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Jimin is certain he’s a good boy, like 99% certain. He knows this since his mom tells him that every day and his mom is never wrong.
He is also a big boy, since he is 5 years old and going to kindergarten now! He’s not a baby anymore. That’s his brother, not him. He truly loves being the older brother, at least most of the time. Maybe not when his parents shake their heads at him with frowns on their faces, telling him to be nice and let his baby brother play with (destroy) his toys.
But the point is, he’s a very nice big boy. Which is why he is currently helping out, hugging a rice cooker tightly to his chest as he shuffles after his mom carefully towards their new home.
Their family has just moved to a new part of the city, so Jimin is a little nervous in this unfamiliar neighborhood. He is also a little sad that he is now so far away (30 minutes in the rumbling truck is very far okay) from his best friends. But his mom promises that he can still see them often and will soon make many new friends.
Well like he said, his mom is never wrong.
He stumbles and nearly trips over his beloved Hulk sneakers when his mom suddenly stops in front of him. Looking up from the floor, he finds his mom chatting animatedly with one of the workers that is wearing blue vests and holding matching blue boxes.
Jimin huffs and pouts as he looks back down at the rice cooker. How do all those people carry those heavy looking boxes? His arms are already feeling tired and he’s only been tasked with protecting their food! (There’s leftover rice in there, and it’s bad to waste food!)
When can his mom stop chatting? Jimin wants to ask as he grips his chubby fingers tighter around the smooth surface of the cooker. And also, he wonders as he tilts his head up to squint at their new apartment building, will he really be able to find new friends?
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“Jimin-ah~”
Jimin looks up from the floor where he’s busy organizing his car robots to find his mom leaning against the door frame with a plate in her hands.
“Let’s go say hi to our new neighbors!” His mom suggests cheerfully.
“Mom!” Jimin whined when he realized that the plate is filled with colorful rice cakes, “Nobody does that anymore!”
“That’s not true, it’s not polite if we don’t go and introduce ourselves,” his mom insists as she holds out the plate for Jimin to take, “and besides, I heard that there’s a boy your age that lives next door! Aren’t you curious?”
To be honest, he is, but Jimin is also feeling a bit shy. He fidgets with the robot for a while before his mom succeeds in coaxing him out of his room. Nevertheless, he is still mumbling softly to himself in embarrassment when he approaches the neighbor’s door, the plate balancing on his palms and his mom’s comforting hand resting on his left shoulder.
The door soon opens to reveal a kind-looking woman who is quick to smile at Jimin and his mom in a sweet way that Jimin thinks all moms are just born with.
He bows at the appropriate time as his mom introduces themselves, feeling extra shy when the lady coos at him while she relieves him of the plate. He’s about to hide behind his mom’s legs when their new neighbour gestures for them to come inside as she calls into the apartment.
“Taehyung-ah, come here, it’s our new neighbors!”
Jimin perks up. Is this the boy his mom talked about?
Hurried footsteps on stone slabs are heard before a boy shoots out of the hallway, stopping hastily as he almost runs into her from his excitement.
The boy does indeed looks around his age, Jimin notes, but appears to be slightly taller. Not that that’s anything new. The boy is sporting a blue Superman T-shirt with a pair of dark shorts, his big curious eyes staring back at Jimin.
Looks like he’s going to have to teach the boy who the best superhero is, Jimin thinks as he glances down as his own sneakers, only to notice that the boy is bare feet?
“Taehyung! Where are your slippers? I told you your feet will get cold from running around on the stone floor!”
The woman scolds her son half-heartedly before her soft glare melts away under her son’s apologetic shrug and boxy smile.
Sounding exasperated but fond, she introduces her son, undoubtedly used to his antics. The adults exchange their greetings, before Jimin finds himself left alone with the boy as their mothers get quickly wrapped up in a discussion about the weather and food recipes. (Jimin has no idea how those two are related)
“Hi, I’m Taehyung, Kim Taehyung.” The boy --Taehyung-- waves his hands enthusiastically as he directs his huge smile at Jimin, and proudly announces that “I’m 5 this year!”
“I’m Jimin, Park Jimin.” Jimin responds in a slightly lighter voice, but inside he can barely hold in his glee, because “I’m 5 years old too!”
Taehyung gasps in delight, “We’re the same age! Let’s be friends then!” Jimin can’t nod his agreement faster, a smile spreading on his own face as Taehyung’s bright mood extends to him as well.
Taehyung quickly latches onto his wrist, and Jimin can barely kick his shoes off before he is dragged into the bedroom to see the collection of action figures. Soon the tiny amount of shyness that remained in Jimin quickly disappears among their argument to determine the best super hero.
“Hulk is the strongest! He can beat anyone!”
“But Superman can fly! He can fly!”
They couldn’t reach a conclusion, but that’s okay, because the numerous other toys in the room and the idea of a new playmate soon distracts them, and Jimin finds himself laughing and panting as he chases after Taehyung in a game of tag around the apartment.
It’s after they catch each other for the 3rd time that Taehyung says he’s hungry, as they lie tangled on the floor of his bedroom in a mess of limbs, out of breath.
“Let’s go get something to eat!” Taehyung suggests, his eyes lit up at the thought of his cupboard full of snacks, “I have dinosaur crackers! And they’re strawberry flavored!”
“I love the strawberry ones too!” Jimin is all for this idea, “But my mom doesn’t want me to eat too much of them cause it’s bad for my teeth, so she keeps them all the way up in the top cupboards.”
“Oh…” Taehyung deflates as he remembers, “My mom keeps them high too…”
They look at each other with solemn faces for a few seconds, before Taehyung suddenly sits up, a metaphorical light bulb appearing above his head.
“We can go get the rice cakes you brought! I saw my mom put them on the kitchen counter!”
With mischievous glints in their eyes, they quietly sneak along the hallway and dart into the kitchen behind their oblivious mothers. They stuff their little hands with as many of the sweet chewy treats as possible while supressing their giggles, which burst out in full force as soon as they make it back to the safe haven of the bedroom.
They quickly devour the stolen goods with silly smiles and sticky fingers, exchanging life stories and secrets as they lay on their stomachs side by side on the bed. Because what else strengthens a friendship better than being partners in crime?
So when their mothers come knocking on the door declaring dinner time, they are surprised yet delighted to be met with resisting whines and complaints from the two boys that are squished together side by side, reading comics. It’s after much persuasion that they agreed to part with each other, but not before sharing hugs and secretive looks with promises to see each other first thing tomorrow.
It’s with a full stomach, lingering looks, and lifted spirits that Jimin follows his mom home with a skip in his steps.
He was worried for nothing, he decides as he pokes at his rice with an eye-scrunching smile that night at dinner, because Jimin thinks he has just found his new best friend.