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He couldn't stop looking at the blooming buds. They were so delicate and yet smelt so rich and strong. Like an expensive perfume, maybe. He wouldn't know.
- Isn't it a bit shady? - Tae asked suddenly.
- What, being generous?
- Being generous so out of the blue. You've known him for how long?
- Around a month, I think.
They were sitting in their bigger room amongst the usual chaos. Jimin just got back from dinner with Yoongi and couldn't get his attention away from the flowers. He couldn't get the man out of his mind either.
- Don't you think it's too suspicious?
Jimin wanted to protest. He wasn't like that!
- I'm not getting into his car, I refuse to hang out with him at his house and he seemed quite reserved and safe. He didn't even offer to go to his in the first place. I'm being careful, Tae promise.
Jimin looked at the beautiful bouquet of roses again that he has only ever seen on Pinterest before. They were dainty and were sprinkled with water that made it seem like the flowers were covered in dew. There was something they reminded him about. Maybe they were as delicate as Yoongi's hand gestures? And maybe as pink as Yoongi's cheeks when he was shy?
- I just think he's very lonely. That's why he throws the money around like that. Don't you think it's sad?
- I'm just worried about you.
Jimin rolled his eyes.
- Just you wait. He extended his dinner invitation, you know? He asked me if my friends would love to join us next time. And you're my only friend. Do the math.
Taehyung coughed and straightened in his seat. The skeptical look was quickly gone too.
- Oh, maybe he /is/ just lonely then...
- So it's not shady if it's generosity towards you then?
- Sue me, Jimin-ah, I am a poor artist. It's a crime to say no to free food.
Jimin abandoned the thought of associating logic with Kim Taehyung. Instead he found a vase to put his bouquet in. It was way too small for so many flowers so he used a small bucket that he had no idea how it appeared in their tiny cluttered place. He recalled how just over a month ago he met a stranger who somehow touched his heart.
They met at the supermarket, however cliche that sounded. A man seemed lost in front of a fruit display. He was looking inside his small purse and counting the coins. He was wearing simple clothes but they were clean and probably cost several times more than his so Jimin doubted he was a homeless person. There was a look of frustration on the man's face, it was obvious he didn't have enough money for his purchase. So Jimin, being the good samaritan, offered to treat him to some fruit.
The man got flustered and tried to say no but his eyes were flicking towards a box of tangerines. Jimin insisted he was going to get some for himself anyway. He finished buying his groceries and gave the man half of the tangerines. They walked out of the cheap supermarket together on a busy sidewalk. The man was holding the fruit close to his chest and was thanking Jimin profusely.
- I could give you a lift, - he said suddenly and Jimin wondered how is that you have a car but you don't have enough money for fruit.
- It's alright, I'll take a walk.
He guessed that any kind of circumstances could happen and let it be, but he was worried about getting into the stranger's car. Jimin said his goodbyes and left home, not even thinking about the tangerine man until next time.
He saw the man again a week later when he had to buy something else from that very supermarket. It was a sale month anyway and he could get good deals during that time. Soon after he walked inside, the man appeared again. He saw Jimin and waved him in greeting.
- I'd like to thank you for those tangerines.
He said it out of the blue, without even saying hello, as if they were continuing the conversation that happened before. The man gestured at the shelves with canned food.
- Maybe there is something you would like here?
Jimin looked around, not really knowing what to say. He didn't expect to see the man ever again.
- I don't need to you to pay me back, really. If you enjoyed those fruit then that's all that matters to me. The kindness does come back one way or another.
They chatted while Jimin was filling his basket and though he was still cautious, he was friendly and polite to the stranger. They walked out of the store together and this time they didn't part ways right away. There was a steam bun stall on the other side of the street and the man suggested treating Jimin to food. He agreed so they headed there and spent ages just chatting and eating the rolls. It was instantaneous, however unexpected, that interest.
Yoongi was a little weird. It seemed like he didn't know the simplest of things. He must be from a rich family, Jimin decided, because he had an acquaintance just like that, who didn't even know how to pay the bills or how to switch his window on the winter regime. Those kinds of things you learn to do as a growing adult. Still he was a pleasant company and a great listener. When the sun started going down and Jimin noticed how much time passed, he hurried home. Begrudgingly because the young man seemed to have so many things to say even if they were pieces of random knowledge. He was intriguing. Jimin quite enjoyed that.
Yoongi asked if they could meet again. He didn't know what prompted him to say yes but he agreed and they have been meeting ever since. Yoongi turned out to be not a beggar at all, in fact it was right the opposite. He was insanely rich, by Jimin’s standards at least. He suspected he was a CEO but never asked Yoongi if it was the truth. He could be a famous actor or an idol but Jimin didn't recognize his face.
When he told Taehyung about his new acquaintance, he became wary. The guy could be trouble but Jimin didn't feel like an awkward rich guy could be that. Then the presents started appearing. Yoongi began bringing him small souvenirs as he called them every time they met up in a local park. Jimin noticed Yoongi was traveling by car with a driver but always refused to get in. Yoongi understood that.
The gifts brought more suspicion from Taehyung’s side. He was convinced a guy was looking for a sugar baby but Jimin argued that in that case Yoongi would offer that arrangement right away instead of treating him to food and bringing flowers, bothering with trying to get to know him so well and providing information in return.
Since then their relationship progressed. Yoongi stopped being so awkward and became more relaxed in Jimin's presence. He would often invite Jimin to eat somewhere when the weather in the park wasn't good enough for leisure walks. When Jimin gladly agreed to have lunch with him for the first time he was flabbergasted. They went to a lavish cafe that wasn't open to general public. There was close to no other patrons. The staff greeted them like they were royalty and the dishes were something Jimin has never tried before. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if the princes of Korea - the last living representatives of their royal family - would visit exact same establishments.
It seemed that Yoongi liked throwing money around and just didn't care about the amount he spent. He flicked his black card like he was adjusting his hair: effortless and without having any second thoughts. He picked Jimin up in his luxurious cars and always gave him expensive gifts that Jimin was tired of denying. Yoongi was thinking in different categories and the younger had to accept it. Once he offered to buy Jimin's workplace, the whole coffee shop just because Jimin's manager was giving him grief.
Jimin never thought it was anything about boasting, it was a habit that Yoongi didn't pay much mind to. So he really did come from money and just didn't feel bad for spending obviously. Thst didn't make Yoongi evil reincarnate. They visited multiple restaurants and every time Jimin tried to pay Yoongi insisted that it was nothing, it's corporate money, he would say, it's something that still would be spent regardless if he does it or somebody else would. Jimin tried to believe that.
With time he felt comfortable enough to ride in Yoongi's car, in the backseat, with a polite driver taking them to multiple places. Yoongi was able to get tickets to anything Jimin ever saw only on TV: to ballet, to theaters, to private exhibitions that he only read in magazines about. One time he took him to a gala and there were so many famous people that a simple barista was rendered speechless. Yoongi wasn't much of a talker in the crowd but he was greeted with great respect and still Jimin didn't recognize the celebrity in him. Maybe he was a CEO, one of those that aren't public figures but still important in their sphere.
The day Yoongi met Kim Taehyung will be forever in the books. The artist shamelessly asked him about everything: the sugar business, the conglomerates, the mafia and Yoongi denied everything with a smile. He also denied being a celebrity, he said he's never been in the films and never tried to sing. He loved music and sometimes would play for his own pleasure as soon as he learnt a couple of instruments but that was about it.
Yoongi remained an enigma, a generous gift giving enigma that Jimin tried to decipher. The rich man didn't only invite him to spend money for nothing, they also visited charities and shelters and joined volunteer work that only made Jimin admire him even more. The way he found his place in their hearts was far from buying gifts. Especially Jimin's but he never said anything about his new, budding feelings.
Slowly Yoongi incorporated himself into the both friends' lives. Jimin always called out Taehyung for mentioning that something was not quite right in their old dingy apartment. Both their parents pulled all their possible strings to buy them a flat with joint efforts, knowing that the best friends would most likely stay together for a long time. But the money wasn't great in both their families so Tae and Jimin always had to fix stuff around the kitchen and two small rooms. And Kim Taehyung only had to mention something and Yoongi would replace it instantly. A group of skillful men would appear on their doorstep and fix their windows, fix their furniture, plumbing or their stove, or the ceiling.
There was a period of time where Jimin tried to minimize the amount Yoongi spent. He tried to show him ways of saving and Yoongi took notes diligently, yet he still was prone to bursts of shopaholic sprees. He stocked Taehyung’s art materials up to the ceiling and now his best friend barely left the room, busy with all the projects he was now able to make. He bought Jimin an expensive coffee machine that he had to learn how to use. Which was a good excuse to invite Yoongi over sometimes, because the elder manned it perfectly.
- The point is, Jimin-ah, that I like lifting bans.
He was standing in their cluttered kitchen with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and looked at everything with great interest. Meanwhile Jimin was studying Yoongi in a more domestic setting.
- But we could have earned it with time! - Jimin argued.
- Of course you would earn but why not do whatever you want right now?
The argument was lost and Jimin simply accepted Yoongi's kind gestures. It made all of them happy apart from occasional guilt from Jimin's side. But seeing the elder truly enjoy giving them things and making their lives easier pacified him.
Yoongi's secret was revealed in the most random of ways. They were walking out of the restaurant when they saw a man standing on the sidewalk, seemingly waiting for them. There was a limousine behind him and he looked intimidating in his impeccable suit. He looked like a president.
Jimin felt dread when he recognized one of the princes, the younger one. He bowed deeply, never even dreaming of meeting a member of their royal family anywhere but the news. Meanwhile Yoongi wasn't as respectful.
- Hyung! I've been looking for you for ages, you're not picking up your phone! - Kim Namjoon, the younger prince said.
Jimin shuddered, not knowing what to do. We're they in prouble? Was his hyung in trouble? Did they know each other? Yoongi wrapped his arm around the younger's shoulders then and drew his body close.
- You're scaring him! - he whispered shouted.
That's how Jimin found himself back inside the restaurant in the company of not one but two nation's princes. He looked at Yoongi and couldn't believe what he was hearing. So the older, reclusive prince that liked to collect national rarities and holding charity events was rightbin front of him. This flustered and cute young man that fixed his kitchen cupboard door last week was the nation’s prince.
It took Jimin some time to adjust to this fact but after a while everything continued as normal. Yoongi rarely talked about his position and he convinced Jimin it doesn't matter that much. After all, it was just a job, like any other. Jimin accepted it but was still awestruck.
As often as they had dinner with all three of them, Yoongi oftentimes seem to favor Jimin. He didn't quite understand why he caught the man's attention other than treating him to fruit and keeping him company when he wasn't busy with his royal duties.
- It's because he likes you! - Tae said, barging into the bathroom when Jimin tried to complain how he didn't get how Yoongi's mind worked.
- Chim, red roses, cute cafés, animal shelters, botanical gardens? What else do you need as a hint? Are you waiting until he offers you to live in a palace?
- Maybe it's just his kindness that is being expressed in this way? - he asked doubtfully.
- I wouldn't be so sure, darling. Boy, get yourself together and reciprocate!
Jimin couldn't deny that he liked the other man a lot. He was a burst of joy and excitement when he felt comfortable, he was a jokester and had a huge kind heart that usually isn't associated with huge money or gods forbid, royalty, but with Yoongi it was different. He was different. He was a sweetheart, literally, and Jimin wondered what he could do to show how he actually appreciates that Yoongi have come into his life, to their lives, made them so much better and easier and coloured them with his own beautiful unique palette.
That's how Jimin found himself in the middle of "the Park of Butterflies" with a simple bouquet in his hands. He had a box of tangerines too and kept looking at his phone, checking the time, immensely nervous. He watched families with kids and couples walking by, wondering if this wouldn't be a too chaotic place for Yoongi. The elder came just on time, having spotted Jimin in the crowd instantly.
Jimin got to see the most flustered expression on Yoongi's face as of yet when he gave him the flowers and fruit. However awkward Yoongi was doing regular things he knew what Jimin's intentions were about. He took the younger's hand in his instantly and didn't let go.
- This is so sweet of you, - he mumbled, sticking his face into the flowers.
- You deserve so much more, - Jimin replied immediately.
They stood among people passing them by, holding hands. Yoonvi was struggling to find the right words to say at first.
- Is this a date, Jimin-ah? Tell me honestly?
- If you accept then yes, it is.
Yoongi tugged Jimin by his hand and enveloped him in a hug. The younger laughed because he heavily suspected the prince did it to hide his embarrassment and excitement. He could tell by how tight the hug was.
- Okay! - Yoongi smoothed down his shirt and fixed his hair before taking Jimin's hand again, - Shall we?
Seemed like dating the prince will bring a whole lot of endearing trouble that Yoongi himself was but Jimin was as ready as ever.