Chapter Text
park jimin is a broke college student.
ok, fine, maybe not so broke - he did get into his college (overseas, too! what a dream) on a full ride, after all - but still, living off cheap restaurant food everyday isn’t exactly so fun. and he’s been through retail (and that was a nightmare) so he’d rather not.
“you should be a driver then,” jongin tells him after dance practice, poking at his mango with ihs fork. jimin winces. mango is disgusting, ok, and nothing will change his mind about that.
“a driver?” he says cautiously, and the only other korean exchange student in his class nods.
“you know, like. what do they call it? lie-fit? ”
“your english is terrible, jongin hyung,” he dryly responds. “it’s lyft.” the other looks unperturbed by the insult and continues on.
“i heard they charge by the distance so if you drive people far then you can get some good money, right? treat us occasionally,” he grins, nudging jimin in the side. he rolls his eyes.
“you’re the older, aren’t you supposed to be treating me?”
“yeah, what he said, treat us, hyung,” minghao sits down next to jimin, who hides a smile at his accented korean (at least he’s trying?). “what are you guys talking about?”
“i need another job,” jimin bemoans. “got dropped from my last one because i accidentally upset a customer or something? she was asking - well, more like yelling - for a refund but she already used the makeup a lot and it was against the company policy if i took it? i’m pretty sure i was doing the right thing. americans confuse me.” minghao pats him on the back with a sympathetic smile.
“i think you should go for it,” jongin says. “wouldn’t hurt to try, right?”
“maybe i will,” he says, standing up and stretching. he leans down again to pick up his bag and then slings it over his shoulder. “see you guys tomorrow.” they chime their goodbyes and then he’s off. dance is his last class of the day because he takes morning classes - which the rest of his friends can’t seem to process (“how do you even wake up so early, jimin,” jongin always complains, and his response is always “if you weren’t up so late messing around with your friends, i’m sure you’d be able to take morning classes.”)
it’s only three when he finally gets back home to his little apartment. he’s locked the door and dropped his stuff in the living room and then makes his way to the kitchen - he forgot to bring snacks to practice again and only had a slice of bread for breakfast - huh. maybe he should get jongin hyung to treat him a little.
he’s rummaging through the fridge to find the ingredients for bibimbap when he realizes that he doesn’t have rice (see: kim jongin, the thief) or eggs and how is he supposed to make bibimbap without either of those?
someone knocks on his door and he closes the cabinet, standing up and dusting his hands on his pants.
“coming,” he calls, hurrying to the door.
he’s not expecting a literal god to have knocked on his door and is knocked breathless for a bit. seems like mr. god is also surprised because he stares at jimin for half a minute before clearing his throat.
“hi, i’m your neighbor across the hall, sorry to bother you, but do you have any eggs?” the stranger asks in korean, wringing his hands together. “my friend took all mine for a prank or something or the other and i didn’t notice, i suppose, and i don’t have a license or a car so - sorry if i’m bothering you,” he adds hastily, and jimin blinks, dumbfounded. huh. he had a korean neighbor?
“i-it’s no problem….”
“seokjin,” the stranger - seokjin - supplies, giving him a smile.
“seokjin hyung,” he ventures, and the other’s face lights up in a smile again. “sorry, i don’t have any eggs, but, uh, actually, i was going to get groceries in a couple minutes. i’ll take you to the store, just let me get my wallet,” he offers, and seokjin claps his hands together, relief coloring his face.
“thank you so much,” he gushes, stepping back from the doorway. jimin grins a little and goes to dig through his backpack, pulling out his wallet and breezing past seokjin.
“let’s go,” he hums, leading the way. seokjin follows him, making small talk as they descend the four flights of stairs to get to the parking lot. he learns that seokjin is three years older than him, born in gwacheon, recently moved into this complex, minors in acting, and is aiming for his masters in food science right now.
“how are you getting to campus if you don’t have a car?” he asks curiously as he starts up the car and seokjin purses his lips.
“i used to walk, since i lived closer, but for now i’m paying other people to drive me,” he shrugs. “you know, like taxis, right?”
“you should be a driver,” jongin’s voice echoes and jimin shoos it away. “is that so,” he mindlessly replies. “when are your classes, hyung? i can drive you.” he doesn’t know why he’s being so generous. maybe it’s because seokjin reminds him of home.
“really, you’d be willing to?” seokjin says, amazed, and jimin bobs his head. “even for morning classes?” he says, and jimin grins.
“i have morning classes, hyung, sure.” seokjin looks so excited and he claps his hands together again.
“you’re a lifesaver, jiminie, thank you! eat lunch with me, i promise my cooking is better than any restaurant in the vicinity,” he offers, and jimin puffs a little.
“jiminie? and sure, hyung, if you want.”
“jiminie is a cute nickname, why not?”
“you only just met me, hyung.”
“ah, but you’re so cute, your satoori is so cute! my little dongsaeng,” seokjin cackles, patting his arm. jimin huffs but doesn’t stop the smile from growing on his face.
“what were you making for lunch anyways?”
“oh, bibimbap.”
“can you read minds?” he asks, amazed.
“maybe,” seokjin says carelessly as the car parks.
—
“...and he even made lunch for me, jongin hyung, he’s so much more responsible than you are and he’s only a year older than you,” jimin continues, sweeping his arm in a wide arc and kicking his leg up as he dances.
“getting someone else to baby you,” jongin replies distantly, working on a different part of the choreo. jimin huffs. he’s not that babyfaced.
“i’m the one driving him,” he grumbles, and that catches jongin’s attention.
“you took my suggestion?”
“no, hyung, it’s just that he’s my neighbor and he’s from korea and he can almost DEFINITELY read minds,” jimin says, “i was going to make bibimbap - you stole all my rice and you need to buy some for me now, by the way - and he said he was gonna make bibimbap for lunch and i didn’t even mention it, hyung.”
“oh, the rice,” jongin shakes in silent laughter at some memory and nods. “yeah, i’ll buy you some today after classes, jimin ah. hmm, looks like you found yourself a keeper,” he grins, and jimin tries to fight down the blush rising on his face.
“i just met him, hyung!”
“oh, young love,” jongin croons, and jimin throws his shoe at him.
but it is on seokjin’s insistence that he signs up to do lyft after all.
“it’s good work,” he says. “i paid a lot until you came by. and you should get money for running me around everywhere i need to be but you won’t take it.”
“because your food is more than enough payment, hyung,” jimin replies. seokjin laughs and pats his back (curse those extra 5 centimeters).
“if you say so, jiminie.”
“stop calling me jiminie,” he says out of habit, but his smile doesn’t disappear.
—
the first guy he drives looks like he’s dead on his feet the moment he gets into the car.
“are you alright, sir?” he asks in english - he hasn’t really been able to see his client’s face, but the man has shocking mint hair.
“mmrrhh,” is all he gets in response, so jimin suppresses his concern and amusement and switches the channel to classical music.
“thank you,” he hears a mutter in korean, and - right. he’s korean. of course he is, his name was min something?
when he reaches his destination the man is fast asleep, so he unlocks the back door and opens it cautiously, gently shaking him. he doesn’t wake up, but now that he’s got a clear view, jimin can see he’s a pale man with pretty skin and dark bags under his eyes. jimin looks at their surroundings for a moment before parking the car and rolling the windows down. it shouldn’t take too long. when he gets back, the man - what was his name again? - is still asleep, so he sets the coffee down in the front seat and gently shakes him awake.
“mmh - ?”
“you look really tired, so i got you some coffee,” jimin thrusts the cup at him. “it’s black. i have a mocha, though, if you want that.”
the man stares at jimin strangely but accepts the coffee.
“how’d you know?”
“what?”
“that i liked black coffee?”
“i guessed,” he sheepishly replies, and the man gives him another scrutinizing stare before sipping more coffee.
“thanks for the coffee, then. and the ride. how much do i pay you?”
jimin curses under his breath - he’d forgotten to calculate. rushing some numbers, he snaps his fingers.
“25 flat,” he says, and the man raises an eyebrow.
“how much was the coffee?”
something’s different about his voice but jimin ignores it. “you don’t have to pay me for the coffee.” mr. mint hair looks surprised but nods.
“then thank you...if you could come back here in three hours, i’d appreciate it.”
“of course,” jimin beams. the man slips him a tiny grin and turns to head into the building.
halfway through the ride back jimin gapes at himself. the man had switched into korean when they were talking about the coffee; no wonder it sounded different.
true to his request, jimin is back by the little building three hours later and he looks much more rejuvenated versus three hours prior.
“hi,” jimin greets, and the man nods in acknowledgement.
“hi,” he hums, sliding into the backseat.
“if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from?” jimin asks curiously, and mr. mint hair perks up.
“oh, daegu, daegu. you?”
“oh, that's cool,” jimin muses, delighted. “busan.”
“that’s cool, i have a dongsaeng from busan,” mr. mint hair adds offhandedly.
“really? i haven’t met a lot of korean people while i’ve been here,” he sighs. “maybe i stay inside too much,” he jokes, and mr. mint hair makes a noise of amusement.
“what are you doing here, then?”
“dance, minoring in voice. been here for three years. what about you?”
“music production, actually. huh. you’re an exchange student, too?”
“yeah, yeah,” jimin nods, staring down at the red traffic lights. “what - ah, what’s your name?”
“min yoongi,” he says, and jimin turns back to look at him.
“min yoongi,” he echoes, and the man gives him that slight smile again.
“you are?”
“park jimin,” he replies, turning back to face the traffic. “nice to meet you...hyung?” he guesses.
“1993,” the other responds. “probably your hyung.”
“hey,” jimin puffs his cheeks. “i’m not that babyfaced...hyung.”
they fall into a comfortable silence for a while. jimin’s switched the channel to some american pop, having gotten way too sleepy at the sound of classical. havana begins to play and jimin clenches his fist in delight, giving himself a slight fist pump. he loves this song.
jimin’s humming quietly until yoongi speaks up. “can you sing it?”
he blinks, stopping his humming. “huh?”
“can you sing it for me,” yoongi repeats. jimin twists around and gapes at him. what?
“you’re a voice minor, right?”
“y-yeah? i can sing it,” he says, a little confused, and this time, instead of humming, he matches her pitch, matches her energy, and loses himself a little in the song.
when it ends, they’re back in front of yoongi’s apartment complex - it’s 10 minutes away from jimin’s - and jimin is slowing the car to a halt.
“you have a nice voice,” yoongi says, sounding pleased, and opens the door when the car completely stops. “hey, i might need you again sometime, so don’t forget about me, alright?” he says teasingly, an amused note in his voice, and jimin makes a face.
“how could i forget about you, you weirdo,” he says, sticking his tongue out with a smile. “see you around, hyung.”
he gets home and flops on the couch, releasing a long, suffering breath.
“ahhh….seokjin hyung,” he yells - the walls are thin in these apartments.
“yes, jiminie?”
“don’t call me that, hyung. are you making dinner? i’m hungry.”
there’s a slight pause. “if you want the jjajangmyeon you have to let me call you jiminie.”
“noo,” he groans, but relents. “ok...just feed me, hyung.” an amused chuckle echoes and he rolls off the couch and crawls across the floor, lazily opening the door and locking it before scooting over to seokjin’s door and punching in the code. it beeps in confirmation and he scrambles inside, the smell of the noodles already permeating the air. he’s going to start salivating.
“hyung!” he cheers as he sees seokjin placing down the bowl of noodles.
“let yourself in, i see,” seokjin says, amused, but pulls out the chair. “come sit, jiminie. how’d your day go?”
“fine,” he mutters around a mouthful of noodle, and seokjin clucks his tongue.
“no talking while you eat, jiminie. did you drive anyone today?”
“yeah, one person. he was cool.”
“is that all?”
“mm...he’s majoring in music production and likes my singing. you sound like my mom, hyung - ah, seokjin hyung, your food is so good, as usual,” he sighs, leaning back in his chair.
“thank you, jiminie.”
“hyung, hyung, you should start a cooking channel on youtube. oh! or do mukbang. you’re handsome and your food is good. i’m sure you’ll get lots of views.”
seokjin snorts. “yah, jiminie, are you trying to bribe me for more food?”
“maybe,” jimin shrugs, slurping up another mouthful of noodles. “but it is the truth.”
“then maybe i will,” seokjin smiles, amused, and jimin grins. “oh my god, jimin, close your mouth when you eat.”
—
“you should support him,” jimin says very seriously, and jongin cackles.
“jimin ah, you’ve got it bad. i’ve never heard you talk so much about someone, not even that kid from busan. the one you grew up with.”
“well - well, i mean,” jimin fumbles for words. “whatever. just help me out here, my meals depend on this, hyung. and you’re popular.”
“sure, jimin ah,” jongin says amusedly, correcting jimin’s stance. “sure.”
—
the next time he drives yoongi, he is pleasantly surprised.
“ggukie!” he shrieks, practically falling out of the car and jumping on his longtime friend. the young adult looks similarly shocked, wrapping his arms around jimin.
“jiminie - “
“hyung,” jimin tacks on, and jeongguk continues as if he hadn’t heard him.
“jiminie, it’s been such a long time, i didn’t know you knew yoongi hyung, or that you were even here! why didn’t you text me?”
“what, so yoongi hyung is hyung but i’m not? and i lost your number, gguk, and i can’t really call home too often, it’s a little expensive, what with everything i already have to pay for.”
“mmh. that’s alright. just text me more often now, ok? i’ll give you my number.”
“ahem,” yoongi’s voice breaks them both out of their little bubble and jimin squeaks, rushing into the driver’s seat.
“sorry, hyung,” he apologizes, and yoongi snickers.
“it’s fine, jimin ah. oh, i suppose you know by now. jeongguk is my dongsaeng from busan.”
“so are you going to sing for yoongi hyung, ggukie?”
“sing - uh, ah, yeah, i’m helping him with a raw track.”
“that’s so cool, send it to me when you’re done, ok? you always had a lovely voice,” jimin chirps, turning down the radio. “o-oh, only if you’re ok with it, yoongi hyung.”
“of course, jimin ah. i’ll send you the track after jeongguk finishes it.”
“you’re being quiet today, hyung,” jimin notes. “is it cause jeonggukie is here?” he teases, and yoongi scoffs petulantly.
“no. i’m just a little tired.”
“what do you mean quiet? isn’t this just how yoongi hyung always is?”
“shut up, gguk,” yoongi hisses, and jimin can hear the light smack of skin on skin, but more importantly: yoongi’s only the way he is when they’re alone because…?
jeongguk cackles and whispers something to yoongi, who squawks in indignation.
“fine! fine! i’ll buy you lamb skewers tonight, alright? just don’t mention it!”
his longtime friend crows in victory and jimin giggles, resolving to yell about it later to seokjin.
apparently, they don’t need a ride tonight, so jimin is free to lay at home and bemoan his terrible, terrible situation.
“seokjin hyung!” he bursts into the elder’s room, dashing into the kitchen. “seokjin hyung!”
“ah - jiminie, you scared me,” seokjin gasps, clutching the knife in front of him.
“sorry, hyung. i need your help,” he sighs.
“about what, jiminie?”
“...hyung, have you found your soulmate yet?”
seokjin swallows, placing the knife down. “not yet, jiminie.”
“oh - i’m - i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to…” jimin bit his lip, clasping his hands hands together. “sorry, hyung.”
“it’s alright,” seokjin soothes, returning to chopping the tomatoes on the board. “anyways, i was thinking of some bulgogi tonight.”
“are you gonna do an eat jin episode?” jimin sidles up to seokjin, arching his eyebrows suggestively, and he laughs.
“probably. you know, thanks to your friend jongin, i’m nearing one hundred fifty subscribers already,” he says, ruffling jimin’s hair.
“wh - he told you?” jimin pouts, batting away seokjin’s hand.
“of course,” seokjin says smugly. “but really, thank you, jiminie. you’ve helped me a lot this past month.”
“of course, hyung,” jimin says without hesitation. “you helped me a lot, too.”
the next passenger jimin remembers the most is another dancer named hoseok.
“ah - ah, you’re the famous korean lyft driver,” he practically squeals, squishing his cheeks within his palms. it’s like being assaulted by his aunt. well, it’d be a shame if this man was his relative, because damn. 100000/10.
“sorry, sorry, was that too much? i’ve heard lots about you from other kids on campus. i’m hoseok, jung hoseok. it’s nice to meet you.”
“ow - it’s ok. i’m park jimin. nice to meet you, hyung. you need to get to campus for classes?”
“yeah, i have dance in the evening apart from my other classes, so…my ride today had to cancel because she got sick.”
“aw, that sucks,” he says empathetically. “but don’t you think mrs. bella is really cool?”
“yeah, she’s such a cool instructor!” hoseok enthuses, and jimin can practically feel his eyes lighting up. “oooh, wait, you’re park jimin, right?”
“yeah, that’s me.”
“oh man, mrs. bella talks about you and jongin all the time! she keeps using you as an example in our class when some of the kids misbehave, actually. ‘be like jimin and jongin! if you’re going to mess around at least dance while you’re at it!’” he says in an impression of their dance teacher. jimin giggles.
“that’s exactly what she sounds like!”
“isn’t it?! i did it for her and she said it was the furthest thing from what she sounded like but i think she meant that as a joke.”
“maybe. mrs. bella isn’t all too clear when she’s sarcastic either.”
“oh, one time she…”
they spend the next 10 minutes chattering enthusiastically about their class and school in general, and when jimin parks to let hoseok down, he follows him to class.
“brought in a friend, eh, hoseok?”
“of course,” the older chimes, and jimin waves.
“good evening, mrs. bella.”
“good evening, jimin. do you plan on participating in class or are you just going to watch?”
“i’ll participate while i’m here, of course.”
“that’s what i like to hear,” she smiles, clapping her hands together. “warm up time! everyone find a spot.”
when they leave class, jimin is bubbling and still full of energy - it seems like hoseok’s attitude is infectious.
“hey, you should come over for dinner - i’ll ask hyung if he’s fine cooking for someone else, hold on,” jimin whips out his phone and clicks on the speed dial contact. seokjin picks up almost immediately.
“seokjin hyung!”
hoseok gasps loudly. “seokjin hyung!” he practically yells. “it’s me, hobi!”
seokjin makes a noise of surprise. “jiminie, when did you meet hobi?”
“i’m his driver today,” jimin answers, surprised. “hoseok hyung, you know seokjin hyung?”
“jiminie, put me on speakerphone. hoseok ah, you haven’t texted me at all recently!”
“sorry, hyung,” he says in a sheepish voice, grinning at jimin.
“hyung, let’s have hoseok hyung over for dinner tonight!”
“of course, of course! join us, hoseok ah, my food is still the best! ask jiminie.”
“you’ve never lied to me before, hyung. i think.” hoseok chuckles and jimin grins, inserting the key into the car.
“we’ll be back in 10 minutes, hyung. see you.”
“bye, jiminie, hobi.”
“bye seokjin hyung!”
jimin puts his phone down and starts driving. “who would have known,” he mused.
“who would have known,” the orange haired man echoes.
that night, dinner is lively and animated, despite it only being the three of them - it feels like something is missing, yet...jimin’s never felt more alive.
fast forward: it’s a week after that. seokjin has been strangely quiet and staring at his phone lately, and of course, jimin can’t help but be curious.
“hyung. hyung. what are you looking at?”
“look at this,” seokjin practically wheezes, shoving his phone in jimin’s face. “this man is a GOD.”
so are you, jimin almost says, but bites his tongue. he carefully takes seokjin’s phone in his hands and begins scrolling.
“oh my god,” he says, jaw dropped.
“exactly,” seokjin hisses. jimin scrolls all the way up to check the bio and user of the man and -
“hyung,” he says, voice wavering for dramatic effect, “i’m driving him tomorrow.”
“WHAT?” seokjin shrieks, tackling jimin - which, for the record, was not fun. “you’re DRIVING HIM?”
“i am,” jimin breathes, hand over his heart (slightly mockingly, but hey, this man is a visual god - well, all his friends are visual gods. yoongi? his biggest UWU. jeongguk? jimin is going to melt - when did his best friend turn Hot™? hoseok? how does he maintain his everything and shoot sunshine out of every centimeter of himself??? seokjin? again, literal god). “i’m driving him tomorrow. please get off me, hyung.”
and so when kim namjoon strolls up to his car in practically his sleepwear jimin almost starts laughing. he looks deadbeat and half asleep - kimdaily who? the man seokjin has been pining after for the past month? not this namjoon - though still handsome in a ruffled way, if he’s being honest.
but regardless, he kindly opens the door for him and introduces himself, takes a second look at the location namjoon wants to get to as he gets comfortable.
“you’re going to yoongi hyung’s studio?” he blurts out, and namjoon looks surprised.
“you know yoongi?”
“yeah, i drive him lots. wait, are you the friend that breaks things a lot?!”
“ugh,” namjoon groans, confirming jimin’s suspicion. “he talks about that?”
“kimdaily is the friend that breaks things a lot,” jimin utters to himself in almost a reverie. he’s on the verge of a laughing breakdown.
“wait, you know my twitter account too?” jimin twists around to face him at that, and - cute. namjoon looks embarrassed.
“yeah, seokjin hyung gushed about it to me last night.”
“do you, do you mean kim seokjin? food science major?”
there’s a stunned silence for a bit.
“...wow, we have a lot more in common than we thought.”
“for sure,” namjoon says, still sounding shocked. “hyung GUSHED about it?”
“yeah, is that so hard to believe?” he asks, curious, and namjoon shrugs helplessly.
“i mean, look at him.”
“you’re right, he’s a literal god,” jimin agrees. “when i opened the door and saw him for the first time i think i forgot how to breathe for a couple of seconds.”
namjoon laughs at that and jimin grins, proud to have made someone laugh. he has a nice laugh, too, jimin’s brain says. shut up, brain, he replies back.
“so you’re the voice minor, right?” namjoon asks once he’s done laughing. “yoongi talks about you. jeongguk, too.”
“they talk about me?” jimin squeaks, ears burning.
“all good things, don’t worry,” namjoon assures him, a smile bleeding through his words. “well, jeongguk...let’s just say i know about your fifth christmas together.”
“noo,” jimin groans. “that idiot. i’m going to murder him.” their fifth christmas was a disaster - funny in hindsight, but not so much at the time.
namjoon laughs again and jimin sighs, amused and resigned all in one.
“oh - we’re here. do you think yoongi hyung will mind if i join you?”
“of course not,” namjoon says, getting out of the car. jimin follows suit, locking the car and making his way to the studio. it’s a silent walk, as the walk to the studio tends to be, until namjoon trips on something at the open doorway. jimin catches him just in time, almost falling down with him.
“aw, how come you never do that to me, jiminie? with namjoon hyung, no less.”
“j-jeongguk,” jimin yelps, letting go of namjoon, who stumbles forwards and runs into the youngest present. a pained sound emanates from him and namjoon groans, reeling backwards - thankfully, not tripping again.
“how are you doing, jiminie,” he wheezes out, and jimin moves to help his best friend up.
“hyung. fine. i drove namjoon hyung over here today. why’d you tell him about christmas?” he pouts, and jeongguk laughs.
“i mean, it is funny…”
“i knooow, but it’s embarrassing!” they make their way into the studio, where yoongi is staring intently at his computer screen with headphones covering his ears.
jeongguk makes a motion for them to be quiet and sneaks up to yoongi. he gently reaches his arms up around yoongi’s head, and swiftly pulls the headphones off, yelling “boo!”
yoongi screams a curse and falls out of his chair.
“jeon jeongguk!” he roars, getting up and -
“o-oh. namjoon ah, jimin ah. hi.”
“wow, you mellowed down fast,” jeongguk comments, a smirk painting his face, and yoongi narrows his eyes.
“no lamb skewers for the next two weeks,” he says monotonously, and jeongguk’s eyes widen comically.
“no! noooo, hyung, i’m sorry!”
“it’s too late, jeongguk. live with your consequences.” the two standing back and watching snicker and yoongi grins his adorable gummy smile a little, settling back down in his chair.
“ok, namjoon ah, we should get started. jeongguk, get back in the booth, you brat, and if this turns out well i might give you back your lamb skewers. — and on second thought, you too, jiminie. i want to hear your voice on this song - the one i sent you last week, remember that one?”
“oh, that one’s called hold me tight , right?”
“yes, that song.”
“who sang the demo track? was it you, namjoon hyung?”
“oh, no no no, namjoon hyung raps better than he sings, it was my roommate, you haven’t met him yet! he also helped write it, isn’t he cool?” jeongguk’s eyes sparkle and jimin feels a twinge of unwarranted jealousy.
“i want to meet him,” he announces resolutely, and jeongguk beams.
“i think you’ll both get along really well!”
and so that was how jimin met taehyung - the eccentric, intelligent, and sympathetic roommate of his best-friend-maybe-crush.
it did NOT help that taehyung was also obscenely attractive. who allowed it???
“hi, you’re jiminie, right? jeonggukie talks about you all the time! it’s jiminie this, jiminie that, oh he’s so handsome, taetae hyung,” he says mockingly, and jeongguk covers his mouth, blushing.
“ew! don’t lick me, that’s gross!” he yelped, snatching his hand away from taehyung’s mouth. the other snickers, sticking his tongue out and returning to the red jimin.
“but you are handsome,” taehyung adds on, grinning, and jimin internally combusts. he’s NICE TOO??
“y-you too,” he manages to stutter out. but soon enough, after the awkwardness is avoided, just like jeongguk’s prediction, they become quick friends. he soon learns that taehyung follows seokjin’s mukbang channel — “what! you’re the one who convinced him to start it? jiminie, where would i be without your genius?” — and that they’re actually the same age.
when he goes back home that night, there’s a strange sense of fullness that follows him all the way through his dreams.
—
“we should get everyone to take part in it,” jimin delightedly suggests. “i’m sure you could use seokjin hyung’s vocals - you said something was missing, right? i know hobi hyung would also want to give it a shot, he’s always humming some rap song under his breath when we meet up. he can sing sorta, too. i think he used to take voice lessons.”
yoongi and namjoon look at each other contemplatively, and jeongguk nods. “it is a good idea, hyungdeul.”
“let’s call everyone, then,” namjoon offers. jimin grins and opens his phone.
in the next thirty minutes, jimin is back from picking everyone up. he’s excitedly chattering with the other four and he leads them inside. the moment seokjin’s foot crosses the threshold, jimin’s vision doubles and he yelps, tripping.
“jiminie!” various voices yell and he groans, massaging his forehead.
“what was that?” he asks, but his question isn’t answered.
“why are you all staring at me like that?”
“jiminie,” jeongguk starts, looking incredibly startled, “your right forearm.”
jimin twists his arm around and pushes back the sleeve — and shrieks.
“who did that?!”
“jiminie, you found your soulmate,” jeongguk says, but he doesn’t look particularly happy.
“who - who is it, then? it’s one of you, isn’t it,” he rushes out, and the others all shrug and pull back their sleeves to check.
jimin’s eyes are blown wide and all he can say is “oh.”
oh because they all have the same little butterfly pattern etched into their right forearms as he does.
“is - is this a dream?” namjoon asks, incredulous, pinching himself. “ow. definitely not. i knew two or three soulmates was a thing, but…”
“six?” seokjin purses his lips. “unheard of.”
“well,” jimin breaks the stunned silence, “is this a good time to say that i had a crush on all of you?”
jeongguk laughs almost hysterically and crushes jimin in a tight hug, pressing kisses all along his cheek and neck.
“jiminie,” he says breathlessly, “did you know i’ve loved you since middle school?”
“oh,” is all he can choke out, wrapping his arms gently around his best friend - his soulmate.
“fate is a strange thing,” seokjin murmurs. “imagine that! living right across from your soulmate with no idea - and knowing the other 5 before you met him,” he adds. “or in jeongguk’s case, knowing him all your life.”
“yeah, you WERE always gushing on about namjoon hyung, even before you found his twitter,” jimin says, smirking, and seokjin reddens. so does namjoon.
“jiminie!”
“we’re all soulmates, you can say whatever you want,” taehyung grins, an excited look on his face. “wow. so many people. great for cuddling nights, don’t you think, hobi hyung?”
“definitely,” the dancer agrees, looping an arm around taehyung’s shoulders. “cuddle pile! everyone come here! it’s celebration time, jiminie was our missing link!”
yoongi looks almost petulant to join in (but everyone knows that’s what he wants to do the most) until jimin and jeongguk’s pouting “convinces” him - alongside seokjin’s simple arched-brow stare, of course.
“don’t forget that we have to finish producing the song,” yoongi murmurs, and namjoon laughs.
“don’t worry about the song, yoongi. let’s just enjoy this for now.”
“alright,” yoongi yawns, burrowing into the spot next to namjoon and taehyung.
“and this all started because jongin popped the idea of me becoming a driver and seokjin hyung convinced me to,” jimin sighs in disbelief. “now i really gotta treat him. damn.”
the other six laugh and he smiles.
park jimin might be a broke college student - ok, fine, maybe not anymore, driving people around has definitely netted him cash - but he’s also definitely rich, because now he’s found everyone he loves.