Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Jiminie-hyung! Taehyungie-hyung!” 

Jimin looks up to where his name is being shouted across the cafe. Several heads also turn in the direction of the voice, and then toward the table where Taehyung and Jimin are currently seated, apparently quickly identifying them as the hyungs in the shout. 

Of course the voice belongs to none other than his and Taehyung’s younger roommate and best friend, Jungkook. Jimin has known Jungkook for, well, pretty much his entire life. He met Jungkook in middle school when Jungkook transferred to his school and Jimin noticed him looking sad and lonely during lunch one day. Despite being older, Jimin took Jungkook under his wing. At first, Jimin just wanted to help him open up and make some friends with the kids in his class, but the two of them quickly became inseparable when Jimin realized just how cool Jungkook was. It was no surprise to Jimin when Jungkook chose to go to the same college as him, too. 

Once there, Jimin got to introduce his two best friends to one another (yes, he became so close with Taehyung that he was genuinely convinced for about half of a semester that the universe somehow messed up and that Taehyung is supposed to be his ), when they all three moved into an off-campus apartment together. Jimin and Taehyung had been randomly assigned as roommates their first year of university and, because of the aforementioned closeness, decided that they wanted to stay roommates. Jimin would prefer it if they could be roommates for the rest of their lives.

It’s only been one semester of Taehyung and Jungkook being roommates, too, but Jimin is happy to report that the two of them get along really, really well. With Jungkook’s insane introversion and Taehyung’s tendency to come off as cold when he first meets new people, Jimin would be lying if he said that he hadn’t been a little worried to have them under the same roof, but the three of them have quickly become the very best of friends. 

Which is why it’s not that surprising that Jungkook so easily found Jimin and Taehyung at their favorite coffee shop- which, really, is the only coffee shop that they ever go to due to the fact that Jimin works there- without a single text or call asking where the two of them were. Because Jungkook knows Jimin’s schedule by heart like Jimin knows Taehyung’s schedule by heart and like Taehyung knows Jungkook’s schedule by heart. 

Still, Jimin doesn’t appreciate people glaring in his direction just because Jungkook decided to come into the cafe and scream at them. Or, well, at least scream in their direction. 

“Oh, hi, Jungkook-ah,” Taehyung says without looking up from his book. Jimin isn’t even sure what Taehyung is reading right now, since it’s only their second day of classes. Jimin does kind of get it, though. His seonbae from his dance club has practically already drilled their first choreography of the semester into everyone’s brains. And that’s not even for his official dance classes for his major. That’s just the extracurricular club that he’s in for fun . “What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be in your English class?” 

“I think that I met my soulmate today,” Jungkook says, clearly out of breath and ignoring Taehyung’s question. Jimin would guess that Jungkook literally ran from wherever he apparently met his soulmate. 

And, oh. 

Soulmates. 

Basically the bane of Jimin’s entire existence. 

Because everyone in the world has a soulmate. And everyone’s soulmate's first words are somewhere on their skin. The tattoos are in place from birth, and literally everyone on the planet has them whether or not they ever actually meet their soulmate. Whether their soulmates are romantic or platonic or familial. Sometimes, people meet their soulmates, but have such common phrases inked on their body that they don’t even know it until it’s too late.

Most people are loved by fate- Jimin thinks that somewhere around eighty-percent of the Korean population meet their soulmate before they turn twenty-five. Jimin thinks that’s nice because he wants people to have long, happy lives with their soulmates. Especially when so many people actively avoid getting crushes on others, or dating, or even hooking up outside of their soulmates. Jimin thinks that hookup culture is a little more prominent than it used to be, but he knows that it’s not like he’s going to get a meet-cute if he downloads Tinder or Grindr, so he thinks that it’s best to just avoid dating apps altogether. 

Jimin, however, is not loved by fate. 

Because Jimin is one of the very rare people on the planet who has more than one set of words on his body. 

On Jimin’s left forearm, in pretty cursive, is the phrase Oh, it’s nice to meet you. Which is nothing spectacular. If Jimin only had this phrase on his body, he would be simultaneously thrilled and exasperated. Thrilled because his soulmate at least will think that it’s nice to meet him. Exasperated because Jimin thinks that it’s probably one of the more common phrases that people have on them.

But, on Jimin’s right arm, in the very same font: Sorry, this is my boyfriend.

Which, of course, means three things:

1. Jimin has two soulmates
2. At least one of Jimin’s soulmates has a boyfriend
3. The odds of the two soulmates already dating before ever meeting Jimin is astronomically high 

So, Jimin doesn’t love the idea of soulmates. If anything, Jimin only will ever accept Taehyung as his platonic soulmate. Because, yes, the universe got it wrong and Jimin is bitter about that.

But Jungkook loves the idea of having a soulmate. Has been excited ever since he first learned about the fact that there’s another person cut from the same piece of universe as him. So, Jimin is really happy for his best friend. 

Now Taehyung does look up from his book, though Jimin still can’t see what it is. “What do you mean that you think you met your soulmate today?”

Jimin blinks. “Wait, yeah. ‘Welcome to Music Theory,’ is a pretty specific statement,” he says, remembering the words on Jungkook’s forearm. 

“Well,” Jungkook says, sliding into the booth next to Jimin. “Both the TA and the professor said those words. But the professor is this woman who very proudly was telling us about her wife, so I don’t think it’s her.” 

“The TA, then?” 

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, his name is Min Yoongi and he’s in his senior year here for audio production. He’s really fucking handsome and I might already be in love with him. His voice is deep and gravelly and he kind of looks like a cat and he was squinting a lot kind of like he needed glasses but was refusing to put them on? And I’m not one-hundred percent sure that he’s my soulmate-” 

“Well,” Jimin interrupts. “I don’t think that you’re going to take that many more music theory classes, right? Like, why don’t you know that this really hot TA is your soulmate?”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow, taking a sip of his tea. “Have you met Jungkook? He’s way too shy to do that. I bet he didn’t introduce himself at all. Has no clue if his first words are on that boy’s body.” 

Jungkook looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks turn pink. “Uh, yeah, you’re right. I was too nervous. I just kind of stared at him like an idiot the whole time. It didn’t help that he kept catching me looking at him. I think he knew that I was flustered for, like, the whole class.”

Taehyung chuckles, giving Jungkook a pat on the shoulder. Jimin can’t tell if it’s meant to be reassuring or if he’s teasing Jungkook. Probably a little bit of both. “Well, if you’re really set on finding out if he’s your soulmate, you’re going to have to work up the courage to talk to him. Besides, he literally said the exact words on your skin. Like Jiminie said, they’re fairly unique.”

“That’s the other thing,” Jungkook groans, throwing his head back. “I know that if he’s my soulmate, then my first words to him are already on his skin, but I’m so nervous about what to say! I mean, I am a Certified Nervous Yapper, so what if the first words that I say to him are super lame and he already has a really bad impression of me?” 

Jimin rolls his eyes, albeit fondly. His best friend has always been something of a nervous wreck. He’s not surprised in the least to hear that Jungkook is worried about his pre-determined first words to his soulmate.

“He’s probably as excited to meet you as you are to meet him,” Taehyung gently reminds him. “You just need to talk to him to know for sure.” 

Jimin leans in closer, knowing Jungkook well enough to know that he needs to have a plan in place before doing anything. Which Jimin thinks just makes Jungkook more nervous about everything, but he figures that’s none of his business if it brings some level of comfort to his best friend. “Do you know when his next office hours are or if he’s having any extra sessions? Maybe you could drop by and say hello.”

Jungkook nods enthusiastically. “He does have office hours on Wednesdays and Fridays! I was thinking about visiting him on Friday. I would go Wednesday, but I need the time to try to muster up the courage to actually speak to him. I’m amazed that I was able to even stay for the entire class with how badly I wanted to just leave and tell you guys that I found him.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow playfully. “And if he turns out to be your soulmate, you’re going to have to make a memorable impression, right?” Jimin rolls his eyes, definitely hearing the teasing lilt in Taehyung’s voice. “I mean, you don’t want to just be the ‘guy who stared awkwardly’ forever. Though, I doubt he’ll care.”

Jungkook laughs, though his face is still flushed. “I know. I’ll try my best. Hopefully, it won’t be as awkward as it was today. He did keep looking in my direction, though. I wonder if he felt a pull from the universe to me? Or maybe he was wondering why this freshman kid was sweating profusely throughout the entire class.”

“Yeah, you really need to make up for that first impression,” Taehyung says, picking up his book again. 

Jimin smiles, his thoughts drifting to his own soulmate situation without permission. “Well, good luck with that. If he is your soulmate, and I really believe that he is, then I hope everything goes well for you.”

Jungkook grins. “Thanks, Jiminie-hyung. I appreciate it.”

Taehyung’s gaze softens as he looks at Jungkook. “And remember, if you need any help figuring out what to say or how to act, you’ve got us. We’re here to help. I mean, it’s not like it matters, but if it will make you feel better…”

Jungkook’s face brightens at the support from his friends. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks, guys.”

“Speaking of bad first impressions, don’t you literally have a class that you’re supposed to be in right now?” Jimin asks. “You’re going to make a bad impression on your English professor if you’re missing the literal first day of class.” 

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “It starts in…” He looks down at his wrist, which Jimin pointedly notices does not have a watch on it. “Fifteen minutes. So I have just enough time to run the whole way there.” 

Jimin pushes his iced coffee toward Jungkook. “Take this with you. Hyung will get a new one. Technically, I’m only supposed to get free drinks while I’m working, but you know that everyone here likes me enough to keep giving me them when I’m off shift.” 

Jungkook grins, leaning over to kiss Jimin on the cheek. “Thanks,” he says, standing up and heading toward the door. Then, just as loudly as he had shouted on his way in, “Don’t forget- new J-Hope music at midnight! I will wake both of you up if you’re in bed!”

Taehyung smiles, watching fondly after Jungkook. “As if we could ever forget new J-Hope music,” he laughs. “Jungkook literally never stops talking about him.” 

“No better than you with Jin,” Jimin comments. “Or me with RM, I guess.”

☀️🌕

Min Yoongi turns out to be Jungkook’s soulmate. And he’s apparently just as obsessed with the BigHit Three™ as Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook are. Which is really good for Jungkook, since he always was worried that his soulmate would be one of those weirdos who is threatened by K-Pop idols and would want Jungkook to stop being obsessed with passionate about J-Hope. 

Jimin likes him a lot, thinks that he’s a pretty cool guy, if not a little quiet. Though Jungkook is most definitely the introvert of their friend group, so Jimin thinks that they’re a pretty good match for one another. 

“Let me see the words on your arm again,” Taehyung says to Yoongi, pulling Yoongi’s arm across the table. Jimin laughs while telling Taehyung to be careful to not spill any of their drinks. They’re currently seated in their favorite table in the cafe in between classes. 

Yoongi easily lets his arm follow even though Jungkook’s cheeks turn bright red. Jimin knows that it’s basically the bane of Jungkook’s existence- the words on Yoongi’s forearm- but Yoongi loves to show off his soulmate’s first words to him. 

Yoongi rolls up his sleeve, revealing the words tattooed on his inner forearm. Jimin leans in closer, squinting to read them. The ink is in the same elegant cursive as Jungkook’s words, and it reads, Wow, you’re even hotter up close.

“I still can’t believe it,” Jungkook says, his voice tinged with both embarrassment and awe as he gazes at Yoongi. Jimin’s never seen his best friend look so lovesick, and Yoongi and Jungkook have only known each other for a few weeks. “I also can’t believe that we had to go to the head of the music department and let them know that we’re soulmates.” 

Yoongi chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I mean, you know that they’re never going to keep us apart from one another, but we’re also going to be under pretty heavy scrutiny while you’re taking my class. They want to make sure that our soul bond doesn’t mean that I’m going to give you any answers to tests or homework.” 

Jungkook whines. “I wish you would,” he says.

“Can’t have anyone thinking that my grading isn’t above board,” Yoongi says, seriously. “This city can’t afford another scandal!” 

Jungkook laughs way too hard at the joke even though Jimin thinks that it was mid at best. “But, honestly, I’m a really good student! Especially when it comes to music.” 

“He is,” Jimin agrees, excited to brag about Jungkook’s musical genius. “He’s here on a full scholarship for the vocal program, you know? He’s been scouted by almost every entertainment company in the industry.” 

“Almost is the key word, Jiminie-hyung,” Jungkook says. “You know that I was only interested in getting an offer from BigHit.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes. “I mean, we all love Kim Seokjin and Jung Hoseok and especially Kim Namjoon-” 

“Hyung has a really big crush on RM,” Jungkook explains in a whisper-yell to Yoongi. “He used to make me watch all of his music videos. Which is actually how I got into singing and J-Hope-” 

“But you should have gone with whatever company was offering to you,” Jimin finishes. “I still can’t believe that you’d rather come to college than be an idol.” 

Jungkook shrugs. “How else was I ever supposed to hear these words ,” he says, waving his arm around, “if I never went to college?” 

And Jimin supposes that that’s fair enough. 

Taehyung chuckles, sipping his tea. “Well, I’m glad it seems to be working out for you two. And hey, maybe now you’ll stop dragging me to all of those concerts and fan events. I’m running out of excuses for why I’m at a fan meet and greet for J-Hope in the middle of my study schedule.”

Jungkook tilts his head. “What if it’s a Jin fansign?” 

“Well, yeah, I’ll do anything for Kim Seokjin,” Taehyung says, shrugging. “But now I’m only obligated to follow Jiminie around. At least until he meets his soulmates. You have a built-in J-Hope concert buddy now.” 

Jimin rolls his eyes. Mostly because he’s Very Sure that he will never even let his soulmates know that they’re soulmates, but also because he is pretty selective in who knows that he has multiple. He likes Yoongi enough, thinks that he’s going to be a great partner to Jungkook, but he isn’t sure that he’s ready for Yoongi to know about this.

Unfortunately, Taehyung’s comment does not go unnoticed by Yoongi. 

“Wait,” he says. “You have more than one soulmate?” 

Jimin freezes, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn't anticipated the conversation veering in this direction, especially not with Yoongi sitting right there. He catches Taehyung’s apologetic glance out of the corner of his eye.

“Uh, yeah,” Jimin says, clearing his throat, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. “I, um, actually have two. It’s a long story.”

It’s most definitely not a long story, but Jimin does not feel like getting into the fact that he has only negative feelings regarding the whole soulmate system. Of course he’s happy for Jungkook and he knows that Taehyung is looking forward to meeting his soulmate, and Jimin wants that for his best friend. 

But, for Jimin, the whole thing sucks.

Yoongi’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “I didn’t know that was possible. I thought everyone only had one soulmate?”

“It’s rare, but it happens,” Taehyung explains, his voice taking on a more serious tone. “Jiminie’s situation is…unique. It’s not something that a lot of people encounter. We actually did a lot of research when Jimin was, um, finally ready to talk about it. We found less than four hundred people in the world who have multiple soulmates.”

Jimin gives Taehyung a grateful nod, appreciative of his attempt to smooth things over even though he had been the one to slip up. “Yeah, it’s not something I really talk about often.”

Yoongi leans in slightly, curiosity evident in his eyes. “But… If you don’t mind me asking, what’s that like? Having multiple soulmates?”

Jimin hesitates, unsure how much to divulge. It’s not something he’s overly comfortable discussing with people outside of his immediate friend group. “It’s complicated,” he finally says. “I mean, I don’t know if it is for everyone who has more than one, but I have an idea that my soulmates already know one another… You know, based on what's on my arms.”

Jungkook, sensing Jimin’s discomfort, quickly chimes in to change the subject. “But enough about that! Yoongi-hyung, since you’re now my certified concert buddy, I need to know… What’s your favorite J-Hope song?”

Yoongi’s face brightens, and he dives into an enthusiastic explanation about his favorite tracks, using musical terms that Jimin can’t even begin to comprehend. He’s sure that Jungkook, as a vocal major, understands some of the nerdy shit that Yoongi is talking about right now. 

Jimin watches with a sense of relief, thankful for Jungkook’s intervention. 

As the conversation flows back into safer territory, Jimin’s mind drifts again to his own soulmates. He doesn’t like to let his brain wander to that space, and he usually doesn’t have to worry about it, but the last few weeks- since Jungkook and Yoongi met- the topic of soulmates has been brought up so many times in front of Jimin that the word seems to be imprinted at the front of his mind.

Jimin just hopes that whatever may come, he’ll be able to handle it with grace and dignity. 

It’s not something he can easily explain or understand, even for himself. But he knows that he has a foolproof two-step plan for when he meets his soulmates: 

1. Don’t talk. 
2. Move countries if necessary. 

“Hey, thanks for grabbing coffee with me,” Yoongi says suddenly, standing up and giving Jungkook a quick peck on the cheek. “I should head to my next class.”

“No problem,” Jimin says with a smile. It feels forced, but Jimin can’t help it. He feels a bit off his game right now. “It was nice to catch up.”

Jungkook gives Jimin and Taehyung each a smile, standing up as well. “Thanks, Taehyung-hyung. Thanks, Jiminie-hyung. I’m glad we could all hang out,” he says. Jimin is glad too, even if things got strange for a moment. He knows how important he and Taehyung liking Yoongi is to Jungkook. “I have a class, too, so I’m going to leave too.” 

“Be safe,” Taehyung says as Jimin calls out, “See you at home!” 

As Yoongi and Jungkook leave the café, Jimin and Taehyung linger a little longer, sipping on their drinks and talking about their own classes. Despite the awkward moment, Jimin feels fine now. It’s a complicated world, Jimin knows, but he has Taehyung and Jungkook to help him navigate it.

“Taehyung,” Jimin says, breaking the comfortable silence. “After we met… Did you ever think about what you would do if you had multiple soulmates?”

Taehyung looks thoughtful for a moment, appearing to weigh his words carefully. “I suppose it would be a lot to handle. But if anyone can manage it, it’s you, Jiminie.”

Jimin chuckles. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll just stick to being the supportive friend and let you and Jungkook handle all the soulmate stuff.”

“Are you thinking something different?” Taehyung asks, apparently not letting Jimin get away with a subject change so easily. “When you first told me about this whole thing… Well, you didn’t seem like you were really interested in meeting your soulmates ever.” 

Jimin sighs. “I mean… I guess I just have been pretty good about pushing all thoughts of soulmates to the back of my brain until recently. I’m happy for Jungkookie, truly, but him and Yoongi meeting is stirring up all of these thoughts about my soulmate situation…”

“And it’s making you think?” 

Jimin nods. He’s glad that Taehyung gets it. 

He’s glad that he met someone like Taehyung. Someone who Jimin can talk to without ever feeling judged. Someone who understands what’s going on in Jimin’s mind without Jimin having to spell things out. Someone who should have been his soulmate, had the universe gotten things right. 

“But thinking doesn’t have to change anything,” Taehyung says, assuaging some of Jimin’s fears. “Thinking about doing something different could be good. But you can stick to your plan if you don’t ever want to meet your soulmates, you know? You can still choose to not answer either one of your soulmates when you meet them.” 

“Thanks,” Jimin says, feeling a wave of gratitude for Taehyung. He’s always been worried about what meeting his soulmates would be like since his plan only works if his soulmates speak to him first. The plan does not work at all if Jimin speaks first. “I appreciate it.”

The two of them finish up their coffee and tea, and as they head out, Jimin feels a little more settled than he has in a few weeks. Things are going well between Jungkook and his soulmate, and Jimin feels a little less crazy at the thought of his own pair. Soulmates, in all their complexities and challenges, are just another part of the grand puzzle that is Park Jimin’s life. And for now, he’s content to be surrounded by people who understand and support him, no matter how their particular pieces might fit together.

“Alright,” Taehyung says, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s head out. I’ve got a painting due tomorrow evening and I just know that Jungkook is going to make us listen to J-Hope’s album again tonight; if he’s not staying with Yoongi, that is.”

Jimin nods, standing up and grabbing his own things. “I’ll meet you back at home. I need to stop by the bookstore first.”

“Sure,” Taehyung says easily. “Going for anything in particular?” 

Jimin shrugs. “Research, I guess.” 

Jimin walks into the small bookstore that is right outside of their campus.

It’s small and quiet, and Jimin’s not sure if he likes it or hates it. He’s unsure if the peace of the bookstore is calming, or if it will leave him alone with his thoughts for a little too long. 

Jimin moves through the aisles with a sense of purpose, his fingers trailing over the spines of books as he searches for something specific. The dim lighting and the soft rustling of pages create a calming atmosphere, one that Jimin finds reassuring.

He eventually finds himself in the section dedicated to relationship psychology and personal growth, which is where he figures he might find some insights on navigating complex relationships like his own. He’s not quite sure that the small store is going to have anything that he needs, considering that the subject matter is somewhat of a personal curiosity.

Jimin picks out a few books that seem promising, flipping through them briefly to make sure they contain practical advice, though he’s not opposed to any theoretical musings that books on soulmates might have about what to do when you’re one of the few people in the world to have more than one soulmate. 

He’s looking for something that will give him a better understanding of how to handle his feelings and interactions with his soulmates, should he ever decide to confront them directly, and he figures that even though there’s probably not any direct recounts of this happening to people in the past, anything practical on navigating relationships with soulmates will be useful.

After selecting a handful of books, Jimin makes his way to the checkout counter. The cashier, a friendly-looking girl with bright eyes and a warm smile, rings up his purchases. 

“Research project?” she asks as she bags his books.

“Something like that,” Jimin mutters, trying to sound casual. “Just trying to understand a few things better.”

The cashier nods knowingly. “Well, good luck with that!”

“Thanks,” Jimin replies with a smile as he heads toward the door. 

On his way out, Jimin notices a stack of papers for an internship on the small table next to the door. Noticing that there are multiple internships listed for BigHit Entertainment, Jimin picks up two of the fliers, figuring that Jungkook and Yoongi might get use out of them.

As he walks back toward the apartment, his mind turns back to thoughts of his soulmates. He’s more settled now, feels more confident that Taehyung was right . Just thinking about his soulmates doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to change his whole plan. But he hopes to find some clarity, or at least some comfort, in the advice and experiences shared within those pages. 

When Jimin arrives back at the apartment, he finds Taehyung already settled in with his painting supplies spread out across the living room. The room is filled with the smell of acrylics and Jimin finds himself feeling at home immediately.

“Hey, I’m back,” Jimin announces, placing his bag on the couch.

Taehyung looks up, his eyes bright with curiosity. “Find what you were looking for?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Jimin says, taking the fliers he found for BigHit and putting them on the counter for Jungkook to look at later. “Or… At least, I’m hoping that I did.”

Taehyung nods, clearly interested. “Let me know if you find anything particularly useful.”

Which Jimin knows is not because Taehyung is interested in soulmates for any specific reason. Jimin knows that what Taehyung really means is something closer to “Let me know if you find something that makes you feel something,” or “Let me know if you want to talk.” 

Jimin gives Taehyung a bright smile, thankful as always for his best friend. “I will. But I’m not planning on making you my personal therapist or anything.”

Taehyung grins. “Too late. I already volunteered.”

“I appreciate it, though. For real,” Jimin says.

Jungkook turns up after some time, returning from his evening class and immediately connecting his laptop to the television to play J-Hope’s newest music, his excitement so palpable that Jimin can’t help but feel excited, too. The room fills with the voices of both J-Hope and Jungkook, who is already singing along to every word. 

Jimin sits down on the couch beside Taehyung and cracks open one of the books that he bought, trying to focus amidst the music and Jungkook’s excited commentary. As he opens the first book, Jimin is still not sure exactly how he feels about his whole situation. He’s nervous that he’s not going to get any sort of answers that he wants, or that he even knows what kind of questions he wants answers for.

Still, with a deep breath, Jimin opens the first book and starts to read, hoping to find something that can make him feel better.

☀️🌕

“Guys, did you hear that Yoongi-hyung is now certified best friends with Kim Namjoon, AKA RM?” Jungkook shouts the second that he and Yoongi walk through the door. 

Jimin immediately sits up from where he was laying on the couch, eyes wide. “What? Wait, really? What?” 

Yoongi chuckles, following Jungkook into the living room. “I wouldn’t say that we’re best friends …” 

“Well,” Jungkook says, as Jimin immediately looks toward him because he knows that Jungkook will at least give him all of the details even if they don’t matter “Apparently, Kim Namjoon is just as clumsy as all of these behind the scenes videos make him out to be.” 

“No way,” Jimin says, feeling fond of his favorite idol. “Yoongi-hyung, you met him because he’s clumsy?” 

Yoongi nods, an amused smile on his face. “Pretty much. We were at this meeting for his latest project, and he managed to knock over his coffee onto the stack of papers that I had sitting in front of me. It got on my pants and he came to the bathroom while I was cleaning it up and apologized…”

“He practically gave hyung a hand job-” 

“ Oh my god. He did not- ”

Jimin nods enthusiastically, wanting to hear all that he can about RM and whether or not he accidentally gives strangers hand jobs in bathrooms. He wonders if it would be weird to ask Yoongi to describe exactly what Namjoon smells like so that he can accurately portray him in the omegaverse fic that he’s writing.

“Hyung, what else would you call rubbing your dick with a paper towel -”

“Anyway,” Yoongi says pointedly, cutting Jungkook off. “We ended up chatting while I was dabbing myself with damp paper towels in the public bathroom, and it turns out we have a lot in common. Which, honestly, isn’t too much of a surprise since we’re both just music theory nerds with a passion for rap.”

Jungkook laughs, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Jimin absolutely adores watching the way that his best friend’s eyes light up around his soulmate. “And then, as if that wasn’t enough, Namjoon-ssi apparently insisted on making Yoongi-hyung a playlist of his favorite tracks, which, get this, includes some deep cuts that Yoongi-hyung had been raving about for ages.”

Jimin grins, feeling a mix of jealousy and admiration. “That sounds amazing. Ask him to make me a playlist. And make sure that it’s exclusively love songs.” 

“Please” Yoongi says, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m just glad that Namjoon’s as cool as he seems. He really is just as down-to-earth and genuine in person as he is on camera. We even had lunch together after the meeting. He seemed interested in talking to me as a person.”

Taehyung, who had been quietly listening, looks up from his painting supplies with a thoughtful expression. “So, does this mean you’re actually becoming best friends with Kim Namjoon? Are you going to spend more time with him outside of this project?”

Yoongi shrugs. “Maybe. We exchanged contact information. I mean, I’m just an intern and he’s one of the most famous people in South Korea, so I’m not expecting us to hang out and make music together on the weekends or anything like that.”

Jungkook practically bounces with enthusiasm. “This is so cool, though! If you meet J-Hope, you have to beg for an autograph for your soulmate, okay? He seems like the type of person who loves the idea of soulmates, so I bet he’d give you one.”

Jimin chuckles, shaking his head. “That would be a dream come true for sure. If Yoongi-hyung was my soulmate, I would have called him until his phone either quit working or he got me a signed napkin from RM.”

“A napkin -” 

“Oh, I should just grab one of my copies of Jack in the Box for you to hold onto,” Jungkook says, practically sprinting toward his bedroom. “ Just in case .” 

Yoongi rolls his eyes, but Jimin doesn’t think that he’s ever seen someone so in love. It’s only been about three months since Yoongi and Jungkook started seeing one another. They’re only just about to have their one-hundred day anniversary, but Jimin sees fondness and kindness and love in Yoongi’s eyes when he’s looking at Jungkook.

Jimin had always wondered if people just dated their soulmates simply for the fact that they were soulmates. Had always wondered if there were soulmates out there who were unhappy . Who maybe met and realized that there is no chance for love for them.

And Jimin figures that this probably is the case for some people. Sure, in school they’re taught that everyone in the world has one romantic soulmate.

But Jimin himself is proof that this isn’t true for everyone.

However, Jimin looks at Yoongi’s fondness and Jungkook’s smile and he knows that the two of them would have fallen in love in sixty-three other lifetimes, even ones where soulmates didn’t exist.

Yoongi takes a seat on the armchair in the living room, answering questions from Taehyung about his first few weeks at BigHit. Jimin knows that Taehyung is working up the nerve to ask if Yoongi’s had the pleasure of seeing Kim Seokjin in person.

As the conversation shifts away from music and Yonogi’s new internship, Jimin finds himself feeling sleepy… feeling almost relaxed in the presence of his friends. He feels good right now, which has not been the case in quite a while. It’s been months and he hasn’t figured out anything with his own plans for his soulmates, and it’s been weighing on him heavily ever since Jungkook and Yoongi met, even though he’s read tens of books on soulmates at this point. 

Jungkook rejoins them, plopping himself right into Yoongi’s lap and handing him his a copy of his new favorite album, apparently very serious about getting Yoongi to get a signature from J-Hope. Jimin sure doesn’t blame him- he’s still debating if he can get Yoongi to bag some of the air near Kim Namjoon just so that he can get a true sense of what he smells like. 

As the evening winds down and the music shifts to a softer, more relaxed playlist, Jimin closes his book and stretches out on the couch. He glances over at Taehyung, who is finishing up his painting with a focused expression, and then at Jungkook and Yoongi, who are engaged in an animated discussion about something that Jimin can’t quite keep track of at this moment.

Jimin feels good right now.

“Hey,” he says, breaking the comfortable silence. “Thanks for being here. For everything.”

Taehyung looks up with a warm smile. “Always, Jiminie.”

Jungkook and Yoongi turn their attention toward him, both nodding in agreement. Yoongi looks a little confused, but seems like he’s just going to go with it. “Yeah,” Jungkook adds. “I mean, we wouldn’t be here without you , so thank you, too.”

Jimin smiles, feeling a deep sense of contentment. He tosses his book carelessly to the floor, thinking that he doesn’t need to worry about his own fears regarding his soulmates right now. He can just hang out and enjoy an evening with his friends.

As the night settles into a peaceful quiet, Jimin lets himself fully relax- he knows that he’s exactly where he’s meant to be, surrounded by people who understand and support him.

☀️🌕

“I’m going to fucking die in there,” Taehyung says, gripping onto Jimin’s hand tightly. “Seriously, is Yoongi-hyung that amazing that he’s able to get three plus ones to a company event when he’s an intern ?” 

“Would you call it a plus three?” Jimin wonders out loud. 

Taehyung squeezes his hand tighter. “I mean, we’re about to be in the same room as NamJin, Jiminie. Do you realize how fucking insane that is?” 

“Imagine how Jungkookie is feeling right now,” Jimin mutters. “I’m sure that Yoongi has been soft launching Jungkookie to J-Hope, but I’m sure that he’s literally screaming, crying, throwing up right now.” 

Taehyung tilts his head. “Him and Yoongi-hyung did have to leave after us because Jungkookie’s stomach was hurting. You know how upset his stomach gets when he’s nervous. Says that he’s a certified hot girl because of his stomach issues.” 

“Sounds like him,” Jimin snorts. “God, I’m worried about us making it through the night without crying.”

Taehyung nods, agreeing. They walk up to the entrance, where Yoongi has told them that their names are on some type of list , which makes Jimin nervous since he’s the type of person who likes to have very detailed out plans about how he’s going to arrive and exit from literally any event he’s ever gone to, but he just trusts Yoongi on this one. Not like he has any choice if he wants the opportunity to see RM’s biceps up close.

“I don’t know that I’ll even speak to RM,” Jimin mutters as they enter the building, following directions to the room where this particular event is being held. It’s for RM’s album, something that Yoongi actually had a pretty heavy hand in producing since BigHit apparently is the type of company that lets their interns actually work on music rather than running around and getting coffee orders for producers, and Jimin thinks that he might pass out if he even looks at the man of the hour. 

Taehyung shrugs. “If I get a chance to even casually say hello to Kim Seokjin, then I am most definitely going to take it. There’s a huge chance that I’m going to immediately find the closest bathroom and throw up afterward, but I think that it’s a chance that I’m going to have to take.” 

Jimin looks around in wonder as they enter the giant room for the party. BigHit sure knows how to throw a party. There’s tables lined with food and drinks and more famous people than Jimin has ever seen gathered together at once, save for when he accidentally watched the Grammy awards a few years prior. 

Jimin and Taehyung make their way through the crowd, trying to appear casual despite their visible anxiety. Jimin keeps his eyes on the elegant decorations and tries to focus on the lively noises of those talking around them, but the knot in his stomach remains tight. They spot a group of people near the food tables, and Jimin's eyes widen when he realizes one of them is Seokjin.

"That’s him," Jimin whispers, clutching Taehyung’s arm. "That’s Kim Seokjin."

Taehyung’s eyes nearly pop out of his head. “I see him! I mean, of course I do. He’s kind of hard to miss. God, why does he look like that? It should be illegal for someone to look so good.”

Jimin nods, feeling suddenly much more intimidated than he had before. He isn’t even as big of a fan of Kim Seokjin as Taehyung is, so he can’t imagine what his best friend is feeling right now, but even Jimin can’t deny that Seokjin looks angelic under the colored lighting.

“Okay, I think we’re going to need a strategy here,” Taehyung says, squeezing Jimin’s hand once more. “We should probably go and eat some of this fancy-ass food while we think of a way to casually introduce ourselves to any of them.”

Jimin nods, though he’s barely keeping it together. “Right, right. Let’s just try to enjoy the party for now. We can always force Yoongi-hyung to introduce us when he finally gets here. I think that he’s mentioned meeting Kim Seokjin? I usually tune out when he’s not talking about RM.”

As they make their way toward the bar, a sudden hush spreads through the crowd, and Jimin’s heart skips a beat. It’s clear something- or someone - important is approaching. Taehyung tenses beside him, and Jimin follows his gaze to see Kim Namjoon making his way through the room with an entourage. Namjoon, with his tall, commanding presence and insanely good looks, is drawing all eyes toward him.

Jimin feels a surge of nervousness but forces himself to stay in place. Taehyung, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to faint. 

“Is this happening?” Taehyung whispers. “Is this actually happening right now?”

Before Jimin can respond, RM’s entourage begins to move, and the crowd parts like the Red Sea. Taehyung, with his usual determination, starts to make his way through the crowd, pulling Jimin along. Jimin can’t help but chuckle- Taehyung had taken to the bar when faced with meeting his idol, but all of his nerves seemed to vanish when it means getting Jimin to meet his idol.

They reach the edge of the group just as Namjoon is finishing a conversation. Jimin’s heart pounds in his chest as Taehyung steps forward. He swallows hard, mentally preparing for the encounter.

“RM-nim,” Taehyung starts, his voice slightly shaky but filled with admiration. “I’m Taehyung, and this is Jimin. We’re friends of Yoongi.”

Namjoon instantly turns around, eyes wide as he looks at Taehyung. “What did you say?” 

Taehyung blinks. “Um, we’re friends with Yoongi-hyung? He worked really hard on your album as an intern and I think that BigHit wants to hire him when he graduates next semester-” 

“No,” Namjoon interrupts. “I mean- the words-” he says, quickly taking off his suit jacket and rolling up his sleeve. Which, as a fan of Namjoon’s muscles, Jimin is very appreciative of. Jimin’s eyes widen as he reads the words on Namjoon’s arm. Then, he suddenly remembers the cursive on Taehyung’s arm: What did you say?

Holy shit. 

Taehyung has just found his soulmate. 

The moment is quickly ruined by someone who looks like he must be Namjoon’s manager, rushing in and pulling Namjoon’s sleeve down. “You two,” he says, looking between Namjoon and Taehyung (who, for the record, have not looked away from one another even for a second). “Come with me. Seems like we have a bit to discuss and I don’t particularly want an audience of hundreds of people for it.” 

Jimin watches as his best friend gets dragged off with his favorite idol, his jaw practically on the ground as he gets abandoned. 

“Oh, Jiminie-hyung,” Jimin hears from behind him. He breathes out a sigh of relief, thankful that Jungkook and Yoongi are here just in time for him to not be alone. 

Jimin is still processing the shock of Taehyung’s soulmate reveal when Jungkook and Yoongi approach. Jungkook looks nervous but excited, and Yoongi has an amused smirk on his face.

“I’m glad to see you’re here…” Jungkook continues, his voice wavering slightly as he takes in the scene before him. Jimin has no doubt that he’s scoping out the place for J-Hope. Jimin would point him out if he could, but he had only seen Kim Seokjin prior to the whole thing with Namjoon and Taehyung. 

Jimin forces a smile and gives a small wave. “Hey, Jungkook-ah. I see you and Yoongi finally made it. Hope that your stomach is okay,” he teases.

Jungkook flushes as Yoongi chuckles and gives Jimin a reassuring pat on the back. “Sorry we’re late. Though it looks like you and Taehyung have already made quite an impression,” he says, staring off in the direction that Namjoon and Taehyung had been dragged off toward. 

Jimin raises an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean Taehyungie getting dragged away by RM and his manager? Nah, I think that was normal.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, apparently not having seen the entire situation play out. Jimin suspects that he was too busy looking around the room for J-Hope. “Namjoon? The Kim Namjoon? What happened?”

“Turns out, Taehyung’s soulmate is none other than RM,” Jimin says, still a little in disbelief. 

He’s thinking about how fate really did line everything up perfectly for everyone except for him. There’s no way that anyone could ever argue fate likes Jimin. Because, how on Earth could it be that Taehyung gets to know Jungkook exclusively through Jimin. And because of the college that Jimin chose to go to, Jungkook got to meet his soulmate in Yoongi. And then, Yoongi gets the unlikely chance to invite three people to a party in honor of Jimin’s favorite celebrity who happens to be Taehyung’s soulmate.

Jimin’s not sure that he can hide the bitterness stirring in his heart any longer. 

“Can you believe it?” He asks casually.

Jungkook’s jaw drops. “That’s... Wow. I hope he’s okay. Should we send Yoongi-hyung to go check on him?”

“Knowing Taehyung, he’s probably in awe and slightly overwhelmed, but he’ll be fine,” Yoongi says, not seeming too concerned. Jimin figures that they can wait for Taehyung to call if he’s in distress. “Namjoon’s a good guy.”

Jimin nods, but his attention is quickly diverted as Yoongi’s gaze shifts to the other side of the room. “Oh, look. It’s Seokjinie-hyung and Hoseokie. I should go introduce you guys.”

Jimin and Jungkook follow Yoongi as he makes his way through the crowd towards Seokjin and Hoseok, who are engaged in conversation with a few other guests. Jungkook is practically bouncing out of his fancy dress shoes that Yoongi bought him and Jimin’s mind is still focused on Taehyung and Kim Namjoon . 

When they reach the duo, Yoongi taps Seokjin on the shoulder.

“Seokjinie-hyung, Hoseokie,” Yoongi says with a friendly grin, “I’d like you to meet some friends of mine. Well- a friend and my boyfriend. This is Jimin and Jungkook.”

Seokjin turns around with his trademark warm smile. Jimin notices that Hoseok is leaning heavily on Seokjin now. Jimin wonders if that’s normal behavior for them. Hoseok smiles lazily, looking at Jimin like he’s something to be devoured.

It makes Jimin nervous. 

“Oh,” Hoseok says, sounding a little too tipsy to be at a professional event. Of course, all Jimin knows of work is the cafe that he works at, so maybe this is normal behavior for an event like this. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

Jimin’s heart stops. 

But it doesn’t mean anything. Right? 

“Sorry,” Seokjin says, fondly rolling his eyes, not noticing that Jimin’s entire world is being shifted right now. Jimin starts begging, pleading with every deity out there that he can’t guess Seokjin’s next words. “This is my boyfriend.”

Jimin thinks that time must stop around him. But the nausea rising up in his throat lets him know that, unfortunately, time is still moving forward.

“Oh, I probably should have prepared them for that,” Yoongi mutters under his breath.

Seokjin doesn’t seem concerned, though, and continues. “His name is Hoseok, and I’m Seokjin. It’s really nice to meet you both.” 

“You too,” Jungkook says, though his eyes haven’t left Hoseok for even a second. 

Seokjin smirks. “I take it that this is Jungkook, then? Your soulmate who happens to be in love with my soulmate?” 

Jimin’s heart drops. 

He doesn’t know why- okay, he does know why , but his heart isn’t really listening to logic right now- but it hurts that Seokjin doesn’t say something like “One of my soulmates.” 

Jimin knows that there’s no way that these two aren’t his soulmates, not when he’s stared at the words but he also knows that his previous thoughts were indeed true. He has two soulmates. At least one of his soulmates already has a boyfriend. His soulmates are already dating each other.

Jimin feels like he can’t breathe.

Seokjin nods. “I’m glad to hear that. Yoongi’s told us a lot about you two. It’s nice to finally put faces to the names.”

Hoseok grins. “Wait, wasn’t there another one, too? A… Taehyung?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi says, seeming to keep things vague for now. Maybe he doesn’t want to out Namjoon as having found his soulmate, since it doesn’t appear that Seokjin or Hoseok noticed the whole debacle. “He’s around somewhere.” 

“Cool, cool,” Hoseok says, still looking at Jimin. Jimin vaguely remembers Jungkook mentioning that, in his first class with Yoongi, Yoongi kept staring at him throughout the lecture. Jungkook had wondered at the time if it was just because of how awkward and sweaty he was, but Hoseok’s lingering stare makes Jimin wonder if there’s more to knowing who your soulmate is than just the words.

Jimin wonders if he’s noticed that Jimin still hasn’t said anything. 

As the conversation continues, Jimin can see as Jungkook begins to relax- leaning a little less into Yoongi and chatting in a way that’s more friendly than nervous. Seokjin and Hoseok seem to be incredibly friendly and engaging, telling stories and trying to get the three of them engaged in conversation. At one point, Jimin thinks that Seokjin is specifically trying to get Jimin to talk to them, but Jimin is not falling for that right now.

Seokjin asks Yoongi more about his experience working for BigHit during the semester, wondering if he’s going to be able to steal Yoongi when he’s officially working at BigHit or if Yoongi will continue to work for Namjoon. Jimin blinks, not realizing that Yoongi had been officially offered a position with the company. He supposes that it makes sense- Jungkook has raved about Yoongi’s musical genius and Jimin’s favorite rapper clearly has a lot of respect for him. 

So Jungkook and Yoongi seem relaxed. Which is great for them. Really cool stuff. Really great things that Jimin loves for his friends. And Taehyung is literally off having a meeting with his one famous soulmate.

And Jimin’s happy for them. Really happy for them.

He also wants nothing more than to get out of BigHit immediately. 

But he doesn’t want to be that guy . Yoongi invited him here out of the good of his heart, knowing that Jimin is platonically in love with Kim Namjoon and cool enough to not cry when he meets him. And if Jimin leaves now, then Jungkook will know that something is up and he’ll follow him and then Yoongi will have to leave because Jungkook’s concerned and then someone will probably kick Taehyung out for reasons that Jimin cannot even begin to make up in his head right now-

He can’t leave yet.

Eventually, Yoongi glances at his watch and gives a small nod. “I think it’s about time we catch up with Taehyung and Namjoon,” he says to Jungkook.

Jungkook’s eyes widen as he looks around. “Are they still...?”

Yoongi nods. “Yeah, It’s been, like, twenty minutes and I’m a little bit worried that we haven’t seen either of them. Let’s make sure they’re okay.”

Jimin, Jungkook, and Yoongi say polite goodbyes to Seokjin and Hoseok (Jimin simply bows, making sure that he doesn’t say anything to them) and make their way toward where Taehyung and Namjoon last were. 

Jimin, not quite feeling like standing in a room with two sets of soulmates, lets Jungkook and Yoongi know that he’s going to head over to the bar and get a drink. He figures that if he can’t leave yet, then drinking away his sorrows until Taehyung takes him back to their shared apartment is his next best plan.

He makes his way to the bar, trying to drown out the pounding in his chest with the soothing music of the party. Jimin orders a drink, his hands slightly shaking as he fumbles with the menu. He tries to focus on the glass being filled, but his mind keeps wandering back to the whirlwind of events of the evening.

He watches as the bartender mixes his drink, the colorful liquids blending together in a hypnotic swirl. It’s all a blur. Jimin barely notices when the bartender slides the drink across to him. He takes it with a distracted nod and sips, savoring the chill and the slightly fruity taste that he hopes will calm his nerves.

The crowd around him is a blur of movement and laughter, and Jimin struggles to push through the disorienting haze created by his emotions. His eyes drift around the room, and he catches glimpses of famous faces talking, clinking glasses of champagne, and enjoying the night. The realization that he's standing in the middle of it all- well, off to the side of it all - unable to escape the weight of meeting his soulmates , feels both surreal and suffocating.

Taehyung was born for this. The rich lifestyle, dressing up pretty to go to parties, being doted on by an older man… 

Jimin’s… Well, he’s just Jimin . 

He’s a college student trying to get his degree in both dance and business so that he can open up a studio one day and he’s definitely used to the aspects of being a struggling college student. His parents make just enough to send him rent money, but the only time that he gets to splurge is when he’s at the coffee shop, and that’s not actually splurging at all because he literally works there.

Just as Jimin takes another sip of his drink, he feels a presence next to him. He turns and finds himself face-to-face with a man whose striking features and warm smile are unmistakable. It’s Seokjin, the very person he’d tried to avoid.

“Hi,” Seokjin says, smiling like he’s trying to be charming. 

“Holy fuck, you scared me,” Jimin breathes out, hand over his chest, eyes widening and immediately covering his mouth when he realizes his mistake. 

Seokjin looks down at his arm, and it’s only then that Jimin notices Hoseok right beside Seokjin, also looking at his forearm in disbelief. Very clearly, Jimin can see his words printed on their skin. 

He has to assume that Seokjin and Hoseok’s makeup teams don’t really love Jimin for permanently imprinting a curse word on their bodies. 

“Um,” Jimin says, entirely unsure of what to say at this moment. He had not planned on letting these two know that he’s their third soulmate. Letting them think that he’s going to try to intrude on their relationship or anything like that. 

Seokjin chuckles softly, shaking his head as he stares at Jimin. He feels so confused, wondering how Seokjin can so quickly go from shocked to meet Jimin of all people to smiling and looking all kinds of charming without a second thought. Jimin figures that he’s probably gone through rigorous media training as an idol and it’s definitely paying off right now. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to startle you. I guess we’re all getting a bit of a surprise tonight.”

Hoseok gives Jimin a small, understanding smile. Though there’s still that same, curious look on his face from earlier as he stares at Jimin. “Yeah, I mean- this is pretty big.”

Jimin takes a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. Is that a side effect of meeting your soulmate? Hadn’t Jungkook mentioned his heart racing? “I didn’t mean to intrude. And I’m definitely not here to cause any trouble. I just didn’t expect-” he pauses, struggling to find the right words. “I didn’t realize you two were... Well, you know.”

Seokjin nods, his smile gentle but with a hint of concern. “We’ve been dating for a while now. But I guess that finding you is-”

“Jiminie!” 

Jimin turns around, instantly worried when he hears Taehyung’s voice ringing through the room. Taehyung is… Well, he’s not quite running, but he’s definitely speed walking in Jimin’s direction. Jimin notices Yoongi and Jungkook quite close behind. “Hey,” he says, only giving Hoseok and Seokjin a polite smile. “We gotta go.” 

“What?” 

“Gotta go,” Taehyung repeats. The way that he’s not even looking in Kim Seokjin’s direction has Jimin feeling quite worried about his friend. After all, not even an hour earlier, Taehyung was talking about how he couldn’t wait to meet his favorite celebrity. “I don’t think that I can be in here anymore.” 

Jimin nods. “Sure, yeah, of course,” he says, quickly, grabbing onto Taehyung’s hand. “Give me just a second, okay?” 

Taehyung nods, turning around and whispering something to Jungkook. 

“Nice to meet you both,” Jimin says quickly, bowing politely. “But we have to go now.” 

Jimin thinks that Seokjin says something else, but Jimin can’t hear anything. Both due to his worry for his best friend and his stress over meeting his soulmates and fucking up the plan that he’s had in place since he was a young boy to not ever speak a word to his soulmates.

Taehyung’s grip on Jimin’s hand is tight, and Jimin can feel the urgency in his movements. He quickly nods at Seokjin and Hoseok, apologizing once again as he leads Taehyung and the others towards the exit.

“Jimin, what’s wrong?” Yoongi asks, catching up with them, clearly having not gotten any information from Taehyung. His voice is filled with concern, but he’s clearly trying to stay calm, trying to look cool and professional in his potential place of employment.

“Taehyung’s having a bit of a meltdown,” Jimin replies, glancing back at Yoongi as he pulls Taehyung. “He didn’t explain anything to me yet, though. I’m sure that he will when we get back home.” 

As they make their way through the crowd, Jimin feels Seokjin’s eyes on his back, and he can’t help but feel guilt for leaving so abruptly. But right now, he’s focused on Taehyung, who seems to be struggling to keep it together.

They finally make it outside, and the cool night air hits Jimin’s face, offering a small reprieve from the chaos of the entire night. Taehyung takes deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Yoongi and Jungkook stand by, giving them space but clearly worried.

“Are you okay?” Yoongi asks gently.

Taehyung nods, though he still looks a little shaky. “Yeah, I just-” he stops, shaking his head. “I didn’t expect it to hit me like that. Meeting him, seeing him... I thought I was prepared, but I wasn’t.”

Jimin watches Taehyung closely, knowing that he’s not telling the truth. Sure, Taehyung probably was thrown off by meeting Kim Namjoon, but Taehyung definitely had been excited when he was dragged off with Namjoon.

Jimin knows that something bad definitely happened in whatever office in BigHit that they were in. 

“I get it,” Yoongi says, his tone soothing. “It’s a lot to take in. Especially when it’s someone you’ve admired for so long. The only thing more overwhelming would have been if it had been Kim Seokjin that was your soulmate.”

Definitely more overwhelming , Jimin wryly thinks. 

Jimin watches as Taehyung takes another deep breath, the color slowly returning to his cheeks. “Thanks for understanding,” Taehyung says, his voice more composed now. “I just needed a moment.”

Jungkook, still visibly nervous but calming down, steps closer. “I was worried, too. But we’re here now. Do you want to go back in, or…?”

Taehyung looks around, his eyes still unsettled but looking more grounded now. “I think I need a little more time. Maybe we can head back to the apartment and just... relax for a bit?”

Jungkook bites his lip, looking nervously in Yoongi’s direction. Jimin realizes that this whole night is probably important for Yoongi’s future career.

Jimin nods in agreement. “That sounds good. We don’t have to stay here if it’s too much. But… Yoongi-hyung and Jungkook should stay. Yoongi-hyung worked hard on this album, so he should be here to celebrate it.”

“We’ll come back to the apartment tonight, though,” Jungkook says quickly. “Even if you’re not awake or you don’t want to talk about it… Well, we can get breakfast together or just, like, play video games or whatever.” 

“Thanks,” Taehyung says, looking much more at ease the further he gets away from where he was having a conversation with Namjoon.

“Sorry for dragging you out of there,” Taehyung says as Jimin drives. “I just couldn’t handle it anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Jimin reassures him. “You needed a break. And honestly, I’m kind of relieved we’re heading back.”

He doesn’t feel like it’s the right time to let Taehyung know about his own meeting, but he also feels like he’ll explode if he doesn’t let someone know. 

“Taehyung-ah,” Jimin starts, his voice tentative. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but… I’ve been having a rough time tonight, too. And I kind of do want to talk about it.”

Taehyung turns his head slightly, his eyes meeting Jimin’s for a brief second before Jimin turns to face the road once again. “What do you mean?”

Jimin takes a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. “When I was at the bar, Seokjin-ssi came over to talk to me. And Hoseok-ssi was with him. I, um… I didn’t expect to meet them like that. And… Well, it turns out they’re together. And, um, more importantly… I’m their third soulmate.”

The confession hangs in the air, and for a moment, the car feels even quieter than before.

“Wait, what?” Taehyung asks. Jimin can see his best friend staring wide-eyed from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah,” Jimin confirms, nodding slowly. “It’s kind of a shock to me, too. I didn’t think I’d meet them tonight, especially not right after you met RM… And I definitely didn’t mean for them to find out that I was their soulmate.”

“You broke your plan?” 

Jimin gives a small, hollow laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did. I didn’t mean to, though. I recognized the words on my arms when Yoongi-hyung introduced them to me and Jungkookie… And I managed to stay quiet through all of that. But then… Seokjin startled me and I fucked up.”

Jimin can hear the unasked question through the silence. 

“My first words to them were ‘Holy fuck, you scared me’,” Jimin says. Then, “I mean, I think. When I noticed the words on both of their arms , I think that I blacked out. I don’t really remember anything from that moment until we got to the car.”

“That’s crazy,” Taehyung finally says. “I mean- we met our soulmates on the same exact night? The universe really fucked us up by not making us soulmates, you know?”

“You’re so right, actually,” Jimin says, laughing. Then, more seriously, “Well… What about you? Did things go that poorly after meeting?” 

Taehyung hums. “It was just… a lot to be in there with his management team. Like, he seemed nice and all, but he’s RM , you know? They already had an NDA ready for me to sign. They’ve probably had it prepared since the moment that he became a celebrity. And it was just a bunch of legal talk coming my way and I didn’t know what to do and all I could think about was the time that Jungkookie told us about how his dad told him to never sign a contract without a lawyer present.” 

“I’m sorry,” Jimin says, sincerely. “You’re worth so much more than a fucking NDA.” 

“It’s not like I blame him or anything, you know,” Taehyung continues. “Like, I feel fairly certain that he has absolutely no control over what they’re trying to have me sign. And he was genuinely trying to talk to me like a friend, you know?” 

“He does seem like a genuine person,” Jimin agrees. “Remember that he’s, like, legit friends with Yoongi-hyung now.” 

“Yeah,” Taehyung says, sounding a little bit distant. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to have a famous soulmate, you know? Like NDAs and concerts and dating someone who has, like, a professional cleaner for his apartment?” Taehyung chuckles. “Not for me. I mean, I use Windex as an all-purpose cleaner.” 

Jimin nods, understanding Taehyung’s fears easily. He’s going through the same thing. “I get it. The whole soulmate thing is supposed to be this magical experience, but sometimes it feels like it comes with a ton of baggage you weren’t expecting. It’s supposed to be a perfect match, but it feels like there’s always something that complicates it. I mean, look at me! I have two soulmates who are both fucking celebrities. Well-known celebrities who are already dating each other. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

“Right?” 

The car ride continues in a contemplative silence, with only the hum of the engine filling the space. Taehyung looks out the window, lost in thought, while Jimin grips the steering wheel tightly, his own thoughts swirling.

“Honestly,” Taehyung finally says, breaking the silence. “I think that it might be worth it to get to know him. I mean, look at Jungkook and Yoongi. I can’t help but think that if those two are able to match so well so quickly, then it’s worth it to get to know RM- I mean, to get to know Namjoon.”

Jimin glances over at Taehyung, his expression softening. “Yeah, I guess,” he says. He still doesn’t think that there’s going to be any further contact with Seokjin and Hoseok, so on a personal level , Jimn doesn’t exactly agree. But he’s supportive of whatever it is that Taehyung wants to do with his relationship with his soulmate. “I mean, the majority of my plan is still in place… But I’m here to help you navigate your NDA and learning how to use, like, Scrubbing Bubbles in addition to Windex when you clean.”

Taehyung manages a small, grateful smile. “Thanks, Jiminie. I really needed to hear that.”

“Anytime,” Jimin replies. “When we get back, do you want to order takeout? The food there looked really delicious and I only got to sip on half of my drink before you pulled me out of there. Fried chicken and beer?”

“That sounds perfect,” Taehyung says, leaning back in his seat, looking more relaxed. “I’ll even pay.”

As they continue their drive home, Jimin feels something like relief coursing through him. Despite the chaos of the night, Jimin knows one thing for sure: he’s always got Taehyung in his corner. He might have the worst soulmate luck of anyone in history, but at least he’s not alone.

When they finally arrive back at the apartment, Jimin and Taehyung settle in. Jimin places an order for takeout and Taehyung turns on some anime that Jimin has never seen before. 

Jungkook and Yoongi haven’t arrived back by the time that Jimin and Taehyung finally decide to turn in for the night, but Jimin knows that they’ll all have time to catch up tomorrow morning. After all, even though he has no plans to get to know his soulmates, Jimin wants to tell Jungkook and Yoongi about finally knowing who they are.

Plus, Jimin figures that letting Yoongi know that Seokjin and Hoseok are his soulmates and that he wants absolutely nothing to do with them will mean that Yoongi will be less likely to be pressured into sharing any information about him in the future.

A perfect plan.

Chapter Text

“Jimin,” Taehyung says as he shakes Jimin awake. “Jimin-ah, wake up. There are, um, some people here to see you.” 

Jimin blinks, his eyes not quite adjusting to the brightness of his bedroom yet. “What?” He asks, barely processing Taehyung’s words. “No one should be here. I didn’t invite anyone over.” 

“I know,” Taehyung says. And, oh, now that Jimin is slightly more awake, he definitely senses the concern in Taehyung’s voice. “But they’re really not leaving without talking to you and they weren’t even buying the lies that I made up about you having really bad IBS-” 

“IBS?” 

“But they didn’t buy it because Jungkookie left the bathroom door open when he used it this morning because he’s a fucking traitor-” 

Jimin blinks. “Tae,” he says. “Who is here?” 

“Kim Seokjin and Jung Hoseok,” Taehyung answers, face looking serious. “They’re here to see you.” 

Jimin's heart skips a beat at the mention of Seokjin and Hoseok's names. He sits up abruptly, suddenly feeling much more awake. 

“What?” He asks, shaking his head and attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes. God, he can’t even imagine how puffy his cheeks must be right now. Why had he and Taehyung decided to share ramen when they got home last night? How on Earth was that a good idea? “How did they even find out where we live?”

“I have no idea,” Taehyung admits, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “I’m going to guess some combination of Jungkookie and Yoongi-hyung… I mean, we didn’t exactly get the chance to tell them about how you found your soulmates. Or… maybe from Namjoon-ssi. I had to fill out my address and the names of my roommates.”

Jimin rubs his temples, trying to chase away the disorientation. “Okay, okay. I need a minute, though. I didn’t expect them to show up like this. Not at-” Jimin looks at the time on his phone. “Fucking seven in the morning? Jesus Christ. I didn’t hear Yoongi and Jungkook stumble in here until, like, five hours ago.” 

“I know,” Taehyung mutters. Jimin figures that he also heard Jungkook and Yoongi drunkenly stumbling into the apartment, most definitely kissing one another and loudly giggling to one another about how they needed to stay quiet. 

It definitely didn’t work.

“Take all the time you need,” Taehyung adds, standing up. He pats Jimin on the knee and Jimin briefly wonders how Taehyung is holding up. He’s not sure how his best friend is feeling after a night to sleep on the new situation. “I’ll keep them entertained in the living room. But Jimin... they’re really insistent. They said it was urgent.”

Jimin nods and starts to get out of bed. He quickly makes his way into the bathroom, hoping that Seokjin and Hoseok don’t see his serious case of bedhead. His mind races as he stumbles through his morning routine, splashing water on his face and brushing his teeth with hurried movements. He can’t shake the image of Seokjin and Hoseok last night from his mind- standing there, waiting, the realization of their soulmate connection showing so obviously on both of their faces.

When he finally makes his way to the living room, he sees Seokjin and Hoseok sitting on his couch, looking uncomfortable but… somewhat determined. Taehyung is seated across from them, a tense but polite smile on his face. 

Seokjin’s eyes meet Jimin’s, and for a moment, the room falls into an uneasy silence. The air seems to be filled with tension that Jimin, overwhelmed and under-caffeinated, can’t quite understand. Hoseok shifts in his seat, the usual cheerful demeanor that Jimin normally saw on the screen when Jungkook forced him to watch countless behind the scenes videos of J-Hope replaced by a serious expression that Jimin has rarely seen.

“Jimin-ssi,” Seokjin starts, his voice soft but firm. “We should talk.”

Jimin takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Yeah. I guess we should.” He sits down across from them, feeling the weight of the situation settle around him.

“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced,” Hoseok says, his tone earnest. “But we needed to see you. We... I’ve been trying to process everything.”

“Process?” Jimin echoes, his voice trembling slightly. Taehyung reaches out to grab his hand, but Jimin gently lets him know that he can leave. This conversation should probably be private anyway.  “What is there to process? We’re soulmates, and I... I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know how to face either of you. I don’t know how to be- or how to want to be - soulmates with the both of you.”

Seokjin’s expression softens, but Jimin can see the hurt underneath his slight smile. Knows that it’s at Jimin’s admission that he doesn’t want to be soulmates with the two of them. Knows that it hurts Seokjin to hear Jimin say that. “I understand. It’s a lot to take in. We were surprised too. But we’re here because we want to figure this out together.”

Jimin looks down at his hands, twisting them nervously. “I know that we don’t know each other- Or, well, that you don’t know me because my roommates are literally obsessed with both of you-”

“Jungkook-ssi made that pretty clear last night, actually,” Hoseok says, chuckling a little. Jimin wonders if he’s trying to make the heavy air of awkwardness surrounding them a little lighter. “Yoongi’s been talking about Jungkook’s love for J-Hope for a while. I think that he was preparing me for meeting him last night. Even though I think that I’ve signed four albums for him by this point.”

“Right,” Jimin says, not knowing how else to respond. “What I mean to say is… I’ve always known that I had two soulmates. And I always knew that my soulmates were probably already dating one another. And, even before finding out that my soulmates are two of the most famous people in the country, I didn’t have any intentions of meeting them- er, you.” 

Seokjin and Hoseok exchange a glance, and Jimin can see the mutual understanding in their eyes, which he’s extremely thankful for. Jimin wasn’t sure how they were planning to handle the news of Jimin being their third soulmate, but he hadn’t thought that they would make their way to his apartment in a not-great area of the city just to talk to him about how they want to work things out.

Hoseok clears his throat before responding. “I get you, for sure. Finding out that your soulmates are celebrities must be a lot to handle. I mean, I remember freaking out when I found out that Seokjinie-hyung was my soulmate and I had already been signed to BigHit at that time.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jimin agrees, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought I’d, like, overhear my soulmates talking in a coffee shop or, like, during one of those awful ice breakers that they sometimes make us do in smaller college classes based on the words on my arms. But I never thought that it would happen like this. That I would meet J-Hope and Kim Seokjin at a fancy-ass party that I wasn’t even qualified to be at!”

Seokjin leans forward, his gaze steady but kind. “We’re not here to pressure you into anything,” he says softly, probably remembering Jimin’s words from the night prior about how he wasn’t there to intrude on their relationship. 

Jimin is thankful that he can truly feel just how much Seokjin means that. Jimin genuinely believes that if he told Seokjin and Hoseok to leave right now and never come back, they would listen.

 “We just- We didn’t have the chance to talk about anything last night,” he continues. “And then we had to, like, hunt you down before we could let anyone know what happened because we figured that it was better to come here ourselves than a bunch of managers showing up-”

“Oh,” Jimin says, suddenly feeling disappointed as he realizes what this is actually about. “Are you here to get me to sign the NDA?” 

“No,” Seokjin says, quickly. “No. I mean, the company will probably force you to do that once this all comes out- just be prepared for that. I’m sure your friend told you but there’s literally so much that the company makes you sign-” 

“We both had to sign them for each other and we’re literally under the same company,” Hoseok adds. Jimin isn’t sure why, but that actually makes him feel a lot better. 

“But,” Seokjin continues. “We wanted to talk to you about, well, what this means for us.” 

Hoseok nods, his expression softening. “We’ve talked a lot about this since finding out, to be honest. I think we left the party pretty quickly after you did and we spent the whole night just trying to digest it all,” he explains. “I mean, we’ve both always known that we have another soulmate out there, but after a couple of years, it becomes more of an idea than an actual person. And then, suddenly, I’m a little tipsy on champagne and there you are! An angel in front of me, but you won’t say a word-” 

“We know it’s a lot to take in,” Seokjin interrupts. Hoseok looks thankful for the interruption to his… interesting spiral. “And, to be honest, both of us felt something the moment that we saw you.”

“That’s just the soul bond,” Jimin mutters, remembering Hoseok’s tipsy eyes on him. “Yoongi wouldn’t stop staring at Jungkook during their first class together, either.” 

Seokjin sighs. “I mean, maybe. But- Jimin. I wanted to talk to you still. Without knowing that you were my soulmate. You didn’t say a single word to me or Hoseok and I still waited for you to be alone at the bar so that I could come and talk to you.” 

Jimin bites his lip, definitely feeling flattered. “I didn’t speak to you on purpose,” he says. “I knew that you were my soulmates and I didn’t want you to know,” he says, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts. “It’s just… I didn’t want to deal with the pressure of being in the spotlight. I’ve seen how complicated things get for people like you, especially when it comes to soulmates. I mean, I’ve seen so many famous people get canceled, seen soulmates go into hiding. For god’s sake, Taehyung left in a panic because of how overwhelmed your company made him feel last night.” 

“Okay,” Hoseok says, looking nervous. “And I get that. But, Jimin, it’s not like we can help who we are.” 

“I know,” Jimin acquiesces. “I know that. And I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m being harsh, but I didn’t know how to handle it. I… I don’t know how to handle it right now. Like, you’re in my apartment after twelve hours and I couldn’t even begin to afford to hire someone to figure out where you live. And, like, you have to go back to your studios or whatever or go on tour-”

“Neither of us are touring right now,” Hoseok interrupts. 

Jimin laughs. “I know that,” he says. “Jungkook would have forced me to sign up for a J-Hope membership to get a presale code because he would want to get barricade so badly. I mean… I mean that you’re both way, way, way, way, way, way out of my league.” 

“How many ‘ways’ was that?” Seokjin asks.

“Too many,” Hoseok says easily. 

Jimin chuckles, feeling a bit more at ease despite the intensity of this whole situation. “Yeah, probably too many. The point is, I didn’t expect any of this. It’s a lot to process, and I’m not even sure where to begin.”

Seokjin’s gaze is steady, but there’s a softness in his eyes. “We’re not asking you to have everything figured out right now,” he assures. “We just wanted to, well, talk. Really, our only motive in coming here was to get your phone number.” 

Jimin blinks. “My phone number?” 

Hoseok nods in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, I was trying to convince Seokjinie-hyung to ask for it… I think before you even walked away from us, honestly.”

“Again, you did not say anything to me while Jimin was still there,” Seokjin says, rolling his eyes. “Actually- did you even say anything to Jimin when we got to the bar?” 

Hoseok shrugs. 

Jimin’s heart swells a bit at watching the two of them interact. The two of them look so natural sitting next to one another, seem so easygoing and content.

Jimin wants that.

And watching the two of them, Jimin can’t help but think that he wants that ease and love and contentment with them .

He’s ninety-eight percent sure that it’s the whole soulmate thing getting to him. But then he thinks about Yoongi and Jungkook. Thinks about his friends who most definitely love one another and described this very feeling that Jimin is having right now. 

“Either way,” Seokjin finally says, rolling his eyes fondly at Hoseok, then turning back toward Jimin. “I understand that this is a lot. But before all of the managers and the company and our friends get involved in this… We just wanted to come get your phone number. Spend some time talking and getting to know each other?” 

“Because… maybe you didn’t want to meet us,” Hoseok says. “And, if that’s still what you want, then we’ll totally respect it because you’re your own person and your life shouldn’t be tied to who your soulmate is-” 

“But we’d both really like it if you’d agree to get to know us before making that decision,” Seokjin finishes. 

Jimin bites his lip, feeling his stomach flip with glee. He can see that they genuinely want to make this situation work, and that means a lot to him. “Okay,” he says, trying to steady his nerves. “I appreciate that.”

Seokjin's face lights up with a relieved smile. “Thank you. I know this is unexpected, and we're not here to rush you into anything. Just to give us all a chance to understand each other better.” 

Hoseok nods enthusiastically. “Exactly! And maybe we can just... hang out a bit. I know a nice cafe nearby…” Jimin raises his eyebrows, wondering how on Earth they’re supposed to get to know each other in a cafe where anyone could see them. 

“...Or we could just chill here, if you’re more comfortable,” Hoseok amends, clearly sensing the unease Jimin feels at the thought of the three of them being seen in public together. “No problems by me.”

Jimin weighs his options. 

He could go forward with his original plan of never being with his soulmates. He could ask Hoseok and Seokjin to leave and go about his life. He could go back to his dance class and his statistics class tomorrow like he never even met his soulmates.

Or.

Or he could give Hoseok and Seokjin the chance that they came here for. He could let them know that he’s not exactly sure where this is going to lead, but he wants to give it a chance. Let them know that he’s busy all of the time between his double major and his part-time job. That his two best friends will probably be absolutely insufferable about meeting the two of them as friends since they’ve spent so long in love with both of their music. That he’s scared because he never really planned on being romantically involved with anyone and the whole thing feels new and strange and he’s not sure how to be a good partner. 

“We can hang out here and talk,” Jimin says, smiling as he makes his decision. “But I will ask that you order some takeout coffee because I most definitely need some caffeine to process the last twelve hours.” 

☀️🌕

Jimin actually sees a lot more of Hoseok and Seokjin over the next few weeks than he ever thought that he would. 

At first, he’s hesitant to let them in, shyly saying that it’s not a good time when Seokjin sends him a text message asking if he can come over and cook dinner for the three of them (Jimin is fairly certain that the rice cooker is the only kitchen appliance they have since Jungkook and Taehyung got drunk and somehow dropped it down the stairwell of their apartment complex, so even that only has a sixty percent chance of actually making rice) or telling Hoseok that he doesn’t have any videos of him dancing on hand when Yoongi accidentally let it slip that Jimin’s dream is to own a dance studio someday (Jimin has more videos of him dancing than he can count at this point, but he’s absolutely not going to show them to someone who is known as the dance boy in K-pop). 

But, Jimin slowly warms up to them.

Seokjin often video calls Jimin when he’s watching Hoseok practice dancing, apparently figuring that watching a professional in their element is something that would inspire Jimin and also using their time on the phone to get to know one another a bit better. And it does- Jimin had immediately run to his dance club president, a seonbae named Taemin who Jimin has known since practically his first day of college, and asked him to please go over Jimin’s newest duet with him and help Jimin become a better dancer. Taemin had looked pleased, and Jimin let Hoseok watch half of the recorded video over his shoulder. 

Hoseok is constantly dropping by Jimin’s work as well. Thankfully, because Hoseok genuinely appears to be the delightful and sweet person who Jungkook has always made him out to be, Hoseok had asked Jimin if it would be okay for him to come in and get a coffee after work. The first time, Jimin had been on the late shift and it was nearly ten p.m. and there was no one in the cafe except for him and Hoseok, and Jimin had been worried that it was going to be awkward but Hoseok let Jimin make a custom drink for him and he asked Jimin about his classes and even offered to help Jimin find a tutor for his statistics class because Jimin is worried about that class and-

They’re nice. 

Jimin thinks that he could really like them if he lets himself fall. 

Thinks that he could get used to Hoseok’s smiling face in the cafe and that, one day, he’ll work up the courage to say yes when Seokjin wants to cook for him, whether it’s at Seokjin’s place or his own.

Thinks that maybe the universe didn’t get it wrong. Thinks that maybe fate doesn’t hate him. 

Thinks that Seokjin and Hoseok being his soulmates could be a good thing for him for the first time in his life. 

Because he’s known them for nearing a month and they’ve never once pushed his boundaries. Both Hoseok and Seokjin always ask , checking in with Jimin to make sure that he is comfortable with whatever the plan is. Like Hoseok had done with the cafe. Once, about a week after they decided to be friends in Jimin’s apartment, Seokjin had texted Jimin separately and said, “Hey… Let me know if you ever need some time away. I know that this wasn’t in your plans.” And Jimin swears up and down that he didn’t cry because of how much that meant to him, but Taehyung can tell you that Jimin most definitely buried his head into his best friend’s shoulder and let a few tears fall. 

It’s late afternoon on a Saturday when Jimin gets a text from Seokjin, asking if he’s free to talk. Jimin, now actually feeling excited at the prospect of a phone call with his soulmates, agrees immediately. 

He’s sitting in his living room with Jungkook, who is currently sprawled on the couch, playing a game on his phone. It’s probably only the third time since Jungkook met Yoongi that Jimin and Jungkook have been alone in their apartment. Jimin’s not sure where Taehyung is at, since his best friend has become pretty secretive about his whereabouts lately.

He glances up as Jimin reads the message and raises an eyebrow. “Who’s that?” Jungkook asks.

“Seokjin,” Jimin replies, smiling. “He wants to call. I think it’s about the plans for the weekend.”

“Oh, cool,” Jungkook says, returning his attention to his game. He’s been a lot more nonchalant than Taehyung about Jimin’s sudden switch to wanting to be near his soulmates. Jimin hasn’t asked why, but Jungkook’s always been supportive of Jimin, and he’s not about to start questioning it. “Don’t forget that we’re supposed to grab dinner later. I’m thinking sushi. And don’t make me sit through another hour of watching those little videos that Seokjin-ssi is making for you.” Then, a pause. “Or at least tell him to get J-Hope in them as well.” 

Jimin rolls his eyes. “Don’t be salty because I haven’t formally introduced you yet! It’s not like you’ve never gotten to meet him!” 

Jungkook pouts. “But he was tipsy and staring at you the entire time that Yoongi-hyung was introducing me to him! He was too bewitched by your soulmate-ship to even notice me!” 

“No, I think that was just my beauty,” Jimin says, smirking. “Hoseok definitely finds me attractive.” 

Jungkook groans, grabbing a throw pillow and tossing it at Jimin. “Ew! Hyung! If you have sex with my favorite celebrity , I don’t want to know about it! It’s none of my business!” 

Jimin laughs, but throws the pillow back at Jungkook. “I’ll tell you just because you and Yoongi-hyung can’t keep quiet here. I mean… Doesn’t he have a place?” 

“He doesn’t really like it there,” Jungkook shrugs. “Never asked why, but he only let me come over once. I don’t think he has family helping him pay for anything, so it’s a studio and it’s in a sketchy neighborhood… Either way, he likes it here better because he wants to stay with me.” 

Jimin’s heart tugs a bit at Jungkook’s casual mention of Yoongi’s less-than-ideal living situation. He thinks about how much effort and care his own parents have put into making him feel sure that Jimin- and Jungkook and Taehyung, if he’s being honest- have a safe place to live. His parents can only send enough for rent, but it means the world to Jimin. It’s a stark contrast to what Yoongi might be dealing with, and Jimin hopes that getting a job at BigHit will change things for Yoongi immensely. Yoongi definitely deserves nice things.

“Just… quiet down when you’re having sex,” Jimin mutters. “Taehyung borrowed my good headphones nearly two months ago and I have a sneaking suspicion that he lost them.” 

As Jungkook rolls onto his back and apparently switches from a game to a video, Jimin’s phone buzzes, showing an incoming call from Seokjin. Jimin excitedly answers. “Hey, Seokjinie-hyung!”

“Hey, Jimin-ah,” Seokjin’s voice comes through, warm and reassuring. “I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time,” he says as though he hadn’t checked that Jimin was free to talk. “I was thinking it might be nice to plan something for this weekend, if you’re free. Could be tonight or tomorrow, really. Hoseokie is at a shoot right now and I have a photoshoot early Monday morning, so earlier tomorrow would be preferred-”

“I have dinner with Jungkook and maybe Taehyung tonight-”

“And Yoongi-hyung,” Jungkook chimes in. “I haven’t seen him since Thursday morning.”

“But I think that I’m free tomorrow in the morning and afternoon- I have some homework for a class, but it can be done in the evening. So… the morning sounds perfect. What did you have in mind?”

Seokjin chuckles softly. “I was thinking maybe we could do something low-key, just the three of us. Maybe a movie morning and brunch at my place or a hike?”

Jimin feels a wave of relief wash over him, knowing that Seokjin also gave an option that doesn’t require going to his apartment if Jimin’s still not up for that. 

But Jimin thinks that he is. Thinks that he’s ready to get a little more involved in Seokjin and Hoseok’s personal lives. 

“A movie morning sounds great,” he tells Seokjin. “And it’s been a while since I’ve had a mimosa, so brunch would be amazing.”

“Perfect!” Seokjin replies, sounding genuinely excited that Jimin wants to come over to his house. Jimin’s excited about it, too. “I’ll be cooking, of course. And I’ll leave the mimosas to Hoseokie… Well, you know what? I’m sure you’ll be fine.” 

Jimin snorts. “What do you mean by that? Is he going to poison me?” 

“Hoseokie,” Seokjin starts, dragging out his name. “I love him, but his mimosas are just champagne, I think.” 

“The best kind of mimosa,” Jimin says, laughing along with Seokjin.

It feels nice. Feels nice to laugh with Seokjin when Jimin always thought that he’d never even properly interact with his soulmates. 

“Anyway, what kind of movies do you like?” Seokjin asks, breaking Jimin out of his thoughts. “I want to make sure I have something you’ll enjoy.”

Jimin thinks for a moment. “Honestly, I’m pretty open to anything. As long as it’s not a horror film, I’m in.”

“Noted,” Seokjin says, laughing. “Hoseokie and I are notorious scaredy cats, so I was honestly just hoping that you would say anything else.” Jimin bites his lip. He already knew that from Taehyung and Jungkook. “Can I pick you up around nine tomorrow morning, then?”

“That sounds great,” Jimin says, his smile growing. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Seokjin says, his voice filled with genuine enthusiasm. “Oh, and if you have any requests for snacks or drinks, just let me know.” Then, much more serious sounding, adds, “I want to make sure it’s a good time for you.”

“I’ll think about it and text you if I come up with anything,” Jimin lets him know. “And thanks for inviting me over… It means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me that you said yes,” Seokjin says, sounding so vulnerable that Jimin thinks he could cry. “I’ll see you soon, Jimin-ah. Have a good rest of your day!”

As the call ends, Jimin feels lighter than he has in a while. He’s surprised by how natural and comfortable things have been with his soulmates, and it’s most definitely a good thing for him.

He glances over at Jungkook, who has finally put down his phone and is now watching Jimin with an inquisitive look. “So, are you ready for dinner?” Jimin asks, trying to shift the conversation back to their plans. “You have to call Tae, though. I haven’t heard from him since this morning.”

Jungkook grins. “Definitely. And you better make sure to get some stories tomorrow about J-Hope that I don’t know yet!”

“I’ll do my best,” Jimin promises, grabbing his jacket. “But don’t get your hopes up too high. And I’m not going to tell you any of them until you can call him by his name instead of his stage name.”

As they reach their usual sushi spot, meeting up with Yoongi and Taehyung there, Jimin finally feels like things are heading in a good direction for him. He finally feels like a hole that’s been inside him for years is being filled. He knows that it’s because he’s finally starting to have romantic feelings for someone, something that he’d not ever allowed himself before. And he’s excited to see where these feelings take him in the future. 

☀️🌕

Jimin bites his lip, worriedly looking out of the corner of his eye to try to sneakily look at Seokjin, who is driving the car. While he’s been more comfortable with both of his soulmates overall, this is one of the first times that he’s been in such a… confined space with one of them. 

Over FaceTime, he and Seokjin are not in the same room. At the cafe, there are three feet of counter space between him and Hoseok. 

Here, Jimin can see Seokjin’s free hand resting between the two of them. A small itch in Jimin’s brain begs him to reach out and interlace their fingers together, just to see Seokjin’s long fingers wrap around his own, smaller ones.

Jimin realizes that this isn’t exactly an unwelcome thought. 

Suddenly, all Jimin can think about is holding hands with Seokjin. All he can think about is cuddling with Hoseok. The only thing that fills his mind is the idea of kissing the both of them. His heart skips a beat as he glances at Seokjin's face, catching the soft, reassuring smile that’s often present whenever they talk. 

Seokjin’s voice breaks through his internal monologue. “Are you okay, Jimin? You seem a bit quiet.”

Jimin smiles, trying to push aside the flutter of nerves and feeling extremely thankful that Seokjin’s eyes are on the road instead of on Jimin’s blushing cheeks. “I’m fine. Just a little… excited, I guess.”

“Excited for what?” He asks, though the smirk on his face makes Jimin think that he’s just teasing him.

Jimin swallows hard, feeling a wave of something like vulnerability crawling up his throat. “For today. For spending time with you and Hoseokie-hyung.”

Seokjin nods, looking pleased. 

Eventually, they pull into Seokjin’s driveway- which really means entering the fancy-ass neighborhood that Hoseok and Seokjin both live in through a giant gate and parking underground at the complex- and Jimin feels a mixture of relief and nerves as he steps out of the car. He takes a deep breath, reminding himself of how far he’s come in opening up to his soulmates. Seokjin’s hand lingers by his side as they walk up to the front door, and Jimin once again allows himself to imagine what it would be like to hold that hand.

The door swings open to reveal Hoseok, looking cheerful and casual in a hoodie and jeans. His eyes light up when he sees Jimin, and he waves enthusiastically. “Hey, Jimin-ah,” he says, but Jimin thinks that he recognizes the same nervousness in Hoseok’s eyes that Jimin’s sure is reflected in his own. “Glad you could make it!”

“Hey, Hoseokie-hyung,” Jimin responds, feeling his tension ease even more. These are his soulmates. These are the people that the universe destined him to be with. And they want to get to know him despite his different lifestyle. “Thanks for having me over.”

“Of course,” Hoseok says, stepping aside to let them in. “I mean, this is Seokjinie-hyung’s place, but I am the only reason that there is more furniture than a single gaming chair in here, so I get some credit for you coming over.” 

Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Okay, but your idea of decoration is putting a pair of giant shoes in the corner…” 

“They look good there,” Hoseok says, shrugging. “And sorry that Seokjinie-hyung came to pick you up alone. Honestly, I just wanted to make sure that the place wasn’t a mess before you got here.” 

Jimin snorts. “I live with two and a half roommates,” he says, remembering how they finally added Yoongi to their roommate chat the night prior since he’s there so often. Mostly, Jimin wants Yoongi to have a place where he feels nice and safe. “So, trust me, I’m sure that your place looks immaculate.” 

Seokjin laughs as he slips off his shoes and hangs up his coat. Jimin notices the house slippers Hoseok is subtly pushing in his direction. “Well, I still wanted to put my best foot forward here.”

Jimin follows them inside, taking in the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Seokjin’s home. It’s decorated with an eclectic mix of stylish furnishings and personal touches- apparently Hoseok’s personal touches- that make it feel warm and welcoming. 

As they settle into the living room, Hoseok starts flitting around, fussing over the set up for their movie marathon, while Seokjin heads to the kitchen to start on the brunch.

Jimin takes a seat on the couch at Hoseok’s insistence, trying to make himself comfortable and push down the nerves that continue to build within him. Seokjin soon returns with a tray of snacks and drinks, including a pitcher of the promised mimosas. Jimin chuckles to himself, realizing that they really are quite light in color. 

He places them on the coffee table with a flourish. “The food is almost ready, but I thought we’d start with some snacks and, of course, the drinks that Hoseokie worked so hard on.”

Hoseok moves to sit beside Jimin, their knees almost touching. The proximity makes Jimin’s heart race, and he has to remind himself to breathe normally. Hoseok catches his eye and gives him a reassuring smile.

“Is everything okay?” He asks softly, his voice just above a whisper.

Jimin nods, trying to keep his expression relaxed. “Yeah, just a bit of first-time jitters, I guess. I’ve never, uh, been on a date.” Then, much more frantically, “Not that this is a date or anything! I don’t want to assume-” 

“It’s absolutely a date,” Seokjin says. 

“Most definitely,” Hoseok agrees.

Jimin has to bite his lip to hold back his smile. 

Seokjin’s smile widens in response. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all here to have a good time, you know? Just be yourself.”

“Plus, you should enjoy this nice of a date,” Hoseok adds. “When you’re with Seokjinie-hyung for too long, his dates become asking if you wanna makeout in the bathroom in between recording sessions.” 

Jimin snorts. “Good to know.” 

Seokjin’s phone blares with the timer indicating that their food is ready and he quickly leaves to get it all, insisting that Hoseok and Jimin should stay sitting there since “I’m the hyung here.” 

“So, you’re happy with this being a date?” Hoseok asks once Seokjin’s in the kitchen. “Because I don’t think that I’ll be able to stop taking you out once you say yes.” 

Jimin takes a moment to think about it. Clearly, him being in Seokjin’s home and calling this a date are already pretty big deals for him. Already pretty hefty things for him to be agreeing to.

But Jimin figures that he might as well go big or go home when it comes to his soulmates.

Which definitely should be a scary thought for him, since not even a month ago, Jimin was so terrified of getting to know two people who were already together. So scared of becoming a third wheel in a couple who were already comfortable around each other. So scared of even talking to his soulmates that he actually avoided speaking when Yoongi introduced them to him.

But Jimin doesn’t feel that scared.

He really, really likes Seokjin and Hoseok.

“I think I’d really like going on more dates,” he confirms, watching Hoseok’s grin grow wider. “As long as they don’t get crazy expensive! I don’t want you to be paying for everything, and my part-time job pays just enough to support my RM obsession.” 

Whatever response was on Hoseok’s lips is cut off by Seokjin bringing a tray into the room and setting it on the coffee table in front of them. “Brunch is served,” he says, smiling. “Please enjoy the fruits of my labor.” 

“Is there fruit in this?” Jimin asks, moving to sit on the floor. “It looks like an egg… something.” 

Seokjin gives him a look while Hoseok- unsuccessfully- holds back a chuckle. 

“Just enjoy it,” he says, sitting down beside Jimin. 

Once their meal is finished and Jimin has helped Hoseok and Seokjin clear the table, Seokjin beckons him and Hoseok back to the large couch to start their first movie. Jimin, while not the biggest movie fanatic, is excited to spend this time with his two soulmates, so he happily bounds to the couch, sinking into the cushions in contentment. 

During a particularly funny scene in the movie, Jimin laughs, and Seokjin’s hand brushes against his. Jimin hesitates for a moment, wondering if this was intentional. Wonders if maybe Seokjin forgot that Jimin was sitting in between him and Hoseok. 

Jimin tries to subtly peek at Seokjin, trying to gauge whether or not Seokjin knows that his hands is pressed against Jimin’s hand . However, Jimin is unfortunately not very subtle, because when he looks in Seokjin’s direction, Seokjin is watching him intently, almost like he can see the questions swimming around Jimin’s brain. 

Jimin bites his lip, then slowly, almost tentatively, lets his fingers rest against Seokjin’s. 

Seokjin- of course- doesn’t pull away. Instead, he shifts slightly to make their touch more intentional, his fingers gently interlacing with Jimin’s.

Jimin's breath hitches as he feels the warmth of Seokjin's hand enveloping his own. It’s a small gesture, seemingly innocent and friendly to anyone else, but it sends a rush of warmth through Jimin, butterflies erupting in his stomach, much like the first time that he ever saw someone dance. 

Jimin glances sideways at Hoseok, who’s still engrossed in the movie, completely unaware of the shift happening beside him, wondering if this is okay. Yes, they’re all three soulmates. Yes, Hoseok already called this a date and said that he wanted to continue to take Jimin out. But they hadn’t talked about skinship. They hadn’t talked about what this means for them physically. Or, really, emotionally. 

“See? This isn’t so bad, right?” Seokjin’s voice is low and soothing, just for Jimin. He turns his head slightly, catching the sparkle in Seokjin’s eyes, and despite all of the nerves and What ifs running through his mind, Jimin can’t help but smile wider. 

“Yeah,” Jimin whispers back, feeling more at ease now. “It’s actually… It’s really nice.” 

The movie plays on, but Jimin finds it hard to focus. Instead, his focus narrows in on the warmth of Seokjin’s hand, the gentle way Seokjin’s fingers fit perfectly between his. It shouldn’t work- Seokjin’s fingers are long and crooked where Jimin’s are short and chubby- but it seems like puzzle pieces connecting together for him. It feels safe, familiar, and for the first time, Jimin doesn’t feel like an outsider in their relationship. 

Jimin does his best to return his attention to the movie, remembering how Hoseok had mentioned that it is one of his favorites. As something crashes on screen, Jimin squeezes Seokjin’s hand reflexively. “Shit,” he exclaims, most definitely too loud, causing Hoseok to turn his head and raise an eyebrow. 

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Hoseok asks, voice sounding half-concerned and half-amused.

“I just got really into it, I guess…” Jimin chuckles, feeling a little embarrassed. “I was all into what he was searching for and the crash just got me excited,” he lies, trying to play it cool.

But his heart is racing. Not just from the movie, but also from the thrill of holding hands with Seokjin. 

“Right? It’s so intense,” Hoseok says excitedly, settling back into the couch, clearly accepting Jimin’s excuse. “I love this part!” 

As the movie rolls on, Jimin becomes increasingly aware of the little things—the way Seokjin’s thumb softly rubs the back of his hand, the occasional glance they share when something funny happens on screen. Each interaction feels charged, electric, and Jimin can’t help but wonder if Seokjin feels it too. Wonders if this is part of the soulmate experience or just something between them.

During a particularly funny moment, Jimin bursts into laughter, leaning back against the couch and inadvertently pulling Seokjin with him. 

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” Jimin asks, looking at Seokjin.

Their faces are inches apart, and for a split second, everything around them seems to fade away. Jimin’s breath catches in his throat, and he can feel his cheeks heating up as Seokjin’s gaze drops to his lips. 

“Maybe I should be the one asking if you’re okay,” Seokjin murmurs, his voice playful but with a hint of sincerity that sends shivers down Jimin’s spine. 

“I’m definitely okay,” Jimin replies, feeling emboldened. “Just enjoying my time with my soulmates.” 

Before he can think too much about it, Jimin leans in, just a fraction, and brushes his lips against Seokjin’s cheek. It’s a quick, innocent gesture, but the moment it happens, a hush falls over the room, and Jimin immediately feels the air thicken around him. 

“Wow, look at you,” Hoseok teases, breaking the moment with an exaggerated gasp. “Are we going to need to start charging for those kinds of kisses?” 

Jimin’s face goes hot, and he can’t help but giggle nervously. “That wasn’t- It didn’t-”

“It totally counts,” Hoseok interrupts, winking at him. “You officially owe me a kiss now too, you know.” 

“Yeah right!” Jimin laughs, heart racing at the prospect. 

Seokjin chuckles, his cheeks tinged with pink. “You’re both ridiculous,” he says. Then, much more sincerely, “But I’m not complaining.” 

Hoseok starts the movie again, but something in the air has shifted. Jimin doesn’t feel like any of them are watching the movie anymore.

“Hey, can we pause for a second?” Seokjin suddenly asks, reaching for the remote. “I need to grab more snacks.”

Jimin looks at the coffee table in front of them and realizes that they most definitely ate through everything that Seokjin had brought out earlier. 

“Good idea,” Hoseok agrees, and Jimin sits up, reluctantly releasing Seokjin’s hand. The sudden absence feels too quiet, but Jimin shakes it off, trying to focus on staying present in the moment. 

“While he’s gone, I have a confession,” Hoseok says, leaning closer to Jimin. “I was really nervous about today. I wanted it to be perfect.” 

“Really?” Jimin replies, surprised. “But you seem so confident all the time! I would have never even known.” 

Hoseok laughs lightly, his eyes warm. “It’s all an act, I promise. From the moment that we met- well, I was taken with you. I remember that I couldn’t stop staring at you…” He sighs, taking a moment to gather his words. “When you left the party that night, I remember being so anxious that we’d messed up. That we’d made you uncomfortable. Ever since then, all I’ve wanted was to make sure you’re comfortable and having fun.” 

Jimin’s heart swells at the sincerity in Hoseok’s voice. Suddenly, Jimin regrets all of the times that he’s cursed fate for his soulmates. Now that he’s met them, Jimin has no doubt that these are truly the perfect men for him. 

“I am,” Jimin says, happy to find that he really, truly means it. “I really am.” 

Hoseok smiles- that soft, reassuring smile that makes Jimin’s heart flutter. “Good. I want this to be the first of many fun days we have together.” 

Jimin bites his lip. Then, before he can overthink it too much, swiftly leans in and kisses Hoseok’s cheek. 

“That was because I wanted to,” Jimin says. “Not because you said that I owed you.” 

Hoseok’s responding smile is more than Jimin could have ever hoped for. He gets why Jungkook is constantly singing praises about Hoseok’s smile. Gets why his fanbase are called sunglasses. Hoseok’s the sun and Jimin feels lucky to be in his presence.

Just then, Seokjin returns, arms overflowing with snacks. “Did I miss a sweet moment?” he asks dramatically. 

Jimin and Hoseok share a quick glance, both fighting back laughter. “Just a little confession,” Jimin says, grinning. 

Seokjin doesn’t ask anything further, and Jimin is grateful for that. He thinks that some negotiations will have to come up soon. Some conversations about what needs to be shared between all three of them and what kind of things can be a little more one-on-one. 

Plus, the more serious discussions of what a relationship would realistically look like between the three of them. Most people don’t have any issues with same-sex relationships, but Jimin knows that entertainment companies do not like it when an idol’s soulmate is a regular guy like Jimin. He thinks back on the night that Taehyung and Kim Namjoon met, and remembers the NDA that was presented to Taehyung on the spot. Hoseok and Seokjin haven’t mentioned Jimin to their managers yet, but Jimin knows that it’s a conversation that’s probably overdue at this point. 

Jimin knows that they have a lot to work through. But, honestly, he knows that he himself had been the biggest obstacle in their happiness at the beginning of this all. 

Jimin thinks that it’s another problem for another day.

Right now, he just wants to enjoy his time with Hoseok and Seokjin.

As the next movie begins, Jimin feels a surge of excitement. With his soulmates beside him, he knows this day is just the beginning of something incredible.

They spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the movies and more snacks than Jimin thinks that he, Taehyung, and Jungkook have ever had enough money to buy in one shopping trip. Despite initially feeling a little out of his element, the time flies by, and Jimin finds himself increasingly at ease with both Seokjin and Hoseok. He’s glad that they had chosen a movie marathon, feeling like that diminished the pressure of a constantly flowing conversation between all three of them, and Jimin realizes that he had a really, really nice day.

As they finish up and prepare to clean up, Jimin catches Seokjin’s eye across the room. Seokjin gives him a soft, encouraging smile, and Jimin feels a rush of affection and gratitude. Beside him, Hoseok hip checks him so that he falls down onto the couch and can’t help clean up.

This, Jimin thinks, is exactly where he’s meant to be. 

☀️🌕

The apartment is quiet when Seokjin drops Jimin off in the late afternoon. 

He’s not surprised that Jungkook isn’t around- he and Yoongi seem to spend more time in their department’s building than anywhere else these days- but he does find it shocking that Taehyung is nowhere to be seen. It’s not like Taehyung to go to the campus on the weekend- even if he has a project due the very next day, Jimin tends to find him sitting on the corner of their couch and getting acrylics all over his favorite throw blanket- and Jimin is fairly certain that Taehyung doesn’t hang out with anyone in his department either. 

Still, Jimin finds himself restless and needing to let out some energy. He had planned to ask Taehyung to go to the dance studios with him, to watch his performance and give him honest feedback on how he’s doing since Taemin seems to be too busy with their new dancers to give Jimin critiques, but since Taehyung isn’t around, Jimin decides to make himself a quick meal and give Hoseok a call.

“Hey, everything okay?” Hoseok asks when he answers, sounding worried. 

“Yeah, of course,” Jimin says, slinking down onto the couch. He should probably cook some meat or a vegetable, but he has a feeling that he’s just going to eat rice covered in gochujang tonight. “I wanted to go to the dance studio, but Taehyungie isn’t here, so I called you.” 

“Do you want me to go to the dance studio with you?” 

“That’s not why I called,” Jimin says immediately. He most definitely does not want Hoseok to think that he’s using him just to get dance tips. Not when Hoseok is the most talented dancer in the rap game right now. “I called just to chat. I feel like I’ve talked to Seokjin a lot on the phone, but not you.” 

Hoseok chuckles. “I know that’s not why you called,” he says, voice soothing. “But the offer still stands. I haven’t been in the studio for a few days myself, since Seokjin tries to force his habits of off days being off days onto me, but if I’m going with you…” 

“So you’re using me ,” Jimin says with a laugh. “I wish that we could, but there’s no way that you’d be able to walk onto my campus without everyone noticing you. You’re way too big of a star. And while I think that people would respect your distance, I don’t know that we want rumors spreading around when we haven’t told your company about us yet.” 

“Come to BigHit, then,” Hoseok says, like it’s simple. “We can dance together. And we can disclose you as my soulmate. Oh, and hyung’s soulmate, too.” 

Jimin bites his lip. “Are you ready for that?” 

“We should,” Hoseok says, though he sounds a bit disappointed about it. “I want to keep you safe and sound, too, but honestly the best way for us to do that is to tell the company. We keep spending time together and I want to do that more in the future, too, and that means that someone, eventually, will probably see the three of us. They’ll make connections and start Twitter threads-” 

“I think it’s called X now-” 

“-And the last thing that we want to do is blindside the company,” Hoseok finalizes. “There’s a lot of nuances to what we can say about having a soulmate, but the company can get tweets taken down quickly. And they can actually do shit to protect you if it needs to come to that. Shit that Seokjinie-hyung and I can’t do.” 

Jimin sighs. He knows that Hoseok is right, knows that the contracts and NDAs and whatever else that company is going to throw at him is probably genuinely helpful for his future, especially if Hoseok thinks that it’s the best thing to disclose their soulmate status, but he’s nervous about it. Nervous about leaving the bubble that they’ve had for nearly a month now.

Still, “All right,” he says. “I can meet you near there.” 

“Great! I’ll text you the details,” Hoseok replies, his enthusiasm infectious. Jimin can’t help but smile at the thought of finally taking this step. As much as the idea of disclosing their relationship to the company terrifies him, he knows it’s necessary. 

After hanging up, Jimin stands up from the couch, glancing around the empty apartment. It feels different without Taehyung and Jungkook here. He knows that it’s good that Jungkook has found his soulmate, that Taehyung is leaving the confines of their living room more often, and that Jimin is finally learning to open up to his own soulmates, but Jimin can’t help but already miss spending all of his free time with his two best friends. He decides that they’ll have to be more deliberate in spending time together, that’s all.

Jimin heads to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge for something to make, but he’s far too excited to dance with Hoseok to think of anything creative. Instead, Jimin grabs a can of tuna out of the cupboard and decides that tuna mayo rice will have to be enough for the night.

Jimin’s quick about eating, scarfing his food down before heading to his room. He changes into his favorite sweats, the ones that allow him to move freely, and grabs his tennis shoes. Jimin looks in the mirror, suddenly unsure about his clothes. These are his favorite sweats, but they’re most definitely ones that he had stolen from Taehyung at some point last year. And his shirt is nice and flowy, perfect for practicing, but there’s a red wine stain on the sleeve and Jimin remembers buying it for five thousand won when he was in high school.

He takes a moment to center himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He knows the choreography by heart, but there’s something nerve wracking about dancing with Hoseok. Sure, Jimin’s seen it via FaceTime calls with Seokjin before, and watched numerous videos with Jungkook on their television, but Jimin’s never seen him dance in person. And Hoseok’s never seen Jimin in person, either. 

His clothes and his dance training bring back that nagging sense of inferiority. Jimin thought that he had pushed it down, thought that it was gone and buried as he spent more time feeling comfortable around Seokjin and Hoseok, but it came back with something as simple as his favorite dance practice clothes.

Jimin wonders if that sense of not being good enough for Hoseok and Seokjin will ever leave.

Just as he’s about to head out, his phone buzzes. It’s a message from Hoseok, with a location, letting Jimin know to meet him there in half an hour.

Jimin quickly types a reply, letting him know he’ll be there, and grabs his jacket before stepping out. The late afternoon sun casts a warm glow over the campus, and he feels a flutter of excitement in his chest. The nerves about being not enough pushed down once again.

When he reaches a back entrance of BigHit, he sees Hoseok leaning casually against the wall, a grin spreading across his face as he spots Jimin. 

“There you are,” he exclaims, pushing off from the wall and walking over. “You look great!”

Jimin feels his cheeks heat up, immediately ignoring the nasty thought that Hoseok is making fun of him. He knows that Hoseok is kind and gentle and a good person. He knows that Hoseok genuinely means that he thinks that Jimin looks great. 

“Thanks. You don’t look too shabby yourself,” he replies, grinning, trying to play it cool. Hoseok is dressed in comfortable clothes that somehow still look entirely cool, even though Jimin would probably think the bright green pants and orange top looked ugly on anyone else.

“Ready to show me what you’ve been working on?” Hoseok asks, using a card to enter the building, leading Jimin in.

“Only if you promise to give me honest feedback,” Jimin replies, biting his lip once again. It’s the reason why he loves to dance for Taehyung so much. His seonbaes will always be polite with him, telling him that he’s doing great, trying to build his morale. But Taehyung is always honest when something looks off. Always lets Jimin know when he looks awkward or uncomfortable or like he forgot the entire eight count sequence. 

“Always,” Hoseok says, taking Jimin’s hand. The simple gesture sends warmth coursing through him, grounding him as they step into the building together.

As they make their way to the studio, the familiar scent of polished wood and mirrors surrounds them, somehow smelling nicer than whatever cleaner his campus studio uses. Jimin can feel the adrenaline building within him, the urge to move bubbling up in him once again.

Once inside, Jimin hands his phone to Hoseok, who immediately hits play on the song that Jimin already had ready for him. 

“This one is for warm up,” Jimin lets him know. “I don’t have enough space in the apartment to properly warm up my limbs without bumping into one of Taehyung’s easels or tripping over Jungkook’s books.”

“Good thinking,” Hoseok replies, nodding as he scans the studio. The space feels expansive, and the high ceilings make it feel even more freeing, finally letting Jimin escape from his nasty thoughts. “Let’s stretch it out first, then.”

They both settle on the smooth wooden floor, moving through warm-up stretches side by side. Jimin tries to focus on his breathing, matching it to Hoseok’s movements. The way Hoseok moves is so fluid, so natural, that Jimin can’t help but get lost in the moment, letting go of his worries.

“Remember to keep your shoulders down,” Hoseok instructs gently, demonstrating a stretch that elongates his spine. Jimin follows along, trying to absorb every piece of advice. After all, Hoseok’s definitely had far better instructors than Jimin’s ever had.

Once the song comes to an end and they finish warming up, Hoseok straightens and takes a step back, giving Jimin room. “Okay, show me what you’ve got!”

Jimin swallows hard, his heart racing again as he selects the starting position in his mind. He waits for the music, and as the first notes fill the studio, he lets himself go. He moves through the choreography he’s been practicing, letting the music guide his body. 

At first, he feels great- lost in the rhythm, enjoying the freedom of expression. But as he glances at Hoseok, he catches the look of concentration on his face. Jimin’s stomach twists. Is he being too flashy? Too stiff?

Taehyung would already be shouting out his every thought about Jimin’s performance- not being able to hear what Hoseok thinks in real time has Jimin a little freaked out.

As he hits a particularly difficult move, Jimin feels his ankle twinge in discomfort, but he recovers quickly, hating how he stumbled when he hurt his ankle. He finishes with a flourish, but the smile that should be on his face is replaced with a worried frown. 

“How was that?” Jimin asks, breathless, trying to read Hoseok’s expression.

“Wow,” Hoseok breathes out, his eyes bright with excitement. “You were amazing! Infectious! And this isn’t your major?”

“It’s a double major,” Jimin says, as the nagging voice in his head still whispers doubts. “But… I stumbled.”

“Everyone stumbles,” Hoseok reassures him, stepping closer. “It’s about how you recover from it. And you did that effortlessly! I barely noticed.”

“Really?” Jimin bites his lip, feeling a mix of relief and disbelief.

“Definitely. Want to run through it again, maybe tweak a few parts?” Hoseok suggests, his tone encouraging.

Jimin nods, feeling a renewed sense of determination. “Yeah, just, um…” 

“What’s up?” 

Jimin bites his lip. “Do you think that during it you could say out loud any parts that you think need tweaking? Taehyungie usually yells things from the corner and throws popcorn at me-” 

“He probably shouldn’t have popcorn in a dance studio,” Hoseok says. “But, yes, absolutely. If that’s the way you want me to help, then I’m more than happy to oblige.” 

As Jimin repeats the choreography, he focuses on his movements more than ever, trying to imprint the feedback into his muscle memory, stopping a few times when Hoseok makes small suggestions about a specific dance move, or pointing his toes when Hoseok yells about his flat feet. 

With each run-through, he feels a little more confident.

“Now let’s add some flair,” Hoseok says, his eyes sparkling. “I want you to bring out your personality in this. My favorite part of choreographing when I do it for myself, or even when I’m dancing to someone else’s choreography, is making every movement my own. Making it feel like what I’m dancing was created solely for the music I’m performing it with.”

Jimin snorts. “Yours is,” he reminds Hoseok. “I got this music off of a royalty free website so that I can upload it online without getting sued.” 

“I’ll get you some music in the future,” Hoseok promises gently. “Then you’ll really know what I’m talking about. But, for now, you should try to make this music yours.” 

With Hoseok’s encouragement, Jimin starts to embellish his moves, adding small twists and expressions that feel… more like him. And Hoseok’s advice truly works- the music seems to come alive as he dances, and for a moment, Jimin kind of forgets about everything that isn’t him and the music surrounding him.

When they finally stop, Jimin is breathing heavily, but the exhilaration coursing through him makes the fatigue worth it. Hoseok claps enthusiastically, and Jimin can’t help but laugh, feeling lighter.

“That was incredible,” Hoseok whispers, watching Jimin intently. “I think that I need to call Seokjinie-hyung.” 

“Oh,” Jimin says, feeling a little disappointed. He’d spent a lot of time alone with Seokjin lately, on phone calls and cuddling with him a bit more earlier in the day at their movie marathon, so he was really looking forward to this time alone with Hoseok.

But Jimin doesn’t think that Hoseok notices his disappointment, his phone is already out and ringing for Seokjin. Jimin bites his lip, feeling out of place once again. 

“Hey,” Hoseok says, he assumes when Seokjin answers. “I just needed to let you know that Jimin and I are telling the company about us. And I’m planning to kiss him before the end of the night.”

Jimin's heart skips a beat at Hoseok's words, a mix of excitement and anxiety coursing through him. He tries to appear nonchalant, but he can’t help but feel the heat rising to his cheeks, can’t help that his eyes widen ever so slightly. 

Jimin knows that he and Hoseok had discussed it earlier, but the idea of making their soulmateship known, of sharing that intimate part of their lives with the world, suddenly feels very real.

“Wait, what?” Jimin whispers, but he knows Hoseok is too engrossed in his conversation with Seokjin to hear him. 

He glances around the studio, eyes catching on the red stain on his shirt in the mirror, and he suddenly is acutely aware of the walls closing in. This was supposed to be a safe space, a chance to escape his insecurities. Instead, it’s turning into a moment where all his fears about not being enough come rushing back. He can’t even let himself be excited about the fact that Hoseok said that he’s going to kiss Jimin before the night ends. 

“Yeah, I know it’s sudden,” Hoseok continues, his voice warm and reassuring. “But we’ve been talking about it, and I think it’s time. Jimin deserves to feel safe and supported, and we need to be transparent with the company. I just wanted you to be in the loop since, you know, you’re part of this whole thing, too.”

Jimin’s heart swells at Hoseok’s words. They really are in this together, but the nerves don’t subside.

Before, if things went poorly, Jimin could have left Seokjin and Hoseok alone and spent the remainder of his days how he had always planned. But, now, if something happens and Hoseok and Seokjin suddenly don’t want him… Will Jimin be monitored by the company? Will he get vague threats to delete his emo tweets or get told that he has to block the two of them on all social media? Will he get his photo taped at the entrance of BigHit with a sign that says “EX SOULMATE: DO NOT LET ENTER”? Will he-

Hoseok notices Jimin’s anxious expression as he ends the call, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Hey,” he says softly, stepping closer. “Are you okay?”

Jimin nods, but he can’t shake the worry gnawing at him. “I just… I’m nervous about it all,” Jimin says, not entirely lying. “What if things go badly?”

“They won’t,” Hoseok reassures him, brushing his fingers along Jimin’s arm. “You have us- as in, Seokjin is on his way here right now. We’ll figure it out together. Plus, you’re an incredible dancer and an amazing person. Anyone who has a problem with us is just jealous they can’t have what we have.”

Jimin’s heart flutters at Hoseok’s words, the warmth spreading through him soothing his anxieties, if only for a moment. Jimin knows that it’s not like they’re about to come out to the world with their relationship, but Hoseok’s words still do the trick in calming him down.

“Okay,” he finally replies, taking a deep breath. “I trust you both.”

“Good.” Hoseok grins, and there’s that infectious energy again, making Jimin feel just a bit more at ease. “Now, about that kiss…” 

As Hoseok leans in, Jimin feels every nerve in his body come alive. The anticipation hangs thick in the air, a beautiful tension that makes everything else fade away. But just as their lips are about to meet, the door swings open, and in walks Taehyung.

“Oh… uh, sorry,” Taehyung exclaims, eyes wide. He freezes mid-sentence, taking in the scene before him: Jimin and Hoseok inches apart, both looking slightly startled.

Jimin takes a half step back. “Taehyung? What are you doing here? Since when do you hang out here?”

Taehyung opens his mouth, about to deliver what can be the only possible explanation when someone taller and much more muscled walks into the room. 

“Taehyung-ah, I told you that we were going to Studio B,” the Kim Namjoon says. Then, spotting Jimin and Hoseok. “Oh, oh . Are you Jimin?”

Jimin nods mutely, unable to do anything other than stare at his favorite music artist in the world . 

“Well, it’s nice to meet the other name that’s been tattooed on my arm for my entire life,” Namjoon laughs. 

Jimin's heart races, a mix of embarrassment and excitement coursing through him. He can hardly process Namjoon’s words, the legendary rapper standing there with a friendly grin as if they’re just old friends. Hoseok, still close, shoots Jimin a reassuring smile. “Me?”

Namjoon nods, holding out his arm. “I couldn’t believe it when I met Yoongi,” he continues, lightly. “I have three names tattooed on my arm: Taehyung, Jimin, and Yoongi, since the first thing that Taehyung ever said to me was an introduction.” 

Taehyung blinks, glancing at Namjoon. “Oh my god. I didn’t even realize that you would have known from the moment you met Yoongi-hyung!” 

“That’s why you gave Yoongi-hyung a hand job in the bathroom,” Jimin says, eyes wide.

Beside him, Hoseok bursts into laughter while Namjoon explains that he absolutely did not give Yoongi a hand job in the bathroom, but helped clean his pants after spilling coffee on him once he heard his name.

“I vaguely remember meeting you at the party,” Namjoon continues, face red and seeming apologetic. “But it was an overwhelming night for me.” 

“Felt,” Jimin says, for lack of brainpower. 

“Namjoon, this is my soulmate,” Hoseok explains, gesturing to Jimin. “We were just about to-”

“Sorry for interrupting,” Taehyung interjects, a sheepish grin creeping across his face. “I didn’t mean to walk in on a moment…”

Jimin’s cheeks flush as he glances back at Hoseok, who looks equally caught off guard but also amused. 

“No worries,” Jimin says. Now that his brain has caught up with being in the same room as Kim Namjoon, he’s wondering when on Earth Taehyung actually started hanging out with him. Jimin had known that Taehyung wasn’t opposed to being with Namjoon. He’d made it clear to Jimin the first night that Taehyung and Namjoon met. 

Jimin’s just surprised to see him at BigHit.

Though he figures that Taehyung is probably equally surprised to see him inside the BigHit building. Jimin hadn’t been shy about meeting his soulmates since the morning that they came over in search of him, sure, but he also hadn’t been shy about his lack of excitement about the two of them being idols. About his displeasure that Namjoon’s manager had shoved an NDA in Taehyung’s face before even getting his name.

“Um, I think we’ll go then,” Taehyung says quickly. “See you at home, Min?” 

Jimin smiles, thinking that they definitely need to spend more time together. “Yeah, home.” 

Taehyung and Namjoon quickly retreat, heading to whichever studio Namjoon had meant for them to head to.

Jimin turns to Hoseok, wondering if the time has passed for that kiss. 

And apparently it had, as Hoseok’s phone dings. “Hyung is here,” Hoseok lets him know. “So are both of our managers. Are you ready for this?” 

Jimin sucks in a breath, still feeling antsy about the whole situation. Sure, he wants to be ready, but he’s not even sure what he needs to be ready for. He really should have asked Taehyung for more information about his meeting. Because, seriously, all Jimin’s brain remembers is the damn NDA. 

But, still. Jimin knows that this is all on his terms. Knows that Hoseok and Seokjin aren’t telling their managers about him because they have to. They’re doing it to protect Jimin. And only after Jimin said yes.

God, they mean so much to him already. 

“Yeah,” Jimin says, smiling and grabbing Hoseok’s hand. “I’m ready.” 

Chapter Text

Jimin’s eyes flick around the room and he wonders if he should have a lawyer present.

Not that Jimin has a lawyer, or would even know how to start going about getting one, but he’s  easily the most underdressed and least wealthy person in the room. There’s an idol, two managers, three lawyers, and one Park Jimin in the room and Jimin has absolutely no idea how to communicate that he’s just here to let the company know that he’s soulmates with Kim Seokjin and Jung Hoseok. They’re just waiting on Seokjin to get to the conference room to start.

No big deal. Typical day for any college student, right?

Hoseok gives Jimin’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, grounding him in the whirlwind of thoughts. “You’re not alone in this, okay?” he murmurs, his voice low and steady. “Just focus on us.”

Jimin nods, trying to push the anxiety aside. He takes a deep breath, reminding himself that he’s here for a reason. This is about love. About the connection he has with Hoseok and Seokjin. About the fact that the universe had destined for the three of them to be together. About telling BigHit that two of their idols have finally found their third soulmate.

But the pressure of the moment hangs heavy in the air, and Jimin can’t shake the feeling that he’s stepping into a world he doesn’t quite belong to.

The door swings open, and in walks Seokjin, all elegant and confident in an easy way that Jimin’s not sure he could ever pull off. Jimin is a dancer and he still isn’t sure that he’s as confident in his own body as Seokjin is. 

His eyes scan the room before landing on Jimin, and an easy smile breaks across his face, instantly easing some of Jimin’s nerves. “Hey, there you are,” Seokjin walks over, his presence immediately helping to calm Jimin’s nerves. “You ready for this?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Jimin replies, trying to match Seokjin’s energy. “Just… a little nervous.”

“Don’t be,” Seokjin says, his gaze warm. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I know that my lawyer is here, but I’ll make sure that he helps you out, too.”

Before Jimin can respond, the two managers take seats at the giant table, followed closely by the lawyers, their expressions all business. Jimin’s heart races and he feels the weight of their eyes on him: analyzing, calculating. He glances at Hoseok, who gives him a subtle nod, a silent reminder that they’re in this together.

The atmosphere shifts as the lead manager clears his throat. “Alright, everyone. Thank you for being here today. We’re here to discuss a potential partnership-”

“Wait,” Jimin interrupts, surprising even himself. He takes a deep breath, gathering courage. “I need to say something first.”

Hoseok’s eyes widen slightly, but Seokjin looks proud, urging him on with an encouraging nod. “I know this might seem unusual, but I want to make it clear that I’m here because I care about Hoseokie-hyung and Seokjinie-hyung. I’m not just a… a part of a business arrangement and I refuse to be treated like a nuisance just because I’m cosmically linked to them. I’m their soulmate, and I want to be involved in whatever decisions are made regarding us.” 

The room goes silent, and Jimin can feel the weight of his words hanging in the air. 

“Jimin,” Seokjin whispers, pride evident in his voice. 

Hoseok squeezes his hand tighter, and Jimin feels warmth radiating through him. This is who he is. This is what matters.

Finally, one of the managers- Jimin thinks that he’s Seokjin’s manager- breaks the silence, blinking in surprise before collecting himself. “Thank you for sharing that, Jimin. It’s important for us to understand the emotional context behind this relationship.” 

Jimin feels a wave of relief wash over him, a sense of validation, happy to hear that this man has already switched from using such a business-like word. After all, they’re not in a partnership . They’re not really in a relationship, not yet, but Jimin thinks that the distinction is important.

Seokjin's manager leans forward, his expression serious but attentive. “So, Jimin-ssi, what exactly are you hoping to achieve with this meeting?”

Jimin takes a moment, feeling the collective gaze of the room on him. He’s a bit annoyed because it’s not like he called this meeting. Sure, Hoseok and Seokjin waited until he was comfortable to have it, but Jimin’s not here with any sort of ulterior motive or anything.

Still, he does feel a bit of relief that there’s someone here listening to him.

“I want to make it clear that I’m committed to both Hoseok and Seokjin,” he says, hoping that his voice doesn’t sound as shaky as he feels right now. “I’m not just a passing phase or a secret to be kept. I want to be involved in decisions about our future- whether that means public acknowledgment or how we move through our lives together. And, um, I guess just letting you guys know that I exist? My best friend also has a soulmate here and you guys hit him pretty hard with an NDA, so I have to assume that I’m supposed to sign one of those, too.”

Hoseok’s hand slips into Jimin’s once again, intertwining their fingers. Jimin can’t help but smile, feeling more supported than he thinks he ever has before.

The other manager nods, glancing between the lawyers and Seokjin’s manager, as if weighing their thoughts. “That’s a very mature perspective, Jimin. Relationships in this industry can be complicated, especially with the level of public scrutiny. It’s good to hear that you’re aware of that.”

Seokjin smiles gently, pride evident in his eyes, while Hoseok’s grip tightens reassuringly. It feels like they’re creating a bubble of warmth amidst the corporate chill.

“Okay,” Seokjin’s manager says after a moment, nodding thoughtfully. “Let’s talk about how we can support you in this. We want to ensure that you’re protected, Jimin. This means discussing how to handle public announcements if they’re necessary and the potential implications for all three of you.”

Jimin exhales, relief flooding him. “That sounds good.”

“And, of course,” Hoseok’s manager adds, “We’ll give you the NDA, but you don’t have to sign anything today. You can talk it through with a lawyer first.” 

One of the lawyers speaks up, his voice clear and professional. “We can draft a statement that emphasizes the emotional bonds between you all, while also outlining the boundaries that need to be maintained given the public nature of your partners’ careers. Again, this is just in case. It doesn’t sound like you have any intention of making your relationship public at this moment, right, Jimin-ssi?”

Jimin nods.

Hoseok leans in closer to Jimin, whispering, “See? You’re doing great. They’re listening.” 

Jimin feels a flutter of pride at Hoseok’s words. Maybe he really can navigate the world of idols after all.

After this, the conversation begins to flow more freely, ideas bouncing around as Jimin feels increasingly involved. He shares his thoughts on what being soulmates means moving forward and he’s thankful to be heard. 

As the meeting progresses, Jimin starts to feel less like an outsider and more like an integral part of the discussion. With Hoseok and Seokjin by his side, Jimin suddenly feels like he can face anything.

Finally, as the conversation begins to wind down, Jimin takes a moment to look at the two men beside him. Their eyes meet, and he can’t help but smile. This is just the beginning. And, for once, Jimin is excited to see where a new beginning takes him.

“So, did you two make out in the dance studio?” 

“Hyung!” Jimin shrieks. They’ve only just gotten out of the meeting and Seokjin is already asking things like that. Still in front of his manager no less. “We did no such thing.” 

Seokjin tsks. “Disappointing. Especially since Hoseokie said that he was going to kiss you when he hung up the phone.”

Jimin’s cheeks flush a deep crimson as he shoots a look at Hoseok, who’s trying very hard to suppress a laugh. “I- He- Uh…” Jimin stammers, glancing back at Seokjin, whose playful expression only makes him feel more flustered.

Hoseok finally breaks, a grin spreading across his face. “We were interrupted by Namjoonie and Jimin’s friend. Then you arrived and we had more important stuff to focus on..” 

“Yeah! Important stuff,” Jimin echoes, desperately wanting to steer the conversation in a different direction. He’s not usually so shy, but due to the whole nature of soulmates, Jimin’s never really been in this sort of situation before. He’s never dated or flirted or kissed anyone, and his face burns just thinking about it. “Like how we’re not even out of the meeting with your managers and lawyers? Or about how they had more questions about our future together than we could answer?”

Seokjin raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. Though, he does at least look a little sorry that they couldn’t answer all of the questions thrown at them about the ‘next steps’ in their relationship. “Sure, but I think the kiss is pretty important too.” 

“Okay, okay,” Jimin concedes, trying to suppress a smile. “Maybe it’s important, but I just- there’s a lot happening, and I didn’t want to mess it up. I mean, I was nervous.”

“You didn’t mess anything up,” Hoseok reassures, his tone sincere. “You were amazing in there. You handled everything like a pro! If your plan is still to open a dance studio, I think that you’re going to be a fantastic instructor.”

“Exactly,” Seokjin adds, wrapping an arm around Jimin’s shoulders and giving him a gentle squeeze. “You stood your ground and made it clear how much this means to you. That’s something to celebrate.”

Jimin feels slightly embarrassed by the praise but, more than anything, he feels grateful that the two of them just seem to know what he needs right now. Sure, there’s a lot to talk about in terms of the future, but Jimin doesn’t need to worry about that right now. “Thanks, you guys. I just… I want to make sure I’m doing this right. I care about you both so much, and I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You could never be a burden to us,” Hoseok insists, his voice firm. 

“You’re part of this now,” Seokjin says, voice light in a way that suggests there’s no backing out. Jimin doesn’t think that he could ever want that. “We want you to be involved, and we want to make this work.”

“I want that too.”

“Then let’s start with a proper celebration,” Seokjin declares, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Jimin’s not sure what the mischievousness is about, or what the celebration is about, but he doesn’t shut Seokjin down right away. “How about dinner? My treat, of course.”

“Dinner sounds great,” Jimin admits. He and Hoseok had danced for a while and he could definitely use a bite to eat. “But what about the NDA and everything? Shouldn’t we talk about that first? While your lawyer is still here?”

Hoseok shakes his head. “We can talk about it later and Jinie-hyung can get you in contact with his lawyer. We’ve had a big day, and you deserve to relax.”

Jimin bites his lip, not convinced that it should be left too long. 

“Plus,” Hoseok adds. “It’s more fun to talk about things over food.”

“Okay, but I want dessert afterward,” Jimin counters, a playful grin forming on his lips.

“Deal,” Seokjin says, ruffling Jimin’s hair affectionately. 

Jimin blooms under the attention.

As they make their way out of the building, Jimin can’t help but feel a sense of lightness. The anxiety from earlier fades, replaced by the thrill of being with the two people who mean so much to him. 

“Are we doing this right?” Jimin asks suddenly, his curiosity getting the better of him. “I guess- I mean, is this how it always feels to be with your soulmate? Is this what it was like when you two found each other?” 

“Absolutely,” Hoseok says quickly. “I mean, it was terrifying and we were worried all of the time, but we worked it all out together . And, now, we’re navigating everything together, as three now, and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah,” Seokjin adds, glancing at Jimin with sincerity. “Soulmates stick together. I’m just lucky that you’re both willing to be stuck to me for the rest of our lives.”

Jimin feels a warmth spreading through him at those words. Together. It’s a simple word, but it carries so much weight. Jimin knows that Seokjin’s words weren’t spoken rashly, or in haste, but rather as a reassurance to Jimin that while they don’t have answers to everything that the world (or their lawyers) throw at them, he’s serious about this long term. He’s in it for life.

It makes Jimin feel much more at ease than anything else that’s happened today.

“Now, where to for dinner?” Seokjin asks, looking between them.

“Somewhere that I can get bingsu,” Jimin replies. “I’m craving something sweet.” 

☀️🌕

Two weeks later, Jimin feels incredibly thankful that they’d had the meeting. 

Of course, he had known that spending so much time with his soulmates- time that he really doesn’t have with his finals coming up- could lead to some public speculation about the new fixture in Seokjin and Hoseok’s lives. 

But Jimin never expected the whirlwind of attention that followed their meeting. It was like opening a floodgate. Social media lit up with rumors and curious fans speculating about the trio. At first, Jimin felt a rush of anxiety whenever his phone buzzed with notifications. The first time was a link to a Koreaboo article with pictures of Jimin going in and out of Seokjin’s house. Jungkook had seen it being retweeted on his stan Twitter account for Hoseok, and, unfortunately, people had pretty quickly figured out who Jimin was.

He deactivated his Twitter account, made his Instagram private, and took his work location off of his Facebook page, hoping that it would deter people from showing up. Some fans did, but they didn’t harass Jimin or threaten the business or even loiter around, so Jimin hasn’t been taken off of the schedule yet. However, that doesn’t stop him from being really worried about taking the bus home after it gets dark out. 

For days, his notifications consisted of people trying to follow his Instagram and send him dms, but Jimin hasn’t opened any of those, or allowed any of them to follow him. Jungkook and Taehyung got a little bit of attention from those who found Jimin’s Instagram before he went private and saw how many photos he’d been tagged in by Jungkook and Taehyung. But both of them locked their accounts as well. Jungkook told Jimin that he was trending on Twitter for a full twenty-four hours, and screenshots from his profile were floating around for a week or so, but they’ve slowed down since then.

But as the weeks have passed, Jimin’s found solace in the unwavering support from Seokjin and Hoseok. They stood right beside him, just like they had promised. 

Jimin had been adamant that he wanted to stay out of the spotlight, though. He was terrified, worried that something bad would happen to him- or worse, to Taehyung, Jungkook, or Yoongi- like getting fired or getting mobbed at school or… so many other things. Jimin knows just how scary Seokjin and Hoseok’s fan bases can be. After all, he’s best friends with Hoseok’s self-proclaimed number one fan.

So, Jimin didn’t do anything besides go to work and school for a while. He had Jungkook act as his personal bodyguard, glad that Jungkook’s ridiculously large muscles have finally done something good for Jimin’s life, and hid behind Taehyung while they walked between classes. 

Slowly, as Jimin realized that the fans who came into the cafe were a little weird but not harmful and, more importantly, that no one had gone to his school or harassed his friends, Jimin felt comfortable meeting up with Hoseok and Seokjin again.

“After all,” Seokjin had said. “They already know we hang out. Let’s do it in public now.” 

Their first outing as a trio is at a small café, where they share steamed bread and laughter, teasing each other about anything and everything and just generally having a good time. Jimin’s feeling giddy, the normalcy of it grounding him after nearly a week of feeling nothing but scared and confused. 

But it doesn't take long for the café’s cozy atmosphere to turn into a photo op, with fans snapping pictures from afar. Jimin can hear the whispers coming from a few tables across the room and he can’t help but feel self conscious. Seokjin had picked him up right after dance practice, and while he was wearing a pair of Hoseok’s sweatpants that he’d borrowed a few weeks prior (sue him, they’re really nice and Hoseok kept complimenting his thighs in them), his shirt is covered in paint from when Yoongi was fucking around with Jungkook and accidentally stepped on a tube of Taehyung’s paint, splattering it all over the laundry that Jimin and Taehyung had hanging.

He definitely looks poor and unqualified to be hanging out around beloved couple SeokSeok .

Because, yeah, the biggest thing that has come out of this all is the speculation about Hoseok and Seokjin dating. Jimin’s read so many Reddit theories on their relationship, scrolled through tweets (on his new, private Twitter account) about how they’re made for each other and there’s no way that they’re not soulmates, and watched far too many videos titled 2Seok’s gayest moments on YouTube to have any delusions that any of the BigHit Three’s fan base would be happy with him being in this particular relationship.

“Just ignore them,” Hoseok says, squeezing Jimin’s hand under the table. 

Jimin squeezes back sending Hoseok a small smile, but he doesn’t want pictures of the two of them holding hands to get out, so he drops Hoseok’s hand quickly. 

“Jimin, it’s okay,” Hoseok reassures, leaning closer, his warmth radiating comfort. “They’re just excited. We knew this would happen.”

“I know, I just- Jimin glances around, feeling exposed under the curious stares and camera clicks. “I’m worried. After all, I’m just some random guy-”

Seokjin catches Jimin’s eye, his expression softening. “You are not random. You’re our soulmate, and we’re proud of it.” 

Jimin nods, but the flutter of anxiety still lingers. He’s grateful for their presence, yet the pressure of public scrutiny feels overwhelming. 

“Okay, let’s shift the focus,” Seokjin suggests, his voice light. “What’s your favorite filling in the steamed buns? We’ve got so many kinds here…”

Jimin blinks, unsure why Seokjin is asking him this again when Jimin already ordered his favorite kind. He figures that Seokjin is just trying to distract him, but Jimin knows that there’s no way this will leave his brain now. Not with some teenage girls staring at him and whispering.

“Uh, red bean?”

“Red bean? Classic choice,” Hoseok laughs and, yeah, this is a poor distraction attempt. “I prefer custard. But the sweet potato filling is underrated! Have you had it yet, Jimin-ah? Take a bite.”

Hoseok uses his fork to pull apart the bread and holds it up to Jimin’s mouth. Jimin blinks as Hoseok nods to him, encouraging him to take a bite. Seokjin smirks, pulling up his phone to snap a photo of Hoseok feeding him.

Well, clearly these two don’t have the same publicity worry as Jimin.

He takes a small bite, practically moaning at the deliciousness. “Oh my god,” he says. “That’s so good, what the fuck?” 

They all chuckle, and for a moment, the world outside the café fades. Jimin is simply with the two people he lo- cares about , basking in the sound of their laughter.

But reality soon reasserts itself when a few fans approach hesitantly, a mix of excitement and shyness on their faces. Jimin’s heart races. 

“Um, excuse me, is it okay if we take a picture?” one girl asks, her eyes wide.

Seokjin looks to Jimin, gauging his reaction. Jimin knows from what Hoseok and Seokjin have told him that their company doesn’t love it when they take photos with fans, but they both really enjoy it. And, also, Jimin really appreciates that they came up and asked, rather than whispering and snapping photos anyway.

Jimin takes a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. He can’t hide forever, can he?

“Sure, just… no touching, okay?” Jimin manages, trying to sound confident.

The girls nod eagerly, and Jimin feels a swell of warmth when Hoseok wraps an arm around him, pulling him close. They all smile for the camera, Seokjin and Hoseok naturally throwing up peace signs, and for a fleeting moment, Jimin feels like he belongs. 

After the photo, the girls squeal their thanks and rush off, leaving Jimin both flattered and a little dazed. 

“See? You did great!” Hoseok exclaims, beaming. “You’re getting the hang of this.”

“Yeah, it’s just… strange,” Jimin admits. “I didn’t think it would be like this. I’m still figuring it out.”

Seokjin’s expression softens. “It’s okay to feel that way. We’re all figuring this out together, and that’s what makes it special.”

“Yeah,” Jimin agrees, smiling at the two of them. “Together.”

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, with no one else bothering them. Jimin also notices that less whispers and photos come his way. And he’s really thankful for that.

“Thanks for today,” Jimin says when they’re all back in Seokjin’s car, sincerity clear in his voice. “I really needed this.”

“Anytime,” Seokjin replies, a knowing smile on his lips. “It was mostly selfish, though. I really just wanted to see you.”

Hoseok nods. “Yeah, Seokjin’s apartment was starting to feel empty without you there, you know?” 

Jimin bites his lip, thinking about all of the time since Jungkook first sent him that article. He hadn’t been avoiding his soulmates. No, they still talked on video chat or on the phone every day. Hoseok was constantly sending texts to check in and Seokjin developed a sudden love for dad jokes that Jimin is sure was just an attempt to cheer him up. But he definitely made up some reason he couldn’t come over every time that he was asked.

“Well, what about tonight?” He asks, moments later.

“What about tonight?” Seokjin counters, clearly confused.

“Um,” Jimin starts, blushing. “What if I came over tonight? Like, um, for the whole night?” 

“You want to stay over?” 

“If that’s okay,” Jimin says quickly, already planning to rescind the offer. To blame the thought on the sugary bread. “I don’t mean-” 

“Please stay tonight,” Seokjin interrupts. “Nothing would make me happier. Well, except for Hoseokie staying over, too.” 

Hoseok snorts. “Jimin-ah wants to have a sleepover. You’re not going to send me home, just because you want him all to yourself-” 

“Oh, like you don’t do that at the dance studio-” 

“I would never -” 

Jimin laughs, leaning back in his seat, finally feeling like things are calming down. And for the first time in weeks, Jimin feels a glimmer of excitement.

☀️🌕

As they pull into Seokjin's apartment complex, the weight of the day’s events begins to melt away. Jimin's heart races at the thought of spending the night with them. He can’t shake the feeling of anticipation that fills the air around him.

Once inside, the atmosphere shifts to cozy and familiar. Jimin hasn’t been here since that stupid article was published, but there’s no denying that he feels safest here. Seokjin heads to the kitchen, grabbing snacks and drinks, while Hoseok flops onto the couch, stretching out comfortably.

“Make yourself at home, Jimin-ah,” Hoseok calls, patting the spot beside him.

Jimin hesitates for a moment, glancing at Seokjin, who gives him an encouraging smile. He joins Hoseok, sitting a bit too close, feeling the warmth radiating from him. He figures that, after hastily letting go of Hoseok’s hand earlier, Hoseok probably won’t mind the cuddling.

“Have you seen that new series everyone’s talking about?” Hoseok asks, turning on the TV. “We could binge it together!”

“Which one?” Jimin asks, trying to recall what dramas have come out recently. He’s a bit too busy right now to keep up well. He’s sure that Taehyung knows exactly what Hoseok is talking about, though. 

“I actually don’t know,” Hoseok admits. “I’m terrible at small talk and was hoping that you might start talking about something for us to watch if I led with that.” 

Jimin stares at him. “Wanna just try the first thing on Netflix?” 

Hoseok grins. “Let’s do it.” 

Seokjin brings them stuff from the kitchen and lets them know that he might not be able to join them for a while.

Jimin pouts. “Why not?” 

“I have some lyrics that need to be changed before an early meeting tomorrow,” Seokjin says, sadly. “But I promise that I’ll come out and watch a bit with you when I need a break, okay?” 

Jimin nods, watching as Seokjin trails up the stairs to his office. He knows that his soulmates both have to do work, and he’s grateful for the time he’s had with them already today, but he’s still feeling a little sensitive from the whirlwind week he’s had and he’d have liked cuddles from both of them a lot.

They’re just about to start the third episode of the drama when Hoseok suddenly gets serious. “Hey, Jimin-ah. You’re really important to us, you know that, right?”

Jimin looks at him, caught off guard. “I… yeah. I mean, I care about you both a lot, too.”

Hoseok leans in closer, his gaze softening. “I just wanted you to know that it’s okay to be scared. Because I’m here. And Seokjin’s here.”

Jimin nods, feeling a warmth spread through him at Hoseok’s sincerity. “Thanks, Hoseokie-hyung. I appreciate that.”

Before he can say more, Seokjin joins them, holding a bowl of popcorn. Jimin hopes that he’s done with whatever lyric changes he needed to make, since it’s been two hours and Jimin had not seen him for a break even once. “What’s this about being scared?”

“Just reassuring Jimin that it’s okay to feel how he feels,” Hoseok explains, leaning over Jimin and taking a handful of popcorn.

Jimin’s heart swells, and he feels a wave of gratitude flood through him. He honestly trusts the both of them so much now, likes the both of them so much now… He’d never felt this level of trust with anyone except for Taehyung and Jungkook before. “I really mean it when I say thank you. You both make this so much easier.”

Hoseok’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “And we have fun, too! Now, let’s see who can eat the most popcorn without using our hands!”

Laughter erupts as they all dive into the challenge, and Jimin feels like a weight has been lifted. He’s here, surrounded by the people who make him feel safe and cherished.

As the night drifts on, they end up sprawled on the couch, the TV flickering softly in the background. Jimin’s head leans against Hoseok’s shoulder, and he feels a sense of peace washing over him.

At some point, Seokjin’s hand finds Jimin’s, their fingers interlocking. Jimin glances up, surprised. Seokjin’s gaze is steady and warm, grounding him. 

“Can I tell you something?” Seokjin whispers, his voice low and gentle.

“Of course,” Jimin replies, a little breathless.

“I’ve really missed you,” Seokjin admits, his eyes searching Jimin’s. “You bring so much light into our lives.”

Hoseok shifts, looking at Jimin with an intensity that makes his heart race. “Yeah, Jimin. You make everything better.”

Jimin swallows, feeling vulnerable yet cherished under their gaze. “I’ve missed you both, too.”

In that moment, time seems to freeze. The world outside fades into nothingness, and it’s just the three of them in their little bubble of comfort. 

Hoseok tilts his head, an unspoken question hanging in the air. Jimin feels a rush of courage and nods, letting the connection pull him closer. Hoseok’s breath hitches as he leans in, their lips brushing softly.

Jimin’s heart pounds in his chest, and it’s electric, sending a wave of warmth through him. It’s a gentle kiss, tentative yet filled with something that feels a little like love and a lot like a promise. And just as he’s lost in the moment, Seokjin moves closer, his presence enveloping them both.

When they finally pull away, breathless and a little dazed, Jimin meets their eyes- Hoseok’s sparkling with wonder and Seokjin’s filled with warmth.

“Wow,” Jimin breathes, a smile breaking across his face. “That was… nice.”

Hoseok grins, his cheeks flushed. “Nice? Just nice?”

Jimin laughs, the sound bubbling up from his chest. “Okay, it was amazing!”

Seokjin’s eyes light up with mischief as he leans in, his face inches from Jimin’s. Jimin feels his heart fluttering in his chest, somehow still feeling incredibly nervous despite literally just having his first kiss. “Well, how about we give you a little more of this amazing night?”

Hoseok, still close, grins and nudges Jimin playfully. “You’re in for it now, Park Jimin.” Jimin laughs, wondering where the sudden threat is coming from.

With that, Seokjin’s lips brush against Jimin’s again, firmer than Hoseok’s had been, and Jimin melts into the kiss, feeling the warmth radiate from Seokjin’s touch. Hoseok shifts closer, gently rubbing Jimin’s back- a nice reminder that he’s there. 

Jimin swears that the world around them fades away, and all that exists is the sweet moment shared between the three of them.

As they break apart, Jimin finds himself giggling, a giddy energy flowing through him. Once again, like with everything with Hoseok and Seokjin, Jimin isn’t sure if this is a soulmate connection thing, or just how it feels to be with people who he cares about.

But, for the first time, Jimin doesn’t care. 

If this feeling is because this is what the universe willed, Jimin is fine with that. As long as Hoseok and Seokjin continue to treat him like he’s someone special, then he’s happy.

Happy , Jimin thinks. 

Finally .

Before Jimin can say anything cheesy and probably embarrassing, Hoseok leans in, capturing his lips once more, this time with a little more fervor. It’s something like a dance- one of warmth and connection, laughter mingling with soft sighs. 

Seokjin makes his way in as well and Jimin finds himself caught between the two of them, their closeness enveloping him in a way that makes everything else disappear.

“Okay, okay!” Jimin finally pulls away, breathless, his heart racing. “What do we do next? I mean, aside from kissing, obviously.”

“How about we take turns sharing our favorite memories?” Hoseok suggests, a glint in his eyes. “We’ve hung out a lot and all learned about each other, but besides this week, you haven’t really caught a glimpse into our lives and we haven’t gotten into yours yet.”

“That’s because I can’t trust my roommates around the two of you,” Jimin mutters. “You already know that Jungkook is crazy, but I promise you that Taehyung is just as obsessed with Seokjinie-hyung. Maybe even more.”

“I like the sound of that,” Seokjin jokes. Jimin gives his arm a small smack. “I meant the favorite memory thing!” He defends. Jimin scoffs. He absolutely does not believe that. “You go first, Jimin.”

Jimin thinks for a moment, his heart swelling with all the little moments he’s had throughout his life. “Well, besides meeting the two of you, of course -” 

“I would not say that our first meeting should be your fondest memory of us,” Hoseok immediately interrupts. “It took you until, like, the third time we met to start liking either of us.” 

Jimin laughs, but he doesn’t dispute it. He knows that their first meeting was kind of disastrous. “I would say maybe the night that Jungkookie first introduced us to Yoongi-hyung? It might be recency bias, because I have so many memories with Taehyung where we laughed until we cried or days with Jungkook that I would never trade, but when Jungkook brought Yoongi-hyung over for the first time, it felt like my apartment was filled and happy?”

“That’s sweet,” Seokjin comments. 

“I mean, it’s not like it was empty before that or anything. Jungkookie and Taehyungie are my best friends and we’re always hanging out with each other when we’re home, but I always knew that finding his soulmate was super important to Jungkookie. Obviously, you know that I had some, uh, negative emotions surrounding soulmates before I got to know you-” 

“Never would have guessed,” Seokjin jokes. 

“And Taehyung has always been more, like, ‘When it happens, it happens,’ you know?” Both of them nod. “But Jungkookie was searching. He kind of gave up becoming an idol because of the words on his skin. He was scouted and turned it down because he knew that he’d need to be taking a music theory course to meet his soulmate. He spent so long agonizing over what college he would go to, always worried that he’d somehow mess it up. I swear, he was the only eighteen year old I’ve ever met who actually lost hair due to stress.” 

Hoseok bites his lip. “I can see why you thought ill of finding your soulmates, then.” 

Jimin shrugs. “I’m happy now. Happy that you two did whatever you did to find out our address and all. But, yeah, Jungkookie was always so stressed before Yoongi-hyung. And, now- Well, okay, he’s still kind of anxious and high strung, but he’s also constantly making out with his soulmate and he’s happy . And that’s the first time that I got to see that. So, I think that’s maybe my best memory.” 

Jimin mentally starts planning for Taehyung and Jungkook to meet his soulmates. Of course, he’ll ensure that he gets to finally meet Kim Namjoon when he’s not being entirely caught off guard. The first time, Taehyung was finding out that RM was his soulmate. Then, Jimin was caught up in the high of almost being kissed by Hoseok. 

The third time will be perfect for Jimin to meet his favorite idol. 

“Okay, my turn,” Hoseok exclaims, sitting up a little straighter. “I think my favorite memory is the first time we all hung out together. I remember feeling so nervous about it, but the moment we started joking around, it felt like we’d known each other forever.”

“Definitely,” Seokjin agrees, nodding. “It was what I consider to be the beginning of everything for us. I can’t count the night that we met or the day that Taehyung-ssi told us that Jimin was, and I quote, ‘Dealing with his insane IBS right now, I mean, seriously, you wouldn’t believe his stomach-’”

“Okay, okay,” Jimin laughs, pushing Seokjin a bit. “Blame me for having hot girl tummy issues.”

“Blame your best friend for lying about it,” Seokjin says, pushing Jimin back. But he pushes him right into Hoseok, so Jimin doesn't mind at all. 

☀️🌕

“Baby, you absolutely need to chill out,” Yoongi says, trying to physically force Jungkook to sit down. It doesn’t work, because Jungkook is ridiculously beefy and Yoongi is quite small. But Jimin gives him props for trying.

Jungkook huffs, but he does stop pacing. Jimin is sure that Yoongi considers that to be a win. “How am I supposed to chill out? I’m meeting Jung Hoseok , J-Hope - he’s my hope, I’m his hope, he’s J-Hope!” 

Yoongi hums. “Baby, you’ve already met him. Twice, I think. He signed multiple albums personally for you.” 

“What if he thinks that I’m lame? Or annoying?” 

“You are lame and annoying,” Jimin adds from where he’s standing in their kitchen. He’d finally bullied his two best friends into buying a new rice cooker for their apartment. They probably should be meeting in one of the idols’ apartments, but Jimin was insistent that they all hang out in their apartment. The living room is a decent size and they have a huge folding table thanks to whoever had this apartment before them. 

Plus, Jimin knows that he’s much less likely to be caught off guard by Kim Namjoon in his own home. 

“How’s the food coming?” Taehyung calls from his spot on the couch, ignoring Jungkook and Yoongi’s now hushed conversation. 

Jimin doesn’t mind it, but he does think that it’s so very Taehyung-like to not bother to stop his evening painting just because they have three famous guests coming over. Jimin briefly wonders if Taehyung has a project due or if he’s actually nervous about meeting Seokjin for the first time under normal circumstances and is using painting as an outlet. 

“Fine,” Jimin calls back. “It’s hard to cook stew for seven, but Seokjin insisted on sending me money for half of the grocery bill so there’s a lot here.” 

“Did you buy more because he was sending money?” Taehyung laughs. 

Jimin shakes his head. “Apparently it’s true that celebrities don’t understand how much regular grocery items cost,” he explains. “I sent most of it back to him, but I did probably go a little overboard on how much food to make. Plus, we all know that Jungkook eats even more when he’s nervous.” 

“It’s to stop the yapping,” Jungkook pouts. “Certified nervous yapper, remember? But I can’t yap if my mouth is full.” 

“Bet that’s what Yoongi-hyung says to him in bed.”

Jungkook glares at Jimin, but Jimin doesn’t care. Not when Taehyung has tears in his eyes from laughing so hard and Yoongi is blushing bright red like that’s something that he’s actually said to Jungkook before. 

Before too long, Hoseok is sending a message in the group chat consisting of the two of them and Seokjin, letting Jimin know that they’ve arrived. 

Jimin’s nervous, but not feeling as bad as he thought that he might feel. He wants everyone to get along because they’re his friends and his soulmates (hopefully soon boyfriends? Jimin isn’t sure where they stand with labeling each other but he’d really like to call Hoseok and Seokjin his boyfriends), but he’s worried that Taehyung and Jungkook might act weirdly around the two of them. Jimin’s already kind of worried that Jungkook has a stack of J-Hope albums in his room to get signed despite having multiple signed copies already. 

“I’ll buzz them up,” Jimin says, hoping that they don’t run into anyone on the elevator. It’s not a huge building, only five floors with a couple of apartments on each floor, but Jimin does not need it being leaked that three famous people are in his apartment building. 

Jimin quickly presses the buzzer and hears the familiar chime echo through the hallway. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. “Okay, here we go,” he mutters to himself, shooting a quick glance at Jungkook, who’s practically vibrating with excitement again.

“Just act normal, okay?” Jimin advises, though he knows that’s a tall order for Jungkook. He glances at Yoongi, who looks a mix of amused and resigned. “You too, Yoongi. No making fun of Jungkookie and no talking about your oral fixations in front of them!”

“I’ll only bring it up if they do first,” Yoongi quips, earning a playful shove from Jimin. The door swings open, revealing Hoseok and Seokjin standing there, both grinning like the sun, Namjoon lingering slightly behind them.

“Surprise!” Hoseok beams, his energy filling the space. “We brought snacks.”

“Not just any snacks,” Seokjin adds, holding up a bag filled with a variety of goodies. “Homemade cookies and some kimbap. I hope you don’t mind…”

“As if you didn’t already pay most of the grocery bill…” Jimin mutters, stepping aside to let them in. 

Seokjin grins. “I would have paid for the whole thing if you would have let me. Besides, I eat more than most people. You know that I have famous lives called ‘Eat Jin’, right?” 

“I’ve heard of them,” Jimin says, glancing at Taehyung, who is staring at Seokjin basically in open-mouthed shock. “Anyway, thank you for the cookies. Did you make them or did Hoseokie-hyung?” 

“I brought something different,” Hoseok chirps, handing Jimin one of two bottles of wine that he brought. “My specialty lies not with baking but with pairing alcohol.” 

Jimin snorts. He most certainly does not think that the expensive pink wine that Hoseok brought will go well with the kimchi stew, but he’s thankful either way. He takes a moment to appreciate how warm and inviting they both are, the kind of presence that instantly eases his nerves.

Which he definitely needs since Kim Namjoon is now standing awkwardly by their shoe rack. “Hi, Namjoon-ssi,” Jimin starts. “Nice to see you again.” 

Namjoon smiles, kind and warm and nothing less than Jimin would have ever expected from his favorite rapper. “You, too, Jimin-ah.” Jimin almost faints hearing Namjoon speak casually to him. Like they’re friends or something. “Taehyungie looks starstruck. Has he not met Seokjinie-hyung before?” 

Jimin follows Namjoon’s line of sight where Seokjin is talking to Taehyung, who Jimin is certain has not spoken even one word back to his favorite singer in the world, and smiles. “Not really,” Jimin says, remembering the first night. “Seokjinie-hyung and Hoseokie-hyung had actually just found out that I was their soulmate when Taehyungie decided to leave your party,” Jimin explains. “He was a bit too wracked with nerves to talk to hyung.” Namjoon chuckles, glancing at Taehyung’s wide eyes as Seokjin animatedly gestures about something, likely his most recent music video shoot, if the fish faces he’s making are anything to go by.

“I can’t blame him, though,” Namjoon muses finally. “That meeting was intense and pretty unexpected. Plus, Seokjinie-hyung is really charming, you know? I think that I was struck silent by his charm the first time that we met. If I had been in an emotionally vulnerable state, I probably would have cried

“Charm?” Taehyung finally manages, breaking out of his daze just enough to shoot a playful glare at Jimin. “You mean I have to compete with the world’s most charming person now?”

“Only for Namjoon-ssi’s attention,” Jimin teases, trying to ease Taehyung’s nerves. “You’ve got your own charm, Taehyungie.”

Jungkook nods. “And Taehyungie-hyung is good at painting. Creative types always fall in love with other creative types. Like, I think that my life would be much different if Yoongi-hyung was into physics instead of music.” 

“Yeah, like the words on your arm would say Welcome to Physics 101 instead,” Jimin says, shuddering. “Creative is definitely better.”

“I’d love to see your work, Taehyung,” Seokjin says quietly. Jimin grins, happy to see that Seokjin is already doing his best to put Taehyung at ease. It makes Jimin’s insides feel mushy and gooey and he thinks that he might be in love. “Clearly, this one isn’t done, but I can already tell just how impressive your painting skills are.” 

“Really?” Taehyung’s eyes light up, and Jimin can see the tension in his shoulders start to melt. 

“Absolutely! I’m not as big of an art fiend as Namjoonie is, but I love to watch people do what they like best, and from what I hear, you’ve got a great talent.” Seokjin gestures to the easel in front of them and Jimin swears that he sees Taehyung’s soul float up through the ceiling.

“Okay, wait,” Jungkook finally pipes up, pulling his gaze from Hoseok to Seokjin. “We can’t just stand here. We have to eat- Jiminie-hyung worked hard on the stew!”

“Right, food first,” Jimin agrees, feeling a surge of gratitude toward Jungkook for jumping in. He ushers everyone to the table, where bowls and plates await. 

As they settle around the folding table, Jimin finds that the conversation flows easily, with Jungkook surprisingly relaxed as he chats with Hoseok about their favorite games (Jimin knows that Hoseok is humoring Jungkook in the same way that he humors Seokjin about video games), and Taehyung sharing his painting stories with Seokjin, who hangs on every word.

“I can’t believe you almost didn’t finish that painting because of your nerves,” Seokjin laughs as Taehyung puts his phone away. Jimin couldn’t see the picture that Taehyung had been showing Seokjin, but he knows the exact painting that Seokjin is talking about. “But I’m glad that you didn’t let that happen. You have to push through, even when it feels overwhelming.”

Jimin watches, heart swelling, as Taehyung nods, emboldened by Seokjin’s encouragement. It’s a beautiful thing to witness- everyone coming together, creating connections. He sneaks a glance at Yoongi, who’s watching Jungkook and Hoseok, a small smile playing on his lips. Yoongi obviously knows how much Jungkook loves Hoseok’s music, so he’s sure that Yoongi is feeling all kinds of pleased right now.

“Okay, enough about me! What about you, Seokjinie-hyung?” Jimin smirks. He’d place money that Seokjin did not grant Taehyung the hyung permission. “How did you get so good at cooking?”

Jimin rolls his eyes. Taehyung had one piece of kimbap and it’s like Jimin didn’t spend an hour and a half cooking them dinner.

“Oh, that’s easy! I just love food,” Seokjin replies, animatedly launching into a story about his family’s cooking traditions, explaining that he actually spent a lot of time in high school cooking with his mom, since he didn’t get scouted until after he graduated.

Amidst the chatter, Jimin feels a sense of belonging wash over him. It’s everything he wanted- friends, laughter, love . As they dive into the stew, he finds himself smiling at the sight of Jungkook enthusiastically digging in, or Yoongi rolling his eyes at some playful jab from Hoseok. 

“By the way, what’s this about you being nervous, Jungkook?” Hoseok asks, teasingly poking at him. Jungkook glares in Jimin’s direction once again, clearly blaming him for Hoseok knowing that he was nervous. And he’d be right for that thought. “From what I heard from Jiminie and Yoongi-hyung, you’re usually a confident kid who likes to tease.”

“I- Uh-” Jungkook stutters, caught off guard. “I just didn’t want you guys to think I was lame, okay?”

Hoseok’s expression softens, and he leans forward. “Lame? No way! You’re amazing just as you are. Trust me, being yourself is the best way to make friends.”

Jungkook’s face brightens, and Jimin can see the tension melting away again. 

“Yeah, Jungkook! We all love you,” Taehyung adds, raising his bowl in a mock toast. He spills a lot of broth in his lap and the look on Seokjin’s face is an absolute delight to Jimin.

“To Jungkook!” they all echo, laughter filling the room.

As the night unfolds with more stories and shared food, Jimin leans back in his chair, feeling a profound sense of happiness. Quickly, Hoseok’s hand finds its way to Jimin’s own and Jimin smiles. 

He’s happy.

☀️🌕

“Where are we going?” 

“A fancy restaurant,” Seokjin says, ignoring Jimin’s immediate protests. “And, yes, your complaining right now is precisely the reason that we didn’t tell you beforehand that we were going.” 

Jimin pouts from the front seat. He should have known that something was going on the second that Hoseok offered the front seat to him. Hoseok never lets Jimin sit up there, always claiming that Jimin’s the youngest, so he has to sit in the back.

It’s fine, but Jimin now knows to look out for devious behavior when he’s being offered the front seat of the car.

“Why?” Jimin asks. “And I am absolutely not dressed for a fancy restaurant. I’m not even sure if I showered today.” 

“You showered as soon as we woke up,” Hoseok says. And, damn it, Jimin thinks that he’s right. “And I brought you clothes just in case. I know that you can feel a bit awkward in places like this.” 

“So why are we going to a place like this?” 

Seokjin clears his throat, though Jimin thinks that it’s more out of discomfort than anything else. “Um, well, it’s been one hundred days.” 

Jimin blinks. “What? No, you only asked me to be your boyfriend last week-” 

“One hundred days since we met you,” Seokjin quickly interrupts. “It’s the one hundred day celebration of us knowing each other. And I really wanted to celebrate it.” 

Jimin’s heart does a little flip. He most certainly had not been expecting that. “You’re really celebrating one hundred days of knowing me?” 

“Of course,” Hoseok grins through the rearview mirror. “It’s a big deal. I mean, I know that you were all iffy about ever meeting your soulmates-” Jimin snorts. He does not tell them about his original plans to move countries if they ever found one another. “But, I think that you like us now. Since you let us publish to the world that we’re all dating.” 

Jimin rolls his eyes. Of course, he hadn’t had too much of a choice since he’d accidentally walked in on one of Seokjin’s livestreams and dropped a kiss on his cheek when he had just woken up and was far too sleepy to realize that Seokjin was doing a livestream and not just his usual Sunday morning gaming. The rumor mill went flying and Jimin finally told Seokjin and Hoseok that, so long as they were okay with it, he’d be okay with them revealing their soulmateship and relationship to the world. 

Seokjin had posted a photo of Jimin and Hoseok, claiming them as his forever, then BigHit posted their statement asking the fans to respect Jimin’s privacy. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jimin says. “I guess that I do like you both. Enough to formally apologize that you’ll forever have the word fuck tattooed on your arm because of me.” 

Seokjin laughs from beside him, reaching his hand over the gearshift to grab Jimin’s own. “And enough to forgive us for dragging you to a fancy restaurant and refusing to let you see a single price on the menu or pay for anything?” 

Jimin fondly rolls his eyes again. He’s still not used to Seokjin attempting to pay for everything for him. Still not entirely comfortable with it- Hoseok most definitely seems to understand this better, only rarely offering to pay for something- but he knows that gift giving is Seokjin’s love language. And, truthfully, a small part of him likes being spoiled. 

He’s not going to quit his job and start relying on his famous boyfriends to help him survive, but he thinks that he can meet in the middle and let Seokjin take him out for a nice dinner on a special occasion. 

“Fine, fine,” Jimin concedes, squeezing Seokjin’s hand. Then, eyeing the garment bag that Hoseok has given him and ushered him to change into, adds, “I’ll accept my fate. Just promise me I won’t be the only one in a nice shirt and tie.” 

Hoseok lets out a laugh. “Don’t worry, we both dressed up for the occasion. You won’t be alone.” 

As they exit the car, Jimin takes a moment to adjust his nerves. The restaurant looms ahead, all sleek glass and soft golden light, and he can already see couples mingling at the entrance, dressed to the nines. He swallows hard. 

This most certainly seems like the kind of place that couples go to. He’s sure that this restaurant sees their fair share of soulmates, but soulmates don’t typically come in threes. Jimin hasn’t let the thought of being an extra consume him for a while, but he can’t help but feel like he’s going to be looked at that way in a place like this. 

“Seriously, you look great,” Hoseok reassures him, as if sensing Jimin’s uncertainty. “Trust us. Well, trust me. Seokjin has the worst fashion sense of anyone I’ve ever met.” 

With a deep breath, Jimin follows Seokjin and Hoseok inside. The air is filled with the rich aroma of meat, and soft music plays in the background, creating an intimate atmosphere. A hostess greets them with a warm smile and leads them to a cozy table tucked away in a corner.

Jimin sits down, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. Seokjin and Hoseok slide into their seats across from him, both grinning. 

It only takes a few minutes for a waitress to bring a bottle of champagne over for them, allowing Hoseok to use a saber to open it. The waitress takes the bottle easily, pouring glasses for all three of them before placing it in a bucket of ice.

“Okay, let’s toast,” Seokjin declares, pulling out his phone and snapping a quick picture of the three of them. Jimin blinks, unaware that there was a photo being taken. Does Seokjin always just take one photo? “To one hundred days of Jimin!” 

“To Jimin,” Hoseok chimes in, raising his glass. 

Jimin laughs, his earlier nerves melting away. He lifts his glass, clinking it against theirs. “To us, I guess?” 

Quickly, the waitress returns with menus. Seokjin, despite saying that Jimin was not allowed to see any prices, doesn’t take Jimin’s out of his hands. 

Still, knowing that looking at any of the prices would freak him out, Jimin keeps his menu closed. “What’s good here?” Jimin asks, trying to sound casual. 

“The steak is fantastic,” Seokjin replies. “But the seafood pasta is my personal favorite.” 

Hoseok nods enthusiastically. “And their desserts are to die for. You have to save room for the chocolate lava cake.” 

Jimin’s stomach growls at the thought, and he can’t help but smile. “Okay, okay, you’ve sold me. I’ll try whatever you recommend.” 

As they order, the conversation flows easily. They talk about everything and nothing, with stories from Seokjin’s latest music video release (yes, he looked hot ) to the regular who has been coming into Jimin’s cafe who most definitely has a small crush on Jungkook. 

As they sip their champagne, he can’t help but notice how at ease he feels, how they make him forget any insecurities. 

When the food arrives, Jimin’s eyes widen in awe. The presentation is almost too beautiful to eat. “This is amazing,” he breathes, picking up his fork. 

“Just wait until you taste it,” Seokjin promises, watching Jimin with a soft smile. 

Jimin takes a bite, and he swears that he has to hold back a moan. “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding.” 

“I never joke about food,” Seokjin replies with a mock-serious expression, making Jimin chuckle. 

As they dive into their meals, the conversation turns more… personal. Jimin finds himself sharing his hopes and dreams- ignoring the feeling he has in his stomach when Hoseok mentions a choreographer position that will be opening at BigHit next summer- along with his fears about the future, and how grateful he is to have found them. 

“I really didn’t expect any of this,” he admits, looking at both of them earnestly. He doesn’t always have the easiest time opening up with his feelings, but he feels like their onehundred day celebration is as good a time as any to start. “You’ve changed my life in ways I didn’t think were possible.” 

Seokjin reaches across the table, his hand covering Jimin’s. “And you’ve changed ours, too. You fit right into our lives, Jimin. We’re so lucky to have you.” 

Jimin feels his heart swell at the sincerity in Seokjin’s voice. “You’re not just saying that because you’re stuck with me now, right?” 

Hoseok shakes his head, laughter in his eyes. “Nope. We chose you, remember? And I’m so glad we did.” 

Jimin can’t help but grin, warmth flooding his chest. This celebration- this moment - is everything he didn’t know he wanted. 

As they continue to eat, the atmosphere is thick with a comfortable intimacy. Jimin watches as Hoseok playfully teases Seokjin about his choice of dessert, and he can’t help but laugh along. But then the mood shifts slightly, and Jimin feels a soft, serious tone in the air.

“Jimin,” Seokjin begins after they place their dessert order, his eyes earnest, “I know we joke around a lot, but I want you to know how much you mean to us.”

Hoseok nods, his expression equally sincere. “Yeah, it’s just- You’ve brought so much joy into our lives, and I can’t imagine being without you.”

Jimin’s heart races. He can feel the weight of their words, the depth of their feelings, and it makes him vulnerable in the best way possible. “I feel the same way,” he admits, his voice a bit shaky. “I didn’t think I could ever feel so much happiness, let alone with my soulmates. You both make me feel seen and cherished.”

Seokjin smiles warmly, his thumb brushing over Jimin’s hand. “I love you, you know that?”

Jimin’s breath hitches. “You really mean it?”

“Of course he does,” Hoseok says, leaning in slightly. “I love you, Jimin. We love you. You’re ours, and we’re yours.”

The words wash over him like a warm wave, and Jimin feels tears prick at his eyes. “I love you both too. I really, really do.”

“Then let’s make it official,” Seokjin says, raising his glass again. “To love.”

“To love,” Hoseok echoes, his eyes sparkling.

Jimin raises his glass, feeling a rush of emotion. “To love.”

They clink their glasses once more, and Jimin feels a warmth spreading through him, solidifying the bond they share. In that moment, surrounded by the two people who Jimin knows with all of his heart he’s meant to love for the rest of his life, everything feels right. 

Perfect, even.

Looking down at his forearms, Jimin can faintly see the ink on his skin through his white shirt, and he can’t help but chuckle. He realizes that he had never been fate’s least favorite person. 

He must have been her favorite if he gets to feel love like this.