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“Jimin, no.”
“C’mon hyung, I have the best idea!” Jimin whines over the phone.
“Christmas was embarrassing enough, and that was for work. I’m not going to dress up for any other reason.” Yoongi argues.
“What do you mean? You looked cute, hyung!”
Yoongi can’t help but blush at the compliment.
“And you only have to wear a special t-shirt. You can wear a jacket over it on the subway.”
“Only a t-shirt, you say.” Yoongi’s resolve is waning.
“Yes, I promise!” Jimin is getting excited. “Taehyung threw the best Valentine’s Day party last year! It’s gonna be so much fun.”
Yoongi thinks about the unlikely friendship they formed at the ER on Christmas Eve. Jimin came to their Christmas gathering in crunches, but with a big smile, and hand-drawn cards for each of them. “I didn’t have time to buy presents for you all, but I have some leftover art supplies at home. I hope you like them.”
For Namjoon and Hobi, he drew a Christmas tree and Santa with Rudolph respectively. For Yoongi, he drew a cartoon version of him in the candy cane outfit, and wrote the following message inside.
“Dear Yoongi-hyung
Thank you for inviting me to your Christmas party.
You’re just as sweet as your outfit yesterday ^_^
Jimin xoxo”
Jimin’s warm personality and charm won Namjoon and Hobi over instantly, and Yoongi found himself at ease on Christmas day.
After lots of fried chicken and way too much soju, they watched Home Alone on the sofa. Half way through the movie, Jimin fell asleep with his head resting on Yoongi’s shoulder. Namjoon and Hobi proceeded to tease Yoongi endlessly about his “cute/hot new boyfriend”. Yoongi was too tipsy to be bothered by it.
Jimin quickly became part of Yoongi’s life. Yoongi woke up to Jimin’s “Good morning hyung” texts, and they caught up for quick bites at cafes and study evenings at Yoongi’s place after winter break. Jimin is funny, a bit dramatic, but he gets Yoongi’s dark sense of humour, and gives it as good as he gets.
The teasing from Namjoon and Hobi continued unabated after Christmas. Yoongi deflected them to the best of his ability, but he would be lying if he didn’t think of being more than friends with Jimin. He was like the sun on a winter’s day, melting away the snow that Yoongi used to keep others at bay. And sometimes it was hard for Yoongi to concentrate on their conversations when Jimin looked at him with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. Those luscious lips haunted Yoongi’s dreams.
They’ve only known each other for six weeks, and Yoongi doesn’t know how Jimin feels, so he’s content to hang out for now.
“I’ll meet you at your place at 7pm, OK? The party starts at 8pm, we’ll have plenty of time to get there.” Yoongi can almost hear Jimin’s smile.
“Sure thing, Jimin. See you then.”
It’s 6:50pm on Valentine’s Day, and Yoongi is pacing around his apartment. Hobi was over earlier in the day to make sure Yoongi was in “tip-top condition on the most romantic day of the year”. He picked out the tightest black jeans from Yoongi's wardrobe (“They show off your shapely ass!”) and insisted on make-up. Yoongi reluctantly agreed to soft brown eyeshadow and a merlot-shade lip gloss.
Yoongi looks at the mirror again. He looks strange … but in a good way? He doesn’t know how Jimin will react to this. It occurs to him that he has no idea what their outfits are going to be. He tried to pry it out of Jimin over the past week, but he remained tight-lipped.
At precisely 7pm, he hears a buzz from the intercom. He lets Jimin into the building and waits for him with his door half opened.
Jimin soon comes out of the elevator with a big duffel bag and … bright pink hair. “Surprise!” he beams. “What do you think, Yoongi-hyung?”
“It suits you, Jimin.” Yoongi grins.
“I coloured it especially for the party tonight! To match the costume.”
Jimin is in a long black puffer coat and dark blue jeans. He must have his outfit in the bag.
“Wow, hyung, do you have make-up on?” Jimin walks closer to Yoongi to examine. “I didn’t know you have any!”
“Hobi wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Yoongi is suddenly self-conscious.
“He did a great job. The eyeshadow accentuates your eyes, and the wine-coloured lip gloss is just the right shade for you. You look good, hyung.”
Yoongi wishes his skin isn’t so pale. He’s sure his face is the colour of tomato now.
“Errrr ... do you have my t-shirt?” Yoongi is relieved to come up with a different topic.
“Oh yeah! Please give me a moment.” Jimin puts his bag on Yoongi’s sofa. He takes out what appears to be a white t-shirt and holds it up for Yoongi to see. There are three red concentric circles printed on the top left.
“Is that a target? Am I the prey?” Yoongi is confused.
“Don’t think too hard, hyung! Just put it on.” Jimin pushes Yoongi towards his bedroom.
Once the door is closed, Yoongi looks at the t-shirt in detail. The circles are screen printed by hand - so Jimin made it himself. He’s a second-year Education student at SNU. He told Yoongi on one of their coffee catch-ups that he wants to be a high school art teacher. He’s certainly good with paint and colour-pencils.
Yoongi puts on the t-shirt quickly and it’s a perfect fit. His shoulders are broader than Jimin’s, so Jimin must have bought it with his body shape in mind. Yoongi smiles - Jimin is observant and thoughtful.
He grabs his leather jacket and a scarf from the bed and heads back into the living room.
“You ready to go, hyung?” Jimin asks sweetly.
“You’re not getting changed?” Yoongi is confused again.
“My costume is a bit more … elaborate. I’ll change when I get to Tae’s.” Jimin looks down at his shoes. Yoongi is even more curious about his outfit now.
“Is it OK if we leave now? I wanna grab a coffee before we catch the subway.”
Yoongi nods and walks towards the front door.
They get off the subway at Gangnam station, and Jimin leads Yoongi to a luxurious apartment complex.
“Your friend lives here?” Yoongi gawks at the building.
“No, Tae lives on campus. This is his parents' home. They’re skiing in Europe right now.” Jimin says as he enters a code on the intercom.
Yoongi has never been invited to such a fancy home. They walk past the concierge desk before entering the lift. The whole place looks like a 5-star hotel.
“Tae’s parents own one of the biggest art auction houses in South Korea. They travel around the world to visit galleries and prospective sellers. Tae is studying art himself, his watercolours are incredible! You’ll see one in the dining room.” Jimin gushes.
Yoongi wonders how close Jimin and Taehyung are.
Soon they’re at the front door. Jimin presses the doorbell, buzzing with excitement.
A tall man with soft curls opens the door. “Jiminie! You’re here early!” He envelopes Jimin with a bear hug.
When Jimin is finally free from the man’s embrace, he steps backwards and puts his hand on Yoongi’s shoulder. “Tae, this is Min Yoongi. Yoongi-hyung, this is Kim Taehyung.”
“Welcome, Yoongi-ssi, I’ve heard so much about you from Jiminie!” Taehyung extends his hand. Yoongi notices that he’s wearing a toga.
“Thanks for inviting me, Taehyung-ssi.” Yoongi gives Taehyung a firm handshake.
“Please call me Tae! I’ve wanted to meet you since I got back from Christmas break. Thank you for looking after Jiminie after he sprained his ankle. I offered to come back to Seoul after his phone call, but he said he met a cute guy at the hospital. I see he’s right!” Taehyung winks.
“I said no such thing, Tae!” Jimin pouts, a dust of pink on his cheeks. “Where’s Kookie? I need some help with the costume.”
“He’s in the kitchen, please tell him not to put too much vodka in the punch!” Taehyung laughs.
“Thanks Tae! Please keep Yoongi-hyung company. I’ll be back soon!” Jimin says as he heads towards the kitchen.
Taehyung offers Yoongi a smile and guides him to the dining room. “Thank you again, Yoongi-ssi. I’m so glad Jimin made a new friend. He works way too hard, with his degree and volunteer work at the nursing home. He rarely goes out, and I worry about him sometimes. He told me how you two met, and that you guys have been hanging out. I can tell he’s very comfortable with you.”
Yoongi doesn’t know about his volunteer work. Jimin really has a heart of gold.
“He’s easy to get along with.” Yoongi says as he grabs a beer from the dining table.
“He is, isn’t he? Such a sweet and kind-hearted guy. Whoever gets to date him will be in for a treat.” Tae takes a Chilsung cider for himself.
Yoongi files the information away.
“Do you want a quick tour of my parents' place? Jimin told me you’re into photography. There are some excellent works by Lee Jungjin in the study.”
“Sounds good, Tae.”
Yoongi is discussing contemporary South Korean art with Taehyung in the living room when he hears a door open. He follows the sound and sees Jimin in his costume. He has to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor.
Jimin is the most beautiful cupid Yoongi has ever seen.
Yoongi doesn’t know where to look. The glittery eye-makeup? The glossy pink lips? The barely-there singlet showing off his abs? The tiny golden bow and arrow set he’s holding? The soft feathery wings on his back? Or the pale pink shorts that leave nothing to the imagination?
“Oh my goodness Jiminie, you look incredible! Let me grab my camera.” Tae dashes off, leaving Jimin and Yoongi alone.
“See hyung, I’m cupid and you’re my next target. It works, right?” Jimin says shyly.
Yoongi tries to reply but his throat is dry.
“You don’t like it?” Jimin looks crestfallen.
Yoongi shakes his head.
“Then why do you look like this?”
“I …. I.” Yoongi cannot speak. He hates to see Jimin sad.
Yoongi takes a deep breath and proceeds to do the only thing he can think of - he walks towards Jimin, grabs the arrow off his hand and points it at the bullseye on his t-shirt.
A smile slowly appears on Jimin’s face, and Yoongi relaxes.
“You took my breath away, Jimin-ah.” Yoongi finally says.
“You mean it, hyung?” Jimin’s eyes are sparkling.
“See this arrow? It went straight into my heart.” Yoongi can’t help but grin.
“Well, that’s the cupid’s job ...” Jimin is fidgeting with the little bow.
Yoongi doesn’t know where he found the courage, but he drops the arrow, takes the bow off Jimin’s hands, and put Jimin’s small hands inside his.
“Can a cupid fall in love?” Yoongi asks.
“I guess?” Jimin is staring at their hands.
“That’s good.”
“Why?”
"Because I want to ask this gorgeous cupid a question."
Jimin looks up expectantly.
“Park Jimin, will you be my Valentine?”
Before Jimin can respond, Yoongi is blinded by a bright light to his left.
“I’ve got the perfect shot!” Taehyung exclaims.
Jimin turns to his right and glares at his friend. “Kim Tae Hyung.”
“Whoops! I’m going. Don’t forget to use protection, Jiminie!”
Yoongi looks back at Jimin as Taehyung waltzes off. Jimin is quiet and his cheeks are almost as pink as his lip gloss. Yoongi gives him as much time as he needs.
After a few moments of silence, Jimin leans over and plants a soft kiss on Yoongi’s cheek.
“My heart has been yours since Christmas Eve, Yoongi-hyung.”
Yoongi’s heart explodes in joy at the response. He quickly returns the cheek kiss, then whispers in Jimin’s ear. “Come back to my place, sweetheart?”
Yoongi feels the rise of Jimin’s cheek as he nods.
“Let me go and get change. Wait for me please, hyung?” Jimin whispers back.
After Jimin walks off, Yoongi silently thanks the kid who kicked him in the groin on Christmas Eve.
As for Jimin, he's happy to spend a lifetime waiting.