Chapter Text
BTS had just come through another hard day of practice. They were hot, sweaty and just a bit cranky. It could be argued that they all were a little short on sleep.
Jimin and Jin were in the kitchen. For some reason, Jin still had energy to make his own noodles. Jimin was just letting him do his own thing while he was making Kimchi Fried Rice and frying some chicken. Comfort foods.
Jin was whistling to himself. Jimin had had enough. “Where do you get all this energy from? Aren’t we living in the same house, eating the same food and following the same schedule? You’re the oldest here, and you’re making me feel like a grandfather.”
Jin smiled. “I just feel good.”
“He feels good,” Jimin grumbled.
“Hey, Jimin?”
“Yah?”
“How do you know if the one you’re with is the ‘right’ one?”
Jimin was suddenly more awake. “Is this a hypothetical question?”
“It’s for the friend of a friend, who needs some good advice.”
“How many ‘friend of a friends’ do you have that I don’t know?”
Jin gave him a pleading look.
“Okay, fine. So, your friend wants to know ‘how to know.’”
Jin shook his head affirmatively.
Jimin sighed, then laughed, turning his chicken in the grease. “You see this chicken?”
Jin frowned at it. “Yah.”
“You ever heard the phrase, ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire?’”
“Yah,” Jin said doubtfully, watching the chicken turning brown and crisping. “Are you saying, ‘My goose is cooked?’”
Jimin burst out laughing. “I don’t think that’s what I was saying.” Jimin turned off the rice and kept turning the chicken.
“What I mean is, there’s no easy way to know. You gotta just try it, jump in and give it your best, you know? You don’t half-way cook a chicken. You gotta commit yourself 100% and see if you’ve jumped into somewhere you want to be or not. Maybe the chicken wasn’t the best analogy.” Jimin rubbed his eyes. “Maybe you should ask someone who is more awake.”
Jimin turned off the fire and started carrying food into the dining room. Jin was right behind him with the noodles.
“It’s food, guys!” In a very short amount of time, there were only empty plates and bowls on the table. Hoseok burped and Namjoon punched his arm.
Jin was washing dishes when Namjoon came in. “Why are you doing the dishes, when you cooked?” He started to called Hoseok, but Jin stopped him. “Namjoon, how do you know when the person you’re with is the ‘right’ person?”
“Did Jimin ask you to ask me that?”
“No. No! I’m asking for the friend of a friend.”
“I thought I knew all your friends.”
Jin sighed. “Just answer the question.”
“It’s not like I’m dating or anything,” Namjoon was quick to add.
“Right. Do you even know?”
Namjoon sighed. “I’m probably not the person to ask. Sometimes the person you’re dating seems like the right person, and sometimes they don’t.”
Namjoon shook the dishtowel at Jin, suddenly inspired. “Just like sometimes, it seems like you’re doing all the work yourself: the cooking, the dishes, whatever. And then sometimes, it seems like they know even before you say you need something.”
Hoseok popped his head into the kitchen. “Do you two need some help?” He took the dishrag away from Jimin and pushed him out of the kitchen. “What are you doing? You already cooked; let us clean!”
Jin looked at Namjoon who shrugged his shoulders and said, “You see what I mean?”
Jin didn’t know that he was any more clear. He went and sat on the couch. Taehyung and Yoongi were playing a game on the big tv. “I thought you guys were going to bed.”
“Nah, gotta digest first.”
Yoongi nodded. “That’s right.”
“Can I ask you guys a serious question? It’s for the friend of a friend.”
Taehyung started to say, “I thought I knew all of your—" but Jin cut him off. “Don’t say it. So, here’s the question: How do you know if the person you’re dating is the ‘right’ person?”
Yoongi paused the game. “Did Jimin ask you to ask me that?”
“What? No! But, I should obviously talk to him again. This is for the friend—”
“Of a friend, right, I got ya,” Taehyung said. “Hmmm,” he was pondering.
“That’s tricky,” Yoongi said. “Not that I’ve ever had that problem.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Taehyung said to him. Yoongi punched him in the side.
Taehyung sighed. “That’s heavy for the middle of the night.”
Jungkook chose that moment to walk into the room in his pajama’s. His hair was still wet from the shower, and his pants clung to him in all the right places. Subconsciously, Taehyung licked his lips. Yoongi punched him again.
“Ow!” Taehyung yelled, and glowered at Yoongi, who smirked.
“What’s the question?” Jungkook asked.
Jin blushed. “It’s not for me,” he said.
“It’s for the friend of a friend,” Yoongi added dryly, picking up his controller again.
Taehyung looked at Jungkook seriously. “How do you know if the person you’re dating is the ‘right’ person?”
They both paused for a moment, like time had stopped for them. Jin was suddenly uncomfortable. The air seemed to crackle with electricity. Jungkook smiled and looked at Jin. Taehyung re-adjusted himself in his seat.
“Is this pre-dating, dating or long-term?”
“Does it make a difference?”
“Sometimes.”
Jin got excited. Jungkook was the first person who seemed to have an answer. “So, what do I tell him?”
Jimin came in and sat next to Yoongi, placing his hand on his knee. Yoongi smiled, stopping to whisper in Jimin’s ear.
Jimin smiled at him, then asked Jungkook, “What are you guys all serious about?”
Yoongi repeated, “It’s for the friend of a friend.”
Jimin nodded. “Oh, that. It’s a good thing you asked somebody else, ‘cause I didn’t know.” Yoongi paused the game and everyone looked at Jimin.
“What?”
Yoongi put down the controller and walked out.
“What?” Jimin asked helplessly. He hurried to rush after Yoongi.
Jungkook laughed.
“Did I miss something?” Jin asked.
Taehyung snorted. “Nothing that won’t confuse the issue,” he said.
Jungkook sat down on the floor.
“Are you serious about this person?”
“It’s not me, it’s for—”
“Yah, yah, whatever.” Jungkook waved Jin’s words away.
“If it seems right, right now, and there’s no reason not to pursue it, then go for it. But, don’t expect a giant sign in the sky with an arrow pointing to them.”
“What if it’s stars?” Taehyung asked quietly, smiling.
“What?”
“Ignore him,” Jungkook said with a blush.
“So, there’s no moment when you just know it’s ‘right?””
Jungkook smiled. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying the answers aren’t always clear. Sometimes it can feel one way, sometimes another. But.”
Taehyung and Jin both looked at him.
“If you can’t imagine living one moment of one day without that person, even on their worst day, even on your worst day, then, it’s probably real.”
Taehyung turned off his game. “I’m going to bed,” he announced. He looked at Jungkook with smoldering eyes. Jungkook swallowed hard. He patted Jin on the shoulder while looking up at Taehyung. His breath hitched.
“You’ll never know unless you try,” he said softly. Then, he got up and followed Taehyung out of the room.
With the tv off, the room was dark except for the one lamp. It suited Jin’s thoughtful mood.
Hoseok and Namjoon were laughing and joking as they came out of the kitchen, turning off more lights as they walked. They jumped when they saw Jin.
“What’s up?” Namjoon asked. “Why are you sitting by yourself?”
Hoseok came and sat next to Jin, looking at him inquiringly.
“Hey, Hoseok, you’ve been around, a bit.” Hoseok smiled. “A little.”
“How do you know when the person you’re dating is the ‘right’ one?”
Hoseok smiled. “Hey, Jin, are you dating someone?”
Namjoon cut in. “No, he’s trying to find out for the friend of a friend, right Jin?”
Jin smiled at him, relieved. “That’s right.”
Hoseok looked at Namjoon and raised his eyebrow. Namjoon shrugged at him.
“The ‘right’ one?”
“Right.”
“No such thing.”
“What?!” Jin and Namjoon said simultaneously.
“You make the ‘right’ one the ‘right’ one. No one starts out that way. Even if you’re more attracted to them than breathing,” he glanced and Namjoon and away, “you may not get along. And, someone you may not be attracted to may get more and more attractive as you get to know them. You see what I’m saying?”
Jin sighed. “I’m just getting more and more confused, tonight. So, what do I tell my friend?”
“If they’re interested enough to find out if they’re dating the ‘right’ one, that’s enough. Get to know each other. See what happens. If you’ve dated a while and you can walk away with no regrets, walk away. If you’ve dated for a day, a week, a month, and you couldn’t walk away if the house was on fire, then stay. That’s as ‘right’ as it gets.”
Namjoon smiled at him. “Why is everyone so much smarter than me? And, I’ve got the high IQ?”
Hoseok smiled. “There’s different kinds of learning,” he said to Namjoon kindly.
Hoseok gave Jin a hug.
“Don’t worry so much. I mean, tell your friend not to worry so much. No one starts off knowing the end before the beginning. You can only do that in fiction.” He smiled and squeezed Jin’s shoulders, shaking him a little.
“You think worrying about it will make it make sense? No relationship makes sense. Because the heart and the mind see the world differently.” He laughed and pointed at Jin’s privates. “And, so does that. Don’t let that make up your mind for you, okay?”
Jin laughed.
“Hey, that’s good advice,” Namjoon added.
“You should know,” Hoseok said as he breezed past Namjoon on his way to bed.
“Hey, what?” Namjoon shouted at him, and followed him down the hall.
Jin laughed softly to himself. He wondered if he really knew more now than he did before.
His phone chimed and he picked it up.
Text from Sandra.
He smiled and pressed to open it.
“I’m off work in 10 minutes. Walk me home?” Jin pushed his phone in his back pocket and rushed to put on his shoes and get his jacket. He could make it in 10 minutes!
As he was about to step through the front door, a voice stopped him.
“Where are you going?”
It was Jimin.
Jin froze, not knowing what to say.
“Don’t get caught,” he said.
Jin looked at Jimin, so serious right now.
“Do you really not know when the right person is the right person?”
“You know that way you’re feeling right now?” Jin nodded.
“That’s one way you know. That’s your heart, it’s telling you something.”
Jimin walked close to Jin and placed his hand on Jin’s heart.
“But your heart, it can love a lot of people in a lot of ways. You need this, too,” he tapped Jin’s head.
“Keep your mind clear. Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Don’t let your heart or your penis make your decisions for you.” He smiled at Jin.
“And, make sure you’re not going to hurt the person you love by putting them in a situation they don’t want. What do you think? Are you about to do that?”
Jin frowned.
Jimin patted him on the shoulder. “And, if you have a hard time figuring all of that out, don’t forget you have us. The friends of a friend.”
Jimin smiled again. “Goodnight, my friend.”
Jimin went to the kitchen to get his water, and Jin was gone when he came back out.
“Good luck,” he whispered to him.
END