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Park Jimin had no idea what went on every Friday at Health class.
You couldn't blame him. Other than the fact that health class was boring as hell, it was the last period before the weekend and Jimin had lots to think about. For example, by now there probably was little to no food in the apartment and he had to go grocery shopping later so he and Taehyung didn't starve. Also, he had to finish that video game he started last month and call his mom so she doesn't worry about him. Other than that, Park Jimin did nothing with his weekend.
Actually, the main reason why he was failing Health was because he couldn't really stare at anything other than Min Yoongi from one seat away, who always had his eyes idly half lidded in that sexy-cute way only he knew how, and his thumb was always pushing in the middle of his pink bottom lip, cheek resting on his palm and Oh God Oh God Oh God He's So Hot.
It was safe to say that above all, Jimin was Min Yoongi trash. This was the only class he had with him and if Jimin ever looked away, he might miss the chance when Yoongi finally looks back. Then they'll feel the instant powerful attraction and Taylor Swift will start playing softly in the background.
That's how it was supposed to work, and Jimin swears the only thing holding their eternity forever back was the fact that Min Yoongi never, not even once, looked at Jimin.
Until one day, he finally did.
'We were both young when I first saw you'--
"Park Jimin!"
"What?" He tears his eyes away from Yoongi's, who's expression looked more annoyed than love-struck, and glued them on the teacher towering over him. A sack then lands on Jimin's table with a heavy bang and a white flour cloud dancing in the air below his face. He had never been more confused holding a sack of flour in a class he thought was primarily about human genitalia.
"Since both you and Min Yoongi were the only ones not actively participating in today's enjoyable discussion, I'm pairing the both of you together."
"Great!" Jimin hears the angels singing in his ears, because this was his chance! He was finally going to be with Min Yoongi, and then they would fall in love and grow old together and it was all too perfect. He stops. "Sorry, but pairing us for what?"
"Must I repeat everything for you, Park Jimin?" The teacher rolls his eyes, slowly making his way back to the lectern. "From now to the last week before your graduation, that sack is now your beloved child and you two will protect it with your life. Otherwise, I'm not signing your graduation clearance. Clear?"
Ecstatically nodding, Jimin begins to cradle the two pound sack. From now on, this mass of wheat was his and Yoongi's. He was convinced his chest would explode from the happiness overwhelming him.
When the class was dismissed, all that was left in the room was Park Jimin, a sack of flour, Min Yoongi slowly walking towards him and the faint sound of Taylor Swift.
'We were both young when I first saw you'--
"You're taking care of the thing on your own though, right?"
"Eh?"
This was not at all what Jimin expected Yoongi would be saying, but he was more surprised by the fact that Min Yoongi did not look the least bit in love with him. He was sure he felt something particularly strong between them, but Yoongi looked the same way he did in Health class; handsome, but painfully detached. The boy shrugged at Jimin, looking up at the ceiling. "You know. I have plans a lot, and no time at all to take care of a stupid sack of wheat."
Jimin is slightly hurt. Disappointment comes in tsunamis over Jimin's stomach and he wants to badly to grab Yoongi and tell him not to leave him alone in this. Although, due to his being a relatively normal human being with dignity and shame, 'This is our child, how could you?' comes out as a nod. Pursing his lips into a closed smile, Yoongi offers Jimin nothing but a pat on the shoulder before turning around and officially leaving Jimin to be a single parent.
"Wait!" Jimin calls out to him, and runs out the room in the most cliched afternoon drama-esque way he believed he deserved. Yoongi stops and turns with his hands in his pocket and his backpack strap hanging off one shoulder.
"What?"
"What..." Suddenly Jimin realizes this wasn't all a drama and his cheeks were burning up. He mentally scolds himself. This was the worst time in the world to slowly transform into the human torch. "What do you want to name the child-- Sack. The.. yeah."
A passerby stares at the two like they were from another planet and Yoongi embarrassingly sighs. "I don't know. Name it... uh... Suga or Flowa or something."
And as he walks away so quickly he almost leaves behind tracks of fire, Jimin looked worriedly down at his newly beloved Sugar Flower and decides to be satisfied with the fact that Yoongi had (kind of) named it.
--
"You're being too dramatic."
"Taehyung, I called to ask if you wanted cheese or butter for the popcorn."
"Ch'yeah. That was before you turned this supposed one minute phone call into a thirty minute discussion about your single parenthood to a sack of fucking flour."
"Cheese it is."
Alone in the aisle, Jimin balanced his cellphone in between his ear and shoulder while dumping six packs of microwave popcorn in the basket. A part of him wanted to strangle his roommate over the phone, but he reminds himself that aside from it not being physically possible, he needed someone to split rent with. He also needed to buy baby stuff for the project, which he knew absolutely nothing about. He was hoping Taehyung knew better, but as usual, his best friend was the reigning king of swearing at him for no apparent reason.
"And it's not that I have to take care of Sugar Flower myself for a week--"
"Sugar Flower? You gave it a name?"
"--It's that I was expecting Yoongi to do it with me."
Jimin felt absolutely stupid carrying a two pound sack of flour around town, but he couldn't leave it alone in fear it would break or something would happen and Jimin knew he had to pass Health with or without Yoongi.
"Ahhhh. That's the guy you've been wanting to bang, right?"
"Oh my God."
"Yeah, I don't think someone like Min Yoongi would get turned on by practiced parenthood."
"I'm hanging up on you." Jimin rolled his eyes, making his way to the shortest basket line.
"Take care going home, you bastard. You have the food."
"Ah, yes. What would you do without me, Kim Taehyung?"
"Starve, probably."
Putting his phone in his pocket, Jimin put all the canned goods up in the register first, followed by the extreme mass of instant ramyun and snacks. The sound of all of them going through the scanner rang continuously as Jimin balanced Sugar Flower on his arm while grabbing bills from his wallet.
"How much now?" He leafed through the bills and looked for smaller ones. Oddly, the cashier was quiet.
"Uh," A familiar voice said. "The flour, please."
Jimin looked up and held the sack tighter. The cashier has dark hair and eyes that stared at him like he was a whole different specimen, hands outstretched to grab sweet Sugar Flower. "Hey, I know you from somewhere. You go to my school, right? You're a sophomore?"
"Yeah," He mutters. "Now give me the flour."
"And don't you also live in my apartment building? How come I don't see you working here every time I go grocery shopping?" Jimin reads the boy's nametag. 'Jeon Jungkook'. Seeing him closer, Jungkook didn't actually look too bad. Not that Jimin had found him ugly before, just that now, he was really, inexplicably attractive and he didn't know why. Maybe he would look better if he wasn't looking at Jimin like he was sick in the head?
"I had a different shift today. Give me the flour."
"We never really talked, so I'm sorry I didn't recognize--"
"Look, man, just give me the flour." Jungkook says louder, stopping Jimin mid-sentence. The latter then proceeds to move the sack an inch farther in a mad protective gesture.
"Look, Jungkook, this isn't just a sack of flour." He holds the sack right in-front of the cashier's confused a slightly frustrated face. "This is Sugar Flower."
"...What."
Jimin blinks. "Point is, it's mine. It's not from the grocery."
Jungkook doesn't look entirely convinced. "If I were you trying to smuggle a sack of plain flour out of this place, I would just give up and pay for it rather than give it some bullshit name like Sugar Flower just so you can say it's yours."
"But it is." Jimin chuckles, trying to remain calm out of the whole situation. "I-I walked in with it."
"Dude, if you don't give it up, I'm calling security."
"But it is mine!" Jimin argued, although the look on Jungkook's face stayed the same; a mix of confusion and horror. "Like, I'm not even supposed to be calling it a sack of flour."
"What are you supposed to be calling it then?"
"My child."
"Security!"
--
After a full hour of trying to convince a room full of security guards and a manager that he did not steal a sack of flour and attempt to get away with it, they believe him after seeing the security tape of him walking in with it cradled on his right arm. On the upside, he was given the go to head home. On the downside, they sent him off like he was deranged, which he didn't blame them for. He had been protectively calling the sack his child for panicked lack of better word, and telling them he was in high school and it was a project would have made everyone's lives a whole lot easier.
Heading down from the manager's office upstairs, Jimin sees someone else taking Jungkook's register and the younger boy removing his apron, collecting his things and waving the other guy goodbye. Walking fast, Jimin waves to the boy and when Jungkook notices, he walks faster.
"Hey! Jungkook!" He calls out by the time both of them were outside on the streets. The cashier stops in his place and turns to walk back to Jimin.
"What do you want, weird flour senior?"
"I should explain." Jimin started. "Hi, I'm Park Jimin. And.. And you're Jeon Jungkook right? You dance at school right? You're really good-- Anyway, we had this project in Health, and these are mock children. I'm sorry I came off as weird, or, you know, insane."
"Uh huh." Jungkook nodded. Jimin stares at him and tries to control his word vomit by swallowing as much saliva and oxygen as possible. There's a silence before Jungkook exhales and his shoulders drop a little, making Jimin more relieved than anything. "Thanks for explaining. I thought I would have to live with the fact that my next door neighbor was emotionally attached to a bag of flour."
"You live right next door?" Jimin's eyes widened. "I never noticed."
"Yeah, you don't really go out. I just saw you asleep in the hall in-front of your door once."
Jimin looked down, face burning with embarrassment. "Oh, that's when my roommate locked me out that one time. Have you met him? He's terrible, but he's my best friend."
To his surprise, Jungkook laughs softly. "No, I haven't. Don't think I plan to."
"Oh, but you should." Jimin doesn't know what he's doing or why he's speaking without thinking, but his words got in the way of his thoughts and tumbled freely onto his shirt. "Have dinner over! You can help me with this baby stuff. I know nothing about it, and my partner kind of bailed."
Jimin immediately regrets saying that, because Jungkook looks like he's emotionally backed away again. He's about to apologize profusely, but Jungkook suddenly grins like he's never seen before and he's rendered speechless.
"Single parent, then?" Jungkook joked, making Jimin groan in half relief and look up with a smile playfully laying itself on his lips.
"Finally. Somebody who gets it."
--
The sun was starting to set and people were beginning to go back home. Counter-flowing in-between the mass of bodies headed at the bus stop's direction, the two go wayward to a small convenience store near the apartment when Jimin realizes he forgot to buy the things he needed to raise the sack of flour. They're greeted by a stock lady who looks enthusiastic until she sees the sack of flour Jimin is hugging.
"What baby stuff could a sack of flour need, anyway?" Jungkook asks while grabbing a basket on the side.
"According to the guideline, we have to decorate it. Other than that, diapers. We have to put a diaper on Sugar Flower."
"Can't wait to see how people will react when they see you cradling a sack in diapers."
"Who knows? They might just find it endearing."
Rushing to the back of the store, they stand together in debate and scare other mothers nearby for thirty minutes, Jimin holding a pair of sunflower diapers and Jungkook pointing at the plain, cheap ones.
"I'm saying it's cute." Jimin pushes his lips together, a small involuntary pout. "It's name is Sugar Flower. Hello? Sunflowers? Makes sense?"
"Jimin, what would make more sense is buying cheap ones for a sack of flour. It's like you get off on embarrassing yourself, really."
Jimin pauses to look at the two packs and puts the sunflower ones back, grabbing the cheaper and turning his back to Jungkook with a stubborn grumble. "You really have no respect for your elders, do you?"
"I'm just helping you make good decisions."
Turning to exit the aisle, Jimin's heart stops at the sight of a figure behind the shelves which he knew well, because he spent half and hour every Friday staring at it. His mind goes into flight mode, all senses freezing and suddenly, Park Jimin is unable to move and he'd forgotten the basic human function of breathing. How stupid would Jimin look once Min Yoongi saw he was so invested in their sack of flour? Jimin wasn't willing to find out.
"Hey why'd you stop?" Jungkook asks, and Jimin quickly turns and puts his hand over Jungkook's mouth, skin cold like he'd seen a ghost.
"There's somebody in the other aisle." He whispers.
Back pinned to the shelf and mouth now tightly kissed against Jimin's palm, Jungkook could only move his eyebrows.
"It's the father."
"Uh, Jimin?"
"Yoongi!" Jimin turns around in the least graceful way possible, dropping the pack of diapers and turning crimson. Yoongi stood still on the other side of the aisle, balancing several bags of chips in his hands.
"You dropped your... uh..."
"Yeah," Jimin chuckles nervously, turning around to grab the diapers and sees that Jungkook has fled. Mentally cursing the neighbor boy, Jimin had never wanted to drop dead more than he did in this moment.
"Look, I'm going to go straight to the point, Jimin." Yoongi comes nearer, and Jimin invents a whole new shade of red with his skin.
"Yeah?"
"I know you really like me. I'm not blind. But it's not going to work, because I don't like you that way. We're really different, and if you saw this thing as a mean to get the both of us closer together, it isn't. I'm sorry if I let you down by not wanting to be a part of it, but I really don't. Not with you."
Park Jimin had given up on trying to find a decent enough reply to that degree of rejection, because he now had to work harder on trying not to cry of embarrassment. Yoongi stared at him with so much awkward pity, it was too much for Jimin to deal with and he just couldn't do anything. In-fact, it was so silent, Yoongi could probably hear how many pieces Jimin's heart had shattered.
"Uh, babe?" An awkward voice suddenly calls from the other end of the aisle and Jimin suddenly eradicates the need to cry because what the hell was Jeon Jungkook doing?
"I got the... uh... bottles. Did you need bottles."
"No." Jimin looks back to see Jungkook with an adorable crooked smile. "No I didn't."
"Oh. Who knew baby flower sacks didn't need bottles?" Trotting lamely to the other end of the aisle, Jungkook makes a quick gesture and wraps his arm around Jimin's shoulder. "And you are?"
"Hi. Min Yoongi. I was just talking about the sack. We're kind of partners." Yoongi spoke slowly, trying to analyze the odd situation. "You're Jeon Jungkook, right? The dancer?"
"Yeah." Jungkook smiles obnoxiously. "Also, Park Jimin's boyfriend. And I can assure you, man, he's not in love with you. Excuse us,"
Taken aback, Yoongi nods and turns the other way, fleeting from the situation. Jungkook kept his arm on Jimin and despite the completely outlandish stare from the cashier, he didn't remove it in hopes Min Yoongi was still staring. Feeling so many waves of indescribable emotion, the gratefulness for Jungkook's existence rose above them all and he swore he could kiss the disrespectful neighbor boy right then and there.
"Oh God." Jimin sighs, smiling at Jungkook once they left the store. "That was... That was wild."
"I know! What a jerk." Jungkook muttered, rolling his eyes. "Bailing on you and calling you out for liking him? What kind of person!"
"Jungkook, I don't like him." Jimin looked down at the street heading to their apartment building.
"Then why did you look like you were going to burst into a ball of flames from within?" Jungkook teased, earning him a backhand hit on the stomach. The sun was gone now, and streetlamps lit most of the scenery.
"I mean," Jimin looked at Jungkook, then back away. "I mean not anymore, obviously."
"Good. It's so annoying you just agreed to do this yourself."
"It's so annoying you're taller than me. You're a sophomore!"
Jungkook laughs. "Is that my fault?"
Before they both expect, they were already approaching the building, and before they even see the front door, they see a very cold Taehyung flailing by the stairs at the sight of them.
"Park Jimin you little shit! You weren't answering your phone! Twenty missed calls, Park Jimin, Twenty!"
"Sorry, Taetae, it's a long story." Jimin laughs and stops with Jungkook in-front of the worried guy, who's frown turned into a smug grin. Jimin then realized the sight Taehyung saw; Jungkook, tall handsome Jungkook, holding half of Jimin's groceries and a convenience store bag. Also to be noted, arm still not taken off from around Jimin's shoulders.
"Uh, you still.... uh," Jimin helps Jungkook notice by nudging his waist with his elbow. Jungkook nods like a bobble head dog on a dashboard before he finally notices what Taehyun was staring at and immediately removing all bodily contact from Jimin, quickly biting his lower lip and taking an inch step away.
"Mind telling me this... long story?" Taehyung grinned widely at the both of them.
"Well, first you need to know that this guy beside me is Jeon Jungkook, our next door neighbor, and this..." Jimin holds the sack of flour up.
"This is Sugar Flower."