Work Text:
winter is coming.
no, seriously, winter really was just right around the corner. it had been a fun autumn, with all the fall colors making him feel warm and comfortable, but jimin could feel the slight bite of cold in the air already, even if it was just the first of october. he didn't really mind, though-- after all, winter was his favorite season of all. sure, snow was wet and it felt gross to stay in wet clothes all the time, but it was beautiful. and to jimin, it couldn't get any better than that. there was just something in the air during winter that he practically lived off of.
as he strolled through the park on his way home, there seemed to be a shift in the wind and somehow, everything turned magical for jimin. maybe it was just the fact that he hadn't been to the park in a while, since he was always swamped at work (not that he was complaining; he wouldn't trade his job for the world). the breeze felt just right blowing past his face and all he could do to savor it was slow down to a stroll. normally, he'd be wary since sketchy people tended to hang out in the park at night, but he felt at ease at the moment. he looked around, noting that there weren't as many people as he thought there would have been; then again, it was Chuseok, so it made sense that everyone was at home. only he, this elderly couple enjoying their cups of something hot on a nearby bench, and this other dude walking his dog were to be seen in the area. jimin feels himself relax as he loosens up his shoulders, his back stiff from being hunched (a bad habit of his while brisk walking).
just as he stopped near a fountain, his phone started to ring. without even bothering to check the caller ID, he answered, "hello?"
"jimin-ah, where are you? we've been waiting at your place for 10 minutes already, we thought you'd be home by now!"
"don't worry hyung, i'm just strolling through the park. i'm almost home!" jimin chuckled as he heard whines from the other line. "do you need me to pick up anything?"
he heard shuffling in the background, and then another voice came through the line, making jimin laugh for real. "nooo, nothing else, we have everything we need, just please come home, i wanna start watching this already."
"yeah, alright, i'm on my way. and this better not be one of those 3-hour films, hobi hyung, because I still have to finish my book before bed."
"it might turn out to be one if you don't get here in 15 minutes!! the pizza's starting to get cold."
jimin grinned before answering, already moving towards the exit of the park. "i'll be there in 10, so i better not walk in on you and yoongi hyung making out on my couch!!"
he burst out laughing again as he heard a shout of "no promises!" before the line went dead. the chill in the air pushed him into a jog as he exited the park, slightly turning his head after hearing someone call out "stark!!" in the distance.
"literally thank you for picking this one out, i didn't think i'd enjoy it as much as i did. i was honestly expecting you'd choose something bad again," jimin snickered at hoseok's scoff.
"again? when have i ever chosen something bad??"
"no babe, you don't want an answer to that," yoongi chimed in.
the look of betrayal on hoseok's face had jimin doubling over in laughter and yoongi failing to keep a straight face. "well, i think you're both just jealous since i always get to choose the movie because you are both so bad at rock-paper-scissors."
standing up from the couch, yoongi looked back at his boyfriend and said, "nah, we just let you win," before proceeding to plant a kiss on hoseok's forehead.
jimin smiled to himself as he grabbed the current book he was reading from his work bag and resumed reading from where he last finished as he drowned hoseok's protests out. he had 10 chapters left and he was eager to finish it before midnight, since that was the agreement.
noticing Jimin's silence, hoseok scooted over to where jimin was and tried his best to distract the poor boy by staring at him or trying to read over his shoulder. of course jimin maintained his focus because he knew his hyung wanted to mess with him, but he could only do so much until hoseok pulled out the big guns by making cute faces at him. he felt his resolve crumbling and before he started laughing again, he grabbed a nearby throw pillow and wacked hoseok in the side. "hyung!!"
with the reflexes of a dancer, hoseok caught the pillow with ease before it hit him and the pair just dissolved in giggles. "that's it," jimin said, in between bouts of laughter, "out!! both of you go home, now!"
"aw, but jimin, of course i'm gonna try and make you lose!" a still-grinning hoseok replied.
"no no, after all your attempts, i have never been a book behind, and i don't plan on being so now!" he threw another pillow at hoseok.
"alright, alright!" hoseok snickered. "come on babe, let's leave the reading freak alone with his book."
"not my fault you dared me into reading 365 books in 365 days," jimin said as he stuck his tongue out at the pair.
"your fault you accepted," yoongi smirked.
"whatever." jimin rolled his eyes and stood up to usher them out of his apartment. "stay safe! i hate you both!" he shouted, earning a holler from hoseok.
"we love you, too!"
2 hours later, jimin was stretching across his bed, ready for a good night's rest after finishing The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, the last of the classics in his to-read list. since this was also the last book he had yet to read in his collection, this meant that he had to go to a bookstore the next day to buy a new book to read. jimin scoffed with a smile, rolling on his side as he remembered the bet he made with hoseok last year.
it was new year's eve, and as per usual, they were at jimin's, drinking while they waited to go outside for the firework show. they were making a list of cliché new year's resolutions that they would never do when hoseok mentioned reading one book per day.
"i could do that."
hoseok eyed jimin. "no, you can't."
"um, i totally can."
"nuh-uh, even with your reading skills, i don't think so. not with that job of yours."
"i have breaks! i read 300 words per minute. most books aren't even that long."
yoongi snorted. "are you sure about that?"
"of course!" jimin glared at them, definitely a little tipsy. "it's not that hard, and i have a lot of books at home that i haven't read yet."
"alright then, wanna bet? if you lose, i get to pick everything we have to do when we hang out for a month," hoseok stated and reached his hand out.
jimin slurred, "you're on!!"
they shook hands and burst into giggles, yoongi smiling at them fondly. "i'll drink to that. happy new year!"
"happy new year!!" they shouted in unison before tipping their shot glasses back. scrambling to their feet, they climbed through the fire escape to the rooftop and watched the colors explode in the sky, ready for a new year that was filled with a kind of excitement only the uncertain future could bring.
jimin's first task of the day (well, no, actually, it was his second-- his morning coffee is always top priority) was to find a good bookstore so he didn't have to scavenge all over the city for places to get his remaining 91 books. he already passed several shops since he started walking from his place, but none of them really fit him and they didn't really have the kind of books he's interested in. hunger was already finding its way to him since he skipped breakfast to go on a diet (which he didn't need if yoongi and hoseok were to be asked) and just as he started to find himself regretting his decision, a mouth-watering aroma of pastries found its way through the air to him. literally stopping in his tracks, he scanned the street to look for the origin of the smell and found a cute café across the street called The Latte Place. the next thing he knew, he was walking through the door of the café and was being smothered by the smell of coffee and freshly-baked pastries.
"good morning!" the man at the counter enthusiastically greeted. "what can i get you today?"
"hi! everything smells so good. i was actually walking across the street and just had to come in here to check it out. my mouth watered right away, i swear," jimin huffed with a chuckle.
the man, seokjin, based on the nametag he was wearing, laughed. "well, I'm glad you loved the smell of them, because they're all really good. i should know, i'm the one who makes them," he teased, winking at jimin.
jimin grinned. "oh that's amazing! can you recommend something to me, then? i'm looking for something that can get me through this morning, since i accidentally skipped breakfast... on purpose."
"ah, i have the perfect thing for you. it's one of my partner's all-time favorites, and i think you're gonna enjoy it just as well," seokjin said with a smile. "would you like any drink with that?"
"oh, yes please! just a latte will do, i already had a small cup of coffee this morning."
jimin paid for his order and looked for a place to sit, as seokjin told him that he will be bringing the order to him. having been a little bit too hungry earlier, he didn't get to actually look around the café, but now that he had time, he was really amazed by how cozy the place seemed. it felt like somewhere one could go to just unwind and maybe read a book for hours on end. after appreciating the details of the place, jimin noticed a door on the side wall of the café with a sign that only said "no food or drinks allowed inside."
noticing seokjin coming out from the kitchen, jimin asked, "excuse me, but are customers allowed to go in here?"
seokjin turned his head toward jimin to see where he was pointing to. "absolutely! it's actually an adjoining door to the bookstore next door. my partner owns it, and i own this one. we figured that entry to their place would complete the aesthetic this place had."
to say Jimin was surprised was just shy of an understatement. "no way, i've actually been looking for a bookstore i could get my books from!"
"oh wow, that's great! by all means, then," seokjin gestured towards the door with a smile. "i'll call you when your order's ready. what's your name?"
"okay, thank you! i'm jimin."
"alright, jimin-ssi, i'm seokjin. nice to meet you, and enjoy yourself there!"
jimin didn't know what he expected to see when he entered the building, but the way the room was designed blew him away. tall walls with equally tall bookshelves occupied the four corners of the place, making it seem as if it were a school library. he soon realized that he was just at the side, so he made his way to the front of the store. hardwood floors fit perfectly with the color of the shelves and signs for different genres were appropriately placed. the smell of coffee lingered in the air, but not as strong as the smell of old books mixed with new prints.
getting lost in his own world as he went through rows and rows of books, jimin hadn't noticed that someone had come up next to him.
"hi--"
"oh my god!!" jimin shrieked, nearly dropping the book he was examining.
"oh god i'm so sorry, i thought you noticed me come up to you. i didn't mean to surprise you, i'm sorry," the man said very apologetically, though he was sporting a small smile.
"no, no, it's fine," jimin steadied himself by placing a hand on the shelf and pressing the book to his chest. he laughed shyly, "this happens a lot. i lose track of my surroundings whenever i'm around books."
at this, the guy let himself smile widely. "glad you found your way into our shop, then. i'm jungkook," he said, offering his hand to jimin. "i take it you've never been here before?"
taking jungkook's hand and shaking it, jimin said, "yeah, it's my first time. i'm jimin." he lets go, taking note of how big and warm jungkook's hand was, almost making him blush. jungkook's cute smile wasn't helping, either. "so, uh, this place looks great. how long have you and seokjin-ssi been here?"
"oh, you met hyung! he's my brother, and his boyfriend's my boss. namjoon hyung is this really huge nerd so he wanted to open up a bookstore that sort of doubles as a library, and seokjin hyung wanted to keep at it with his coffee and baking. and, well, we've been here for about a year, year and a half. they make a good combo."
jimin snickered. "yeah, it looks like they do." he stopped. "wait, what did you mean when you said that this place doubles as a library? you mean people can sit here and read books right off the shelves?"
"yeah, or you can borrow books and return them, that kind of thing."
jimn's eyes widened. "really?" jungkook nodded eagerly. "oh my god, that's great! i have to keep reading one book a day, and i figured that buying books everyday wouldn't really be a great decision, so this'll work perfectly for me!"
surprised by what he had heard, jungkook could't help himself from asking, "excuse me, what? one book a day? can anybody even do that?"
puffing his chest out, jimin proudly stated, "i can." he chuckled as jungkook's eyes grew wider, "i'm a fast reader. and i like books, so."
"but why?"
"why what?"
"why a book daily?"
"oh, right," jimin said. "i have this ongoing bet with my friends that i can read one book per day for the whole year and i have yet to miss a day. only 92 books remaining."
jungkook whistled and clapped his hands, looking impressed. "that's impressive. i know that's impossible for me. i don't read that much, so i don't know a lot about these things."
"well, maybe that's because you haven't found the right book for you yet. i think once you do, it's gonna snowball into this new-found love for literature."
"i don't know about that." jungkook scratched his nape with a small smile on his face. "i'm gonna leave you to it, since you have to find your book for today, but if you ever need help, i'll be around. i'm gonna go tell namjoon hyung about your deal, though. do you want us to set you up with an account for borrowing and returning books?"
"that'd be great, thanks!" jimin said, waving to jungkook with a smile and returning to his little bubble, thankful for the time alone to look through the different genres. he didn't usually stick to just one genre, but for now, he wanted to binge read Agatha Christie books because his mom said they were great reads. mystery always seemed like a great choice for him because the authors kept him constantly on edge, spurring him on even further to finish his books, and it helped keep him awake when he felt sleepy during the day.
admittedly, jimin was having a hard time picking out the book that he'd like to read during the day, not because the place was lacking, but because there were so many great books around him. he had to choose soon, otherwise he'd be late for work. besides, Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders, Nemesis, and everything else was there, so he could go back anytime. just as he was about to finally decide on a book, jungkook's voice popped up behind him. "you know, you could just go to the children's section to cheat," he joked.
turning around, jimin scoffed. "i don't cheat."
"i'm just saying," jungkook shrugged. "if you ever need to relax without reading, each book from the children's section has like 15 pages max with, like, 4 lines per page."
both he and Jimin laughed at that. "yeah, well, I'll use that get-out-of-jail-free card only when i absolutely need it."
after informing Jungkook that he already picked a book, they made their way over to the counter where jimin saw one of the finest looking men he had ever seen, looking down at what appeared to be a logbook. as they approached, the stranger looked up and smiled at them, making jimin immediately notice the distinct dimples on his cheeks, which made him look way cuter than anyone was legally allowed to be. "hello, you must be jimin. i'm namjoon, the owner."
two hot dudes getting together. he and seokjin-ssi are so meant to be, jimin thought. "hi, yeah, nice to meet you! seems like you and seokjin-ssi make a good team."
namjoon chuckled. "well, i try, anyway. he's the one who does everything perfectly," he sighed dreamily, but recovered quickly with a slight blush. he cleared his throat before speaking again. "anyway, jungkook here told me about your situation. sounds like a bet I'll take with my friends any day."
"yeah? that's because you own a bookstore!" jungkook rolled his eyes.
laughing, namjoon shrugged. "eh, that's true. but i have the bookstore because i love books. so," he turned back to talking to jimin, while moving to the computer, "i set up an account for you here so you can borrow and return books whenever you feel like it."
"thank you so much, it's gonna help me a lot until the end of this bet." jimin smiled. "this is the book I'm going with for today, by the way," he says as he hands over his choice book.
"ah, the nerd in me feels like i'm running a tavern where travelers can get comfort through literature." they both chuckled while jungkook snorted and said nerd under his breath. "alright, let me just log this in on the computer and you're good to go."
jimin and namjoon bade each other goodbye after the transaction and jungkook accompanied jimin to the door leading to the café, even though Jimin assured him that there was no need. they said their goodbyes after hearing the bell ring, though, indicating that a customer went in through the main door of the bookstore. jimin made his way back to the café, just in time to see seokjin making his way out from behind the counter with jimin's order. "oh! i was just about to call you. i see you've been taken hostage by my boyfriend," seokjin said, pointing to the book in jimin's hand.
"yeah, i have a bet to win." jimin smiled. "thank you so much for all of this, seokjin-ssi! it'll get me through whatever hell i have to go through today." the pastry and coffee smelled so amazing.
"no problem, jimin-ssi! and i'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so please, just call me hyung."
"okay, seokjin hyung." jimin grinned. "see you tomorrow!"
"see you, jimin!"
after the events of that morning, Jimin couldn't get enough of the place. Seokjin's food was delicious and Hercule Poirot from The Mysterious Affair at Styles proved to be a great companion, one jimin wanted to get to know better. he ended up prioritizing reading the novels with Poirot in them just because, leading him to borrow Agatha Christie books for an entire week straight. visits became part of his daily routine-- wake up, shower, pretend to have breakfast, go out for the day, have actual breakfast at the coffeeshop while chatting with seokjin, pick a book and talk with namjoon, all while maybe subtly flirting with jungkook. the guy was around everyday, and since jimin was around everyday as well, especially during the earlier hours, jungkook had no one else to bother but him, or at least that's what jimin wanted to think. when they found out that, between them, jimin was older, jimin kept forcing jungkook to call him hyung but jungkook would have none of it, teasing him and still calling him by his first name. apparently, he was alright with that as well.
he started loving his interactions with them to the point where he still went back to the spot when the weekend rolled around. he had errands that day anyways, picking mail up from the post office and getting groceries. the trio, him, yoongi, and hoseok, were hanging out again that night so he had to make sure that his kitchen was fully stocked because who knew what kind of food hoseok was going to rope him into making that time.
"so, what's it gonna be this time?"
"haven't decided yet, go away."
jungkook snickered. "of course. is this why you don't just borrow or buy in bulk? you need to establish a personal relationship with each book first?"
snorting, jimin says, "no, asshole," sending jungkook into a fit of laughter. "it just depends on my mood for the day, and despite the fact that i've been binging Christie books all week, i'm ready for a change. and i am, in fact, gonna have to get another one for sunday, since the store's gonna be closed."
"alright, have you chosen your friends for the weekend yet?" it was, in fact, kind of endearing the way jungkook chose to stick with that word. jimin made the mistake of calling the books his 'friends' mid-week, but after slightly mocking him for it, jungkook just stuck to it.
"well, i already have one for today," jimin says, holding up The Great Gatsby, "but i need another one. care to help me choose?" he took the two books he was choosing between and held them up to jungkook.
"i mean, from what i know, Charles Dickens books are kind of like a series, am i right?" jungkook says, pointing to A Christmas Carol. jimin tilted his head and thought about it, but jungkook continued. "from what i heard, since joonie hyung says it’s a classic, it's good. but i think you're better off not doing series since i'd think that'd be cheating as well," he says teasingly.
"huh. that actually makes sense. alright." jimin put the book down, keeping The Art of War in his other hand and picking up his saturday book choice. "thanks, Jungkookie!"
"sure, jimin." jungkook's shit-eating grin made jimin scoff and roll his eyes. he went over to namjoon, did his usual transaction and small talk with him, and said his goodbyes. he continued arguing about nothing with jungkook until they got to the adjoining door. it had already become their sort of goodbye spot, since jungkook was technically still supposed to be working. of course, jimin was still all smiles when he went through the door, and since it was a slow morning, seokjin noticed.
"so, you had fun in there?" seokjin teasingly asked.
jimin snorted and wished he could take it back because it seemed a tad bit defensive. "yeah, of course. i love books and the smell of both the bookstore and your coffee shop."
seokjin chuckled. "alright, never mind me," he says, handing over jimin's breakfast, although he still had that sort of mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "you all good for the weekend?"
"thank you for this, and yep! just have to do some food shopping later and i'm good to go. i'll see you guys on monday!" jimin said, waving goodbye to seokjin as he was walking out the door to go to work. it had become a habit of his to just bid seokjin goodbye before leaving no matter what. he could tell that seokjin liked it as well, though, so he wasn't gonna stop anytime soon.
when Jimin finally came home, miraculously without being greeted by his two best friends, he set everything up and got ready for anything they could want to do. yoongi got there first, since he went straight to Jimin's house from work, and hoseok arrived around half an hour later. to all of their surprises, they unanimously decided to make dinner first and divided tasks. yoongi and hoseok were on kimbap duty, jimin was making ddeokbokki, and they had fried chicken on the way by delivery.
"this actually feels a little therapeutic, making dinner in the kitchen with both of you," hoseok said, tending to the egg on the stove for the kimbap.
"would you actually call this dinner? i'm calling this us being lazy and making the easiest food we can make that we know would make us satisfied for the night," yoongi snickered.
hoseok flicked an eggshell at him. "way to de-romanticize it, babe," he said, rolling his eyes. "jimin, didn't you say you had this new coffeeshop you wanted to tell us about?"
"oh yeah! you guys would love it. the owner, seokjin hyung, is a ray of sunshine. the bookstore next door, the one where i now get my books, is owned by his boyfriend. i think you guys would really like them. it's this quaint little place near main street, in front of the apartment complex."
""hyung"? you're already close with this guy?"
"aww, don't be jealous, hyung, you and yoongi hyung are always gonna be my favorites." jimin batted his eyelashes at hoseok which had yoongi laughing and hoseok pinching jimin's cheek in revenge.
"whatever. but seriously, maybe you could ask them to hang out with us as well! we could finally play Cards Against Humanity. it's no fun with just three people, you know that."
"ooooh, point taken. i'll think about it and ask them next time." it was already hard for hoseok and yoongi finding other couples they could vibe with, let alone other gay couples. maybe seokjin and namjoon were finally the couple for them.
after eating, they cracked open a couple of soju bottles and beer cans and began their night of fun. It turned out that Exploding Cats wasn't that fun with only 3 people, as well, so they ended up all cuddling together on the couch, watching a horror film hoseok definitely did not sign up for. (they played rock-paper-scissors for real with him this time.) by the end of the night, they were all thoroughly tired and buzzed, but satisfied nonetheless. jimin actually insisted that they stay the night since it was getting a little late for the both of them to get back to their apartment, but yoongi had to go back to the office early the following morning, so they weren't able to stay over. assuring them he didn't need help cleaning up, jimin ushered them to the door, hugging a drunk sleepy hoseok for longer than usual because he was a clingy drunk.
after cleaning up and making his kitchen immaculate once again, being neither drunk enough nor tired enough to be sleepy, jimin settled with continuing to read his book on the couch with a blanket and some tea, a great mood setter to finish The Great Gatsby with. jimin definitely needed the tea to calm down after all that went down in the book. however, without really giving himself time to absorb everything that happened, he immediately jumped into The Art of War. eventually, the terminologies slowed his brain down enough to let his tiredness catch up to him and make him sleepy. he fell asleep on the couch still in a sitting position, with his glasses still perched on his nose and the book still in his hands. without no vivid recollection the next morning, he dreamt of Nick, Tom, and Gatsby strategizing as generals for the war.
it had been 3 weeks since jimin started going to The Latte Place and The Archive (Namjoon's bookstore) daily and, just like his bet, he had yet to miss a day. to Jungkook, that was 3 weeks of getting to know jimin better and working up the nerve to actually ask him out and not completely word vomit instead, like he had been doing for ages already. he was looking forward to the time jimin would come through every morning, almost always at 8am, and they would talk until jimin had to leave for work. he realized that he had never actually asked jimin about his work before, which is why, on this particular day, he was annoyed with himself since jimin didn't show up.
"kook, you alright there?"
namjoon's voice was like an anchor, bringing him back to earth and snapping him out of his trance. "oh, yeah hyung, i'm good." jungkook started arranging the books in the tray in front of him. he was in front of the counter and namjoon was behind, both of them arranging newly-arrived stocks.
"you waiting for jimin?"
"no!" he exclaimed way too defensively. flushed and embarrassed, jungkook followed with, "i'm just wondering why he hasn't come in yet. it's already half past 8. something might have happened."
namjoon giggled. "nah, don't worry about it, i'm pretty sure it was just a personal or work thing that he needed to take care of."
"yeah, i guess." he couldn't admit that he was annoyed about the fact that he didn't really have any reason to be worried about jimin, but he was, and that he had no way to even contact the guy to make sure he was alright. this made his mood plummet for the rest of the day, but he had to keep it on the down low for the customers and for namjoon and seokjin to not notice, or else he'd never hear the end of their teasing. the only person he could rant to because of this was his best friend, taehyung.
me
hyung :( he's not here
9:45 AM
TT hyung
??? is this the book bet guy
9:46 AM
me
yes and his name is jimin pls
9:46 AM
TT hyung
fine, jimin
wdym, he never came in?
9:48 AM
me
yeah :( im kinda worried :(
9:50 AM
TT hyung
don't be kook, he's fine
9:50 AM
me
that's what joon hyung said
9:51 AM
TT hyung
see? sisten to joon hyung, he's smart
no wait listen to me
IM smart
9:55 AM
me
but he's not SURE
YOU'RE not sure
idc if u're smart, i just wanna know if jimin's ok
and!!! his BET!! what about his bet
he might LOSE hyung
10:01 AM
TT hyung
calm ur tits loverboi
imma make that ur contact name
he's fine, u'll see him tmrw dw
10:03 AM
me
u better be right
or else im kicking ur ass when u come home
10:04 AM
TT hyung
??????
y me ????
10:05 AM
TT hyung
hello ??????
hotheaded muscle pig loverboy
that's ur new contact name bc u dk how to CALM TF DOWN
10:18 AM
despite the reassurance from everyone around him, meaning his pining was glaringly obvious and he really had to Tone It Down, he didn't see Jimin the following day. unfortunately, this made jungkook feel like he was a wilted flower looking for the sun. against all efforts, he was visibly moping around and namjoon actually contemplated on whether or not to talk to jungkook about what happened last night, way after the younger's shift.
the adjoining door swung open, making the wind chimes clang against the door, and namjoon looked up in time to see a slightly flustered jimin come into view from the bookshelves. of course, jimin never used the front door anyway.
"hyung! you're still here," jimin panted.
namjoon chuckled. "well, i do own the place, so."
"oh, right, yeah." jimin giggled, finally able to catch his breath. "sorry, i didn't know what time you closed, and i still needed my book for today. i'm a fast reader, so i don't really need the whole day to read an entire novel," he said, whispering his last statement.
"you're right on time, actually. we close earlier than the café, since seokjin insists on keeping it open later. and i quote, "why else would I name it The Latte place if I can't make a pun out of it??"" he recalled, making jimin laugh. "so just go ahead and take your time picking your book, I'll be here."
"great, thank you!!" jimin exclaimed as he sped off to the fiction section, where he usually started his hunt. a few minutes later, jimin emerged with a John Grisham pocketbook, another novel from the mystery genre. Jimin's taste was starting to become obvious to namjoon.
"I'll have this ready for you in a second," namjoon turns to the computer. "oh, and if you don't mind me asking, what happened with you today? i got a little worried about you, honestly."
"oh my god that's so sweet, hyung! but also, i'm sorry for making you worry. it was a work thing and they made me change shifts. so, apparently, i'm gonna be getting here around this time from now on," jimin said solemnly. "no more breakfast from seokjin hyung."
"he'd honestly be so happy to hear how sad you are about that," namjoon laughed. "well, if you can't have breakfast here, maybe you could come and have dinner with us instead! mix it up for a change."
jimin's eyes lit up. "really? that sounds awesome, i'd absolutely love to! thank you, hyung!"
"no worries, jimin. you're one of us now," namjoon said as he handed the book to jimin.
the look jimin gave namjoon could only be described as the human form of the "aww" emoji. he was almost sure that jimin would start crying right there. "hyung, i'm so touched, you're gonna make me cry. you and seokjin hyung are the best."
namjoon chuckled and waved jimin off. "tell seokjin that, he'd love you on the spot. go on, I'm gonna take care of a few more things here and catch up with you and seokjin in a bit."
while namjoon was thinking about it, he saw jungkook distractedly trip on air. he looked like a kicked puppy on the streets but, as much as namjoon wanted to put him out of his misery, he felt that it would be better for jungkook to be surprised.
it had been 2 days. granted, it had only been 2 days. but, at the same time, it had already been 2 days. 2 days of no breakfasts at the café and 2 mornings of not seeing jungkook to start jimin's day off strong, which was huge enough of a sign to tell jimin that he indeed had quite the crush on the younger man. it was only so much he could do to stop himself from asking namjoon about jungkook, but he didn't want everyone to know about his crush. he didn't even know if jungkook swung that way. he also didn't want to alert the duo of his trio because he knew they'd jump to conclusions and stalk the guy before they even started going out. so, yeah, the only choice he had was to keep it in.
feeling a little down, he made his way to the café. with the strong smell of coffee and buttery pastries infiltrating his senses, he was instantly comforted and he felt the tension in his body slowly dissipate. there might be only a handful of things that seokjin's food can't do, honestly. greeting seokjin along the way, jimin made his way to The Archive. any remaining stress jimin had definitely vanished as he took in the smell and the view of the place. he popped out of the shelves and waved to namjoon, smiling to him before disappearing through the shelves on the other side of the room. jimin had yet to get used to this new routine of his, but he supposed that it was the best he could do with his situation. a few minutes later, the bell on the front door rang and someone came busting in, running directly to the counter.
"okay, i'm here, i'm sorry i never showed and didn't say anything, i'll make it up to you," jungkook panted heavily, trying to catch his breath, placing both hands on his knees as he spoke to namjoon.
namjoon snickered. "nah, it's all good, kook. i just wanted to go over some stuff with you tonight, and maybe you could join us for dinner."
"sooo we could have done this on the phone? it was possible for me to not run all the way over here?" jungkook deadpanned.
namjoon pretends to contemplate. "yeah, but i think you'll be happy i made you come here anyway."
just as jungkook was about to protest, a surprised voice came from the bookshelves to his right. "jungkookie?"
jungkook whipped his head around so fast, it was nothing short of a miracle that he didn't hear a snap. seeing the owner of said voice knocked more air out of him than the running did. "jimin hyung! what are you doing here at this hour?" he couldn't remember the last time his heart pounded like this, before telling himself that it was just because of all the running.
feeling a bit shy, jimin replied, "well, my shift at work changed so i come at nights now. i've been having dinner with joonie hyung and seokjinnie hyung for the past few days."
"i actually just invited jungkook to join us, is that okay with you?" namjoon asked with a lilt in his voice. jimin failed to notice.
"of course!" jimin said excitedly. coughing to cover up the fact that he sounded too eager, jimin followed with, "okay, i'm gonna finish looking for my book now," and disappeared into the shelves again.
jungkook, finally snapping out of his initial shock, faces namjoon and whisper-shouts, "okay where were we? work talk? no problem. dinner? yes. definitely. absolutely. you are a god and i worship you. thank you for the blessings," making namjoon holler as quietly as he could so jimin couldn't hear. for the rest of the night, seokjin and namjoon watched jimin and jungkook, feeling like a successful matchmaker couple. the fact that seokjin was jungkook's older brother made the whole situation a lot more satisfying for seokjin.
since then, naturally, jungkook started trying to change his shift with namjoon. of course, this didn't go unnoticed, so namjoon just put him in charge of the closing shift directly. they slowly grew accustomed to the new routine, so jimin and jungkook still saw each other everyday. at this point, namjoon worried that they were just playing a game of chicken, but he believed that they wouldn't do that to each other. hopefully.
"baaabe," seokjin groaned as he made his way from behind the counter to the couch his boyfriend was on in the café. "those two are annoying me."
"what, kook and jimin? what'd they do to you?"
"they won't just ask each other out!!" seokjin exasperated. "going as far as to switch shifts just to catch the other one in the same room and not asking him out? and then the other one stays as long as needed until closing time, going as far as to help with closing time-related chores, and not asking the other one out?? i'm stressing out, even though i'm just watching!"
"okay, calm down, honey," namjoon chuckled, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend, bringing seokjin's head down to rest on his shoulder. "it'll work out with them, we both know it. they just need a few budges here and there, i guess."
"well, i won't be the one giving them those. you won't either. we've done enough," seokjin stated with finality.
"yeah, yeah, we won't," namjoon says softly, watching seokjin play with his hand. "the double date with yoongi and hoseok still on?"
seokjin nodded. "mm-hm. and we can't let jimin know that we already know each other," he snickered, remembering the day jimin's two best friends came in and immediately wormed their way into seokjin and namjoon's life. they had explicitly said to not tell jimin about them going there ("it's taking him so long to introduce us to each other, so we thought that we might as well go ahead and do it ourselves," yoongi relayed), at the same time making extensive inquiries about jimin's experience in the café and bookstore ("there's tea?? oh my god wait, I'm getting-- yoongi! babe!! come here! namjoon says there's tea!!"). with them all hitting it off, they started going on double dates with each other and, by now, virtually everyone knew about the thing between jungkook and jimin, besides jungkook and jimin, of course. none of them planned on giving the poor boys any hints, though.
the day after halloween, commonly known as all saints' day, was, as had also been observed over the past few years, a very busy work day for jimin. he loved his job, though, so at the end of the day, even if he felt exhausted, it still made him happy. for the first time ever, he wanted to actually talk to jungkook about his work, realizing that he hasn't shared this piece of information with his new friends and that they were probably being nice by not asking. for all they knew, jimin could be a chauffeur, a make-up artist, or even maybe a sex worker, and since it had already been exactly a month since he walked into their world, he thought that he'd clear the air about that part of his life.
nearing the store, jimin thought that he'd try going in through the front door for the first time since he usually had dinner with them afterwards anyway, giving him all the time in the world to chat with seokjin. he heard the bell as he went through the door, and was a little surprised to see namjoon behind the counter, since he usually left jungkook to deal with the counter around this time nowadays. nevertheless, they waved at each other and jimin geared towards the fiction section again.
somewhat distracted, jimin seemed to have a hard time choosing which book to bring home that evening. maybe because he was extra tired that day and his adrenaline had run out, or maybe it was because of jungkook's presence.
or the lack thereof.
it had been about half an hour already and he still hadn't come by to talk to jimin, and usually, this time around, they'd already be arguing and teasing each other about anything and everything under the sun. jimin was surprised at how much he apparently looked forward to that part of his day.
"hey hyung, i got my book already," jimin greeted namjoon, holding up Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. he curiously looked around, not so subtly searching for jungkook, and the older man in behind the counter noticed.
namjoon suppressed his laughter. "jungkook's here, he's just with another customer," he said, pointing to a section that was a bit out of sight. he knew who jungkook was with, but thought better than to reassure jimin and meddle with whatever the two had going on. it was up to them to figure their shit out.
jimin stepped towards the section namjoon had pointed at, and peeked through the shelves. he found two figures huddled together, talking to each other animatedly. from what he could see, one was jungkook, and the other was another man whose side profile looked immaculate. of course, jungkook was more attractive in jimin's eyes, but the stranger was tall and hot. which made the whole thing worse because, although he couldn't hear what they were talking about, it looked like they were having fun messing with each other. jungkook and the stranger looked so good together, and witnessing them be like that triggered jimin's insecurities to flare up again. not wanting to aggravate himself further, he stepped back and returned to the counter, feeling dejected.
"you okay?" namjoon inquired as he gave the book back to jimin over the counter, sounding genuinely concerned but with a hint of amusement that, again, went unnoticed.
"yeah, thanks for this hyung. i think i'm just gonna head home, i'm feeling more exhausted from work than usual today. i'll have dinner with you next time, okay?"
pitying jimin, namjoon almost caved and blabbed about how the other guy was taehyung, jungkook's best friend, who had just come home from visiting his grandparents. he held it in, though, because principles and his and seokjin's No Meddling rule. "sure, no problem! i'll see you tomorrow. have a good night, jimin!"
"you too, hyung," jimin managed with a weak smile, heading towards the adjoining door to greet seokjin on his way out. the older man asked what went wrong, because his dimmed out mood was just that noticeable, but jimin just said that he was drained from work. seokjin hugged him and offered to make soup to make him feel better, but jimin politely declined, saying that what would make him feel better was junk food, not healthy ones that he can fall asleep to. they bade each other goodbye, and, for the first time in a long time, jimin felt the cold biting him.
it was friday night, and jungkook started to feel uneasy. he had been hoping to see jimin that night, since he hasn’t seen him for the past 2 days, but as he and taehyung walked over to the counter, namjoon greeted them with, "you just missed him."
"again?" jungkook groaned. he was actually starting to worry if he missed his chance with jimin and what it was he did to set him off. they hadn't even gone out yet and he already messed up.
"don't worry kook, i don't think you missed your chance yet. besides, i haven't had the chance to meet and talk you up to him yet, so even if you did, i'm a pretty good redeeming quality that you have," taehyung teased, rearranging things on the counter.
jungkook snorted. "why are you a redeeming quality of mine? for all i know, you could end up being the reason why i don't get to go out with jimin at all," he whined.
taehyung gasped, feigning offense. "excuse me? you're nothing without me! i practically made you. you'd never survive without me. we're a package deal, and you know it. and, we're a pretty good catch, if i do say so myself."
with the scene unfolding before him, namjoon chuckled to himself as they started mock fighting in the middle of the store. he was sure that if seokjin heard what taehyung said about 'making' jungkook, they'd be the ones wrestling each other. the thought made him laugh a little harder before he calmed down and called the both of them over so they could finish their jobs. taehyung was going to be working there as well, seeing as he had nothing better to do while he was finishing his double degree and he was always there anyway.
"tae, can you set the display up out front? you're better at it than i am," namjoon requested.
"of course, hyung!" taehyung happily wheeled the cart off to the front of the store and got to work. while jungkook was a perfectly responsible and trustworthy employee, taehyung was a tad bit more creative and much more into books than him, making it easier for taehyung to learn the ropes around the store and to talk to the customers about potential book choices.
jungkook had spent the past few days showing him what to do, getting distracted every once in a while because they kept bickering and playing. although he insisted to namjoon that he could man the counter while the older man taught taehyung, he was still assigned that task to deal with, causing him to miss out on talking to jimin. this had him more bummed out than the first time that they missed each other because this time, they were still in the same store, but they kept not meeting.
"hyung," jungkook called out to namjoon from a row of books near the counter. "are you sure tae hyung can handle things by himself tomorrow?"
"yeah, i think he's gonna do fine. besides, i'll be here to oversee his performance anyway, so we're good. don't worry about it, stark needs you more," namjoon said. at the mention of his dog's name, jungkook's worries about jimin were instantly replaced with worry for his dog's health. he hadn't been feeling great the day before so jungkook informed namjoon that he'd take stark to the vet the following day, leaving taehyung to him. unfortunately, this meant that he wouldn't be seeing jimin again until monday, if jimin even wanted to see him again.
"do you guys know any good bookstores in town?"
"in town? why, what's wrong with the one you go to now?"
jimin sighed. "nothing, i just don't know if i still wanna go there."
it was saturday morning, and since hoseok didn't work on saturdays and yoongi didn't go into the studio until after lunch, they were video chatting with jimin. they exchanged looks before yoongi answered, "is this about a guy?"
"what? no!" jimin said, defensively. "i mean, i can go to more than one bookstore, right? do my loyalties have to lie with just namjoon hyung and seokjin hyung?"
being jimin's best friends, they knew him like the back of his hand, so of course they knew that it was about a boy. (and they had insider information from seokjin and namjoon, so of course they knew which boy it was about.) "of course, sweetie, nobody's stopping you," hoseok says, earning a nudge from yoongi. "but," he continued, "aren't you also friends with seokjin-ssi and namjoon-ssi? wouldn't they miss you, and you them, if you decide to go someplace else… just because?" he asked, using air quotes to emphasize his point.
jimin exhaled sharply through his nose. his hyungs had a point. it wasn't going to be fair to his new friends if he suddenly just stopped going, especially since he and jungkook weren't even a thing. jimin blamed himself because he totally kept missing his chances to ask the guy out, and even went out of his way to avoid him once he saw him with another guy. he sighed again and spun his chair around, grateful that it was his break and no one was bothering him with charts and paperwork. "fine, I'll go back. but only for joonie hyung and jinnie hyung."
"isn't it supposed to be for the bet?" hoseok teased, making yoongi laugh.
rolling his eyes, jimin snapped, "and the bet! whatever!" in response before ending the call, only to confirm their evening's plans in the group chat immediately afterwards, because he forgot to ask. jimin hadn't taken his halloween decorations down, and because hoseok was the one to suggest that he put them up this year, he'd be the one to help take them down as well.
after a few more encounters with his patients, he decided to just let go of the whole thing and stop avoiding jungkook. and perhaps the not-so-stranger as well, since he'd been in the store for the past few days as well. it hadn't occurred to jimin to ask namjoon about who the guy was until just then since he had been making it a point to make his transactions as quick as possible. well, he thought to himself, tonight's gonna be different.
and different it was.
because Tall Hottie (yes, TH. Ironically, that was what jimin called him in his head) was there, but jungkook was nowhere to be found.
after greeting namjoon and trying to seem unbothered, jimin headed over to the fiction section again. he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was rearranged and that the new arrangement seemed better than the last one. while wondering about which between namjoon and jungkook rearranged the shelves, jimin failed to notice that someone, TH, as a matter of fact, was approaching him until the guy was about 5 feet from him. for some reason, jimin's fight or flight instinct was challenged, but he stood his ground. he turned to look at TH and before he could open his mouth to greet him, TH beat him to it.
"hey there! joonie hyung says you're a regular. i'm taehyung," TH said cheerfully, extending his hand in greeting. god, how can a man be so hot and cute at the same time?
"uh, yeah, i'm jimin," he said as he shook taehyung's hand. why does everyone here have such big hands?? should i be offended?? "nice to meet you. are you a regular here as well?"
"oh, no," taehyung waved the question off, "i'm working here now. jungkook had been helping me out for the first few days, but today i'm flying solo. and by solo, i mean he's just not here, but joonie hyung is," he chuckled.
jimin groaned internally. great, he works with jungkook. he's also super nice and has a good sense of humor. they can fall in love and live happily ever after. whatever. he tried his best to avoid projecting his insecurities because he had literally just met taehyung, and this wasn't about other people, it was just about him. he had to keep his cool. "oh, okay, that's cool. i'm sure it's lovely being able to work at a place like this. i'm kinda jealous."
"you better be." taehyung leaned in to whisper, "i have an employee discount."
at that, jimin burst into giggles. this guy really wasn't so bad. "glad to see you're actually interested in getting one of these," jimin said, pointing to the books. "jungkook didn't know shit."
"tell me about it!" taehyung exclaimed. "he could have better character developments in his life if he just started reading all of these, especially the classics. i'm his best friend, by the way." he started to go off about jungkook's bad reading habits, but jimin had blanked out.
taehyung was his best friend.
taehyung was just his best friend.
jimin was an idiot.
an idiot who took so much pleasure in this fact that everything that was weighing him down the past week fell off his shoulders so fast, it was embarrassing. he actually felt himself lighten up and his entire demeanor towards everything, especially taehyung, changed in an instant.
"…anyway, joonie hyung actually told me about your deal and i was wondering if you wanted help picking out your books. i'm a language and literature double major, so i think you'd find my advice credible. also, i'm a huge geek for fiction books. just not the ones with teenage girls as the intended market, i guess," taehyung laughed to himself.
jimin laughed along, feeling lighter than he had all week. "you know what, i'm gonna take you up on your offer. i like you already."
jimin found out that jungkook's dog was feeling under the weather so he had to take a sick leave to get him checked up. the four of them, seokjin, namjoon, jimin, and taehyung, ended up having dinner together, with jimin leaving about halfway because he almost forgot that had dungeons and dragons night with yoongi and hoseok.
"i swear, he lit up like a christmas tree when i told him i was kook's best friend. i had to physically stop myself from laughing, it actually hurt," taehyung said, to namjoon and seokjin's amusement. "seriously, what's going on with those two? why can't they just ask each other out?"
seokjin laughed. "that's exactly what we've been wondering! they keep skirting around each other like a bunch of chickens."
"yeah but this guy made a rule that we couldn't intervene," namjoon interjected, pointing at seokjin.
"hey, you agreed to it!" seokjin said, giggling and swatting the accusatory finger namjoon was pointing at him. "and so did yoongi and hoseok. so no meddling."
"you all met already??" taehyung howled, cracking up on the other side of the table. "this is so hilarious. do i get to meet them too?"
"yeah, we'll rope you in when they come by. but you have to agree with the no meddling rule, alright? otherwise, you're fired."
"yes sir! let the idiots be idiots," taehyung said, failing to keep a straight face.
calming down after all that laughter, seokjin declared, "they're big boys. they'll figure this out on their own."
but they wouldn't find out how wrong seokjin was until monday rolled around, when jimin and jungkook… went back to normal. it was great for both parties, the reunion relieving both of them, making them enjoy each other's presence more, but it frustrated the rest of their friends to no end. however, they did settle on upholding the No Meddling rule, so they ended up just making a group chat to rant to each other. mostly about the two lovebirds, but also about how funny it would be when they could finally reveal that they had all become great friends through this rollercoaster ride.
a few more weeks had passed by and it was already the 2nd week of december. both the café and bookstore were getting more crowded as the holiday breaks across all schools were starting to ensue and people were desperately looking for gifts for their friends and family. jimin was having such a great time, having long since moved onto authors such as Mitch Albom and Paolo Coelho. self-reflections were his thing now, and since he couldn't talk to jungkook about them in person because the store was getting more traffic, they (finally) exchanged numbers. it felt like such a big step in their relationship, whatever it was that they had, since they'd known each other for more than 2 months already and it was only then that they gave their numbers to each other, even though jimin gave his to taehyung the night they met. they texted each other before, during, and after their shifts. whenever jimin sent cute animal pictures, jungkook replied with even cuter pictures of stark, always turning it into a competition.
"no, you can't give them that! i wanted to give them that for christmas!" jungkook whined through the receiver.
jimin giggled. "i'm sorry, i bought it already. i can't give it to hoseok hyung and yoongi hyung since they already have one, i gave it to them for their anniversary."
"so you just go around gifting people with air fryers every chance you get?" jungkook huffed, all bark and no bite. "but what do i get them now?"
jimin burst out laughing, jungkook's childishness making itself obvious. "you'll figure it out! just pay attention to what they do and say. i'm sure you'll be able to come up with something more personal than an air fryer."
"i wasn't going for personal, i was going for practical," jungkook mumbled, making jimin laugh harder. "anyway, you still haven't answered my question. what do you want for christmas?"
of course, jimin's mind just had to supply you to the front of his brain, and he cringed hard. it was a good thing that his brain-to-mouth filter was working that day. "i told you, just surprise me. like you told me to do to you. no books, though! i prefer picking those out for myself, thanks."
"fine, deal. same goes for me, though. no books," jungkook warned, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"alright, alright. see you later?"
"yeah. bye jimin!" he could hear jungkook cackling on the other end. he knew by now why he kept letting jungkook get away with all the disrespect, but he had a plan, so he wasn't gonna say anything just yet. for now, he was content that they were as close as ever, and, according to taehyung, jungkook wasn't seeing anyone. jimin wanted his plan to go off without a hitch.
Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You blasted through the fairly calm atmosphere in The Archive. unfortunately, it wasn't blaring from the store's speakers; it was coming from jungkook's phone. he fished it from his jacket's pocket and fumbled for a bit because he knew it wasn't his ringtone, and unsurprisingly, it was taehyung. he had set up another customized ringtone for himself on jungkook's phone. again. this makes him contemplate on answering.
"what's up, hyung?" he caved, a little exasperated.
"kook oh my god, it's stark." jungkook's blood ran cold. taehyung was dogsitting until they switched shifts. "he was a little lethargic earlier so i fixed him his favorite food, and i swear i did everything right, but he puked and i don't know what to do."
taehyung was panicking and jungkook could only do so much to calm his best friend and himself down. putting a hand over the microphone, jungkook told namjoon about what happened and, with namjoon's go signal, jungkook sprinted out the front door to where his car was parked. he had just gotten it last week, something he deemed necessary since stark kept getting sick and it was tiring for both of them to take the bus. he had no time to pat himself on the back for making a great decision. "hyung, you still with me?"
"yeah, are you on your way?"
"yes, just stay calm, alright? where is he?"
"on his blanket, and i'm beside him right now." jungkook could hear stark whining in the background and his stomach dropped. he was so worried about his dog, it was hard for him to not step on the gas and break every traffic rule there was.
"okay, i'll be there as fast as i legally can. just try to keep him calm, too, and try making him drink water."
having called his vet, he found out that stark could have caught something while she was recovering from her previous indigestion problem. the vet told him that it was nothing to be too worried about, but jungkook wanted to make sure. unfortunately, their vet couldn't accommodate stark because of the influx of patients. many animals apparently get sick during this time of the year. jungkook drove around with stark in the backseat to look for a vet that can get him checked up. he turned around and faced stark every chance he could, because he knew that she always felt calmer when he was petting or even just holding her. had this happened when she was smaller, he could have placed her on his lap.
after getting rejected 3 times from 3 different animal hospitals, jungkook was about to give up hope. he knew he was probably just overreacting as a pup parent, but these kinds of things scared him and stark was everything to him. feeling helpless, he looked at his girl through the rearview mirror. "i'm sorry, baby, i guess we're gonna have to go home. you'll feel better in a bit."
as he rounded the corner, however, he spotted a small building with the words 'veterinary hospital' in front of it. clinging onto the last bit of hope he had, he parked quickly and ran inside to ask if they had vacancy. when the nurse said yes, it took all that jungkook had to not jump up and down and cry out of relief. he ran back to his car, parked properly, and carried stark out. before the nurse left with stark's paperwork, jungkook thanked her profusely, just like a parent with a dying child would, even though the reason for the discomfort stark felt was definitely not fatal. a few minutes, they were escorted into an exam room and jungkook laid his girl out on the table. he was just stroking her fur when the door opened and a familiar voice spoke.
"okay, hello, stark! what seems to be the p-- jungkook?"
"jimin? you're a vet??"
sheepishly, jimin checked the record that definitely indicated a jeon jungkook as the owner of said stark. he cracked a shy smile and said, "yeah, i don't think we ever talked about my job before."
still stunned, jungkook was only able to reply with, "um, yeah?"
"well, okay, we'll get to that in a moment, but right now let's find out what's wrong with this precious girl of yours."
the room was silent while jimin examined stark, not because jungkook was mad or anything, but because jimin looked so good in his scrubs. and, yeah, he was a veterinarian. the guy who could save his 4-year old baby girl.
after a few routine questions and exams, jimin determined that it was just an infection that could be cured with the medicine he prescribed. He immediately made stark drink a dose, though, for immediate pain relief. a few moments later, she was no longer groaning and started dozing off, probably pooped from bearing all the pain that she experienced.
jungkook took this opportunity to finally talk to jimin without a pretext. "hi."
jimin looked up to see jungkook's wide smile and imploring eyes and smiled back. "hey there. so you aren't mad at me?"
jungkook choked on his spit. "mad at you? why would i be mad at you? do i… have any reason to be mad?"
"no, it's just-- i thought you'd be mad because i never mentioned that i was a vet and you're someone who has a pet, so of course you'd need a doctor, and i am one, and i didn't offer my services, but i wanted to--"
"okay, jimin, yes, i get it," jungkook laughed, interrupting jimin's rambling. "don't worry, i'm not mad or anything."
"i really wanted to! i was going to offer my services when i found out about your dog being sick, but i didn't know if you…"
"if i…?"
"i mean, i wasn't sure if you already had one and even if you didn't, i wasn't sure you'd be interested in seeingmeoutsidestorehours," jimin cast his eyes downwards and mumbled the last bit but jungkook caught it nevertheless. jimin was a bunch of nerves for someone who was a pretty good vet, and it was because his plan was ruined. he wanted to surprise jungkook about being a vet and asking him out in the process when they had their little get together. he was actually still in the process of looking for a perfect pick-up line.
jungkook was baffled. this was it. this was his chance. "but I do want to want to see you outside store hours."
jimin's eyes widened when he looked up. "really?"
"yes," jungkook laughed breathily. "and not just the dinners that we have with the hyungs. like actual dates." the smile jimin gave him was one that he engraved in both his heart and his mind, knocking all the air out of his lungs and melting him to the ground.
"really?" jimin asked again, because he couldn't believe that this moment was what the past two and a half months led up to.
"yes." jungkook stepped over to the other side of the exam table where jimin was standing. he took jimin's hands in his and looked him in the eyes. "i've been wanting to ask you out for a long time now. i don't send stark's pup pictures to just anyone."
jimin giggled and it still was the prettiest sound jungkook had ever heard. "well then, ask me."
"always trying to make it harder for me," jungkook chuckled. however, not one to back down from a challenge, he boldly leapt and asked, "will you go out with me?"
and, really, it was jimin's turn to say, "yes." to his surprise, jungkook picked him up and they both laughed and spun around until jimin demanded to be put down. before separating, though, jungkook swooped in and kissed jimin. as per some of his readings, the sexual tension was suffocating, and the kiss was long overdue.
(they may have made out a little longer than necessary, and may have only stopped once stark woke up, but no one needed to know about that.)
at long last, during their little christmas get-together, the lovebirds revealed that they were finally dating, and the rest of the gang finally revealed that they had all become good friends with each other, unbeknownst the two. and although jimin succumbed to cheating (reading children's books), hoseok and yoongi gave him a pass for it. besides, it had been too long since jimin had anyone to share his life with besides the two of them, and now that they've formed one big group together, it felt as if they all fit like a glove.
as jimin flipped the last page on the final book (Dickens, because he had to) he had for the year, completing the challenge hoseok and yoongi put him up to, he was suddenly assaulted by a huge energetic fluffball bouncing on the couch trying to lick his face. stark was soon followed by her owner, jimin's boyfriend, and he all but completed the dogpile on top of jimin. and as they fell down and rolled around on the carpet laughing, jimin thought that, as cliché as it would sound, he didn't think life could get any more perfect than that.
"hey babe, what about an entire year of reading comics or manga?"