Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s snowing.

Snowflakes flutter from the sky and land gracefully over the ground, creating a little white blanket. Jimin smiles even as wind blows against his bare face - he should have worn a face mask but he wanted to smell the snow and freshness that came with it. 

He loves the snow. Growing up, he didn’t experience it much because Busan wasn’t cold enough but when he moved to Seoul for university, he realized how much he was missing out on, and ever since he treasured every time the little snowflakes fell from the sky.

Jimin passes by stores that aren’t open since it’s Christmas, and he wishes that his company was closed too. Unfortunately for him, he’s one of the head managers at the music distribution company and he needs to show his face for the Christmas party they’re throwing. At least the event guarantees free food, festive music and vibes. He can’t swear there’d be good company though since he knows that Haneul, his ex, will be there. 

Before he can go into a spiral of negative thoughts he accidentally trips and get’s caught by someone in a Santa outfit. The person has the beard and everything, down to the t.

“Oh I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to - thank you!” Jimin stutters over himself as he straightens up his clothes and bows slightly to the Santa. 

There’s a jolly ‘hohoho’ before a hand is patting his shoulder and the Santa is saying, “No problem, you should be careful there. You don’t want to accidentally fall into the wrong arms.” 

Jimin whips his head up at that odd sentence but the Santa is gone immediately. Like magic. 

He laughs to himself as he shakes that idea out of his head. Yeah, right.

Magic. 

The Christmas party is everything Jimin wishes for. His heart fills with warmth as he sees the huge Christmas tree in the foyer, and the little presents under it. The gifts are from a secret santa exchange they done at the office, and Jimin can’t wait to open his gift. He got his partner a portable phone charger because he remembers his recipient - Sumi - always showing up with her phone on low battery. It eventually became an inside joke between the office workers there. Aside from the gifts, there’s some toasty fires burning and décor that reminds Jimin of Christmas at home. 

He grabs a drink - hot choco with mini marshmallows - as he walks around the building to greet everyone. Things are going well until people start asking him if he’s been dating anyone since Haneul. All he can do is force a brighter smile on his face as he says he’s thinking of taking a break from dating. They ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ and Jimin can tell they’re holding back their real thoughts - they pity him. He was cheated on by his boyfriend of four years, and he hasn’t moved on even after two months of being apart. 

He doesn’t understand how deep their sympathy runs until he freezes in his tracks when he spots Haneul with his new boyfriend by one of the tables. Well, he thinks bitterly, not really ‘new boyfriend’ at all. The bastard was cheating on him for months, so the boyfriend isn’t new, he’s just finally being shown off as ‘the boyfriend’ now that Jimin is out of the way.

Suddenly he wishes that he is dating, just so that he doesn’t have to face yet another humiliating affair at the hands of his terrible ex. Haneul brought his boyfriend to the company party, while he is there alone. He wishes he brought someone, at least to show that bastard that he’s not pining after him. Before he can think more on this, his assistant Sungwoon comes up to him, pulling him away for pictures with his team. 

“Did you know that Haneul-ssi was bringing his boyfriend?” Jimin whispers to Sungwoon before the picture is taken. Everyone is getting their props for the pictures - Jimin chose a reindeer ear headband.

The assistant can’t hear him over the noise so he scrunches his nose and asks, “What? Why are you whispering?” 

Jimin sighs and repeats a little louder. 

Sungwoon’s eyebrows shoot up, “He brought who?! No way.” 

With a pout he nods and tilts his head in the direction of the two, not wanting to be obvious in case Haneul happens to be looking over at that point in time. Sungwoon gasps and throws his arm around Jimin’s shoulder to pull him in for a little squeeze of support. 

“I can’t believe the asshole actually did that.” 

“It’s been two months…” Jimin trails off, “I guess it was bound to happen. I’m actually surprised this is the first time he’s showing up with that man.” 

“Still,” Sungwoon huffs, that makes him feel a little warm inside because even though Jimin is his boss, the younger clearly cares about him. “Come on, let’s finish with these pictures and then we can go around together.” 

They’re done before they know it and soon Sungwoon is taking Jimin outside, offering him some spiked Christmas drink that Jimin can’t remember the name of. Readily accepting it, he gulps it down in one go, wanting to forget that this night is even happening. How did it go bad so quickly? Ah, his ex brought him to the party. Suddenly a very terrible thought strikes him.

“He’s going to bring him to the New Year’s party.” Jimin mumbles after being told to slow down his drinking. 

Sungwoon can only offer the elder a comforting hand on his back as he talks about the breakup. He’s accustomed to this - his boss has had many breakdowns over Haneul, even though the latter really didn’t deserve to be occupying a second of his thoughts. He wasn’t worth Jimin’s time, not after cheating on him. 

“Things were so bad before they got good you know?” Jimin starts as he recalls the beginning of the end of his relationship. “I should have known. He didn’t want to be around anymore, he was always grumpy, we were always fighting. I thought he was going to breakup with me. Then all of a sudden he changed. He became so much happier and I thought that this is it - we’ve overcome one of our biggest hurdles as a couple, we could get through anything. I told my parents how good things were going and they suggested Haneul might propose soon. I wish they didn’t. Maybe then the let down would have been easier. I agreed with them though, and when I was suspicious of him hiding things, I thought they were right. Turns out I was way off.” He begins to sniffle, and Sungwoon hates seeing him like this, he really does. He never knows what to do either. His boss deserves nothing but the best, he treated his staff so well and he was a walking angel. 

“I found a letter in his drawer when I was snooping around to find the ring…” Jimin rubs at his nose and sighs as he recalls the moment he read the love letter between his ex and his secret lover, “Worst day of my life. I hate him, I really really hate him. I want to stop feeling like this, I don’t love him anymore but it still hurts knowing that he replaced me and I’m here all alone while he’s happy with the man that helped him ruin my life. He’ll probably take his boyfriend with to the New Years party, and I’ll be even more pathetic then.” 

“Your life isn’t ruined Jimin-ssi, and you’re not pathetic…” Sungwoon trails off as he tries to make his boss feel better, “And you don’t have to be alone either. There are plenty of people who want you, trust me! People flirt with you all the time, you’re a treasure.” 

Jimin tries not to let the compliments get to his head but he can’t help it, “Really?” he asks with wide eyes and a pout. 

Sungwoon nods enthusiastically and pulls out his phone, “I can prove it. I bet we can find you a date for the New Years party so you won’t have to show up alone.” 

“Where will I find people on such short notice?” He grimaces. He doesn’t know how he feels about picking strangers up from the street. 

“We can set up a tinder profile right now and you’ll see.” 

Jimin bites his bottom lip as he thinks about it. The younger is right - this is the perfect opportunity for him to find someone to take as a date so he won’t be stuck with pitying looks and feeling like crap on the inside. He’d be a happy man if he could catch a glimpse of surprise on Hanuels face too - the man expects Jimin to still be wallowing. Jimin could show him he’s moved on and that he’s happier than before. Eagerness bubbles within him as he nods his head, “Yes, let’s do it.” 

He matches with an overwhelming number of people, but he manages to narrow it down to just twelve with the help of Sungwoon. They’re no longer at the office because they decided they didn’t want anyone catching on to what they were doing. Instead, they’re at a quaint restaurant around the corner from Jimin’s apartment and they’re huddled up together as they giggle over people’s Tinder profiles. Maybe they’re a little bit drunk - but it’s Christmas! They’re allowed to loosen up a bit.

“I am not dating a man with a beard.” Jimin flat out refuses as Sungwoon insists he give this - Sooman a chance. 

“Why not?” The younger pouts and Jimin slaps his hand on the table.

“No! He’s too old anyway, I don’t know why you told me to keep him in the batch anyway. The other eleven are much more promising.” 

Sungwoon breaks into a smile, “I just wanted to see if you’d cave, I wouldn’t date Sooman too. But the beard has nothing to do with that though.” 

“You’re bad.” Jimin tsks at the teasing and moves back to the phone before rejecting Sooman. “Okay, Namjoon, Jungkook, Seokjin, Taemin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Sihyuk, Seonho, Yeonjun, Beomgyu and Yoongi.” 

“Sihyuk is rich,” The younger points out and Jimin grimaces at the profile. 

“He’s old.” 

“Do you not like older guys?” 

“He’s too old.” 

“Okay…” Sungwoon trails off as he rejects Sihyuk, “Moving on. Namjoon?” 

“He seems nice, down to earth, handsome. Look at his eyes, he has those wise eyes. I say we keep him for now.” 

The assistant nods in approval as he accepts Namjoon. 

“Taemin?” 

“He hates pets.” 

“So?” 

“I can’t date someone who hates pets!” Jimin gasps at the audacity of the younger. 

“You don’t even have pets.” 

“But I could!”

He doesn’t miss the eye roll as Sungwoon asks, “Yeonjun?” 

“Too tall. That Beomgyu boy too. Both pretty, but too tall.” 

“Namjoon is tall too.” 

“But look at Namjoon’s eyes!” 

Sungwoon decides not to comment on his boss and his silliness, “Yeah, okay whatever. Jungkook?”

“Yes. He seems like a great date. Will definitely be fun, adventurous.” 

“Hmm, Seokjin?” 

“Owner of a restaurant, it’s a definite yes. Food is life man.” 

The two of them burst into giggles again before they continue, ”Taehyung?”

“A sculpture, I’d be an idiot to say no!”

“You’re so right. Hey if it doesn’t work out between you two, send me his details if he’s nice?” 

“Of course.” Jimin winks.

“Thanks. Next is Hoseok.”

“Oh yeah, he’s a dancer. It’s a definite yes.” 

“Seunho?” 

“Police officer? No thanks.” 

“The last one is Yoongi.” 

“Oh isn’t he adorable. I’d love to eat him up.” 

“We’ve narrowed it down to six. Let’s narrow it down more.” 

Jimin pouts, “But how do I choose? They all sound so amazing. What if I go on a date with one and it doesn’t work out? Shouldn’t I keep options?”

He thinks about what that Santa said, about not wanting to fall into the wrong arms. He doesn’t want to pick one person and they end up being weird, when another candidate could end up being his soulmate and a lovely person.

Sungwoon considers it a bit before nodding, “You’re right. So, how do you want to do this?” 

An idea pops into his head, options is what he wants. So-

“How about one date a night leading up to New Years?” Jimin asks with a little glint in his eyes.

“Oh? Intrigue. Let’s do it. Operation Find Jimin a Date: in motion.”

Chapter Text

Jimin takes one last look at himself in the mirror and sighs. His outfit was minimal, yet beautiful, soft ivory sweater and a pair of his favorite skinny jeans, along with his big coat that engulfed his small body almost completely. In winters, Jimin liked the feeling of heavy layered clothing on him, maybe it was the nostalgia from when he was little and his mom would cover him up with every piece of wool nearby even though his city barely got that cold.

Leaving one’s own city for another can never be easy and the boy found it suffocating at times. This city was too big, always ready to trample him under the expensive boots. Jimin never thought he would survive, but with the help of the few friends he had and high ambition, the small city boy achieved his goals in this big city. 

Then he met Haneul, his supposed man of dreams. With the addition of a lover, Jimin finally felt like his life was complete. He would easily ignore red flags thinking they were just exaggerations, until the truth slapped him across the face. If all that hell wasn’t enough, he now had to tolerate that motherfucker being annoying right in front his eyes. Why were people so cruel?

The boy’s chain of thoughts were broken by the sound of his doorbell, his date was here. To choose the dates, Jimin had picked out names from a bowl full of chits and the first one he picked, spit out Kim Namjoon, the tallest of the suitors (Sungwoon’s words, not his) Jimin had picked.

Sighing one last time, Jimin walked to the door and unlocked it.

“Park Jimin-ssi?”

“You must be Namjoon-ssi”

The man smiled, his dimples immediately popping, he forwarded a bouquet of snow covered roses to Jimin and said, “hope you had a good Christmas”

Jimin couldn’t help but smile at the gesture, “ah well, I guess you could say that. Hope you had a good one as well. Would you like to step in as I put these in water?”

Namjoon nodded and Jimin made space for the man to enter. He stepped in and sat on one of the sofa chairs. Jimin went to the adjacent open kitchen and started filling the glass vase with water, later putting the roses in them.

He took a glass of water in hand and took it to Namjoon, the man gladly accepted and when he finished drinking, he looked at his quite expensive watch and then turned back to Jimin.

“I have a few things planned, so I hope we can leave now?”

“yeah! Of course. I'm even wearing my coat.”

Within the next few minutes, the two of them made it out of Jimin's apartment and then walked towards the parking lot. Jimin lightly shivered from the weather while Namjoon rubbed his hands together.

“You have a chauffeur? Fancy.”

Namjoon scratched the behind of his ears before nervously laughing,“um, yeah. I never actually ended up getting a driver's license.”

Jimin smiled back, “I didn't have one for a while either, but then got some spare time in my hand and ended up learning.”

Namjoon opened the door for him, like a gentleman and Jimin couldn't help but giggle as he got in the luxurious Sedan. The other too, got in and fastened his seatbelt before gesturing his chauffeur to start.

“So where are we going?”

“We have a couple of destinations today, first being a special exhibition.”

“Oh? That sounds fun. I'm gonna be clear with you, though, I'm shallow as hell.”

Namjoon chuckled, his deep voice ringing in Jimin's ears, he could easily blush at how handsome the man was or just how attractive his voice is.

“I booked it after looking at your likes and dislikes on the app, so I hope I'm not unsuccessful”

Jimin smiled and nodded, his gaze slowly moving towards the window, looking at the busy, but pretty city he had come to love oh so dearly.

•••

The car stopped at a large building, covered in glasses, quite akin to Jimin's office building. He got out of the car with Namjoon once again being a gentleman and reaching out his hand.

“Let's go!”

The exhibition looked exclusive because at the gate, Namjoon had to produce a paper which the people there scanned and then made way for them to enter. They were also provided with 3d glasses, and Jimin had no idea what they were for.

When the two of them entered the hall, Jimin gasped. There was a gorgeous chandelier hanging from the ceiling and all over the room was art, art of different forms of dance. Ballet, contemporary, salsa and whatnot.

The artist had drawn some beautiful poses of people dancing these styles and Jimin was in awe.

“This is beautiful. Oh my god, I love dance and these are so pretty.”

Namjoon giggled at the other man's childlike eyes full of wonder at the different frames of art all over the room.

“Let's start looking at them left to right. Also, wear the glasses, you'll have more fun.”

With shaky hands, he wore the glasses and made way to the first painting. What he didn't expect was to see the bodies in motion. There was a 3d effect to the frames which made the figures move.

“Holy shit, wow this is so pretty oh my God.”

“Do you like it?”

“I LOVE IT! How does this even work?”

“the artist specializes in digital paintings, hence he used a special kind of paper to make this happen. Normally, it would seem like an ordinary sketch, but with the help of these glasses.”

“Woah, people are so talented.”

“Your profile said you have been dancing for years. Do you use that skill professionally too?”

The duo took small steps, looking at different sketches while JImin answered Namjoon’s question, “Well it's not exactly my job but I often help idols with choreos, I like it. It’s voluntary, sometimes mixing my work with my passion sounds nice.”

“You’re awesome.”

Jimin giggled, “Absolutely not, I believe you’re the talented one, writers are so creative!” Namjoon shied away from the compliment, fiddling and fidgeting and Jimin found it the most endearing thing ever, “Namjoon-ssi, you should accept compliments as freely as you shower them on others.”

Namjoon once again started scratching the back of his ears, his face looking flustered. From his appearance, Kim Namjoon did not seem like someone who would bring roses and get shy at little compliments, Jimin found him cute (it was his second feeling, the first feeling being all about his arms).

“You can call me hyung.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I think i’m older than you and you can call me-”

“Namjoonie hyung, hmm, sounds cute.”

•••

After spending an hour in the exhibition they were back in the car, this time, the seat filled with numerous souvenirs Jimin bought from the gift stall. It wasn’t exactly something he should’ve done on the first date, but Jimin learnt that it was the last day of the exhibition and he didn’t want to have regrets. Namjoon offered to pay, but the younger one refused immediately. This was his new beginning, he couldn’t afford to make mistakes again.

Soon they were stopped at what seemed like a restaurant. Namjoon and Jimin got out of the car and the younger one rubbed his palms, hissing at the cold. “What are we eating today?”

“I saw you were a picky eater, so I decided a simple barbecue would be good. No Korean would deny meat and kimchi.”

“Well if they’re vegan…”

Namjoon’s eyes widened, his face turned pale within seconds, “I-”

Jimin laughed so hard he had to throw half of his body on Namjoon, “I’m just messing with you, I can’t live without meat.”

“You’re such a menace, I almost had a heart attack.”

Jimin giggled more and more, “Take it easy, hyung”

The restaurant (to their luck) was fairly empty, the smell of fermented kimchi and roasted meat all over, making Jimin drool. They took a table and immediately ordered meat, squid and a lot of soju. Cold weather and soju made the best combo.

Making conversations with Namjoon was easy, even the little silences were comfortable. By far Jimin had a really good evening and it was probably the best date he had in a while. Even when he was with his ex, Haneul didn’t really put in a lot of effort, which was frustrating. The heartbreak was painful, but Jimin now finds the breakup one of the best things to happen to him. He needed oxygen.

“So do you only write books or are you interested in poems and stuff too?”

“I write poems a lot, even wrote a few songs.”

“Oh? Can you name one?”

“Ah, let’s see, Strange, Respect, Moonchild, et cetera.”

“Oh my god I love moonchild and et cetera, are you and eaeon friends?”

“Kind of? Hyung has been a support system for years.”

“That sounds nice, we all need some people to rely on no matter how seductive loneliness looks like.”

Namjoon laughed lightly, his dimples showing once again and making Jimin’s heart skip a beat. He realized he was really really into this man and was sure it was going to be his death. The evening was so natural, so comfortable, Jimin felt genuinely happy, and he couldn’t wait to squeal about it to Sungwoon.

•••

Namjoon insisted on paying for the food and after having a war over the check, Jimin had to finally give in. They sucked on the toffees provided by the restaurant and walked out, hand in hand. It felt comfortable, holding hands with Namjoon, it made Jimin feel all warm and cozy.

The exit they took was different and it confused Jimin. Namjoon started leading them towards a completely opposite side to where the car was parked. Jimin wanted to say something but didn’t want Namjoon to stop walking and let go of their intertwined hands. When Jimin watched the elder halt his steps, he finally blurted out, “Hyung where are we going?”

Namjoon smiled, “Put on your beanie, we’re going cycling.”

“What?”

“Come on, we’ll ride by the han river, it looks even prettier in winters.”

“We’re drunk.”

“We’re gonna ride on the sidewalks, not on the road.”

Jimin sighed and then agreed, Namjoon gleefully jumped and went to rent two bicycles for them.

The weather was chilly, hitting Jimin’s face and making his cheeks cold. Namjoon rode the bicycle with a big smile on his face and it immediately brought happiness to Jimin. There was something healing about the elder’s smile.

Seoul was surprisingly empty, lights were all over the roads with some remnants of pretty Christmas decorations. On his left Jimin could see the great Han river, witness of so many historical moments of the country. It was fun, he had to admit, even though at first the idea of cycling in this cold sounded like death to him.

After a while, they were sitting in one of the park benches by the river, eating hotteok for dessert and giggling at almost everything. Jimin felt like he could just live in this moment forever, with his head resting on Namjoon’s shoulder. He just wanted to capture this moment in a single frame-

“Hyung, can we click a selca?”

Namjoon perked up, “Of course!”

A cute selfie later, the duo were back in the car, Jimin’s heart squeezing lightly at the thought of this evening coming to an end, but there wasn’t much he could do. The ride to his home seemed way too quick, within what seemed like a few minutes, they were at his apartment complex gate.

“Hyung, I had a great time today.”

“So did I, hope to meet you again soon.”

Namjoon turned his back and started walking, when jimin called him, the elder turned only to get baffled by the joining of his lips with Jimin’s supple ones. It wasn’t exactly a kiss but more of a peck that lasted for a few seconds longer than it should have. 

“Good night, Namjoonie-hyung.”

As jimin unlocked the door to his apartment, he lowly cursed at himself. This was just the first date and he already kissed the man, how was he supposed to survive the next five days?

Chapter Text

Jimin yawns as he stretches in bed like a kitten, the exhaustion from a long night still hanging onto his body. He spots the time on his bedside clock and his eyes pop out as he reads that it’s already eleven in the morning. As much fun as this week is going to be with a date every day, he is still a working adult whose social battery isn't infinite, and staying out late means he needs to sleep in or else he’ll be useless for the rest of the day.

There's a ping from his phone and he picks it up, seeing that it's a message from Sungwoon asking about his date last night. He quickly requests to call instead and then he's getting an incoming phone call.

“So, how was it?” is the first thing the other says.

“Let me start off with the fact that he has a chauffeur.” Jimin replies as he gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom to freshen up.

“Ooh so tall one is rich?”

“He’s rich.” He confirms as he splashes water over his face, “But I didn’t even focus on that during the date because he was so down to earth. Also, he isn’t that tall. Anyway,” Jimin pours some of his face wash into his hand and begins rubbing it over his face, “He took me to an exhibition first and we had to wear these 3D glasses to make the figures move. It was beautiful. I bought some souvenirs too, I’ll show you next time we see each other.” he sighs and washes off his face.

He begins to brush his teeth when Sungwoon replies, “The figures moving sounds unreal, what exhibition was this?”

“Yesterday was the last day but I’ll text the organizers to you in case they do another one somewhere else.” He spits out his toothpaste and rinses his mouth. “After that Namjoon hyung took me-”

“Wait, hyung? He said you can call him hyung already after the first date?” his assistant interrupts to squeal.

Jimin can’t help the giggle that comes out too, “Yeah, he did! When I tell you that he was amazing, I mean it! Anyway, afterwards we went for barbecue and I found out that he actually wrote Moonchild and Et Cetera for Eaeon! He’s a dreamboat Sungwoon, a dreamboat! After that we went cycling too, it was so fun.”

“Sure sounds like it.” Jimin can hear the smile in the other’s voice, “So… did you guys kiss?”

He can’t resist the urge to roll his eyes because of course that’s the question his friend asks.

“We kissed,” He replies but before Sungwoon can screech he adds, “There was no tongue and it was a completely innocent kiss, a peck if you will. He was just too cute to resist.”

“A peck still counts I suppose,” The younger hums, “Do you think he’s a strong possibility for New Years?”

“Oh for sure.” He nods even though the other can’t see him. Namjoon is definitely a possibility - he’s dreamy, Jimin feels comfortable around him, and he knows he’d mesh well with the company staff too.

“Are you still going on the other dates then?”

“Yes. I think it would be a disservice to not go at this point since they all seem so lovely just based on their Tinder profiles. I need to play the field, or whatever it is people say these days.”

“Hyung, you’re not 100 years old, you know the lingo.”

“Whatever,” Jimin giggles, “I need to get ready for the date since we’re leaving early and I only just woke up.”

The two hang up and he begins to sort out his outfit. His date tonight is Kim Taehyung, and he’s a photographer. Jimin done a little research on him before setting up the date because he wanted to see if Taehyung was any good and he was impressed. If things don’t work out with them romantically then he’d love to get him on board for some album shootings - his portfolio shows that he’d have a fresh perspective that would be useful for the coming up with unique concepts for their artists albums.

Jimin finds himself rolling his eyes at himself once he realizes what he’s doing. He is once again thinking about work even though he took off this week. He’s just so used to constantly thinking about these things that he can’t switch off his business brain even when he’s not supposed to be working.

But none of that anymore, now he needs to get ready for his date.

There’s a knock on his door at three in the afternoon and Jimin rushes to find his coat and a beanie. He does one last check that he has everything before he’s opening the door to the most beautiful man he has ever seen in his life.

“H-hi.” He stutters out and blushes when the man - Taehyung - smiles at him.

“Park Jimin?” The man asks with his head tilted to the side and it takes all of Jimin to not throw himself at him.

“That’s me. Kim Taehyung?” His voice comes out high at the end and he wants to die - he can’t do this. Kim Taehyung is simply otherworldly.

“That’s me.” Taehyung chuckles and then he holds out his arm for Jimin to take, “Let’s head out, shall we?”

He finds himself nodding and linking his arm in the others’ as they walk to the car. He makes a mental note that Namjoon brought him flowers but Taehyung didn’t, but he supposes flowers isn’t something everyone wants on a first date. He doesn’t mind no flowers as long as the date is fun.

Taehyung opens the door for him and he gets in. Soon they’re leaving and Jimin realizes that he didn’t ask where they’re going. He twists to the side to face the other when Taehyung answers his question before he even has to ask.

“I bet you’re wondering what we’re doing that required us to leave so early, right?” He asks, giving Jimin a boxy smile that makes him swoon.

“I was literally just thinking that.”

“Well, I saw that you’re a manager for a music company so I figured that means you’re into creative shit. There’s this place that I love going to, it’s called The Art Jamming Centre, and it’s basically just the two of us, some canvases, paint and music. If you don’t vibe with this we can do something else, I have a plan B.”

“What’s plan B?” Jimin asks as he mulls over the idea of their date for the night - it sounds fun. It’s perfect - he and Taehyung will be busy painting, and if they fall into a weird lull or he doesn’t like the guy, then they’ll have the music to cut through the silence.

“Oh, you don’t like plan A?” Taehyung teases, a little smile playing on his face.

“I love it, I’m just curious.” He shrugs and then his eyes fall on the others hand on the steering wheel. Oh. Those are some pretty long fingers. Is everything about this man pretty?

“Well then I’m not telling. Who knows, maybe this date will go well and Plan B can be for our next date.”

“Fine keep your secret.” Jimin pouts, but on the inside butterflies are dancing around at the thought of a second date.

On the way to the Centre the two of them play a short game of twenty questions to try to get to know each other better. Maybe it was a bit juvenile, but it was fun. They know that they’re the same age, Taehyungs favorite color is gray, they’re both the eldest in their families and they both absolutely love the song Nothing by Bruno Major.

When they’re given their canvases Jimin is still not sure what he wants to paint, so he looks around for inspiration. There’s color everywhere, and all the other paintings hung up on the wall are too hard for Jimin to even attempt. He doesn’t want to use stencils so he heaves a sigh as he walks in circles until he spots the large window that looks out into the street. There’s trees lined up, all covered in snow and Christmas decorations still.

He really does love this time of year, and while he wishes that he could spent it with his family, he’s glad that he at least has these little dates keeping him occupied so he doesn’t think negative thoughts during this holiday season.

“Have you decided what to paint?” Taehyung asks as he pours paint onto his palette.

“Yeah, I think I’ll paint this view.” Jimin replies, pointing outside the window and then making his way next to the other who is standing by the paint, “Maybe add a hot chocolate mug to make it seem more festive.”

“Sounds cute.”

“What about you?”

“I’m doing a Vante original.”

Jimin doesn’t find out what that means until Taehyung is done painting, and then he’s gasping because, “Wait- I’ve seen this style in your portfolio!”

“You looked through my portfolio?” Taehyung asks with a teasing voice and then he’s nudging his shoulder, “What do you think of it?”

“I love it, I think it’s so refreshing and now that I met you I can tell that it’s so you.”

“I’m refreshing?”

“You’re different.”

Taehyung grimaces at that and Jimin rushes to explain himself, “I just mean- you’re brilliant. If you’re put in a situation, you don’t think of it like a closed box like most people and you rather think of it like an open box with endless possibilities whereas most people are confined to thinking about the box.”

He can tell that he flustered the other, and he takes some pride in making the handsome man blush.

“You got that from spending three hours with me?” he asks almost shyly.

He didn’t even realize it has already been three hours - they were too busy having fun and talking about everything and nothing.

“Yeah, you made that kind of impression on me.” Jimin answers honestly.

The atmosphere isn’t as light as it was before, but it’s still comfortable. The song playing switches, and five seconds into the song the two of them make eye contact as Nothing by Bruno Major comes on.

“No way.” Jimin gasps as the song filters through the speakers.

Taehyung wipes his hands on his apron and holds it out to him, “Come, let’s dance.”

“Dance?” he flushes, they’re in public!

“Yes, come, before the song is over.”

And then he’s pulled up from his seat, tripping over himself as Taehyung pulls him close and they sway together. Jimin links his arms around the other’s neck, humming along to the song and staring in Taehyung’s pretty brown eyes while the other’s hands hold onto his waist.

He’s not a big fan of clichés, but he swears if they were to become official at some point, Nothing would be their song. He didn’t even have a song with Haneul, but he supposes it doesn’t matter because the bastard is a thing of the past. He needs to move on and he’s on the steps to doing that.

“I love this song so much,” Taehyung says as Nothing comes to an end and some other song they don’t know starts.

“Me too.”

The two of them stop swaying but don’t move away from each other. He involuntarily licks his lips when he sees Taehyung glancing at them quickly. The air is electrifying as the other slowly leans forward, as if giving Jimin a chance to back away, before his lips are captured in a sweet kiss. The two lick and tug at each others lips, hands wondering until there’s a loud cough and they jump apart.

The two of them laugh as they realize they were making out in the open, and when they get back to finishing off their paintings they sit closer than before.

They place their paintings in the boot of Taehyung’s car and head off to dinner at an Instagram worthy restaurant, with a pink rose aesthetic and cute place settings. Taehyung sits next to Jimin and their thighs touch, causing Jimin to shiver every time one of them shifts in their seat.

There's a huge variety in food and cuisines but Jimin orders something Korean, not willing to ruin the date by experimenting with a dish he doesn't know in case it turns out bad.

"Your painting is pretty. Are you going to hang it up?" Taehyung asks while they're waiting for their food to arrive.

"I think so," He replies then asks, "What about you?"

"Yeah. I have a room for art in my house, so I'll hang it up there." There's a slight pause before he adds, "Maybe I can show it to you, sometime."

Jimin knows what he's implying so he flushes from head to toe and he nods with a small smile across his lips, "I'd like that."

Their food arrives and the two of them talk as they eat, and along the way they form a bond that doesn't even make sense to Jimin.

How is everything so comfortable with Taehyung? How do they fit into each other so well? Taehyung fascinates Jimin, and he finds himself wanting to know everything about the man.

At the end of the date when Taehyung is walking him home, they kiss again and Jimin contemplates inviting him in. He doesn't though - it'll probably skew his decision for his New Years date. Reluctantly he says goodnight to Taehyung, and the other presses another kiss against the corner of his lip before saying goodbye.

Later that night, Jimin is lying in bed staring at the ceiling while thinking about starry eyes, fluffy hair, long fingers and an impossibly cute boxy smile.

How the fuck is Jimin supposed to make a decision between his dates for New Years?

Chapter Text

Jimin wakes up quite cheery. He hums all his favorite songs and dances all over his apartment while doing normal chores. Even in his wildest dreams Jimin would’ve never thought online dating would bring so much happiness to him. Just a few days back he was getting the pity of anyone and everyone and now he felt like some spoiled princess. It was indeed a Saturnalia miracle.

After two very successful dates with two very hot, dreamy, gentlemen, the boy found himself blushing at the thought of the ‘mighty Kims’ as Sungwoon called them. Jimin found his best friend to be absolutely obnoxious and the cutest person on the Earth at the same time. Maybe it was a universal rule, one cannot truly love their best friends without hating their ass at the same time.

Jimin had a date today too, but he was so laid back about it. Twerking in some skimpy booty shorts that accentuated his plump ass,  while ironing his clothes and not even bothering about picking an outfit. However, his little bubble burst when his little best friend forever barged in and gasped.

“PARK JIMIN.”

“Hello to you too, Sungwoon-ie.”

“How did I not get any deets about last night yet and what is this, why in the actual hell are you ironing clothes instead of getting prepared for DAY-3!!”

 “I’ll tell you all about last night and stop acting like this is some red carpet event.”

“With Min Yoongi it is?!”

“The dumpling boy, he’s cute. You have a crush on him or what?”

Sungwoon slapped his forehead and huffed as he spoke to Jimin, “He’s cute and hot both at the same time. You’re so lucky, hyung.”

Jimin giggled and ruffled the younger’s hair before starting to tell him all about his escapades of last night. The dynamic Kim Taehyung and the great evening Jimin had with him.Even if Taehyung wasn’t the one he ended up going to the party with, the man would always stay carved in Jimin’s heart with golden letters. Picking one out of Taehyung and Namjoon already felt like a nightmare to him, so if this date went bad, Jimin wouldn’t really mind.

The man, Min Yoongi, had texted him saying he would pick Jimin up at seven which means he had a lot of time in hand. Sungwoon however was fuming.

“I’m so happy for you but you’ve got to doll up for today!”

Jimin shoots him a look of disbelief, “Why the fuck?”

“This Yoongi guy is my choice from the six suitors you chose.”

“Stop with the suitors thing and if you like him so much, go instead of me.”

“HYUNG, please he is so cute. I’m trying to find you the best option”

Jimin rolled his eyes but finally accepted what the younger one was saying and abandoned the ironing machine. He plopped on the sofa and scrolled through the series of texts he exchanged with Yoongi and from what he gathered, the boy started browsing through his clothes to find a good outfit.

After what seemed like an hour full of Sungwoon’s noise of disapproval, they finally found the perfect outfit. Light blue jeans, black turtleneck and Jimin’s favorite black leather jacket. Sungwoon squealed when the outfit was put together on the bed and started dancing to the very loud trot song from the radio.

Jimin couldn’t help but join the younger one when he extended his arm for his best friend.

•••

Jimin struggled to put on his earrings as he heard the ping of his phone. Yoongi had texted that he was waiting downstairs and Jimin couldn’t believe he was going to be late for his first encounter with this man. He hurriedly put on his heeled shoes and almost jumped towards the elevator. 

The boy looked at his reflection on the elevator mirror while applying lip balm and blew a kiss to himself. It wasn’t something he had done in a long, long time, but tonight, he felt confident.

Snowflakes fell on Jimin’s shoulder like broken petals of a flower as he made it to the main gate where a black SUV was waiting for him. Why were all his dates so rich? Before he could react to anything, the window rolled down and Jimin felt his breath getting knocked out of his lungs. In front of him was a very, very pretty man.

Pale smooth skin and a heart melting little smile on his face, the pictures did Yoongi no justice, he was way more beautiful.

“Earth to Jimin-ssi?”

“Ah-oh I’m sorry I was just-”

“You should get in first, it’s cold.”

Jimin nodded and immediately made his way to the passenger’s side and got inside. He was struggling a  little with the seatbelt but Yoongi immediately helped him.

“Thank you, Yoongi-ssi”

“You’re welcome, should I start?”

“Yeah, of course. Where are we going?”

“You said you liked quiet drives and simple places to eat at, so I combined them both. There’s this local speakeasy I go to where they have really good food, but it’s a little away from the city.”

Jimin’s face lit up, “I love that!”

Yoongi fired the ignition and then started driving. Jimin smiled as he watched some kids on the road eating roasted corn while some ate cotton candy, reminding him of his own childhood. He remembers his brother stealing some coins from his mother’s purse so that they could get to eat something they were not allowed to, which included all street food.

“Do you like cotton candy?”

“Surprisingly, a lot.”

“Why surprising?”

“I usually hate sweets. Prefer sour over sweet anyday.”

Yoongi halted the car suddenly and Jimin was surprised. The older man rolled down his window and with some money in hand said, “One cotton candy on stick please.” Jimin’s eyes widened as he watched Yoongi buy the sweet treat and then hand it over to him. The elder took the change and then started driving again.

“You really didn’t have to, I feel like a child.”

“I think we should all have a touch with the happy moments of our childhoods and the way you were smiling at the kids, proved that you wanted a taste of that, not the food but the time period in your life.”

Jimin was in awe, this man who he met half an hour back read him so well. He had always enjoyed insightful people. He tore a little bit of his candy and offered it to Yoongi, “The road is busy, I can’t let go of the steering wheel, you can feed it to me if you want.”

Jimin raised an eyebrow, “Don’t you think that’s too domestic for a first date.”

Yoongi chuckled, his voice low and deep, “Oh please, Jimin-ssi, I promise you I’m not going to get on one knee today no matter how much I like to get on my knees.”

Jimin’s cheeks flushed crimson red at the suggestive tone in Yoongi’s voice and it immediately earned the elder a smack to his arm, “I hate you”

“I just bought you cotton candy!”

At Yoongi’s whiny tone, they both burst into laughter, Jimin’s a little too loud and Yoongi's subtle. It felt so easy to spark up new ways to bicker with Yoongi. Jimin always found it easier to  playfully fight with people rather than being mushy and Yoongi seemed to be the perfect candidate for that.

Jimin always found highways to be really pretty at night and the way Yoongi was driving so swiftly made him feel even better. He turned off the car heater and rolled down the window to breathe in the air. However, he had to immediately turn it back on because of the cold air attacking his face like knives.

“It’s colder on the highways, you’ll freeze.”

“Yeah, learnt that the hard way.”

Yoongi chuckled, his right hand gently patting Jimin’s shoulder. Jimin couldn’t help but gawk at Yoongi's big, veiny hands. Pale skin with pink knuckles which looked very kissable if one would ask Jimin. He always had a thing for hands and Yoongi’s presence just made it worse. 

After driving for almost two hours, laughing and giggling about different things and getting to know each other, yoongi finally stopped his car in a parking lot and unfastened his seatbelt. Jimin followed suit.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat, you must be starving.”

“I’m always hungry so that’s not an issue.”

Yoongi smiled and then started walking, leading the way towards the entrance.

•••

The place was practically empty when Jimin and Yoongi stepped in. jimin looked around and found it quite cozy. He settled on a bar stool and Yoongi took the one next to him. A guy, probably around  the same age them came out of one of the doors, while wiping a glass.

“Yoongi hyung! Hello”

“Hi Jaesun, this is Jimin.”

“Hello Jimin-ssi, you are very pretty.”

Jimin smiled at the compliment, immediately returning it with a, “You’re very handsome too, Jaebum-ssi.”

“So, what are we drinking today?”

“I’ll have sparkling water, I’m driving, and Jimin-ssi?”

“Whiskey on the rocks with a twist.”

“Ooooh, a sexy drink for a sexy man.”

“Aren’t you supposed to make the drink?”

“Geez hyung, don’t be jealous now.”

Jimin laughed hard, his voice ringing all over the empty bar, Yoongi was way too cute for his own good. 

“So it wasn’t really specified, Yoongi-ssi, what do you do?”

“Please call me Yoongi.”

“But you’re older than me.”

Yoongi scoffed, “I don’t really enjoy the age system. Just call me Yoongi, Jimin…”

“Fine, YOONGI , now answer my question.”

Yoongi sighed, “It’s kinda embarrassing. I teach music to kids at an orphanage.”

Jimin gasped, his heart immediately going all warm, “That is awesome. You’re awesome.”

“It’s nothing, really. I love the kids.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you afford the car? Orphanages don’t pay that well do they?”

Yoongi chuckled, “You got me there. I am an orphan too, but I come from a chaebol family. My grandfather raised me. So I have a shitload of inheritance which I invest in the right places. The interest is enough for me to live a luxurious life and provide the best things at the orphanage.”

Jimin pressed his lips together before gently brushing his hand against Yoongi’s, “I'm sorry.”

“Don’t be. My grandfather gave me all the love in the world. The main reason I go to the orphanage is because I often wonder, if I wasn’t a chaebol, I would end up there, in really bad conditions and with barely any funds to support me.”

“You’re a very sensitive person and even though we haven’t known each other for long, I really admire that.”
“Thank you, is there anything else you want to know?”

“There are a few questions on the top of my head but the most important one is, you can sing?”

Yoongi blushed and before he could answer, the duo were interrupted by Jaesun bringing in their drinks. Jimin thanked him before clinking his glass with yoongi and taking a sip. He sighed in relief and Yoongi scrunched his face at the bubbles of his own drink.

“So,” said Jimin, a menacing smile on his face, “Do you sing?”

“A…little I guess. I mostly enjoy playing the piano and the guitar.”

“BULLSHIT.”

Jaesun’s loud voice made Jimin almost spill his drink. Yoongi glared at the bartender.

“Yoongi hyung has a low but beautiful voice.”

“Oh? Now I wanna hear him sing.”

“That could be arranged! Give me a second, I’ll bring the guitar and leave you two alone.”

“First bring the food, dumbass.”

“Oh sorry sorry, I’ll bring it right away.”

Jimin giggled at Yoongi and Jaesung’s dynamic and the elder only rolled his eyes in response. After the bartender brought them food he quite literally ran outside. There was so much food on the table and Jimin was drooling. Corn Dogs, stir-fried noodles, fried chicken, dried squid, and most importantly, dumplings. Jimin squealed at the sight of hot dumplings and quickly picked one with his chopsticks.

“You said you love dumplings.”

“I do! This is so good.”

“Yeah Jaesun is dumb but the food he makes is really good.”

“You guys are really like siblings, always fighting.”

“We’ve been told, but it’s he who always starts it!”

“I was meaning to ask, do you have any questions for me?”

“um.. Let’s see, why did you ‘super-like’ my profile on the app?”

Jimin was a little shocked at the question but quickly recovered and said, “Well to be honest, you looked adorable.”

“What?”

“Yeah, like you are really cute.”

“Thank you, but no one has ever told me that.”

“People are blind.”

Yoongi laughed, his gums showing and if JImin had a notebook, he would call it the most endearing thing he had ever seen. Jaesung came in with loud steps and almost threw his guitar towards Yoongi. The elder grimaced as he took the guitar and adjusted it to his liking. Jimin raised his glass, “Start whenever you’re ready!”

“I’ll not be singing, but I will play a little melody I wrote years ago.”

Jimin nodded.

The melody Yoongi played was so pretty that Jimin couldn’t help but feel bewitched. It was light but unique. He swayed his body to the music and sipped on his drink. Jaesung had finally given them alone time and Jimin was grateful.

When Yoongi finished, Jimin started clapping lightly and it made Yoongi scratch the back of his ears, much akin to a cat.

“You’re very talented. I loved it.”

Yoongi muttered a shy ‘thank you’ and then put the guitar aside before getting back to the food.

•••

“I had fun today Yoongi, thank you for the lovely evening.”
“I had fun too, I would like to keep in touch, Jimin”

Yoongi kissed the younger’s cheek and then walked away, leaving a blushing Jimin alone. There was no way he would survive the three other dates.

Chapter Text

“Another date with a mighty Kim?” Sungwoon teases as Jimin gets ready for his date.

“I wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t mighty to be honest,” he replies, “I don’t think I can deal with another perfect date straight in a row. It seems impossible - how did I end up with someone like Haneul in the first place if men like them exist?”

Sungwoon is surprised to hear Jimin talk about his ex so casually when it hasn’t been an easy topic to bring up in the past, usually talks about Hanuel have been accompanies by tears and some bitterness. That must mean the dates are doing the job of helping him move on and also helping him save face next time he sees the bastard ex.

“Maybe the universe was just waiting for you to be ready for them,” the assistant replies and shrugs, “But isn’t it great that you have all these options now?”

“It is,” Jimin sighs, “It also means that making my decision will be hard.”

“At least you’re having fun,” Sungwoon nudges him, “That counts for something.”

“You’re right.” He starts giggling as he realizes, “I can’t believe I found them on Tinder of all places. I always swore I’d never use a dating app but here I am.”

“Here you are. Where would you be without me in your life?”

“Probably crying in my bathtub nightly.”

He pulls out one of his fuzzy jerseys and nods to himself, all set for the date.

“Are you leaving now?” Sungwoon asks.

Jimin checks his wrist watch and hums. This time around, instead of being picked up by his date, he has to go himself because apparently Seokjin is going to cook for him in the restaurant that he owns. He allows Sungwoon to stay over and quickly grabs the flowers he bought for his date.

The drive isn’t long and Jimin feels the nerves tighten in his belly as he gets out of the car with the bouquet in hand and surveys the building. Is he meant to go in by the front door? The back door? The restaurant looks closed, so maybe the back door? He’s about to shoot Seokjin a text when suddenly the front door is being opened and a man in an apron steps out.

Oh, is Jimin’s first thought, he’s even hotter in person.

His second thought when he sees Seokjin smile at him is that he’s totally screwed because of course this date is going to be amazing and he’ll be stuck with yet another perfect date.

“Hey, I saw you looking around for a bit so I came to fetch you,” the man says and then extends his hand to Jimin, “Come in?”

Blushing because he was caught looking lost, he takes the others hand and gulps when he realizes that his hand completely engulfs his own.

“So this is the restaurant you were talking about yesterday, Seokjin-ssi?” He asks once they’re inside and Seokjin is closing the door behind him.

It’s beautiful on the inside - it has a very rustic feel to it, with high beaming ceilings. From the polished interior alone he can tell that it’s a fine dining restaurant that affluent people must visit regularly.

“Call me hyung. And yes.” The other replies almost bashfully, “It’s my baby and my life’s work. I always dreamt of owning a restaurant.”

Jimin has never had a dream - not really. He wanted to be an idol when he was younger, but didn’t everyone? Everyone wants to be known in some capacity, just so that they can be remembered when they die one day. He no longer has a dream, but he finds it admirable that Seokjin achieved his.

“It’s impressive hyung.” He says, then adds, “You’re impressive.”

It’s something so wonderful to witness the way the elder’s entire neck and face turns red because of such a simple compliment.

“Aish, I don’t know about that.” Seokjin waves off as he walks ahead of Jimin towards the kitchen, trying not to be perceived.

"You've worked hard to achieve your dream of opening a restaurant and you’re a five star chef - I’d say that’s pretty damn awesome.” Jimin says, because it’s true but also just to see the other flush again.

The chef sputters as he tries to accept the compliment but struggles to, instead he just pulls out a chair and asks, “Are those flowers for me or do you just take them everywhere you go?”

Jimin blushes - he has managed to embarrass himself in front of this broad-shouldered and handsome man for a second time this evening already. He thrusts his left hand out - he can’t believe he forgot about the flowers - and presents it to Seokjin, “I saw that you like tulips and daisies on your profile.”

The elder takes the flowers and sniffs it lightly before smiling, “It reminds me of the farm I would go to once a year growing up. There was a huge field of daisies behind it and sometimes I would just go and lay there with my brother.”

“That sounds like a sweet memory.” Jimin says with a smile tugging on his lips. He takes off his coat and sits on the chair as he watches him put the flowers in a vase he got from a cupboard.

He takes the chance to look around at the kitchen and that’s when he realizes that the other must have been cooking before he came to fetch him from outside. There’s bulgogi (one of his favorite dishes - he thinks he mentioned it to Seokjin on Tinder), some fancy looking savories and then there’s something still in the midst of being made.

“It’s cookies, and hotteok.” Seokjin says when he sees what Jimin is looking at, “I thought we could make these together.”

His heart melts when he meets wide earnest eyes. Immediately he’s nodding and out of his seat, sliding up to the other and pushing his sleeves up, “What do I have to do Chef?”

They end up making a mess of themselves as they mix the cookie dough and cut them into snowflakes. It’s when they’re mixing the hotteok that Jimin manages to get flour all over his face and then there’s broken laughter pouring out of Seokjin. All he can do is pout as the elder brushes his thumb over his rosy cheek and says, “Mochi, I could eat you right now.”

His knees go weak at those words and the way it was said, like Seokjin really could eat him then and there. He doesn’t realize that his hand is full of flour too when he holds onto the back of the elder’s neck and flour pours down his back. Seokjin jumps away from Jimin in surprise and then there’s a wicked look on his face.

Oh no.

No.

Jimin squeals when Seokjin takes some icing and smears it across his nose, “Stop, no, it was a mistake.” He tries through the mess of flour and dough over his face.

“I don’t believe you-” is all he hears before he’s attacked with another handful of icing.

And so a food fight ensues.

Panting, the two of them sit on opposite corners of the kitchen as they stare at each other. They both look like a mess but at least no one else is there to witness it.

“You have some…” Seokjin gestures to Jimin’s mouth and he assumes he has some dough there still so he rubs.

“Gone?” He asks and the other shakes his head.

He tries again, and again but Seokjin doesn’t seem satisfied so he crawls up to Jimin and uses his thumb to wipe across the top of his lip. His breath hitches when he feels the finger against his mouth and he looks up at those brown eyes.

“Gone.” Is all the elder says.

He doesn’t move away. He just stays there, and the two of them stare at each other and Jimin can feel himself lean in closer-

The kitchen timer goes off and it’s time to pull the next batch of cookies out of the oven.

Jimin curses every single deity out there for not allowing them to kiss.

He cleans himself up in the bathroom then goes back to the kitchen to find that Seokjin has laid the table beautifully, with silver platters and cutlery sets that have little snowflakes on the handles. There are tall pillar candles on the table, and when the other sees Jimin he quickly dims the lights to set a romantic atmosphere.

“Take a seat and I’ll bring the food out.”

The meal is delicious and he’s captivated by the way that Seokjin talks about his passions and lifestyle. It’s not like what Jimin would expect from someone who's already achieved his dreams at such a young age - it’s not about working himself to the bone, but rather about taking care of himself and making sure that on his days away from work he’s doing what he wants and not what other’s think he should be doing with his free time.

“It’s what keeps me sane. I just play games until I can’t anymore, it’s the perfect way to destress.”

Then the two of them end up talking about games, but deep down Jimin admires Seokjin. There’s not many people out there who say fuck what everyone else thinks, I’ll do what I want to do with my life. It’s not something Jimin does but he thinks it’s something he could try to do. Seokjin is only a few years older than him, but he finds himself looking up to the elder as they talk, there’s a unique wisdom to him that people might not realize because of how playful he is.

Jimin thinks he wants to live more like Seokjin.

After a series of giggles and maybe one too many glasses of champagne, the other gets up and says he needs to start cooking the hotteok. He switches the lights on again and Jimin gasps when he sees the state of the kitchen.

“Oh no, I didn’t realize we were this messy. Will you get in trouble?” He pouts as he slides up to Seokjin.

The elder shrugs with a smug smile as he says, “I’m the owner, there’s no one to reprimand me. Besides, it was fun so it’s worth the little bit of extra cleaning up.”

A sweet smile makes it’s way onto Jimin as he hums and puts his arm on Seokjin’s arm, squeezing lightly (teasingly) as he then asks, “How do we cook this?”

With a faint blush on his cheeks the chef instructs him and together they make the best hotteok he’s ever eaten. Maybe he touches the other a bit too much as they’re doing it, but he hears no complaints.

The date goes by quickly and soon Jimin finds himself getting ready to leave. Seokjin walks him to his car while carrying some leftover food from the dinner that he insisted Jimin take home. After putting the food in and shutting the boot closed, the two of them stand outside in the icy winter air as they put off having to separate from each other.

“Are you getting cold?” He asks when he realizes the elder doesn’t have his coat on.

Seokjin shakes his head but then shivers, so Jimin walks up to him and takes his hands in his, “Let me warm you up, we don’t want you getting sick.”

“You just want an excuse to touch me again,” the other says with an endearing smile and all he can do is shrug.

“So what if I do?”

“If you keep doing that, I might just have to kiss you.”

His breath hitches and he lets out a little puff of air as he exhales, “Maybe I should touch you some more.”

Then he’s letting go of Seokjin’s hands to place his hands on those broad shoulders, and they lean in together before their lips meet in a kiss. Jimin nearly moans when he feels those pillow soft lips between his teeth and he can’t resist the urge to bite gently. Big hands wrap around his waist to pull him closer and he gasps when their chests touch.

They kiss for a while, enjoying the feel of each other too much to care about the cold until Seokjin eventually pulls away because his toes are going numb. Jimin gets in the car and he still doesn’t want to leave, so impulsively he rolls down his window and says, “Call me when you’re going to do your gaming marathon, I’d love to join.”

“Sure thing Jiminie,” the elder says and then drops a chaste kiss on the tip of Jimin’s pink nose, “I’ll see you soon then. Text me when you get home safely.”

“See you hyung. Thank you for the evening and dinner, I had so much fun.”

“Me too. Bye darling.”

Jimin can’t help the content smile on his face as he drives home.

Chapter Text

Jimin smiles at a giggling toddler sitting opposite to him, who in turn gives her whole attention to Jimin. The boy always found the presence of kids to be healing. With them, he didn’t have to worry about the world or be afraid of who he was. Babies always accept him just the way he was, they would never judge or make fun of him. All they want is a partner to play with and Jimin was more than ready.

The station his train was halted in was making different announcements about the upcoming trains, but to Jimin it was just garbled noise. It’d been twenty minutes for him on the train, his destination just three stops away. The boy didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he was. The last few days, he had been happier than ever, meeting new people in search of romance and finding a different piece of love from all of them. It made his week, but it also made him paranoid. Making a choice from those wonderful men did not only seem impossible but also unfair. It had already made him feel way too guilty for his own good.

Today he was traveling to hongdae, where he was supposed to meet his fifth date, a dance studio owner, Jung Hoseok. According to his profile on the app, Hoseok was a hip-hop dancer and specialized in street style dancing. It intimidated Jimin a little to meet a man like that. Hoseok was a professional dancer while for Jimin it was just a hobby, something he really loved. Besides, his speciality was contemporary and ballet. What if Hoseok judges him?

•••

Jimin shivered as the rush of cold air attacked his face as soon as he got off the train. As much as he loved winter, it wasn't always very pleasant. The boy pushed through the crowd and made his way towards the street. Numerous stores and thrift shops were scattered here and there. They all looked so tempting to Jimin. He had always liked street fashion but was afraid about trying them on.

It didn’t take a long time to find the very street Hoseok said his studio was on. Jimin clutched his backpack tight as he walked swiftly towards his destination. Some teenagers were busy doing freestyle dancing on some beats that were foreign to Jimin. He had danced hip-hop before but the new generation worked with absolutely different things than he was accustomed to. They all had some weird abbreviations for simple words which made no sense to Jimin.

Finally, Jimin saw a very colourful neon sign, it said ‘hopeworld dance studio’ beside a logo of a flower with a smiling face on it. Jimin couldn’t help but smile at the sign. It looked so cute. 

Jimin walked towards the entrance and pushed the glass door to enter. The place was huge to say the least. With huge mirrors all over and light wood textured floor with led lights, the studio looked absolutely gorgeous. There were some people doing some routine and a man was standing opposite to them, instructing them some steps with a very serious look on his face which made a shiver run down Jimin’s back. It’s hoseok. Jimin is certain. 

To be sure, he even pulled out his phone to match the picture and he was right. It was a little surprising for Jimin to see a man who smiled so bright in his pictures, be so strict and dare he say, /scary/ in reality. Jimin should be afraid, but he finds it hot. Instead of saying anything he kept watching Hoseok show his students how to do certain very tricky steps while they kept messing up which clearly raised the temperature levels for the elder man.

Jimin is no expert, but he was confident enough that he could easily do that step. Subconsciously he started doing the footwork of the choreography and that caught Hoseok’s attention.

“Excuse me? Can I help you?”

Jimin gasped and his eyes widened when he realized what he was doing. He immediately stopped his foot and stood straight, his posture almost like a soldier. The boy took off his mask and spoke, “Hoseok-ssi, I am Jimin, um..Park Jimin”

Hoseok’s mouth opened wide in realization as he saw Jimin’s face. “Oh my god I’m so sorry! Jimin-ssi please make yourself comfortable, I’ll be done soon.”

Jimin smiled and nodded while he watched Hoseok’s face turn into the prettiest and widest smile he had ever witnessed. The elder’s lips turned into the shape of a heart as his eyes scrunched and little dotted dimples showed over his upper lips. Jimin could feel his heart beating a little louder, butterflies making a mess in his stomach.

“You have a lovely studio.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just me giving my everything to the one thing I love the most I guess…”

“And it’s wonderful.”

Hoseok smiled again and oh god, Jimin wanted to kiss the little dimples so badly. He took a seat and was about to say something when one of Hoseok’s students came up and gently bowed to Jimin before turning to Hoseok.

“Hobi hyung, can you and this mister do the step to show us? He was doing it just like you showed it.”

Hoseok turned to Jimin who in turn immediately stood up and nodded his head in a fast motion, “I’m no professional, I’ll probably mess it up. Besides, I don't know the full choreo.”

Hoseok turned to Jimin, a curious look in his eyes, “Jimin-ssi, are you wearing comfortable clothes right now?”

“Yes but-”

“Do you know the choreography to the famous song Bulletproof part 2?”

“Of course yes! It’s one of my favorite pieces of choreos.”

“Come on then!”

“But-”

“You don’t have to be a pro, you have the gift.”

Jimin blushed at the compliment, his rosy cheeks tinted crimson. Hoseok patted his back and gestured to join him on the dance floor. The boy took off his shoes and socks before taking a deep breath and trying to calm his racing heart down. Here goes nothing.

•••

After a few warm up exercises, Jimin finally asked Hoseok to turn on the music. He and the elder both took positions and waited for the first verse to begin and as soon as it did, they both started doing the steps. The others watched in awe as the two of them danced effortlessly, Jimin’s moves a little floaty while Hoseok’s a little powerful. They were both different, but when mixed together, made into something even more beautiful. What a sight. The duo kept dancing and swaying their bodies to the music, some of the students started recording while some ended up clapping already. 

Jimin on the other hand was in the feeling of Euphoria. Dancing to a beat like this felt liberating. He could feel the sweat slowly building on his skin but he didn’t care. At the moment, to him only two things existed, the thrill of dancing, and Hoseok. He felt so good and the date hadn’t even started. All the agony from before washed away and all Jimin could feel now was the beat that made vibrations buzz all over his body.

After dancing for two minutes when the beat drop was close, Jimin knew it was time for the most tricky step. One person had to lay flat on the ground while the other jumped over them in a cartwheel motion. It was usually done between partners with extreme trust because a little bit of loss of rhythm could ruin everything.

Jimin knew he could easily do the cartwheel, but he needed to tell that to Hoseok. They were both face to face at the moment and Jimin made eye contact with the older and gestured towards the ground with his chin, to which Hoseok nodded.

Taking a deep breath Jimin did the next step which made Hoseok fall flat on the ground on his back while Jimin took the support of his toes to do the cartwheel over Hoseok. Sounds of ‘woah’ and other cheers were heard when they successfully pulled it off and a little smile grew on both of their lips as the music came to a halt.

“Hoseok-ssi, it was a pleasure.”

“Call me hobi.”

•••

Jimin and Hoseok both giggled while throwing their bodies towards each other. As it turned out, both of them had a very low threshold for laughter.

“I was so scared you wouldn’t get my signal.”
“I thought I was reading it wrong. We’re stupid.”

“It felt really good though. It’s been a while since I danced like that. My whole body is still buzzing from all that adrenaline.”

“You are really talented, you know. A pity that you chose something else as your occupation.”

“Life happened.”

“Ah well life sucks, but at least this world has music and dance.”

“Amen!”

They were currently walking past multiple dance battles by the street, giggling and talking to each other like old acquaintances. Hoseok was such an easy-going person it made Jimin feel comfortable. They both held onto glass bottles of cider as they walked down the street. Jimin had no idea where they were going, but with Hoseok he would go anywhere.

“We have to get a taxi.”

“Huh? How far are we going?”

“Somewhere simple but pretty.”

•••

Jimin rubbed his palms as he got off the taxi and before him stood the mighty Namsan tower. With widened eyes, Jimin kept looking at it while hobi scanned the qr code to pay. Jimin insisted at first, but Hoseok was very firm.

“Let’s go”

“Are we going to the tower?”

“Yeah, we can have some food and talk.”

“Isn’t it closed now?”

“I have a friend who works here, he made arrangements so that we can have this place to ourselves.”

Jimin smiled ear to ear, his eyes forming crescents and Hoseok side-hugged him in response. They both entered the tower from a side door which Jimin had never seen before. The place was dimly lit, but enough for the boy to look around. It’d been years since he had come here. His place was away too and that didn’t make it easy for him to visit Namsan tower on weekends either.

“Come on! Let’s get something to eat.”

Hoseok’s loud voice echoed all over the building and Jimin couldn’t help but cackle. One thing about the elder was that he was very loud. He even made cute little sound effects as he worked. A little ‘bing’ when he paid money, a ‘oing’ when he opened the door and so many more. The younger man found it endearing, his heart melting at almost everything Hoseok did.

There were a series of self help machines to buy ramen and other packed foods. Hoseok scanned the qr for the ramen one while Jimin scanned for the drinks one. 

“What would you like?”
“Um..Shin ramyeon and gimbap!”

“Let’s get some eggs too”

“Sounds great. What drink do you want?”

“Hot choco?”

“I’ll get the same then.”

They filled the ramen cups with hot water and grabbed the other food items. Hoseok led the way for a very confused Jimin who had no idea where they were going to sit and eat.

When they walked up to the turned off cable car, Jimin understood. “Wow this is really cool.”

Hoseok laughed, “my first time on a cable car.”

“Wait, really?”

“I think they are death machines and I am really afraid of them.”

“Oh hobi hyung you are so cute.”

“Jimin!”

•••

The duo slurped on the hot noodles as they talked about this and that. They were trying to learn about each other more and it was more fun than one would think.

“So you’re the baby of your family?”

“I have a noona so yes.”

“That’s so cute! I have an annoying little brother who I hate and love both so much.”

Hoseok chuckled, “Understandable.”

The food wasn’t gourmet but it was so good and with the added company, Jimin was in heaven. 

“Dancing with you was so fun today hyung. Thank you.”

“I should be the one thankful. Your talent helped my students.”

“You can call me whenever you want to try some choreo.”

Hoseok smiled gently, his right hand rubbing circles on Jimin’s palm.

“Hobi hyung do you like jewelry?”

“A lot!”

“I do too. Earrings, rings and bracelets are my favorite.”

“Me too. I even make my own bracelets.”

“Really? That sounds so cool”

“I’ll make one for you someday.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Jimin didn’t know why he was making such promises to Hoseok, he still had no idea who to choose from his dates and here he was, weak as anything for all his supposed ‘suitors’.

The duo had almost finished their food when Hoseok suddenly exclaimed, “WHAT TIME IS IT?”

“Quarter to twelve, why?”

“Finish the food quickly! We have to go”

“Where?” 

“To the rooftop”

•••

Jimin was certain he would freeze himself to death at this rooftop. It was windy and chilly. He was lucky it wasn’t snowing. Hoseok, too, looked pale from the cold but was strangely looking at the sky and then his phone again and again. Until, the most beautiful thing ever happened.

As soon as it struck midnight, a rippling sound came from the sky and as Jimin looked up, he could see fireworks adorning the sky prettily. He gasped and looked at the fireworks with happiness all over his face. The elder himself jumped at the loud sound and it made Jimin giggle. 

“Hobi hyung, this is so pretty.”

“I’m glad you liked it, even though this loud sound is making me very jumpy.”

“I had a great evening with you. Thank you.”

With that Jimin crashed his plump lips on Hoseok’s, who returned it with as much passion and that’s how they kissed, right at midnight, with fireworks exploding inside and outside both.

•••

Jimin got off his shared cab with Hoseok while the elder instructed his own address to the driver. After a fun night, there he was, outside his apartment complex with reluctance in his body. He didn’t want to let go.

“Hope I get to see you again Jimin”

“I hope too, Hobi Hyung.”

Chapter Text

It’s the day of his last date this week and he’s not sure how he feels about it. He started this on a whim, just wanting to find someone to take as a date for New Years so that he could save face in front of Haneul. Now he’s had five perfect dates so far, and if tonight's date goes just as well as the previous ones, then it'll be six.

He’s going out with Jeon Jungkook; the only one of his dates that’s younger than him - he doesn’t count Taehyung since they’re only a couple of months apart. He isn’t sure what to expect because while he and Jungkook texted a bit (note: a bit, the man sucks at texting back) he wasn’t able to find out what they were going to be doing on their date. All the younger had told him was that he should dress warmly because they were going to be outside.

“Do you have my scarf?” Jimin asks Sungwoon, who’s on speaker phone as he rushes to get dressed. 

He had a video call with his family earlier and it lasted longer than he expected so now he’s running around trying to make himself presentable so that Jungkook doesn’t take one look at him and walk away. He’s busy putting rings on his fingers as he looks around for the red scarf he owns - which also happens to be the only scarf he has. 

“I don’t think so but let me double check,” the other says and Jimin can hear him shuffling about in the background. 

There’s a knock on his door and he nearly screams. Fuck. He’s late. 

“Sungwoon!” He whines as he looks around for his beanie - if he can’t wear his scarf he should wear the beanie. 

There’s some more shuffling before Sungwoon is panting down the line and saying, “I have it, sorry.”

“I thought so,” Jimin mumbles and then he finds the beanie and puts it on, looking over himself in the mirror. He pouts because it’s not the same without the scarf but he’s still satisfied with how he looks. “It’s fine, but return it tomorrow. I have to go now, bye!” 

Then he’s opening the door and the first thing he notices isn’t the man in front of him but the motorcycle in the driveway. 

“Hi, I’m Jungkook,” the man introduces himself and Jimin startles, tearing his eyes away from the motorcycle and focusing on the man in front of him, whose eyes sparkle like the stars in the night sky.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jimin,” he replies with a smile and then points to the vehicle, “Am I supposed to be riding on that thing?” 

The younger tilts his head to the side and smiles reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I’ve got a license and helmets for both of us.” 

“Good,” he says as he makes his way to the motorcycle, “I wouldn’t be riding it otherwise.” 

 Jungkook pulls the helmets out and offers to put it on for Jimin. He pouts as the helmet pushes his hair flat but immediately sucks in his lips when he sees the other with a teasing smile when he notices the pout. The younger clips the helmet and quickly puts on his own before he’s getting onto the motorcycle. 

“Come on,” Jungkook says as he turns it on and it roars to life, “You gotta hold on tight.” 

Jimin climbs behind him and secures his arms around his waist tightly, “Don’t go fast.” 

“I won’t,” the other squeezes his hand for a second, “I can’t anyway because of the snow.” 

He’s able to think about how grateful he is for the existence of snow for a second before they’re off. Wind whips past his face and he holds onto Jungkook just a little tighter for the rest of the ride.

They’re at a lodge and Jimin gapes in surprise when Jungkook tells him they’re going to go sledding and ice skating. He’s gone ice skating before - but never to one in an open space and he’s certainly never gone sledding before. 

“I’m so excited!” There’s a bounce in his step when he walks, sticking close behind the younger as they go to the reception area to get their skating shoes. 

“Me too, I've been here a couple of times already but it’s always fun coming again.” Jungkook says and then grabs the shoes that they’re given. Jimin goes to take his but the other insists on carrying them.

He even ties his shoes for him, and the elder can’t help the way it makes him feel all warm and tingly. They hold hands as they make their way onto the ice rink, a bit shaky at first and then they get used to being on the ice. Jimin smiles as he sees some parents teaching their kids how to skate and it unlocks a fond memory of his father teaching him and his brother back in Busan. It didn’t snow much there - the most they ever got was a light snowfall - so they would wake up early and take a train to Seoul before spending the rest of the day ice skating and eating junk food. 

“Jimin-ssi, you good?” Jungkook asks when he notices that the other had been quiet for a while. 

He nods and then tells the other what he was thinking about, only to find out that the younger also grew up in Busan.

“What brought you here then?” Jimin asks and he wants to take the question back the second he sees the way the others eyes dim a little. “You don't have to answer that if it's personal. Please, I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

“No no,” Jungkook insists as he shakes his head then clears his throat, “It's okay. My parents passed away when I  was in my final year of school, and then I decided to come to university in Seoul because I didn't want to be in Busan anymore.”

Jimin feels his heart tighten and he squeezes the others hand in his, “I can't imagine, I'm sorry.”

“I'm okay now,” Jungkook says with a small and sincere smile that let's him know that he really is okay. “What about you? Why are you in Seoul?”

“I wanted to pursue a career in music and arts which isn’t exactly something I could do from Busan.” 

“True. I have a question-” 

“Shoot.” 

“I saw on your profile that you’re a manager right? How are you involved in the art of your idols?” 

Jimin smiles at the question - it’s one he gets a lot, but his specific role of management is different to others. “I help come up with concepts, I oversee the album production, the songs and the choreography. I even create part of the choreography too sometimes. So I’m not a manager in the desk job sort of way or making idol schedules, but I’m very involved in the process of the actual content we put out. I like the job because it allows me to dip my feet into anything.” 

“Sounds like you won at your career then.” 

“Hmm,” Jimin hums as he realizes that Jungkook is right. As demanding and stressful the job is, he enjoys himself and he thinks it’s worth the trouble it puts him through. It’s the reason why he’s still at the job even though Haneul is there, existing in the same breath as him. “I suppose you’re right.” 

Then Jungkook is letting go of his hand and speeding up, “Race you to the other end!” 

“Hey!” Jimin shouts after him as he tries to catch up, “That’s cheating!”

They’re interrupted from their games when someone calls out to Jungkook to tell him that they can finally go sledding. Feeling extra giddy from skating, Jimin nearly slips on his butt as he’s making his way to the edge of the rink. Luckily the younger is right behind him and catches him before he can, and with pink cheeks they get off the rink and change into their normal shoes. 

Jungkook guides Jimin by placing his hand on the small of his back and he has to stop himself from leaning into the other for warmth (and cuddles - the other looks extra cuddly with the puffy winter jacket he’s wearing, Jimin can’t help it!). 

“How are we doing this?” He asks once they get to the top of the hill with their sleds under their arms. 

The younger pouts as he thinks about it before he says, “We can go individually or together on one.” 

“Is it going to be a competition if we go individually?” Jimin teases and Jungkook pouts harder in response, causing Jimin to double over in laughter. While they were ice skating, he discovered how competitive the younger is and now he can’t stop teasing him about it. 

“Let’s go together.” Jungkook says, ignoring Jimin’s comment which just makes the elder laugh even more. “This is your first time so together would be better.” 

“Okay Kookie,” he says through yet another fit of giggles. The younger just huffs and lies the sleds in front of them. 

“Come on.” He pulls Jimin by the arm and then gasps, “Wait, don’t you have a scarf? Your entire neck is exposed.” 

It’s his turn to pout as he replies, “I didn’t have my scarf at home so I couldn’t wear it.” 

“Oh no, we have to do something about this.” Jungkook bites his lip then points his finger, “Ah! Just wait here a minute, I’ll be right back!” 

“Wait Jungk-” 

He’s already gone.

He returns with a red scarf in his hand and Jimin has the urge to kiss him, firstly for bringing him a scarf at all and then for the fact that it’s red and looks like the one he wanted to wear. 

“Is that for me?” He asks and the younger nods as he walks right up to Jimin and wraps the scarf around his neck. The elder finds himself staring into the youngers starry doe eyes, which make contact with his once he’s done securing the scarf around his neck. Without thinking too much, Jimin leans forward and presses a chaste kiss on his mouth. “Thank you. You’re so sweet.” 

Jungkook gives him a lopsided grin and pecks him again, “I’m just making sure you don’t get sick. Now let’s have some fun!”

The younger sits in front so that he can control the sled since it’s Jimin’s first time. He climbs in behind the other and before he knows it, they’re sliding down the long hill and screaming in glee. They go for a couple more rounds, and Jimin even tries going on his own but he finds that he enjoys it a bit better when Jungkook is with him. After a while Jimin gets tired of having to go up the hill again, so he waits as the younger goes for one more round. He understands the addiction - there’s nothing quite like the rush that sledding brings. 

As he’s waiting, Jimin thinks about how it’s nearly time for the New Years Eve party. He needs to make his decision on who he’s going to go with soon, but as he sits there he comes to the realization that he doesn’t want to choose. But he can’t show up with everyone, can he? 

“Hey there Jimin-ssi.” Jungkook whispers in his ear suddenly and Jimin jolts up in surprise as he wonders how he never saw the other arrive. Then-

“I told you that you can call me hyung.” 

“Okay Jimin-ssi, I’ll call you hyung.” 

He playfully rolls his eyes at that but then he notices something in Jungkook’s hands. “Hot choco?”

“Yes.” The younger says and hands one to Jimin before scratching the back of his head, “I’m not sure if you wanted sugar or not so I just brought sachets. Here.” 

“I love sweet things so please.” He says as he takes two small sachets from Jungkook. He vaguely recalls calling the younger sweet earlier that night so with a little flush he says, “Thank you so much. Are we just finishing this and then leaving?”

Jungkook hums as he sips from his drink, “As soon as we’re done with the hot chocolate we need to leave because they’re closing soon.” 

He resists the urge to pout because that means the date is nearly over.

Jimin enjoys the ride back to his house more than the ride to the lodge, but he wishes the night didn’t have to end here. Jungkook, being the gentleman that he is, walks him directly to the door and maybe they kiss a little before parting. The second he hears the younger leave he heaves a sigh and drops face first onto his bed as he thinks about how soon the party is and how he doesn’t have his date sorted out yet. He pushes himself off the bed and realizes that he still has the scarf the younger gave him, so he quickly shoots him a text.

jeon jkkkk

> it’s okay, keep it ;) you can return it next time i see you

Jimin can’t help but laugh at his confidence.

He would like to see him again, but he’d also like to see Namjoon and that dimple smile, Taehyung and that puppy face, Yoongi and that gummy smile, Seokjin and those broad shoulders, and Hoseok and that pretty jaw.

He drops himself onto the bed again as he screams into his pillow. He needs to make a decision, ASAP.

Chapter Text

Jimin finds himself in a difficult position when it comes to parties. On one hand, he loved attending them while on the other hand he found them quite exhausting. There was a time in his life when he couldn’t live without parties. His high school and college life was filled with such wild nights full of drinking and dancing, but now that his years go by, the boy finds himself not very enthusiastic during parties these days.

With Haneul, he had grown a habit of going to such events just for his sake, but now that he had gotten rid of the other, Jimin could finally do whatever the hell he wanted. The office party was a different affair though. He liked it here, idols and staff mingling like old friends and having the time of their lives at the inception of a new year was something that made Jimin smile. In the years he had been working at the company, Jimin had never once skipped a new years’ party and even though it seemed tempting, he did not break the rule this time either. 

The boy had his back against a pillar at one corner of the huge party hall. The ambience was awesome, laser lights, mirrorballs and loud music, they had it all. Jimin gulped down the remnants of his drink and gently put down the glass on the small table beside him. He couldn’t help but fidget with his sparkly bracelet and let his eyes wander here and there.

“Jimin, hi”

“Haneul”

It baffled Jimin how his ex lover could be so shameless after everything that he did. If it was him, he’d have left this city. Jimin took a deep breath and looked Haneul in the eye.

“You look…lonely. Didn’t get a date today huh?”

Every word that escaped Haneul’s lips made Jimin want to tear his own skin off. How did he date this man?

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

Haneul snickered, his lips curling into a devious smile, the kind that make Jimin want to puke. The other stepped closer and it made Jimin take a step back. 

“It is my business, honey. You left me so easily that day, just for a tiny little mistake. It was unfair, love”

Jimin could barf at the tone his ex was speaking in, but he knew getting angry wouldn’t help his situation. He took another step back, only to watch the other coming even closer. Haneul was close enough for Jimin to smell the whiskey in his breath. Drunk Haneul was the worst version of him and he was already a very shitty person.

“Stop with the nicknames and you fucking cheated on me. That’s not small!”

“Oh please, you were too busy with work and I had to get my dick wet”

Jimin shut his eyes for a few seconds as his face scrunched up in disgust, “Please just shut up and leave me alone. I’m done with you.”

Haneul puts a hand on Jimin’s shoulder, “You need me. Without me you’re miserable. No one wants you and that’s why even after dressing like a slut everyday, you’re standing here alone, like a miserable loser.”

Tears pricked Jimin's eyes as his lips trembled. He knew none of what his ex said was true, but why did it hurt to hear that so much?

“Just fuck off Haneul, I deserve way better than you.”

“You son of a-”

“Is there a problem here?”

Jimin gasped as a hand snaked around his waist and he could finally find himself relaxing against the touch. He heaved a sigh of relief as the person next to him gently pecked the back of his head.

“Who are you?”

“Jimin’s date and his boyfriend.”

“You seriously want me to believe a menial nobody has somehow roped in Kim Namjoon as his date. What a joke.”

Namjoon didn’t laugh, his jaw clenching at the comment Haneul made, “I’ll give you a minute to leave before I lose my cool and do something that would ruin this party, and I’ll do it just for Jimin.”

•••

Jimin’s palms were sweaty and clammy as he focused all his attention on the melting cubes of the drink he had ordered. It was untouched. Jimin could only feel more and more nervous as the time went by. 

“Jiminie?”

“Hey Namjoon-hyung, thank you for coming. Please, take a seat.”

Namjoon smiled, his dimples popping as usual and reminding him of just how much he had thought about poking and kissing those the last few days.

“Everything okay? Your text sounded a little urgent.”

“It is. I have to tell you something.”

“You’re kinda making me nervous, but go on.”

“So first of all, thank you for one of the best dates ever. I enjoyed it so much with you. It’d been a while since I had laughed that hard. Thank you so much for that.”

“Please don’t say thank you, I had so much fun with you.”

“Not only the date, it was you and your presence that made it so much better.”

Jimin can see the hint of a blush on Namjoon's cheeks and it makes him want to coo but the matter at hand was of much more importance.

“But, you weren't the only person I went out with.”

“huh?”

•••

“Look dude, he's not worth it.”

Jimin had curled up to Namjoon by now, his whole body weight resting on the elder. He couldn’t believe Haneul was being such a miserable loser after everything that happened. A part of him wanted to leave the place but then there was the other part which wanted to grow some courage and punch the shit out of his ex.

“You’re right. He’s actually worth more than everything humanly achievable.”

“Someone wants to get punched so bad on the first day of the year, huh?”

Jimin and Namjoon both turned to the side to watch Jungkook enter. His arm rested on Jimin’s hips, grip a little tighter and more aggressive than namjoon. It was a wonder how Jungkook had different shades. In one moment, he was the sweetest boy ever, grinning with his bunny teeth out and then he was the buff, tatted gym boy ready to fight everyone.

“Jungkook-ah, it’s alright. Let’s just go.”

“Got yourself two boyfriends huh? What a-”

Before Haneul could finish that sentence, Jungkook had pushed the man against the wall, his strong hands gripping on the collar of Haneul’s shirt. 

“Shut your fucking mouth or you will see the worst version of me.”

•••

“Jiminie-hyung?”

“Ah- Jungkook-ie, come, sit.”

Jimin gestured to the seat right beside Namjoon who looked at the younger with widened eyes. Their eye contact seemed to last a little too long but Jimin decided to ignore that.

“Jimin, what the hell is going on?”

This time, Namjoon’s voice was a little passive-aggressive and Jimin knew he couldn’t keep the whole thing inside for long.

“Please give me some time, hyung,” he turned to Jungkook, “Jungkook-ah, yesterday, I went wild for the first time in a while, probably even the first time in my life and you shook my world in the best way possible.”

Jungkook’s doe eyes fixed on Jimin’s frame as a cute little smile started growing on his lips and his nose scrunching in the most bunny-like way ever. Why was this boy the epitome of cuteness?

“I loved it with you too Jimin-ssi but why are we-”

“I could be myself with you, something that was rare to me the past few years. I was stuck in a relationship which suffocated me to no ends and you were oxygen to me.”

Jungkook gently brushed his hand against Jimin’s.

“However, you were not the only one I went out with…”

•••

“This man here actually needs to be handed over to the police for workplace harassment and domestic abuse.”

Haneul’s breath got stuck in his lungs when he saw two more men walk up to Jimin. The one with curly hair, handed him a glass of champagne, “I’m sorry, it was crowded at the bar.”

Jimin could feel the blush in his cheeks grow as he understood the situation he was in. Not only were the buffest people on earth Jungkook and Namjoon attached to him by the hips (literally), Taehyung and Hoseok too were close to him, a protective stance in their body, as if ready to launch themselves on Haneul.

When he had first met Hoseok, Jimin didn’t think he would be on the aggressive type too, but now that he was watching the elder’s clenched jaw, he had to retract his previous opinions. 

Haneul looked genuinely scared now, his wobbly steps going back little by little. He was drunk as hell, but he wasn’t foolish enough to try himself in front of what looked like some very influential and rich men. How did Jimin get in touch with them? Was this some sort of mediaplay?

“I’ll go now, but don’t think the likes of Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung are going to stay with you Jimin. Once they chew you up like a fucking chewing gum, they’ll all throw you in the trash, where you belong.”

Saying this, Haneul was about to turn when he bumped against two very strong men. Seokjin rolled his eyes at the sight of the other’s scared gaze. Yoongi had an unreadable expression on his face, his tongue poking at his left cheek much akin to Jungkook’s. Jimin felt suffocated. He finally had it all, he didn’t have to be treated like shit anymore. He didn’t have to bear every slur that Haneul was throwing at him, why was he being so weak? He wasn’t like this. He came to the unknown city on a whim and worked hard for a successful career. A roach like Haneul didn’t deserve his politeness.

“You’ll see where /you/ belong once I finish calling the commissioner general about you.”

“There’s n-no proof.”

Yoongi had a wicked smile on his face, something on the sinister side that made Jimin gulp.

“I’m a third generation chaebol from the famous Min family. Do you really think I would need anything more than Jimin’s testimony to make sure you rot in jail?”

“Y-you can’t do that. It’s unethical.”

“He doesn’t care, nor do I.”

Seokjin’s voice was a little different than usual. The sweet, shrill tone had turned into something huskier. Jimin found it extremely hot even in the very dim lighting of the room. The magenta lights shining on the various pieces of jewelry the men surrounding him wore.

•••

“So what you are telling me is that the six of you know each other.”

“So what you are telling us is that you went out with all six of us.”

Jimin rubbed his nape sheepishly, shame and guilt taking over him. He screwed up big time. Maybe he should have just picked one instead of being indecisive as always, but here he was, surrounded by six very attractive men who he fell in love with. Yes, ALL of them.

“I can explain.”

Seokjin clicked his tongue, “and here I thought we were special, Jimin-ah.”

“Just give me half an hour and listen to everything I have to say, okay?”

They all nodded, some in a tensed manner while some in a teasing manner. Jimin took a deep breath and looked at Taehyung, “Kim Taehyung, I remember giggling like a highschooler after the date with you, giggling and blushing at every little memory of the fun evening we had. You were a dream to me. Perfect everything. I had so much fun, my body was tingling.”

Taehyung smiled wide, his lips turning into a rectangle and making Jimin’s heart melt again.

“Hoseok-ie hyung, never in my life did I have such a very simple yet extraordinary date with someone. You made me feel so special and it’s you who finally made me regain confidence on my first love, dancing. I owe everything to you.”

“You got it sweetie.” Hoseok winked.

Jimin blushed profusely as he looked at Jin, his lips twitching at the muscle memory of their kiss that night.

“Seokjin hyung, I think you already got it. You made me laugh and giggle so much, my cheeks hurt. I ate so much and had the time of my life. With you, I found my old, happy and giggly self back, and it felt so good.”

“You just have to let loose a little Jiminie.”

Jimin’s eyes lingered one last time at Jin’s beautiful face before turning to Yoongi. “Last but not the least, Yoongi. Yoongi who is two years older but does not want to be called hyung. Yoongi who is a chaebol but spends all his time with orphaned kids. Yoongi who plays soft music and buys me cotton candy just because I looked nostalgic. I just want to thank you for existing. This world is a beautiful place because of people like you.”

“I do nothing special Jimin. I just do whatever makes me happy.”

“So now can we talk about the elephant in the room.”

Jungkook’s tone was impatient, the maknae’s lips in a little pout. Taehyung fondly caressed his hair and Namjoon smiled at him, his eyes crinkling.

“Well as I told you guys, Haneul, my ex is a jackass and all I wanted was a nice date who I could take to the company party. So, I signed up to the app and chose the six of you. Just to make sure even if one date was bad the others would save me. However-” 

“However, what?” Taehyung's deep voice rang in his ears as Jimin continued.

“However, I ended up….”

“Ended up where? Or what?”

“I ended up falling for you all. The six of you were way too good to be true. And I understand if you guys feel disgusted or want to leave but trust me when I say this I really do love you guys.”

Jimin felt so vulnerable and ready for the rejection. He knew his weird heart would not be claimed by any of them, let alone all six and he would be back in his cold ass apartment, alone and miserable. He could hear shuffling noises from the men before him and was brought back to reality by a tug on his arm by Hoseok.

He watched in surprise as Namjoon took the lead in speaking, “We all met each other in college, even formed a silly little band called six harmonies. Years went by and we all found different professions but this friendship stayed. We fight, we make up, sometimes even make out, but we’re always together.”

Yoongi continued from namjoon’s last sentence, “even though the band is non-existent now, we still call ourselves six harmonies and would love to find the seventh harmony in you.”

“Huh?”

Jungkook and Taehyung laughed as Jin spoke, “It means that we are in love with you too, idiot.”

•••

“Hyungs, Taehyungie and Jungkook, I’ve got this.”

Jimin detached himself from Namjoon and Jungkook before walking towards Haneul and without any words, slapping him hard. The force of the slap made Haneul fall on the floor, the alcohol in his system already making him quite wobbly.

“I have had enough of you trying to treat me like trash when I’ve been nothing but a good boyfriend to you. Even after EVERYTHING. So, Haneul, disrespectfully fuck off!”

Some of the coworkers came up to them clearly understanding the commotion but were quick to get angry towards Haneul. One of them dragged him away to his very tensed date and Jimin finally heaved a sigh of relief.

“That felt so good.”

Jungkook hugged him from the back as Jimin laughed, his nose a little red from all the emotions he went through, “I told you hyung. Punching or slapping always works.”

“Are you okay?”

Yoongi’s concerned tone made Jimin feel warm and fuzzy while Namjoon and Taehyung did nothing but caress his hair. Hoseok and Jin kissed his knuckles and ran soothing circles on the back of his palm.

“I’m so thankful that Jungkook excitedly sent my picture to your group chat. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have you guys here with me.”

Hoseok moved to his forehead and dropped a kiss and suddenly the others started kissing the various parts of his upper body making Jimin ticklish.

“It was all the red string of fate, Jimin-ah.”

Jimin was so engrossed by the affection pouring on him that he failed to notice his best friend walking up to him and immediately making a gagging noise.

“Ew ew ew, you guys are gross. Get off my hyung!”