to choose between us. All of us see how torn you are by the idea of having to only pick one of us as your boyfriend and if all of us are being completely honest… The idea of five of us not being yours is painful, if not scary. Of course if you really only want one of us we will accept it and we will be happy for you and whoever would be your boyfriend, but if you feel the same way we do… We only want what is best for you. So before you start to worry your pretty little head, we have talked a lot about it. All of us would be your boyfriend but not each other’s. We’ll need to have the best communication though, because we all are going to want to spend alone time with you, but in general we’re already hanging out all the time together, we want to take care of you and we really want to make you happy. With that being our main goal, it’s going to be so much easier to have five other people to rely on. So, this is us formally asking you to be our boyfriend.”, Taehyung, Boyfriend nr 5, finishes his little speech.

Tears are streaming over Jimin’s cheeks, a hand in front of his mouth, his other hand hugging the sweater close to his chest, not believing this is happening right now.

”You would honestly be okay with it?”, Jimin asks, trying to wipe off the tears that keep on coming.

”Yeah… We really would Love”, Hobi who is wearing the Boyfriend nr 3 sweater replies with the biggest smile on his face, “it might not always be easy and we probably will fight with each other and be jealous of someone else, but we are willing to work through it especially when the end goal is to keep you happy. You having to pick has been giving you so much stress, we don’t want that for you.”

”What about my family? Society? I just…”, Jimin tries to say, but his brain seems to just… stop…

”Darling, your family hasn’t been your family in a long time. I hope you can forgive me when I say that none of us care about their opinion. If I’m being really honest, I hope you forget about them. Their words only cause you to doubt yourself and hide your true self. Society? Who cares about them when they don’t care about you?! But we know that this is a concern so we talked about it and we agreed. Whenever we are in public we will not hold hands, hug or kiss, unless you initiate it. Whenever we are taking care of you, because we can’t shut that part of ourselves off, we will do it on the down-low.”, Jin, or Boyfriend nr 1 takes a hold of the maknae’s hand.

“Our fans?”, Boyfriend nr 4 or Namjoon continues, “Well, we’ll probably not outright say that we are together, but our posts on social media and our actions will imply enough. Those who support us, will support you though. Besides our company already knows of this and they support us. They have seen how happy we are around  you, they only want the best for us. None of us are planning on hiding you Sweetheart. ”

“If someone is hateful towards you we’ll deal with it the way we are dealing with it now, through our company and our lawyers, we’ll just be that tad more protective. So we will need you to be honest about being harassed in any shape or form Honey. Otherwise we can’t protect you properly… Well, that is if you’ll have us.”, Yoongi, whose nervously pulling on his Boyfriend nr 2 sweater, tells him.

”So Minnie”, Jungkook kneels down in front of his best friend and the love of his life, lifts his chin to make sure the younger is looking him in the eye, places his hand on the boy's cheek and says gently “Now we are going to close our eyes, count to ten… Just like you did. When we open our eyes to you wearing the sweater we’ll be the happiest, most luckiest men in the world. No pressure though, we will also understand it when you aren’t wearing the sweater. I promise you we won’t be angry or upset with you, we might just work harder to convince you though.”

Jungkook winks, wipes away some of Jimin’s tears and takes his place at the end of the row.

”We’ll start counting now.”, Joon says, all of them close their eyes and start to count down in sync.

Jimin smiles to himself because of course only they would do that synchronised.

”...3, 2, 1”

Opening their eyes at the same time, they make the loudest whooping noises.

”Are you sure?”, Hobi asks, trying to contain himself, just to make sure this is really happening.

With the biggest smile on his face, tears still soundlessly streaming down his cheeks, does the younger stand up to make sure his sweater is visible to all of them. It’s quite big on him, his hands being engulfed by the sleeves, the hem reaching his knees, but none of them care… It just makes him even more adorable. Jimin nods. The rest of the boys open their arms, inviting him to join them in a grouphug. The teacher giggles, ready to run to them but in true fashion trips over his own feet. Large hands catch him before he can fall down, lift him up and pull him in the middle of their hug.

Jimin can’t believe it, doesn’t think he deserves it, but when he hears them whisper the next words he, for once, let’s go of his doubts and fears. Just basking in the love he is showered with.


“Our boyfriend”
“We absolutely adore you”
“Bangtan’s Angel”
“Our perfect man”
“We are going to take such good care of you”
”Thank you for liking us too”
“We are the luckiest”
”None of us deserve you”
”Your giggles are too adorable”
”We just can’t get enough of you”

The list goes on for a long time. It’s safe to say that for once in his life Jimin feels well and truly loved, wanted. 

Chapter 12

Notes:

Hi!

Here we go! Chapter 12 of My best friend! It's like 90% fluff and 10% drama.
I hope you enjoy it!

Xo,
I.

PS: Find me on twitter :)
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

PPS: Happy Birthday to out best leader Namjoon! 💜

Chapter Text

 

Between Christmas and New Year, Bangtan often finds Jimin walking around the house in his tie dyed sweater. The shorts he’s wearing underneath barely visible, but it’s not like they would notice them anyway. Their attention is on the sweater that claims Jimin as their boyfriend, seeing him wear it always and with pride makes them preen. It doesn’t help that he matches them with knee socks in the colour of their own sweaters. Now that they know how good Jimin looks in knee socks and long sweaters it is their mission to have him in that outfit and that outfit alone for as long as they can. Unfortunately for the six men the week passes by too quickly, which means that all of them have to go back to work. Having been cooped up in the apartment, there has not been a lot of room for one on one time. It’s not like they are craving it, but for some of them, especially the one’s that haven’t shared their first kiss  yet, they are longing for it. Especially after they found out that Yoongi had managed to say those big three words to their angel. Not that those words are that big, they are exactly 8 letters, but the meaning of it all… Yeah, that is definitely huge. To the men, it came as both a surprise and not a surprise at all that Yoongi was the first one. He is quiet when it comes to words, hence why they didn’t think he’d be the first one to say it, but the eldest rapper was definitely amongst the first who fell hard and fast. Jungkook couldn’t be beaten for first place, but Yoongi was for sure second or third. He was right there with Jungkook the minute he laid his eyes upon Jimin.

Jimin looks dead on his feet when he stumbles into Yoongi, who is still working on his laptop at 4 in the morning. All of them are still at the studio. Some are in their private studio’s at Big Hit, some are still at dance practice, seeing as this comeback is about to be very dance heavy. Easy moves though, something everyone is really happy about but that means the boys of the dance line are even more excited than normal to come up with their own choreography. As always they had a discussion first, bring Jimin with them into the Big Hit building or for one of them to join him at home. The decision was made for Jimin to stay at home. School was about to start again, the best option for him was to catch up on sleep and have him relax in his last few days as much as possible, something that would not be the case if he were to join them. Sure they still have their dorm there and those beds are extremely cosy, but with Jimin not being comfortable in new beds and with them not wanting Jimin to leave their side he would end up sleeping on the floor of the studio… Images of Jimin having a soar back, a headache and a stiff neck flashed by. Groans left their mouths, they are not putting their maknae through that. So in the most honest way (rock paper scissors) they decided on who got to stay at home and today it was Yoongi. Earlier that day he had cooked for the younger, they had played a game of scrabble (which Yoongi won seeing as he has a way with words), they then went for a walk and around 10.30 pm the rapper had put his boyfriend in bed with a kiss on his head, one on his nose and one on his lips. Only once he was sure Jimin was asleep did he take his laptop and started editing songs, while also writing down lyrics whenever they popped into his head.
Working always made him lose track of time, but with Jimin falling on top of him, tears in his eyes, face devoid of all colours, his lips forming into a pout and the grabby hands he is currently making  for the older, he quickly saves his work, puts his computer aside, glances at the clock and lets the younger climb in his lap.

”Honey?”, He softly asks his boyfriend, getting a little hum in return,”nightmare?”.

Jimin nods, putting his face in the crook of Yoongi’s neck, taking in his cologne. He instantly relaxes, puts his arms around the elder’s waist, hugging him as close as possible. The embrace might have been a little too tight for Yoongi, but if his boyfriend is content this way then who is he to complain about it. The rapper runs his fingers through the black, soft hair of the boy in his lap. The maknae leans into the touch, sighing happily.

”Do you want to hear a new song of mine?”, the rapper whispers, trying to soothe his boyfriend into a peaceful slumber.

He gets no response, but he presses some buttons anyway. Soft, relaxing music flows through his speakers, Yoongi’s voice mixes perfectly into it when he starts humming along.

”This is inspired by you, dedicated to you and for your ears only Honey.”

A small smile appears on Jimin’s face. His eyes flutter a little but when they refuse to open, he gives a soft kiss to the elder’s neck. Not much later the teacher’s breath evens out, his hands fall slack next to Yoongi’s body. He repeats the song three more times until he’s sure that Jimin is asleep. Then he puts his headphones in his computer, so that he can keep working on Bangtan’s new songs without waking his boyfriend up. Every so often he kisses the crown of his head. When it’s 6 am, he shuts down his computer, carefully picks up Jimin, holds him steady with one hand on his lower back, the other one at the back of his neck and walks him to his bedroom. Jungkook gave his hyung the permission to sleep next to the maknae, so without hesitation he places Jimin in the bed, covers him up with the blanket and walks to his bed where his pyjama’s are lying neatly folded up. Yoongi practically jumps into them, runs back to the bedroom and slides into the bed next to the maknae. He takes him in his arms and somewhat resumes the position they were in earlier. Jimin’s face is placed in the rapper’s neck, their torsos close together. Yoongi wraps his arms around Jimin to hold him close, to keep him safe. A kiss is placed on the teacher’s forehead, the rapper then nuzzles their noses together.

”I love you honey. So much”, the words leave Yoongi’s mouth and even though it wasn’t planned, he doesn’t take them back because nothing is more true.  

Hiding his face in Jimin’s hair, he closes his eyes, ready to fall asleep for a few hours.

”Love you too Yoon Hyung.”

Four hours later finds Yoongi already back in the kitchen making breakfast for his boyfriend and his five friends who have finally arrived back home after having worked the entire night. Jimin walks out of the bedroom, still very tired and hugs all of the men sitting around the table. They eat breakfast in silence, all of them too exhausted to hold a conversation. The other Bangtan members finally leave for their bed after helping with the clean up. Whenever Jimin stands up he is pushed down on his chair again, all of them refusing his help, still very much wanting him to rest up and with him not having slept a lot the previous night they aren’t taking any chances on him overly exhausting himself. Once everyone is asleep does Jimin turn towards his hyung that is still awake.

”Yoon hyung, can I ask you a question?”

”Of course Honey. What’s up?”

”Well… I think I heard something yesterday, but I’m not… sure…”

”Do you want to tell me about it?”, Yoongi asks, sitting himself next to Jimin, opening his arms so the younger can crawl back on his lap if he wants to, which the younger does.

”Last night… Did you… Maybe… Tell me…”, The teacher stops the minute he feels another presence nearby. Taehyung apologises for interrupting their conversation, he’s just going to get a glass of water in the kitchen. Yoongi takes one of Jimin’s hands in his and laces their fingers together, then he boops his nose against his boyfriend’s cheek as a sign to continue.

”DidYouTellMeYouLoveMeLastNight?”, Jimin rambles, rushing through his words.  

Yoongi squeezes Jimin’s hand, looks him straight in the eyes and nods. The younger’s smile grows so wide it’s beaming sunshine through the room. He kisses his hyung, soft and slow, putting all his feelings in it. The rapper answers the kiss almost immediately, his hands on Jimin’s waist. He ends the tender kiss by putting their heads together, mouthing ‘I love you’ to Jimin who mouths it right back.

 


”Is this everything? Are all the boxes inside the house? Or is there more?”, Jin asks, tiredly setting down the heavy box he carried inside.

”I honestly think that’s it. If not then who is the one with the most stuff and how much can I burn because I do not want to carry those boxes all around the house.”, Yoongi grumbles.

”The truck is empty. I thanked the driver and send him home. So if we miss something it must still be in the apartment. How about we start putting the boxes in the right room to make some space in here. I’ve noticed that some of our furniture has been delivered already, it’s all stored in the garage, so we can at least put the table and chairs in the livingroom and have dinner. I think all of us are starving.”, Namjoon tells the others. They all easily agree.

”Is it okay to order something in today, because I honestly don’t feel like cooking.”, Jin says, still slightly out of breath.

”Yeah, of course. I honestly don’t think any of us expected you or Yoongi hyung to cook for the next couple of days. We don’t even have groceries. How about we go for fried chicken and beer.”, almost everyone agrees with Hobi but they see the youngest one scrunching his nose, eyebrows together. It’s a clear look of disgust, which looks absolutely adorable to all of them, “hot chocolate milk for our little angel? Or fizzy drinks?”

Jimin blushes. He can drink, he just doesn’t like it and most of the alcoholic beverages he has tried he honestly just doesn’t like, but dating six men who love their alcohol… Jimin often feels like a child when he’s with them. It doesn’t help that he’s the youngest and the smallest either. Mostly he wouldn’t care though, he loves when they dote on him but right now being this tired, ready to drop his body on the floor and not move, he wishes they wouldn’t pay that much attention to the fact that half of the time he basically is a small child himself. Jimin noticed, and he’s sure the others do too, that he gives in to their care so much easier than before. Of course he is still stubborn and hates when they pay for him, but when it doesn’t cost them anything, he will easily accept it. Nowadays it’s rare for him to not be cuddled up to someone, or not sitting in someone’s lap, even sleeping on his own hasn’t happened in the 21 days they have been officially together, whenever he’s at school he gets baraged with tons of text messages or right before lunch there’s a knock on the door from his secretary who is holding a basket full of homemade foods (surprisingly not only made by Jin and Yoongi). Jimin enjoys it, he refuses to lie about that, but sometimes he wishes they were a little less obvious about it all and let him believe he is still an adult.

“I’ll just drink some water hyung, I don’t need anything fancy.”, Jimin replies.

”No, that will not do. It’s our first meal in our new place, we have to celebrate.”, Jungkook disagrees, “At least go for hot chocolate milk, that’s quite festive Minnie.”

”I’m sure Tae hyung will let me have a sip of his fruit soju.”, Tae easily nods, agreeing with Jimin’s statement, “There, problem solved.”

Food is ordered, boxes are placed in the right room and the living room furniture is being put together. In the background there is music playing and small talk fills the room. When the food arrives they quickly clean up the few empty boxes and put aside the half assembled pieces of furniture. For now they have a table, eight chairs, a small table and a bookcase.

Three days later most rooms are put in order, only the practice rooms, a few studios and the garden are somewhat unfinished. Jimin also has some trouble placing some of his items. He keeps wondering about the items he’ll put in his own bedrooms and the other items he’ll put in his boyfriends’ rooms so that he doesn’t always have to go this room whenever he sleeps over at one his lovers’ rooms. So far he split all of his clothes into the seven rooms, his diy material is put in the crafts corner they made for him in the livingroom, his shoes are all in the closet in the hall except for slippers in each room. Not that he owed them before, Jimin is a walking barefoot kind of guy, but his six boyfriends love having matching slippers and at least one pair of matching tshirts, so they all bought Jimin a tshirt in the colour they picked to ask Jimin to be their boyfriend at Christmas. They all have the imprint “boyfriend of boyfriend nr…”, it was absolutely cute. All of them also gave Jimin a tshirt of their own for him to sleep in. To say that all those shirts are a bit big on him is an understatement, they are basically dresses. His boyfriends love it though and secretly, well not so secretly, so does Jimin. Whenever he gets to wear his boyfriends clothes he feels twice as loved. Currently he is writing the addresses on the envelopes of their housewarming invites, after having given up on figuring out in which room he was going to put which jewellery. At first Jimin owned a few rings, two necklaces and about 4 earrings, but seeing as he has six very rich boyfriends who love to see him sparkle, he’s gained much more, against his will of course.



”What are you doing baby?”, Taehyung asks, walking behind him with grocery bags in his hands, giving Jimin a peck on his cheek and then on his lips when Jimin turns his head to the older and puckers his lips. None of them can deny him kisses and none of them want to.  

“These are the envelopes of our housewarming invitations. I’m nearly done writing them and then I can send them. There’s something so satisfying writing these by hand.”, Jimin smiles, “What did you buy?”

”Ah, let me show you”, Taehyung puts all the bags on the table and starts to unload them, “I’ve got Earl Grey Tea, English Breakfast Tea, and a few fruit flavoured teas that I thought you might like, some chocolate chip cookies, bars of dark chocolate and fresh cream to make whipped cream from because I know you love home made hot choco, strawberry jam, blueberries. They also had paint, crayons and different coloured paper on sale so I bought those. The paper is cool though, there’s some fun colours in there, but there are also prints on there like watermelon, sparkly silver, flowers, butterflies. The kids in your class are going to love it. So yeah, I just had to take them.”

Taehyung is still rummaging in his bags when he hears the question coming from Jimin’s mouth.

”Hyung? Why? You didn’t have to buy all this. There’s enough food in the fridge and I have enough art supplies. Although I have to agree that the paper is insanely cool. I want to start doing origami with it straight away and I do love myself a good cup of chocolate milk with cookies.”, Jimin giggles,”Thank you Taehyung hyung.”

”Aha! Here it is, I also noticed that your lips were bright red and chapped from the harsh wind and the cold so I bought the chapstick that apparently works the best, I don’t want my boyfriend to be in any pain. I love you too much for that. Also, this handlotion. You have to wash your hands an insane amount during the day seeing as you have to wipe off all those kids bums, also after your art moments in class when your hands are covered with paint or glue... So, to make sure that your hands aren’t dried out I bought this tube! It works wonders on my hands.”

When Taehyung looks up he sees Jimin stare at him, eyes big, shock on his face.

”Baby? Did I do something wrong? Did I buy the wrong thing?”, Taehyung asks panicked, quickly walking to Jimin to put his hands on his cheeks and look for something wrong on his baby’s face. He knows he might react very irrational, but it is Jimin we are talking about, the one person he can’t stand to get hurt or upset.

”You… you… love? You love me?”, Jimin stutters, still somewhat in shock, not expecting to hear those words in the middle of a summary of a shopping spree.

”Ah yes… So you caught that huh. Well, no point in lying.”, Taehyung says while still holding on to Jimin, “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I wasn’t in love with you baby. The ground opened up underneath my feet when I laid my eyes upon you the first time and I haven’t stopped falling. I honestly was planning on telling you with a romantic date with lots of unscented candles and no mango’s on the menu whatsoever, but I guess my mouth was faster than my brain. I honestly do love you my baby.”, Taehyung caresses Jimin’s cheeks with his thumb and places his lips softly on Jimin’s full one’s.

”I love you too hyung”, Jimin says with his lips still against Tae’s, “I never thought I could love more than one person at a time, but I am so in love with you hyung, thank you for knowing my heart better than I did.”

Over the next couple of days, they get replies back from their friends and Bangtan’s parents. Every time Jimin sees the mailman he runs to the mailbox, looking for the replies they’ve gotten. At first he is ecstatic, getting all the replies back with extra words of excitement and love, he is ready for the housewarming to happen. The more replies they have gotten though, the more he becomes silent and absent. Sure, his parents announced earlier on that they wouldn’t attend the housewarming, but for some reason he kept hoping and wishing. Seeing their invitation go unanswered hurts him more than he likes to admit. Jimin never kept it a secret that he isn’t close with his parents, that their views on society and gay people in society aren’t his beliefs, that he doesn’t think he needs to be more perfect than anyone else to outbalance him being gay, but he thought that they could get passed it seeing as all of them are adults. He guesses they don’t feel the same way about it, he accepts it but he can’t grasp it. None of the other parents’ are upset with their children for having different opinions, then why can’t his be like that? Bit by bit his enthousiasm wears off, he just can’t feel happy about it anymore. What doesn’t help is that he has a gut feeling something is about to happen. It has been lingering in his system for a few days and at first he thought he would disappear by itself, but even after the realisation that his parents weren’t going to come to the party it is still there. Normally he would confide in his boyfriends but literally nothing has happened just yet and maybe it’s just his anxiety spiking for no reason. His boyfriends in turn notice the change in their lover’s mood. If they could they would call his parents and tell them off, but they know Jimin would stop them in a heartbeat. His happiness is what they strive for, so if that means not calling them out they won’t. It hurts them though, to see him this sad, to not hear his giggles, to not be on the receiving end of his hugs and kisses.

So when the day of the party arrives they let Jimin take the lead, they notice that he calms down when he has something to do. To most it would put extra pressure on them, to Jimin it stops the fidgeting of his hands, the worried whispers in his head, the tapping of his feet and he only pushed his hair back four times instead of forty times. All of them expect Jimin to snap at them at least once, but even when they don’t understand their task straight away or drop something or have too many questions he stays calm and collected. This is nothing compared to a class of 25 five year olds.

Jimin is happy to be reunited with Taemin and Sehun, with Kai and Eunwoo. They get along so well, adding six families to the mix suprisingly works out well. The day flies by with the house tours that are given, the lounging in the garden by campfires and heat lamps. Relief is flooding through Jimin when he notices no one is judging them once they properly understand what their relationship entails. How they are all Jimin’s boyfriends, but not each others. There is no judgement, there are no foul looks and there are no insults. Before they know they are already eating dinner that is completely prepared by the two oldest men in the household. Everyone is enjoying the Korean BBQ with the many side dishes. There is so much food they are sure everyone can take some food home. After dinner gifts are opened, not that they needed anything which their friends and families are aware of, so they bought them picture frames, fairy lights, some extra garden decorations and more arts and crafts material for the teacher. Even though he is grateful for it, he also feels like he can start his own little arts and crafts store, that’s the amount of materials he owns.

With food out of the way most of the parents are ready to go home. They leave with well wishes for their sons and Jimin, who they by now have all adopted into their families. As parents they straight away noticed that despite the fun he had during the day, that there was a certain sadness lingering behind his eyes and it makes them inwardly curse his parents. All good and well that they don’t mind him being gay, but the fact that they don’t show him and in turn for their acceptance of him expect perfection when the little one is already so perfect in every way… No, they don’t understand any of it. So with the biggest hugs and a lot of kisses on both his cheeks they finally leave, telling him to call them whenever he needs something or if they need to deal with their sons whenever he is done with them. Jimin is grateful for all these new people in his life. Knowing how nervous he was to meet them and for what. It makes his heart happy, but there is also a small streak of jealousy towards his boyfriends. They were able to grow up in loving households and even though he is happy for them, he silently wishes he could have had that too. He is happier than he was at the start of the day though, having gained six families that morphed into one big family and accepted his friends in the mean time, Jimin could definitely think of worse ways his day could have gone. So he is not going to jinx it, he is just going to bask in the glory of this perfect day. Jimin returns back to his friends who stay for an hour longer but then leave seeing as everyone has work or school the next day. The four men leave with more hugs for the younger who by now has a permanent smile fixed on his face.

The day doesn’t end with everyone leaving though. His boyfriends whisk him away from his spot at the door once he’s closed it, basically dragging him towards the couch placing him in the middle. To say Jimin is confused is an understatement, especially when the six men surrounding him turn to face him.

”My sweet darling, we know you have gotten a lot of gifts today but we can’t end this day without adding one.”, Jin says while taking the maknae’s hands in his.

”You know we all adore you Minnie and even if not all of us have had our first kiss or said those three words to you because we all want those firsts to be special when it comes to you, we all agree that you are the most precious gift in our lives.”, Jungkook continues, putting his arm around his best friend's shoulders.

”Because you are the best gift we could have ever gotten, we want to give you something in return. Something that can never beat you as a gift but that hopefully comes close, Love”, Hobi adds, caressing his knee.
 
”A gift that shows you exactly how we feel even if we haven’t said it out loud, to make sure you never doubt our intentions, that reminds you that we will always be there for you Honey”, Yoongi smiles at him, then kisses his cheek softly.  

”Watching you talk and laugh with our families, you have no clue what that did to us. Sweetheart, knowing that you are officially a part of our families, it makes our hearts soar. On top of you being ours, it’s as if our hearts are ready to fly away to higher grounds and burst into a million tiny pieces of sparkling confetti.”, Namjoon boops his button nose, making Jimin giggle.

”We never thought we could have been even happier than when we are on stage, but being with you, being around you, having you as ours… We live in the palm of your hand, our hearts are yours for as long as you’ll have us Babe. As a reminder of all that but also of the fact that you are ours and we won’t ever let you go, please accept this gift and wear it always.”, Taehyung hands over a little box, waiting for his boyfriend to accept it.

Tears are rolling over Jimin’s cheeks, he feels so loved and he doesn’t even know what's in the box yet. His boyfriends words were more than enough to make him feel all fuzzy inside. Opening the lid of the box he sees the most elegant looking key, long and slim with all of their names ingraved on it in their own handwriting. When the younger looks up he sees all of them wearing a necklace with a lock that matches Jimin’s key perfectly. They show him that on the back his name is ingraved in once again their own handwriting so that they share the same necklace but with some difference on it. Each of their locks are different, but the part where the key fits is exactly the same. With shaking hands he gives his key to Tae who is still sitting in front of him, silently asking him to put on the necklace for him. He hugs all of them, wiping some of his tears on their shirts, but they don’t care.                       

Jimin ends up falling asleep in Jungkook’s room, exhausted from the emotional struggle he’s been going through throughout the day, surrounded by all of his lovers. None of them want to leave him behind, not when all of them basically told them that they are in it for life, that they can’t live without him. The unease the younger has felt in the past few days disappears when he feels his boyfriends hold him close, he feels calm for the first time in a while.

The alarm clock next to his bed wakes him up at 7am sharp, he crawls out of the empty bed, a note on the pillow next to him telling him that the other men have already left for work and a reminder to eat the breakfast his hyungs have cooked for him. With a last look in the mirror Jimin leaves for his job as well 45 minutes after he stumbled out of bed. When he arrives in school he is one of the first people to enter the building. The hallways are still dark, barely any lights are on, so on his way to his classroom he turns on every light he passes. His eyes spot a picture on his door from a few meters away, he smiles to himself, probably one of his kids that stuck it on there Friday after he already left to surprise him once the weekend was over. Nearing his door though, Jimin’s smile disappears, he quickly looks left and right, behind him and quickly opens the door to make sure his classroom his empty. On the door is a picture of him as a devil telling him to stay away from ‘our boys’. Goosebumps arise on his skin and Jimin is ready to crawl in a corner and hide himself from the world. To say that he is scared is a massive lie, he is terrified. 

 

Sadly he doesn’t have long to give in to his feelings seeing as half an hour later the first kids enter his classroom, so he pulls himself together, hides the pictures in his bag, forces a smile on his face and for eight hours fakes his way through being happy. Fake it till you make it and all that.

When he finally comes home, he makes sure all the doors are locked and all the curtains are drawn. He checks up on every security camera to make sure they work in case something happens today. Paranoia has nestled itself in his brain all through the day and he is ready to combust. Jimin’s worked up a headache throughout the day and his heart is going in overdrive, so he decides to make himself a cup of tea in order to calm down until Namjoon comes home to him in an hour. Opening his twitter is the cause of his next anxiety attack, because he's tagged in thousands of tweets with a link attached to it. He does the one thing he knows he shouldn’t do and clicks on the link that leads him to a whole different website. It’s a petition to remove Jimin from Bangtan’s lives, as an acquaintaince, as a friend or as more if that is the case. The picture has his eyes crossed out and insults are written around his head. The younger is already creeped out, but seeing these two pictures, the one from the petition and the one on his door and knowing that they got them from the school website… The effort they put into gaining those photo’s… And all because he knows Bangtan, which was not his choice by the way because a few weeks ago he was still blissfully unaware of the members in that band… Jimin knows that he should tell his boyfriends but they are busy and he doesn’t want to bother them. Officially all of them are still on hiatus but they are already preparing for the next comeback whenever that one might be, as far as Jimin is aware they haven’t decided on a date yet, but it’s still not for a few months, but you can’t rush perfectionists.



Looking at the petition and the 14.167 signatures it has already he’s thinking that maybe leaving his lovers be is the best option. He has caused more than enough drama. What if their fans demand the members to choose? Of course they would pick their career. They would be stupid not to. One person who loves them or millions of people who love them? The choice is easily made. Although the thought hurts him a lot, he knows he will have to think that over, but not right now, because he has to go open the door. That is after he stills his heart from beating out of his chest. His doorbell going off is the last thing Jimin thought would happen tonight, but well… Jimin almost falling off his chair also happened because of it… A letter is almost straight away pushed in his hand the minute he opens the front door.

”Here’s your mail. Did you change your address already?”, The elderly man in front of him asks, “I don’t mind bringing it here, but I’m not that young anymore so the less I have to drive back and forth… Also, I’m busy looking for a new tenant to live in your old place. I can’t do that if I have to bring you your mail all the time.”

”I have changed it, weeks ago when I was still living in your building. Maybe I have forgotten to contact someone? I’m sorry if that is the case. I would hate to be an inconvenience to you. Next time you get my mail for whatever reason just call me, I’ll pick it up myself. Thank you for bringing this over though. I’m very grateful.”, Jimin bows, showing as much respect as possible.

”I will say this, I’m going to miss you in my building. Always so polite! Kids these days… Nothing but rude creatures who think too highly of themselves. If you ever want to move back, let me know. I’ll work it out.”, Jimin’s old landlord winks at him, turns around to get back into his car and with a last wave of his hand drives off.

The enveloppe in the teacher’s hand is opened before he even reaches the chair he was sitting on ten minutes ago. Out of it comes another picture of Jimin. This one he remembers being taken by Sehun two years ago. The idea to take pictures of the younger friend as a teacher in order to find the right picture to add to his resume came to them one night when they were bored out of their minds. About 25 pictures were taken, 3 made the cut. Jimin never found out what happened to those pictures seeing as he always used a different picture during his jobhunt. The fact that one of those pictures ended up in front of him right now, it gives him another heart attack. By now he’s sure that he’s lost five years of his life.

When Jimin hears noise at the front door he quickly closes his twitter and throws the pictures in a box in his arts and crafts station. He’ll move them to his room later on. For now, he just needs to make sure that the evidence of all this creepiness is gone so that his boyfriend doesn’t suspect a thing. A tiny voice in his head tells him to talk to Namjoon. That the older will understand, that he will help and for a hot minute Jimin is ready to give in.

”Hey Sweetheart. How was your day? Did you have fun with those little munchkins?”

”Yeah, they were really well behaved today and in a very cuddly mood. I have to say, some of them might give better hugs than you guys do.”, Jimin smiles, trying to push the day’s events to the background.

“Oh really, I’ll show you how wrong you are in that assessment.”, Namjoon says while taking big steps towards Jimin, basically throwing his jacket on the first chair he walks by and quickly engulfs Jimin in his arms. The teacher leans in immediately, his arms holding on tightly to the leader’s sides. He is clinging on for dear life, losing himself in the smell of his boyfriend.

”I missed you so much today, more than usual”, Namjoon whispers bending down so his nose can touch Jimin’s, “For some weird reason I had this feeling that something was wrong, that you needed help. Did you need me? Or us?”

”I always need you Joon hyung, but everything is fine. You can stop worrying”, Jimin whispers back even softer, it helps him to forget everything around him. He’s engulfed in the bubble that is Namjoon and that is all he needs right now.

”Promise?”, The elder asks, the sound of his voice still very quiet, very comforting.

Jimin nods, not answering out loud doesn’t really count as lying does it?

Namjoon smiles, and slowly sinks down through his knees even more, his lips almost on Jimin’s. It’s the younger who closes the gap between the both of them. The kiss is gentle, caring and absolutely perfect. The leader’s hand cups Jimin’s cheek, the other one pulls the maknae even closer to him. They stay in this position for what feels like at least an hour. Jimin decides that he will tell Namjoon about the pictures, but not now, later. Right now he wants to enjoy his first kiss, well kisses, with his very handsome boyfriend.

Chapter 13

Notes:

Hi,

Chapter 13 has arrived! I'm sorry it took me a month to update, but here we are!
A bit of drama, some fluff and a solution for their future. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know how you feel about the drama/the fluff and whether you like the idea they've come up with.

Xo,
I.

Ps: It's the last hour of Jimin's birthday here, so I'm posting this without having proof read this! I'll do it straight after, but if you are by any chance a fast reader, please forgive me if there are lots of mistakes in here.
For now: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMIN! 🎈
I hope your day was just as perfect as you are!

PPS: Find me on Twitter :)
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

It’s been a week since the landlord of his previous place dropped of his mail and with that the third picture of Jimin being threatened to stay away from Bangtan. Not a word has been uttered about the fright he felt that day, his boyfriends don’t need to know. Nothing else has happened, so it was probably a few fans who wanted to have a laugh and see how he would deal with it. Joke’s on them though, because ignoring it seemed to do the trick.



Today he’s in school longer than normal, it’s the beginning of February which means that his school is holding their annual Art Exhibition with art that has been made by all the students that is being displayed for their parents. It’s also a fundraiser seeing as the art can be bought. Of course the parents know that isn’t high quality art work, but they are always endeared by their children’s work and end up taking it home at the end of the evening for a small price. This always motivates the students to make more than one piece of work, so the sum of all these small amounts mostly adds up to a big number with which they buy new school desks, chairs or fancy blackboards. Last year they were able to buy a few school computers, this year they want to renew some playground equipment and repaint the kindergarden classes into something more bright and fun. The exhibition always lasts two days, every first Thursday and Friday of February. Yesterday was already a success, but today there’s even more people. Fridays aren’t just for paintings, drawings, clay works, origami art, etc… It also gives the musical children a chance to shine. In the middle of watching a small concert by a group of 11 and 10 – year olds who are rocking out to some 80’s classics, at the moment they are covering ‘I want to break free’ by Queen and are actually pulling it off, a girl walks up to the teacher who is currently holding a cup of coffee in his hand and is leaning against the wall in the back of the room. Whenever he has the chance to escape the parents for a few minutes he makes the most of it by withdrawing himself from the noise.

”Hi, Mr Park right?”, the girl asks, putting on a very sweet smile.

”Yes?”, Jimin is immediately back to professional mode, eventhough he feels very uncomfortable by the penetrating look she is giving him.

The girl walks even closer to him, so close that she can put her lips against the teacher’s ear, “Are you sure it’s wise to drink hot coffee? Have you forgotten what happened to you last time?”

Jimin’s body goes stiff, nerves are coursing through his body, fear filling his heart. He doesn’t react to the statement, if he ignores it, if he ignores the girl, she might step away. She doesn't though.

“I just wanted to ask if you’ve gotten our pictures? You have been awfully quiet about them. To be fair, I thought you would have at least told Bangtan, seeing as the last time we came after you they released a whole statement and all, which was very cute by the way. The problem is though, even though they might like you and my little brother might be fond of you, I can see you for who you really are. A gold digger. Let’s be real here, you probably found out where they were through twitter, travelled to a place where they were filming or eating or something, pretended to not know them, play all cute around them, giggle a bit and then weasel your way into their lives. You did what we have been trying to do for so long and you won’t share with us how you did that? That’s just plain mean. Also, you should know that Bangtan isn’t gay, they are just pretending. It's just to soothe their gay fans, to make it seem like they have a chance. So even though you might be their friend now, your little crush is not going to just spark a gay flame into their hearts. This is going nowhere, because once they meet me and my friends you are out of the picture. So do as you have been doing and stay quiet about those pictures, but also pack your bags from your new house with them and leave them be. You are poison. Nothing more and we will not stand for it. If you don’t leave them behind, we will make sure that you leave. Our eyes are on you Jimin-ssi, they have been for a while, even if you thought we were laying low. We know everything about you and we are not afraid to use that for our benefit. What I mean with that is, if we have to lie about things, edit you in certain situations that look real, we will. Consider this your last warning! Also, good job on being my baby brother’s favourite teacher, he didn’t like his previous educators but he hopps to school this year. Thank you for taking care of him. So please, don’t make me destroy you, because even though I will somewhat enjoy that, I will also be sad about it. You have been warned.”

With that the girl wipes away the evil look of her face turns around and goes back to her baby brother who hold her hands and smiles up to her with the biggest grin, a few teeth missing from his mouth.

Right now, Jimin just doesn’t know what to do. He wants to leave, but as a teacher he just can’t, he is going to have to sit this event out. The one thing he is happy about is that he asked his boyfriends to not show up. Not because he didn’t want the support, but to keep this day about the students, which probably wouldn’t be the case once the idols walked into the building. They weren’t upset about the request, they didn’t even make a fuss about it. Now though, Jimin wished that they had done that and that he found a way to have them with him here in the school, that he could go to them and hug them close. His nerves are all over the place and the thought of walking home alone after this almost sends him into a full panic attack, luckily the one straw of sanity that is still working urges him to text his boyfriends in the groupchat asking for someone to pick him up because he forgot how tiring this event is. A reply comes in half a minute, asking him if it’s okay that all of them show up. The text makes Jimin smile, calms him down a little bit but for the rest of the night he is on high alert, everytime someone approaches him he flinches, so for the last few hours he has to apologise to basically everyone, telling them he is just so tired, practically falling asleep.

So two hours later when the building is devoid of parents and students, Jimin practically runs out of the building. His heart is in his throat, his eyes everywhere all at once except in front of him which is why he runs straight into Jin who is waiting for him by the school gate. The younger almost screams out loud until he feels arms wrap around his waist and a sweet “Hey slow down, it’s just me darling”. Jimin throws his arms around his boyfriend who lifts him up, hands under the teacher’s bum allowing the younger to wrap his legs around him.

”I’m sorry, I’m just so tired hyung. The kids have also been playing pranks on me all night, you know how relentless children can get when they are tired, so I feel as if my nerves are about to explode.”, Jimin says, face pushed into his boyfriend’s sweater.

”Let’s get out of here?”, Jin whispers, while kissing the younger’s head.

”Yes please. Jin hyung?”

”Yes Min?”

”Will you stay with me tonight?”, Jimin asks, hope shining in his eyes.

At the moment there isn’t a plan yet on who sleeps next to the younger, so every night Jimin just chooses a different room in order to make sure he falls asleep next to everyone equally. The idea is to each have their day, that they can still swap in case of work or whatever other reason, so that Jimin doesn’t have to keep asking and to make sure everyone has their day in the week. It would definitely make it easier on Jimin because the younger hates picking between all his boyfriends. He loves them equally, so he always feels guilty towards the other five for not choosing them and ends up apologising profusely every night. All of them have told him a million times over that they don’t mind waiting for their turn, hoping that it would take away some of the stress but it never does. So far they have decided that Monday’s are for Yoongi, Wednesdays are for Tae, Saturday’s are for Jungkook and Sunday’s will be for all of them together. The men were a bit iffy about that, but they understand that for Jimin that would be the best day of the week and it’s not as if they’ve never shared a bed before.

”Of course I would darling. Maybe I can jot my name down on the Friday time slot in our sleeping schedule too? Would you like that?”

An answer comes in the form of a small kiss on the base of Jin’s neck. It’s funny how despite the fact that they are the couple who kiss each other the most, they haven’t had their first proper kiss yet despite them dating for over a month. Between the two of them they often kiss each other’s cheeks, nose, top of the head, hand, base of the neck, but the lips has never happened. The younger feels guilty about that, he’s afraid his eldest boyfriend is going to think that he doesn’t want to kiss him, but for some reason it just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe Jin hyung doesn’t want to kiss him yet?

The elder carries him into the car, all of his boyfriend give him a kiss on the cheek and caress his head. Jimin is on the verge of falling asleep, finally calm thanks to them. How quickly his problems are solved simply by being around them. To this day he still doesn’t understand how he convinced all six of them to be in a relationship with him, but here he is and happier than ever. So to think that he might have to give this up, ugh… He doesn’t want to think about it right now. All he wants to do is fall asleep next to one of his boyfriends and be held throughout the night.

Eight hours later he wakes up in Jin’s room, a soft beam of sunlight warming up his face, soft fingers brushing his hair from his eyes, lips tracing a way from his cheeks to his nose where they land in a soft kiss. The younger keeps his eyes closed but pouts, his lips forming a little, adorable beak. Before he properly realises it two plush lips push softly against his, it takes the teacher a few seconds to react. He is dragged even closer to his boyfriend, his own hands finding their way around Jin’s neck. Their lips keep searching each other, as if they are afraid of being separated. The next thing Jimin knows is that he’s underneath his boyfriend, Jin’s hands roaming over his tshirt, then finding their way next to his head. It feels as if his boyfriend is trapping him in bed and yet the younger has never felt so safe. None of them want to stop kissing the other, every time one of them needs to breath the other waits impatiently to start everything up again. An hour later they are still lying in bed, feed tangled together, Jimin the one on top now, his body barely engulfing his boyfriends, but Jin loves that his boyfriend is this tiny. The eldest singer keeps kissing the top of his head and touching his boyfriend, as if he’s learning every tiny detail about the teacher’s body.

A knock on the door harshy burst the little bubble around them. Both men aren’t ready to leave the room. To Jin it’s finally a moment to be selfish, to keep Jimin to himself. Seeing as he is always the first one to step aside and let one of his members have more time with their boyfriend, he just wants to keep Jimin in the room for as long as possible. For the maknae it’s a time where he doesn’t have to think of the threats, the creepy pictures and the potential break up to keep everyone safe. What if they involve his parents, his friends or even his boyfriends? What if they convince the idols that he is an awful person, that he did something he actually didn’t do… Jimin’s head is spinning again, if only they hadn’t knocked on the door, if only he was still just kissing Jin.

”Guys, sorry for waking you up, but Mr Bang wants to talk to us. If you’re tired sweetheart, just stay in bed and sleep some more, but we need Jin hyung for this.”

”Ugh, stupid Namjoon… I don’t want to leave, not now. You are too comfortable darling and your lips are just heaven. Now that I finally get to kiss you, I don’t want to stop. Tell me why I waited so long?”, Jin’s fingers are playing with Jimin’s hair. He knows he should get out of bed, but he honestly doesn’t want to. The members are also not going to die if they have to wait a few more minutes.

”I know you have to go hyung, but I don’t want you to leave either. Are you sure you can’t stay. Can’t my lips convince you?”, Jimin pouts, his lips red and swollen from all the kissing.

”Ugh, darling… This is torture. I don’t want to leave you. Are you still sleepy?”

”Mmm… yes, but I don’t want to sleep in this bed without you hyung. Want to stay with you.”, his voice cracks a little at the end of that sentence, a yawn escaping from between his lips, “Can I sleep on your lap? Or is that unprofessional?”

”I don’t care darling. It’s Saturday, they should leave us be. You stay here, I’m just quickly going to change and then I’m taking you with me. Deal?”

”Yes please. Hyung, take me with you even when I fall back asleep please? I don’t want to wake up on my own?”

”I promise Jimin, I’ll keep you close no matter what.”, With a last kiss and his thumb brushing Jimin’s cheeks, Jin leaves leaves the bed and moves to his closet. He is dressed five minutes later and carrying Jimin into the living room ten minutes later, “I don’t appreciate this, especially not now. This little angel has had a stressful week, hasn’t been sleeping well and we wake him up way too early in the morning.”

”I didn’t have the impression you were sleeping hyung. There were sounds coming from your room.”, Namjoon replies.

”It’s not because we were awake that we weren’t on the verge of falling asleep again. It’s the weekend, we could have  gone back to bed to sleep for two more hours. He clearly needs it. So at least keep your voices down, so that one of us is getting the rest they deserve.”

”Will do”, Mr Bang whispers, “but we need to talk about this. I know you are officially on a hiatus right now, taking time off, only working on the things you want to work on and taking your time for that. The thing is, we were asked if you wanted to do an interview with Yoo Jae Suk to talk about everything Bangtan, from hardships to wins, from songs that made it, to songs that didn’t make it, collaborations, and maybe we can even introduce Jimin as part of the team. That doesn’t mean that you have to tell the world that he is your boyfriend or your partner, you can tell them that he is your best friend or your room mate or whatever, but once the world understands that he isn’t going anywhere, maybe they’ll calm down a bit online. We’ve seen the hate campaigns that you’ve pointed out. Don’t worry, they are shut down and people are being sued. Unfortunately that isn’t all, so I think it’s about time we point out what he means to you guys. You don’t have to, but with everything that has happened before and everything that might still happen… Maybe it’ll help that people are reminded of what will happen when they hurt him and that hurting Jimin hurts you. Your fans are aware that he is in your life and that he enjoys Big Hit’s protection, but nothing more than that, with how bold they have gotten lately… Even death threats… I really hope he hasn’t seen those, because that’s more than enough reason for him to never leave the house again. The last thing he should do is give up his life because he is dating you. I need you to be aware of the fact that you might lose fans over this though.”

”Jimin’s safety and happiness comes first, if he isn’t safe or happy, I don’t care about anything else. If that means that people don’t like us anymore so be it. It’d rather have a happy best friend and boyfriend and a handful of fans that support us than all the fans in the world and a miserable Minnie. I’ve known him my entire life, he was my rock before anyone else and I was his. That hasn’t changed because I’m famous now. Jimin first, career second, fans third.”, Jungkook says seriously, not a smile in sight.

”I agree with Kook. Jimin and the boys first, everything else last. It’s as you say, if Jimin gets hurt, all of us hurt. People who don’t want to see that, will never understand, but maybe we should indeed remind them. I don’t mind telling them we are dating him, I know it might be unusual, but I don’t want to lie about it or keep Jimin a secret. If that means losing fans or our career so be it, we can always make music in a different way or just completely take on a different job, as long as we have our angel, I know I’ll be fine. He is my soulmate after all, I’m never giving up on him.”, Taehyung adds, the love for the younger clear in his voice.

”See… I want to reveal just like everyone else that Jimin is my boyfriend, but I’m worried about him. If the fans take this the wrong way or the media deems our relationship to be wrong, it’s him who is going to get hurt or who is going to get followed around every minute of every day having to deal with paparazzi, fans who may or may not have ill intentions. It will interfere with his life. So maybe before we do the interview, we should make sure that he’ll always be safe, even if that means upping the amount of bodyguards around him for the time being. The last thing I want is for my love to suffer even more. Us being famous hasn’t been easy on him, but he’s dealt with it so well, we should at least show him the respect he deserves by making sure that he will come out of this unharmed. One more bruise on his face because of us and I’m going to flip!”, Hoseok voices his concerns and the rest agrees.

The conversation with Mr Bang last for a while longer, all the while Jimin is fast asleep on Jin’s lap, looking even smaller than he normally is and so so innocent. With every day they spend with the younger, the more they are convinced that he is the only thing they’ll ever need to be happy and with keeping him around they keep each other around. Six best friends, one angel, nothing will ever beat that combination. They agree to do the interview and even perform a song or three, but to give them a few days to make sure nothing can go wrong for their boyfriend.

Long hours are spent at the Big Hit building and all the while Jimin goes to work trying to not freak out with every little sound. Every evening that he’s home alone, he told his boyfriends that he can stay home on his own as long as they are working to make everything right for the interview, he’s online scrolling through several hashtags on Twitter and Bangtan's Instagram. Jimin knows that he shouldn’t look these things up, but he just can’t not. Especially when there are pictures of his every day life out in the open, even a whole day to day schedule and the road he takes home from work. Scrolling down, picture after picture of his face burn behind his retina.

  

Bangtan189112431 @YuckPJM
PJM Grocery shopping on Wednesday and Saturday. Pigs need to eat a lot I guess. 
#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly

 

Bangtan189112431 @YuckPJM
Getting lunch in between workhours, proving our point 🐷 PJM goes here
every day! Go insult him and tell him to stay away from Bangtan. A Pig
like him doesn't deserve our boyfriends. Let him know! 
Shop: 7-eleven, 27-2 Yongsandong 2(i)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly

  

JiminFreeZone🔞 @Bangtancandobetterthanpjm

Walking to school early in the morning. He arrives there at 7.30am.
Always one of the first people to enter the building. He goes there everyday
except for Saturday and Sundays.
We don't condone heavy violence, but if you want to trip him over, bump into him,
scare him or call him some names. Please do. If all of us stick together, he'll
get paranoid enough to not show his face again! We heard that loud sounds
give him anxiety, I hope this tip helps! Good luck!
Address: Yongsan Primary School, 74 Duteopbawi-ro, Yongsan 2(i)ga-dong,
Yongsan-gu, Seoul

#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly

 

 

Bangtan189112431 @YuckPJM
Jimin visited some friends over the weekend. For privacy reasons we will
not give their addresses. These men have done nothing wrong and are
probably just manipulated into liking PJM.
Also, that dog did not like him whatsoever. So relatable.
#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly

 

JiminFreeZone🔞 @Bangtancandobetterthanpjm

School trip with his Kindergarten class (the yellow group), and the other two classes 
(blue and red), all kids between 4 and 6 years old)
Let's hope PJM didn't teach those kids how to swim -.-
Next time he should just drown!

Address: Itaewon Culture Education Center
406 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly

 

JiminFreeZone🔞 @Bangtancandobetterthanpjm

Oh oh, it seems like someone was left behind in Lotte World. 
Let's hope he can't find his way home.
Good riddance.

Address: Itaewon Culture Education Center
406 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
#PjmLeaveOurBoysAlone
#PjmAttentionSeeker
#PjmDevilSpawn
#PjmUgly


These pictures drive Jimin insane. All the addresses that are revealed to everyone. How is he going to even go to his local supermarkt now, he's never going to be able to set a foot in there and feel safe. Maybe he should listen to his boyfriends and order in delivery for lunch. So far he's always refused to do that, he enjoys going out with his colleagues to buy their lunch, that hour break outside of the school does wonders to all of them. For an hour they don't have to be a teacher, they can be a normal adult that can swear and act irresponsible if they want to. Not that they do, but the conversations and the humour are for sure more adult. To think that is another thing he is going to have to give up... Sadness fills his heart and for a minute makes him doubt about the life he has right now. Is it ever going to be normal again? His life starts to feel like he’s stuck in a prison cell, as if he’s a withering sunflower that has no sunshine to grow to anymore.

On Saturday he accompanies Bangtan to the studio where they are about to hold the only interview in their hiatus. None of them have told him that they are going to talk about him. It’s a risky move and they know Jimin might get angry, but they also know that he is going to stop them if he knows upfront. All of them decided to talk about a boyfriend, if it comes up they’ll even tell their fans that he’s their shared boyfriend, but only of there is no other option and they won’t tell anyone his name. It’s up to Jimin to tell the people in his life about them or not. At this point they honestly don’t care about the younger’s family, but they also don’t want to hurt their boyfriend. Seeing as his family already expects perfection from him, they wonder what they’ll expect of him when they learn he has six partners. So if he never tells them, they aren’t going to hold that against him. None of them had to grow up with a family that had insane expectations and their parents do love their sons unconditionally. As long as they get to date Jimin they don’t care about anything else.

The teacher is put in a chair behind the camera with the gentle command to stay quiet no matter what. Every tiny sound will be picked up on and can interfere with the answers the six idols are giving. Jimin thanks the people for giving him a seat nearby and promises to not say a word. The next person who approaches him hands him a glass of water, they also tell him that if he wants a different beverage that is absolutely possible and to just ask. Silently the maknae makes himself comfortable, waving back at his boyfriends who have been trying to get his attention for the past five minutes. The more people gather behind Jimin, the more he starts to feel uncomfortable. What if they are all Bangtan fans who follow those stalk accounts on social media, what if they just don’t like him or think he’s not worthy to be around them. Staying quiet becomes a whole lot harder than he thought it would be, his hands start to shake, sweat starts to trickle from beneath his hair, but before he can actually start to panic or hyperventilate he is whisked away from the room by Hoseok. The elder knows he doesn’t have a lot of time, but he also doesn’t want to see his boyfriend in a full blown panic attack for god knows how long. So he does what he always does, what he knows to help always. Hobi starts attacking Jimin’s face with his lips. Kisses are pressed on his cheeks, his chin, his nose, his ear lobes, his eyelids, his forehead, his hair, the freckles underneath his eyes and for the first time ever he presses his lips on Jimin's. This might have not been the longest first kiss or the most passionate, but the younger seems to stop breathing for a minute, his eyes wide and then melts against his hyung. The tremors in his hands stop and the rapper wipes away the few drops of sweat from the teacher’s head. Hobi holds Jimin’s hands in his and leans in even closer. He kisses him one more time, a bit longer this time, deepening the kiss. The taste on Jimin’s tongue and lips is devine. Nothing is harder than pulling himself away from his dazed boyfriend, but seeing how relaxed he is right now, the only thing the idol can think about is 'mission accomplished'. 

Hoseok leads Jimin back to his chair, kissing him one last time on his button nose, he really understands why it’s Namjoon’s favourite body part on their boyfriend. The younger giggles and smiles big at his boyfriend, mouthing a thank you for calming him down. The rapper squeezes his hand quickly, then makes his way to his chair. The others ask him if Jimin is doing better and how he solved the situation.

”Oh, well, I just kissed his entire face. I also finally kissed his very plump lips.”, Hobi tells them, while looking at the younger with heart eyes.

”Wait! Hold. the. phone. Finally? We’ve been dating for almost two months and you haven’t had your first kiss yet?”, Taehyung asks incredulously.

”I’m not that late, Jin hyung had his first kiss like a week ago. Besides, our little angel has six boyfriends, I don’t want to overwhelm him. Sure we are in the honeymoon phase, but he has six first kisses he had to experience. Could you imagine if he had them all in like three days. It’d be so overwhelming for him. Kissing him feels incredible, my entire body tingles just thinking about it, I don’t think I could have dealt with six of them one after another. With how quickly Jimin suffers from anxiety, I wanted to give him time between our kisses, the move, the housewarming and the school art thingy he had to prepare for. I’m glad I waited a little longer, I may have not swept him of his feet in the way that I wanted to do, but I got to calm him down and keep him from spiralling. Knowing my kisses have that power over him, that’s the biggest compliment. 



”Guys, are you good to start recording?”, the interviewer, Yoo Jae Suk, asks.

”Yes, we are. Thank you for having us.”, Namjoon says.

”No worries, we talked about doing this before and I’m thrilled that we finally get to do this! Just so you know, if you don’t want to answer a question let us know too and we’ll cut it out of the interview. We honestly don’t care whether this talk lasts for an hour or 15 minutes. Your fans have no clue how long this is supposed to last for and I’m quite sure they’ll be happy with the update on your lives right now. You guys have never been this quiet during a hiatus.”, the older man smiles at them, then walks to his chair and sits down.

Someone counts down in the background, a slate is clapped, lights are brighter than before.
”Bangtan, welcome! How are you doing?”, Jae Suk starts the interview off with a simple question to set the tone, which is amicably and relaxed.

”We are doing wel, thank you for asking.”, Namjoon replies, as leader of the band it’s normal that he talks first.

”How is your time off going?”

”Very well. We are enjoying it.”

”Have you done anything special?”, curiosity fills the interviewer’s voice.

”We worked on some music, thought about stages for our future concert.”, Yoongi answers.

”So you have been working in your free time?”

”Yes, but it’s all been very calm, we are taking our time and we’re not working 12 hours a day.”, Jin explains.

”Have you done anything fun in your free time?”

”We moved places, so we finally have an official address again in Seoul.”

Jimin feels himself zone out. He doesn’t hear the questions being asked or the answers that are given, but he is fine with that. Looking at the six men in front of him he really wonders how he got so lucky and how many people he saved in his previous life to be rewarded with his boyfriends in this life. At least once a day he has a moment like this, where he loses his train of thought, just looks around and feels his heart fill with unadulterated love. They aren’t just beautiful on the outside, the six of them are also genuinely nice people, who care more for their friends and family, for Jimin than they do for themselves. The teacher has no clue how long he’s stuck in his mind, but when he blinks and notices the conversation again he hears the one question he thinks they aren’t going to answer.

”So having covered the Jimin topic, how about we move on to another popular question. What about love? Do you have time for it?”

”We do actually.”, Hobi replies, with a fond smile on his lips while looking behind the camera.

”Oh, you do? So how many of you are dating or in a relationship?”

Six hands jump up, six even wider smiles form.

”Oh, are you just dating or in a relationship already?”

One by one they reply they are in a relationship, that for all of them it’s still quite new, but they are enjoying their time off with their partners.

”All of you have said to be part of the LGBTQ community. For Jungkook who is gay, it’s easy to say that your partner is a man.”

”That is correctly assumed.”, He winks.

”Jin and Namjoon, you guys are pan and Yoongi, you are bi.”, before Jae Suk can even continue his question, all three idols reveal they are also dating a man.

”You don’t even to have ask me”, Taehyung smiles dreamily, “my partner is also a man, a very gorgeous man.”

”Right, so that means there is only one of you left. J-hope, you never revealed in that interview how you identified though. We just know you are not straight. ”

”True, I didn’t. Two years ago I had just come to terms with the whole idea of not dating a woman, which for me took some time, even though everyone around me was very supportive about it. Two years later I can tell you that I am in Jungkook’s team. I’m as gay as they come and very proud of it. So that means my partner is also a guy.”

”I’m sure your fans will be heartbroken about the news. Especially the girls.”, Jae Suk seemingly jokes, but he also knows that this question is very needed. Bangtan had told him before the interview that they wanted to address this and if he could lead the conversation there slowly, but surely. Of course he agreed. The interviewer might not be gay, but he likes the six boys in front of him and only wishes for them to be happy.

“If our fans are actually our fans, they will be happy for us no matter what. We have each found someone we are happy with, they are the lights in our life and we will gladly give up everything as long as we can stay by their sides.”

Nothing has been as hard as making this speech and making it sound like they are each dating a person, but it’s up to Jimin to reveal that he’s dating them. If he doesn’t want to do that, that’s fine too. They weren't forced in revealing they all shared a partner, so they decided to keep it quiet for a bit longer until Jimin wants to open up about it. They all know his life is going to change drastically when it comes out. People are going to adore him, others are going to be jealous of him. Paparazzi are never going to leave him alone and stories about him will also be fabricated. Knowing how bad Jimin’s anxiety can get, they want him to come out to the world when he’s ready for it, on his own terms. So if that means that they have to pretend to each date a different person for a while, so be it.

”So we’ll say this now, if we see hate posts online about our partners, or if they get threatened online or in real life when you see them with us, when you seek them out in their private life, we will come after you. For the longest time we didn’t date because we put our career and our fans first, we listened to their succes stories, supported their choices and praised them none stop. Now we ask the same of them. They don’t have to praise our partners, but we like for them to support them the same way they support us. Our partners are part of the Bangtan team and we want to introduce them in time to you, hoping you’ll send them just as much love as you send to us on a daily basis.”, Jin takes over from Namjoon. He might not be leader, but he is very eloquent too and isn’t afraid to come across as angry or too strict, “if you can’t do that, we will come after you. You will be punished. No one in Bangtan will ever consider you part of Army again. If us being in a relationship with someone means you can’t support us anymore, we are okay with that. All of us prefer our boyfriends and five real fans over millions of fake fans and no boyfriend. Let that sink in. We’ll start a witch hunt if we have to. We will smite everyone who hurts the love of our life.””

For a while longer they talk about what their boyfriends are like and to people who know it’s Jimin it is so clear that they are all describing the same person, who is now holding his burning cheeks in his hands trying to hide his face and who is currently sitting very still behind the camera.

Everyone leaves the building after every possible hand has been shaken in goodbye, people have been bowing non stop and compliments have been exchanged. To everyone in the room it is clear that Bangtan is smitten with their boyfriend, which is understandable seeing as the entire crew fell in love with the younger too. They have been complimenting the idols on their good choice and to please keep the teacher happy. There aren’t a lot of people like him in this world, the kind who installs faith in humanity and for everyone’s sake they hope he keeps shining his light and love all over. With love in their eyes they approach their boyfriend, hugging him close and telling him what a good job he did by staying quiet. Normally Jimin wouldn’t appreciate this, he is not a child, but with how close he was to an anxiety attack earlier he just accepts the compliment. Staying still when he’s afraid panic might creep through his veins any minute is not an easy task.

Leaving the building they are still talking amongst themselves, laughing at some funny anecdotes are being shared. Within five seconds all the energy and joy drains from their systems when they see their bodyguards wrestling 10 Bangtan fans away, who are screaming at the men to forget all about the attention whore who pretends to be their friend and will without a doubt ruin their careers. No one really noticed the attack of the fans, seeing how quick their bodyguards handled the situation, which they will be eternally grateful for. A loud groan fills their ears and makes them whip their heads around. On the pavement, with his head against a car door, one hand rubbing his hair and a hiss falling from his lips sits Jimin with his eyes closed. 

”Angel!”

The idols run to Jimin as fast as they possibly can. All of them crouch down around him, Jungkook who is sitting closest to the younger checks him from head to toe. He lifts his hands and legs, bends them to see if he can still move them or if it hurts, then he checks his back without revealing too much skin in case there’s onlookers, lastly he looks at the maknae’s head. The youngest singer knows he’s in pain there, the hand that stays on his head says enough, he’s just scared to find out how much in pain he is. Jimin is their angel, their baby, if they could take away his pain and bear it for him they would, unfortunately they can’t so they keep him from doing things that can actually hurt him. Being flung away by a body guard in order to save him from a cackle of crazy fans, then landing hard against a car head first, is not one of those things and it kills them. Before anyone can say anything Taehyung has already called an ambulance, taking risks when it comes to their boyfriend is just not done, even though Jimin tells them over and over again he is fine.

”Just humour us Honey. Let us be worried for a bit and once you are fine, we’ll apologise for being too cautious when it comes to you.”

”Yoon hyung, you don’t have to apologise. I like that you are worried sometimes, just not when I’m on the cold pavement while there is nothing wrong. Aspirins are a proper invention you know, very useful. They’ll be my friend for the next two days or so and then I’ll be as good as new.”

”Sweetheart, we trust in modern medicine, but you were pushed aside and landed unfortunately. You might have a concussion, or twisted a muscle in your back or neck. If nothing is wrong, the check up won’t take up too much of our time and then we’ll go home and cuddle together. What do you think? Saturday and Sunday full of cuddles and sleeping next to us or on top of us, we know we’re cosy pillows.”

”You would be if you weren’t so hard like a rock Joon hyung.”

”Really? I beg to differ with how fast you fall asleep when we hug you close.”

Jimin blushes, he really does fall asleep insanely fast when he is hugged close by one, or all, of his boyfriends. Their warmth, their fingers through his hair, their lips tracing his cheeks and neck, the humming or softly singing songs they have taken to in order to calm him down at the end of the day, their constant stream of compliments… He doesn’t stand a chance against them and he doesn’t want to. Not waking up drenched in sweat and a silent scream on his lips is refreshing. Seeing his boyfriends first thing in the morning, feeling their love for him lulls him in a state of comfort and calmness.

With a lot of noise the ambulance arrives, the vehicle is moving with Jimin in it not even 5 minutes later. Only one of the boys got to get into the ambulance with the younger, their choice fell on Jin seeing as he is the eldest and therefore more likely to get respect from everyone around them, even if they don’t know who he is. The last time Jin was in the hospital was on tour when Namjoon had hurt his knee on stage. Everyone gathered in the waiting room, ready to bring their band mate back to the hotel and console him. Knowing he would have to be careful for the next couple of days or even has to stay seated on stage always kills all of them, the leader wouldn’t be different. Everytime Tae went to ask information on their leader he got none. Some nurses even told him that he was cute for being so worried when there was nothing bad going on, but to just go sit on his chair. After an hour Jin had had enough of all the waiting. When he asked for the same information Taehyung had asked about he had gotten an answer right away. Everyone knew that it was because he was older than Tae, Jin just told everyone it was because of his beauty. No one ever corrected him.

Finally arriving home with a box of painkillers, they make sure Jimin is comfortable in the couch, that he eats something and takes his medication. The teacher had given them the right diagnosis, all he had was a splitting headache and a big bump, nothing too serious. 

”Minnie?”, Jungkook starts hesitantly. The tone of his voice immediately has the teacher looking up.

”Yes?”

”Did you mind that we revealed we had a partner. I know we told you we were going to do it right before the interview, but we never really asked you about it.”

”Oh no, I’m good. It’s your career and your life. If you trust your fans to deal with the news properly then so do I.”, Jimin smiles gently, “You might have been a bit too tense with the whole ‘smiting people’ thing, but other than that… It’s good that you told the people what to expect I guess. Setting boundaries is always smart.”

”Do you know why I said that Darling?”, Jin asks kindly, but very curious about the answer.

”Because of the coffee attack? The pictures at Sehun and Taemin no one agreed with?”

”Yes, that was one reason”, Jin stands up and walks to Jimin’s craft corner, “also this and the one in your bag…”.

In his hand is one of the pictures that threatens the maknae to stay away from is boyfriends.

”We didn’t go looking for it, our eye just fell on it when we borrowed scissors to cut open a box we had gotten from our company with new Bangtan merch. I don’t know how long you had the one in your bag, but we saw it when we put a snack in it this week, Wednesday I think. Those two pictures worried us so we went online and found the online petition.”

By now the younger has fallen quiet, his eyes are on his lap, his lips jutted out in a pout.

”Honey, can you please look at us?”, by now everyone is sitting in front of their boyfriend, all placed on the floor, the little coffee table pushed back, Yoongi holding his hand to show him that everything is fine, “We aren’t angry with you. Honestly, we would have been surprised if you had told us from the get go. You always put yourself last and knowing you and the person you are, you would have broken up with us to make sure we keep all our fans, that our career runs smoothly, that there aren’t lies spread online. Am I wrong?”

The younger shakes his head. His boyfriends smile at him, all of them madly in love with how selfless he is.

”Exactly, that’s why we told them Love. We choose you over anyone else, ever. Whether it’s our bosses, our fans, our family. You come first, always. None of us are lying when we say you are the love of our life, it’s you or no one and people need to understand that it’ll never be them. It’s you Jimin, don’t ever doubt that.”, Hobi touches the younger’s cheek, then kisses him softly there.

”So baby, if this happens again, don’t carry this burden on your own. Can you do that for us. We promise we won’t get angry or annoyed with you and we won’t handle things too harshly, but how can we keep you safe if you don’t allow us to do that. We are your priority but in turn you are ours. If you aren’t happy, then neither are we. So please, for our sake, because we absolutely adore you, let us in. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”

”Okay, Tae hyung. Just… Don’t be too hard on your fans. They just want the best for you.”

”Well, sweetheart… If that’s true they’ll accept the fact that we are dating and once they know it’s you, they’ll be happy for you too. In case that it isn’t true, we will deal with it and that is not on you, but on themselves. Please understand that. Don’t ever feel guilty when we speak out about their shitty behaviour towards you and us.”, Namjoon winks at him.

The giggle that escapes from Jimin’s lips melts all of them and shows them once again how whipped they are for their younger boyfriend. None of them understand how there are people that can actually threaten and hurt him. The innocence and cuteness dripping out of their little maknae is just too much too handle.

”I wanted to ask you something.”

”Go ahead Minnie, we are listening.”

”Did you not reveal my identity because you don’t want people to know it’s me?”, It’s clear in the teacher’s voice that he isn’t insulted or saddened by any of it, he just wants to understand what they were thinking.

”Oh no babe, we didn’t do that for us, we did that for you. The minute our fans know it’s you, your life is going to change. People are going to want to know everything about you. Paparazzi and Sasaengs might follow you around ever more than they have so far, the comments on the internet will either be overly positive or extremely hurtful, our interviews will be mostly about you for a while, people you may know like colleagues or parents of the kids in your class will ask you everything about us. It might not even be possible to stay on as a teacher… We just wanted to make sure that you were okay with all that. The choice is fully yours. All of us would love to set the record straight and tell people that you are more than just our friend, we would love to brag about the fact that you are our boyfriend, scream it out loud so everyone can hear us, but this is your life too.”

”I have been thinking about it for a bit this week. It’s hard not talking about you guys when people tell me I look more happy than usual. The excuses I’ve been coming up with have been so stupid, I’m actually surprised people believed them. Also, I have been thinking about quitting my job. Soon your hiatus will be over, you’ll release new music, which means a tour is bound to happen. As a teacher that means staying behind, because I can’t leave my class for six months or longer, even seeing you on tour for a few days would practically be impossible. Sure you would fly back and forth on days off but I would tell you not to do it because that’s very tiring. I’ve seen the Katy Perry documentary. She was exhausted when her tour was over and done with, I don’t want that for you, but I also don’t want to stay on my own for months. I know I can’t cope with that sadness and the pain of missing you.”

”We agree with all of that Sweetheart. None of us would enjoy touring if you weren’t there with us, but we don’t want to force you either to give up your life.”

”Joon hyung, I promise you. Just like you would give up everything for me, I would give up everything for you. Even though, I wouldn’t really give things up. I may have had a talk with Mr Bang, just a quick one. He contacted me a few days ago with a job offer and I’ve been thinking of accepting it, but only if you guys agree. Big Hit has their own daycare right?”, the six men who are still sitting on the floor, intently listening to their boyfriend, all nod.

”Well, one of the child carer’s left. She is getting married and they are moving closer to her husband’s parents. So that means there is a position open and it needs to be filled. Seeing as I have experience with children he asked me to accept the job. I would work with all the kids, so from babies to 12 - year - olds, I’d be a butterfly. Work in the group I’m needed most. So some days I’ll be working with the babies, other days I’ll be around 8 till 12 - year - olds and other days the kids I’m surrounded by will be either 2.5 till 4 or 5 till 7 - years - old. That’s something I’m very excited about. Now my class exists out of solely 5 - year - olds. I love all these little one’s, but the change of age will be a nice challenge. He also offers me the position in LA in Big Hit US. So I can go there and still earn my own money when you guys are living in your American place to write songs and work on an album in a different environment. This way you also wouldn’t have to give up on everything you built in America. Whenever you go on tour he offers me the job as one of your PA’s. All of you would still have your own PA you have been working with for years, but I would be the group’s one who checks on the stage to make sure it’s safe, who makes sure the groceries has arrived, whether the right make up is available for you guys, I'll be making sure your mic's go from venue to venue. As I would still be working, I still get paid and I don’t have to rely solely on you to survive and in the mean time I still get to go on tour with you. What do you think?”

”What that means is that you would also work for Big Hit, with an official contract as a PA and a child carer? You would tour with us and still be able to work with children in the months we aren’t on the road? Also, working for our company means more security, because Mr Bang takes shitty behaviour to any of his employees very personal. Did we get that right Darling?”

Jimin nods again, a big smile on his face. It’s clear that he loves the idea so in turn they do too. As long as Jimin gets to go on tour with them and keep a job he likes, who are they to burst his happy bubble.

”If you say yes to it Minnie, does that mean that you will also tell the world who you are to us?”

”Yeah. The picture is ready to go up. The only thing I need from you is a yes or a no.”

”YES!”, the six of them jump carefully on top of Jimin, engulfing him in the biggest bear hug. Who knew they could be this happy, that they could have everything they ever wanted. Which is their boyfriend close always, well protected and happy.



@Park_Jimin

The first ever post on my account is dedicated
to the loves of my life. 
@Bangtan_JK @Bangtan_Tae @Bangtan_Hobi
@Bangtan_Joon @Bangtan_ Yoongi @Bangtan_Jin
My heart is yours forever 💛

Ps: In case you are wondering, @ParkJimin is the
right handle on Twitter, but it is a private account.
For now it's going to stay that way. Thank you for 
understanding 😊 

Chapter 14

Notes:

Hi,

I've finally updated. This chapter isn't the longest, but I also don't think it's the shortest chapter I have ever written.
Normally I'd write more, but I have this massive cold where I can't seem to stop sneezing and coughing, my throat hurts and I am really tired. Who knew a cold could take so much energy away from you? I tried my hardest though, but please forgive me if it isn't my best work. I fell asleep at random hours of the day and even lost 2000 words because I forgot to plug in my laptop and it died on me when I was having an unplanned nap...

Please, let me know what you think of this chapter. Are we happy for Jimin?
How about the other six just being completely whipped?
Anyway, I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Xo,
I.

Ps: find me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

Four hours after Jimin posted the picture on his social media, he could finally use his phone again. The device completely froze with all the notifications coming through on his Instagram, but even his twitter went haywire. Keeping it private was a good move, yet the trending topic and him being tagged over and over again, made for the app to malfunction too. They expected a reaction of course, but the younger keeps forgetting how popular his boyfriends are, keeps underestimating the number of fans they have. Not even being able to turn off your phone because it is literally rendered useless frustrates him to no end. If this is how it’s always going to be every time he posts a picture on his social media, he’s just going to delete everything. This situation also made him decide to keep his twitter private. Can you imagine how huge the reaction of Bangtan’s fans will be if they can actually follow him, react to his every tweet… No thank you. So, for four hours he keeps wondering whether he needs a new phone, whether things will turn out okay and if they do, how long it’s going to take. According to his boyfriends four hours isn’t even that long, but to Jimin who has everything doing with his schoolwork on his phone and all the information for his future jobs at Big Hit, it seems like an eternity. Sure, he could have used his laptop to check the information he needed, but a small voice in his head told him not to do it. What if his computer decided to stop working too because of the social media freak out?

Luckily Jimin has six boyfriends who love to keep him busy and distract him in any way possible. So, they have been playing board games, decided on having an indoors picnic with sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, lots of fruit including strawberries covered in dark chocolate, and his favourite raspberry tea. After all that they caught up on the newest Disney film that the maknae actually wanted to see in the theatre but gave up on that idea when he got stalked by those sasaengs. He also feels that watching films in theatres is going to be hard for him, now that he is dating six men who are the most popular people in the world. He doesn’t regret his decision to date them, you don’t choose who you fall in love with, and he knows he is going to have to adapt to some changes, but if he is being honest with himself, he isn’t fond of giving up everything he loved in life. Sure, he is getting a lot in return and his boyfriends don’t ask him to give up on things, but Jimin doesn’t want to risk the safety of his lovers.

So here he is sitting, four hours after posting that picture, his phone finally functioning again, plugged into the power socket. His Instagram is the first app to be opened up, Jimin holds his breath, scared of the reactions that might pop up. He doesn’t really know what to expect, but with everything he has gone through he doesn’t expect there to be supportive posts.

Bangtan's loml @BTSLoml
So... you are telling me that the six members of Bangtan
get to date this guy?! 
Not going to lie, I'm am freakishly jealous right now.
Jimin is so pretty!
If he ever decides that he wants someone new, I volunteer as tribute. 
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin


KookTaeJoonSeokYoonJin @KTJSYJ
Look at him! His smile is to die for.
The radiant light coming from him,
he could literally light up an entire room!
Also, can we just talk about how he seems 
like the nicest guy in town. Bangtan 
only deserves the best and to me, 
Jimin is just that. I'm thinking of adding him
to my username. 
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin




HourlyBangtan @Bangtan24/7
I'm not going to lie, I really thought he
was a gold digger at first, but seeing
how happy he makes the guys and how
he never talked about his relationship
with the boys, while he could have easily
exploited that friendship... I really think
he is the right person for our boys.
From now on we will include Jimin on our
Twitter page. 
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin 


Adorable PJM @AdorablePJM
Hello?! Am I the only one who has seen
this video of Jimin dancing to Bangtan's
newest song? The guy has got moves! 
@Bangtan_IG maybe you can cast him 
in your next music video? That'd be so cool!
Park Jimin, talented king 👑
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin 



Bangtan Doesn't Need PJM @PJMSucks
Is there anyone with proper editing skills that can 
delete Jimin from these news group pictures they have
been releasing online? I do not want to see the guy's
face more than have I to. If I could just forget all about
that troll, it would be nice. 
#NotWelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin 
#StayAwayFromMyBoys




Bangtan's Jiminie @BangtansJiminie
Ever since Hobi posted this picture on his IG
I can't help but think how good Jimin fits with 
Bangtan. Look at him, it's as if he belonged with them 
from the get go. If Bangtan ever decides to become a 
group of 7, we found the new member. 
This is very aesthetically pleasing. 
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin 



All in all, the reactions have not been that bad, for every negative post there are at least 20 positive ones. Jimin is not that naive to think that everyone would approve of his relationship with the guys, some of them didn't even like their friendship, so this was to be expected. His heart is still hammering in his chest, but it's not in a negative way. Sure, it's still because of nerves, but also because he is happy. Seeing as Instagram is this positive, he decides to check out Twitter. This might be a stupid idea and extinguish his happiness, but he needs to have the full idea. The last thing he wants is to rub his relationship into Bangtan’s fans faces when they aren’t fond of the idea of Jimin as their boyfriend, so he needs to know how much they like or dislike him. Before he can change his mind, he opens the application, looks at the trending topics and goes to the one that is trending on top. The amount of tweets are insane and every few seconds a new one pops up. Jimin doesn’t really know where to start, but he knows he’ll never get to the first one. His eye falls on a tweet that make his heart drop, his fingers decide for him which tweets he sees and which one he skips, unfortunately for the younger all the tweets he ends up reading aren’t positive.

Bangtan’s Boyfie @BangtansBf
Park Jimin? I only know one Park Jimin and she is the most beautiful singer I’ve laid eyes on. This Park Jimin? He looks like a female dwarf who is on her period all day every day.
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin #NoThankYou #BangtanGetRidOfParkJimin

Golden Closet Babe @GCB
Jimin should give a masterclass in how to manipulate people to like you, because no way would they look into his general direction if he didn’t trick them. That babyface? Hell no. He looks like a girl. Disgusting. They’ll quickly dump him once they realise he’s a fraud.
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin #NoThankYou #BangtanGetRidOfParkJimin

Perfect RM @Perfect_RM
I don’t see anything special about Jimin… He looks like any bland guy with no personality or special qualities. The guy looks as boring as a blank piece of paper. There’s just nothing there. Maybe that’s why they are dating him, at least with him as their boyfriend they will always be special.
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin #NoThankYou #BangtanGetRidOfParkJimin

Jin Loops @JinLoops
Is it just me or does he look like the dumbest person on this planet? I understand why he teaches little kids, they know just as much as he does… Nothing. He’ll be kicked to the curb quickly once they get used to his basic looks, especially RM, Suga and J-Hope. They speak so eloquently; they won’t stay with a dumbass like that.
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin #NoThankYou #BangtanGetRidOfParkJimin

My Euphoria @MyEuphoria
Are you kidding me? This dude is not a man, he's a child. How can they even like him? How hold is he? Tell me he is at least an adult? This is disgusting! Has anyone checked his age? 
This guy looks like belongs in a daycare, wearing a bib, drinking milk from his bottle and sucking on a dummy. Poor Bangtan, being stuck with this literal baby. He doesn't even look good. Park Jimin, please set our boys free, you don't deserve them! 
#WelcomeToTheBangtanFamilyJimin #NoThankYou #BangtanGetRidOfParkJimin

 

Tweet after tweet filled with insults and negativity reach Jimin’s eyes, the high he felt from the Instagram posts has gone through the drain, dread is filling his entire being. He knew this could be a flop, but even though he expected tweets that wouldn’t be all too kind, he didn’t think they’d insult his entire being. It’s his own mistake though, he knows he shouldn’t have kept on looking around. Seeing as he is already hurt, he keeps on scrolling through the thousands of ugly words written about him. He is so immersed into the insults, that he doesn’t notice his boyfriends coming back home. Namjoon, Jungkook and Yoongi have spent time together working out, keeping up with their daily workout, Jin and Hobi went to the store to buy some groceries and Tae came back home from a late-night zoom meeting with some people in America who he’s writing a song for. The six of them notice their boyfriend silently sitting on the couch, not moving or watching the television that is on silently in the background, looking at something which makes him sigh softly. All of them know by now how much Jimin needs approval, which leads them to the conclusion that he is trying to find it online and not getting it. Posting that picture is the biggest compliment to them, but also a curse to Jimin. Yes, he finally got to tell the world the truth, but there will always be people who are going to hate him for being in the position they want to be in. None of them wanted to leave Jimin on his own, but when they left the house his phone was still frozen and they didn’t think it would work again till morning, they expected him to just watch tv or do some work for his school lessons. Yet, here he is sitting on the sofa looking down on what is most likely his phone, getting hurt by the vicious words the people online are spewing. The men understand his situation well enough. You go online hoping to find kind words, only to be pushed deeper and deeper into a dark hole simply for being you. Right now, they all regret leaving the house, even with it being a calculated risk… None of them are good at math and when it comes to protecting their boyfriend it seems like the odds are never really in their favour. 

”Minnie? What are you doing Angel?”, Jungkook asks, while sitting down next to him on the couch, prying the phone out of his hands and replacing the device with his larger hands instead.

The younger immediately starts playing with his fingers, nervously gulping, trying to distract his boyfriend from the situation at hand, totally forgetting that there are five more people watching the two of them on the sofa.

”Darling, Kook might be distracted right now, but we aren’t. What were you doing?”

”Ehm… Nothing much Jin hyung.”, Jimin says while still looking down at the hands in his.

”Sweetheart, were you looking up comments on social media by any chance?”, Namjoon questions, playfulness in his voice. All of them already know what he was doing seeing as the Twitter app is still open on his phone.

”Maaaybe”, Jimin whispers.

”Why would you do that Honey?”

”I’m sorry Yoonie – hyung, I just wanted… Ugh, I don’t really know what I wanted. I guess I just wanted people to think I was good enough for you guys. The people on Instagram mostly liked me, so I gained confidence, but then the people on Twitter…”, the maknae’s words trail off, he shakes his head, “I guess I just wanted to be liked, because that would make everything so much easier for you.”

”Love, you are the absolute sweetest but it is not your job to make our lives easier. We adore the person you are, but there are six of us and our entire company to stand together against bullies, sasaengs, negative press. My sweet little angel, you are trying to fight all of them on your own. You can’t win that battle, it’s one you shouldn’t even have to fight in the first place. Let us worry about all that. Let us worry about you. You’ve been going through so much, simply because you know us and now because you are dating us, don’t worry your pretty little head about it. No more worries for you from now on, just enjoy your time with us, we are still in the honeymoon fase and we don’t want that to stop anytime soon. If harassment reaches you, you let us know and we’ll deal with it. You never asked for six idiots to fall in love with you, you never asked for those idiots to be famous. We want to give you the quiet life you want, the one you deserve. Let us provide that for you, all we ever want in return is your love. You are adorable for wanting to deal with our ‘fans’, but you don’t have to. They will get under your skin, they will make you doubt our love for you and you will be upset, sad even, when there is nothing to be bothered about.”, Hoseok is holding his boyfriend’s face between his hands, looking lovingly into his eyes. A red blush is dusted across Jimin’s cheeks, a soft smile on his face.

”I just don’t want you to be stressed out because of me.”, Jimin whispers, still holding on to his belief that one day his boyfriends will think he’s too much.

”Baby, you are the last person to stress us out. You give us all the energy we need. We’ll easily deal with those people when we know you are happy, healthy, safe and waiting for us at home. The idea of you joining us soon in our company, so we get to see you whenever we want makes us so giddy, you have no idea. Asking you to be our boyfriend is the best decision we could have ever made and yes, it even trumps becoming a band. You are what’s important in our life. If we are ever stressed out, know that it is not because of you, it’s because of our job or the media or those people online who claim to be our fans but only when we keep their fantasies alive. Never you, not even if we ever have a fight or an argument. You need to believe us. We know a lot of people hurt you in the past, and we know that we will have our differences, but we also know that you are the last person we want to hurt. So please, for us baby, let us take care of you, let us protect you, let us just enjoy every minute we are together. Believe us when we tell you things will be alright and if the situation isn’t fine, we will do everything within our power to make it better. So, pinkie promise that you will let us do our thing?”, Tae holds out his much larger pinkie, his boxy smile big.

All of them know Jimin is fragile, so the last thing they want to do is give him the idea that they are upset or angry with him, but they do want him to understand that the situation is serious. Those tweets and mean messages can make his anxiety flare up and with how much people have come after him the past couple of weeks, they want to prevent that as much as possible. They don’t mind dealing with his panic and fears, especially because that mostly ends up in cuddling him, kissing him all over his face and staying indoors for days on end in their little bubble, but they want to be able to do all that without him shaking like a leaf and crying his eyes out the first so many hours.

So, when Jimin wraps his tiny pinkie around Tae’s, they all take a deep breath. Another big step has been taken by Jimin in the process of trusting them completely. Working on that is something they would always have to do in any relationship, yet with Jimin it’ll take them a bit longer, which is fine to all of them. Every step he takes forward, is a spark more in their hearts for the younger. None of them can deny that they aren’t irrevocably in love with him.

”So, I’m going to take your phone away and we are just going to talk about how tomorrow is looking for you. Do you have any plans besides work? Can we pick you up or is there something planned where we could take away the attention of the kids if we show up?”, Yoongi asks, giving Jimin’s phone to Jungkook who is sitting next to him. The younger puts the phone in his back pocket to keep it away from the already upset boy on the couch.

”It is Sunday tomorrow, which means no school. You can’t disrupt anything for the kids seeing as there won’t be any in the building. I won’t be there either. Home is where I’ll be. What I’ll be doing? No clue. I think it’ll depend on you guys. Will you be home? Are you going to be at office?”

”Minnie, technically tomorrow is Monday, seeing as it’s past midnight which makes it Sunday right now.”

”Kookie – Hyung, to me it’s not Sunday until I wake up in the morning. Therefore, I am right and you are wrong. Tomorrow is still weekend.”, Jimin smiles adorably.

”Fine, I’ll give that to you. For tomorrow, we don’t have plans though. We thought we’d stay home with you, lay low for a day. Just to give the people one more day to wrap their heads around us dating. Also, we just don’t want to share you if we don’t have to.”

That Sunday they all stay in pyjama’s, hanging out in Jimin’s smaller room on his bed, all of their phones out in the livingroom in order to not be disturbed by work, family members or angry fans. They are a tangled mess of limbs, but none of the idols care because it makes their boyfriend smile so big. The worry line between his eyebrows is completely gone, his eyes are shimmering carrying literal stars in them. While all of them are cuddling, talking about their plans for the upcoming week, months and hopefully years, some random American Sitcom they aren’t really watching is playing in the background. Jin and Yoongi make sure there’s food whenever someone’s hungry and at night they decide to all stay in bed with Jimin. Make sure he has a good night’s sleep before going back to work the next day.  

Monday morning Jungkook and Namjoon drop Jimin off at school, they hand him the lunch and snacks that Jin made for him, give him a kiss on his forehead, then leave the building but not before promising that all six of them will pick him up at 4pm. Jimin walks into his classroom with a little spring in his step, a happy sigh leaving his mouth. Sure, he is sad that these next few months will be the last as a teacher, but knowing what he will gain by giving up his job, he just can’t regret the choice he’s made. The day passes quickly, every little break he has he checks his phone to find little messages from his boyfriends, not even in the group chat so everyone can see it, but in messages personally to Jimin. Of course, they probably all know what they are sending the younger, their communication has become perfect, bar none. Before knowing Jimin their skills were already on point, now with all of them dating the same guy, their communication is so good they don’t even need words anymore. They are not only in sync dancing and singing wise, but also Jimin wise.

At 3.30 pm Jimin opens his door to parents waiting to pick up their kids. One by one the kids leave the teacher’s class while waving back at their teacher before giving their parents a hand and leaving the school until the next day. The last toddler’s name is called and just like all the other kids he walks outside while waving at the brunette. When Jimin turns to his parents, he looks right in the eyes of the one person he hoped he would never see again. The same girl that threatened him at the school party at the beginning of the month. She asks her brother to wait for her a bit further in the hallway as she has to talk to his teacher for a little while. Being a good little boy, her brother listens and waits patiently for his sister while she walks back to Jimin. A mean smirk makes its way on her face, her eyes are almost slits.

”Mr. Park… I thought you would know by now that we don’t appreciate you being this close to Bangtan. I also thought we specifically told you to pack your bags and leave the boys alone, we also told you that they aren’t gay and now you are forcing them in a gay relationship out in the open. Isn’t that a little selfish? You want them and their money all to yourself, and that comes from the person who teaches my brother how to share pretty much everything. Do you want us to hurt you again? As I said, I don’t want to but you are leaving us no choice. For the last time, listen very carefully because I shall say this only once. Leave Bangtan alone and no harm will come to you, keep ‘dating them’ and we will break you in any way we can. Make the right choice Mr. Park, I urge you to think things through. I’ve said this before, my brother loves you, so the last thing I want to do is hurt his favourite person. Understood?”, she pats him twice on the same cheek, turns around, only to notice six men witnessing their little talk.

They look at her with threatening eyes, anger prominent on their faces. The girl grabs her little brother’s hand, practically running through the hallway and quickly as possible making her way to the exit of the building.

”Minnie, are you alright?”

Jimin walks into his classroom, the six men following him. The minute the door is closed the teacher latches himself onto Jungkook. His hands are shaking, his legs almost giving in. His boyfriend immediately picks him up, holding him even closer than he already was a minute ago.

”Sweetheart, can you tell us who that girl is?”, Namjoon tries his very best to keep the fury in his voice at bay, his boyfriend is not at fault here, but his protective streak is running through his body and he needs to calm it down by taking some action before he explodes.

”Kang Yumi, she is a student at the secondary school around the corner. If I’m not mistaken, she is in her second to last year. Her brother, Kang Duri, is my class so she regularly picks him up seeing as she passes the school on her way home. In the beginning of the year she was fine, she said hi and bye like everyone else and thanked me for her brother’s education. That changed in January though. She started looking creepily at me, but I thought it was my imagination. She never said or did anything, so I thought that maybe she was stressed out because of her schoolwork, but then things escalated. Remember how I called you all freaked out at my school event in the beginning of the month? The art gallery? I told you I was tired and that the kids had played pranks on me, but that was a lie… The truth is that she approached me and asked me if it was wise to drink coffee, because did I not remember what happened the last time I drank it. Then she asked me if I had found the pictures they sent me and then threatened me into leaving you guys. I didn’t want to tell you at the time, because I was scared that dating me was more bothersome than fun. Her brother got picked up by his mother these past few weeks, so I thought that the issue had solved itself, but I guess not… I promise you I was going to tell you about it in the car, I haven’t forgotten that I agreed to letting you handle everything, but I just don’t see how you can do anything against her… There’s no proof… It’s my word against hers.”, Jimin’s pout breaks their heart. He just doesn’t deserve all this hate.

”Luckily for you and us, we have very pretty brains that work hard. Especially when it comes to protecting our angel, we are ready to handle any situation. That’s why the minute we walked into the hallway and saw her standing with you, we took our phones out and started filming it. Well, not all of us, but Yoongi hyung and myself. The girl didn’t realise how loud she was talking, so not only did she not notice us, we were able to capture her speech from where she is admitting to have hurt you in the past to where she is threatening you into leaving us. I’m sorry we didn’t speak up sooner, but if we did, we would have missed out on this evidence. We’ve already sent it to our lawyer, who texted us that he’s already in contact with the school to get her address. Our legal team are going to drag her to court and from there we’ll see where it takes us. She is done scaring you.”, Taehyung says, while combing his fingers through Jimin’s soft locks.

”I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”, Jimin mumbles in Jungkook’s neck, which makes the other boys chuckle. How can their boyfriend be so adorable?

”If it were any other person, we would have been angry, but we know you had good intentions. The fact that you told us the truth now, shows us that you understand our concerns and are willing to help us in protecting you. We are so proud of you Honey for being brave and telling us everything. Let bygones be bygones, from now on we are only going to focus on the now. You telling us, confiding in us, letting us deal with the situation as we asked you to do, that is what we are seeing now, nothing else. So, no need to apologise. You did really good Jiminie, hyung is proud of you.”, Yoongi softly places a kiss on the back of his boyfriend’s neck, “How about we go home now, eat and then cuddle you until you fall asleep?”

Jimin hums, slowly calming down by the prospect of having his boyfriends as close as possible. An hour later, Jimin gets a phone call from Kang Yumi’s parents. They apologise profusely for calling so late, but they feel the need to say sorry for their child’s behaviour. Both of them had no idea their daughter was this toxic or that she had made a hobby out of bullying Jimin. They inform the teacher that they made their daughter deactivate all of her social media in order to keep her from posting pictures that invade his privacy or that start hate campaigns against him and to immediately call if she does something like this again. Her parents tell him to definitely take the case to court and to go down hard on her, they won’t beg for mercy or any lesser punishment. They are appalled by her behaviour and even blame themselves, both parents haven’t been home much due to their jobs. Jimin tells them it’s not their fault, every parent works long hours these days, but he is sure they spent more than enough time with her when they are home seeing as their son is the nicest boy in his class. He tells them that childrens characters are not only a product of nurture over nature, but also their own character and environment, such as friends and people online who influence them on a daily basis. So, the last thing they should do is blame themselves, as he doesn’t blame them at all. Before hanging up, he promises them that if their daughter harasses him again in the future he will let them know immediately and thanks them for their concern.

Hands immediately grab his phone, put it down on the sofa, then travel to his hips and push him to his chair at the dinner table. Looking up he sees Taehyung behind him, hearts in his eyes looking back at him. Tae asks him if he’s alright to which Jimin nods and explains to his boyfriends what that phone call was all about.

With dinner and the dishes out of the way, they all clean up and change in their pyjamas in record time. Jimin is the last one to climb into bed, but he doesn’t mind. His heart is much lighter than at the start of his evening and the six pair of grabby hands make him feel so loved. While the performers are talking about their work and the plans they have for their future album, Jimin is lulled into a peaceful sleep by their voices.

The next morning, Jimin is the first one to wake up. Slowly he crawls from in between his boyfriends and silently makes his way to the kitchen. Finally, he can make them breakfast without them chasing him away from the kitchen. He loves that they take care of him every minute of the day, but sometimes the younger wants to take care of his partners too. Along the way of getting to know the idols he has learned to not feel guilty when they dedicate every minute of their free time on him, he has also learned to accept the countless gifts they give him without complaining, but sometimes he can’t help but fret about it. His anxiety knows his fears and decides to remind him of them on the regular. Once he has arrived in the kitchen, he opens all the cupboards to see what they have left of food. There isn’t a lot left, but he finds all the ingredients for scrambled eggs with bacon, croque monsieurs and toast with butter and jam. There are also a few bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches and apples left that he cuts in small pieces and adds together in a fruit salad. With the leftover bread, he makes lunches for himself and his boyfriends. He has his earphones in, listening to his Bangtan playlist. Currently, the song ‘Idol’ is blasting in his ears, which is one of the maknae’s favourite songs. While dancing to the song he places everything carefully on the table and writes a note to tell his boyfriends that he has already left for work. Turning around, after his own breakfast that he had standing up while fixing the food and dancing around, to make his way to the bathroom for a quick shower, he almost drops the last forks and knifes he wants to put down on the table because right in front of him, leaning against the wall is Hobi. The elder has been watching Jimin’s antics for the last 10 minutes. A lovesick smile is formed on his face, his arms crossed. Luckily for the teacher he didn’t notice the video and the pictures his hyung has made to post in the Bangtan group chat without Jimin in or he would have felt even more embarrassed.



”HYUNG?! How long have you been standing there?”, Jimin asks in complete shock.

”Not that long love, don’t worry I didn’t see a lot.”, The smile on his face becomes even bigger. Hobi is unable to look away from his boyfriend who now has his face in his hands, trying to hide himself from the man in front of him.

”Hyyyuuunnggggg, why do you keep staring at me? Look away, please?”, Jimin whines, trying to hide himself even more.

”I just really love you Jiminie, why would I want to look away when you are the most beautiful view I can ever have.”, The way Hoseok delivers that line with the softest, most delicate voice makes Jimin stop. His hands fall away from his face.

”Hyung? Did you just... I -”, Jimin doesn’t know what to say, he is still so shocked. For some reason he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to any of boyfriends confessing to him. This is the third time it has happened and just like the other two times he is taken aback.

”You don’t have to say it back love, you don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know I feel.”, Hobi walks to Jimin, wraps his arms around the teacher’s tiny waist and pulls him closer so that he can give him a soft kiss on his forehead, then one on his button nose, both his cheeks and finally on his lips.

Jimin sighs in the kiss, being wrapped in his arms or any of his boyfriend’s arms feels like home.

”I love you too Hobi – hyung, for a while now. I’m just not good with words and didn’t really know how to tell you.”, Jimin says, cheeks still burning with embarrassment.

”Like you just did it, that was perfect. I don’t need more than that.”, the rapper says, while looking into the younger’s brown eyes. The younger is lost for words, so he quickly looks away.

”The breakfast I made is for you too hyung, it’s for all of you. I also made your lunches. Please tell the other’s when they wake up. Now, I have to quickly go take a shower, or I’ll be too late for work.”, Jimin tries to walk away from his boyfriend, but he is not letting him leave.

”I’ll let you go if you can say those three words again. I just really want to hear them again.”, The elder smiles, placing his forehead against the brunette’s.

”I love you Hobi – hyung, with my entire heart.”

For the rest of the day Hoseok is beaming, literally nothing can ruin his day. The other guys don’t even have to ask what happened, but they listen to him talk about it over and over, all happy for him. It’s funny how all of them thought they’d be jealous of each other constantly, but with this open communication and all of them sharing the same goal which is seeing Jimin happy, they aren’t jealous what so ever. Sure, the three boys who haven’t had their “I love you” moment yet want to have it too as soon as possible, but that doesn’t take away that they aren't happy for their best friends and their boyfriend. Seeing the others happy, makes them happy and that is what matters. During the day they do what they always do, talk about their boyfriend, write songs about their boyfriend, text their boyfriend and at 4 pm sharp they pick him up from school. Ever since Jimin has announced to the world that he is dating the six men, the other teachers keep actively looking up the idols. Some even threatened to treat the younger nicely, to not hurt him and to always put him first despite their careers being as important as they are. The singers and rappers are very grateful for the teacher’s colleagues, they share the same protective streak over the brunette which they know will keep the younger safe. It has been proven over and over again everytime they send away paparazzi and keep them from entering the school gates. In the evening it’s Bangtan themselves who chase the paparazzi away. By now most photographers don’t show up anymore seeing as they’ve been dragged in front of court, Bangtan takes invasion of privacy very seriously.

Sitting on the sofa in their living room they are making plans for this weekend. Last week was Hoseok’s birthday, but with Bangtan’s busy schedule in the studio they didn’t really have time to celebrate it, they couldn't even celebrate Valentine's day with their boyfriend. On the day itself he got his presents and a longer lunch break than usual, but that was it. Hobi didn’t mind, he easily puts his work before himself, but it’s his first birthday with Jimin in his life and as his boyfriend so he wants to do at least something. Not that he wants a big party, he is more of a stay-at-home guy who enjoys a face mask and a board game with some snacks to nibble on. So that’s exactly what they decide on. The week goes by fast and before they know it, it’s Saturday afternoon. Everyone is sitting at the table, cards in front of them, ready to play Halli Galli. Face masks are in place, snacks are on the table, music on in the background. Jimin is seated next to his Hobi-hyung, his head on the elder’s shoulder. The younger took his eldest boyfriend aside earlier that day to ask him to let Hobi win the game every once in a while, seeing as it’s his birthday and Jin, who can’t refuse Jimin anything, agreed. The ace of the game is Jin for sure, he’s so good that they all keep challenging him but so far no one has ever been able to beat him. Today, as a gift, Hobi will be able to beat the eldest idol at least once, but Jin knows that if his boyfriend looks at him with his puppy dog eyes, he will lose every round simply to make the younger happy.

The entire evening is spent together, the only reason they leave the table is to dispose of their masks or to refill the snacks and a few hours into the celebrations Jimin stands up and makes his way to the kitchen. There he grabs a home-made birthday cake out of the fridge that he made earlier with the help of Jin and Yoongi. It has a lot of fruit on top, some strawberry jam in the middle and some tuffs of whipped cream. With chocolate sauce in pretty letters, they wrote "Happy Birthday Hobi". The younger quickly adds the few coloured candles he could find in the store and lits them one by one. When he comes out of the kitchen, he starts to sing Happy Birthday, to which the others quickly sing along. Jimin lets Hobi cut the cake and divide the pieces on paper plates. Before Hoseok can take a bite though, Jimin swipes some of the whipped cream from his piece and smears it on top of Hobi's nose. The maknae's cute giggle has them all laughing along and Hobi decides in that moment to just let it go. If him being in shock makes his boyfriend this happy, he'll gladly take an entire pie to the face. Although... that is something he doesn't say out loud, knowing his friends they would test out that theory in a heartbeat. As a thank you for the delicious cake, Hobi hugs his boyfriend even closer and kisses him softly on the cheek. By the end of the day, Jimin is seated in Hobi’s lap, his head on his shoulder, giggling to all the stories his boyfriends are telling him. Stories of four years of being an idol are flowing from their mouths, most of them are funny anecdotes, but some are just weird. The teacher sometimes tells his own adorable stories that have to do with the toddlers he’s teaching, but seeing as it is his first year as a kindergarden teacher he mostly listens to the six other men. When the night ends, he follows Hobi into his room and cuddles close to him. Both of them falling asleep almost instantly.

As always, the following days pass quickly and before they know it is is Wednesday. Jimin told them that morning that he would be home later than usual, he had no idea what time it would be, but he would keep them up to date. He also didn’t want to tell them what it was about seeing as things could still change but he would tell them once he gets home. So, at 7 pm everyone is sitting around the table, food in the oven and all their eyes on their phones. Through a game of rock, paper, scissors they decided on who would pick up Jimin if he asked for it. None of them want to miss the text he might send them that will send all of them in motion. That text comes exactly 27 minutes later. Tae and Jungkook get up, making their way to the garage and getting in the car to pick up Jimin at the destination he sent to them which is some small park not far from his school. To say all of them are confused is an understatement. The others start to set the table and like every other night Jin and Yoongi make their way to the kitchen.



When Jimin walks in all his boyfriends look at him expectantly, so the younger shows them the piece of paper he has been hiding behind his back. The first one to take a hold of it is Namjoon, who immediately hugs Jimin close.

”You really did it Sweetheart! Oh my god! You really did it!”, He spins the younger around who by now is hysterically laughing and nodding his head frantically.

The others are still reading over the paper, then they start to scream and jump along.

”You know you can’t turn back now!”, Tae asks.

”From July 1st on you’ll be a part of our work family! We are never going to leave you alone!”, Hobi yells.

”I’m going to have my Minnie with me all the time. I have been dreaming of this ever since we were kids.”, Jungkook laughs.

”Darling, you know you can’t get rid of us now, right?”, Jin says while hugging Jimin close.

”I don’t know who I saved in a previous life to deserve you Honey, but having you around us, being able to keep you safe and happy… This is the best day of my life, no... the third best day of my life.”, Yoongi winks at Jimin.

”Hyung, why only the third best day?”, Tae asks confused.

”I lied, it’s the fourth best day. The third best day is when I met Jiminie, the second was the day he agreed to be our boyfriend and the very best day of my life was when he told me he loved me. I’m more a man of actions than a man of words when it comes to my personal life, but those three words are the most beautiful ones I have ever heard, especially coming from this little angel’s mouth.”



The other men look at their bandmate completely baffled. Yoongi isn’t the kind of person who uses mellow words or shows his emotions, but right here right now, looking at Jimin and the contract he signed to officially become a part of the Big Hit family, he has turned into this complete softy who melts at every sound his boyfriend makes. It is weird to them, but they completely understand it. Jimin can make everyone’s icy heart melt. They pull Jimin closer and embrace him in a group hug, the younger in the middle. The hug lasts for what seems like forever, but Jimin has never been happier. 

Chapter 15

Notes:

Hi,

Chapter 15 has arrived. I hope you enjoy it.
This is my little Christmas gift to all of you.
Happy holidays and stay safe.

Xo,
I.

Ps: If you want to, you can find me on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Chapter Text

In the beginning of May, Jimin is sitting down at the breakfast table eating his food while zoning out. The last few months have been tiring on him. He’s been saying goodbye to his job and his kids in his head already, hoping that once the day comes when he stops being a teacher, everything will go smoothly. With how everything is going right now, he doesn’t really have that hope anymore, he keeps crying at random times which makes him feel guilty in return. He hates saying goodbye to being a teacher, but he looks forwards to starting his job at Big Hit, only… he’s doing a very shitty job of showing that. Jimin has never been good with change and this year has been filled with a lot of it. He found himself dating six men that he loves with all his heart, met five new families and rekindled his friendship with one, they moved houses, he got a different job, he has to go everywhere now with a bodyguard in case of attacks on his life, and his social media blew up ever since people knew they are dating. Continuous change has been driving him crazy, but he isn’t complaining. Literally, he isn’t talking about it, he doesn’t want to look ungrateful about everything or make them feel that he isn’t happy, because despite everything he has never been this content with his life.

His boyfriends have been watching him from afar. Trying to take away his stress whenever they can, they just hope they can keep him from exploding before he gathers the courage to open up to them. None of them take it personally, they understand Jimin wants to fix things on his own first. They always give him the chance to do so, it’s the least they can do. His life has been basically flipped upside down, most people would start stressing for less nowadays.

The thing that is killing Jin the most though, is that he notices the younger not taking fulfilment in the food he is eating and therefore is regularly skipping meals. The idols haven’t had the chance to cook for Jimin as they are too busy writing, producing, filming advertisements and decorating their place in LA. Officially, they are still on a hiatus, but they get bored easily, so when the creative juices flow, they stay in the studio and work. Not that the teacher is home to notice, he has to wrap everything up himself, so every day he stays in class longer to put materials he won’t need any more in boxes, to thoroughly clean toys he isn’t going to use anymore, he is storing the art works he made to show to his toddler as a guide throughout their craft moments, he is even taking his little plants home one by one. That way the children don’t notice too much of a change and Jimin doesn’t have to transport them all at the same time, because there are a lot of them. Who knew he’d go from a plant murderer, to a cacti collector? Not him, that’s for sure, but he’s blaming Namjoon for that one.

”Here mister Dreamy, eat this. Your plain toast is making me lose my appetite, I can’t imagine yours is doing any better. Normally you add some butter and jam, but not even that today. I want my darling to only eat the best food.”, Jin places a bowl of soup in front of Jimin, it’s his favourite, Chicken soup with big chunks of meat, a lot of green onion and some alphabet pasta. The younger, hangs back on his chair, looks up to his eldest boyfriend, pushing his lips together, silently asking for a kiss. Easily, the elder complies to his request, he bends down and places his lips on top of Jimin’s, who quickly kisses his chin too as a thank you.

”Spiderman could never be as good as us.”, Jin jokes, “enjoy your meal.”

”I will hyung. It smells and looks delicious, as always. Hyung’s food never lets me down!”, Jimin smiles, the dullness in his eyes completely gone.

Picking up his spoon, he looks down at his food, drooling over the meal in front of him. One by one, he’s looking at the letters, trying to see if he can form words, only to realise they are already placed in a sentence. Even though some of the letters are trying to float away, the sentence is still pretty clear.

The younger looks up, his lip between his front teeth, a blush on his cheeks. He looks toward the kitchen, but when he can’t see his boyfriend, he silently moves the chair backwards, runs to the kitchen on his tiptoes, approaches his boyfriend who has his back turned towards him. Jimin wraps his hands around Jin and places his head on his strong shoulders. The teacher feels a warm hand on top of his, caressing them softly.

”Darling, are you okay?”, Jin asks, feeling something wet through his shirt.

”Yes. I just wanted a hug from my boyfriend”, the younger answers, happy tears falling from his eyes onto his boyfriend’s shirt, “And to tell you that I love you too.”

A shy kiss lands on Jin’s neck. Before Jimin can even pull away, he is engulfed in his boyfriend’s arms. The idol lifts the younger on the counter and kisses him. When they finally give their lips some rest, their foreheads stay connected.

”I’m sorry it took me so long to say Minnie. I didn’t want to add to the stress you have been going through. Having six boyfriends who you live with while wrapping up a job and dealing with their fans can’t be easy on you. I’ve seen you zone out or hear you cry more than once. On the off chance that you didn’t love me back yet, I didn’t want to force you into turning me down or lying to me because you didn’t want to break my heart. My actions have, hopefully, told you my actual feelings. If not, I apologise, because I love you so much. There are no words in the world to describe how I feel about you.”

”Don’t say sorry about it. I could have said it too, but it’s as you said… I’ve been stressing out and whenever I am around all of you, the last thing I want is to add a bomb like that and put the other five in awkward positions. I know all of you are quite open about everything and I love that, but I’m still figuring out what I can do around all of you and what I can better do when I’m with just one of you. I know we’ve been dating for almost six months and they have been the best months of my life, but I feel like a terrible boyfriend.”, Jimin confesses.

”You stop thinking that right this minute mini mister. To this day, none of us have complained about anything to do with you and I doubt we will. That doesn’t mean we won’t ever disagree or fight about something, but different opinions are normal. Having bad days is also normal. The combination of those two is also normal. We will always get through it, because even if things go haywire between us for a while, we will never stop adoring you. You, my tiny, cute, little boyfriend, are the best thing that has ever happened to us. So, I’ll say this again and then I won’t mention it again, but if there is something wrong, no matter how big or small, whether it has to do with us or not, you can talk to all of us or just one. We won’t be jealous if you decide to speak to just one of us, we know we are all different and that means we will all understand some things better than the others. As long as you are happy, we are happy. There, I said it, now I’m going to be quiet. Go eat your soup darling, I made it especially for you.”, Jin helps Jimin off the counter and kisses him on top of his head. When the younger doesn’t make an effort to turn around for another kiss, the idol takes him by the hand and pulls him back to him. Jimin lands against the elder’s chest whose lips immediately find their way on his.

”Never leave without a kiss mini mister.”, the elder winks at the younger who is blushing furiously, giggling giddily.

His school day goes by in a heartbeat, Jimin gets a lot of hugs from the kids in his class. They have been doing that for the past few months and even though no one told them their teacher would be leaving, it’s as if they can feel it. Other than the hugs and the kids being extra clingy there is no further hiccup. Jimin doesn’t have a meltdown in his class because he has to pack yet another toy they won’t be needing anymore. He does feel emotional about it, but the happy feelings of that morning still shine through. The teacher also doesn’t get the opportunity to break down as a knock on his door distracts him from losing himself in his emotions.

Turning around towards the door, the only thing he sees is red rose floating in the air. The younger walks towards it, noticing the hand that holds the rose and immediately knows who the person with the flower is.

”Jin hyung?”

”Ah yes, I guess it’s true what they say. Fans can recognise us by our hands.”, The older smirks.

”I wouldn’t know, I guess I’ll have to ask them.”, Jimin replies.

”Excuse you, are you implying you are not our fan?”, Jin asks indignant.

”I mean… Until 8 months ago or so I had no clue who you guys were. Then we went to friends and now boyfriends. I’m a fan of my boyfriends though, who happen to be very popular idols.”, Jimin laughs, running to his boyfriend, who opens his arms for the younger to run into. Jimin jumps up, holding onto his boyfriend like a koala, “Anyway, is this for me?”

The younger points at the flower that is now lying safely on his desk, in order for it to not get ruined when the younger jumped on top of his boyfriend.

”Yes, it is.”, Jin replies, gently taking the rose from the desk and handing it over to his boyfriend. “Are you ready to go home? The others are already waiting and Yoongi is cooking your favourite stew. Afterwards you get to pick a film you want to watch.”

”I’m more than ready Jin hyung. You don’t have to work late tonight?”, Jimin asks.

”No, all of us decided that we have been spending too much time in the studio. It’s still our time off and instead of enjoying it with our boyfriend, we have been proper workaholics and you haven’t complained once. A sweet angel like that needs to be rewarded. We’re thinking of taking the rest of the work week off too. Unless you have to work longer?”

”No, normal work hours this week. You don’t have to stay home for me, you know. If you want to work, you can. It’s not like you neglect me or anything.”, Jimin tells his boyfriend.

”Darling, we know, but we are still on a hiatus and yet, here we are acting as if we have a comeback tomorrow. You are going through a hard time right now; you need us more than our fans. They have more than enough songs, interviews, Run BTS, films and whatnot to keep themselves busy. Even now, we pop up on social media and talk to them. We are still here for them, but not for the person who needs us the most. So, let us be here for you, even if all you want to do is hug and hopefully kiss. That’d be nice, because your lips… Min… Oh. Lord!”, Jin preaches, making Jimin laugh out loud.

”Yours aren’t so bad either Jinnie – hyung.”, Jimin tells him, grabbing his coat and bag, while still being held by Jin, “Can you turn sideways so I can close the door, please?”

The cute look on Jimin’s face sets Jin immediately into motion. Hanging sideways, the teacher manages to close the door and get back up without his boyfriend having to drop him. To thank the idol, Jimin slowly leans forward, kissing the singer on his cheek.

”I don’t know what I would do without you hyung. I love you.”

Jin already knows that Jimin will only have to utter those three words in order to get everything done.

”I love you too my darling, my mini mister, my sweet Min.”


Walking into the livingroom, Jimin is immediately hugged by Jungkook, who drags him to the couch, then places him on his lap and kissing every part of his face.

”Oh. My. God. I have missed you so much. You have changed a lot in these past few weeks, look at you! You have only grown more handsome. Minnie, my best friend, my boyfriend, love of my life ever since I’ve known you, why are you this perfect?”, Jungkook whines, hugging the teacher closer.

”Are you okay Kookie – hyung?”, Jimin asks, wondering what’s up with the older.

”Yes, I am. It just suddenly occurred to me that I’ve missed you a lot, so much more than I can actually say. None of us have been treating you right. Leaving early in the morning, coming home late… We are on a hiatus for crying out loud. Now that we are living together, I’ve been spending less time with you than when we were apart.”, Jungkook exclaims dramatically.

”Hyung, aren’t you overexaggerating a little bit? We didn’t spend time together for four years, now I see you every day. Granted sometimes I only get to spend time with you for a few minutes before I have to go to bed, but it’s all good. I still get to kiss you goodnight. I understand that your busy though, you don’t become famous overnight, you have to work hard for it, which you guys did. I’m not going to mess with that.”, Jimin kisses Jungkook on his forehead, then smiles at him.

”Pfrt, whatever. Tonight, I’m not letting you go. Unless, you want to hug with someone else that is.”, Jungkook says, showing the maknae that he options.

”I would love to sit on your lap. I can hug the others while using you as my chair.”

”Deal. Tonight, you are mostly mine.”, Jungkook exclaims.

”That is until we go to bed and I get to have my baby all for myself. Don’t think I’ll give up my night with him.”, Taehyung ruffles Jungkook’s hair, while kissing the top of Jimin’s head, “Jiminie is the best to cuddle with. I’m already looking forward to it.”

”Ugh, I hate Wednesdays. Tae is too smug about him sleeping next to you.”, Jungkook sulks.

”Dude, you literally wake up every Saturday yelling loudly that in 12 hours you get to sleep next to your boyfriend and then you count down the hours about every half hour! We don’t have to ask for the time because you are, literally, a walking clock. The only one who enjoys that is Min. Besides, who says we just sleep?”, Taehyung has to duck behind the table as a pillow almost hits him straight in the face.

”I don’t want to know what you do together in that bedroom. In my mind, all you do, is lie on opposite sides of the bed, with a wall of pillows in the middle keeping you separated. As you should.”, Jungkook states petulantly.

”Oh, I’m going to join in that thought, but on every day when Jimin isn’t lying next to me.”, Hobi laughs, “Thanks for that Kookie, saviour of my sanity, for sure.”

While watching the chosen film, Tangled, the maknae is indeed sitting on his youngest boyfriend’s lap. The others regularly get up to go give him a kiss, ruffle his hair, or put a snack in his mouth that he’s been asking for. It does annoy Jungkook a little bit, sometimes he only wants Jimin for himself. He doesn’t mind sharing his boyfriend with the other five, but it has been a tough transition for him. Having Jimin for himself during his childhood, he is so used to having him around only for him, now wherever he goes, or turns his back, there are his bandmates and friends with him at all times and while sharing this experience of loving Jimin with them has been phenomenal, sometimes it’s a little bit annoying. Talking about it with the others helped a lot, they often try to leave the room whenever he’s with Jimin, even if it’s only for a few minutes. On Sunday, even though they still all sleep in the same bed, they give Jungkook a few more minutes with the younger. To show his appreciation, he often takes over some of their work so they can spend time with the teacher on their own. No matter how much they adore each other, that one on one time with their boyfriend is the most special and precious to them.

The next day Jungkook drives Jimin to school after having a quick breakfast together. A spontaneous sing – a – long breaks out that has them giggling by the time they arrive at school. Jimin runs a little later than usual, so Jungkook insists on dropping him off at his classroom door. Of course, there is only one way to get his boyfriend to class on time and that is by giving him a piggyback ride. Normally the younger would be absolutely against this, he is a teacher and should behave respectably, but with the hallways completely empty, he agrees to this, but tells his boyfriend ‘Just this once!’. Jungkook agrees to it, swiftly running to the end of the hall, making sure the boy on his back is having the best fun. Landing back on his two feet, Jimin gives Jungkook a quick kiss on his lips while opening the door, ready to take over from the help who is always present on Mondays and Thursdays. A lot of “oooh’s and aaah’s reach his ears, Jimin turns around to his entire class looking at him with big sparkling eyes and large smiles on their faces.

”Mr Park, who is this? Your boyfriend?”, Seungmin giggles.

”Ah, ehm…”, Jimin scratches the back of his neck, “Kookie – hyung, do you want to come in please?”

Before he can even finish his sentence properly, the singer barges into the classroom excitedly.

”Hi everyone, my name is Jungkook and yes, I am Mr Park’s boyfriend.”, The idol doesn’t talk about the other five boyfriends, not because he doesn’t want to, but because he knows how careful Jimin is about revealing his private life, especially because society can be judgemental.

”Oh, what are your plans with our teacher?”, Naeun, a girl clearly smaller than the rest of her classmates, wearing a pretty pink bow in her jet-black hair, asks the new man standing in front of them.

”Well, Mr Park and I haven’t been together for very long, but we have been friends since we were both children. So, first and foremost I want us to stay friends. Secondly, I want us to grow even closer and be with each other forever and lastly, if he wants, maybe we can get married one day.”, Jungkook whispers the last part, ending it with a wink, as if he told the toddlers his biggest secret.

The class starts applauding and screaming, some jump up and down and others are hiding their faces in their hands.

”Jungkook-ssi, you can’t just marry our teacher. We have to give you our permission. If we say no, Mister Park is not going to be your husband.”, Han tells him sternly, his tiny finger pointing to the idol in front of him.

”Oh, of course. I understand that and I don’t mind earning your permission.”, Jungkook smiles, loving the kids’ overprotectiveness towards their teacher, “is there anything I can do to earn your ‘yes’?”

”You are a singer? Right?”, Jungkook nods, “I knew it! My sister watches your band all the time. She screams every time the radio plays your song and she learns all your dance moves. Too bad she isn’t that great at dancing. Okay, ehm… how about you sing us a song? A nice one? And if we like, you get to marry our teacher when he says yes to you.”, Jungwon, a boy with apple red cheeks, who's missing a front tooth, offers.

”I can do that, if your teacher agrees to it that is.”, the idol looks over to his boyfriend who has been silent up until that point.

”Why would I be against it?”, Jimin asks.

”Well, you probably want these boys and girls to learn something before they go home tonight and instead, I’m here, talking to them. Trying to get their permission. There is not a lot learning happening right now.”, the older replies, Jimin just chuckles.

”Well, we can do without learning for a few minutes. Go ahead. Show them what you can do.”, while the kids are cheering, the teacher blows his boyfriend a kiss.

Fifteen minutes and four songs later, Jungkook stops singing. The kids are quiet, completely in awe of his voice. Not one sound is made, they are just staring at him.

”So… Did I do good?”, Jungkook breaks the silence still hanging around the classroom.

”Well… it was so short. I don’t think we are fully convinced yet. Maybe, you can sing more? Yes, Mr Park? Can he?”, Seungmin looks up at his teacher with big, hopeful eyes.

”Only if Jungkook hyung wants to. He is busy, so if he has to leave, we will accept that.”, The kids nod and turn to Jungkook again.

”I guess, I can stay for a few more minutes. Any requests?”, he asks the class.

An hour later, it is time for Jungkook to go. The rest of the guys have called him several times by now, his texts are blowing up asking him when he’s coming back to the office because they need him to read over some lyrics. He stands up, wishes everyone a good day and walks to the door. Before leaving though, he turns around and looks at all the five – year – olds who are staring back at him.

”So, do I get to marry Mr Park now?”

”YYYEEESSS!!!”, Jungkook turns to Jimin, looking all smug.

”I guess you won’t have a choice now. Marrying you is in our future.”

”Jungkook-ssi?”, a girl with two buns on top of her head stands up from her seat.

”Yes, sweetheart?”, the girl giggles, completely in love with the man in front of her.

”How much do you like our teacher?”, she looks intently at the idol.

”Oh, I don’t like him”, the little kids all gasp, getting ready to fight him, “I love him. So so much. Always have and always will.”

The singer ruffles his boyfriend's hair, then leans closer to give him a kiss on the cheek. This entire situation has left Jimin speechless. Not only did the older win over his entire class, he also sang to them in order to get permission to marry him, answered their questions, told everyone he loved their teacher… Jungkook had never told him he loved him. Well yes, he did, but they were still friends at the time. It was never like this. His boyfriend didn’t even bat an eye telling his pupils. His childhood friend, who he has loved his entire life and looked up to, literally and figuratively, loves him too. What is his life right now? How does he recover from that? Every single ‘I love you’, he has gotten so far has been special, has left him equally in shambles, this isn’t any different. Jimin is on the verge of crying. As fast as he can he pulls Jungkook into the hallway and kisses him all over his face, a tear escaping his eye.

”I love you too Kookie – hyung. So so much. I love you. Now you have to go or I’m keeping you here and I know for a fact that they need you at the office, because the boys have been spamming the group chat, but give me one last kiss though.”

Jungkook complies to his boyfriend's request, boops his nose, then leaves. Not before quickly turning around again and whispering ‘I love you’, to the teacher whose watching him go. The little scream and giggle coming from the smaller boy make the idol’s heart melt. Yes, he is absolutely in love with Park Jimin.

 

 

When he arrives at the studio, he sees the rest of his friends in a heavy discussion. When he asks them what’s up, they show him two pictures that are posted on the Instagram page of Jimin’s school.

    

@Yongsan_Primary
Thank you for visiting our school and making our 5-year-olds (and their teacher) 
very happy. You are always welcome at our school.

#Cutex2
#JeonJungkook
#Bangtan

 

”People call you cute?! The two of you?! What do you have that Jimin and I don’t have?”, Tae says annoyed, “not only does the caption says that you are cute, all those parents and children attending the school think so too!”

”What I don’t understand is how they don’t mention the five of us?! Jimin has publicly announced that he is dating all of us and they are just talking about Jungkook?!”, Hobi says sadly.

”Maybe they only talk about the two of us, because they spotted us together? Also, you know how those parents are… Most of them are pretty strict. If they aren’t aware that Jimin is dating all of us… Maybe the school doesn’t want to throw Jimin under the bus? I don’t know of course, but I don’t think I would mention other partners if I had a picture of just two people.”, Jungkook reasons, “I don’t think there is any foul game in all of this.”

”Easy for you to talk, Mr cute!”, Yoongi snaps.

”You all act as if Jimin has been hiding you.”, Jungkook replies, “which is a bigger issue, than the school only mentioning me. It’s not like he asked for them to post those pictures. Knowing Jimin and how little he is on social media; he probably doesn’t even know that this has happened. Anyway, I did not leave him behind to come here and have you all freaking out over a picture or two. If you’re that jealous, you drop him off or post a picture or whatever. I’m going to read those lyrics you wanted to me give my opinion on. At least that way I’ll spend my time useful. Side note, the toddlers in Min’s class are better behaved and less irritating than you are right now.”

With that, Jungkook steps out of the studio and walks to the artist lounge in the Big Hit building. He knows jealousy will always be a common thing among them, Hell, he even felt it yesterday. Sharing one boyfriend, even though the communication between them is 90 % of the time absolutely perfect, it’s still hard. Sometimes one person is going to share more time with the teacher and on other times none of them get to spend time with him. It’s obvious everyone wants to have an equal amount of time with the maknae, which isn’t always possible.

Ever since the world knows about the maknae dating the six men, everyone has been interfering with their relationship. They have been able to keep it away from Jimin, but that doesn’t mean, they haven’t been exposed to it. When you see people liking a certain couple more than your own, it does hurt a little bit. It feels as if they are not good enough for Jimin, which is stupid, because as long as Jimin is happy with them that’s all that matters and yet… Sometimes they can’t fight the green monster clawing inside of them. Jungkook understands how the others feel, he really does, but he isn’t going to let their mood ruin his perfect day. Maybe that is selfish of him and he doesn’t want to tell the others that they aren’t allowed to feel what they feel, but he should be able to be happy for himself, to enjoy moments with the younger without feeling guilty all the time.

That evening Jimin arrives home to his six bickering boyfriends, which frustrates him to no end. So, this is the reason why didn’t pick him up from work, even though they tell him to never leave his work without one of them unless they clearly tell him that they won’t be able to pick him up and when that’s the case they send one of their bodyguards to pick the younger up. Today he has been waiting two hours in school for at least one of his boyfriends to arrive. On top of that they never read his text messages. If the bickering was for good reason, he’d be all sweet about it, but now. No, Jimin’s blood is boiling.

”Are you all really fighting over who is the cutest couple in this relationship?! Whether Jungkook is a better boyfriend than Namjoon, whether Hobi takes better care of me than Tae, whether Jin’s meals are better than Yoongi’s? Are you kidding me?”, Jimin rolls his eyes, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

”Well, there’s an easy answer to all of these questions: first off, definitely Namjoon, the answer to question two is clearly me, last question is Jin hyung”, Hoseok replies, in a smug fashion.

“Besides we decided to leave Jungkook out of this discussion. He knows you ever since you were young, too young. That isn’t fair, of course the chemistry is off the charts between the two of you. In this poll Jikook, which is you and Jungkook, have the most popular ship with almost 40 percent and ours is only second to last”, Namjoon sulks, “why do people not like us together?”

”Wait, we are leaving Jungkook out of the equation? Nice, that means I’m the winner of the poll, I knew we were cute! Suck it you extremely large whiny baby! Sucks to be you!", Yoongi laughs.

”What are you on about, you can’t just erase me from existence, that’s just awful. I’m a part of this band, this relationship and this friendship, but if you don’t want me anymore, I can leave.”, Jungkook angrily tells them.

”Guys, come on, let’s talk about this as adults.”

”What do you suggest then Tae.”, Hobi asks.

”Honestly, let’s just not talk about this anymore, because we are never going to agree on who's cuter.”, Taehyung replies.

”We just stated it was Jimin and I”, Yoongi smiles softly, “I’m not giving up on that.”

”Fine! Then give up on me!”, Jimin yells at them, “First of all, how dare you not include Jungkook in any of this?! He is my best friend, always has been and unfortunately for all of you, always will be. Secondly, how dare you even have this competition. It’s already hard on me to wrap my head around having six boyfriends, it’s already hard enough trying to share my time between you equally so none of you get jealous, I struggle with the idea of society hating on me for my relationship and on top of that!”, Jimin takes a deep breath, his face bright red, “Your fans and the media think it’s fine to attack me every minute of every day simply because we are dating! On top of that I’m completely switching up my life so you can keep doing what you are doing and this! This, is how you repay me?! You keep me off social media, but all of you get swept away in this stupid competition of what is the better relationship?! REALLY! Why?! Have I given you ANY reason to doubt me? Is this because of me?!”

”No, of course not. Sweetheart, you have been nothing but perfect.”, Namjoon whispers, completely in shock by Jimin’s outburst.

”Then none of you want me to be happy?! Today was the first day in forever that I wasn’t stressed out. I had a good sleep next to Tae hyung, Jungkook hyung bringing me to school and talking to the kids made me so happy, I instantly missed the rest of you. All I wanted was to come home to you, cuddle tonight and now… I guess we will all be spending time on our own… Ugh, I can’t even say I’m sleeping alone tonight, because that would punish only Joon hyung and you’re all equally irritating! Just leave me alone until you go to bed. I can’t freaking deal with this! Also, if you haven’t apologised to Jungkook by the end of this evening, there won’t be any ship left to talk about, I’ll create my own one with Sehun and Taemin. If this ever happens a second time, I’m moving out, back to my old apartment after I’ve dumped all of your bums!”, Jimin walks to his own personal bedroom that he has never had to use before and slams the door. They hear things fall down in his room and a loud scream.

The boys realise that they took it too far with their joke and actually got lost into it. They all apologise to Jungkook. Hugging him and telling him they could never not include Jungkook in whatever they do. Another thing they realise is that Jimin might have not exploded the way he did now, if he wasn’t already stressed out. The fact that they knew he was already dealing with a lot and decided to add another issue on top of that, of course the smaller boy would react like that. Yes, jealousy is normal, but with the communication they have, they could have simply talked this through. Jungkook easily forgives them, it’s not as if he doesn’t get jealous and as a result unreasonable. They do promise each other to not lose themselves into these polls anymore. The one who suffers the most in the end is their boyfriend.

None of them really knows how to make it up to the younger, but when they unconsciously start writing an apology song, they decide to go with it. Once the song is completely written they understand why it came so it easy to them. They just wrote down the lyrics to Elton John’s ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’, but in Korean instead of English. All of them sigh, this is not what they had planned on. It’s Yoongi who comes with the idea of adding their own touch to it. They can easily put some harmonies on the track, write a few rap parts. When it’s done, they send it to Jimin in the group chat. For half an hour there is no reaction, except for the little ‘read’ sign on the bottom of the text. Then, the younger storms out of the room and hugs them close one by one. Only to then turn to them, point his finger and warn them to never do something like that ever again, to then end up giving them kisses all over their face. The maknae doesn’t know where to go first, or whose lap to sit, but sitting on his own chair is the last thing he wants to do. So, he keeps flitting around, going from boyfriend to boyfriend.

That night Jimin does sleep next to Namjoon and not far apart as he planned at first. His head lies in the crook of the older’s neck, their legs entangled, his arm firmly around his boyfriend. In the morning he’s almost completely lying on top of the rapper, who absolutely loves being squashed by his boyfriend. He snuggles the brunette closer, placing his nose in his hair and smelling it. Jimin’s natural scent is one of his favourite fragrances. If he could bottle it and wear it himself, he would. Once, he tried to wear one of the younger’s t-shirts, but that failed miserably. It became clear very quickly how much broader Namjoon is than the maknae. Now all the boys have stolen one of his t-shirts or sweaters and wrapped it around their pillow. They sleep better when engulfed by his scent.  

The next day, Namjoon asks the others if it’s okay that he takes out Jimin on his own. Just for a few hours, they’ll be back by dinner. After the jealousy streak they just passed they al quickly agree. None of them want a new fight and Namjoon hasn’t had a lot of free time with Jimin lately as he has been working hard on new songs for Bangtan, but also has been writing lyrics for other artists who have approached him. With Jimin still wrapped around him, fast asleep, he opens a new tab on his phone and looks for things to do in Seoul where they won’t get bothered too much. Straight away a few museums pop up and it makes Namjoon smile. One of the first things he did with Jimin was walk around in Seoul, look around at street art, something the younger clearly enjoyed. How about they revisit that day, but indoors?

An hour later, Jimin wakes up, smiles at his boyfriend and asks him for a kiss. With their lips still somewhat attached to each other, the rapper informs the younger that they should get ready, as he is taking him out. Jimin moves rapidly to the bathroom and showers in record time. With his hair still wet, he throws on his clothes. Namjoon is watching his boyfriend’s every move with a smile on his face, that does get replaced with a frown once he notices how wet the brunette's hair actually is. Walking into the bathroom, he takes a towel and a comb, dries the teacher’s hair and combs it.

”For someone who is so good at taking care of others, you are so bad at taking care of yourself.”, He playfully scolds Jimin, who adorably pouts back. Namjoon places one of his beanies on top of Jimin’s head, to keep his head warm.

”Hyung, remember when we were in the studio once and needed some air, so we went for a bike ride and you handed me your beanie then too? Is this becoming a habit of ours, because I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”, Jimin reminisces.

”It was a different beanie though, a black one if I’m not mistaken. You want it to be our thing? Sure, I would love to. I’ll be starting a Jimin collection of beanies, no one else can wear them but you, and me when they fit my clothes, but mostly you.”, Namjoon kisses Jimin on his button nose, then takes him by the hand and leads him to the hallway where he helps the younger into his coat. Once they step outside, a car is already waiting for them.

”Joon hyung, where are you taking me?”, Jimin asks, getting more curious the longer they drive.

Namjoon takes his boyfriend’s hand into his, laces their fingers together, then softly caresses them against Jimin’s cheek. The younger loves this soft side on his normally stern boyfriend.

”I’m taking the most beautiful piece of art to see less beautiful pieces of art.”, The older smiles, his eyes shining when he looks at the teacher.

”What?”, Jimin says shocked, “Hyung, why are you over exaggerating? Did your mum never tell you not to lie?”

”I’m not lying Sweetheart. You are the most beautiful person on this planet. Nothing compares to you. No one could make a painting of you and do you justice, because you just can’t capture your beauty on film or canvas. What blows my mind is that you believe that you aren’t absolutely gorgeous, while the six of us are without words whenever we try to describe you or write a song about you. A little angel, that’s what you are, but there is so much more to you. If we were living in Ancient Greek, you’d definitely be Aphrodite’s child.”

”I know this is a compliment, but I don’t just want to be beautiful. Why can’t I be Artemis’ child? Of Athena’s? Or even Hestia’s. They were all strong, independent, good and still loved by many. If you see paintings of them, they were also very beautiful. I don’t want to end up conceited because people only worship me for the way I look. If people like me, it’s hopefully because I did something right, because I made a difference, even if it’s just for one person.”, The teacher smiles softly, a blush on his cheeks.

”Why is my boyfriend so perfect? Not just beautiful, also passionate, humble, kind, talented. The full package. Come on, let’s go see that lesser artwork.”

     

Namjoon and Jimin walk hand in hand, huddled close together. They talk softly about the pieces of art they walk past, even take some pictures. Once in a while they see people’s faces hit them with the realisation of who the two men are. No one approaches them though; they just wave and move on. Every time that happens, the two men bow deep, showing their gratitude and continue to enjoy their time. It dawns on Namjoon how much knowledge Jimin has about art and certain time periods. As a teacher, the younger has to know a lot in order to teach his kids, but he never realised just how much information he has in his sexy brain. The things the maknae doesn’t know, the rapper knows. They are a perfect pair and it doesn’t go unnoticed by both Namjoon and the people surrounding them.

Swinging their intertwined hands, they walk out of the museum two hours later. Namjoon leads Jimin to a small park nearby. One that, according to Naver, doesn’t attract a lot of people, but is definitely worth the visit, even when you aren’t into nature. At this time of year, most flowers are in full bloom, making them look like a majestic painting. Ideal to finish up their date, according to the rapper. When Jimin enters the park, he gasps audibly. Namjoon wraps his arms around the younger’s waist and hooks his chin over the maknae’s shoulder, finally seeing what he sees. It’s filled with flowers everywhere, the field, the bushes, the trees, it’s like walking into a picturesque painting. With every new flower they pass, the teacher has to smell it. The idol can’t help but snap some pictures and share them with the other guys, who send a lot of flower and heart emoji’s back his way. A while later they find a metal staircase in the park, of course Jimin is the first one to run to it and climb it. Namjoon thinks this is the ideal place to share his heart with the younger. So, while Jimin sits down on the top part, Namjoon is still standing up a few steps lower than him. Their eyes meet, which makes the teacher smile widely.

 

”Hyung, it’s so pretty here, I don’t want to leave.”

”Me neither Sweetheart, but I don’t think the others would agree with that. We can come back as many times as you want though. Just tell me and I’ll bring you here.”, The older watches the younger nod, looking around the field, not knowing where to look first, “Jiminie?”

”Mmm?”

”I know we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together in the past few weeks, which is fully my fault, but I’m glad you are here with me. Every time we are together my heart breaths again. When I’m with you I forget about everything but my lovely boyfriend. You are my entire world and lately I can’t do anything if it doesn’t have to do with you. My little sweetheart, I love you, I love you, I love you. I may be the last to say it, but that doesn’t mean I’m the last to feel it. Lyrics come to me like it’s nothing, but putting my feelings for you into words is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, because those words just do not exist. They aren’t strong enough. So yeah… The only way I know how to say it is this, Jimin, Min, Sweetheart… I love you.”

”Uuuuggghhh!!! Hyung!!! You ruined my surprise! I wanted to tell you first, but because you were so busy it never happened. Now was the perfect moment and I was going to tell you once you were done talking. Whhyyyy?”, Jimin whines cutely and maybe a little bit upset.

”Oh, wait. We’ll rewind the clock”, Namjoon rotates around his own axis, “nothing has happened, we just sat down. So be quick, before I start talking again.”

”Hyung, you are a dork.”, Jimin giggles, but then quickly puts his finger on top of his boyfriend’s mouth once he starts his speech again, “Hyung, you talk too much. I want to tell you something.”

”Oh, you do? I’m all ears then.”

”Joon hyung, I have learned so much from you. You have thought me to believe in myself more, that it’s okay to be different from other people and that crying isn’t something that makes you weak, but that it is the strongest thing you can do. Without you and the others, but this is about us so forget about them for now, I’d still be such a mess, but I feel like I’ve grown as a person being around you. There is this quote and every time I hear it, you are the first person that comes to mind, so I’ll share it with you, if that’s okay?”, Namjoon nods, but stays silent, “ ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth’. To me it is the perfect description of love when I’m around you, whoever I am with you is just fine, there are no conditions, I never feel threatened or angered, and most of all your patience and kindness are the biggest proof of how big your heart is. If you let me, hyung, I would love to keep your heart safe and in return, I’ll gladly give you mine, or a part of it, seeing as I have to split it in six. I love you hyung, will you please except my heart?”, Jimin looks up at Namjoon through his lashes, he’s biting his lips, even though his boyfriend admitted to being in love with him mere minutes ago, he still feels nervous. Never once did he confess his love to someone, what if Namjoon doesn’t like it and decides to take his own words back?

”Sweetheart, I’ll keep your heart safe, forever and I fully entrust you with mine. Just know that once you accept it, it is yours, always. I will never accept my heart back. No take - backsies. Pinkie promise?”

”Pinkie promise.”

Chapter 16

Notes:

Hi!

A new chapter has arrived. It's one filled with celebration and happiness, because who wants more drama when the boys can be happy. Am I right?
So, with Jimin now officially not being a teacher anymore and working for Big Hit, what are your expectations?
And how about Jimin's gift for the boys?

Seeing as this will be my last update of 2021, I want to wish you all a great 2022. I hope it brings you everything your heart desires, but especially kindness, you can never have (or give) enough of that.
If you get to celebrate with friends and family, have fun (but please be safe), if you celebrate on your own, know that I am here for you!

Xo,
I.

Ps: Find me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM1801

Pps: Happy Birthday Taehyung🎉 May your day be as special as you are! 🎈

Chapter Text

On the first of July, everyone and everything seems calm, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Everyone is keeping a secret from someone and are all trying not to spill the beans. They know people will be upset and sad if the truth comes out too early, so everyone is putting down an Oscar Winning performance of feigning innocence.

Jin, Hobi, Namjoon, Tae and Jungkook have the heaviest burden to carry. They are keeping two secrets. The first one is the, very late, surprise birthday party for Yoongi they wanted to throw on his birthday but didn’t have time for and combine it with his release party for his second mixtape that came out a few days ago. The second secret they have to keep is a party for Jimin. One where they celebrate him successfully ending his career as a teacher and welcome him into Hybe. Obviously, the parties for both men are held at the same time, seeing as neither man want to be in the center of attention. Jimin gets his gift and a dinner sooner though, to give him a moment to feel special, just like Yoongi had on his actual birthday.

Jimin and Yoongi are only aware of the other’s party, not of their own. To get both men out of the house, they have roped them into going out on a date together. So, when Jimin asks Yoongi if he wants to go to the studio and work on that song together, while eating home-made food by the younger as an indoor picnic, Yoongi gladly says yes as he was going to ask Jimin the exact same thing. The fact that neither of them thought it was strange that they both wanted to go on a date on the exact same day and the exact hour, stumps the other five, but they take it. Never look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.

With the maknae and oldest rapper out of the house, they let all their friends enter. Whoever wants to party will have to help them set everything up. They have a time limit of three hours and a lot to do. All the decorations need to get up, banners still need to be made, furniture needs to be pushed aside, grocery shopping has to happen, then cooking all the dishes, baking cupcakes and brownies, picking up people from the airport who flew in just for the celebrations. Sadly enough, Jimin’s parents never responded to the invitation, so they’ll have to make sure there is an empty room in case the younger needs a minute to be sad about the situation. They won’t have him hide away his emotions.

Every guest that walks in brought something with them. Mostly it’s fairy lights, garlands, big pieces of paper which they had hoped would still be present in Jimin’s arts and crafts corner but sadly wasn’t anywhere to be found, bowls, paper cups and plates, napkins… Everything they could have bought during their grocery shopping, but now they can focus on only food and snacks. While a team is food shopping, another team is making banners, a third team is pushing away all the furniture and placing extra chairs and tables in the gardens, team four is decorating one part of the house in a darker fashion while team five is on the opposite side of the room making sure everything is more pastel and soft colours. Dark and mysterious for Yoongi, light and heavenly for Jimin.

 
 

No one is complaining while working at topspeed to get everything done. Even when the large party tent is delivered late, everyone is still smiling. It does help that the delivery people help with setting up the tent. Being late means offering extra services, so helping the group of friends out is the least they can do. With everything set up, the last thing that needs to happen is fixing up playlists that are the perfect mix of the rapper and the now ex – teacher, the food needs to be set on the tables once it’s ready and the snacks are being placed in bowls and on plates as we are speaking. The two cakes are delivered in about half an hour, which is right before the party as planned so no one has the opportunity to drop them. With every single task getting crossed off the list, the group of friends is starting to feel less nervous and stressed out, they slowly allow the buzzing energy to take over, to let the excitement sink in. All of them are ready to celebrate the two men, even if most people attending are there for Yoongi, they are all ready to embrace Jimin in their circle of friends too.

In the studio, Jimin and Yoongi are munching on tiny cheese sandwiches, while changing up a few lyrics. After swallowing the last bite, Jimin goes into the record booth, puts on the headphones and nods to Yoongi who starts the music. It takes the younger a few tries and a lot of giggles before he succeeds. By then, the rapper's camera is full of short videos of Jimin laughing, doing silly dance moves and waving his small fists in fits of being annoyed in tiny.
By the end of their date, they are sitting on the sofa in the studio, Jimin’s head on top of Yoongi’s legs, both tears in their eyes from laughing hard. They are sharing Jin’s best dad jokes and some of them really are ridiculous.

”The best one he told me was this”, Jimin starts, Yoongi intently watching his boyfriend, “What’s a different word for a baby?”

Yoongi thinks out loud, gives a few wrong answers and then waits for the younger to reply.

”A wombmate.”

Both men are laughing again, the people who pass the studio all look in to see who is having the best fun and all smile softly once they see blissful happiness on the producer’s face. Everyone working at Big Hit agrees that Jimin has been the best gift for the idol, for all the bandmembers and are so grateful that the younger accepts all six of them, the good and the bad without a shred of doubt. The last time Yoongi smiled this big or had this much fun was when they performed in Korea for the last time and that’s at least a year and half ago. An incoming text message tells them they are allowed to come back, that everything is ready and to still keep everything a secret from the other one.

”Hyung, Joon hyung texted saying they are waiting for us. They’ve apparently ordered food and it has already arrived.”, Jimin says quickly, before Yoongi can even ask him what his text is about.

”Good to know. Let’s go home then.”, Yoongi pulls the younger from the couch and moves to the coat rack.

”Was your text important? Do you need to do something first?”, Jimin asks, as always thinking of his boyfriend first.

”No, nothing important. Just Pdogg hyung telling me he read some of the lyrics I wrote and wants to work on them tomorrow.”, Yoongi lies convincingly, not knowing his younger boyfriend is lying to his face just as much. Luckily, it’s all white lies and none of them are too worried that the other will be upset about it once they see the surprise party.




”HAPPY RELEASE OF YOUR MIXTAPE AND BELATED BIRTHDAY PARTY!!”

Yoongi is surprised to say the least. He had no clue there would be an entire party, especially when they told him the celebrations, that wouldn’t contain a lot of people, would be for the younger that is now hugging him close, cheering along with everyone else. Confusion and happiness both run wild through his mind and he doesn’t know what to give in to first.

“Thank you everyone, this is very kind of you”, the rapper says, while looking around, taking in everything, or trying to because a lot of people, including his family, are huddling around him trying to hug him close and congratulate him.

”Hyung, I thought this party was for Jimin?”, Yoongi asks Jin when the older hugs him close, which the producer is only allowing this time to hear the answer to his question.

”It still is, but we are waiting for the excitement to die down a little. Most people here only know you, so we wanted to celebrate you first, introduce some people to Jimin calmly and then we’ll tell them he’s working with us now. With his anxiety, we are trying to take it slow. Besides, knowing him, he’d feel guilty if we didn’t give you your own separate moment to shine. None of us want him to feel bad about any of this.”

Yoongi nods, understanding where they come from and seeing all the pastel colours in the room, it is clear that Jimin will get his own moment as well. Observing the younger from afar, it is noticeable that he is a little confused about the light parts in the house, but seeing him absolutely in love with those corners, they know they did a good job choosing his decorations. Yoongi himself loves the darker parts, especially because they give off a cosy vibe instead of a threatening or depressed feeling.

”Yoon hyung! I’m so proud of you. I didn’t tell you earlier, because I was too scared to give anything away, but your mixtape is amazing. Also, thank you for writing that song about me. I know you’ll say that it isn’t and that’s fine, I’ll keep your secret, but the fact that you are singing on it and not just rapping… I am in awe of your talent!”, Jimin gushes, “I can’t believe I get to call someone so talented my boyfriend. Also, maybe it’s just me, but is this room not perfectly decorated for both you and I? Oh, or are you into pastel colours and did I not know this about you? I didn’t mean to make this about me, I’m sorry.”

Before Jimin even has the chance to berate himself, Yoongi takes his chin between his thumb and index finger, kisses him gently on the lips and tells him he noticed it too. He also tells his boyfriend that he has learned to appreciate pastel colours ever since he knows Jimin, because it reminds him of the younger and that the brunette did nothing wrong. The rapper also tells him he will gladly admit into writing two songs about Jimin, which makes the younger blush. 

”Honey, you did nothing wrong. Don’t worry about it. This party is for me just as much as it is for you, seeing as you are with me now.”, the younger nods, not realising what Yoongi actually means by that, “Come on, let me introduce you to some people. I want to show you off.”

Jimin let’s Yoongi drag him around the room. New faces and new names are going in one ear and leave through the other. He is trying his best to remember everyone, but there are just so many people. The younger is surprised that his boyfriend knows so many people, for an introvert he is insanely social.

”This is Kihyun, he’s in a band named Monsta X. He’s one of my closest friends, maybe a little too close seeing as there have been plenty of relationship rumours between us in the past. We’ve never addressed them, so people actually believe we are dating for a while now. Don’t worry though, he’s like a brother to me.”



”Nice to meet you Kihyun-ssi.”, Jimin shakes his hand politely.

”Call me hyung, please”, the older says in turn, then smiles at his friend, “You didn’t lie Yoongi, he is stunning. Good luck on keeping him, I’m sure a lot of people would love to steal him away.”

”You don’t have to tell me. Literally everyone that gets to know him adores him, even the little kids in his class asked to marry him. My boyfriend is just too perfect, not just in looks. Believe me when I say, when you get to know him better, you’ll fall in love with his entire being. I’m rarely impressed with people, but Jimin, he takes me by surprise every day. On top of being beautiful, he is kind, gentle, funny, talented in literally everything he does. Kihyun, I swear, if I’m ever dumb enough to let this one go, use me as a pinata and hit some sanity back into my brain, because this little one is utter perfection.”, Yoongi gives Jimin the softest kiss on the side of his head.

”Who knew I would see the day where Min Yoongi would be whipped for a guy. Thank you Jimin for giving me this image. Seeing my best friend like this, it makes me so happy and knowing you are the cause of that. You can count on me whenever you need something. Yoongi’s friends are my friends, his boyfriends are my boyfriends.”, Kihyun adds the last sentence with a wink, making Jimin giggle adorably, trying to hide his face behind his hands.

After meeting Kihyun, who Jimin must admit is the last person he would think of as his boyfriend's best friend but totally sees why it works, he is dragged around the room again. Another round of faces and names he’ll never remember pass him, but Jimin does what he does best, be polite and kind, nod and smile, literally just charm the pants off of everybody. Yoongi is incredibly proud of his boyfriend. These are the kind of situations that are hard for the younger and he’s sure that by tonight Jimin will be exhausted, probably very emotional and overstimulated, but right now he is taking everything that comes his way as a champ. The rapper is ready to send everyone home and kiss his boyfriend silly, but with the effort everyone put in this, and them still not having celebrated Jimin, he knows he can’t do that.

”Hi, everyone?! Can I get your attention please?”, Namjoon stands on top of a chair, tapping a spoon against his glass. Everyone watching him are inwardly hoping that the glass doesn't shatter or the chair doesn't break, but with Namjoon you just never know what can happen.

It’s been two hours now into the party, which means it’s almost time to eat, then presents and then the dancing part of the night for those who want to. With everyone’s attention on the Bangtan leader, he gets off the chair and invites everyone to find their names on the tables outside in the garden and take their seat.

”Before we can eat, there is one more announcement I have to make. Some of you already know this, most of you don’t. Today we have been celebrating Yoongi. His second mixtape has just been released and from the latest information we have gotten it’s doing really well. It’s reached number 5 on the Billboard charts and is already placed first on the Korean charts. Guaranteed that this album will do even better with the days passing. On top of that we are also celebrating his birthday, a few months too late, we are well aware of that. In our defence, we were being workaholics, therefore always surrounded by this guy and couldn’t plan anything in secret, but we are doing it now! The thing is though, Yoongi is not the only person that should be celebrated today, we have a second person that deserves to be in the spotlight. We had to do this in secret, because otherwise he would have talked us out of it. He would tell us that he didn’t do anything special, that he only wants us to be happy and that without us he wouldn’t be, but ever since we met this person, he has made so many changes in his life and all of us have taken them for granted. So tonight, we want to toast to our angel, for changing up his entire life simply to make ours easier. For those of you who don’t know, Jimin gave up on his dream job of being a kindergarden teacher in order to start at Big Hit. When we aren’t touring, he will work in the day-care so he can still do what he is most passionate about, working with children, albeit in a different way than when he was a teacher. When we are touring or filming Bon Voyage or whatever else that requires us to travel, he will come with us and be our personal assistant. That way he still gets to work for his money, seeing as he doesn't allow us to spoil him and we will always respect that, but he will be with us every day so that we don’t get whiny if we ever have to miss him. Without him making that sacrifice we would not have been able to keep doing what we love and for that we will be forever grateful to our Jiminie, who is most definitely the love of our life. Tonight, we will not only celebrate his selflessness, but also his successes. Welcome to our company Jimin, we will protect you and take care of you, the way you do with us.”

Everyone in the room is cooing at the boy who by now is bright red in the face, trying to hide himself behind his boyfriend, Jungkook, who is not letting him despite having the perfect size to disappear behind. The thing the singer does allow him to do is to hold on to his hand tightly, to transfer all his stress into the elder’s hand. Yoongi who is sitting on his other side has his arm wrapped around Jimin’s waist, trying to comfort him that way. Putting Jimin in the center of attention is not something they easily do, because he doesn’t know how to deal with it, which in turns makes the situation very anxiety inducing, but sometimes they have to. How else will they find new allies who will go to war for Jimin? People are easily convinced to protect the younger though. Everyone who has met the younger tonight, has fallen completely in love with him and it’s a mystery to all of them how people can actually hate him or actually want to harm him. The Jimin protection squad has grown by a lot of members tonight and nobody is going to regret that decision, that’s one thing they can be certain of in life.

”Whenever you talk about Jimin and how utterly perfect he is, we always think you are telling lies, because no one can be that amazing, but we do get it now. Hold him close, he’s a special one.”

That sentence is one that every Bangtan member has heard several times tonight by their guests. None of them disagree or have any intention to let him go, but it’s good to know that their friends and family love Jimin almost as much as they do.

Once dinner is over and done with, it’s time to hand out gifts. The youngest gets a lot of arts and crafts supplies seeing as, according to his boyfriends, it’s running low on basically everything. If anyone asks Jimin, it’s still pretty well stocked. Yet, he is still extremely happy with all of it. Other things he’s getting are personalised pens, ties, a new briefcase, a reusable coffee cup and a lot of scented candles he knows his boyfriends will be happy with. Yoongi receives a lot of the newest equipment he can use in his studio. There are some speakers, some microphones, a few headphones, a new ergonomic chair and a loop pedal he has had his eye on since forever.
With food and presents out of the way, it was time for music and dancing. The playlists are all set up, but before anyone can push the play button Yoongi goes on stage.

”Hey everyone, even though I had no clue any of this was happening, I want to say thank you for coming and celebrating me, although my work isn’t all that special. Spending time with you all has been long overdue and I’m so happy you all took time out of your busy schedules to be here. As a thank you for all of you showing up, I thought I could perform a song I have been working on for a while and wanted to put on my mixtape, but as this song means everything to me, I decided that I could not share it with anyone just yet, not unless it its completely perfect. This afternoon, with some help, I found the missing factor and was able to finish it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever release it on an official album, but I will put it on Soundcloud when the enthusiasm for my mixtape has gone down a little. With all of you here, I thought I’d give you a first listen if you’re interested.”

The room explodes, people screaming yes, as if anyone doubted that would be the answer to the rapper’s question. He starts playing the music and as everyone is used of Yoongi, he gives it his all, what they don’t expect is for Jimin to accompany him on stage and start rapping along. Sure, it’s not as fast or aggressive as the idol, but it’s still blowing everyone’s mind. No one knew the younger had it in him and to hear his lower tone for the first time leaves his five other boyfriends in shambles. Right now, they are so torn between finding their boyfriend the cutest person alive or the hottest man they have ever laid eyes on. The moment Jimin starts growling, they’re all done for. They collectively fall on the table, clutching their hearts. When he finishes the song going from a falsetto to his deep voice, that’s it… Their boyfriend officially broke them. Every time they think he can’t get any more perfect he does something like this. Their brain is just not functioning anymore, there is this giant error sign going off, but they don’t mind.

After another hour of Yoongi singing songs of his newest mixtape and some new songs, he was able to finish up because of Jimin providing lyrics, the rapper leaves the stage with an applause almost as loud as the one they receive at a concert and that says enough, because people at their shows get loud. Slowly people are making their way outside, but are stopped by a nervous Jimin who announces that he has one more gift for not just Yoongi, but also his five other boyfriends. The crowd walks back to where the younger is standing, microphone in hand.

“I want to say sorry in advance, this might be the worst thing you’ve ever witnessed. If that is the case, just know I tried my best and lie to my face, okay? Thanks?”, Jimin starts, his audience sniggers, absolutely enjoying the younger’s endearing speech, “So… Here goes nothing. I, with the help of Pdogg hyung, wrote a little thing for the loves of my life to thank them. For the past few months, they have been my biggest support system, but not just that. They have thought me so much, things I would never have learned without the six of them. To be fair, I could make an entire speech about how much you mean to me and it would, hands down, last for days. Not sure it would be any good though, because I’m not the best with words, but in the first few days of June, some inspiration struck me and some sentences were formed that were actually quite good, even if I do say so myself. With some help I turned them into what I know is your preferred love language, music. Without further ado, this is ‘Serendipity’. I hope you enjoy it.”

 

 


Jimin gives the microphone to the person standing closest to him and accepts the headset that is given to him by Pdogg. Once it’s all set up, he walks to the middle of the room. A circle is formed to give the younger more space, but to also have the best view to whatever he is going to do. The now Big Hit employee, places himself in the middle of that circle, looks down, closes his eyes and breathes in, slowly letting the air back out, waiting for the music to start playing. Gasps fill the air once Jimin starts, not only does he sound like an angel, he looks and moves like one too. It doesn’t help that bubbles are flying through the room in the dimmed light, making the entire scene even more ethereal. With everyone so immersed into the performance, no one has their phones out to record anything. They are just watching and enjoying the whole spectacle. Once again, Jimin is confusing the hell out of his boyfriends. One minute he is basically grinding the floor, the next he is adorably popping bubbles with his tongue poking out of his mouth. It is a well-known fact to the boys that their boyfriend once upon a time danced and that he had given up on that to become a teacher, but none of them actually understood that decision after witnessing that entire performance.

When Jimin finishes his last move, holds his last pose and waits for the music to end, the room falls completely silent. Thinking back to his previous words ‘I want to say sorry in advance, this might be the worst thing you’ve ever witnessed’, everyone is in utter shock. All of their expectations were low, considering he’s only performed with little kids the past few years they also expected a more childish act, but none of them would have ever thought to see something worthy of the title ‘Idol performance’. While everyone is still gawking around, because words fail them, the younger gets embraced by the producer who helped him with all this and then hands over the headset that he borrowed from the entertainment company he is now a part of.

”Jimin-ah, are you sure you don’t want to be an idol? I mean, I told you you sounded amazing when you were recording this, so you know I absolutely adore your voice, but I did not expect those moves. Holy cow man. Who knew you could dance like that?!”

”Thanks for all your help hyung. I would not have been able to pull this off without you.”, Jimin smiles, thanking the producer profusely.

”That’s a lie and you know it mister. Damn, that performance is so much better than half of the Kpop industry combined.”

”Hyung! You shouldn’t say that. All these idols work hard. You shouldn’t undermine that.”

”Jimin, if you know what I know, believe me when I say… Most acts could not pull off what you just did. Accept the compliment. This is world class! Don’t worry, I understand that being an idol is not something you want to be and I respect that, but my mind is still too blown at the moment and I would be foolish to not remind you that if you wanted to have such a career, there are a lot of people that would want to help you out. Anyway, good job. I’m proud of you.”

The younger doesn’t really have the chance to reply to that as he tightly embraced by his two best friends, who keep jumping up and down, jostling Jimin between them.

”Oh my god! How did I forget how talented you were? Jiminie, you are the better performer out of the three of us! Why did you not come to SIDA with us? Ugh, we don’t belong there, we are unworthy.”, Taemin screams in his ear, making the younger wince and giggle at the same time.

”I’ve missed seeing you so free. To this day I don’t understand how you could give up this part of yourself. This is such a shame for everyone who is living at the same time as you.”, Sehun hugs Jimin closer, giving him a kiss on his cheek, “You were an angel. Seriously! You were so divine looking. Also, I think you broke your boyfriends.”

Sehun winks at him, then turns his friend’s head towards where his boyfriends are seated, all still staring in the distance, a dreamy look in their eyes. A big smile forms on Jimin’s face, knowing that he caused that makes him ecstatic, he may even feel a little proud of himself. A drink is pushed into his hand and a piece of brownie is shoved into his mouth by Taemin who tells him to eat up. Performing takes a lot out of a person and the last thing he wants for his friend is to miss out on his own party because he ran out of energy, so Jimin obediently drinks the glass of water and eats the rest of the brownie.

He doesn’t see his lovers for a while, but he does get approached by a lot of people who want to get to know this mysterious boyfriend of their friends. Most people come and go, happy to just give him their names and shake his hand while telling him how he just made their entire day with that performance. It makes Jimin happy to know that people liked his work, even though this is something he doesn’t really plan on doing again, it’s nice to know he has other options in life. Some people stay longer, like now. At this moment he is in a conversation with three people, an idol named IU, her real name actually escaped him, a female rapper by the name of Jessi and Eric Nam, someone he knows who that is, has admired for a while as the guy is good at literally everything and has the nicest personality. It takes everything in himself to not pinch his cheeks to see if he’s dreaming, but that would be a very ridiculous sight, so he refrains from doing so.

”The boys told me you don’t have the intention of becoming an idol, but that you have sang on songs with them that you then released on Soundcloud. If you are ever interested in singing on a track of mine, I wouldn’t mind only releasing it on that website and to not mention your name, but the stage name they came up with for you. What was it again? MinMin?”, Eric asks.

”Right, Yoongi told me the same thing when we were working on a song together. At the time he was already telling me how good you sounded, but he definitely under sold you. You have the voice of an angel. I’ll offer you the same thing. If you ever want to sing on a track of mine, I’d release it under your terms. Seriously, your voice is insane, it’d be a shame to hide it. Of course, this is not me pressuring you. It’s just an offer from a fan of yours who would love to work with you one day.”, IU smiles at Jimin, taking one of his hands in a gesture to take away the pressure she might have placed on him. All Jimin can think about right now is IU calling herself his fan. How is this real life?

”I’m just going to do what they did, once and then not talk about it anymore, everything else is your decision here. That song you did with Yoongi though, that was fire. I have several songs that I want to release, but haven’t found the right voice to collaborate with. Hearing yours, I can immediately think of two songs I would love to record with you. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. Naturally, I’ll be sad about it, because your voice is meant to be heard, but it is true that the idol life isn’t for everyone and with everything you had to go through these past few months, I totally understand you running away from it. Hearing Yoongi talk about everything you had to endure, it made me so angry. I can't even imagine going through all that. Anyway, just know that Eric’s, IU’s and my offers stand, we would love to work with you, but if you decline us, we will still absolutely want to be your friend and we will cheer you on with whatever you want to actually do in your life. There, we all said what we had to say, now we all shut up and talk about something else. Let me think… So Jimin, Namjoon told me you are from Busan?”

Ending the party at 5am might not have been the smartest move, but watching sunrise with all their friends while playing sentimental songs in the background and hot chocolate milk in their hands might be the best way to end their day, or start the next one, it depends on how you look at it. With everyone out of the house, the boys all stumble towards the bedroom. Their continuous yawns give away how tired they exactly are, but it’s all good. The seven men are all happy and content.

Waking up 8 hours later, Taehyung refuses to get out of bed as long as Jimin is using him as a pillow. When the rest of the idols whisper that maybe they should wake him up, Tae practically shoots daggers at them with his eyes. Being introduced to so many people, being dragged from one conversation to the next, performing, dancing with them for hours, they all know how overstimulated he was. Sleeping means that his brain can calm down and relax. Something he needs after the tiring schoolyear he went through. He asks for his phone, then types in the group chat to let the younger wake up naturally. If they want to do something with their time, why not just start breakfast? Or plan something fun to do with the seven of them? Hugging Jimin close, he watches the rest of the men leave. Annoyed grumbling follows the five idols out of the room, but Tae can’t care. Not when he is the one cuddling with Jimin, something that doesn’t happen enough.

It takes Jimin another hour to wake up. His sleepy eyes, puffy face and bed hair give away how exhausted he still is, but the maknae doesn’t want to sleep the day away, especially not when he wants to talk to his boyfriends about the matter that kept popping up in his dreams. Being tired the way he is, walking isn’t coming easy to him that afternoon, luckily Tae notices his boyfriend swaying from one wall to another and quickly picks him up bridal style. When the idol wants to put his boyfriend down, the younger swiftly wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and whines cutely, resulting in being put down on Tae’s lap. A smile forms on the boy’s face, he kisses the singer’s neck as a thank you, then puts his head down on his shoulder and closes his eyes because the room is a little too bright for him right now.

”How are you feeling Minnie?”, Jungkook asks his sleepy boyfriend.

”Fine… Just tired and my brain is still going in overdrive more than it normally would, but I’m not too worried about that. I’ll just take it easy today.”

The rest of his boyfriends nod, a lazy day in it is. None of them have enough days like that, so they’ll enjoy it just as much as their smaller boyfriend.

”I have a question though,”, Jimin starts, his voice slightly lisping out of pure tiredness.

”Go ahead. You know you can ask us anything.”, Namjoon replies.

”It’s not really a question, it’s more like… Advice, I guess? Or asking for an opinion?”

”We are all ears sweetheart. Go for it.”

”Last night, I met some of your friends, right?”, Jimin looks up at them, “They were all very nice and throughout the entire evening they kept congratulating me on my performance with Yoon hyung.”

”Did they mention your solo act?”, Hobi asks curiously.

”Yeah… Non-stop actually. All of them asking if I’m ever thinking or releasing an album, because all of them would definitely buy it and come to my concert if I decide to have a tour. It’s nice to know I would have an audience; it wasn’t fun to disappoint them by having to say 'no'.”

”I understand that, but it’s good that you told them the truth Love.”

”Anyway… At a certain point in the evening, I was talking to Eric Nam, IU and Jessi.”

”Did you like them?”

”Yeah, they were very kind and encouraging. They also made me an offer and it just… I don’t know… I don’t want to do it, but I do…”, Jimin pulls himself even closer to Taehyung, trying to find comfort in his smell and the feel of his skin.

”We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us Darling. Whatever it is, we aren’t going to laugh at you.”

”I know Jin hyung, it’s just that… I don’t know if I’m worthy enough.”, Jimin mumbles.

”If anyone is worthy of anything, it is you baby.”, Tae caresses Jimin’s cheek, “go on, tell us.”

”Well, the three of them want to work with me. Jessi apparently already has a few songs she would love me to sing on. I'd be the same kind of song I did with Yoongi hyung, her rapping and me singing. All three of them wouldn’t even mind releasing the song on Soundcloud only and using the artist name you guys came up with. MinMin, remember?”, Jimin says.

”We do. Cute name for a cute boy.”, Hobi smiles, “So, you want to do it?”

”I mean… If they actually mean it, then yeah… I liked singing with you guys and watching people like the songs we released… It felt nice. I just don’t want to lose the little anonymity I have left and give people another reason to hate me, because they will.”

”Unfortunately, there will always be people who will hate you baby. It’s in people’s nature to be jealous of perfection. I do understand, after the eight or so months you’ve had that that’s something you don’t want to go through again, but if you like singing and I think by now it’s clear that you do, why don’t you go for it. Or at least hear them out properly. If they give you a contract, we will have our legal department read over it so that they can’t expose you or whatever it is you want to come out of this. Don’t hold back out of fear, we created the name MinMin for you to try new projects freely. If you ask me, I wouldn’t mind having your voice on more songs, it’s very angelic and all.”, Tae says, while giving Jimin a kiss on his nose.

”You know, I’ve heard this MinMin guy is pretty good, it would be a shame to not grace humanity with his talent every once in a while.”, Yoongi winks at the younger, “but it’s completely up to you. Just know that, and I’m sure I speak for all of us, we will support you every step of the way.”

”It wouldn’t be a regular thing though and I still have no intentions of becoming an idol.”, Jimin tells them.

”We know, but that doesn’t mean, that once in a while you can’t change things up. Look at Tae, he tried his hand at acting. Then turned back to music completely. That doesn’t mean that he won’t ever act again, but for now he’s fine doing what he does. It’s why Hobi, Joon and myself have made mixtapes. Sometimes we want to do something different from Bangtan and that’s fine. As long as we all support each other and at the end of the day still have the same main goals, everything is fine. The same is happening to you right now. You love working with kids and being around us, but once in a while doing something different will keep everything interesting. If you then meet good people who want to follow your wishes, why not do it?”, Yoongi asks him, “There’s no pressure here Honey. Just give it some thought. If you want to do it, do it. If you don’t, well… Then don’t. Sometimes, it’s that easy.”

”And please don’t forget that you never have to do this on your own. If that is what holds you back, please don’t let it. We will be there every step of the way if you need us there darling.”

”Thank you hyungs. I think I might contact them. As you said, hearing them out can’t hurt.”


Three hours laters, a very overly excited Jimin jumps back into the living room and lands on top of his boyfriend that’s closest by.

”Oof.”, Hobi huffs out when his boyfriend lands in his lap, “This is a big contrast with earlier. What has made you so happy Love? Was it that good of a nap?”

”Yes it was, but that’s not what makes me this happy. The reason why I am awake, because up until fifteen minutes ago I was still fast asleep, I guess I needed that… Anyway… I digress… The reason I’m this happy is because I got a phone call! IU, Eric and Jessi apparently sat together to talk about their offers, you know… the one where I would possible maybe sing with them and keep my identity hidden… Weeeeellll, all three of them still want to work with me, promised me to upload the song only on Soundcloud unless I decide differently and to never once use my actual name but always my stage name. If I want to change any of the conditions, I can at all times. Eric and IU even want me to help write completely new songs and Jessi wants my voice on three songs. They did ask me if it was ever a possibility to include those songs on their next album, but none of them pressured me into it and told me to wait and see if the songs are successful. If I say no, the songs will just remain on SoundCloud If I say yes, they’ll probably make it onto their albums. Also, because I get credited on the songs, I get paid. I know that’s normal and all, but still… I never got paid to sing something. So, it is not just maybe possible, but probably actually happening!”

”Sweetheart, I am so happy for you! When are you meeting up with them?”, Namjoon asks, completely over the moon for his boyfriend.

”Well, we have a meeting tomorrow. Mr Bang will join us because he knows more about these things than I do. If both of us agree with everything, I will start working with them immediately. I will even get time off of work in the day-care and I haven’t even started there! It’s as if people are more delighted about it than I am.”

”Of course we are Darling. You may not recognise your talent, but we do and so does Mr Bang. I can’t wait to hear those songs, I already know they’ll top the charts!”, Jin walks up to Jimin and hugs him close, “I am so proud of you little angel.”

While being attacked with kisses and hugs, Jimin’s heart beats so fast he feels it’ll be flying out of his chest. Thinking back about what his life was before he reconnected with his best friend and got to know his bandmates and now, he could have never imagined he would have so many people believing in him when it is something so difficult for him to do. Every day he counts his stars and is the most grateful for those six that shine the brightest, that willingly shine their light on him and allow him to glow with them. He’s still nervous and scared that all the good things in his life might disappear, but he also knows that as long as he has the six men, who are holding him close right now, he will never need anything more.

The next day, everyone walks into the Big Hit building, six of them towards the studio’s, one new and very nervous employee towards the meeting rooms. Jimin’s boyfriends all hold his hand, give him a kiss and ruffle his hair and even though he loves all the attention, he acts annoyed because now his hair is a complete mess. The idols don’t need to know that them babying him is growing on him.

Going over all the points in the contracts, signing all the papers and picking dates for who gets to work with Jimin on what day takes an entire morning, but none of them mind. It’s as if the hours fly by and before Jimin knows it he is on his way to an empty studio with Jessi.



Three weeks later, the first collaboration gets released on SoundCloud. “Congratulations” by Eric Nam ft. MinMin immediately goes viral. Even the idol is surprised. His songs always do well, but never this well. Most people recognise the voice from the few Bangtan songs he was on and are stunned to see that this artist is back. Speculations run wild and at the end of the night, while the song is now on charts worldwide, people are practically sure this MinMin person is Eric’s girlfriend. No one corrects them, the crazier the rumours, the smaller the chance that people would expect him. Jimin is once again very happy that Bangtan’s friends value their privacy just as hard as he does and that none of them posted pictures of that party they all attended, because now there also isn’t actual proof that they know each other.



Four weeks after their first working day together, “Nunu Nana” by Jessi ft MinMin gets released. If the Bangtan boys were excited about his song with Eric, they are literally screaming over the phone trying to tell Jimin how insane this song is. Since when did their boyfriend become so sexy?! And that low register again, just as he had on the song with Yoongi?! The idols are losing their minds making Jimin giggle. This was definitely not the reaction he expected, he thought they’d tease him about it, but them basically going bananas over it? Yeah, he likes this reaction so much better. The public by now is so lost on who MinMin is but have collectively decided to stan the hell out of this person. Some are convinced it’s a boy, some are convinced it’s a girl and some don’t even care anymore. As long as this person keeps making music, they’ll be happy.

The song with IU takes a while longer to finish up, simply because she is an overly busy person and doesn’t always have a lot of time. Jimin being the kind person that he is, tells her to take her time, he’ll adjust to her schedule. Every time they meet up, she brings some snack for Jimin as a thank you for being so patient with her. During the last meeting they have though, a very familiar person walks into the room.

”Remember how I told you I had the right person to help us with the missing component. I would introduce you, but I’m quite sure you already know your boyfriend.”, she giggles when Jimin’s cheeks flush bright red, clearly enjoying how surprised he is by this turn of events.



”Eight” by IU ft MinMin & Suga from Bangtan breaks every record it can break. A week later it’s number one in over 100 countries, including America, the Uk, Japan, China and of course at home. Jimin breaks down in happy tears. All three of the songs he released have been doing so much better than he expected. Hearing that they want to work with him again if he’s up for it, makes him cry even harder. Never once in his life did he think he would be successful in this field and yet, once again he is proven wrong. That doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t want to do this for a living, but he does agree to do this again, somewhere in the near future. Maybe on the album they’ll release after the ones they are working on. All three artists love that idea. Jimin gets a mail a few days later, with the same question they asked him a while ago.

With MinMin being on three different tracks that have completely different styles, people are convinced this person is an allrounder and therefore needs an album of his own. When he becomes a trending topic on social media, he feels a little proud of himself. Who knew this could be his life, even if it's just for a short while?  Seeing the reaction on social media, does influence his answer to his three new friends. 



Min,

Would you mind us using your songs on our next album?
As we’ve said before, we are fine with whatever your answer is.
Dinner date next week is still on?
Anyway, let us know. For the dinner and the songs!

Jessi
IU
Eric

PS: We are going old school! Check the right box, to give us your answer 😉
(You know, for the album question, just text us your reply for dinner 😊)


YES ✔                              NO

Chapter 17: The end.

Notes:

Hi,

As you can see, this is the end to the story. I'm sorry it's so sudden, I gave you literally no warning, but I didn't know I was ending it until a week ago. For the longest time I thought about continuing, but looking back on my story I don't want to milk it out. I could start a whole new storyline in there, but I feel like this one has been told. I'm happy with it and I hope you are too. It saddens me to wrap my baby up, but it has to happen eventually, and sadly it is today.

To those who read it from the start and to those who joined along the way, if you stuck with my little story, thank you 💙

Xo,
I.

Ps: You can find me on twitter
https://twitter.com/AiliseuM

Chapter Text

“Can you believe this is going to be our last dinner date for a while? We’ve been doing this for over a year now and even though we couldn’t do this regularly because of you joining Bangtan on tour and working with different artists on singing songs for them, at least we were able to come back together. Now you are moving to America and God knows when we’ll see you again.”, Jessi sighs dramatically.

”You and Eric are in LA all the time. The only one I’m actually going to have to miss for a long time is Ji-eun noona… Maybe you should bring her next time you fly out to the US.”, Jimin suggests cheekily.

”We should, it would be such fun! Also, remember how long it took you to call Ji-eun by her name and not IU noona. You were so adorable and so starstruck!”, Eric laughs, “The fact that you keep calling me hyung though, while I’ve been telling you to stop that. How long will it take for you to just call me Eric?”

”I’ll do that in America. It’s just weird to me over here. My boyfriends tell me the same thing though. They are all for me not talking in honorifics, but it sounds weird… Maybe, just maybe, LA will change me.”, Jimin giggles.


Saying goodbye, the four friends promise to stay closely in touch. He has no other choice seeing as he is helping the three artists out on their album with background vocals and will be featuring as MinMin. Eric and Jessi promise to fly over once he is settled in and tell him they’ll drag Ji-eun with them, whether she wants to or not. Despite him being happy about his move, there is honestly nothing that keeps him in Seoul, seeing as Taemin and Sehun decided to move with him after being accepted as dance teachers in LA’s biggest dance school, he will miss his friends terribly. Sehun and Taemin joining him though, he didn't see that coming but he can't be more thrilled about it. According to Hoseok, a lot of famous choreographers visit the dance studio they'll be working at, to come up with inspiration and hire background dancers, so it might further their career along the way and both men are willing to take that chance. As long as they still see Jimin on the daily, they are good. The first few months, they’ll stay in Bangtan’s guest house, until they have saved up enough money to buy or rent a place with the both of them. The suggestion was easily made by the six men themselves, after seeing Jimin’s hopeful eyes. Seeing as their boyfriend never asks them for anything, this was the least they could do and with how close both friends have become to the younger’s boyfriends, all of them are happy with this arrangement. 


On the flight to LA a few days later, Sehun and Taemin end up sitting next to Jimin seeing as his boyfriends kept fighting over who should sit next to the younger. Despite the tickets telling them Jungkook and Namjoon would be the lucky ones, the other four kept being annoyed about it to a point where the two best friends told them none of them could sit next to their friend. The entire move was already stressing him out and he didn’t need them bickering nonstop for 14 hours. Even though Jimin left nothing important behind, it was still hard on him to leave Seoul. He had been living there for years now, went to college there where he met Sehun and Taemin, had his first job, met his best friend again after being separated for so long, fell in love, moved into a house together, signed on to Big Hit and met some new friends along the way. A lot of memories have been made there, memories he is extremely fond of, memories he doesn’t want to forget about. Leaving Seoul, he fears that one day he won’t recollect some of them. Another fear he carries around is how he might not be able to get used to the American way of living. He might work in a Korean company, most of the people there won’t be and the children he’ll be working with, will speak English. What if he can’t make it work? Yes, his boyfriends told him they can come home whenever he wants to, even permanently move back to Korea if he can’t get used to LA, but that means having to pack up everything again, maybe leaving behind Taemin and Sehun or rip them away from their dreams and expect his boyfriends to fly out a lot more than when they live in America. With how popular they are in the US, they tend to do a lot of press over there, more than in Korea. Jimin doesn’t want to bother anyone and even though he got much better when it comes to feeling like a burden to the people around him, he still has many occasions where he feels he’s holding back the people around him.

Jimin sleeps a lot on the flight. Having packed most of the boxes and arranging everything to get them sent to his new place that he hasn’t seen so far, while working three jobs, he is properly exhausted. Him stressing out about every tiny decision, doesn’t help either. Everyone is on their best behaviour and lets him sleep. Everything to keep him from freaking out. The maknae’s panic attacks may have become less over time, they are still there and the last place they want him to get one is up in the air where they can’t take him out for fresh air and a walk. Arriving at the LA airport it takes them about 30 minutes to get through customs. Normally Jimin would hate using their influence to skip the line, but he is still exhausted, so for once he lets his boyfriends flaunt their fame instead of waiting in line for at least two hours. When their baggage arrives, Jungkook immediately takes both his and Jimin’s so that the younger can save some of his energy. When they notice him stumbling one too many times, Namjoon grabs Jin’s suitcase in order for the eldest singer to lift Jimin up and carry him to the car that picks them up. At the wheel is Yoongi’s big brother, who moved to LA when the boys’ careers took off. He now works at Big Hit too, but as an IT staff member, which Yoongi adores seeing as he and his brother often had lunch or dinner together before moving back to Seoul, he can't wait to share meals together again. The rapper only had to mention to his brother that they were moving back and the guy immediately told his baby brother that he would pick them up from the airport. Who was Yoongi to refuse that offer?

They take a week to settle in. Boxes need to be unpacked, all their clothes, furniture, gym and studio material, Jimin’s arts and crafts station all need to get their own places again, their sleeping schedule needs to be placed on the fridge, next to the grocery board they bought. All of their cups, glasses, plates, cutlery need to be put in the right cupboards and some furniture needs to be put together. Jimin has learned over the course of a year and a half how to build chairs, small tables and one-man sofas in record time when he built them to decorate his little studio space in the Big Hit building in Seoul, he wants to do the same now in their new place. Not everything needs to be expensive to look good. His boyfriends let him do his thing, help him where necessary, but with his new found confidence over the course of the last 18 months, he’s good at doing most things on his own. While his boyfriends are incredibly proud of him, they also somewhat miss the younger, very shy and insecure Jimin who relied on them a lot more to make sure he didn’t randomly break out in panic attacks because they were actually allowed to help him out more. It’s been something they needed to adapt to, not being needed by their youngest boyfriend 24/7, but once they learned that he still needs them, especially now that he’s trying his hand more at into song writing, singing and recording, it was easier to let his older version go and accept the new version of the maknae that they love just as much.  

 

His first day at the new daycare is hard, English isn’t his main language and while he can understand it, he isn’t fluent in it. Luckily, people help him out a lot and don’t look down on him for not being able to talk back as easily as everyone else. The kids don’t care what language he speaks, as long as he can kick a ball, throw them in the air, hug them when they are tired or in pain, play tag or hide and seek, help them colour in their drawing or allow them to play with his pretty, dangly earrings they are more than happy to accept him as their new caretaker. Some of them even try to teach him some English words and in return he teaches them those words in Korean. Excitement runs through the children when they pronounce a word right and still remember it an hour later. All of them conclude that it’s a hard language, but if it helps them bond with the new guy, they’ll gladly learn as much as they can. Being able to show off to their friends and teachers the next day is an extra motivation.

Luckily, one of his colleagues is Korean American. She isn’t fluent in Korean, but understands enough. They quickly fall into the routine of her talking in English, while listening to Jimin in Korean. With both of them understanding each other’s language, it works out well.

”So, I heard this isn’t your only job in BigHit?”, Jia asks him, while a young girl is using Jimin as monkey bars.

”Yeah, I’m also the PA to Bangtan when they are on tour or when their usual PA falls ill.”, Jimin pants, the little girl now standing on top of his shoulders, her tiny hands pushing on his head in order to keep her balance.

”NO WAY?! THAT IS SO COOL! How did you manage to do that?! It’s Bangtan, they only get the best of the best!”, Jia screams excitedly, effectively scaring the toddler on Jimin’s shoulders, who almost falls down, but quickly puts her wait forward by putting her belly on the child carer’s head, which practically gives him a whiplash.

”It helps that they are my six clingy boyfriends who worry about me 24/7, suffer from severe separation anxiety and know I’m in the exact same predicament as them. Leaving them behind, not knowing how they are doing, not being able to cuddle them every night… I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have to actually do my work otherwise I get fired like everyone else, but they allowed me to learn things while doing the job, I didn’t need any qualifications. Doing this now for little over a year, I like to believe I’m good at it, though it helps being close to them. I know what they need now before they do themselves.”, Jimin states proudly, still trying to keep the little girl from falling.

”You are dating six guys. Oof, good luck. I can’t even stand dating one. Was it a big change?”

”Not as big as moving here, or changing my job from a kindergarten teacher to a caretaker. They might tell you it was hard, because they fell hard and fast, their words, not mine. I had a job to deal with, sudden interest from the paparazzi and sasaengs, old feelings resurfacing for one of them and the voice of my parents in my head that told me to always follow society’s rules, which would mean having one partner, not six. Bit by bit, they took me on dates, then first kisses happened and saying those three little words, but there was never any pressure from them. With some everything happened a little faster than with the others, but it wasn’t easy on them either. I am dating all six of them, they are only dating me. Luckily their communication has never been better. They also plan things out to make sure everyone has the same amount of time to spend with me. I’d feel so guilty if one of them would feel left out, I genuinely love all six of them.”

”What made you quit your job as a kindergarten teacher?”

”Probably the incident with the sasaeng who printed a picture of myself and hung it on my class door, but also the Big Hit offer. I’m trying not to be too clingy, but I can’t help it. The moment my boyfriends are away for longer than a few hours I start to worry.”

”Ugh, the way you talk about your boyfriends is adorable! I’m glad it works for you guys. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you’ll stay together forever. How do you deal with fame? Are you guys out to the public?”

”We are yeah, we announced it. Big Hit didn’t mind us doing it, so we did. For Bangtan it was kind of a warning to everyone to back off, which people had to learn the hard way a few times over the past 18 months. I needed to do it because I suck at keeping secrets, I mean I am good at keeping other people’s secrets, but not my own, but also because for the longest time I couldn’t actually believe what was happening. Tweeting a picture of them once every three months is a reminder to myself, but also to all the toxic people who keep wishing for us to break up. Fame is not something I like, but I have learned to deal with it, most of the time. If it’s just rumours or pictures, whatever. I’m not going to be upset about it. The boys and I have learned to talk about it before believing what people, who don't know us, write about our relationship. It is the mobbing that gets to me. Though, when it happens, I have six bodyguards who love to spoil me with hugs and kisses afterwards, but in that moment, it always triggers my anxiety, which sucks, because I’ve worked so hard to keep it at bay, but being mobbed is a massive trigger.”

”I can’t imagine being mobbed… I’m actually glad Bangtan has a different entrance to the building, I think I would quit my job otherwise. The screaming we sometimes hear coming from their side of the building is just… Loud and terrifying. Most fans accept you though?”, Jia asks, concern clear in her voice.

”Most of them do, they even threaten the boys to never break up with me, because I fit with them so well. It’s nice to have that support from their fans, their families and our friends, but to every upside, there is a downside and sadly enough, the toxic behaviour of some people has a bigger impact on me than the copious amount of support we receive.”

”I notice you never mentioned your family? Do they support you?”

”I haven’t talked to them in a long time. I’m not even sure they know I’m dating them, or that I’m dating anyone for that matter. They put so much pressure on me to be perfect and follow all the rules society wants you to follow, simply because I’m gay. The minute I moved from Busan to Seoul, they refused to contact me first and whenever I invited them, they never replied. It’s honestly been so long, I don’t remember most of our conversations anymore. Thinking back to it, they must know I’m dating Bangtan, the guys invited them to our housewarming. They probably put two and two together. At this point I don’t care anymore. If they ever show up again, they can just leave. I am happy now, I have my own family that consists of six boyfriends, my two best friends and I am part of all of their families. The amount of love I get from them is more than I ever received from my own parents and no one expects me to be perfect. For people to accept your flaws and see them as something that makes you stronger, it’s definitely rare, but it is so nice. Not stressing every minute of every day whether you are the perfect son, whether you are the person society needs you to be, whether anyone is going to accept you for who you are and not who they want you to be… It is surprisingly calming.”

”I’m sorry about your parents, but the family you build for yourself sounds absolutely perfect... I am happy for you.”

”Thank you Jia, that’s very kind of you to say.”

”How is the move treating you?”

”Despite the language barrier, for me, not them, because they’ve lived here for quite some time before temporarily moving back to Seoul, it’s been good. The weather is nice, we are close to the beach and as a Busan boy I really missed the sea, so this is a pleasant surprise. The job here is the same as in Seoul, as is the PA one. Writing songs though, and singing lyrics is a bit harder over Facetime, then when everyone involved is together in the studio, especially when the internet connection is bad, but other than that… I think I’ll get used to it soon.”, the younger one smiles at his colleague who is listening intently.

”You write songs?”

”Sometimes, but I mostly sing lines that people ask me to sing for them. I’ll never perform it with them, or make albums on my own. Being an idol is not something I ever dreamt of becoming, but helping friends out once in a while, or writing a few lyrics and seeing my boyfriends and friends build entire stories around them, I like that. Sometimes I release a song on Soundcloud, but in general, MinMin is just a side project. Whenever I need some change in my life, I join my boyfriends in the studio and write. Some lyrics I write get used, others don’t. I’m fine with it.”

”So whenever I see MinMin, it’s you? Do people know?”

”We haven’t specifically told people, but their fans aren’t dumb. Jimin, MinMin, it doesn't sound too different and when my boyfriends talk about me in interviews, they call me Min… I’m sure people suspect it’s me, but where is the fun in confirming it? It’ll only take away from the mysteriousness of it all.”, Jimin giggles.

”My lips are sealed then, MinMin.”



Two months after his move to America, his English has gotten much better, to the point where the kids at work are annoyed that they can’t teach him words anymore, so with the suggestion of Jia they now help Jimin with the pronunciation. Seeing as his Korean accent sometimes makes the words unclear, they found a new mission. Jimin is grateful, this is much more helpful, than listening to a tape that wants you to repeat it.
Their house is now also completely done and the perfect representation of the seven of them. It’s his little safe haven in a place that is still somewhat strange to him. Coming home is definitely the best part of his day. It's where he can be himself, unconditionally, where he is loved for him every single day. Not once do his boyfriends skip a day to remind Jimin how much he is loved, needed and wanted.

Six months after leaving Seoul he has finished writing 3 songs, one for each of his friends, Jessi, IU and Eric and has recorded his part for 4 more Bangtan songs. Mostly he sings about five sentences on a song and everything else is background vocals, but he is more than happy with it. Seeing ‘Ft. MinMin’ on an album, still makes him excited, as long as that keeps happening, he doesn’t need more.

A year in LA, brings along a letter, where his parents are dragging him in front of court for the emotional damage he caused them over the years. According to them, raising him was a disaster, took away so much of their lives. According to their logic, they now believe he owes them money. Despite the letter hurting him, he doesn’t freak out about it. He has money now, of course they want some of that. They've become greedy and isn’t that what money does to people? So, that morning, when he walks into work, he goes immediately to their legal department and shows them the letter. The lawyer barks out a laugh, tells him not to worry and promises to keep him posted. About two hours later, Jimin gets a text saying it is handled. With how well behaved Jimin has always been, they couldn’t even find one person who talked bad about him. If they tried harder, they’d probably find a whole group in the fandom that hates his guts, but who will believe toxic fans anyway? That night, his boyfriends hug him close, tell him he’s so brave for dealing with that letter on his own and compliment him until he drifts asleep in their arms. To this day, it breaks their hearts that his parents could be this indifferent to their son and his struggles, but they are still happy that they had him, otherwise the six of them would still be alone. They truly believe it was written in the stars that they would fall in love with the little angel in their arms.

Another year later his boyfriends marry Jimin on the beach. It’s not a real ceremony as seven people are not allowed to marry, but with their parents, friends, colleagues joining them and Taemin leading the ceremony, no one cares. The symbolic wedding is just as beautiful and just as binding in their hearts. Watching his wedding ring, that contains seven little stones, handpicked by his husbands, Jimin can’t help but feel like he is soaring. For the past 3 years, being loved by the six people he has closed in his heart, has been the best time of his life. On some days he still believes that he isn’t worth all of this happiness, but every other day he listens to his heart that tells him he has suffered enough and is allowed to enjoy all the love he is receiving. Jimin has no clue where he would be without his partners, but it wouldn’t be living in LA, having two jobs at BigHit, sometimes touring the world, learning English, singing and writing on songs, while being loved by amazing people and being embraced by their families. Never once, when he was a little boy, being hugged by his best friend, did he think they would end up getting married to each other and that his best friend would share him with his other five best friends.

Looking out over the beach, hearing the waves crash, feeling the light breeze ruffle his black hair, seeing his old friends who have stuck by him for years and his new friends laugh and joke together, seeing his new families talking together, exchange stories of their boys, to which he now belongs, and looking at his husbands, who are staring right back at him, just like they did during the ceremony a while ago. While they had tears in their eyes then, now they are smiling just as bright as the rest of their faces, glowing like always, lighting up his entire existence. Despite the six of them now being his husbands, they are first and foremost his best friends, always.