Chapter Text
The red light on the camera blinked, alerting the boys to the fact that the live had begun. Their concert would begin in mere hours, the final leg of the Wings Tour in Seoul – a 3 day concert – marking the end of a very successful and beloved era for Bangtan.
As Jimin took his place next to Jungkook, surrounded by the merchandise for the concert, he was transported back to a year ago, a similar setting coming to mind.
Jimin had been sporting black hair back then, getting into the flow of introducing the merchandise and poking fun at himself from time to time. He had started the live alone, but after a few minutes Jungkook had joined him, his torso clad in one of his beloved white t shirts and carrying his lunch set as the maknae had casually invaded Jimin’s personal space.
Jimin had been quite confused, as Jungkook wasn’t someone who barged into someone else’s vlive segment without getting invited. Hence he had asked Jungkook about it, curiosity making him throw caution to the winds and had been amused to see Jungkook struggling to find an answer which would satisfy him.
Jungkook had used the excuse of ARMYs, stating that he wanted to see them as it had been a long time since he spoke to them. Jimin had called bullshit, knowing that Jin had only minutes ago concluded his own live segment and Jungkook had had plenty of time to join the eldest hyung to greet the ARMYs without encroaching on his lunch time.
Jungkook had not so smoothly evaded the question, smirking at the viewfinder and busying himself with his food.
Jimin had let it drop, enjoying Jungkook’s casual invasion of his personal space and subtly leaned back against his chest, prompting Jungkook to blurt out one of the many pick-up lines he had learned from the master of pick-up lines and puns – Kim Seok Jin.
Turns out, his obvious attempts to woo Jimin had not gone unnoticed by anyone and from then on, the duo were not allowed to conduct vlives just by themselves.
They were kept in the dark initially, but the duo caught on as Jin or Taehyung frequently showed up whenever it seemed like Jimin and Jungkook were alone in a room with a camera which broadcasted their activities live to the world.
Back in the present, Jimin smiled at the camera, thankful for the presence of Jungkook beside him right from the beginning of the broadcast.
Jimin picked up his own black and white photo, asking Jungkook to comment on it.
“This person has thick lips,” Jungkook said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Jimin giggled, lightly slapping his chest with his hand and moved on to the next photo, which was coincidentally the maknae’s.
“Ah, he is handsome,” Jungkook commented confidently, glancing at Jimin to check his reaction.
Jimin did a double take, his eyes latching on to the beauty spot below Jungkook’s nose. He compared it with the real thing, spinning a ridiculous story about how Jungkook would pick his nose quite frequently and that was the secret of the mole’s origin.
Jungkook was so far gone into the Whipped for Jimin territory that he burst into peels of laughter at a joke which was not even that funny.
Next item was a group photo of all seven boys, taken when Jimin’s hair was shorter.
“Hobi hyung is handsome,” Jungkook said, staring at the picture.
“What about hyung?” Jimin asked, a pout audible in his voice.
“Hmm?” Jungkook looked up, eyes tracing Jimin’s face for a second as his finger found his lover’s face in the photograph and began stroking over it gently, lovingly.
“…you are handsome,” he murmured, voice fond.
“....”
The moment was interrupted as Jungkook let out a snoring sound, and they both burst out laughing, Jimin clutching the arms of his chair to steady himself.
From there on it was a competition to see who could make the other laugh the most, a cheese-fest if one were to put it bluntly.
Jungkook kept wanting to talk about his ARMY fan, but Jimin forced him to keep it down, becoming increasingly giggly with every accidentally - on purpose caresses of his fingers Jungkook sneaked in whenever they picked up a new merchandise to talk about.
Jimin’s cheeks were tinted with pink, tears of laughter forming at the corner of his eyes when Jungkook revealed his secret weapon.
He started sniffing, his eyes darting around the room as if to check for the source of whatever it was he had detected.
“Hyung, do you smell something burning?” Jungkook asked innocently.
Jimin, poor, unsuspecting Jimin, twisted around in his seat to look behind him when Jungkook dropped the tagline.
“It is the smell of my heart burning.” For you.
Jimin froze, his eyes widening with disbelief for a split second as he stared at Jungkook and in the next moment, his small palms come up to cover his face, his neck flushing red with embarrassment.
Jungkook looked pleased with himself, mentally patting himself on the back for winning this round of flirting.
“What happened to you Jungkook?” Jimin asked when he had composed himself. Who did this to you?
“I learned it from Jin hyung,” Jungkook replied, shyly averting his eyes from Jimin’s stare.
“Hyung told you not to learn it,” Jimin said, fondness mixing in with slight exasperation.
This wasn’t the first time Jungkook had used one of his cheesy lines which he had learned from Jin on Jimin. He used them in the dorm all the time, sometimes catching Jimin off guard and making him blush to the roots of his hair and at other times earning an eye roll for his efforts.
It wasn’t that Jimin disliked Jungkook’s attempts at flirting with him, albeit how lame they were sometimes. Jimin was simply annoyed at himself for the way his traitor heart jumped at the sight of Jungkook looking extremely nervous just before he spouted some cheesy lines at him.
But when Jungkook saw that Jimin’s attention was focused solely on him, he would become confident, suave smirk taking over his features and would transform into Jeon Jungkook the flirt from Jeon Jungkook the stuttering mess.
Towards the end of the vlive, Jungkook unveiled his ultimate weapon which never failed to make Jimin weak in the knees. He used aegyo on Jimin.
Now, Jimin would have been totally fine if Jungkook had pulled out his usual puppy eyes or pouty lips. Ok that’s not completely true – he would’ve looked calm and composed but would’ve been freaking out inside.
Instead of his usual tricks Jungkook pulled out his best cutesy voice, purposely imitating the lines in a popular drama said by the female protagonist.
“It’s hard for me too” Jungkook sighed, staring at Jimin with moony eyes, completely ignoring the camera and in turn their audience.
Jimin giggled, turning his body to the side to face Jungkook “Why is your voice weird?” he asked, slapping his chest with the back of his hand.
“You don’t like it when I am trying to act cute, huh? It’s hard for me too,” Jungkook fluttered his lashes at Jimin, head tilted to the side coyly for maximum effect.
Jimin’s face flushed red, and he ran a hand over it, trying hard to show that he wasn’t affected.
Mission accomplished. Jungkook thought triumphantly, staring at Jimin’s profile with a satisfied smile and turned back to the camera to continue on with their live with a smug smirk.
Jungkook was in a clingy mood, as was proven by how close he stuck to Jimin the entire duration of the Wings concert in Seoul. Jimin couldn’t lie, he too wanted to stick to Jungkook as much as he could, wanted to share the last few moments of a great era together.
Gocheok Dome was huge, but to Jimin and Jungkook it proved to be an easy barrier to overcome as they both kept getting pulled into each other’s orbit every now and then. Sometimes it was a conscious decision made by one of them but at other times it was completely instinctual, their bodies so attuned to each other that Jimin could be at one end of the arena but Jungkook could still find him blindly in the dark.
The bridge part of Run which belonged to Jimin and Jungkook was their time to low-key serenade each other, and Taehyung and Jin who were so used to the sight had their own fun off in the corner of the stage with both of them grabbing a hold of each other’s necks and pretending to sing to each other.
When asked about the most memorable part of the night after the post-concert interview, the boys unanimously agreed that it was the hot air balloon ride with the sea of ARMY bombs stretching before them.
Jimin and Jungkook had been in the same balloon, strapped in for their safety so that they couldn’t fall off the balloon by accident.
They had looked on as the fans cheered for them, the sight of the ARMY bombs touching an emotional chord within them. Jungkook had wanted to put an arm around Jimin, but since that would have landed both of them in trouble with their managers he simply opted to lightly link his pinky with Jimin’s and they stayed like that till Jungkook deemed it necessary to have some fun with his boyfriend.
Jimin was startled at the sudden swaying of the basket, letting out a yelp that was too soft to be heard by the crowd below them. He grabbed on to Jungkook’s hand, trying to anchor himself without losing his balance.
Jungkook’s arm was trembling a little, Jimin thinking at first that it was caused by the motion of the balloon. Familiar, suppressed giggles alerted him to the fact that Jungkook in fact was shaking with mirth, smile bright and wide.
Jimin couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed at his Jungkookie and he laughed at himself for freaking out earlier. His breath caught in his throat, his vision filled with the sight of Jungkook’s glowing face beside his and he was suddenly filled with the urge to kiss away that lucky drop of sweat which was nestled in his cupid’s bow, all cosy and taunting Jimin to make a move.
With great effort, he tore his eyes away from the alluring sight and put his arm around the younger, pulling him close under the pretense of posing for the go-pro camera which Jungkook held.
He held him close for longer than the appropriate amount of time and let him go when it was finally time to get off of the balloon.
Jimin and Jungkook bowed to the crowd and Jungkook spun around with the camera, holding it aloft to capture as much of the crowd as possible with Jimin’s arm thrown over his shoulder once again.
As the doors closed at the end of the concert, Jimin and Jungkook bid goodbye to the ARMYs as well as to the Wings Era, their fingers interlocked behind their backs, smiles bright even in the dark.
--
Jungkook whined as Taehyung tried to steal his cat lamp from his room for the umpteenth time.
“Jungkookie, let me use it for one day. I swear I will return it to you, good as new,” Taehyung tried to appeal to the maknae, puppy eyes in full force, “You can have my moon lamp for tonight,” he bargained.
“Get your own cat lamp. This one is mine,” Jungkook pouted, clutching his beloved lamp to his chest protectively.
“Jimin told me he got it from Japan and I will get one the next time we go there. But for now please may I have it,” Taehyung pleaded, throwing away his pride.
“Don’t you think Yeontan will feel threatened if he sees a cat lamp in your room?” Jungkook asked pointedly, refusing to give up what was rightfully his, even for one measly night, “I wouldn’t even know if he is grumpy, thanks to those eyebrows of his,” he couldn’t resist getting in one last dig.
Taehyung gasps, offended. “You can mock me all you want, but mock my defenceless puppy? You are basically begging for war.”
Jungkook just rolled his eyes at the dramatics. Acting in dramas didn’t give him the permission to be a drama queen.
“Come on Jungkook-ah. Don’t be so stubborn,” Tae made grabby hands at the lamp and Jungkook swiftly dodged out of the way, running out of his room only to bump into Jimin.
Jimin, though startled, had quick reflexes, and he steadied both himself and his boyfriend before they could tumble to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Unfortunately, Taehyung had come rushing out right behind Jungkook, and he was too late to stop himself as he crashed into the maknae’s back.
Jimin landed on his butt, but Jungkook’s added weight made him fall on his back with the lamp squished in between their chests.
Taehyung the devil, slinked away while he could, giving up his quest to get the lamp for the time being.
Jimin opened his eyes slowly, staring right into a familiar pair which held shooting stars and comets and everything that he ever wished for in their depths. Jungkook blinked, the tip of his nose brushing Jimin’s and he exhaled, lips parting to apologize to his hyung.
Jimin sealed the words before they could escape the confines of Jungkook’s mouth with his own and they kissed lazily with an easy familiarity which Jungkook found made his heart full.
Neither of them could ever resist the pull each exuded, every kiss shared between them felt as if a new promise was being made.
“Let Tae have the lamp for tonight Jungkook-ah,” Jimin said, trailing kisses down his collarbone.
“But hyung – ”
Jimin pressed two fingers to his puckered lips and placed them on Jungkook’s pouty ones, making his breath stutter.
“Hyung will keep you occupied,” he murmured into Jungkook’s ear, causing Jungkook to tighten his grip on Jimin’s waist, the cat lamp long forgotten on the floor beside them as they continued pressing love into each other’s skin right in the middle of the hallway.
--
Jungkook and Taehyung had been holed up in the maknae’s room for the past two hours, binge watching all their recent Run episodes. They were currently in the episode where Jungkook was wearing his cute overalls, a full sleeved striped t shirt under it.
Jungkook watched himself on the screen as he teasingly used banmal with Jimin, apologising immediately after Jimin playfully growled at him to use honorifics. He didn’t realize he was shaking with suppressed giggles at their goofy exchange in the middle of filming till Taehyung broke the silence with his deep, captivating voice.
“I still remember how you used to quake in your boots after teasing Jimin by dropping honorifics with him,” Tae propped himself up on his elbows, grinning deviously, “You looked like you were about to piss yourself.”
Jungkook reached for his pillow from the bed and threw it at Taehyung who dodged it by rolling over.
“I didn’t look like that,” Jungkook said defensively, crossing both arms across his chest, “I never knew if hyung was serious when he scolded me for speaking informally.”
Tae sighed and sat up. He hugged the pillow which Jungkook had thrown at him and settled back against the headboard.
“Jimin never really did care about how you addressed him,” Tae began but relented as Jungkook raised both eyebrows in disbelief, “Ok, he did. But only at the beginning when we were all getting to know each other. He is still embarrassed about the time he mistook you as being older than him when you guys first met.”
Jungkook chuckled, relaxing in his chair as he too remembered that day very clearly. He had been way too terrified to correct Jimin as he had gone on chattering in polite speech, his social ineptitude in full blast at the time.
In his mind’s eye he can see a boy who was a couple inches taller than him leaning against the doorframe, his backpack weighing him down so he was slightly hunched over. A red beanie perched precariously on his messy black hair, his chubby cheeks flushed red with the exertion of carrying all his bags up two flights of stairs.
At the sight of Jungkook the boy had hastily bowed 90 degrees, his beanie nearly falling off his head. Flustered, he grabbed the beanie from it’s perch and politely introduced himself after making sure that he had come to the right address.
Jungkook could barely speak, much less correct him after learning that the boy was two years older than him, but Hoseok had arrived just then, and he had escorted both the boys inside the dorm after hoisting up one of the newcomer’s bags.
The boy – Jimin – had later learned that Jungkook was the maknae, and ever since then he had been extra doting and affectionate towards the younger. Jungkook had shot up in height, leaving Jimin far behind and as he got more comfortable with showing affection, he never let Jimin forget he was shorter than him, holding that two inch height difference above his head all the time.
Those memories were something that he held close to his heart despite his awkward streak that lingered throughout the time.
Jungkook could never forget the time Jimin pretended to be mad at him while the camera was still running. He had no clue how to act around him as one second his hyung was being all cute and a tease for the camera and the next he had put it down on his lap, lens angled in a way so that it could still capture the scene and began to scold him, his tone serious and eyes sharp.
It all began because of a stupid mission (screw you Show Champion).
- 2015 -
Pretend to be the opposite of your given role in Bangtan for a day.
Jungkook had wondered what that implied, his chin resting on Jimin’s shoulder as he read the mission card with him.
His questions were soon answered as Hoseok, the hope of the group, forewent his tagline and introduced himself as the ‘despair’ of the group, followed by Namjoon who was designated the role of vocal member for the day.
Following the pattern, Jin was deemed the ugliest member, Taehyung the leader and Yoongi the beagle. So Jungkook had introduced himself as the oldest of the group, foregoing his usual introduction of ‘Hello, I am BTS’ golden maknae, Jeon Jungkook.’
Jungkook had listened to Jimin making his own introduction with a heavy heart, self-deprecating himself as always.
“Hello, I am Jimin, the visual of BTS,” Jimin had said with a sarcastic smile.
Jungkook had agreed instantly, albeit silently.
The boys had begun playing around with the camera, and they were getting accustomed to their roles. Jimin had instructed Jungkook to act as the hyung, cozying up to him and asking him to take care of his dongsaengs for the day.
Jungkook had agreed, playing along with Jimin’s act and he had thought he was doing a good job.
But the next second, Jimin had put down the camera, and scolded him for something which didn’t even make sense to him. Jungkook had naturally thought he was joking around, so he assumed it was ok to act like he usually did when Jimin got mad at him.
He had reached out to touch Jimin, because he had discovered quite early on that his touch had a soothing effect on the older boy. He instantly calmed down just from Jungkook’s proximity to his body.
So Jungkook was caught off guard when Jimin lightly shoved his hand away before it could make contact with his skin.
For the first time in his life Jungkook was at a loss for words and could only giggle nervously as Jimin continued to look serious. He didn’t even know what he had done wrong to incur his wrath.
At last, Jimin had taken mercy on him and dropped the act, coddling him soon after the camera was turned off.
Jungkook had wanted to pout and ignore, but as always he had been putty in Jimin’s hands, and the way Jimin whined teasingly, his lips shaping over the coveted term Jungkookie hyung-nim had him weak in the knees. Wing Chun was his last resort and he didn’t hesitate to use it in front of the camera when he thought he was going to lose whatever dignity he had left.
--
-2017-
That day, Jungkook discovered that he enjoyed being on an equal footing with Jimin, and from then on, he strived to earn his position as someone Jimin can confide in and lean on for support in difficult times.
Looking back, Jungkook could clearly see the progress in their relationship, how Jungkook had, over time eased into talking comfortably with him, dropping honorifics and using semi-polite speech even in public.
Initially, there were some raised eyebrows in the dorm when he called Jimin casually without honorifics out of habit, but even the other boys had accepted it without question after sometime.
Jungkook had made a game of calling out different variations of his boyfriend’s name on several occasions. His favourite was undoubtedly the time he yelled Jimin-ah on national television right after an interview with fellow 97-liners.
Yugyeom had looked scandalised while Jungkook had simply shrugged at him, his aura emitting smugness.
The only regret Jungkook had that day was that he hadn’t been able to watch Jimin’s collaboration with Lee Taemin, a legendary dancer from their Sunbae group. Thankfully, the staff had recorded the performance and Jungkook had kept replaying Jimin’s parts till his phone’s battery had run out.
Jungkook would swear up and down that he wasn’t staring at Jimin’s thighs in those leather pants the whole time. Nope, not him. He was simply mesmerized by the choreo, seeing that Lie was being performed for the first time on stage and no that was not drool on his chin either.
If Jungkook had saved the video to his phone and watched it while everyone was fast asleep for months after that, it was nobody’s business but his.
--
The sounds of sniffling filled the room and Hoseok approached the heap under the blanket cautiously, thinking that his roommate was once again having a nightmare.
Hobi was worried, because it had been a long time since his dongsaeng’s slumber was interrupted by bad dreams. It usually meant Jimin was worrying about something incessantly, not willing to confide in any of them and stubbornly trying to solve the problem by himself.
The red haired boy carefully peeled back the blanket, revealing a shaking Jimin who was desperately trying to stem the flow of his tears.
Jimin blinked up at him, cheeks flushing red as his hyung stared at him with worry in his eyes.
“Jimin-ah, are you ok? Is it the same nightmare? Tell hyung what’s wrong,” Hoseok rubbed Jimin’s back, wondering why Jimin was fidgeting so much.
“It’s not what you think hyung. I am perfectly alright,” Jimin said, obviously flustered.
“Then why were you crying Jiminie? Don’t tell me it’s nothing. You know what happened the last time you brushed it off,” Hoseok chided, affection and concern seeping through his voice.
Hoseok could see the exact moment Jimin caved and decided to tell him. His shoulders slumped forward and his eyes took on a determined yet shy gleam.
Whatever the older boy had expected it was not the sight of Jimin holding out his phone to him, eyes looking anywhere but at Hoseok.
Confused beyond belief, Hoseok took the phone from his hand and was puzzled to see a 3 minute 43 second video on loop, till his eyes read the title and his sleep-deprived brain finally made the connection.
“You have been watching Jungkook’s little confession on loop?” he asked, his eyes round with disbelief, “Tell me how long has it been again? – You know what? Don’t answer that. With the way you two have been bringing up that honeymoon trip every time someone breathes Japan, I shouldn’t even be surprised at something like this. At this rate we are all going to wake up one day to the news that you two have eloped to Japan and Troye Sivan is going to officiate your wedding.”
Jimin squeaked, his voice pitching higher with embarrassment. He desperately tried to cover his face with his hands, his small palms not doing much in the way of hiding his blushing cheeks.
“I wonder if Jungkookie is aware of this,” Hoseok thought out loud, annoyance melting away to make way for endearment and when Hoseok is feeling the love, he becomes the biggest tease in the world.
With a huff, Jimin snatched his phone from Hoseok and walked out of the room, head held high. He nearly tripped on the doorframe and hoped to god that it was dark enough so his hyung didn’t see him embarrassing himself further.
Hoseok chuckled to himself, plotting of ways to accidently let it slip that Jimin was crying at 3 in the morning watching the sappy video on loop.
--
10
Jungkook starts looking around the crowd.
9
Jin and Namjoon are blocking his way.
8
He finally spots his shining halo of hair in the crowd.
7
He is conversing with Hoseok, throwing his head back and laughing.
6
He finally starts looking around too. For me, Jungkook hopes.
5
Taehyung slings an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder, pointing at the way their breaths are forming clouds in the air.
4
He slips from underneath Tae’s arm, making his way towards him.
3
Jungkook catches his eye and they grin at each other, his smile lighting up his entire face.
2
Jungkook grabs Jimin’s hand, the motion hidden behind the bodies of other Idols.
1
As the world erupts in cheers, the numerous Idols jumping and dancing to usher in a New Year, Jungkook and Jimin stay wrapped up in their own world, their eyes refusing to look away from the other’s beloved visage.
“Happy New Year,” Jungkook breathes, his low voice lost in the melee of festivities and greetings being thrown all around.
With the way Jimin’s eyes light up like Jungkook’s own personal stars, he is sure that Jimin has heard him.
His mouth moves, forming the words Happy New Year Jungkook-ah, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and his cheeks tinged with a pink hue from the cold. Jungkook thinks he is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
They both tune back in to the rest of the world, hand-in-hand and ready to face a new year together.
16 year old Jeon Jungkook, maybe even 17 year old Jungkook probably wouldn’t be able to tell you why he took so much delight in teasing his hyungs, particularly his Jimin hyung.
But if you were to ask the present day Jungkook the same question, he would smile – a secret, meaningful smile that ordinary people could make nothing off, but to him, it holds a story. A story perhaps that would take forever to tell, but the essence of it was love in it’s purest form.
Jungkook had fallen in love even before he knew what it meant to be in love, and when he finally realized that the feeling which gave him butterflies in his tummy, caused his heart to sprint as if it was trying to break out of his chest, made him giddy because all he could hear as his eyes closed was the laughter that brightened up the world behind his eyelids and the warmth of a chubby hand with the smallest pinky in the world holding his own, making him feel invincible and vulnerable in the same moment was the very same emotion he had witnessed between his parents, he was already in too deep and never regretted a second of it.
--
Under cover of the darkness and taking advantage of the intimacy that came along with it, Jimin and Jungkook laid in each other’s arms, every part of them touching under the blanket.
“Jiminie hyung? You didn’t tell me you liked my gift so much.”
“What are you talking about baby?”
“You know…G.C.F….”
“I can’t believe Hobi hyung told you about it! That traitor.”
“So it is true?”
“I suppose it is. What? Stop laughing at me!”
“Hyung…you are so cute when you are flustered.”
“Shut up Jungkookie. I am asleep.”
“No you are not. Baby, come on. I won’t tease you anymore.”
“You are lying. I can tell you are smirking you brat.”
“I am not…besides it’s too dark to tell.”
“Remember who you are talking to maknae. Before I was your boyfriend, I was your bestfriend. Still am. I know what I am talking about.”
“Stop pouting hyung. You know what that does to me. I don’t think I have the energy for another round.”
“….as if you did any work…”
“…”
“Jungkookie? Baby? Hyung loves you, now stop sulking.”
“…”
“I have something to confess Kookie.”
“I am listening.”
“I know what’s in that secret folder in your phone.”
“Gasp! Did you go snooping in my phone?”
“Jeon Jungkook! I would never!”
“…”
“Alright, I did. Only a little bit though.”
“What did you find? God, I hope it’s not anything embarrassing.”
“Oh, just a couple of folders marked ‘Namjoon hyung’s snores’.”
“Why would you check in that? I specifically named it like that because people would look past it. Are you secretly a masochist hyung?”
“Jungkookie...that was too obvious an attempt at distraction. Besides I know you like the back of my hand. Think about who you were trying to fool.”
“I should’ve just saved it under ‘Jimin hyung’s giggles’”
“Yeah. I would never check in there because that would be too obvious. Learn from your mistakes baby.”
“…alright, now you know all my deepest secrets. Can we cuddle now?”
“We are cuddling right now and that’s not all that I found in your phone.”
“…what else?”
“Don’t sound so panicked. Although I am curious why you have a compilation of the part in Lie where I am wearing the blindfold. Is there something I should know Jungkookie?”
“N-nothing hyung. Look at the time, let’s go to bed.”
“Stop trying to distract me. A-ah...Jungkook!”
“…”
“…”
“I love you Min.”
“I love you too Kook, kinks and all.”