Chapter Text
Jeongguk is two hundred percent sure there’s never been a date this horrible in the history of dates and there’ll never be in the coming times. He’s not exaggerating, no, not at all.
In the past half an hour, all he’s been listening to is the endless and annoying rant of this one girl his father forced him to go on a blind date with. The girl who is all clad in designer accessories from head to toe, expensive as hell, as if she’s showing off. Her face is all cakey, dipped in makeup; bold, smokey eyes which she’s trying to bat and look innocent but horribly failing at, lips adorned in bright, red lipstick forming a pout and Jeongguk wants to puke.
The girl, Mina, is apparently from a chaebol family Jeongguk’s father wants to have business with. Jeongguk, being a chaebol himself, had to unfortunately come to this date. He’s never regretted anything this bad in his life.
He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, trying to keep up with whatever Mina is saying but failing to do so. She’s been talking about makeup and stuff, her cat fights with others, talking about how she hates animals especially dogs and would take a second to actually kill them. Jeongguk has never been disgusted by someone to this extent. She behaves like she is superior to everyone else and Jeongguk sees a hint of narcissism in her personality.
Wow . Literally all the things he hates combined in a person, like someone just told her all the things Jeongguk hates and things that annoy him and she’s out here being a living, breathing proof of it.
Jeongguk has a permanent scowl on his face, his brows pinched together in annoyance but the girl sitting across him just doesn't stop talking. Her voice is beginning to irritate the hell out of Jeongguk and he just wants to run out of that place.
He has no choice but to stay patient and to sit calmly at the table since they're in a cafe with so many people around at this time lf the day. Jeongguk can't make a scene, he hates attention. So, he continues to listen to her absolutely horrendous talks.
"Oh, just so you know, I'm not going to be tied to you once we get married. I'm always out with a new guy almost every night, so don't think of me as your wife or anything, hmm." Jeongguk wants to smack his head on the table. The girl is crossing boundaries now. He cannot stay seated there, no. And why the fuck does she think they're going to get married. Never, not in a million years would Jeongguk marry a girl like her. That would simply mean that he pushed himself into hell.
"Anyways, do you know about Soojin and Bogum?" She continues to speak, deliberately lowering her voice now. Jeongguk isn't surprised she loves gossiping. "Oh my god, you don't? Please, they're literally all over the news because of their leaked video." Mina's voice tends to squeak and her laughter roars meanwhile Jeongguk's blood boils. How could she make fun of something like that? The tips of his ears are burning, a tell tale sign of his simmering anger which he's been trying to control for an hour now. She's been jumping from one topic to another so suddenly and everytime her opinions are making him hate her more and more.
"You don't support homosexuality, though, right? Gosh, why would you? There's literally no way you're one of those disgusting bunch of people. I'm so glad." That's the limit for Jeongguk. He clenches his fists tightly, jaw taut as he looks at her with an smoldering gaze. She's a fucking homophobe, there's no way in hell Jeongguk is going to even think about her. Jesus fucking Christ, he's gay himself. The only reason he's sitting in front of her is because of his insufferable father.
"Listen…" His anger is rising, pulse quickening as he feels a throbbing pain in his head. And just when he's about to spew harsh words to her, a screeching sound pf chair is heard beside him and his fisted hand is suddenly engulfed in a warm embrace.
"Baby, you don't get to make me jealous by going on pointless dates when we're having some petty fights. That's not fair." A warm, husky voice speaks beside him making him widen his eyes.
Jeongguk whips his head around to have a look at the stranger and finds himself enchanted at the sight. A beautiful, very pretty guy is holding his hand, pouting at him. His hair is black, bangs falling over his eyes as he looks at Jeongguk with Innocence. His cheeks are so round and chubby, Jeongguk wants to squish them. He keeps staring at the beautiful stranger who out of nowhere just appeared and called him baby while holding his hand. All the anger has suddenly flew out of the window and all Jeongguk can do is focus on this man who is irresistibly charming and cute at the same time.
"What? We're not some college kids, we've been together for a decade now, baby. I'm sorry for saying all that stuff, I'm so sorry." The stranger continues to say things and Jeongguk is so utterly confused. What the actual fuck is happening. "I'm sorry, please don't leave me."
In all that confusion, he's pulled into a hug by this pretty guy who whispers in his ear. "Continue with the act and get rid of this bitch. You're so uncomfortable." And everything starts to make sense. He bites back a smile, so grateful to this man.
"It's okay, pretty. I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have left our apartment, I should have talked with you." Jeongguk plays along, hugging him back as he side-eyes Mina. Confusion is written all over her face.
Jeongguk breaks the hug and intertwines his fingers with the stranger who smiles at him. His smile is so beautiful, eyes turning into crescents, Jeongguk almost squeals.
"You're so beautiful and I'm so sorry. Let's go home, yeah?" The strangers says and both of them stand up to leave.
"What the actual fuck is happening here?" Mina asks, her voice surprisingly calm.
"I'm sorry, Mina. I know this is very rude of me but yeah, I have a boyfriend as you can see." Jeongguk says with a smirk.
Mina stares at them, stares at their intertwined hands and rolls her eyes. She storms out of the place before saying, "Well, fuck you."
As soon as she is out of the cafe, Jeongguk heaves a sigh of relief.
The weight of what just happened comes crashing down at him as he feels his finger still intertwined with the handsome stranger whose name he still doesn’t know. Jeongguk looks at him and lets go of his hand, smiling embarrassingly, “Thanks, I don’t know what to say but I guess you saved me.”
The stranger smiles, eyes crinkling; sunshine personified. “Of course. I saw how uncomfortable you were and what a bitch she was. Sorry to eavesdrop but I couldn’t stop myself.” The stranger says and Jeongguk notices his appearance for the first time.
He looks so mysterious, wearing all black, drowned in a jacket with a baseball cap hovering over his face, restricting the beautiful view of his face that Jeongguk can spend hours staring at. His plump lips are shining with a glittery lip gloss doing things to Jeongguk he doesn’t want to name yet.
"Hi, I'm Jeongguk." He introduces himself. The stranger's eyebrows shoot up as Jeongguk sees the realization set in. "Yeah, whatever you're thinking is right. I'm Jeon Jeongguk, the heir of Jeon Corporations."
"Explains the blind date earlier." The man says, wiggling his eyebrows.
Jeongguk's heart stops for a second. The man in front of him wouldn't probably want to talk to him now that he knows about his identity. People tend to stay away from him because of him being a chaebol, thinking him to be some sort of a spoiled brat or something.
"Well, do you still want to continue talking to me now that you know who I am?" Jeongguk asks, hopes for the stranger to stay, to talk to him, do anything. He doesn't know why but he has an intuition they'll get along well.
"Ah, why not?" The man says with a beautiful smile on his face. "You being the heir of a big company doesn't make you some sort of an asshole who I can't talk to."
A smile breaks out on Jeongguk's face, his heart fluttering at the words. He's happy someone thinks otherwise. "That's a great way to put it, thank you."
"You tend to say thank you a lot, Jeongguk-ssi." The handsome stranger chuckles, and the voice makes Jeongguk's heart soar.
"Just Jeongguk is fine." He says, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, Jeongguk. I'm Jimin." He says, shaking Jeongguk's hand.
Jimin. He whispers slowly, likes the name, likes the way it sounds, the way it rolls off of his tongue.
"A beautiful name for a very beautiful boy like you." Jeongguk attempts to flirt, his heart hammering in his chest and cheeks dusting a light shade of pink.
Jimin laughs. His charming laughter enchants Jeongguk, making butterflies swarm in his stomach.
"Are you flirting with me?"
"Depends." Jeongguk can't stop grinning. "If you want to flirt with me back, then yes."
"Oh, is that the case?" Jimin's voice is so calming, Jeongguk feels a lava of strange emotions erupting in his heart. "Then I'm very much interested."
Jeongguk's eyes widen in surprise, heart beating so fast as he smiles so wide. He feels so giddy, and probably for the first time in his life he's feeling such things.
"I want to treat you to lunch, for helping me get rid of that date." Jeongguk shoots his shot, hoping to have lunch with him, stay with Jimin for a little longer.
He comes to the conclusion that he likes talking to Jimin, likes being with him. Even if it's for a short while, even if they never meet again after today, Jeongguk wants to have this today, allowing himself to feel something for today. A normal life, a normal day, a normal crush; away from all the overly pretentious things in his life.
Jimin's smile grows wide as he pulls the chair and sits there. "I'd love that, Jeongguk."
Jeongguk is so fucking happy.
He excitedly jumps over to the other side, sitting there as he calls the waiter, giving him the order for their lunch.
After the waiter leaves, Jeongguk settles comfortably in his chair and stares at Jimin. He can't take his eyes off of the man; his beautiful, sparkly eyes; soft, rosy lips that he so gently wants to kiss; cheeks so squishy, Jeongguk wants to cradle them. He berates himself at the thoughts, his face flushed.
"I know I'm very handsome but can you stop staring?" Jimin's voice breaks him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."
"No, no, it's not that. You are making me feel things." Jimin says suddenly and Jeongguk has to calm his racing heart down.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't know." He shrugs. "Anyway, tell me about that girl? Why were you forced?"
"Forced, yeah. You seem to know a lot about being an heir, huh!" Jeongguk chuckles because Jimin guessed it right. He definitely was forced to sit through that horrible date.
"That's what they show in K-dramas," he shrugs, fiddling with his fingers. Jeongguk giggles at him.
"So, basically my sister is getting engaged next week." Jeongguk starts explaining.
"Oh, wow, congratulations."
Jeongguk rolls his eyes. "It's a business arrangement, but I'm glad she's happy. She's younger than me so my dad wants me to get married, too." He says the last sentence bitterly, frowning.
"And, you don't want to?" Jimin asks, staring at him, their eyes meeting for a second before Jeongguk averts his eyes, not able to stand the intense stare.
"I don't want to get married for business. I want to marry for love." Jeongguk says, a deep longing in his voice, heart aching.
Jimin sighs loudly. "Seems like a very difficult thing."
"In my world, yes it is very difficult, almost impossible. Did you not see me not able to leave the table when Mina spewed absolute bullshit?" He asks rhetorically, a deep frown on his face.
Jimin's face falls, his eyes holding deep sadness as he listens to Jeongguk.
"I hope you marry for love, Jeongguk. I hope one day you find someone worth fighting for." Jimin says, his voice so small.
Jeongguk chuckles bitterly, sadly. He looks at the man in front of him as a heavy ache settles inside his heart. How he wishes for that someone to be the man in front of him.
"Can we talk about something else?" Jeongguk asks, changing the topic. He doesn't want to spend the time with Jimin dwelling on his problems.
"Sure, whatever you want."
Jeongguk smiles at him, eyes filled with an unknown emotion, soft and profound. He sees Jimin smile with his eyes, sees him talking about something Jeongguk is no longer listening to, sees him laughing so adorably.
"You make me want to fight, Jimin."
And Jimin pauses. Stills.
They stare at each other, staring into each other's eyes, staring right through each other's souls. Hearts thundering in their chests, drowning in each other's eyes.
Until the food arrives and the moment between them is broken by the simmering of the steak and the clattering of the utensils.
They eat the food in silence, talking a bit about their lives, their passions, their dreams until they're full and it's time to leave.
Jeongguk's heart is beating so fast in his chest, sinking deep down at the thought of saying goodbye, at the thought of never meeting Jimin again. He almost cries but when Jimin stands in front of him, grinning widely, he gets some hope. Jimin's smile gives him hope.
"I liked spending time with you. You're nice, Jeongguk but you and I both know this can go nowhere and we're never going to meet again, so…"
Jeongguk cuts him in between. "I don't want to go home."
"I don't want to go home either…."
"Can we stay together? Just for today?" Jeongguk asks, his eyes pleading Jimin and a pout forming. "Please."
Jimin exhales loudly before smiling at him, "okay."
Jeongguk's smile grows wider, the side of his eyes crinkling as his nose scrunches up showing his teeth. He throws himself at Jimin, hugging him tightly.
Jimin seems to be taken aback but he wraps his arms around Jeongguk's waist and pulls him closer. "I'll make sure you don't forget this day and me ever."
"I'll never forget you ever, Jimin."
"Me either."
♡
Jeongguk’s eyes widen in awe as he enters the amusement park. All the different colored lights reflecting from his eyes as he stares in amazement. His lips are stretched in a wide grin as he walks forward while Jimin intertwines their hands.
“This is so beautiful.” Jeongguk says with wonder, eyes shining with stars.
Jimin chuckles. “What?” He asks and stands in front of Jeongguk, holding both his hands. “You’ve never been to an amusement park before?”
“I have been to an amusement park just once back then when I was a child. I’m twenty four now, I don’t even remember it properly.” His face falls, sadness creeping up. “Dad never let us go again. He never let us have fun. All me and Heejin, my sister, did was study only.”
Jeongguk’s face is cradled by Jimin, gently and softly. “You can have all the fun today, hmm?” Jimin’s voice is so soft and soothing, Jeongguk gets lost in it. He is so flustered that he can only nod.
“I wanna try all the rides and games, do all the fun stuff. Jimin, thank you so much for bringing me here.” He says with excitement and so much sincerity. Jimin smiles.
“Of course.” Jimin says. “Also, you’re two years younger than me, so call me hyung.” He says, mischievously.
“In your dreams, Jimin.”
For the next four to five hours or so, Jeongguk has the absolute fun he’s ever had in his life. Going to ride after ride, walking hand in hand with Jimin, playing games, and eating street food is making him feel so fulfilled. He is so, so happy.
The most fun for him was the roller coaster where Jimin had held his hand tightly and didn’t let go even after they got off of the ride. Jeongguk’s heart beat faster from Jimin’s closeness more than the adrenaline.
Ferris wheel had the best view from the top. It was so beautiful, the dark sky shining with stars. Jeongguk loved it. He had almost kissed Jimin, too but pulled back. He couldn’t cross that line. His heart would have wanted more if he did kiss him, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to let go of Jimin tonight, so he stopped himself and crushed his own heart.
In the haunted house, Jimin’s screams were so loud, Jeongguk couldn’t stop laughing. He’d yell and cry at the scary ghosts and Jeongguk doubled over. It was cute, though. Jimin held onto his arm all the way and if Jeongguk’s heart fluttered and he felt butterflies then no one had to know.
The next hours were spent on the usual rides and different games. Jeongguk particularly loved bowling and table tennis. He also had a lot of fun winning against Jimin in the video game who whined and complained nonstop before Jeongguk held his hand.
And now, when the park’s timings are over and it’s about to be closed soon, Jeongguk dreads going home. He’s becoming greedy and doesn’t want to let Jimin go. He had the best time with the elder who made him feel so many things all at once, made his heart soar with happiness, made him feel so giddy, made butterflies swarm in his stomach and now Jeongguk’s heart is sinking at the thought of never meeting the elder again.
"You wanna go to the river side?" Jimin asks, holding Jeongguk's hand.
Jeongguk's heart flutters and he is so happy to spend more time with the elder. "I'd love to."
♡
Jeongguk's heart is racing. His face is flushed as the cold river wind slaps his cheeks, reddening them. He has intertwined his fingers with Jimin's, walking alongside the river.
It feels so romantic, so serene and peaceful. Jeongguk feels calm, safe, at home. The still water of the river is so enchanting as the full moon casts its glow, their shadows visible on the sand.
Jeongguk observes the silhouettes silently, takes in the fact that they're literally behaving like an actual couple as they walk hand in hand. Listens to Jimin talk about his favorite memory of his grandfather.
"I never met him again but he taught me the most important thing; to live in the present." Jimin says, talking about his grandfather who passed away when Jimin got into college. "Live the moment and never worry about the future. And to appreciate the little things in life."
Jeongguk caresses Jimin's hand with his thumb, drawing circles over it. "Thank you." Jimin stops walking and turns to look at him. "You're so beautiful." Jeongguk cups his cheeks in his hands, earnestly saying. Jimin blushes.
"Thank you for making this day so special for me. I appreciate it, hyung and I want you to know you hold a special place in my heart. I know I just met you today but I feel like if I don't say it, I won't ever get the chance."
"You're leaving?" Jimin asks, his voice cracking and it breaks Jeongguk's heart.
"You made me feel so special today. You made this day beautiful for me and made me forget about the constant nagging of my dad and all the problems in my life and I can't thank you enough. For once, I was able to live in a world where this nothing pretentious or overly made up." Jeongguk says, tearing up.
Jimin holds Jeongguk's hand against his cheek, squeezing them gently. "You're leaving?"
Jeongguk ignores him and says, "thank you for making my heart smile and my eyes shine."
"You are leaving." It's not a question anymore and it breaks Jeongguk.
He instantly wipes the tears that are threatening to spill from his eyes and smiles at Jimin. "I need to."
Jimin smiles back with tears in his eyes, "I hope you'll remember me."
"I will, Jimin. I will."
Silence ensues as they look into each other's eyes, glistening with tears, holding such strong emotions. Jimin leans in closer, leaning their foreheads against each other and breathing heavily. "Can I kiss you?"
Jeongguk gulps and says in a hoarse voice, "please."
Jeongguk feels Jimin's soft, plump lips pressing against his own. The kiss is soft and tender, holding all the unsaid feelings. It tastes like goodbye, like a story that isn't meant to be. Jeongguk feels his eyes spilling tears, mixing with Jimin's as they softly kiss each other.
Jimin's lips are soft and sweet, just like he imagined. Kissing him still feels like a dream that Jeongguk doesn't want to wake up from. He pulls him closer by the waist as Jimin's hands bury in his hair.
"I'll miss you." Jeongguk says in between kisses.
Jimin breaks the kiss, and gently presses his lips over Jeongguk's forehead. "Whenever you do, get married for love, Jeongguk."
And Jeongguk can't stop his tears anymore as Jimin lets go of him, crying and breaking. And as the elder runs away from him, Jeongguk can't help but wonder why this handsome stranger suddenly became so close and so important and so fucking precious to him.
♡