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It was all Namjoon’s fault.
Really, it wasn’t empty blame. Seokjin could have gone his whole life without knowing anything about his DNA. He knew he was mostly, if not fully, Korean. He knew about his characteristics. He knew about the diseases in his family (or, well, his mother’s side). So, really, it was mostly a waste of money for him to do an ancestry and health test.
But Namjoon had been really excited about it, so everyone (except for Jimin, who apparently had taken it with a different company some years prior at his brother’s petition) decided to indulge him. All in all, it was kind of fun. They all spit on a tube, weeks later they all sat and compared results (to no one’s surprise, they all were very much Korean. Not the first time Seokjin wasted money to make one of his friends happy) while drinking, and just spent the night chatting. Once it was late enough for everyone to go their way (because like hell they were going to stay up so late. They valued sleeping way too much for that), Seokjin and Jimin remained in the kitchen, getting everything clean so they didn't have a mess in the morning.
"We had a lot of fun, didn't we, hyung?" Asked Jimin, drying the glasses Seokjin was handing him.
"It was. I barely regret spending all that money to know how Korean I am." Jimin snorted, putting the glass away and ditching the towel in his hand, wrapping his arms around Seokjin and hugging him instead.
"Back when I took it they didn't have that many results. I remember what I got, but I don't think it was as detailed."
Seokjin hummed, closing the water from the sink and patting his hand dry. He turned around, ruffling Jimin's hair. "You could have done the test with us, you know? It's not like it would have been that bad."
Jimin shrugged. "I don't think it was necessary."
"Fair enough." Seokjin sighed. "Now, let's go to bed. I want to rest as much as I can and you're terrible waking up in the morning."
Jimin pouted, looking at Seokjin with his sad puppy eyes. "Will you make breakfast tomorrow?"
Seokjin giggled, pressing a short kiss against Jimin's lips. "I knew you married me for my cooking skills."
"I mean, I did not not marry you for them." Jimin stepped back, opening the way for both of them to get out of the kitchen. "It's just that I really love the way you cook. Especially when I don't have to do anything."
Seokjin shook his head, feeling the fond tingle in his hand as Jimin took his arm and "guided" (read, dragged) him to their bedroom. The conversation kind of died there, both of them feeling the tiredness from their reunion washing over them. Before Seokjin even noticed, he had a sleepy Jimin pressed against his back, trapping him in a hug.
But Seokjin, despite how exhausted he felt, could not sleep.
It wasn't the first time it happened. Sometimes, especially after drinking, he tended to show a bit of insomnia. He knew that as he sobered up he would be able to sleep. It would just take at least an hour. Still, he didn't want to wait there doing nothing. Instead, he did his best not to wake up his husband and picked up his phone, trying to find something to entertain himself with.
It was nearly two hours later, as his eyes felt heavier and heavier by the second, that he noticed a small headline on the bottom of his screen. He recognized the name of the company where, curiously enough, he had gotten his DNA tested.
«Do you want to find all the family members you never got to meet? We now offer a feature that shows who you are related with as long as the other person's DNA is in our database or registered in one of our partners’ ones!. Try it, and you can also get a detailed breakdown of your ancestry and your health! For only...»
Seokjin blinked, surprised.
Besides his brother and mother, Seokjin didn't particularly know much about his family. It wasn't that he hated them, no. He very much loved his family. It was just that his mother had been an only child, and he didn't know his father, so his family was just pretty... small.
«Do you want to find all the family members you never got to meet?»
Why not? He asked himself, before clicking on the link and being redirected to the company website. If he was going to stay awake all night, at least he was going to potentially find something new about himself. He quickly logged in on his account, looking where the feature was. Sure enough, there was a map of the world, small bubbles all over the place. He went over some of them, first the ones that were far away. He had a second cousin twice removed in California, another cousin in Brazil. Unsurprisingly, the most matches were in Korea, with a total of three.
The first one was marked in Busan, which almost made him want to wake up Jimin to tell him and joke how they could be related. That would be hilarious, he thought. But as soon as he clicked on the bubbles, he felt like someone had punched him in the face. He recognized the name.
Park Jihyun, 35 years old
Busan, Republic of Korea
Half-brother.
It must be a coincidence, he thought, feeling a small chill on his skin. There are many Park Jihyuns in Busan. There is no way that this is the same Jihyun that is Jimin's brother. This must be just another kid my father had.
He clicked on the next bubble.
Park Jaehee, 22 years old
Busan, Republic of Korea
Third cousin.
Seokjin felt himself relax, chuckling a bit. Ah, I'm too old to be having these heart attacks. Jimin would tease me to no end if he knew what thoughts I get sometimes. He proceeded to click on the last bubble which, oddly enough, was in Seoul.
And then he felt his heart stop.
Park Jimin, 37 years old
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Half-Brother.
The first thing he did was to go to his preferences and put his own profile in private, which he knew meant no one else could see any potential matches to his DNA. Then he turns off his phone, leaving it on his side. He looked at the ceiling, hearing the small snores Jimin let out.
The snores his potential half-brother husband let out.
Seokjin did not sleep that night.
The first thing Seokjin did the following day was getting Jimin's computer.
The good thing about his husband was that, after twelve years of marriage, and some extra four years as boyfriends, Jimin was quite predictable. That's why it took Seokjin no time to guess his password for the ancestry website. He immediately went to the family section, looking to who he was related to.
Jimin had more matches than him, but four, in particular, captured Seokjin's interest.
One in New York.
One in Brazil.
Two in Busan.
Park Jaehee.
Park Jihyun, 35 years old.
Brother.
Seokjin closed the tab, erasing the history of his activities, and turned off the computer. Then, he went to the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
Breakfast for his dearest.
He tried to repress the nauseating feeling in his stomach.
He met Jimin when he was twenty years old.
Back then Seokjin wasn’t looking for the love of his life. Actually, quite the opposite. Sure, he was never against dating, but when at that age in which life is made up of just classes and jobs, there isn’t a lot of opportunities to form relationships. In his mind, social life was something he could aspire to have once he had his life together, which he knew wouldn’t happen in a long, long time.
This was why, when he met Jimin at one of his side jobs, he doesn’t think of him in any special way.
Jimin, at the time just seventeen years old, was one of two high school students that worked in the same tutoring center like him. It wasn’t anything special, Seokjin mostly helped small kids, but he enjoyed it quite a lot. Jimin did too.
Jimin also enjoyed talking to him. A lot.
Hyung, how are things in your major?
Hyung, do you wanna go for a meal after this?
Hyung, you won’t guess what happened today!
In all honesty, Seokjin didn’t mind entertaining the high schooler. Even three years younger, Seokjin had found they had a lot of things in common, never running out of things to talk about. It didn’t matter if it was a simple as his favorite show, or as intricate as his advanced math class (which, Seokjin found out, Jimin actually could help him with a bit). Seokjin could always find something to say to him.
It got to a point in which Seokjin’s highlight of the day was the small conversation he got with him, and the beautiful smile Jimin always gave him in response.
It was only natural for him to end up falling a bit in love with Jimin every single day.
He also felt terribly guilty about it.
Yah, what kind of creepy guy are you, Seokjin? He’s literally still a kid.
Now, realistically, Seokjin knew three years wasn’t such a huge age gap. He could think of at least a couple of his friends that were in relationships with that same age difference. But it still felt wrong, mostly because he and Jimin were at such different points in life.
At least that was what Seokjin thought.
Jimin had different ideas.
Seokjin felt the chair beside him move, Jimin’s blinding smile in his peripheral view. Seokjin turned, already matching the smile.
“Hyung~ I’ve missed you!”
“You saw me three days ago.” Seokjin chuckled. “And you messaged me every single one of those days. I don’t think there’s much to miss.”
A pout formed on Jimin’s lips. “Still missed you. It’s not the same as talking to you face-to-face.”
“Aish, don’t be like that.” But Jimin’s pout just became more prominent.
And Seokjin was a weak man.
He sighed, before putting on a smile and touching Jimin’s shoulder. “I missed you too.”
Jimin’s lips immediately curved into a smile, and Seokjin couldn’t help but think that, perhaps, it wasn’t that bad to indulge a little bit into being closer to him.
As soon as the thought crossed his head Seokjin smacked himself. Jimin looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
“Why did you hit yourself?”
“No reason,” Seokjin replied immediately. Then, he put a respectful distance between them. “So, how are you preparing for the college entrance exam?”
Jimin pressed his lips together, but gave in to Seokjin’s new topic. “Everything alright so far. I’ve been thinking that… maybe you can give me some pointers? You know,” he closed the distance again, “since you already went through it.”
Seokjin faked a laugh. “You’re so funny, Jimin-ah. You literally are helping me with some of my classes.”
“Still. What do you think of going to a cafe someday and going over some parts?” Then, as if thinking what he was saying, Jimin paused. “If you want to help me, of course. It’s fine if you don’t have time to entertain a high school student, after all.”
And fuck if Jimin didn’t know how to make him cave in and do whatever he wanted.
I can’t help you, I’m sorry, Seokjin wanted to say.
“Hyung will help,” he replied instead.
Jimin smiled at him. And Seokjin smacked himself again.
He was too focused on Jimin’s pretty lips to notice it was more of a smirk than a smile.
The thing about finding out your husband is very, very likely to be your half-brother is that Seokjin had no idea what to do with the information.
Did he tell his family? Was he supposed to legally inform anyone about it? Did it mean his marriage would be nullified?
And, fuck, how the hell was he supposed to tell Jimin all of this?
“Geez, hyung. You look like someone died.”
Seokjin looked up, not even surprised to see Taehyung in his living room.
Seokjin had known of Taehyung for way longer than he actually had known him. Back when Jimin was still in high school and not-so-subtly trying to get Seokjin to date him, he constantly had talked about Taehyung all the time.
Seokjin didn’t want to admit it, but he had been more than jealous at the time. Then, at Jimin’s graduation (“You’ll come to my graduation, right, hyung?” Seokjin couldn’t have said no), he had met Taehyung, and then he understood why Jimin talked so fondly of his best friend.
Back then, Taehyung had been a ball of energetic goofiness that could charm anyone within seconds, and Seokjin hasn’t been immune to that. Jimin had always joked how even though it took years for him to convince him to go on a date, had Taehyung been the one trying, he would had gotten into Seokjin pants way earlier.
And really, Seokjin had never been able to say it was a wrong assumption. Sure, their personalities had more than crashed over the years. He remembers one fight in particular that ended with them so angry Taehyung had managed to avoid Seokjin for a whole week, even though they were living in the same place. But they had always been able to fix any bad energy between them. Most of the time, a simple hyung accompanied with puppy eyes had been more than enough for him to just say yes to whatever Taehyung wanted. Without any doubt, Seokjin could say that if Taehyung had tried, he could have had Seokjin wrapped around his fingers the first month they had met.
But he never did. Jimin was the one pursuing him.
Sometimes, Seokjin wondered if that hadn’t been one of the reasons Taehyung never tried.
“Taehyung-ah, you hurt me. You should tell me I’m handsome, not that I look bad.”
Taehyung hummed, sitting right next to Seokjin.
With the years, Taehyung had lost a lot of that youthful goofiness. He was still as charming, if not more, and still had his inner child intact. He just didn’t show it as openly as before. There were times that Seokjin missed the young Taehyung.
Then he took a view to the man Taehyung was today and decided that no. He very much loved the Taehyung of today.
(Platonically, of course. Because not only he was one of Taehyung’s best friends, but he was literally married to Taehyung’s self-proclaimed soulmate, and he wasn’t delusional enough to think either Jimin or Taehyung would pick him over each other)
(Once, before he and Jimin had started dating, Seokjin had asked Jimin why he and Taehyung weren’t together.
“We’re together in all ways that we want to be, hyung,” he had answered. “The moment that changes, we’ll change our relationship as well.”)
(“But, have you been together?”
Jimin always gave him a smile as an answer. Eventually, Seokjin had stopped asking.)
“You already know you’re the most handsome of us all, hyung. You don’t need me to stroke your ego.”
“I like my ego stroked, thank you very much.”
Taehyung snorted, before putting his arms around Seokjin.
Seokjin hummed.
5
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1
“So, are you going to tell me why you were looking like that?”
Seokjin let out an exaggerated groan. “I thought me had established I looked handsome.”
“You absolutely do. Everything seemed like straight out of an angsty webtoon. But that wasn’t what I asked.”
Ah, to talk, or not to talk. That was the dilemma.
On one hand, if he told Taehyung, Seokjin would have someone to share all the weight with. On the other, there was no way Seokjin could stop Taehyung from telling Jimin about what was going on.
“If I tell you, you have to promise me you won’t tell Jimin a word of it.”
Taehyung’s eyes were unreadable. And that was why he hated telling him any secrets. He was never sure what he was thinking…
“You can one-hundred-percent trust me, hyung.”
… or if he was lying.
Seokjin squinted, totally not trusting him. Taehyung raised his arms while pouting. His puppy eyes were bigger than usual.
And fuck, you would think that after so many years, Seokjin would be immune to those tactics. And yet…
“Fine,” Seokjin caved in. “Just… promise you won’t freak out either.”
Taehyung nodded. Now, it was the time when Seokjin told him what was going on.
But how the fuck was Seokjin supposed to tell him? That was literally the origin of all his pro—
“Hyung,” Taehyung said, grabbing Seokjin’s hand and squeezing it. “Breathe.”
Yes. Breathing. Seokjin could do that.
He took a sharp breath. Might as well rip the bandaid.
“Jimin and I are brothers.” He paused. “Well, half-brothers.”
To Taehyung’s credit, he didn’t do as much as blink. He just nodded, as if Seokjin hadn’t just dropped a bomb on him. “Go on.”
“Yeah, okay.” Seokjin nodded. “I… I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know before. I only found out a week ago, after we did that stupid DNA test. It showed me who I was related to, and… Jimin and Jihyun appeared as matches.”
Taehyung nodded, understanding. “So, why the long face?”
“What do you mean why?” Seokjin blinked. “We literally have the same father.”
“Father you never met, and who died before you even met Jimin. You know, over two decades ago.” Taehyung shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like you got married to him while knowing, and you can’t have biological kids together, so what’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“What’s the worst— are you even hearing yourself right now?”
“What you just found out won’t change that he’s the love of your life.” Taehyung frowned, and Seokjin physically felt the moment the whole mood shifted.
Seokjin gulped. There were a few tense seconds in which neither of them said anything, before Taehyung smiled again. But it wasn’t his normal smile, it felt…
“Because my Jiminie is still the love of your life, right?”
… off.
“Yes, of course,” Seokjin immediately assured him. He saw how Taehyung relaxed, resting his head on Seokjin’s shoulder.
“Good.”
Seokjin felt like he had dodged a bullet.
“So…” he continued. “How do I tell him.”
Taehyung shrugged. “Just do it.”
As if.
Seokjin sighed, covering his face with his hands. “You’re really unhelpful, you know?”
Taehyung chuckled. “And yet, you still love me.”
Yes, Seokjin thought. I do.
“Jimin-ah.”
“Yes, Taehyung-ah?”
“Well…”
“Hyung,” Jimin whined, “go on a date with me.”
“I don’t date people who haven’t graduated from college yet.”
It wasn’t the first time Jimin had asked him on a date in the three years they had known each other. Geez, it wasn’t even the first time that week he had been asked out. It had become somewhat of a routine (or a recurrent joke, if you asked Yoongi) for Jimin to ask him out.
It all started about a month before Jimin’s high school graduation. Seokjin had taken him out to eat, just a celebration for the end of the school year, when Jimin had asked him if it was a date.
“A date?” Seokjin had repeated, taken by surprise.
Jimin nodded. “We do this every other day. We go out to eat, talk for hours, you refuse to let me pay, and then you walk me to the bus stop or you drive me home.” He gave him a cheeky smile. “Sound awfully like dates to me.”
“Those weren’t dates,” Seokjin said, slightly out of breath. “Those— those were friendly outings. Because we’re friends. And friends hang out.”
The exaggerated emphasis made Jimin raise his eyebrows higher each time. “Friends, huh? Does that mean you don’t find me dateable?”
“No— I mean yes, but no.” Get it together, Kim Seokjin. “You are very dateable. Total boyfriend material.” That made Jimin look smug. “But I do not want to date you.”
Which wasn’t technically a lie. Jimin was a really intelligent, kind, and beautiful human being. Anyone in the world would be lucky to even be around him. Seokjin would be lucky to date him.
Someday, he wanted to. But it wasn’t something he could do yet.
Jimin’s smile had completely disappeared, his face void of emotions. “You don’t want to date me?”
“Jimin-ah…” his apologetic tone wasn’t helping, he knew that, but he couldn’t help it. “You’re an amazing person, and you deserve only the best partner you wished to have.” Seokjin tried giving him the best smile he could form. “But you’re only seventeen. You haven’t even finished high school yet.”
“My graduation is just a month away,” Jimin reminded him. “I’m going to be attending the same university as you. And my birthday is just in October. What big of a difference would some months make?”
“Even if you asked me the day you turned eighteen, I still wouldn’t be comfortable dating you, Jimin-ah.” Seokjin tried taking his hand. Jimin allowed it. “You’re right, maybe some months wouldn’t make a lot of difference. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still three years older than you.”
“Three years isn’t a lot.”
“Three years is a lot when you’re your age. You have no idea what being an adult means.”
Jimin seemed to take offense at his words. “I’m mature for my age. I’ll be an adult in no time. If you don’t want to date me, you only have to tell me, hyung. No need for all these excuses.”
Another sigh. “I did not say that I didn’t want to date you.”
“Well, it sure seems that way.”
“Jimin-ah, listen to me for a second.”
“I don’t think I will.” Jimin separated his hands from Seokjin’s, standing up to leave. Seokjin followed him.
“Jimin-ah.”
“You have no right to treat me like a kid, hyung. I live on my own, I have a job, I am as much of an adult as a lot of people your age. Probably even more than some. If I decided to go out and fuck some random stranger, no one would even—“
“Yah, Park Jimin!”
Jimin finally stopped. Seokjin noted the unleashed tears in his eyes.
He says he’s an adult, and yet he’s throwing a tantrum because things aren’t going his way. But Seokjin wasn’t going to tell him that, because he was sure Jimin would just tell him to go to hell and leave. He needed to handle the situation with delicacy.
He softly cupped Jimin’s face between his hands, noticing the way Jimin’s cheeks, still full of baby fat, felt soft to the touch.
Jimin-ah, you’re just a kid.
“Jimin-ah, how long do you think you and I will be together?”
Jimin blinked, clearly not expecting the question. “What?”
“If you and I were to date, how long do you think we would be together?” He caressed Jimin’s cheek with his thumb. “One month? One year? One decade? Do you think we would spend the rest of our lives together?”
“I… I don’t know, hyung.” He got out of Seokjin’s hold. “I like to think we would be together forever.”
“Forever, huh?” Seokjin chuckled. “Jimin-ah, we haven’t even been friends for a whole year, and you think we would be together for the rest of our lives? What if I decided to date you now, and then we realize we want different things? Opinions change a lot. Especially when you’re in college and there’s a universe of opportunities open to you.”
“I know that, but—“
“Now,” Seokjin continued, “hopefully, we will remain friends now that you’re going to college. Let’s say we spend the next couple of years really getting to know each other, forming a good foundation for our futures, and then we decide to date. What do you think would be the result?”
Jimin visibly pouted. “Hyung…”
“Just because we’re not dating does not mean I’ll disappear from your life, Jimin-ah. I still anticipate being around you all the time, but just as friends. I won’t entertain the idea of dating you until I know you have figured out your place in life, because I care too much about you to damage your future. And that’s a boundary that I’ve set. Boundaries are important in long-lasting relationships, don’t you think?”
“I… yes, hyung.” Jimin hugged himself, possibly more for comfort than anything else. “I see what you mean. But what if by then you decide to date someone else?”
“What if you decide you want to be with someone else?” Seokjin chuckled. “We don’t know what will happen in the future, Jimin-ah. Maybe we’ll date other people, maybe we won’t. Regardless, it won’t change that you’re important in my life.” That was as close as a confession Seokjin would give him. And perhaps Jimin knew, form his cheeks tinted red.
“You… you’re important in my life too, hyung.”
“I know.” Seokjin grabbed Jimin’s hand. “Now, why don’t we go back and finally get food?”
Jimin smiled. It was as big as earlier that day, but it was there. “I would love to, hyung.” He paused for a couple of seconds, thinking. “I still won’t give up on asking you on dates, though.”
Seokjin actually laughed this time. “I wouldn’t expect any less.”
“Seokjin-hyung won’t date me because I’m too young.”
Taehyung looked at him funnily. “Serves you right, considering you haven’t even told him half of how you got to meet him.”
Jimin crossed his arms. “And he won’t know.”
“I don’t know, Jimin-ah. In the end, everything always gets out.”
“Not this.” Jimin frowned. “He won’t know about this.”
“We’ll see.”
“I can’t do this,” Seokjin whispered. Taehyung raised an eyebrow.
“Kind of late for that, isn’t it?”
It was. Kind of.
It had taken him another week of deliberation (Taehyung hadn’t complained, but Seokjin was sure his friend was pretty close to just blocking his number) until he decided that it was best for him to just come clean. So, he made a reservation at a nice restaurant (more like a couple. One for them, one for Taehyung), dolled himself up, and got ready for a nice date which hopefully wouldn’t end up in a divorce.
Seokjin liked to be an optimist.
“He’ll want to break up with me.”
“He won’t,” Taehyung assured him. “He spent years chasing after you, hyung. He wouldn’t end such a nice relationship over something like this.”
“I insist that you’re underestimating how weird and relationship-breaking incest is.”
But Taehyung dismissed his worries. “It isn’t nearly as bad. If anything, he might get angry at how long it took you to tell him.”
Seokjin gave him a look. “That’s… not even remotely close to the point.”
“Yeah. The point is that you have nothing to worry about.”
“But I do, because he’s the love of my life and I don’t want to lose him.” Seokjin peeked inside. He could see Jimin already waiting by the table, which was enough to tell Seokjin just how late he already was. “I can’t imagine a world in which I don’t wake up every morning to see him, a world in which I don’t get to kiss him before going to sleep. I just— I can’t afford to lose him, Taehyung-ah.”
Taehyung didn’t say anything. He just stared at Seokjin with an unreadable expression. In a way, it made Seokjin even more nervous. But when he was about to ask him what was going on, maybe crack a joke, Taehyung grabbed him by his tie and kissed him.
Now, there had been a lot of times during his friendship with Taehyung that Seokjin had wondered how it would be to kiss him. Taehyung took care of his lips, so he had correctly guessed they were soft. They weren’t as plump as Jimin’s, but they still felt nice to kiss. Even more important than the lip’s texture, it was the way Taehyung kissed him. Taehyung was delicate, as if Seokjin could break in any second if he was too rough. It made him feel oddly appreciated. It calmed him down.
Well, at least until he realized his husband’s best friend was kissing him.
As soon as his brain cells started working again, Seokjin pushed Taehyung away with perhaps a bit more force than needed. Taehyung seemed to think so, if the way he flinched was indicative enough. They both looked at each other, neither of them saying anything for three full minutes.
Taehyung glanced at the door. “It isn’t polite to keep Jiminie waiting, hyung.”
Seokjin blinked. That was right. His husband was waiting for him. He should go to where he was, have a nice date, and forget how Taehyung’s lips felt against his. A perfect plan.
He gulped. “Taehyung-ah…”
“I’ll be watching from the table behind Jimin, but I’ll enter the other day so he doesn’t see me. You should tell him before eating. You know how he is when waiting.”
“Taehyung-ah, we should talk about—“
“Hyung, with all due respect, I don’t think your brain can handle two important discussions in one night.” He tentatively stepped closer to Seokjin, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Go, tell Jimin, and we can talk later.”
Seokjin nodded. Yes, that made sense.
“I’ll just— uh…” he pointed at the door. “I’ll go.”
Taehyung nodded, and Seokjin used the opportunity to walk inside the restaurant. He took a second to compose himself, before putting on a smile and sitting in front of Jimin. His husband immediately received him with a smile.
“Hyung! I was wondering where you were.” Jimin leaned over the table for a kiss, and Seokjin met him halfway. The kiss was short, caste. So different from Taehyung’s, and yet they both felt right. “You said you wanted to tell me something?”
“Yes, I do.” Seokjin cleared his throat. “Don’t you want to eat first, though?”
“Nope, I want to know.” Just like Taehyung said.
“Fine.” Seokjin took a deep breath. Behind Jimin, he could see Taehyung sitting at his table. He was looking at Seokjin. “Jimin-ah… I’ve been wanting to tell you this for so long, but I just couldn’t find the words to do it properly. You know I love you so, so much.”
Jimin giggled. “I love you too, hyung.”
“And I hope you continue doing so for a long time. I vowed to love you when we got married, and I don’t have any intention of breaking that promise.”
Seokjin looked at Taehyung again, trying to gain confidence. Taehyung nodded at Jimin.
Here goes nothing.
“Jimin-ah…”
“Yes?”
I’m your brother.
He looked at Taehyung again.
No, I can’t do it.
“Taehyung and I kissed.”
Jimin jumped in surprise, clearly not expecting those words to come out of Seokjin’s mouth. Behind him, Taehyung was looking at Seokjin with a confused face.
Hell, even Seokjin was confused. Why the hell did I say that?
“What?” Asked Jimin, looking at Seokjin as if he had grown a second head. Which, Seokjin guessed, was fair. Maybe he hadn’t processed that Seokjin had admitted to kissing his best friend.
But, well, Seokjin had already said he did, so he might as well continue with that storyline. “I’m sorry for kissing him behind your back, Jimin-ah. He’s our best friend and— I should have talked to you before making those decisions.” Seokjin lowered his head. “I hope you can forgive me.”
Jimin blinked. “I… is that what you wanted to tell me?”
Not even remotely close. “Yes.”
Behind Jimin, Taehyung facepalmed, before taking his chair and joining Seokjin’s table. “He’s right, Jimin-ah. We’ve been talking lately and we wanted to ask if I could join you two in your relationship.”
Seokjin could just stare as Jimin and Taehyung looked at each other, communicating with just their eyes. Seokjin had always wondered how they were able to just get their thoughts that way, but they just could.
After some more silent communication, Jimin nodded, before looking back at Seokjin “Hyung.”
Seokjin stopped breathing. “Yes?”
“Thank you for being… honest with me.”
Honest. That felt like a personal jab. What a joke.
“You’re… welcome.”
Jimin looked at Taehyung, then back at Seokjin. “I want you to know that I’m okay with Taehyung joining us.”
Seokjin blinked. “You are?”
“Yes. I just wonder…” he pressed his lips together. “Where is this coming from? It feels like… out of nowhere.”
Because it is. “Well…” Seokjin let out a fake laugh. “I think it’s not a secret just how fond I am of Taehyung.” He gave Taehyung a look. Help me, please.
Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Honestly, Chim, it feels like this has been a long-time coming event, don’t you think?”
“Sure…” Jimin raised an eyebrow. “So… are we all together now?”
“Yeah. Aren’t we, hyung?”
They both looked at Seokjin.
“Yeah,” he said. “We are.”
How the hell did he manage to make it worse.
Jimin graduated with honors and a job lined up. He stood in the podium next to Taehyung (how had they convinced the directive to allow them to stand up there together, Seokjin didn’t know) as he received his diploma, hundreds of people cheering for him.
Seokjin was one of them.
As soon as the ceremony finished, Hoseok had tried to convince them to go to this nice place just outside of the city to celebrate (I’m telling you all that it’s amazing!). Seokjin immediately declined.
“Actually… I have plans for Jimin-ah and me to go celebrate on a date.” He looked at Jimin. “I hope you don’t mind me hijacking your graduation party.”
Jimin gave him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? I’ve been waiting for this since I was seventeen.”
Namjoon snorted. “Well then. Have fun, guys.”
They all said their goodbyes, Taehyung whispering something to Jimin that made him giggle before they were left alone.
Jimin smirked. “So… a date, huh?”
Seokjin laughed, shaking his head. “What can I say? I think I already made you wait long enough.”
“I’m sure you’ll make it up for me then.” Jimin got closer, wrapping his arms around Seokjin’s neck. “Won’t you, hyung?”
“I’ll try.”
Then, they kissed for the first time.
“So, how long until we can get married, hyung?”
“Jimin-ah, I haven’t even asked you to be my boyfriend yet.”
“Not that I don’t enjoy getting to share a bed with you two,” Taehyung said one morning, about two months into their relationship. “But I think it’s about time you tell Jimin the truth.”
Seokjin groaned. “Please don’t.”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong. This turn of events is one I very much like.” The multiple hickeys Taehyung now had all the time were enough of a hint. “But it’s been months since you found out, hyung. You have to tell him.”
“Can’t I just ignore it until it goes away?”
“Hyung, tell Jimin the truth.”
“What truth?”
Well shit, Seokjin thought, turning to the door of his bedroom. There, a shirtless Jimin was looking at Seokjin expectantly.
Taehyung snorted. “I’ll go get some breakfast.” He turned to Seokjin. “And if you don’t tell him now, I’ll make sure to take Jimin away with me for a whole year.”
Seokjin knew perfectly well he was serious. “I’ll tell him.”
Taehyung smiled and leaned to peck Seokjin’s lips before getting off the bed. He grabbed some clothes, kissed Jimin as well, and left their room.
Jimin turned to Seokjin, raising an eyebrow. “So…”
Come on. You can do this.
“First of all, I want to make sure you know I’ve been meaning to tell you this since I found out, I just didn’t know how.”
“Yeah, I figured something has been going on.”
Of course he did.
“There… there isn’t an easy way for me to say this.” Seokjin scratched his cheek. “Do you remember that DNA test I took a while ago? The one Namjoon suggested?”Jimin nodded. “Well, there was an option I noticed afterward that allowed me to see my relatives who had done the test, and…”
“And…?” Echoed Jimin.
Seokjin closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. “I’m your half-brother.”
“Oh,” Jimin said. “That’s it?”
What.
“What.”
“I expected something huge, like, you confessing to murder or something. Not this.” Jimin shrugged. “I mean, doesn’t really change anything, does it?”
Seokjin couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.
“Jimin-ah, I’m your half-brother,” he repeated, slower this time. “We have the same father.”
“Yes. I grew up with him, hyung. You never even met him.” Jimin pressed his lips together. “It’s best that you didn’t. He wasn’t exactly a good man. I’m honestly more offended it took you so long to tell me.” Jimin walked to the bed and sat next to Seokjin, grabbing his hand. “Hyung, I’m your husband. You should be comfortable telling me anything. It worries me that you carried this weight for so long instead of telling me.”
“Taehyung knows too, I didn’t keep it to myself,” Seokjin protested, but his voice sounded small.
“Even worse. You trusted someone else instead of me. You’re so lucky it was Taehyung, because had it been someone else I would have gotten angry at you.” Jimin leaned in, kissing Seokjin’s cheek. “Speaking of him, do you want to go help him before he burns something again?”
Despite everything, Seokjin smiled.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll go help him.”
Perhaps he had worried for nothing.
“I can’t believe I’m finally marrying him,” Jimin whispered. Taehyung snorted, comfortably sitting on his lap while tying Jimin’s tie.
“It’s about time, I think. Hyung sure took his time to propose.”
Jimin pouted. “Don’t be mean. You know he worries about me a lot.”
“Of course he does,” Taehyung said, untying the tie and starting all over again. “That’s why I like him for you.”
“And he loves me a lot.” Taehyung hummed. “Taehyungie, please, it’s the fifth time you do that.”
“I just can’t decide if you look better with an Eldridge or an Atlantic.”
“I’ll look fine either way.” Jimin put his fingers under Taehyung’s chin, caressing him. “You made sure this was the perfect wedding, after all.”
“Of course I did. What kind of best man would I be otherwise?” Taehyung almost sounded offended. Almost. But Jimin could hear the playful tone in his voice.
“You’re right. I apologize for doubting you for even a second.”
“Apologies accepted.” Taehyung’s hand slowly moved from Jimin’s tie to his shoulders, then to his neck and face. “I’m just saying that it’s never too late for you to run away if you wanted.”
“And leave all our friends behind? I don’t think they would forgive us.”
“I doubt they would be surprised. Jungkookie has asked me more than a dozen times if I truly don’t mind you getting married to someone else.”
“Almost like everyone thought we are secretly in love.” Jimin passed his wet tongue over his lips. “Funny, isn’t it?”
Taehyung’s eyes were fixed on Jimin’s lips “Indeed. I don’t know how to make it more obvious that I’m utterly, and completely, crazy in love with you.”
Jimin smiled, closing the small gap between them, the bells indicating Jimin’s wedding was about to begin loud in the background.
Oh, how wonderful was to be in love.
“You know,” Taehyung said once over dinner, only Jimin in front of him, “when I asked you what brought you to Seoul twenty years ago and you told me you wanted to find the lost half-brother your father had confessed you had on his deathbed, I never expected to end up like this.”
Jimin took a sip of his drink. “The world works in funny ways, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed.”