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Even as a kid, Yoongi had never believed in love at first sight. Despite his wide imagination and curiosity about almost anything, his little mind deemed the idea of loving someone the second you saw them ridiculous and impossible.
He’d always been spare with his love, even at such a young age. He loved his parents, and his grandparents. But he was wary of anyone else, even as he grew up. He cared about people such as his friends, but he knew that he didn’t love them just yet.
As he got older, things changed, but only barely. When he hit his teenage years, with the same friends, he knew he loved them. They’d been with him for years, with strong mutual trust having built between them all, and they cared about each other. They were his best friends, and he let himself admit he loved them like family, even if he’d never admit it out loud.
But his views still stood. Love at first sight was ridiculous, the idea seeming even more so when it was everywhere he turned as a teenager. Books, girls talking at school, stories online, new couples. Love took time to develop.
So, when Park Jimin entered his life, Yoongi was more than confused. His friends were much more social than him, and he’d never had a problem with them having other friends. He wasn’t controlling, and he knew they weren’t abandoning him.
But that sometimes meant they dragged him into plans, claiming he needed to get out more, socialise with more people. He was happy enough to stay holed up in his bedroom, scrawling out lyrics or doodles, whatever came to mind, but his friends disagreed.
They’d taken him out to the park where they were meant to meet up with a few others, spend the day there since they’d had nothing much else to do in the summer break. Seokjin had even went through the trouble of packing a picnic apparently big enough for seven teenage boys, three being his friends, and the other three kids that he’d never met.
Kids, he said, because that’s what they were in his head. He might have only been seventeen, but the two apparently fifteen year olds, and the fourteen year old seemed years away in his mind. Namjoon and Hoseok insisted they were mature, but he was uncertain about trusting their opinion on that since they often liked to label themselves as mature too.
He remembered the moment exactly. He’d been laying on the top of the climbing frame, eyes closed and absorbing the summer heat, and definitely not trying to sleep, no. The sudden noise of his friends pulled him out of his peaceful state, as they started yelling greetings, mixed with unfamiliar voices.
He doesn’t remember much other than hearing it. One voice standing out from the others, and he had no idea why. The voice was so soft and flowed easily, reminding him of an angel. It made his heart beat faster for some reason, and he tried to blame it on the nervousness of meeting new people.
And then came the giggle. Whoever owned that one voice giggled, and Yoongi’s heart felt like it was doing somersaults. But he knew he was just being stupid, he was just tired. So he sat himself up, sitting on the edge of the frame so he could look over at everyone who had arrived.
And in a split second, his whole world felt like it came crashing down. Logically, he knew that describing it as such was dramatic, but that’s what it felt like. His gaze set on the owner of the perfect voice, and he had the sudden urge to throw up with the amount of butterflies fluttering in his stomach. But there was no way he’d embarrass himself like that in front of the pretty pink haired boy.
He knew he was staring, and he couldn’t help the flush to his cheeks when he was caught so fast, the boy’s eyes flickering over to him curiously. And to his horror, everyone else turned to look at him too. “Yoongi! Come here and say hi, they don’t bite.” Hoseok spoke, and Yoongi wanted to kill him.
Yoongi wanted to kill him because his words seemed to amuse the angel, as he’d deemed him, and he smiled. He smiled , and it was the most beautiful thing Yoongi had ever seen. He looked so happy and carefree, the corners of his lips lifting up so high that his eyes crinkled and disappeared for a few seconds, and he could only hope that meant he didn’t see the way Yoongi nearly toppled off the frame at the sight.
Luckily he managed to get down with no accidents, using the few seconds to remember as many breathing exercises as he could, because he’d certainly need them.
And he was right.
“Finally.” Namjoon said as Yoongi joined them, and he hoped it didn’t look out of place with how hard he was trying to not look at a certain person. “Yoongi, this is Taehyung and Jeongguk, my friends.” He pointed to two of the boys, one of who confidently greeted him, the other who mumbled a shy hello as he bowed to him. Yoongi gave them a polite smile, nodding in greeting, but the only thing on his mind was how he hoped they could skip over the angel boy.
But apparently his wishes weren’t met.
“And this is my friend, from dance.” Hoseok spoke next, gesturing to just the person he didn’t want to see anymore. But he had to look, not wanting to seem rude, since he hadn’t done anything. “Park Jimin.”
Park Jimin.
It was simply a name, yet it sent an odd feeling of warmth through him, slowly sinking and spreading through his chest. He quickly recognised the feeling as security, home, and he’d never been more confused. He’d just met the kid, hadn’t even said a word to him yet the feeling of assurance and safety that had taken him years to build up with his friends flooded his senses already.
He couldn’t bring himself to say anything, almost as if he was frozen, but he could feel the burning heat of his cheeks and there was no way they weren’t bright red. Luckily he didn’t have to speak up first, and the boy took it upon himself to say something.
Yoongi felt all air exit his lungs as the younger boy bit nervously on his lower lip before a shy smile spread across his lips, and he tilted his head down in a greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.” He said in that perfect, soft voice, and Yoongi was ready to give up everything and anything for him on the spot.
“Uh, you’re nice too.” Yoongi said dumbly, his whole body going cold as he realised what he’d said, and the sound of his friends bursting into laughter didn’t help. “Shit, I didn’t- Um, I meant… I meant it’s nice to meet you too, yeah. Nice to meet you too.” He rushed to correct himself, his ears burning, and he knew he’d already ruined it.
But if the other was put off, it didn’t show. He just giggled quietly again, and Yoongi’s heart leaped at the sound. He quickly realised that he wanted to be the reason for that sound, again and again. Seokjin saved him by loudly announcing that he was opening up the food, and everyone rushed to sit down on the blanket that had been put out on the ground.
Yoongi scowled at his friends as they winked excessively at him when Jimin sat himself down next to him, and despite the small space between them, he felt all too close. Yet somehow too far at the same time.
He found himself relaxing as they all dug into the food, everyone enjoying the home cooked food and praising Seokjin for it, who happily took the compliments for his cooking. But that didn’t mean his stomach didn’t flutter every time Jimin spoke, smiled, laughed, or looked in his direction. He quickly accepted the fact his cheeks were permanently stained red now, and maybe he could brush it off as sunburn. He wasn’t used to going out much.
As the day progressed the seven of them enjoyed the summer day, spending it eating, talking, playing silly games, running around the park and listening to music on the small speaker Hoseok had brought.
And as the day went on, he found Jimin getting closer each time, to the dismay of his poor heart. Luckily his friends had stopped teasing, but he could see the looks they sent each other, and him, which he tried to ignore. He only focused on Jimin, who by the end of the day, was basically plastered against his side. Yoongi had never liked affection with people he didn’t know, it took months to allow Hoseok and Namjoon so close.
His heart didn’t settle at all, not even when he looked down from where he was talking to the others to find Jimin sleeping peacefully with his head on his thigh, tired out from the days activities and he found he didn’t mind the closeness one bit.
“He likes having his hair played with.” Taehyung had spoke up, watching in amusement as Yoongi’s head shot up from where he’d obviously been staring down at the Jimin. Yoongi huffed, looking away from him as he pretended not to care. And he missed the smug look the boy sent him when his fingers soon found the soft pink locks, ever so gently carding his fingers through them as the younger boy slept.
He looked so at peace as he slept, and despite his heart threatening to beat out of his chest, Yoongi felt oddly peaceful too. He let him stay there until he started stirring, and a glance down confirmed he was waking up. His eyes met Jimin’s, the others tired gaze settling on him for a few seconds before a sleepy grin spread across his face. Yoongi couldn’t have been more grateful that everyone else had disappeared to play a game across the park so they didn’t witness how he literally forgot how to breathe for a few seconds, and luckily Jimin was still unaware enough that he didn’t notice either.
But Jimin obviously knew the effect he had on him. Either that, or he was like this with everyone. Even once he’d woken up, the younger didn’t move his head from his thigh, or give any effort to move away at all. Yoongi wasn’t sure if he was glad about that or not.
“How long was I asleep?” Jimin eventually asked with a small yawn, his eyes focused on the other guys playing whatever they were playing, which just seemed to be a big wrestling match by now.
Yoongi gave a small shrug, trying to act as if he hadn’t been overly aware of every second the younger had been laying against him. “Ah, it wasn’t that long, don’t worry. I wasn’t going to join them anyway, they can’t seem to stand it when I win every time.” He said, jokingly.
Jimin smiled widely, turning his head a little to look up at Yoongi, who tried his best to hide the way his breath caught in his throat at a simple look. “Really? Good, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on too much, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.” He said, with a sigh. “But… I never usually nap during the day, I don’t think I have since I was a kid or something. What did you do to me?” Jimin asked, squinting his eyes playfully, before another grin spread across his face. “Or maybe you’re just special to me somehow, huh?”
Yoongi didn’t want to think about how stupid he must of looked as Jimin said that, staring at him dumbly with his lips slightly parted. He had no idea what to say, his heart in his throat as he tried to form words.
Jimin really didn’t take pity on him, only worsening his situation with another of his giggles, shaking his head a little. “Okay, it’s settled. You’re just special to me.” He said.
“...Whatever.” Yoongi eventually managed to huff out, his cheeks tinting pink as he looked off to the side, trying to act nonchalant, even if it was obvious how affected he was.
He felt Jimin’s eyes lingering on him but he didn’t dare look down at him, not trusting himself to not make a fool out of himself again. But of course he didn’t get much of a break.
“Hey.” Jimin called from where his head still rested on his thigh, a hand coming to lightly touch Yoongi’s arm. He took a small breath before turning his head back to look down at him, trying to focus on the space between his eyes rather than letting his gaze flicker over his lips, or get too lost in his eyes. “Can I have your number?”
It felt like all air was pushed from his lungs, eyes widening a little as he processed the words. But he found himself quickly nodding, agreeing easily. “I-um, yeah, yeah.” He murmured, licking his lips.
The younger grinned, pulling his phone from his pocket, holing it above his face as he tapped on the screen for a minute. “I mean I could ask the others for it, but that’s just another step, isn’t it? And I do want to talk to you again…” He said, before nodding. “Number?”
Yoongi told him his number, trying not to let his voice give away how nervous he was, going over the number many times in his head to make sure he’d said it right. His phone dinged from beside him a few seconds later, a message from an unknown number simply reading ‘:)’.
“So that you have my number too.” Jimin said, chewing on his inside of his cheek for a few seconds, and Yoongi swore he saw the pink tint to his cheeks darkening. “So that you can message me. You should message me.”
Yoongi held his gaze for a few seconds before a shy smile spread across his face, Jimin being the exact same, both of them already looking like love sick puppies. “...Yeah. I’ll message you, definitely.” He promised.
———
The rest of the day passed in a blur, the others coming back to join them shortly after, needing a rest from all their messing around. This meant Yoongi got at least a little more distraction from the angel now sitting up at his side, but that didn’t stop his cheeks heating up every time he glanced at him, or heard him laughing.
It was getting dark when they all decided to pack up so they could go their separate ways, saying their goodbyes to each other. Yoongi mostly settled on a simple yet polite goodbye, a few of the others who were closer giving out hugs. But his eyes couldn’t help but wonder to Jimin who seemed to be giving out hugs to everyone, even those he just met. He was prepared to not get his, everyone else having got one, but a few of them had already started wandering off after saying goodbye.
Yoongi couldn’t help the slight disappointment as Taehyung and Jeongguk started walking off since he knew Jimin was leaving with them, meaning the boy was about to go too, without a goodbye. He was ready to leave when there was a blur of pink, and a weight against his chest.
His mind quickly supplied that it was Jimin, the youngers arms around his waist and his head pressed into his shoulder. Yoongi didn’t even try to hide the stutter in his breathing, his hands slowly moving to rest loosely on Jimin’s back.
It was after a few seconds that he pulled back again, his cheeks definitely flushed this time, this time looking as nervous as Yoongi felt and probably also looked. “Bye.” The younger whispered, clearing his throat. “Don’t forget to message me.”
A smile spread across Yoongi’s lips, and he gave a small nod, the thought of messaging him later having been on his mind since they exchanged numbers. “I won’t. Goodbye, Jimin.” He said softly, surprising himself how steady his voice sounded.
Jimin stayed where he was for a few seconds, his teeth sinking into his lower lip as if he was considering something, and Yoongi forced himself not to focus on the action. He couldn’t help the surprised noise that left him as Jimin suddenly came closer again, this time leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Yoongi’s cheek, lasting just a few seconds. “Bye!” He said, grinning at him before he turned to run off and catch up with his friends.
Yoongi stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide as he watched him disappear into the distance, his cheek burning with a mixture of the kiss and the embarrassment. It took a few minutes before he collected his mind again, turning to make his own way home, phone in hand and already typing out a message to the boy who he knew wasn’t leaving his mind anytime soon.
———
In the end, that only proved to be more than true. That certain boy stayed in his mind, and his life for a long time.
Long enough that years later when he got down on one knee in that exact same park, ring in one hand and Jimin’s in the other, he told him exactly how all it took was one smile from the angel with the cotton candy pink hair to have him reconsidering everything he’d ever thought about love at first sight.
And how all it took was one quiet giggle from the boy before he knew that falling in love at first sight was the exact thing he’d done the second that he’d sat up on that climbing frame, and his gaze had set on Park Jimin, his pink haired angel.