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Jimin considers himself to be a very peaceful person. He hardly ever gets worked up over anything because he knows that, most times, it’s not worth worrying about things you can’t control.
However, if there’s one thing that makes him mad is this.
“Hyung—” Jeongguk sighs, popping his head in Jimin’s room. His face says everything that his lips don’t dare to, and Jimin’s had enough.
“Again?” He groans, gets out of bed, and heads to the living room, where he finds a crying Taehyung on their couch. “Oh, baby,” Jimin rushes to hug him when he stands up.
“S–Sorry, I know it’s late but—I didn’t know where else to go,” Taehyung explains, hugging him tightly. Jimin can see Jeongguk’s face from where he stands behind Taehyung, biting his lip nervously.
They’ve both been through this enough times already, and it pisses Jimin off.
“You don’t need to apologize, hyung, you know you can come here anytime,” Jeongguk sighs, walking a few steps until he’s hugging Taehyung as well. That always helps, a hug from his two best friends.
“I know but—” Taehyung sniffles, trying to get his point across, but Jimin shushes him.
“No buts,” he says. “Guk and I are here for you and we will kick his fucking ass.”
“No, it’s not—It’s not worth it,” Taehyung sighs, deflating in their arms.
“Come on, hyung, let’s sit down. I’ll make you some tea,” Jeongguk kisses the back of Taehyung’s head and Jimin guides him back to the couch while Jeongguk heads to their kitchen.
Jimin and Jeongguk have been roommates since they started college, and it’s fair to say that, most times, it seems as if Taehyung also lives here. Jimin knows that, if they had an extra room, they’d offer it for him for sure.
At least that way they would be able to kick his ex-boyfriends out of the house whenever they dared to break Taehyung’s heart.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jimin asks, voice gentle. He knows Taehyung well enough to know that he probably won’t, but he still asks.
“Not really,” he chuckles bitterly. “I just feel stupid,” he admits.
“You’re not stupid,” Jeongguk says all the way from the kitchen. “He’s just a fucking asshole.” Jimin shoots him a look. “What? I never liked him,” the youngest shrugs.
“Do you two ever like any of the people I date, though?” Taehyung chuckles a bit, drying his tears.
“If they didn’t make you cry, we would,” Jimin says bluntly. “You deserve someone that treats you right, Tae.”
“They do though—”
“Until they don’t,” Jeongguk returns with a steaming mug in his hands and gives it to Taehyung. “What did he do now?”
“I feel like if I tell you guys you’re just going to dislike him even more,” Taehyung sighs.
“So? We can dislike him as much as we want now that you broke up with him,” Jeongguk says, but Taehyung’s face gives him away. “You didn’t break up with him?!”
“Tae…” Jimin sighs.
“I—I just really like him!” He whines. “And yeah, maybe he blamed me for how much time he’s spending with this girl in his class that he came home with tonight after a party, but it’s true that I’ve been really busy with work and with my classes—”
“Oh, he did not ,” Jeongguk stands up, but Taehyung reaches out to stop him.
“Taehyung… I know all we can do is give you advice, but if you come here in the middle of the night because you don’t know where else to go after your boyfriend came home drunk with another girl and blamed you for it, I don’t think staying in that relationship is the answer,” Jimin says as kindly as he can, even though he wants to join Jeongguk in finding Taehyung’s apparently-still-boyfriend and kicking his ass.
“Can I just stay here for the night? I’ll think about it tomorrow, but I’m just really tired now…” Jimin and Jeongguk share a look then, a look that says let’s give him a break.
“Of course, you can,” Jimin holds his hand and squeezes it. It’s warm from the mug he’s still holding. “I’m gonna go get you some spare clothes, alright?” After a small smile, Jimin stands and heads back to his bedroom.
Since he’s got the bigger bed because he’s the oldest, whenever Taehyung sleeps over, they all three sleep in his room.
It still gets a bit cramped, but they make it work. They always have.
He ends up getting some of Jeongguk’s clothes instead because they usually fit Taehyung better than his and leaves them on the bed.
He hears the shower run before Jeongguk walks into the room.
“I’m killing him,” he groans.
“I’m not gonna stop you,” Jimin chuckles, sitting on the bed. “God, I hate that he keeps dating stupid guys that never value him enough.”
“He should just stay single,” Jeongguk sighs. The like us stays unsaid. “Am I sleeping here tonight as well?” He asks.
“If you want,” Jimin stretches, tired since he was about to go to sleep right before Taehyung came.
“Okay, let me get changed,” he says and heads to his bedroom. Jeongguk was probably coming back from his job and ran into Taehyung. Knowing him, he was probably crying at their door but felt too bad to knock, because Jimin never even heard the door before Jeongguk walked into his bedroom.
He comes back with his usual white tee and grey sweatpants and gets in bed on the side that he usually sleeps in whenever they share. Taehyung usually gets the middle so he can get sandwiched between both of them.
“You know what we should do?” Jeongguk says; his voice slightly startling Jimin who had been a bit lulled by the sound of the shower. He just hums in acknowledgment. “We should find hyung a boyfriend.” And that does wake him up completely.
“What?” Jimin turns to look at Jeongguk, already tucked into bed, arm under his pillow to hold himself up.
“You know, trying to find someone that we think could be good enough for him and treat him right. He clearly can’t choose properly, and who knows him best than us?” Jeongguk puts it so logically that Jimin has a hard time understanding why that feels wrong.
“You’ve watched too many movies, Guk,” is all he says, standing up and getting in bed as well. The sound of the shower in the other room has already stopped, which means Taehyung should be out any second.
“Did you give him a towel?” Jimin asks Jeongguk, who nods.
“He still had his there from last time.” And Jimin hates that the last time Taehyung came to their doorstep crying wasn’t that long ago. He’s tired of this, and although Jeongguk’s suggestion had seemed stupid at first, maybe they should give it a try.
“You could at least have brought me the clothes to the bathroom,” Taehyung chuckles, walking into Jimin’s room with nothing but a towel around his waist.
“And miss this sight?” Jimin teases him and enjoys the way his cheeks turn a bit red.
“Sorry, hyung,” Jeongguk says and moves, patting the middle of the bed where Taehyung’s body fits perfectly.
Taehyung gets changed in front of them and gets in bed, pulling up the covers up to his chin.
“Feeling better?” Jimin asks, turning around to face both of them. Taehyung just sighs and nods, reaching out to hold both their hands.
“With you, I always do. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys, you’re the best,” he smiles, looking at both of them.
It’s in moments like these where Jimin gets almost overtaken by a fondness for them, and he can’t help himself from bending forward and pressing a kiss on his forehead, and another one on Jeongguk’s.
“What was that for?” The youngest giggles, but Jimin doesn’t have an answer, so he just stays quiet.
“Thanks again,” Taehyung says, closing his eyes.
“Anytime,” Jimin whispers before he reaches out to switch off the light.
“Yeah, we got you, hyung.” And they both hold him through the night in the way his past lovers always fail to.
“We’re finding you a new boyfriend,” Jeongguk blurts out once during a night out. Granted, Taehyung almost spills his drink all over himself.
“What?!” The now-brunette guy says, snapping his head around to glare at them. “I don’t need a boyfriend!” He exclaims.
“That’s so true!” Jimin says; because sometimes it feels as if Taehyung himself forgets about it. “However, we know you, and we know your tendencies to try and forget people with other people that treat you like shit.”
“We’re not allowing that anymore,” Jeongguk says, and they both give each other a high-five while still looking very seriously at Taehyung.
“I don’t—” Taehyung tries to say, but the glares from both his best friends shut him up. “Fine, I might’ve done it a few times…” he sighs and takes another sip from his drink. “I honestly wasn’t going to do it this time, though! I just came here tonight to have fun with you!”
“Then why are you wearing your sex jeans?” Jimin points out, making Taehyung gasp.
“And those dangly earrings you only wear when you want to catch someone’s attention,” Jeongguk adds, and Jimin had never noticed that, but it’s true that the glint on Taehyung’s earrings is usually the last thing he sees before Taehyung disappears from clubs in someone else’s hands.
“You guys are just—” he shakes his head. “Fine, then if you guys are finding me a boyfriend, who did you have in mind?” He asks, crossing his arms as if it was a challenge. A challenge to see if they know him as well as they claim. Jimin intends on succeeding.
“Well, we haven’t decided yet,” Jeongguk shrugs. “But when we do, you’ll get the best boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“The bar is literally in hell, though,” Jimin points out, earning himself a smack from Taehyung and a loud laugh from Jeongguk. “We’ll raise it up, don’t worry.”
“And what are you gonna do, huh? Have auditions as if this was a talent show?” Taehyung asks, and they just shrug.
“We’ll figure it out, hyung, don’t worry. But we’ll make sure you find someone good enough that makes you happy and treats you right,” Jeongguk smiles, and the way Taehyung smiles back at them is almost as if he’s given up completely. Like he’ll just do whatever the hell they want him to do.
“I’ve pretty much given up on love by now, so as long as you can make me believe again, I guess that’ll be enough,” Taehyung says before he clicks their drinks together.
And if there’s something Jimin will always do is make sure that Taehyung is loved, because, in his opinion, no one deserves it more than him.
They drink that night until the bar closes down and walk Taehyung back to his apartment, alone for once.
Well, not alone, because he has them. But he’ll always have them.
“What about that guy from your work?” Jeongguk asks one day as they have dinner. The change of topic is so sudden that Jimin frowns, not knowing what on Earth the youngest is talking about.
“Who?” he asks.
“That new guy you said was hot,” Jeongguk clarifies.
“Oh, that guy. What about him?” Jimin frowns, taking another bite from his food.
“Do you think he could be a good match for hyung?” And Jimin had almost forgotten about that. Their silly little project to find Taehyung a worthy boyfriend.
It’s been going on for a few weeks now, but so far, they haven’t found anyone. Many possible choices but none of them met their standards, and it didn’t seem as if they agreed on what each of them thought was the best thing that a partner for Taehyung should have.
“I don’t think so,” Jimin says without even thinking about it properly.
“Why not?” Jeongguk asks, groaning. “Didn’t you say he looked straight out of a drama? That is exactly hyung’s type,” he tries to convince Jimin.
“Well, yeah, he’s hot, but he’s just—so busy, married-to-his-work kind of guy. Taehyung doesn’t need that,” Jimin shakes his head. “He needs someone who can spend as much time as possible with him, be home when he gets back from class or work, and who will cook him a nice dinner and give him cuddles after.” He shrugs. “I don’t think this guy is anything like that. He could be a fun one-night stand, sure, but that’s not what we’re aiming for here.”
“God, this is harder than I thought,” Jeongguk groans. “I mean, if it’s this hard finding someone for hyung, who’s the sweetest, nicest, most caring guy in the world, I’m losing faith about my own love life,” Jeongguk chuckles.
It reminds Jimin how Jeongguk hasn’t really dated before. He’s had flings that never lasted much, but never a proper partner. Jimin himself has only dated a few times and it was years ago. They’ve both kind of been too busy making sure their Taehyung’s heart didn’t shatter too much. Or, if it did, too busy putting the pieces back together.
“Well, anyone would be lucky to date you, Guk,” Jimin says. “Maybe after we find someone for Taehyungie, we can look for someone for you, too,” he offers him a smile, but Jeongguk looks away from him, then. Jimin thinks nothing of it, but for some reason, the suggestion makes his stomach churn a bit.
“So, it’s a no to this guy, then,” Jeongguk says after a while as if to bring back the conversation to a safer territory; a middle ground.
“It’s a no,” Jimin nods. “I’m not even sure he likes men, though.”
“Hyung, you could’ve started with that!” For some reason, Jimin laughs so hard that he falls off his chair.
Jimin gets home from work quite late at night and is surprised to find that the apartment is empty. He checks his phone to see if he missed any calls or texts from Jeongguk and sees that the youngest did send him a text to warn him.
I’m at hyung’s! He finished classes earlier today so I came over and made us dinner. Come here when you’re done!
And Jimin almost decides to just make himself something for dinner and head to bed instead, but he doesn’t really want to pass an opportunity to hang out with his favorite people. Besides, he knows them well enough to know that it will involve cuddles after dinner, and he needs some of those today.
He texts back straight away to warn them that he’ll get there a bit later, but that he’ll be there in a bit.
Taehyung responds with a picture of him and Jeongguk in his kitchen, the youngest cooking while Taehyung just sits there and watches. It makes Jimin smile.
If he walks a bit faster than he normally would just to get there faster, then nobody needs to know.
“I can’t believe you guys are still keeping this up,” Taehyung chuckles, legs tangled with both Jimin and Jeongguk’s under his heavy blanket.
“Of course we are! We are determined, hyung,” Jeongguk almost pouts. He looks adorable. “Still no luck, though.”
“What are the requirements, anyway?” Taehyung chuckles, reaching over to grab the remote and lower the volume from the TV since none of them are really watching the video playing in the background.
“We’re not telling you that,” Jimin says, almost defensively for some reason.
“Why not?” Taehyung chuckles. “It’s my boyfriend, right? Shouldn’t I be the one to decide if he’s good for me or not?”
“No offense, hyung, but your judgment, or rather, your lack of it is what lead us here today,” Jeongguk says, and Jimin just laughs. “Just trust us, alright?”
“I trust you wholeheartedly,” Taehyung says, and for some reason, it makes Jimin’s body warm up. “But I also feel like unless he’s like… handcrafted by the both of you, I’m going to be single for the rest of my life because you have such high standards for me,” he chuckles.
“But you deserve the best, hyung,” Jeongguk says as if it was a no-brainer, and to Jimin, it is as well.
“But perfection doesn’t exist, Guk. I don’t think you guys will find it,” they stay quiet after that, the video playing louder now that their voices have died down.
Jimin’s eyes are still on them, though. Them cuddling together on Taehyung’s couch after having a meal prepared by Jeongguk when they came back from work.
A spark lights up in Jimin’s brain, an idea. It burns, though.
Jimin wakes up one day in the middle of the night to the sound of his phone ringing. He always has it in no-disturb mode except for calls from either his parents, Jeongguk or Taehyung. Which is why he wakes up startled, worried that something happened back home because he knows Jeongguk can’t be the one calling him since he’s asleep in the other room.
“Hello?” Jimin asks, trying to keep his voice down not to wake the youngest at the same time that he tries to slow down his heart so that he can hear the voice on the other line.
However, the first thing he hears is a sob.
“Jimin-ah?” Taehyung’s voice cuts him like glass.
“Tae? What’s wrong?” He asks, getting out of bed so quickly that he almost gets dizzy. “Where are you?”
“Home,” he sniffles. “I just—Sorry, I woke you up, didn’t I?” he asks.
“No, no, I was up,” Jimin lies, not wanting Taehyung to feel even worse than he already does. “What’s up?”
“I just… I’m so lonely, Jimin,” he cries. “I—I called—” his voice breaks. Jimin is out the door. “He moved on, and it fucking hurts.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Jimin says.
“No! No, you don’t have to—I just—needed to talk,” but Jimin is still grabbing his coat and his keys.
“We can talk better face to face, alright? Just stay on the line with me until I get there, hm? Tell me about your day,” Jimin says as he scribbles a note for Jeongguk just in case he wakes up and sees that he’s gone, or in case Jimin stays over at Taehyung’s.
“Well, work was fine. You know that old lady that came a few weeks ago? Her family came to visit today and she was really happy,” Taehyung smiles. He works at a retirement home part-time, and the people there love him. Of course, they do.
“That’s really nice,” Jimin smiles as he runs down the stairs of their building. “Is she the one that always saves her pudding for you?” Jimin asks.
“No,” Taehyung chuckles. “That one is Mrs. Yoo. She’s diabetic so she can’t really eat them.”
“Right, right, I remember you told me that,” Jimin nods. “Did you have class today as well?”
“Yeah… classes were a bit boring. Had my mind elsewhere all day, so… you know. It only got worse when I saw the date.” Jimin frowns at that and pulls off the phone from his ear to check the date.
“ Oh,” Jimin says. “That’s why you called him…”
“It was stupid. I don’t know what I was expecting either, but… I don’t know,” he sighs and Jimin walks a bit faster.
“I’m downstairs,” Jimin says, a bit out of breath. “Should I just—”
“You know the code,” Taehyung says, and Jimin does, so he enters it and heads upstairs to Taehyung’s apartment.
The first thing Jimin does, even before hanging up the call, is to hug Taehyung tightly when he opens the door.
“Hey,” Jimin whispers against him and feels his body shake as he cries. “It’s okay, you’re okay,” he rubs circles on his back as he hangs up his phone and closes the door with his foot.
“I’m sorry, you really didn’t have to come—” Taehyung starts, but Jimin shakes his head.
“You needed me, right? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Jimin brushes off the tears in his eyes.
“But it’s four in the morning,” Taehyung points out.
“And? That’s quite early for us, we’ve had worse,” he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood as he walks Taehyung to the couch. “Are you feeling a bit better?”
“I’m just so fucking stupid,” Taehyung groans. “You guys even deleted his number from my phone but I still… I still remembered it.”
“You’re not stupid, Taehyung, don’t say that,” Jimin says because he hates when he speaks to himself like that. “You guys were together for a long time, of course, you remember his number. I know yours and Jeongguk’s by heart,” he says although he knows that it’s not really comparable. “And of course, you thought of him today, it’s normal,” he offers him a small smile. I don’t think that makes you stupid, it makes you human. Even if it hurts and it sucks, it’s just… life. But you said that you felt lonely… I hope you know that you’re not alone, though. You’ve got us.”
“I know,” Taehyung says, and he seems to get choked up at that. “I know that I’ve got you, don’t get me wrong. I just… I don’t know, I guess it’s hard to fall asleep on a cold empty bed when you know what being held feels like, you know? And I know I have you guys and I know I could sleep over at your place, but I just… I don’t want to bother you too much, I already do enough as it is.”
“Tae, don’t say that, that’s not true,” Jimin turns around to make sure that he’s looking into his eyes as he says that. “You’ll never bother me or Jeongguk, ever. We love it when you sleep over at our place! And you can come as often as you wish, really.” Jimin smiles softly at him, wanting nothing other than to wrap his arms around him and protect him from all the bad things in the world, including his brain.
“Can we go right now?” Taehyung asks shyly, catching Jimin off guard.
“To our place?” Jimin asks just to make sure, but Taehyung nods. “We can sleep here if you want. I can stay with you until you’ve fallen asleep,” Jimin offers, but he shakes his head.
“I want to hold both you and Jeonggukie. I want to not feel lonely tonight,” and that’s all Jimin needs. He nods and they leave Taehyung’s apartment in silence to head back to his.
The place is still as quiet as it was when Jimin left about an hour ago.
The sun is starting to break through the night sky as they walk into Jeongguk’s room.
The slight snores from the younger are nothing but endearing to Jimin at this point.
“Guk, scoot over,” Jimin whispers in his ear, shaking him a bit. He just whines, unaware of what’s happening. “I brought some company,” and he slides inside Jeongguk’s bed followed by Taehyung who slots himself on Jeongguk’s other side.
He seems to recognize Taehyung’s scent because he relaxes against him, not even opening his eyes.
With Jeongguk’s bed being smaller than Jimin’s, they’re all pressed together, but Jimin doesn’t mind. His hands find Taehyung on the other side of the younger’s body and hold them.
He hopes he doesn’t feel as lonely anymore.
Jimin is checking Taehyung’s dating apps while he’s in the shower. Of course, with his permission.
He’s not particularly liking any of the guys that have obviously shown interest in Taehyung, and neither does Jeongguk.
“I think we should give up at this point, let him do whatever he wants, and then kill everyone that hurts him,” Jeongguk groans, falling back on their couch. It’s been almost six months since they started their silly little hunt, and they’re still nowhere near to finding Taehyung a boyfriend than they were the night where he broke up with his last asshole of an ex.
“You can’t be giving up already,” Jimin says, looking up at him. Jeongguk can be many things: wonderful, attentive, sweet, a good cook, smart, and an amazing cuddler… but he’s not a quitter.
“I’m just… I feel like he’s going to end up resenting us or something like we’re somehow keeping him from finding someone himself,” he admits, and Jimin puts the phone down.
“I don’t think he will. I mean, if someone had caught his eye, he would’ve told us to stop. You know him,” Jimin tries to reassure him, and Jeongguk just sighs, knowing he’s right, as usual. “But I think the problem with these apps and stuff is that all we see are their pictures and their shitty bios. We can’t really get much from that,” Jimin says, leaving the phone back on the table.
“I know. There’s no way to know if the personality will be the one we’re looking for,” Jeongguk bites the inside of his lips.
“And what personality is that?” Jimin chuckles, unsure at this point because they can’t seem to agree on that either, whenever each of them brought forth any suggestions.
“Well, you know… he needs someone that can comfort him, be at their doorstep at any time of the day no questions asked whenever he needs a hug, someone who will cry with him on the bathroom floor if he needs to, someone that knows him inside and out… someone like you,” he says, his eyes meeting Jimin and the older ones’ look panicked.
Someone like you.
And the thing is, in Jimin’s head, the ideal person that he’d been thinking of for Taehyung to date would be someone that would play videogames with Taehyung until the early hours of the night when he gets a day off, that would keep his bed warm and his stomach filled, that would go on late night drives with him if he needed to clear his head. Someone like Jeongguk.
“What are you guys doing, a staring contest?” Taehyung chuckles, walking into the room with his hair still wet after the shower. Jimin can’t quite get used to the black curls on his head after so long of them being a dark caramel color. But he looks so good.
Someone like you.
And it’s as if a tidal wave suddenly hits Jimin that maybe they haven’t found anyone good enough for Taehyung because they’ve both been reluctant to see Taehyung with anyone else.
Anyone other than them.
“Are you guys okay?” Taehyung asks again when he gets no response.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jimin says, snapping out of it a bit, cheeks still tainted and matching Jeongguk’s, who moves away to give room for Taehyung to sit.
“So? Who won?” Taehyung asks, sitting in between them.
“Huh?” Jeongguk asks.
“The staring contest! Who won?” Taehyung chuckles, reaching out to get his phone back and closing the dating app straight away without saying anything else.
“Oh, um—” Jeongguk starts, looking past at Jimin.
“It was a tie,” Jimin finishes for him.
After that, Taehyung says something about giving the winner a price and, since they both won, he gives each of them a kiss on the cheek followed by some giggles.
“I’m so glad I have you guys,” Taehyung says, and suddenly Jimin sees everything under a new light and he wonders how on Earth he never noticed.
Because he’s always known how beautiful his best friends were, how loving and wonderful. How lucky he was to be loved by them, but he never gave it enough thought to imagine himself being in love with them.
Looking back at it now, he thinks he might have been for years.
The drive back home is awkward. Jimin thinks they should talk about it, but he doesn’t know how to approach it. What should he even say? Maybe he misunderstood Jeongguk and he didn’t mean it like that and this is a huge misunderstanding that will lead to nothing but heartbreak.
They ride the elevator silently until their floor and it’s not until Jimin is about to head into his bedroom for the night that Jeongguk finally speaks.
“Wait, hyung.” And Jimin stops. He turns around to face him. “I… I’m sorry if what I said was weird. I didn’t mean—I mean, I did mean it, but I just… I think that all the things you do for hyung and all the qualities you have are the things that he needs in a partner. But I guess it’s hard to duplicate you, huh? You’re one of a kind.”
“I also think that all the things you do for Taehyungie and all the qualities you have are what he needs. He needs someone to be there for him, to cheer him up, to make him laugh, and to take care of him when he forgets to do it himself. He needs someone like you, too.” Jimin says, and the staring contest between them is back.
“Guess now we know why we never found the perfect match for him, then,” Jeongguk says, biting his lip nervously. Jimin notices that whenever they approach the subject, Jeongguk tends to do that. Jimin wants to pull his lip away from his teeth. But now that he’s looking at his lips, he can’t find it in himself to look away.
“Why’s that?” Jimin asks, even though he reached the same conclusion earlier.
“Because it doesn’t exist. Hyung was right, our standards are too high because we… the things we know he needs are the things that we’ve been giving to him for years. There’s no one like us for him.”
“So what, are you saying that we should date him? See which one he likes more? Won’t that be… weird?” Jimin asks; a knot in his stomach at the words, at the thought of Taehyung choosing Jeongguk and them both leaving him behind. Or at the thought of losing Jeongguk in the process. Both are equally as terrifying.
“I’m saying we should date him. Both of us.” Jimin’s even more shocked at that. “I… I guess we should talk about it with him, too, but… loving you will come as easy as breathing because I’ve loved you two for years.”
“Then why did you suggest finding Taehyung a boyfriend?” Jimin asks, and Jeongguk just shrugs.
“Because I never knew that what I’ve been feeling for so long was that. I mean, of course, I knew I loved you guys, but not like that. I just thought everyone was a bit in love with their best friends like it was normal. But every time we suggested someone for hyung it just felt like a punch to the gut. They never felt right, because none of them were. We are.”
“But what if Taehyung doesn’t want that? What if he doesn’t want us? ” Jimin can hear the fear in his own voice when he asks.
“Then we’ll keep being there for him just as we have now. We will catch him when he falls, patch him up when he breaks, love him when he doesn’t,” Jeongguk shrugs. “But at least, we tried.”
“And what does this mean for us? You and me,” Jimin asks, pulling at the ends of his sleeves nervously.
“Means that I love you, hyung,” Jeongguk smiles and walks until he reaches him, leaning down and kissing his cheek. “Good night.”
Jimin is left frozen on the spot as he sees Jeongguk close his bedroom door behind him. He stands there, the ghost of Jeongguk’s lips on his skin still haunting him for a few minutes.
It takes him a while to fall asleep, mostly because he doesn’t want to wake up to find that all of this has been a dream.
It wasn’t a dream. Jimin is in love with his two best friends. He doesn’t really know why he doesn’t feel any different after admitting this information, as if his heart had caught up with it for longer than his brain to the point that he’s just… unphased. He thinks of all the things he’s done in the past for Jeongguk and Taehyung and thinks that he would do them all again, no questions asked.
Jeongguk is already gone by the time Jimin wakes up because he has early shifts at work and classes after. Jimin almost wished he caught a glimpse of him this morning just to make sure that he was also real, that he meant what he said yesterday.
There’s a note on the kitchen aisle that reads “ come to hyung’s after work today, we can talk to him then ♡ ”
Jimin’s stomach turns at the sight.
Today.
They’re telling Taehyung today.
Taehyung, the light of their lives. The boy who’s been hurt so many times that he probably doesn’t even know what a healthy relationship looks like anymore.
Jimin hates that. He hates knowing how much he’s suffered, but he knows that, if Taehyung allows, Jeongguk and he will make him believe in love again, and will make him feel as special and loved as they both know he deserves.
Jimin has breakfast and heads to his room to get ready, but as he stares at his wardrobe he wonders what does one wear to confess their love to their best friend and suggest having a relationship with them and their other best friend?
He takes out his Chelsea boots. Those are a given.
If Jimin had any nails left, he would be biting them, but the walk here has ended with the few of them he had left.
He’s so nervous he barely even ate lunch at the university’s cafeteria.
Jeongguk had texted him to warn him that he was already with Taehyung, that he went to pick him up from work and Jeongguk helped him to get some groceries he needed and they’re now already home.
Jimin might take the long way to Taehyung’s apartment to ready himself, to take a few deep breaths more so that he can gather the strength he suddenly doesn’t feel like he has.
What if this is a mistake? What if they ruin things?
When he’s downstairs, he rings the doorbell, even if he does know the code.
“It’s me,” he responds when Taehyung answers the door, and he pushes it open once he hears the buzzing sound.
On his way up, the only thing he can hear is the sound of his beating heart against his ears.
“Hey, you,” Taehyung smiles, arms wide open and inviting Jimin to melt against them, and he does so easily. Because this is all so easy for them.
“Hi,” Jimin smiles back, trying not to look too nervous because he knows that Taehyung will see right through him easily. “How was today?”
“Pretty boring,” Taehyung chuckles. “Good thing you guys are here now, otherwise I probably would’ve had an early night and woken up at like three in the morning.”
“Where’s Jeongguk?” Jimin asks when he doesn’t see the youngest.
“Oh, I asked him to fix one of the lights in my bedroom. It’s been acting up and I never remember to change it,” he chuckles. “Are you okay, Minie?” Taehyung asks, and there it is.
“Yeah, yeah, just… I’m fine,” he shakes his head. “Guk, I’m here!” He says loud enough for the youngest to hear him from the bedroom.
Taehyung gives him a weird look, as if he was trying to read his mind and understand what’s going on, but doesn’t ask anything else.
Jeongguk eventually appears from the hallway.
“Hey, hyung,” he smiles at him and it makes something flutter in Jimin’s stomach. He can’t even pretend it’s hunger at this point.
“Why are you guys acting weird?” Taehyung frowns, looking in between them. “Don’t tell me you guys actually found someone for me to date,” he gasps when neither of them responds.
“We—”
“Kinda,” Jeongguk says, and both Jimin and Taehyung dart their eyes at him.
“Wait, really?” And, for some reason, Taehyung sounds disappointed. Or maybe it’s just Jimin hearing things. He gulps.
“We should sit down,” Jimin offers because he doesn’t think his legs are strong enough not to give out no matter the outcome.
“O…kay?” Taehyung frowns, following them to his couch. Jeongguk sits next to Jimin and he feels like he’s going to throw up from nerves. “You guys are scaring me.”
“Don’t be scared,” Jeongguk says, although Jimin admits that his words aren’t very reassuring because he is a bit scared as well and he knows what they’re about to tell him.
“Okay, before we start, I want you to know that we tried our best,” Jimin starts, making Taehyung frown. “We… we did try, but we never could agree on anybody that we felt was good enough for you. None of them matched our standards or our expectations for the person that you should be with.”
“Oh,” Taehyung says, sounding a bit more relieved. “That’s fine, guys, you—”
“Wait, let us finish,” Jeongguk cuts him off, and Taehyung just nods, allowing them to continue. “We realized yesterday that the reason why we never seemed to agree on who we thought would be best for you was because… because we kept thinking of each other.” Taehyung’s eyes open wide at that. “I… I kept thinking that the perfect partner for you would be someone like hyung because I thought he would be ideal for me. And hyung—”
“I kept thinking you needed someone like Jeongguk, and none of the candidates we had matched up to him,” Jimin admits, but Taehyung’s quiet now. “We… we realized that we didn’t want anyone else to date you and hurt you the way others have in the past. We were adamant to find you another date mainly because…”
“Because we want to date you ourselves,” Jeongguk finishes.
Silence fills up the room to the point that it’s suffocating. Jimin can’t breathe. He’s staring at Taehyung and Jeongguk waiting for either of them to do or say something else because he doesn’t know what to say himself.
“I…” Taehyung starts, and Jimin feels the fear creep up his throat until it’s choking him. “ Yes. I would love to.”
“Wait—” Jeongguk turns to look at Jimin to confirm that he heard it right. “Wait, you said yes?”
“Of course, I said yes!” Taehyung says and throws his arm around the both of them. “You—you guys are… everything I’ve ever wanted,” he pulls back enough to look at them. “I kept… I kept dating trying to forget you, trying to force myself to get over you, because I didn’t think I stood a chance, but you’ve always been so sweet to me, so kind, so… perfect. ”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jimin asks almost in a whisper, but they’re so close together that they hear him perfectly.
“Why didn’t you?” Taehyung asks back to both of them.
“I don’t think I knew until yesterday,” Jimin admits with a chuckle. “Or rather, I didn’t realize, but I always knew.”
“I love you two so much,” Jeongguk says, and he hugs them again so tightly, but it’s not enough for Jimin.
He needs more.
So he pulls Taehyung in and presses their lips together for a few seconds before he turns and kisses Jeongguk. When they part, Jeongguk turns to kiss Taehyung and Jimin can’t help but smile at how surreal this feels but how… right at the same time.
“So, does this mean that the hunt is over?” Taehyung asks; one hand in Jeongguk’s and the other one on Jimin’s nape.
“I guess so,” Jimin smiles.
“Are you satisfied with our suggestion?” Jeongguk giggles, brushing his nose against Taehyung’s neck in the way he usually does.
“Very,” he admits before he kisses them both again. They keep stealing kisses from each other for a while, giggling as if they can’t believe that this is really happening.
And maybe what gets Jimin the most is the fact that nothing really changes between them, nothing except for the fact that now they can share kisses under covers when they’re in bed and they can touch each other in ways they never allowed themselves to in the past, but besides that, it’s just them.
Sometimes there’s no need to look for what you’ve always wanted elsewhere because you’ve had it in front of you from the start.
And maybe it will take a while for Taehyung to believe in love again and think of himself as worthy of it, but Jimin and Jeongguk will make sure to love him through it the same way they’ve always had. Just a bit louder. A bit tender. A bit warmer.