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This story begins when Jungkook was merely five-years-old, doe-eyed, and bushy-haired, armed with just his backpack and trusty shovel. See, Jungkook was not what his teachers would call a team player; rather his school reports were filled with comments such as “quiet learner” and “struggles to get along with peers”. It was the kind way of saying that Jungkook hissed at anyone who tried to get too close to his toys in the sandbox. After a number of crying kids, bruised knees, and sand in the eyes, the teachers learned that it was less hassle for all involved if they just left him to his lonely devices. And Jungkook enjoyed it, not having to wait for someone else to be done, or having to explain why the foundations of their sand castle were going to lead them to ruins in about ten minutes. Jungkook found solace in silence.
Cue five days later and the beginning of his problems. Kim Taehyung. Boxy smile and energy off the walls, new to his little school and apparently hadn’t been given the rundown of the little boy in the sandbox because Jungkook’s silent recess was soon interrupted as the six-year-old bounded about asking about all the little nooks and crannies in Jungkook’s creation.
“Kookie!”
Who let the older one call him that? Who was this kid to stomp all over Jungkook’s special recess time and insert himself into his castle builds as if Jungkook had invited him?
“Kookie, you need to make a moat around your castle, that way if anyone tries to attack, you can pull up the drawbridge and they will all sink!”
Now, that was the type of planning Jungkook didn’t realize he was missing in his life. And the more he talked to (or rather got talked at) Kim Taehyung, Jungkook realized having the older boy around wasn’t as bad as he may have thought. Days became weeks and castles became kingdoms, and for once Jungkook’s teacher got to write on his report home: “plays well with another student.”
Taehyung wasn’t the reason Jungkook held hate in his heart. He loved Taehyung, he decided that when Taehyung hissed back at him after Jungkook threw a little fit that the older had taken his favorite shovel.
“Oh shush Kookie, you can have it back after I make the dungeon!”
No, the issue wasn’t Kim Taehyung. It was what later came along with Kim Taehyung that was the issue. Or rather, who.
i.
Jungkook was only eight years old the first time he felt actual hatred. He had heard the word before, even screamed it in his head when his older brother stole some of his ice cream after dinner, but nothing prepared him for the blood-boiling rage that encompassed his whole little being. He could pinpoint the exact moment, the exact time, day, and place. Just the thought of that forsaken day spiked his blood pressure.
Jungkook, now in third grade armed with his favorite shovel and pail, was ready to take on another year of school, but more importantly, another year of ruling his kingdom with his trusty partner Taehyung. Over the last four years, the two of them had gone from building sandcastles to large-scale worlds where they were the true kings of the land. Third grade was going to be the best of the years, though a small part of Jungkook was not ready to face this year because it was Taehyung’s last in elementary school. That meant two years before he’d be able to see his partner again, and even then he’d only see him for a year in middle school. So Jungkook was going to make the best of what he could now.
Morning recess came and went, and there was no sign of Taehyung. As did snack recess. When lunch rolled around Jungkook was beside himself, had Taehyung transferred schools? Did he move away? Was he hit by a car this morning when crossing the street? He was too invested in his spiraling thoughts to hear a voice calling out to him until a hand landed on his back and sent the applesauce in his spoon flying upwards as his body jerked in surprise.
“Woah there Jungkook, they’re going to think you’re starting a food fight.”
“HYUNG!” Oh thank god, his best friend was here and not in the hospital because some idiot ran him over. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you since the first recess, come on we still have time at lunch to get started on our castle!” It was only when Jungkook collided with a second body as he was trying to drag Taehyung along that he realized the two of them weren’t alone.
Taehyung laughed a bit as he caught Jungkook who stumbled backward over his feet, “Woah there Kookie, I was just showing Jiminie around! He’s new to the school. Jimin, this is Jungkook. He’s in third grade!”
Jungkook spared a glance at the young boy standing slightly behind Taehyung, his eyes darting in between his best friend and the newcomer. So this was the person who kept his precious Taehyung away from him. Hmph. He didn’t care that Jimin, or whatever his name was, looked absolutely harmless with his chestnut eyes or his chubby cheeks that were so jiggly they could be mistaken for mochi. All that mattered was this person stopped Jungkook from seeing his only friend.
Jungkook gave the newcomer a one-up, “You left me alone so you could show him around?” He didn’t miss the way Jimin cowered into himself at the accusation. Good. Maybe now Jimin would remember his place, or more importantly, remember Jungkook’s place in Taehyung’s life.
Taehyung, though, seemed to have different ideas. He knocked Jungkook on the back of his head, ignoring the tears that began to well up in the younger’s eyes, “Yah Jungkookie! No hissing at Jimin, he’s very nice and I offered to show him around!”
“But Tae-“
“No buts! Or else I won’t build a sand castle with you tomorrow!”
Arms crossed, Jungkook huffed, but he was smart enough to know when to shut up. Taehyung was someone to go through with his word and Jungkook didn’t want to lose another day of world-building because he was being stubborn so he regressed to just sneering at Jimin. Taehyung said no hissing, but sneering didn’t make any noise.
Taehyung slung an arm around Jungkook’s neck, pulled him close and ruffled his hair, “Don’t mind him Jiminie, Jungkookie has never been good at making friends. He was all lonely in the sand castle when I first met him.”
Fighting out of the grasp, Jungkook refocused on what was truly important, “Come on Tae, we have to start building our kingdom for this year!”
The next words that came out of Jimin’s mouth cemented Jungkook’s hatred deep enough that a literal decade did nothing to erode the feeling.
“Aren’t you a little too old to be playing in the sandbox Taehyungie?”
—
Stupid Jimin with his stupid eye smile and stupid mochi cheeks and his stupid best friend stealing ways. Granted, Taehyung wasn’t completely gone, but now every time they expanded their world, Jungkook was acutely aware of the friend stealer who sat just outside of their sandbox tying flower crowns together. Jimin didn’t ever enter their little world, always left Jungkook and Taehyung to their own devices, but Jungkook hated that it was Jimin who Taehyung would skip back to class with. And next year? They’d be in the big school without Jungkook at all, and what if Taehyung forgot all about him?
“Yah Jungkookie, I can hear you thinking. Get back to building the barnyard or else our poor horses will have to sit out in the cold all night and they’re going to get sick and die!”
While he did go back to his barn, Jungkook made sure to keep one eye on Jimin. He didn’t get what Taehyung saw in him anyways. Maybe Jimin was nice, and yeah he brought Jungkook a cookie the other day, but that didn’t take away from the fact that he was a sand-castle hating thief. Jungkook needed to do something, to send a clear message to Jimin that he wasn’t welcome. That Jimin wasn’t his friend, but rather his enemy, his nemesis, his rival, except they couldn’t be rivals because that would mean Jimin was just as good as Jungkook and that was obviously not true. Jungkook studied the other for a little, watching as his little fingers nimbly looped the stems together. Yes, Jungkook just needed to send a message and he knew just the way to do it.
—
“Taehyungie look!” Jimin’s high voice cut through the swell of students in the courtyard, all ready to head home for the day. Taehyung sought through the crowd for his friend until he saw the shorter boy bouncing up to him, an envelope in hand. “Taehyung look at what someone left on my backpack!” Jimin fished into the envelope unveiling a clump of wilted, crumpled flowers that were torn out of the ground with little care. “Someone got me flowers and they left this note!”
Taehyung had to squint a bit to read the handwriting. The chicken scrawl across the front of the envelope nearly illegible, “Does that say… go make your crowns somewhere else?”
“Yeah! Someone was nice enough to pluck flowers for me to take home to make crowns there too! Can you believe they’re that nice?” His eyes shone a shade too excited for Taehyung to pop the bubble that Jimin currently was riding. “I wish I knew who it was so I could give them a crown as a thank you.”
A laugh had to be swallowed as Taehyung noted that he might have an idea or two of who it might be and as the two made their way out of the school, the two big doe-eyes that followed their every step confirmed what Taehyung already knew. His friend was dumb.
ii.
It only took two years, thousands (if not millions) of spamming text messages, and nightly FaceTimes, but Jungkook finally made his way into middle school. Yet, when he felt like he finally caught up to the other two, the daunting realization that they would be off to high school within a short ten months was a splash of cold water to his face. Jungkook had changed in many ways since the little third grader that they left in elementary school. He got taller, his chubby cheeks gave way to a more structured jaw, and his trusty shovel had now been replaced with a pair of trusty sneakers. The one thing that hadn’t changed though, was his utmost disdain for Jimin.
Technically, that was a lie actually, his hatred had only grown every passing day that Jimin got to keep Taehyung all to himself. Nevermind the fact that the two older boys didn’t have a single class together or that Taehyung talked to Jungkook at least once every day, they got to be in the same school while Jungkook was stuck with the nose-picking booger-eaters of elementary. But this was his year, he was now with them in middle school and he was ready to remind Jimin just who was number one in Taehyung’s life.
“Taehyungie! Wait up!” Jungkook broke out in a sprint to catch up to the older boy who confidently was navigating the crisis-crossing hallways of the school. He didn’t want to admit it, but Jungkook was a bit lost with it all, elementary school was easy, one teacher, one class, done. But now he had to remember that he had math with one teacher in the B hallway, but then science with another in the D hallway, and to not forget to stop by his locker in the A hallway in the seven minutes that the adults considered long enough for the students to make their way around.
Taehyung spun around at the sound of his name, his boxy smile brought a warmth to Jungkook that had been missed. Unfortunately, Taehyung’s eyes weren’t the only ones to catch Jungkook’s attention because of course Jimin would be right next to him.
The intruder’s eyes disappeared behind his smile as he waved toward the newest student, “Jungkookie! You finally made it to middle school with us big kids.” A wink and a nudge into Taehyung’s ribs did nothing except dig the hole of hatred in Jungkook deeper. Coming up to the two, Jungkook tried his best to cut Jimin out of the conversation, using his body to block him out, but either Jimin was as dense as a brick or simply didn’t care because he brought an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder, “Are you excited for your first day of middle school Jungkookie? We’ll help show you around! God knows how lost I was when I started my first day.”
Two fingers plucked the hand on Jungkook’s shoulder off, “Yeah, well I think I got it Jimin-ssi.”
And just like the past two years, no matter what Jungkook did, he couldn’t seem to push Jimin away because the hand was right back into his hair, ruffling the bird nests that he had attempted to comb that morning.
“Awh Jungkookie, you can call me hyung, I’ve been saying this for years!” Jungkook would much rather stick his head into an oven than call Jimin hyung, “And I should’ve known you already got it. Our golden maknae.”
“I’m not yours.”
Jimin laughed going over to hug Taehyung instead, “Oh man is this the puberty our moms are always talking about? Were we this grouchy when we got into middle school?” The scowl on Jungkook’s face deepened as Jimin rested his head on Taehyung’s shoulder. While Jungkook’s intentions may have gone unnoticed by Jimin, Taehyung was too well aware of the youngest, shooting him the same “be nice” dagger that Jungkook had received time and time again.
Starting off again in the hallway, the three continued taking in the chaos of the first day of school. There was small talk, what classes they had, who their home room teacher was, where their lockers were. Jungkook stayed glued to Taehyung’s side, tossing an occasional grunt to Jimin’s overeager pieces of advice on the best study techniques for math, how to stay on Teacher Choi’s good side, and how their lockers just happened to be right next to each other. Silent curses were thrown at the universe because why couldn’t his locker be next to Taehyung’s instead.
“Jungkookie, are you going to join the track team?” Taehyung always was quick on the tangent, having a sixth sense for when Jungkook was two steps away from an outburst. The hissing never truly went away, it just turned into mean words with a bit more impulse control. But Taehyung knew that impulse control had eroded too close to a zero at this point.
“Track team?” Jungkook was reminded of the sneakers that were tied to his backpack, thumping against his leg as he walked. Middle school was a time for him to reinvent himself.
Jimin, of course, exclaimed before Taehyung could elaborate, “Yeah! We have a track team and we compete against other schools. You should try out with us Jungkookie! Tryouts will happen next week.”
Taehyung didn’t like the smile that found home on Jungkook’s face.
—
Stepping onto the track field, Jungkook was met with more people than he could’ve imagined. While the lack of space between everyone gnawed at his anxiety, the insecurity was quickly replaced with annoyance as he saw just how many people were surrounding Jimin who soaked up the attention in the middle of it all. The only upside to this was that while Jimin was too busy speaking to everyone, Jungkook finally had a moment with Taehyung to himself. He ran over to the boy who was sitting in the stands, a notebook opened in his lap.
“Hyung! You’re not going to try out?” Jungkook was met with a little shake of his head and some excuse about how it wasn’t for him. “Make sure you cheer me on hyung! I’m going to blow everyone out of the water.
“Of course you will Jungkookie, you’re our golden maknae!”
The scowl reappeared, “Yours hyung. Just yours.” Jungkook didn’t respond to the eye roll that Taehyung gave and trotted to the field to begin his warm-ups. The tryouts were slightly uneventful, the runners were split into heats, all running for their best time. It was only a coincidence, or a curse, that when Jungkook lined up on the track for the 200 meter sprint, he saw two tiny dainty hands set themselves on he ground in his peripheral.
“Good luck Jungkookie! I know you’ll do great!” Jimin’s words did encourage Jungkook, but probably not in the way that was intended. Jungkook didn’t respond, instead he hung his head and dug his toes into the stand, as his hands twitched at every little sound.
The resounding boom of the starting gun echoed through Jungkook’s’ body and spurred his own explosion off the stand. He was off. He pumped his arms hard as he willed his legs to sprint the entire time, every muscle in him screaming at the sudden movement, his lungs already starting to burn with the lack of air as he continued to push. There wasn’t anyone in his peripherals as the finish line came up into view. There was a bundle of joy that began to spark in him, the cheering of the onlookers spurred him and it on more. The sound of his own haggard breath was synchronized with the pounding of his heart in his ears as he rounded the last corner. And then he began to see it.
First it was just a quick motion on his left, a hand that came in and out of view, and then the unmistakable black hair that caught pace with Jungkook and began to tear away from him. NO, Jungkook screamed to himself, to his body, but he just couldn’t push any harder. He already had been sprinting at his hardest, but once more he found himself trailing behind Jimin by a stride of two, the older’s face wide with a smile as he passed Jungkook. The two crossed the finish line at a quick first and second place, third place came in much later. Runners and coaches alike, swarmed him with compliments on keeping up with Jimin, in awe at his quick start and ability to uphold it. He recalled a coach mentioning that they’d probably have to have him run first string for the school, but none of that mattered. Because he was still second place. He was the first loser. And he once again lost to Park Jimin.
—
Jungkook disappeared after his race without a word to anyone else. Just simple nods and quiet thank you to the compliments that he was showered with before he ducked off into the locker room and away. By the time Jimin got back there, he was the only student left behind.
As he was packing his things, the door of the locker room swung open to reveal Taehyung,“Jungkook’s not here?”
Jimin shook his head, “No, I didn’t see him after our race. I hope he didn’t push himself too hard. I didn’t get a chance to tell him how to stretch after and I wanted to give him some epsom salt to help with the soreness tomorrow. Sprinting is no joke and Jungkookie really pushed it!” Taehyung hummed in agreement, taking the salt from the runner, mentioning that he could drop it off to their younger one tonight. “You have any idea why he left so fast?” Jimin inquired.
Taehyung, in fact, had many ideas about why Jungkook was quick to leave, but he bit his tongue. How Jimin has been so oblivious to Jungkook’s irrational distaste for him was a mystery for Taehyung, but he wasn’t going to be the one to say anything.
The fib rolled off his tongue, “Oh I think he just had a lot of homework.”
“I remember our first time in sixth grade. You almost cried because of how much homework we had.” Jimin jibbed.
Taehyung threw the salt back at his head, “Yeah, you actually cried.”
“Well, Jungkookie is smarter than us combined so I’m sure he’ll be fine,” commented Jimin as he opened his locker door. “What…” They both froze at what greeted Jimin. His regular shoes had been slashed into tiny little bits, the fabric falling apart and out of the locker. “What is this?” And Taehyung was instantly transported back three years.
He tried to find the right words to comfort Jimin who delicately was holding the remains of his shoes, “Ah Jimin..”
“Tae, there’s a note!” It was sitting right on top of the pile of sneakers in a mess of chicken scratch. “I think it says… why don’t you run yourself to the dump?”
A sigh escaped Taehyung as he tried to find the right way to spin the note, knowing how fragile Jimin’s self-esteem had been ever since they entered middle school. But what he didn’t expect was the glitter in Jimin’s eyes as he turned around to face him, lips pulled into a bright smile. “Taehyung look! Someone knew I was looking to recycle my shoes and they cut them up for me so it was easier to toss them out! I always feel bad about throwing away worn down shoes that are still intact!”
It was times like this that made Taehyung wonder about Jimin, about whether he was really that dense to not see the true intentions behind what was left in his locker, or if he was smart enough to recognize it and chose to reframe it in a positive light rather than let the negativity get to him.
Regardless, Taehyung pulled Jimin into a tight hug, “Never change Minnie.”
“Not planning to Tae!”
And as they left, Taehyung threw a glance back over his shoulder and a small wink to the wide eyes that were watching their every step. Talk about deja Vu.
iii.
If you asked Jungkook’s parents, they would say that it was Jungkook’s god-given drive to do well that pushed him to excel in academics. If you asked his brother it was because Jungkook couldn’t bear being left out whenever someone spoke of his own accomplishments. If you asked his teachers it was Jungkook’s self-motivation and the want to be better than he currently was. But if you asked Taehyung, the reason why Jungkook slaved away in middle school so that he could skip not one, but two grades, and join Taehyung in year 10 of high school was because of Park Jimin.
The one year they spent together in middle school was watching a one sided battle with Jungkook lobbing offensive attacks one after another and Jimin side-stepping as if he didn’t even realize he was under siege. In fact, Taehyung still isn’t sure to this day if Jimin saw Jungkook for what he was, but if that meant that Taehyung could have his two best friends by his side through his coming-of-age era, he’d take it.
The only issue with them all being in the same grade was that it meant they all had the same classes, which meant more ways for Jungkook to inevitably fail at trying to show up Jimin. When they were younger, Taehyung knew that Jungkook was trying to show off to him, to show why Jimin wasn’t as good, these days though, Taehyung felt less and less in the middle of whatever beef Jungkook had with Jimin. He blamed the fact that all of Jungkook’s attempts had gone rather unfortunately for him. Losing to someone over and over again could only build a certain type of animosity, even if Jungkook was just competing with himself.
And so when all three of them sat in the library together “studying”, Taehyung watched in amusement at the scene that unfolded in front of him. Jungkook was continually asking Jimin for his class notes, which the older was more than happy to present, but borrowing was less for studying and more for stuffing away into his backpack so that Jimin couldn’t get them back. Not like Jimin ever asked for them back. And the few times where Jungkook admitted that he “lost” the notes, he was greeted with a little hair ruffle and the same kind smile that Jimin always had for him.
“It’s no worries Jungkookie! I’ll just borrow someone else’s notes, but be careful about losing your own notes, I can’t help you anymore.”
Taehyung thought the best part of all of this was the faces that Jungkook made behind Jimin’s back. The childish tongue sticking out when Jimin would turn back down to his textbook, the bug eyed shock when Jimin wouldn’t outburst the way Jungkook expected, and the sour contort of his face when Jimin would plop down a little snack on Jungkook’s textbook reminding the younger to eat were amongst some of Taehyung’s personal favorites.
The three of them had made camp in one of the study rooms in the library, bringing snacks and textbooks to get through the next round of finals week. Although, Jungkook was truly the only one studying. Taehyung had gotten distracted by a new twitter thread that his favorite author put out, and Jimin had fallen asleep in the corner with Jungkook’s jacket as a pillow and Taehyung’s as a blanket.
Taehyung decided that this would be the right time to pry, “So Jungkookie… Jimin…”
“Can go die in a hole for all I care?” Jungkook retorted without looking up from his work.
A snort escaped Taehyung, “And that’s why you let him use your jacket as a pillow?”
“You know he’ll bug me even more if I didn’t. I need to study for this anatomy final and if giving him my stupid jacket shuts him up, then I’m more than happy to share.”
Taehyung scooted a little closer to Jungkook, laying himself over the younger’s notes so Jungkook had no choice but to give him attention, “I’m sure Jimin would give you a great anatomy lesson Jungkookie.”
With a swift pull, Jungkook dislodged his notes from under Taehyung’s body, “Ugh don’t say that hyung. The less I have to deal with Jimin, the better. I only put up with his ass for you.”
“So you’re telling me you think about Jimin’s ass?”
“Yes, I think about beating Jimin’s ass.”
Taehyung was knocked off the table before he could get his snarky remark in, but based on Jungkook’s red ears, the youngest already knew what was going to be said.
—
All three teens burst through Taehyung’s front door and immediately fell to the floor of his living room, the stress of finals finally over and with it went the adrenaline that they were surviving off of for the past week.
“Thank god it’s over.” Jimin barely whispered through exhausted breaths, “Now we can sleep forever.” How Jimin was able to be awake in one breath and fully asleep in the next always surprised the other two, but the light snores slowly lulled them to sleep a few moments later.
According to Jungkook, he didn’t even realize that it was Jimin he was holding when they slept. That he didn’t know it was Jimin’s eucalyptus shampoo that he breathed in, or that it was Jimin’s warmth that kept him warm without a blanket, or that it was Jimin’s bare skin that he drew little circles on with his thumb.
—
Living up to parental expectations was already difficult enough, what made things worse was the fact that schools, for some obnoxious reason, felt a need to post everyone’s test scores for the whole world to see. If it was up to Jungkook, the only people who should see his test grades were the poor teachers who had to grade it and himself. But, that wasn't the world he lived in, so instead he had to dread this very Friday every year. Where all students would gather around a tiny bulletin board in the school and compare their rankings.
Every year, the first place spot had been home to Jungkook, but that was before he skipped grades. Now here he was, a full two years younger, and two thousand times more anxious than he was before. Because now he wasn’t just competing against older peers, he was competing against Jimin. Though the older had spent much of the test prep time sleeping in the corner, so it seems the cards were in his favor.
“Jungkookie how’d you think you did in the tests?” Jimin was the only one to talk to him about grades, Taehyung didn’t care too much about his test scores, always noting that he had his good looks to fall back on. It didn’t help that Taehyung had gotten quite popular on social media and the sponsorship he’d been able to sign only added to his blasé attitude about tests. And so Jungkook was forced into conversation with Jimin if he wanted to talk school.
Jungkook offered a small shoulder shrug, “The test felt ok. I’m hoping I did well, what about you Jimin-ssi?”
“I barely studied, I wouldn’t be surprised if I failed Jungkookie,” if the formal way Jungkook addressed Jimin bothered him, he didn’t make any mention. A small part of Jungkook hoped Jimin was right and that he failed because Jimin never seemed to fail.
“I’m sure you did fine Jiminie, let’s go check,” Taehyung replied as he used Jimin’s smaller body as a human barreling ram, pushing him through the crowds so the three of them could get to the very front. “Now let’s see…”
Jungkook’s eyes ran over the subject test with ease, he didn’t care where he ranked there, the only thing that mattered was the final overall ranking. He started from the bottom and made his way up through the 50s, 20s, 10s, and there he was. A bright and bold 2 right next to his name. Second place again. He didn’t dare look up, praying to anyone that was listening, that any other name than the one he loathed was on top of him.
Taehyung’s voice crushed his hopes, “Look at you go Jiminie, no studying and yet top of the class. Want to share some brain cells with me?”
Jungkook took off before any response could be made.
—
“Taehyungie, are you sure Jungkook is ok? He seemed pretty upset with his test scores, but he got As across the board!” Jimin kept glancing at Jungkook's locker as he spoke. The three of them had somehow bribed the secretary into letting them get lockers right next to each other.
Taehyung hushed the other, some excuse about stomach issues covered up Jungkook’s tracks. Seriously could he be more obvious? Although Jimin gave in, there was something that still unsettled him, a knot in his stomach that formed when he thought back to Jungkook’s reaction to their grades. The slight widening of his eyes, and a quiver in his lips that made Jimin just want to bundle him up. The two began to make their way to math class, an odd tension between them as Taehyung wasn’t going to engage in any conversation about Jungkook, but Jimin was not able to drop it.
Entering the class, Taehyung saw the mess first, but was a moment too late to distract Jimin.
“What’s… what‘s on my desk?”
Strewn across his seat was a smattering of papers and notebooks. As Jimin came closer he recognized his own handwriting on the few papers that hadn’t been torn into oblivion. There were his notes from every class, everything that he had spent the last semester getting together, fully trashed and unusable.
“Jiminie-“
“Taehyungie look! We found my notes, you can tell Jungkook we know where they are now and he doesn’t have to worry about it, they probably fell out of his bag somewhere and people stepped all over it, but it was nice for whoever to bring it back to me.”
Taehyung stayed silent as he watched Jimin piece the papers together like they were some type of puzzle. He noticed one single paper still in it’s entirety placed on Jimin’s seat.
Snatching it away, he read the content aloud, “These notes are basically like you, worthless.” He wished he had read the whole thing before he spoke, and based on the horrified looks of onlookers, everyone had the same thought in mind.
Everyone except Jimin.
“That’s so funny Taehyungie! Get it, the notes are worthless because they’re last semesters lectures and we’re in a new unit now. Whoever did this is hilarious.”
Looking around, Taehyung was glad to know he wasn’t the only who found Jimin’s obliviousness a bit concerning. All faces were stuck between relief and confusion, including the eyes of one hooded figure in the corner.
iv.
University had not been kind to the three. Though that’s what was expected when you entered one of the toughest universities in the country. Jimin and Jungkook were shoe-ins with their grades, but what surprised them all was Taehyung’s acceptance considering he had applied as a joke, but the acceptance committee really enjoyed his statement of how he turned his online brand into a steady income for his family. So the three continued through university the same way they had since 10th grade. Together, kind of. More like Taehyung and Jungkook and then Taehyung and Jimin, if you were to ask Jungkook.
Jungkook’s contempt for Jimin was unwavering throughout high school. Now in university, the two of them double-majored in biology and dance while Taehyung was in the business program, meaning Jungkook spent much more time with Jimin than he would have liked. And as dance majors, the two had been pushing themselves to the very brink preparing for the spring showcase. It was the biggest event for the dance major, scouts from different companies were keeping a heavy eye on all those performing and it was an outright death battle for the center spots in the pieces. Each piece was choreographed by a senior student, and Jungkook and Jimin happened to be put into Jung Hoseok’s group.
Jungkook was feeling confident at first, Hoseok’s street style lent itself to Jungkook’s quick pick-up and choreography background more so than it did to Jimin’s classical training. A slightly hidden smirk appeared every time the older was corrected in class for being half a beat too late, but Jungkook did openly bask in every compliment that Hoseok gave him, making sure to peek at Jimin in the corner of his eye. Jimin was never upset the way Jungkook would have liked him to be. He'd flash Jungkook a big smile and thumbs-up, celebrating the younger’s compliments as if they were his own.
After weeks of practice, it was audition day. Each of the groups had their students run the choreography in groups of three or four for the choreographers and senior students watching to evaluate the members. They were then going to be blocked for the piece in the next practice. Jungkook had been gunning for the center spot since the beginning, everyone knew based on the fact that he stood front and center at every practice. Hoseok’s choreography had been tricky, but Jungkook was ready. He had practiced day and night, learned each beat of the song, found every pocket that Hoseok would hit and recreated it in his own moves. Never had Jungkook been so assured that he was going to get it.
“Ok, Jungkook, Jimin, Yeonjun, you’re up!” Hoseok called out from behind the judges table. The three of them made their way to the floor, Jungkook positioned himself front and center once more, whereas Jimin tucked himself away in the corner, a slump to his shoulders that Jungkook wasn’t used to seeing. He refocused on himself, this was his time to shine, after so many years of coming second to Jimin, Jungkook finally felt like he truly had this in the bag.
When the bass rocked the room, Jungkook fell into the familiar rhythm. He knew he was killing it, if not by the way that the others’ cheered, then by the look on the judges faces as they watched Jungkook hit every beat with ease. And out of the corner of his eye, Jungkook could see Jimin, half a beat behind like always, the contemporary dancer’s classical background had him flow when he should be hard. As the song came to an end, Jungkook relished in the roar of applause that was blessed upon their group.
“Wow that was really great!” Hoseok’s compliments only added to Jungkook’s ever growing ego.
Headed back to his seat, Jungkook was a little surprised that Jimin didn’t immediately huddle up to his side like normal. The shorter had gone off to a corner, eyes fixed on the floor as he bit his lower lip. Seeing Jimin so dejected swirled something strange in Jungkook’s chest, but he pushed the feeling to the side, he wanted to focus solely on himself. He had spent his whole life chasing behind Jimin, it was time for things to change.
Hoseok stood at the end of the groups announcing that they would be doing call backs for people they wanted to see a second time. Expectedly, Jimin’s name was called. Jungkook tracked the dancer as he dragged himself to his spot in the back, eyes closed and a hand on his chest as if he was trying to calm his own breathing. One would’ve thought Jungkook would have been excited to see Jimin the way Jungkook had been for so many years, but Jungkook didn’t like it. He didn’t like the way Jimin seemed to doubt himself, he was only ever used to the self-assured side of Jimin. This was new. And Jungkook’s feelings were new.
“Ok, remember the feedback you were given. I know you know the piece, just show us that you do.” Hoseok’s advice was followed with the start of the song. Jimin’s head slowly bobbed along with the beat, but he stayed frozen while those all around him freestyled. Move, Jungkook wanted to yell. Do something, he wanted to scream. Yet, Jungkook bit his tongue, stopping himself the same way Jimin stopped himself from moving.
Then, with the first count, Jimin’s head flashed up and Jungkook was frozen in his spot under the intensity of Jimin’s gaze. Jimin’s body moved with the same fluidity that Jungkook was too familiar with at this point, but there was a slight urgency to the movement, a fire in his step that wasn’t there before. Jungkook held Jimin’s gaze, his hands slightly marked the movements along with Jimin. He watched as Jimin nailed every move, created every moment that Hoseok emphasized, and he watched as a small smirk came onto Jimin’s face.
“FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!” Hoseok cried out the final counts as the dancers hit the last beats, Jimin’s chest heaved heavily in the final pose. “YES! That was exactly what we were looking for!” With that, all the self-assurance that Jungkook had quickly melted away. “We’ll be blocking during our next class, nice work everyone, we’ll see you then.” Hoseok dismissed everyone and Jungkook was quick to the door, but Jimin was a little faster.
He grabbed a hold of Jungkook’s hand, stopping the younger from leaving, “Jungkookie! Thank you for being my rock in there.”
Jungkook eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and annoyance, though only the former seemed to register with Jimin.
“I was really nervous, I don’t know, Hoseok hyung’s style is really tricky for me and getting called back is never a good sign, but when I looked at you, you made me feel like I could do it. So thank you.”
There were no words that Jungkook could formulate in response, his mind completely blank as he didn’t know how to register this moment of vulnerability from the one person who had always been untouchable to Jungkook. Jimin took his silence as a positive though as he threw himself onto the taller and enveloped him in a hug. Jungkook got a full whiff of the same eucalyptus shampoo that Jimin used since they were kids. “Thanks again Jungkookie, I told Soyeon that I’d get dinner with her tonight, so I’ll see you later.”
Jimin was off before Jungkook could get another word in. He watched as Jimin jogged over to the awaiting blonde, his arm wrapped around Soyeon’s waist as the two walked off step by step. Jungkook convinced himself that the strange feeling he had in his stomach was because he couldn’t believe Jimin never told him or Taehyung that he and Soyeon were together. That Jimin kept it a secret. The secret was what bothered him.
—
Hoseok brought the stretching dancers together with a clap of his hands, “Ok, let’s go over the opening positions!” All of the dancers rushed to the front of the room, backs on the mirror as they anxiously awaited their position. Jungkook so badly wanted to be front and center the day of the audition, but now, he just so badly wanted to know how Jimin’s date went. Weren’t they best friends? At least in Jimin’s eyes, Jungkook still considered Jimin his sworn rival, but after more than a decade of companionship, shouldn’t Jungkook be told about Jimin’s personal life? He was too caught in his spiraling thoughts to recognize that Hoseok had called his name. Front and one position off center. Great. Just fucking great. Because if this moment fell into the pattern that was Jungkook’s life, that meant the person to his left, the person who would get center would be none other than-
“Jimin! You’ll take center. I knew you had it in you to get the timing down right, and the flow that you add to the movement just catches everyone’s eyes. Nice work!” While the class exploded in applause for Jimin, Jungkook did not. He sulked as he watched Jimin snatch another victory out of his hands, as Jimin took his rightful spot front and center, in the position Jungkook so badly dreamed of, and as Jimin gave Soyeon a hug that was just a smidge too long in Jungkook’s opinion.
The rest of the night went without a hitch, Jungkook switched to auto-pilot as he stewed in anger and frustration. He worked so hard, practiced so much, did everything right, but once again he was second to Jimin? Who had to have a fucking call back? And then for him to hug Soyeon first, and not even acknowledge Jungkook, what the hell was up with that? And how dare Jimin take yet another moment that was rightfully Jungkook’s from right between his hands. When Hoseok dismissed them all, he called Jimin to stay back, something about a solo moment in the piece, something that Jungkook didn’t need to hear. The younger was first to the door. He chose to ignore how his brain screamed that Soyeon was the one staying behind.
—
“So you and Soyeon?” Taehyung didn’t let Jimin even get a chance to put his bags down when the sweaty dancer entered their shared apartment, the three of them had moved in together for their final year.
Jimin rolled his eyes, “Are just playing it by ear, how’d you hear anyways?”
Taehyung’s eyes shot to the closed bedroom door at the end of the hallway. Of course, Jungkook had seen them go out to dinner together. Pulling his eyes away from the door, Jimin threw his sweatshirt at Taehyung who was wiggling his eyebrows at him.
“Come on Min, you haven’t been with anyone since ever, you can’t blame me for being excited.”
“Well, maybe because unlike you, I don’t have flocks of fans and followers to depend on if my education goes down the drain.”
“Or maybe because some-“ Taehyung’s sentence was cut off by a shoe that found its target between his eyes.
Jimin called back over his shoulder as he made his way to the bathroom, “Or maybe you can shut the fuck up!” And the slam of the door putting a period at the end of their conversation.
Taehyung had to laugh to himself, that conversation was eerily similar to the one that he had with Jungkook just ten minutes prior. His friends really were idiots.
—
Opening night of the showcase was as stressful as any opening night would be, but Jimin would much rather be anywhere else than where he was now. He regretted taking the center spot, he regretted being in the front, he regretted dancing in totality, was it too late to switch one of his majors? Or drop it entirely. He needed to breathe, he needed something or someone to calm him down. Jungkook had been too busy getting ready himself, Jimin didn’t want to bother him, and Soyeon was currently on stage with the all girl unit she pulled together. He found his way to his little dressing room vanity, counting his breaths as he walked to try to slow the race of his heart. Except when he got to his mirror, it was written all over in a bright red lipstick.
“Break… your.. fucking.. leg?”
Jimin looked around to see if there was anyone within the vicinity who could’ve written the message, but everyone seemed to be too wrapped up in their own preparations. A smile cracked onto Jimin’s face as his heart soared with a new confidence he didn’t know he had.
—
“You guys did so great!” Taehyung had somehow shoved his way backstage, two bouquets of flowers in hand for each of his roommates. “I was sitting behind some scouts and both of your names were written on so many notepads, you guys fucking killed it!”
“Oh thank god,” Jimin accepted the flowers and hugs with a sigh of relief, “I was so worried, but then someone left a really nice message on my mirror before I went on and it honestly was the little pep talk I needed.”
“I wanna see!” Taehyung exclaimed, already pulling the other two towards the rows of mirrors, Jimin’s being easy to find as it was the only one with red sprawl across it. “I bet they wrote about how beautiful you look when you dance Ji-“ His voice trailed off as Taehyung read and re-read the message on the mirror. “Min.. I says for you to go break your fucking leg.”
Jimin clapped his hands together, the brightness in his eyes never diminished, “I know! Isn’t that the sweetest that someone wished me good luck before I went on! I don’t know who did it, but just knowing someone here had my back was the reassurance I needed.”
Taehyung had to choose his next words carefully, “Min.. isn’t it go break a leg?”
“Yeah! That’s what it says.”
“This says for you to break your leg…”
Jimin titled his head slightly to the side, his lip pushing out in a small pout, “I know Taehyungie, they’re wishing me good luck!”
There are times in life that you learn to step back and let people believe whatever they want to believe, and this was one of those times. As Taehyung petted Jimin’s head while the other continued on gushing about the message on the mirror, he didn’t miss the conflicted emotions that flashed over Jungkook’s face before he settled on annoyance. One would think after all these years Jungkook would know better.
v.
“Oh.. Jungkook, that’s really sweet, but… I have feelings for someone else and it doesn’t feel right for me to accept a date with you while I have these feelings.” The hope in Jungkook’s heart slowly faded with each of Namjoon’s words. He thanked the lord now that he decided to just ask the older man over coffee rather than bringing him flowers or anything like he had thought of. Namjoon was a TA for one of Jungkook’s senior classes last year and while Jungkook’s crush had been growing ever since then, he wanted to respect Namjoon’s position as his instructor and waited until he graduated this past summer to ask Namjoon out. They had met at a coffee shop near Jungkook’s apartment that he shared with Taehyung, as Jimin had moved out to his own place. When Jungkook held his heart open to the older man, he realized he should’ve known by the look in Namjoon’s eyes. It wasn’t the look you give to someone that you’re interested in, it was the look that one gave to someone they felt bad for and Namjoon felt bad for him.
Jungkook tried to play it cool, scratching the back of his head with his hand as he assured the taller man that it was alright, “May I just ask… who it is that you have these feelings for?” At the mention of the mystery man, Namjoon perked up, the sad eyes now replaced by a spark that Jungkook wished he was the cause of.
There was a moment of hesitancy, “Uhm.. well I think you actually know him?” Jungkook ran through the people in his mind, while their university was fairly liberal, the list of of openly out gays at school was still pretty small and none of them seemed to have a connection with Namjoon. “I’m pretty sure you guys are friends or something, I saw him with you all the time.” Oh no, not Taehyung. “Jimin? Park Jimin?”
What was originally a ball of hurt in Jungkook’s chest transformed into pure rage as he spoke through clenched teeth, “Oh? Yeah. I know him. I hate to burst your bubble hyung, but Jimin’s straight.”
Namjoon scoffed a bit, crossing his arms in front of him, “Don’t lie because you want me to yourself Jungkook,” there was a tease in Namjoon’s voice, but there was too much blood in Jungkook’s ear to hear it. “I saw Jimin and Yoongi hyung last year at Jackson’s party. Whatever they had going on was definitely more than just friends.”
Jimin and Yoongi? What happened to Jimin and Soyeon? And Jimin not being straight? What the hell was this and why was he getting it from Namjoon? Sure, Jungkook wasn’t the most open with Jimin, but they had been roommates for God’s sake, shouldn’t he have been told something?
His chair screeched against the floor as Jungkook shot out of his seat, “Namjoon hyung, this was fun, I hope that we can still be friends. I must go now,” he spat out. Jungkook was out the door before Namjoon could even realize what happened.
—
How the fuck was it that at every turn in his life, Jimin was there and not just there, but there and fucking with him. Even in his love life, Jimin somehow got the upper hand over Jungkook and he was sick of it. Sick of being second place to Jimin, sick of everything and everyone preferring Jimin, sick of finding out information about Jimin second hand. Why does everything have to be second with Jungkook?
He was done with it, Jimin needed to hear straight up just how much Jungkook loathed his presence, how he wished he scrubbed Jimin away from his life, how he wanted to turn back time and throw sand into Jimin’s face the very first day he showed up to his and Taehyung’s sandbox. Then maybe his life would’ve gone the way he truly wanted it to. He would’ve been first in his class (ignoring that he did actually graduate first as Jimin spent a little too much time in the dance room compared to the lecture hall), he would’ve gotten front and center (ignoring that he did in the very same showcase Jimin did, except just in a different piece), he would’ve been Taehyung’s best friend (ignoring that he is as proven by the fact that his contact name was bestest friend in Taehyung’s phone). If Jimin wasn’t in his life, Jungkook would have achieved all this. He would've been the one that Namjoon wanted, not Jimin.
Besides, why would Namjoon even like Jimin? Not for his ridiculous style, how Jimin wore pants slightly too tight or shirts slightly too low, and definitely not for his bubbly personality that woke Jungkook up way too early and too excited to start each day. It couldn’t be the way Jimin danced, how his moves always had a graceful flow to them, even when it was supposed to be hard hitting choreography. And it most certainly did not make sense because Jimin was straight. Jungkook saw him and Soyeon that night and every other night following their showcase, he saw the way their hands fit in one another, and how Jimin’s seat slowly stopped being next to Jungkook and turned into next to Soyeon.
Fuck this and fuck him. Fuck Park Jimin.
Jungkook’s anger spiral took over his every emotion, every movement, and when he looked up he was surprised to see his feet had brought him to a florist. There are times where one works off of thought and reason, and times where one throws reason to the air and does whatever the hell their body feels like doing, and Jungkook swinging the door opening and demanding a bouquet of flowers that say I hate you and you’re dead to me was one of those times where reason did not prevail.
The young girl behind the desk didn’t know what to say to the seething man in front of her, “I.. you want flowers to communicate that you want someone to die?”
“Yes. And can you write ‘I hate you’ on the card?”
“Uhm.. sure hold on..” she ducked into the back for some time to get everything the strange man requested together. While he waited, Jungkook realized just how awful everything in the shop was because it all reminded him of Jimin. The daisies in the corner were the same as the ones that those stupid stubby fingers used to loop into flower crowns that Jimin would plop onto Jungkook’s head, the peonies near the front were always a staple on Jimin’s vanity backstage of every performance, they were his favorite and Taehyung always got them for him. Even the damn aster flowers tucked behind the counter. Jungkook could hear Jimin exclaim that they were Jungkook’s birth flowers and how they symbolized love and faith. All the things that Jimin held for Jungkook.
Fuck you Park Jimin.
The girl came out about ten minutes later, a bouquet filled with black flowers of varying types and in the center of it all, a card written in pretty cursive. I hate you.
“This is perfect. Thank you.” Jungkook paid the girl with a slightly lower intensity than he entered the shop with and he was off, his feet carrying him to Jimin’s new apartment, which was also stupid considering that Jimin should’ve just kept living with them. It would’ve made Jungkook’s life easier because he could throw this stupid bouquet in Jimin’s face and then just go over to his room, but no, Jimin needed to make everything difficult for Jungkook, didn’t he.
Sprinting up the stairs of the apartment, Jungkook found the same door that he and Taehyung helped Jimin move into, the same door that Jungkook had to drag a nearly sobbing Taehyung out of, because why did Jimin have to leave them.
His fist found the door, “PARK JIMIN OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR.” The pounding never stopped. “I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE JIMIN IT’S FUCKING 12 PM ON TUESDAY YOU DON’T HAVE PRACTICE OR TEACH TODAY OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR.” Thank goodness Jungkook knew his schedule so intimately, he would’ve been even more pissed if Jimin wasn’t home and Jungkook would’ve been stuck waiting outside the locked door until he got home.
Jungkook could hear feet scurry over, some cries about how he was hurrying and to not piss off his neighbors before the door swung open and there stood Jimin, obviously half awake, rubbing one eye with a tired hand and in nothing but an oversized shirt. Jungkook’s oversized shirt.
“Is that my fucking shirt?”
Jimin looked down through blurry eyes, “I think? I don’t know, all of our clothes got all messed up when we lived together, do you want it back?” He stepped to the side a bit to let Jungkook in.
“Yes! But not right now, that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I have something to fucking say to you.” If Jimin wasn’t awake before, he was now from the pure intensity of Jungkook’s voice, the taller had come up face to face with Jimin, an accusatory finger poked him in the chest.
Jimin tried to make some space between them, but for every step he took back, Jungkook took one forward until Jimin was trapped between his dining table and the younger man in front of him, “Woah Kookie what’s going on? Are you ok?”
“Am I ok?!” Jungkook nearly shouted, both hands flying up in the air and that was when Jimin caught sight of the bouquet.
His eyes tracked the flowers as they came down, his two hands reached out to intercept them, “Kookie.. are these for me?”
“Well who the fuck else would they be for?” What an idiotic question, but that was besides Jungkook’s point as he shoved the flower’s into Jimin’s chest. “Obviously they’re for you and I mean every fucking word behind them.”
Jimin didn’t even look at the card, he slowly caressed each flower with his hand as he fingered through the bouquet, quietly naming all the flowers, “These mean hope, and these ones are for tranquility, and look Kookie! These are like the flowers that were in the field during our elementary school days. I.. I don’t know what to say..”
As he was about to open his mouth and let the snarky retort fly, Jimin looked up at Jungkook, tears welled in his eyes and a light pink blush slowly spread from his cheeks to his ears, “Thank you Jungkookie, I.. you don’t know how much this means to me.”
There it was again. That awful feeling in Jungkook’s chest. The same one he got the first time he realized he had fallen asleep cuddling Jimin when sleeping over at Taehyung’s house, the same one that appeared when Jungkook watched Jimin and Soyeon walk away from him hand in hand, the very same one that he got when Namjoon mentioned Jimin and Yoongi. That awful feeling that he couldn’t name. Wouldn’t name.
The feeling in his chest was replaced with a physical smack as Jimin launched himself into Jungkook’s body, the younger instinctively caught him and wrapped his arms around Jimin. He felt Jimin squeeze tight, shoving his face in between Jungkook’s pecs. Jungkook didn’t accept just how perfectly Jimin fit right into his body, his own head dropping a little to smell the eucalyptus that he had become so familiar with. Was Jimin the reason why the only candles Jungkook lit in the apartment were eucalyptus? Is that what Taehyung meant when he would rib Jungkook for buying the same scent again? And as Jungkook held Jimin, he felt the feeling in his chest melt away transforming into something else. Something similar to what he felt when he looked at Namjoon, but this one was deeper. This one was more comforting, not something to be afraid of like he was with Namjoon. This one felt more like home.
Muffled words spoken into his chest brought Jungkook back down to the moment at hand. “Jimin, I can’t hear you when you’re hiding your face.” Now that Jungkook thought about it, he didn’t remember when he gave up on calling him Jimin-ssi.
Jimin pulled his face just slightly away from Jungkook’s chest, only enough for his words to be heard, but he kept his face hidden from Jungkook, “I said I’m relieved Jungkookie.”
“You’re relieved?”
“Well, you came in so angry and I was worried that you were upset with me or something? We haven’t spoken too often since I moved out because I wanted to give you some space to adjust, but you never reached out and I just… I was afraid that you didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”
There are times where one works off of thought and reason, and times where one throws reason to the air and does whatever the hell their body feels like doing, and Jungkook reaching down to tilt Jimin’s head up by his chin so they were eye to eye was one of those moments where reason didn’t prevail.
“I never wanted to be your friend.” Jimin’s eyes slowly widened, a fog of worry clouded over them as he stumbled over his words to find meaning in Jungkook’s statement. “I only kept you around because Taehyung wanted to be your friend.”
Jimin tried to push himself off of Jungkook, but the younger dug his fingers into Jimin’s waist, keeping him close. “I- then why… did you come here to tell me you don’t want to be my friend anymore?”
The arms around Jimin tightened at that accusation, “No.” Jungkook wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but he knew that all that anger he had, the want to get Jimin out of his life was severely misplaced, now that he had Jimin in his arms. Now that he knew what it felt like to truly hold Jimin, “I don’t want you to leave, I just.. I.. Jimin you were so much better than me in everything that we’ve always done. You came first in our class.”
“Only that one time in tenth grade after that you-“
“You got front and center for Hoseok hyung’s showcase piece.“
“But then you were front for-“
“You stole both Taehyung and Namjoon from me.”
“I don’t think I can take Taehyung from you even if I wanted to Kookie. And what does Namjoon hyung have anything to do with this?”
Jungkook stalled a bit, what did Namjoon have to do with this? Was Jungkook still upset about Namjoon? No, not with his body filled with warmth the way it was now, Jimin fit into him and his life in a way he didn't think Namjoon ever would or could.
He took a slight breath before he started again, “Minnie… Namjoon had a crush on you. And I had a crush on Namjoon.” A franticness sparked fire under Jimin as he fought against Jungkook.
“Jungkook I’m so sorry, I don’t have any feelings for Namjoon hyung and I’ll make sure to tell him that and to mention how absolutely wonderful you are because anyone would be so blessed to have you as theirs!” Jimin’s attempts at freedom were futile as Jungkook’s hold only strengthened locking Jimin in place.
Jungkook watched as Jimin flailed about, “Min, Namjoon said that you’re gay. Is that true?”
“No? Well, yes? I’m bi.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know.. does it change anything between us?”
At that, Jungkook had to laugh out loud, “Minnie, I’m gay. If it changes anything that would make me a terrible hypocrite.”
“Then why.. why are you bringing it up?“
That was the golden question wasn’t it? Why was Jungkook bringing it up? Did Jimin being bisexual change anything between them? As Jungkook held Jimin in his arms, his thumbs drawing little circles into Jimin’s skin, he decided to stop thinking.
“I hated you growing up. You were my rival in every way. Did you know that?” Jimin was at a loss for words at the deceleration, but he stayed very still, the slight bite that Jungkook had on his lower lip indicating that the younger wasn’t done. “I thought I hated you because you were better than me, because Taehyung was friends with you too, because you were always just so perfect. And I hated how close to Taehyung you were. I hated how you would sit next to Soyeon instead of next to me. I hated how you two would hold hands during and after class. I thought it was because I hated the fact that you’re a better dancer than me.”
Jungkook brought a hand up to Jimin’s mouth knowing Jimin was going to butt in with exclamations of Jungkook’s dance abilities, but this wasn’t the time for that. “I really thought I hated you.” Looking down, he saw Jimin cock one eyebrow at him, a silent question of what was being asked. “I’m going to take my hand off your mouth and kiss you now and I need you to not ask any questions because I don’t have an answer for you right now.”
And that was what Jungkook did. He felt Jimin freeze at first, his lips still as Jungkook covered them with his own, and then they softened and deepened the kiss as Jimin’s hands came up to wrap around Jungkook's neck, the two of them lost in each other. At some point they had to break apart for air. They pulled apart far enough to rest their foreheads against each other.
“I know you said not to ask questions, Jungkookie, but I’m so confused.”
“Me too.”
“Why did you bring me flowers that say I hate you and then kiss me?”
Jungkook laughed a bit at his own antics, a slight shrug of his shoulders were all that he had to offer the shorter that he held close.
“I- I don’t have a good answer for you.”
“Well, do you still hate me?”
Jungkook leaned down, enclosing Jimin’s lips in his own again. That was a good enough answer for Jimin.
—
Jimin’s quick hands expertly tied the ends of the flower together, the bouquet now laid in sections on the table as Jimin laid on Jungkook’s bare chest in bed, their clothes forgotten in a corner along with any questions.
“Did you know?” Jungkook’s voice was quiet under Jimin, his eyes glued on the smaller man.
Jimin didn’t turn to face him, he focused on his flowers and continued to tie them together. A non-committal hum was the only response Jungkook got before a flower crown was propped on his head.
“I finally got to make one at home. Thanks again, Kookie.”