Chapter Text
"Jimin, Jimin wake up dude!"
The bed started shaking and Taehyung's voice echoes in the tiny room. It was 9am on a Wednesday, and Park Jimin doesn't have classes during wednesdays. Jimin isn't as dense as his best friend when he's asleep and he really regrets that. The shaking wasn't stopping so Jimin forced himself and sat up to try and grab Taehyung's brown hair for revenge. He misses.
"The fuck do you want Tae? It's too early for shit."
The orange haired boy whines and opens one eye to look at his best friend, whom he just wants to punch in the face so bad but his body's still asleep. Jimin closes his eyes and just lets his head fall until his chin touches his chest before yawning. Taehyung giggles and goes up to his place, climbing the double decker bed. Jimin couldn't care less as he just lets himself fall forward, and doesn't react when he felt his head bumping onto Taehyung's chest.
"Ahh! I'm here to play but you choose to sleep more? Jiminie you're mean. I live 2 hours away from you, you know."
Jimin just replies with groans and puts his hands to half of Taehyung's back, half heartedly and lazily hugging his best friend. Taehyung lets out a sigh and fixes their position so Jimin can rest properly on him. Jimin is now facing front and Taehyung's hugging his waist from the back as the orange haired elder basks in comfort on Taehyung's chest, using it as his pillow.
"Mmss you to."
Jimin slurs and smiles a little while he hears Taehyung whine at him, half because Jimin's not even trying to fully wake himself up and half because he's telling stories about how his days went. Taehyung's voice on his ear was bliss and if Jimin was a cat, he swears he would purr in satisfaction. After a while of listening to his best friend, Jimin starts to slowly open his eyes, his eyelashes finally beginning to start fanning, as he looks up at Taehyung, now able to smile his signature smile. The one smile in which his cheeks get pushed upward and makes his eyes disappear. Taehyung started making faces at him and he laughs out loud, waking himself up completely.
"Finally, you're completely awake! Get dressed dude, I have someone you need to meet!"
"Yeah, yeah just hold on a sec geez!"
Taehyung rubs his forehead on Jimin's back before letting him go. Jimin jumps down from the bed, grabs new clothes, his cooling spray, shower gel and a towel and made his way to the bathroom.
"Ahh, I wonder who it is this time? I lost count already, jesus."
Jimin whispers to himself because Taehyung's excitement can only mean one thing. Girls. Not that Jimin hates girls, oh no. He likes them a lot because he knows that women know what they are doing and that girls are extremely careful and mindful of who they go out with. He has seen Taehyung get broken and completed like a stupid cycle and that's just what he doesn't like. Jimin's so done with Taehyung introducing girlfriends from time to time and he often wonders when the guy will ever learn. Honestly, Jimin thinks that he should try confessing to Taehyung when he gets the chance but he also fears that he would lose him.
No, he'd definitely lose him. He knows, because he is Kim Taehyung's best friend ever since they met in high school. Taehyung has been the light of his life ever since and Jimin would do absolutely everything to make him happy, to keep him smiling that gorgeous box smile that has captured many people, including Jimin himself. They haven't fought a single fight in their entire lives because all Jimin does is spoil him, give Taehyung what he wishes for, hell he didn't even eat a complete meal for 2 weeks just to get his best friend the watch that Taehyung eyes in a certain shop everyday. Their friendship meant never missing a birthday, a monthsary whenever Taehyung gets a girlfriend, and the one day they both made and celebrate without fail, their very own friendship day.
He has dealt with all of Taehyung's shenanigans up to this day, and he wonders if his feelings will somehow get across him. Jimin stares at the water in his bathtub, sighing because it's not enough to drown him, or so he thinks but he doesn't really want to die. He's just tired. Contradicting those thoughts, he gets in the tub and reminisces some memories. Jimin stares into nothingness, and soon he finds himself floating in the air.
He sees that he's just floating on the air, and feels gusts of wind blow from his back. He looks to his side and only then did he notice that there were butterfly wings supporting him and that he was trapped in a bubble that has limited access to movement. He stops flying and decides to just sit down and watch events unfold again.
The door to his room opens and he sees his past self. His black, fluffy hair and he still had puffy cheeks back then, he was cuteness in human form and he was followed by an orange haired Taehyung who looks too much of a model than a high school student. Jimin sits on his bed comfortably and Taehyung jumps on his lap, making the both of them laugh and the black haired elder pushes him away because he was heavy.
"Ahh Jiminie, I'm so nervous today holy shit."
"Come on, you'll be fine! She said she thinks that she likes you right?"
"I... I don't know.. what if she actually dumps me? What if I mess this up?"
"Then she's dumb. Who wouldn't want to date someone like you? You're seriously too cool to get dumped, Tae."
"But what if she prefers someone cute like you? A lot of girls are scared of me because of my voice."
The current Jimin smiles from the bubble and he remembers exactly how he was feeling a pool of happiness inside him the moment Taehyung had said those words. The smile on black haired Jimin's face was visible and he wouldn't smile like that for anyone else in the world. The elder leans close to Taehyung's face and bumps his forehead with the latter's. It was Jimin's good luck charm to Taehyung and it had always been effective.
"You think too much."
Jimin breathes and Taehyung sits up. The orangey lighting from outside Jimin's window had reflected on Taehyung completely and Jimin feels like he has seen the world shine right in front of his eyes. Jimin wants to hug him, give him a pat on the back but he sees that it wouldn't be necessary anymore, because Taehyung was already smiling. As long as Taehyung smiles, it's okay. Everything's okay.
"Thanks, Jimin. Man, you sure know how to make me feel better about myself. It's funny how I'm the one getting confessed to and not you. I think these girls are blind."
Jimin gives him a gentle hit on the shoulder.
"Don't talk about girls like that. You're just too beautiful, Tae. Just accept that fact."
Before Taehyung can give a reply, his awaited call happens. His cellphone rings and he panics, scurrying out of Jimin's bed and answers the call where Jimin can hear the conversation. Jimin though, thinks that he's intruding a very important moment so he just goes outside his bedroom for a while and played games on Taehyung's psp. There were interruptions by Taehyung because he's freaking out about the girl whom he liked had confessed to him weeks ago, is now just waiting outside Jimin's house. Jimin stopped playing and he excitedly told Taehyung to go and meet her outside while he gets the camera. He wasn't joking. Jimin had shoved Taehyung forcefully out of the house's front door and there was laughing and giggling and Taehyung failed to go back in the house. Jimin scurries back to his room.
That's where Jimin in the bubble had stood up and was watching his past self look at the floor. He claws the bubble wall but it was too elastic to pop.
"Don't look outside the window, Park Jimin!"
He shouts at his past self, hoping that he would be heard but the younger Jimin just looked elsewhere and sighed. Black haired Jimin suddenly feels heavy, a feeling he can't express as to why it was happening but he ignores it and opens his cabinet in order to get the said camera. That camera only had pictures of the two of them, but today, he has to take a picture of Taehyung, of his best friend, his reason for living in this cruel world, his everything, smiling the smile the latter had ever smiled only at him, with a stranger. Jimin turns the camera on and checks the pictures, and suddenly it's hard to breathe and somewhere in his eyes, he feels like a knob is on, and water is flowing through it.
"No, Jimin. Hold it in. For Taehyung's happiness. For Taehyung's sake. Hold it in."
"I can do this. You can do this. Just a little bit more and it will be over, alright?"
Jimin mans it up, wipes his almost water filled eyes and he fists his chest to set himself straight. Jimin makes his way to the gate and he sees Taehyung and his almost-girlfriend talking to each other, smiling a lot and giggling like they own the world. Jimin almost drops the camera but he holds it tight in his hands. He doesn't want to be there, he doesn't even need to be there. He had enough, for Jimin, seeing Taehyung happy was enough. He didn't need to know the details. But the girl suddenly peeks at his direction and she bows, with a smile that's actually pretty. Her hair was long and wavy, she was smaller than Taehyung and him, she was pretty and if perfection had a name, Jimin would agree that the girl Taehyung fell in love with, was the perfect girl for him.
Taehyung makes his way to Jimin but all Jimin sees was the hand that wasn't his, on his best friend's, entertwined gently and how annoyingly perfect every move they make is together. His hand in Taehyung looked ridiculous according to his best friend, and he never mentioned how hurt he was when Taehyung pointed it out a long time ago. Jimin's gaze on their hands breaks when Taehyung calls out to him.
"Jiminie? Are you okay?"
Jimin snaps out of it and he thought of something quick. He put his hands on his mouth and acted as if he was very, very happy of their moment and it worked because there were tears forming in his eyes, and that was the most perfect timing. Jimin did his best to act out a smile and it also worked. Taehyung and the girl were happy and they were all laughing. After a bit of small talk, Jimin hesitated but forces himself to lift Taehyung's arm off of his shoulder. He just wants to take the picture and die in his room but he did it playfully, masking all the hate and the very heavy feeling welling up in his chest.
"I'll take the picture now! Guys get closer!"
Jimin felt his heart drop the moment he looked into the lens of the camera and took a shot of the newly formed couple. It's finally over. He just wants Taehyung to go away right this instant but instead he fakingly praises how good the two of them look in the picture. Taehyung suggested that he joins in too and Jimin just wanted to scream. He couldn't hold back and yelled a loud "no" at Taehyung but he quickly giggled and convinced them that this is a very special moment and moments like these should be treasured. The girl agrees with Jimin and Taehyung feels defeated, but in love.
The girl suddenly gets a text message, and she says she has to go. Jimin bows once more, fakes a smile once more and he couldn't believe that he would be shoving his best friend outside his gate, and it feels like Taehyung's completely going out of his life. The two had said their farewells and Jimin didn't move, only watching Taehyung step his foot outside of the house's gate after his girlfriend did. Or so he thinks but Taehyung goes back and hugs Jimin so tight and he hears his orange haired friend giggle adorably into his hair. No, Taehyung. Enough. This is enough. Jimin's thoughts were screaming and he's just glad that his brain doesn't have any mouth.
"You're the best! Thank you, Jiminie."
With that, Taehyung leaves and the gate finally closes. Jimin goes back into the house, his feet dragging him to his room, making him run upstairs and the moment he gets to his room, he locks it and slides his back on the wall and breaks down. He cries out until he feels his throat is gonna rip itself apart. He kept sobbing for hours and ignored his phone the whole day. Jimin in the bubble suddenly felt weak, and he got weaker as his past self felt so hopeless, devastated and angry at himself. His view blurs and everything suddenly fades out and he wakes up only to see the room empty, and that he remembers that Taehyung had actually moved to another country with his girlfriend and they plan to get married there.
Jimin moves and rolls over to the other side and notices that someone else was actually there with him. The latter has also the same body type as Taehyung's and he weirdly fits perfectly into that space between the man's chest. The boy had a very pretty face, his hair was parted and dark cherry colored and is also younger than him. The boy opens his eyes and giggles while kissing Jimin's orange hair.
"Morning, Jiminie."
"Morning, Kookie."
For the first time in his life, Park Jimin says a name and it was not Kim Taehyung.