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Jimin never believed in love at first sight. Sure, he was a hopeless romantic at heart. And yes, he spent nights rewatching “The Notebook”, only to cuddle up against his best friend; weeping at the same parts that always get him extra emotional. So right now, what he was feeling was something he felt like he was truly losing his sanity over.
Kim Taehyung, his best friend, soulmate, fellow 95 born angel, had dragged him to the most recent exhibition at “Sea Life” Busan Aquarium. He said he wanted to watch the dolphins perform to his favorite girl groups, Twice, discography. But, Jimin knew better.
Being the clever, ever-so lurking Libra he was, he made sure to go on Twitter stalking the Busan Aquarium and all of the possible staff members who caught Taehyung’s eye. He landed on one profile, Min Yoongi, a great potential love candidate, with kitten-like features and bright mint green hair stalking his profile until he landed upon Kim Seokjn. Age 27, don’t ask how he found this out (no his birthday is not listed on his main profile), black silky hair pushed back off his perfectly symmetrical and beautiful features, pink plush lips, with a gorgeous smile. The only reason he knew this was the ONE, was because Taehyung’s comments randomly popped up under posts involving any selfies he posts with his two pet dolphins, Hobi and Joon. Comments ranged from statements as bold and brazen as, “idk who’s cuter, you or the dolphins”, or just straight up, “marry me.”
He watches Taehyung frantically adjust his dark green beret on top of his wavy black hair as he scans the aquarium pulling on Jimin’s arm, to tug him into various exhibits.
“Are you looking for someone Tae?”
Taehyung practically jumps out of his skin.
“W-what? No. I’m just trying to find the main exhibit, it should be somewhere close,” He pulls out a map, crinkly and barely legible (just how long was Taehyung holding onto this map?), before pointing to a bright blue star in the center of the water.
“We need to go there. C’mon, why are you walking so slow?” He whines, tugging Jimin again.
Jimin giggles behind his hand, catching sight of cherry-pink colored hair before the person is gone completely. He shrugs it off, as they finally arrive at the teal-colored bleachers which face a massive tank, 3 dolphins already swim and dance throughout the clear blue water. The show hadn’t begun yet, but Jimin already felt on edge. Tons of children and babies screams echoed throughout the open arena, and Taehyung, of course, sat them down as close to the front as possible. Completely ignoring the bright yellow sign that marked, “SPLASH ZONE”.
Jimin sighs, running a hand through his black silky hair, adjusting his Ray-bans on the bridge of his nose.
“Taehyung-ah we are in the splash zone. You realize that right?”
Taehyung squirms excitedly, flashing a boxy grin at his best friend.
“I know, I don’t care I just wanna see him-”
The look Taehyung gives Jimin, has Jimin in hysterics, doubling over with laughter, as he shakes at his best friend’s shoulder.
“I knew we were here for someone. This is Kim Seokjin isn’t it? South Korea’s famous dolphin trainer?”
Taehyung sighs, looking at the water before pointing to draw Jimin’s attention to the main stage.
And that’s when his heart fully stops.
In the center of the tank, stands the most beautiful human he’s ever seen. His glasses drop comically off his face, but he doesn’t care. He is completely stunned and entranced by this man. He doesn’t remember seeing this guy’s profile on Twitter. Who is this?
The familiar cherry-colored hair shines brightly under the rotating disco lights, his eyes are beautiful, wide and brown from what Jimin can see. What he and everyone else in the stadium can see is how incredibly ripped this guy is. He watches speechless, not even noticing Taehyung calling his name under a fit of laughter, as this guy tugs the zipper of his wetsuit down, slowly trailing it down the front of his chest, before leaning forward to pet one of the dolphins. He hears women, young girls, and even some bold men whistling and gasping at the beauty of this man, and mentally he sends daggers to all of these people because absolutely not, this absolutely is the love of his life.
The disco lights glow brighter, as the audience grows quieter, the show has begun.
Jimin can’t even recall when it began. All he can remember is his eyes glued, afraid to blink even for a second, as the cherry-haired trainer, “Jungkook, 23, from Busan”, swam and danced with dolphins in the water. His movements were so beautiful, so graceful, it had everyone cheering and screaming for him in boisterous applause. Kim Seokjin, Taehyung’s future husband probably, was at the center with Min Yoongi, doing tricks with their dolphins and cheering for Jungkook who was truly the star of the show, and their newest addition.
That explains the lack of information he found on Twitter.
His heart pounds as the music nears the end, a siren goes off to warn them that they’d get utterly and completely splashed. Taehyung cheers excitedly, shaking Jimin’s shoulder, whooping in delight as Jimin makes sure none of his belongings are on him, forgetting that he handed them to Yoongi when they first sat down. Somehow his thoughts only revolved around Jungkook and how much he needed to know him.
The music changes drastically, the lights dim low, as the disco lights beam up onto the first two rows, illuminating Taehyung and Jimin, before the dolphins begin to splash their tails, swimming at an incredible speed and soaking them completely.
As uncomfortable as it is, it’s the most fun Jimin’s had in a while, and he can’t seem to stop giggling, even after the show ends.
“Oh my god, that was amazing. We’re coming back next weekend, or maybe even tomorrow.”
“We’re not open Sundays,” Yoongi says, smiling the cutest gummy smile their way, as he hands them their belongings.
“But you can definitely come back next weekend.” A cheerful voice states as he comes up behind Taehyung.
Jimin watches as Taehyung, usually calm and collected, internally melts, his brain short-circuiting as he stares wide-eyed at Seokjin.
“Hi, my name is Park Jimin, this is Kim Taehyung.” Jimin fills in, giving Taehyung a look to please get it together.
Taehyung clears his throat, reaching his hand out to shake Yoongi’s, who takes it cautiously, an eyebrow raised and a grin spread across his face. And, it only gets more embarrassing as Taehyung turns to fully hug Seokjin. He watches as Seokjin flushes, just as much as Taehyung does before they pull away and Taehyung is muttering out what Jimin assumes is an apology.
“I-I’m sorry I really don’t know why I did that.”
Seokjin chuckles cutely, and Jimin gets the obsession. Really, he gets the obsession for all of them because Yoongi is perfect, handsome, tiny (they may be the same height, who cares), cute. And Seokjin is a full-on model. He frowns, realizing Jungkook is the only trainer who didn’t come to talk to them. Maybe he was creeped out by the open staring Jimin was doing throughout the entire show.
Weirdly enough, Yoongi grabs his arm softly and gives him a knowing look.
“If you’re looking for Jungkook, he’s a bit shy. He just started a week ago, but he really is the sweetest.”
Seokjin gasps, offended, as he crosses his arms. Taehyung fully checks him out, of course.
“He is a little brat, but yeah, he is sweet.” Seokjin sighs, smiling at the way Taehyung giggles at his every word.
Jimin’s heart pounds even at the mention of Jungkook, and it really is pathetic at this point considering he’s only seen this guy for maybe 40 minutes tops.
“Do you want to have lunch with us? We have a break now for about an hour. We usually eat with our dolphins at the cove.” Yoongi asks, linking arms with Seokjin.
Jimin turns to Taehyung who already is nodding in agreement before they follow the two trainers out.
-
“The Cove”, as the trainers call it, is a majestically carved stone designed mermaid cavern. There are seashells everywhere, and the strong scent of seawater and Jimin is in love. He feels like he stepped into The Little Mermaid, and he never wants to leave.
Throughout their lunch, Jimin has only managed to really watch Taehyung make a fool out of himself in front of a very endeared Seokjin and bonded extremely well with Yoongi who already exchanged numbers promising to hang out soon. It was nice, it felt like they could all become great friends, well Seokjin and Taehyung were well on their way to stumbling out bad pickup lines, but otherwise, they could be a great group of friends.
But. Still, no Jungkook insight. He tried not to pout into his egg sandwich (a la Seokjin), but he wasn’t going to deny that he was a little down that Jungkook seemed to be blatantly avoiding them.
Almost as if he spoke too soon, three men, two who he hadn’t seen before begin to appear from inside the cove, one beautiful heart-shaped faced man with chestnut brown hair, another tall gorgeous man with deep dimples and bleach blonde hair, and then Jungkook. Who was shirtless, his wetsuit hanging dangerously low on his hips.
Jimin tried his best. He really did. But he is a weak weak man, for cherry hair and abs.
He coughs pathetically on his sandwich, as he reaches out for Taehyung, who immediately begins to shout, “I don’t know CPR, someone help him!”
If Jimin wasn’t dying on this wet stone floor, he would be hysterically laughing.
Somehow, the gods above have Jungkook out of all of them running up to Jimin, before his large palm is slapping Jimin’s back, whispering soothing words to him. His eyes close, partially because this man has the softest most beautiful voice in the world. But, also because this is the most embarrassing situation he’s ever had to experience, and he could die right now and it’d be totally fine.
Finally, whatever demon egg piece that was lodged into his windpipe gets swallowed down, as he buries his face in his arms avoiding the worried stares of everyone.
Jungkook’s hand remains on his back, rubbing soothing circles before asking if he’s okay.
The answer is yeah, he’s alive. But no, he’s definitely not okay. He needs to go home and cry about this for 10 days straight.
“Y-yeah ‘m fine. Thanks for saving my life.”
He finally lifts his head, his eyes finally locking with Jungkook’s doe eyes. He almost begins coughing again but swallows heavily; trying to shoo away the nerves.
“That’s okay, my name is Jungkook! What is yours?” He beams, his smile infectious.
Jimin clears his throat, his hands awkwardly resting in his lap because he so badly wants to run his hands through the silky pinkish-red strands of Jungkook’s hair. And on closer inspection, Jungkook’s ears are covered in piercings, little mermaid-like designs, starfish, and shells hang from tiny hoops in his ears.
“Park Jimin, I saw your show.”
He’s not aware of how everyone else in their group has been staring from the sidelines watching as he and Jungkook linger weirdly close to one another, their voices hushed and shy.
“OH! Yeah, I saw you get splashed, did you have fun?” Jungkook giggles, leaning back to tug his wetsuit higher up his waist and sitting right next to Jimin.
Jimin practically faints.
“Y-yeah it was amazing-you’re so amazing-”
Taehyung clears his throat, in an attempt to save Jimin. But it’s too late. He’s already dug his own grave, he figures what else could possibly happen.
He watches as Jungkook’s cheeks redden, almost matching his beautiful hair before he hides a smile behind his hand.
“Thanks, that means a lot. I was really nervous, but the mermaids are my family.”
Namjoon, the dimpled man, clears his throat awkwardly before he’s clapping Jungkook on the shoulder, “Yeah, well… he means that they’re like his family because we spend so much time with them. You guys should come back sometime, we can give you a tour.”
Jimin watches Hoseok and Namjoon give Jungkook a pointed look before Jungkook turns back to Jimin smiling bashfully.
“Do you want to come see us again?”
-
And that’s how Jimin ends up at the aquarium again next weekend. And the weekend after that. And the weekend that’s after that weekend. And before he knows it, they’ve all become a tight-knit group of friends, going out to bars or out to eat. Something Jimin noticed fast was Jungkook, Namjoon, and Hoseok had really particular dietary needs.
When they went out to drink, alcohol immediately put Jungkook out, causing him to fall instantly asleep on Jimin’s shoulder. And not only that, the three of them refuse to eat seafood. Yoongi and Seokjin were a little less strict on that but stuck to eating red meat otherwise.
It was nice getting a new group of friends that immediately adapted to their life. More often than not, Yoongi and he were going out to eat, or Seokjin was tagging along to his and Taehyung’s shopping dates. Namjoon even invited them on his boat for the next weekend, telling them to feel free to bring whoever they want.
This led Jimin to his next plan. Figuring out if Jungkook was single, and also figuring out if he was interested in men at all.
He knew Seokjin and Taehyung were already skirting the line of finally admitting that they liked each other, it’d only been 2 months and somehow they still couldn’t work up the courage to admit their feelings. Not that Jimin was any better. He resorted to pining from a distance and pretending like his heart wasn’t busting at the seams whenever Jungkook latched on to him for a hug, or to cuddle against him.
Hoseok seemed more interested in getting Jungkook to come out of his shell. But, every time Jimin tried to ask anything about his life, he was instantly watching Jungkook fumble over words and attempting to steer the conversation back to Jimin and his own life.
The problem was, Jimin’s attraction to Jungkook was only more intense than it was when they first met almost 3 months ago now.
Jungkook always tagged along with Hoseok and Yoongi, and if Jimin didn’t already think he was beautiful on the outside, his personality was even more beautiful. Jungkook was thoughtful, generous, and always polite. He always made sure to make everyone feel loved and appreciated, including Jimin, and he was also absolutely hilarious, having Jimin constantly fall onto his broad shoulders in fits of giggles. But still, he only knew the basics of Jungkook. He was from Busan but didn’t speak about his family. He wasn’t in school and was working full-time at the aquarium, he liked comics, drawing, and also was a great dancer. But all of this was surface level. Jimin wanted to know everything about him. It was frustrating being so crazy about someone who barely let him in.
Yoongi kept giving advice to just be patient. Taehyung gave him similar advice but made it a point to push Jungkook and Jimin always next to each other, which wasn’t a problem, they always hovered or gravitated towards one another in any social setting.
But Jimin was getting hopeless. Maybe this was one-sided and completely unrequited. And the thought of that was definitely NOT sending him into a love-sick stupor.
Shaking him out of his thoughts, his phone begins to blare the tune of Sebastian’s, “Under the Sea”, something he never remembers programming into his phone. He almost throws his phone across the room once he sees Jungkook’s name flashing across the screen.
His heart races, too fast for his own liking. Something in his mind tells him he needs to start applying chapstick, and panic-driven he also begins fixing his messy black hair in a frenzy. He ends up finally picking up the call, a little breathless, before croaking out a hi.
“Jimin-ssi? Are you going to Namjoon-hyung’s boat party next weekend?”
Well, this was interesting.
“Oh yeah, I was planning on it. Are… you going too?”
He bites his lip, picking at a stray thread of his frayed denim jeans.
He hears Jungkook breathe out a sigh, almost like a relief, “Yeah I’m gonna go. Can we go together… maybe? You don’t have to say yes, um, I was just wonder-”
“Yes! Yes, we can go-” Jimin squeaks out, embarrassed at how desperate he probably sounds, but he doesn’t care. He is desperate, and unfortunately, he is falling hard for Jungkook.
The sounds of Jungkook’s giggles resonate through the phone, making Jimin smile, hiding his face into his hands. And he is so screwed.
“Okay, I can come to your place before and then we can drive together, is that okay hyung?”
Jimin barely replies with a yes, before they hang up and he’s throwing his phone across the room screaming into his pillow. He lays on his couch for the rest of the night, but all he can picture is Jungkook in his passenger seat, holding hands, fingers intertwined as Jimin whips them to Namjoon’s boat.
-
The boat party is 2 parts success and 5 parts failure. Not only does Jimin get seasick about an hour into it, but Yoongi and Hoseok are so drunk they begin to have a rap battle, as Seokjin makes them all atrociously mixed cocktails, always making sure to serve Taehyung first.
Jungkook stayed at Jimin’s side, his face constantly showing worry for his hyung. And Jimin, well he wanted to get swallowed by a black hole. He’s pretty sure the light brown eyeshadow is smeared off now by how bad he’s sweating, and his loose v-neck t-shirt clings uncomfortably to his body.
The only good part of his time so far was Hoseok getting Jungkook to admit he’s never dated anyone before and has no interest in women. That small victory was overshadowed by a wave that knocked Jimin off his seat and practically into Jungkook’s lap.
“Are you okay hyung?”
Jimin barely is able to raise a weak thumbs-up, waving it awkwardly in front of him before groaning as the wave rocks their boat again.
Jungkook rubs his back, and he must care a great deal about him because he’s not complaining about how sweaty his hand must be from Jimin’s drenched t-shirt.
“Namjoon-hyung, I’ll be right back,” Jungkook exclaims, squeezing Jimin’s shoulder and disappears off towards the side of the boat.
Minutes later, after Taehyung gave him some seltzer, and Seokjin tried to make him laugh to ease his nerves (it somewhat worked), Jungkook reappeared, a victorious smile spread across his face.
“Hyung, come with me.” Jungkook requests, his hand extended towards Jimin.
Jimin willfully takes it and gets pulled off to the side of the boat, where the others can’t see them.
The sunset beautifully paints the sky bright orange, pink clouds are speckled into the horizon, the waves a deep dark blue.
“Look who came to say hi,” Jungkook exclaims gleefully, guiding Jimin to the side of the boat. Jimin peeks over the side, his silver rings clicking against the railing as he leans forward. His breath gets caught in his throat, as his eyes begin to water. He doesn’t know why it gets him so emotional but it does, and he kind of wants to kiss Jungkook. Well he always does, but that’s beside the point.
On the side of the boat, peeking up at Jimin and Jungkook are 3 dolphins, smiling right at them as they begin to swim and dance throughout the water. The water even seems to calm down, and all of it is making Jimin question his sanity because he swears he watched Jungkook communicate telepathically with a dolphin. This motion sickness is really getting to him.
As the sky darkens, Jimin realizes they’ve spent about at least an hour watching the dolphins swim in peaceful silence.
“Jimin-hyung?”
Jimin turns to him, beaming up at Jungkook.
“What’s up Kookie?”
“I want to tell you about my life. But I,” Jungkook sighs, looking out into the sea, his bottom lip caught between his bunny teeth.
Jimin reaches out and squeezes his hand, smiling fondly up at Jungkook.
“Tell me when you’re ready. It’s okay Jungkook-ah.”
Jungkook leans forward, resting his head in his arms against the railing, his head tilted to pout up at Jimin.
“Why are you so nice to me hyung?”
Jimin’s heart speeds up. He feels sweaty all over again. He wants to yell, ‘because I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you’, but the words get caught in his throat.
“I care a lot about you, that’s why.” He shrugs, looking back out at the sea. It’s easier than staring right back into Jungkook’s wide eyes.
“I care about you too, hyung. More than you know.” He mumbles, looking away and back out towards the sea.
They get called back to where they were previously sitting, Namjoon has them all cheer their beers to a lifelong friendship before Jungkook falls asleep immediately on Jimin’s lap. Jimin cards his fingers through Jungkook’s fading cherry hair, the color now a strawberry beachy blonde. He strokes his fingers against the seashell earrings, his fingers stopping at Jungkook’s sharp jawline. And Jungkook is out like a light. He almost forgets that they’re not alone before he hears Namjoon clearing his throat, shaking him out of his own thoughts.
“You really care about him don’t you?” Namjoon asks, leaning forward in his seat.
Jimin doesn’t hesitate to reply a whispered “yes” in return.
“He really likes you, you know that right? He would kill me if he knew I was telling you this. But, our Kook-ah sleeps like a rock.”
Jimin almost passes out.
“What do you mean ‘like’?” He asks, his fingers back in Jungkook’s hair.
“He talks about you all of the time during our shifts; ‘Jimin this, Jimin that’, you’d never know it. But, yeah he thinks the world of you.”
Jimin wants to scream, he wants to wake Jungkook up and pepper kisses all over his face. All he can do instead is continue cuddling Jungkook to his lap, watching him fondly as he continues to sleep.
They take separate cars home, Jungkook originally took an Uber to Jimin’s place so he didn’t have to worry about that. He watched helplessly as a sleepy Jungkook waved a murmured goodbye, and went home with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok. Taehyung and Seokjin were going back to Seokjin’s together, which Jimin definitely needed the details about the first thing, but Jimin couldn’t rest. He could barely turn off the thoughts of his moments on the boat with Jungkook. Or Namjoon’s words.
He wants to know Jungkook’s heart, and he wants nothing more than for Jungkook to be his. But he doesn’t want to put that pressure on him, especially if he’s not ready.
He spends the night dreaming of glittery scales and seawater, but barely remembers it the next morning as he’s moping into his fruit loops. Taehyung sends him a bunch of heart emojis letting him know he was going to get the “tea” of his life later, and Jungkook sent him a selfie of him and one of his dolphin friends from the aquarium cheesing at the camera.
Jimin spends the majority of the day laying in bed, staring at Jungkook’s selfie. And he’s not afraid to admit it. He was whipped. Fully whipped.
His apartment buzzer begins to chime repeatedly, shaking him out of Jungkook driven mope-fest, and he immediately goes to buzz the person in, turning to his wall-length mirror to check himself out, he can’t answer the door looking totally wrecked. He shrugs on a black hoodie, his black hair falling carelessly over his eyes, as he shuffles to the front door.
He waits and waits for what feels like minutes for someone to buzz his apartment door. But nothing comes. He finally peeks out of the little peephole, and his heart instantly melts. From what he can make out, Jungkook is pacing back and forth nervously in front of his door, his strawberry blonde hair passing back and forth through the tiny vision hole.
Jimin falls back lightly against the door, his hands clutching his heart. He’s so nervous, he feels like he’s going to evaporate into the ground.
What is Jungkook doing here? Why is he pacing back and forth in front of his door? Why is nobody making a move right now?
He stands up straight, shaking his shoulders to relieve the tension, before turning and opening the door. He catches Jungkook, mid-knock, his fist raised in the air, but his other arm is concealed behind his back.
“Oh-”
“Jungkook-ah.”
They breathe out at the same time.
Jungkook bashfully smiles his cheeks a bright pink.
“Um, well I’m um-I came here to give you these-here.” He finally breathes out, revealing his other arm which holds a bouquet of lilac, pink, and white roses, the petals still freshly misted and catching the light.
Jimin wants to yell. He knows he probably looks completely foolish right now. The smile on his face is stretched so wide, his eyes are practically closed, but he can’t help it. Jungkook makes him so happy, he’s never felt this way before.
“Hyung,” Jungkook whines, lightly jostling the roses in front of him, “Will you take these? Or you’re just gonna leave me hanging here?”
His pout is so cute, Jimin is dying to kiss the pout off his lips, but instead wordlessly takes the roses, burying his face into the sweet fresh scent of flowers.
“Thank you so much Kookie-ah. This is so sweet, what are these for?” He whispers, looking up at Jungkook, with his bouquet cradled to his chest.
Jungkook awkwardly shifts from foot to foot, his cheeks now a dark pink as he bites his lip.
“Willyougoondatewithme?” He breathes all out at once, avoiding Jimin’s face completely.
“Wait what?” Jimin heard him, he just couldn’t believe he was actually hearing correctly.
“I said,” Jungkook huffs, placing his hands on his hips, “Will you go on a date with me?”
Jimin doesn’t even waste time in practically yelling out a yes in return, making Jungkook practically jump out of his skin.
“What are you doing now? Would you want to eat dinner with me? I made this massive seaweed salad, I doubt it’s good but-”
“Yes, I’ll eat with you hyung.” Jungkook excitedly bounces on the balls of his feet, and finally gets pulled into Jimin’s apartment.
-
Their mini-date was perfect. Jungkook let Jimin feed him some of the seaweed in their salads, causing Jimin to internally gay panic whenever his chopsticks pushed slightly against the plump flesh of Jungkook’s lips, and Jungkook wasn’t any better.
His cheeks were a bright coral pink, his sentences stuttered out as he fought back a smile each time Jimin fed him.
But something was wrong.
Jimin watched as Jungkook began to grow restless, his nose twitching often, and his body becoming jittery. After moments of catching up on Jungkook’s shift at work, Jimin noticed Jungkook’s breath getting heavier, his skin turning a light shade of flushed pink.
“J-Jungkook-ah? Are you okay?” Jimin asks, resting his hand on Jungkook’s warm. His skin is burning hot, and now Jimin is officially worried.
Jungkook barely breathes out a “yes hyung”, before scampering off to the bathroom his breaths heavier with each second.
He hears Jungkook wheeze out a cough, and he nervously googles any and all methods to curing an asthma attack, allergy attack, anything he can find.
What if he kills the love of his life because of some allergic inducing ingredient?
His mom will never let him live this down, especially with her constant pressuring to settle down. What will he tell Taehyung? What will he tell Namjoon? His head spins with all of the worst-case scenarios, his first knocking rapidly at his bathroom door.
“Just a second hyung-“ Jungkook yells, his voice strained. Jimin stomps his foot, he knew how stubborn Jungkook was but this was ridiculous! He could help save his life just like the unspoken egg incident of 2020.
“Jungkookie-ah, is there anything I can help you with?”
Jungkook makes a noise, what sounds like a frustrated whine as he chokes out, “Salt please.”
Jimin sprints to the kitchen grabbing his massive salt container and shoves it through the opened crack Jungkook left through the door.
“Thanks, hyung.”
Jimin notices something weirdly glittery flash on Jungkook’s skin, almost scaly like. He flops back onto his couch, as he waits for Jungkook to finally exit the bathroom. Maybe he was doomed from the start. Jungkook could be with a hot aquatic trainer who didn’t choke on egg sandwiches and almost threw up on boat rides. He could find the love of his life, maybe it isn’t Jimin. That thought doesn’t sit well with him.
He watches Jungkook shuffle out, his hoodie pulled further up his neck, and he’s now given himself sweater paws.
“I-I’m so sorry hyung, I should’ve told you. I’m allergic to seaweed.” He wiggles his nose, before sneezing cutely; flopping next to Jimin on the couch.
Jimin frowns, pulling Jungkook to rest his head on his lap running his fingers through Jungkook’s scalp.
“Why didn’t you tell me that! That entire salad is seaweed and you devoured it.” Jimin whines, his heart racing at the way Jungkook looks up at him.
“I just wanted to eat with you,” He whispers out, his eyes a little hazy. He must be tired, Jimin realizes he worked a 12-hour shift only to come straight to see him and practically confess his feelings for him.
“You’re so silly, but I’m happy you did. Do you want to stay overnight? We can just lay on the couch and you’ll be closer to work tomorrow? I can give you some of my oversized clothes?”
Jungkook giggles cutely, cuddling up further into Jimin’s arms, his head rested perfectly in his lap.
“That’d be nice.” He yawns, snuggling into Jimin’s embrace, his eyes falling closed.
Jimin watches him, his heart squeezing and squeezing repeatedly until he feels like he’s going to burst. He’s never felt this way about anyone before, and his heart wants to melt at the way Jungkook is finally opening up to him. His heart warms up again as he looks over at his beautiful bouquet that Jungkook carefully placed into a vase.
“Hyung, I’m a little dizzy. Can we lay down in your room?”
Jimin brings Jungkook to bed, handing him some baggy sleep clothes he had stored away, and turns around to give him some privacy. Jungkook carelessly changes in front of him almost forgetting the intimacy of it all. But, something catches Jimin’s eye.
He has to hold in a breath as he sees something he must be fully hallucinating. Because if he really acknowledges it… Jungkook has something extremely similar to gills on ribs, and something similar to slight fins on his forearms.
He holds in a breath again. This is too much.
Maybe he just needs to sleep. Maybe his mind is playing tricks on him.
He feels Jungkook tug on the back of his shirt before they both fall into bed laying a good distance apart, but turned towards one another. Jungkook looks so sleepy, and Jimin’s heart aches all the same. He wants to kiss him, he wants to run his fingers through the strawberry blonde strands and tell Jungkook how beautiful he is. It’s all too overwhelming, so he closes his eyes instead.
“Hyung, I have to tell you something,” Jungkook whispers, his fingers coming to pull Jimin closer by the front of his t-shirt. Jimin wiggles closer to him, cautiously wrapping his arm around Jungkook’s waist, and that’s when he feels it. He definitely feels something shift under his arm, like cuts within the skin breathing deep. He should be panicking right now. Instead, he just keeps his eyes closed. Maybe this is all a dream, and that seaweed is making him allergic too.
“You can tell me anything, Jungkookie.”
Jungkook takes a deep breath, before squeezing his eyes shut.
“I’m not from here, I-,” He chokes out, biting his lip nervously.
Jimin opens his eyes, and his heart breaks. Jungkook looks so afraid, so anxious. It’s making him feel that same anxiousness.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to judge you ever Kookie-ah.” He says, barely above a whisper.
“I got kicked out of home 2 years ago. My parents-they… Well, they had this whole marriage arranged for me, to this woman. But, once I told them about my sexuality, I got kicked out of home. Namjoon-hyung and Hobi-hyung found me. B-but, um-aish this is so hard.”
Jimin reaches forward to push back some of the fallen strands of hair that have fallen into Jungkook’s eyes.
“It’s okay, I'm here for you.”
Jungkook sighs, and knocks his forehead against Jimin’s, keeping their head rested together.
“Will you come with me tomorrow to the pier?”
Jimin feels it again, the movement under his arm, and notices something scaly rub against his hip bone. Their legs are interlocked, revealing a patch of skin from Jungkook’s lower waist, it feels soft to touch but also incredibly similar to the scales of a fish. He gulps nervously. Yeah, he should just go to bed.
He opens his eyes again, looking up at Jungkook and nods, “I’d probably go anywhere with you if you asked me to.”
—
The next day is a blur, they spend the day packing lunches and enough snacks for an army because today is finally their first official date. Jungkook ran back home to shower and change, only to return back with multiple dishes he made for them and a portable bluetooth radio.
Jimin is excited. He’s nervous more than anything, but for multiple reasons. He’s nervous because he knows how deep he’s falling for Jungkook, he’s also nervous because he absolutely felt the scales and gills on Jungkook’s body last night. He’s confused because he overheard Jungkook mumbling in his sleep about being a prince under the sea. Jimin chalks it up to their mutual obsession of calling Jungkook, the real-life Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Which in turn would make Jimin, Prince Eric, and no he does not picture them married walking hand in hand as mer-family and real family surround them on the beach. Not at all.
He shoots off a text to Yoongi and Taehyung letting them know about their date, and promises he’ll report back with some news, and even with their praises and encouragement he still feels anxious.
The drive to the pier is silent but otherwise nerve-wracking. Jimin’s palms keep sweating uncontrollably. He's surprised they don’t slide off the steering wheel. He’s so jumpy that he wonders if Jungkook even feels safe being in the car with him at all.
They unpack and spread out their date campsite, a massive beach blanket that spreads beautiful against the soft white sand. They’re close to a wooden dock that extends far into the ocean water, no railing covering the sides.
The heat is unbearable, and Jungkook dutifully rubs sunscreen lotion all over Jimin’s shoulders and back, playfully swiping his nose with a soft, “cute”, as he mumbles under his breath. They fall into an easy banter, sharing snacks and talking about Taehyung and Seokjin’s relationship, expressing how happy they are for their best friends.
As the sun goes down, Jimin’s head remains in Jungkook’s lap and they look out to the glittering sea. The air is warm, full of salty air making Jimin feel at peace, even if his heart is racing at the proximity to Jungkook.
“Jimin-hyung. I have something to show you. But, I want to tell you something first.”
Jimin looks up at Jungkook and reaches up, his tiny fingers rub against the soft skin of Jungkook’s flushed cheeks.
“Tell me Kookie.”
Jungkook takes a deep breath and looks out at the sea before back down to Jimin.
“I told you I’m not from here. But, I’m um, I’m from a palace… underwater. I was born a prince and grew up not knowing what it felt like to be above water. Literally.” He pauses looking down at Jimin, who remains still, smiling up at him to give a signal to continue.
“Okay-um. I got kicked out once I rebelled and said I wouldn’t marry anyone they chose for me, because even somehow under the sea they still aren’t accepting of different sexualities,” He pauses to release a shaky breath, before squeezing Jimin’s hand and clears his throat, “Where I’m from we all have soulmates. I never believed I had one, and I definitely didn’t think I had one from where I was born. Until I met you,” He swallows, biting his bottom lip.
Jimin can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. His eyes almost close, as he hides his blushing cheeks with his hands.
Jimin sits up, twisting his body towards Jungkook, who continues to nervously bite at his bottom lip.
“Jungkook-ah, I think I’ve loved you ever since I first saw you.”
The silence that follows usually would make Jimin run for the hills. But Jungkook smiles so beautifully at him, his wide brown eyes misty with emotion, and Jimin’s never felt happier.
“I think I have too, I love you Jimin-hyung.”
Jimin sighs, leaning his forehead against Jungkook’s, his hands resting against Jungkook’s chest.
“I love you too Jungkook-ah.” He finally admits, a massive weight being lifted off of his shoulders.
He doesn’t even care if this is insanity if Jungkook is a mermaid prince. He wants to be with him, and he’ll make it work however he can. But, there’s one last thing.
“Jungkook-ah. Will you show me?”
Jungkook straightens up and stretches his arms above his head before pulling Jimin up with him. They walk hand in hand to the pier, the beach empty completely.
Jungkook giggles as he instructs Jimin to turn around as he strips before he hears a splash. He stands still looking over at the parking lot where seagulls fly lazily above, his black Hyundai staring right back at him.
He hears a couple more splashes before Jungkook calls out for him.
“Hyung, you can look now.”
Jimin hears the nervousness in his tone. He feels it too.
He finally turns around and sits at the ledge of the dock, his eyes finally landing on Jungkook.
And Jungkook. Well, he’s gorgeous.
His strawberry hair is pushed back off his face, and his shoulders and arms glitter with beautiful shades of various blue barely there scales. They catch against the sunlight gleaming against the water, but finally, Jimin’s eyes land on the massive mermaid tail that sways through the water. He catches sight of the gills on his ribs, the fins on his forearms. His breath feels like it’s truly been taken away.
Jungkook is the most beautiful person (well merman) he’s ever seen in his life.
“Jungkook-ah,” He breathes out, noticing how the sharp dip of Jungkook’s v-line blends into a gorgeous tail, the layers of purple, lilac, teal, and even turquoise blue scales reflect against the water.
Jungkook swims up to the dock, and Jimin is mesmerized completely. He’s perfect.
He pushes himself up by his palms, Jimin’s body caged in between his arms and looks up at Jimin wide-eyed, and shy.
“Are you okay, hyung?” He whispers, the water sliding in glittering droplets over his tan skin.
Jimin cups Jungkook’s face between his palms, and tilts his head down to hover his lips in front of Jungkook’s.
“Can I kiss you now?”
Jungkook breathes deep, nodding softly, before letting his eyes flutter closed.
Jimin presses a soft kiss to the side of Jungkook’s mouth, before pressing his lips to Jungkook’s nose, his forehead, to his cheeks. Jungkook pouts, his eyes squeezed shut, as his cheeks darken a beautiful pink against his tanned skin.
Finally, Jimin locks his lips with Jungkook’s, they share soft and sweet kisses, just slow pecks so that their lips slide against one another’s. Jimin can taste the sea salt, the plush warmth of Jungkook’s lips are making him dizzy, and he’s never felt more in love. He wishes he could swim with Jungkook, he almost wishes he had a tail too.
They finally pull apart after sharing sweet kisses back and forth, as Jungkook chases his lips for one last kiss, before pulling back and gazing up at Jimin.
“You are so beautiful Jungkook-ah,” Jimin whispers, his fingers caressing the soft skin of Jungkook’s cheeks.
Jungkook whines, his cheeks back to a dark flush, but Jimin can’t stop his own words. He’s too deep into his feelings for Jungkook.
“I love you. I want to be with you, you’re just everything to me Jungkook-ah, you’re so so beautiful inside and out.”
Jungkook buries his head into Jimin’s lap, too embarrassed to look at Jimin, but what Jimin can make out is, “I love you too, so much.”
Jungkook carefully flips his tail up at Jimin, giggling at the way he eyed his tail, the water splashing lightly at him.
“Can I touch it?”
He doesn’t know how this works. Do they feel anything on their tail? How many mermaids are there? His head spins with the possibilities. He wants to be a prince with Jungkook, where they can rule over a palace together.
“Of course hyung.”
He leans back, flipping his tail up, and Jimin ignores the way Jungkook’s perfectly defined abs clench, the water falling in ripples over the hard defined muscle. His tail is gorgeous, the scales all reflect color against the now fading sunlight, and Jimin feels so overwhelmed with emotion.
“Pretty,” Jimin whispers out, as his fingers stroke the feathered blue tail at the end of his scales. Jungkook giggles again, before flipping back onto his front and pulls himself back up onto his forearms.
“Will you be my boyfriend, Jimin-hyung?”
He pouts and whines, squeezing Jungkook’s cheeks between his tiny hands.
“I was going to ask you first, why are you such a brat?” He teases, melting at the way Jungkook nuzzles into his touch.
“So is that a yes?”
“Of course it's a yes.”
Jimin pulls him back in for a kiss, their lips sliding slowly together. His heart feels bliss, this feels perfect.
Nothing could ever top this moment.
—
Jimin never thought he’d own a boat, but somehow Namjoon talked him into it 2 years into his and Jungkook’s relationship.
They finally moved in together, right next to Taehyung and Seokjin (who were now engaged!), and their bond as a group grew closer and closer as the years went on.
Hoseok and Yoongi partnered with Namjoon to open their own wildlife conservatory, and Jungkook continued to work with Seokjin at their newly successful endeavor.
Jimin was fully invested in planning Taehyung’s wedding with Yoongi and gained a promotion at his job earning him a hefty new salary. Which is why he decides to surprise Jungkook.
They drive silently, their hands interlocked in the middle as Jimin drives them to the pier. Except for this time, Namjoon’s boat and another brand new white yacht gleamed in the sunlight. Jungkook grabs Jimin’s hands and spins around to face him.
“What is that? Is that your boat baby? Is this my surprise?”
Jimin practically melts watching Jungkook bounce with excitement. His heart feels full as he watches Jungkook look gleefully back at the boat, his smile infectious.
“It’s for you, it’s for us. Now I can take you out to the sea whenever you miss it.”
Jungkook’s eyes begin to mist before Jimin watches as tears spill out. He almost panics before Jungkook is throwing his body into Jimin, and begins to pepper kisses all over his cheeks and face.
“I love you so much,” Jungkook breathes out, his beautiful newly dyed black hair flows in the soft breeze.
Jimin feels like he’s melting.
They spend the rest of the day on the boat, Jimin finally manages to not kill them and drives them out far enough where they’re isolated before he turns to Jungkook, “I brought you here so you can be free, you can swim in all your beautiful merman glory.”
Jungkook giggles, bringing Jimin in for a tight embrace, his head resting against Jimin’s, as they look out to the bright blue sky. Jimin thinks back to the time where he didn’t know anything about Jungkook, he remembers when he first saw him at the aquarium, the bouquet Jungkook brought him, the moments they hung out as two best friends pining over one another, and squeezes the black box that is wedged tightly in his jeans pocket. He pulls back to look up at Jungkook, their bodies warm, melted together. He smiles up at his boyfriend, and cups his cheek pulling him in for a kiss.
Someday, they’d have their own under the sea palace themed wedding, and they’d eventually go on to adopt kids who would play on the beach and swim with their merman daddy. But for right now, this moment looking out at the sea with the love of his life is all that matters.