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Jimin met Yoongi at a club in Hongdae on his 22nd birthday. It wasn't a meeting that was particularly cute, or interesting.
No, they met when Jimin drunkenly stumbled over to him, tried to flirt with terrible pick-up lines and then promptly threw up all over Yoongi's shoes. Yoongi, naturally, had been less than thrilled at the time. He had asked for Jimin's number (Jimin had given it over without hesitation) and had left without another word.
The next morning Jimin had received a text with the size and brand of the shoe along with Yoongi's address. Long story short, Jimin bought the shoes and delivered them despite the hangover. They hadn't talked much, just a quick hello/goodbye, although thankfully Yoongi had taken pity on him and gave him some painkillers for the headache.
And that was the start of their friendship.
It had been very one-sided at the start, to be honest. Jimin would send a good morning message every day and wouldn't get a reply until three in the afternoon. Yoongi's answers were only a word and he never messaged first.
Jimin was confident it would happen eventually.
Over time, he slowly fell in love with the other man as he opened up more and more. When Yoongi smiled his large gummy smile and he laughed at one of Jimin's jokes for the first time, Jimin knew he was gone.
Yoongi became his world.
There was, however, a problem.
Jimin had never stopped coughing up the purple heliotropes that were slowly killing him with every passing year. No matter how much he loved Yoongi, there was no way it would ever work out. Hell, he didn't even know if Yoongi liked him back.
He had confessed in early December and had stood there in the snow, petrified for a moment that Yoongi would turn and leave without another word. Instead, he had cradled Jimin's cheeks in his hands and kissed him. It was chaste at first but with every kiss, it got deeper, more passionate, until both of them could barely breathe.
In that instant, everything was right in the world and there was nothing that could part them.
He had returned to reality only seconds later when Yoongi had doubled over with a hacking cough, blue orchids tumbling from his lips like a punishment from fate.
Jimin remembered crying and holding Yoongi tightly until he had stopped coughing. That had only been the beginning. By early January they had moved in together, the pitiful excuse being that Jimin spent more time at Yoongi's apartment than at home anyway.
They both knew that it was more than just that reason. They knew they were on borrowed time and wanted to make the most of what they had. It was by late February that everything had taken a turn for the worse.
Jimin had returned home one night after work and found Yoongi collapsed on the floor. He had called the ambulance and had stayed with him until they arrived.
The ride to the hospital was an agonizing blur.
The beeping of the machines taking Yoongi’s vitals and the steady rise and fall of his chest were the only things keeping Jimin grounded. He was afraid to let go of Yoongi's hand, afraid that if he did, Yoongi would slip away to somewhere far beyond where he could ever reach. The end was coming and they both knew it. Yoongi was getting weaker and weaker as the 9th of March crept ever closer and the orchids became more bloodstained with every time he coughed.
They were always joined shortly after by Jimin's heliotropes, creating a macabre bouquet.
By March 2nd Jimin was getting desperate. Yoongi's breaths were always wheezes, his chest rattling with every one.
He held Yoongi's had tightly and cried.
"Please, Yoongi. You have to let me find your soulmate for you." He pleaded but Yoongi always refused.
"I don't want my soulmate, Jiminnie, you know that." his smile was strained and weak, "I just want you."
"But you'll-"
"I know. And I'm not afraid," Yoongi admitted, wiping a stray tear from Jimin's cheek with his thumb, "nothing can hurt me while you're here."
Jimin hadn't left his side after that.
It had been days since he had last slept and he felt that he would pass out at any second.
"Come on," Yoongi whispered, "you need to sleep."
"No I don't," Jimin protested. Sleeping was the last thing he wanted to do, especially now.
It was the 7th of March and the doctors had already confirmed their fears. On Yoongi's 25th birthday, he would die.
The number of heliotropes had increased after that but Jimin couldn't bring himself to care. Nothing mattered to him anymore except for the man he loved. March 8th was spent in the hospital room, going over all the photos of them together that were saved on their phones and just enjoying each other's presence. Yoongi had even grinned when Jimin had laid down next to him on the bed and slept for a while.
He woke up to Yoongi gently running his fingers through his hair and whispering sweet words of love into his ears. Reassuring him that everything would be alright and that Jimin could move past this.
But Yoongi never considered that Jimin wouldn't want to.
"Hey, Yoongi?" Jimin whispered later that day. Yoongi had only responded with a barely audible hum, his eyes flickering open slightly.
"I don't want to find my soulmate."
"Jiminnie," Yoongi turned to look at him and seemed exhausted just from that, "please don't do that."
"Why not?" He asked, "You didn't want yours either."
Yoongi frowned.
"Jimin, you still have a chance. You can still live." He slowly pulled Jimin in closer, "I don't want you to die for me."
"But I don't think I can live without you," Jimin whispered back, already in tears.
"I'm sorry," Yoongi whispered over and over as he broke down crying, "Jiminnie, I'm so sorry."
Jimin clutched onto Yoongi like a lifeline and buried his face in the crook of Yoongi's neck, breathing in his scent and memorizing it.
"It's ok. I forgive you." He whispered.
He sobbed when Yoongi hugged him weakly.
"Yoongi?"
"What is it?" He brushed Jimin's bangs out of his face, "Please don't cry."
"I love you," he cried and Yoongi's serene composure shattered, "So so much."
"I love you too. Always."
Yoongi coughed and Jimin stiffened.
"Jiminnie, please," he said with an unprecedented urgency in his voice, "promise me one last thing."
"Anything." Jimin hugged him tighter.
"Live for me."
"Yoongi, why-"
"Just do it Jimin. I'm begging you." He sounded tired. So, so tired.
"Alright," he reluctantly agreed, "I promise."
Yoongi sighed and he sounded as if all the pain was leaving him. Jimin smiled as he looked at Yoongi's face, more peaceful than ever.
He memorized the feel of Yoongi's hair, the sound of his voice and the beating of his heart-
The monitor blared as it flatlined and Jimin screamed as an orchid bloomed upon Yoongi's lips, bloody and beautiful.
Somewhere in the hospital, the clock struck midnight.
.
.
.
When the nurses had come to take him away, Jimin had been hysterical and had fought tooth and nail to stay with Yoongi. He refused to let go or leave the room to the point where he was sedated and forcefully removed from the room.
He sat in the waiting room alone.
"Why?" He asked himself. "Why weren't we soulmates?"
People had told them that they had always seemed like soulmates whenever they were together. They completed each other, making up for each other’s weaknesses with their own strengths and they often joked that the universe had made a mistake.
He believed that now more than ever.
Without Yoongi, his life felt as worthless as one without colours. It was as if all the joy had been sucked out. He coughed and stared at the heliotrope in his palm.
"Please wait for me, Yoongi. I'll see you again in a few years. I promise."
He sat there in the waiting room for what seemed like hours, anxiously awaiting someone to tell him it was all fake, that Yoongi was still alive.
Or to tell him to give up and go home.
Someone tapped on his shoulder and sat down next to him
"Are you ok?"
"No."
"Why not?" He asked but Jimin never looked up to see what the man looked like.
"The love of my life just died, do you honestly think I'm okay?" He snapped and immediately felt regret when the man flinched away.
"Oh. Feel better soon."
"I won't." It was the truth. He would never feel better.
The man sat there with him for hours and occasionally tried to make conversation although Jimin always shot it down.
He found himself breathing easier as time passed and something finally clicked for him. Jimin looked into the man's eyes and burst into tears.
No matter how much he wanted them to, the flowers wouldn't be coming anymore.