Chapter Text
It wasn’t everyday Jimin saw his parents transfer their injuries from one to another. It wasn’t as if they never did, after all they were sickly sweet towards each other. He’d try not to cringe whenever they’d go to all the trouble and take a paper cut and put it on their own bodies, further saying lines close to ‘I don’t want to see you hurt’ or ‘I would rather suffer in your place’ .
‘Honestly,’ Jimin thought. “It’s just a paper cut.”
His mother ignored the comment and ushers him towards her. “Jimin-ah, when will you find your own?”
He shrugs and glances down at the compass on his wrist. No change, just as clear as it was yesterday, needle still turning every now and then. Really, Jimin hadn’t given all his heart in finding his soulmate.
He’d thought about it though, were they older than him or younger, was is a girl or boy? Did they really want to be found anyway?
He’d chased after the person before, when the needle slowed and the black of the compass and needle’s outline became a shade of grey, as if it were ink on skin that had been washed off slightly. The person on the opposite end seemed to notice too and Jimin had no doubt he was being avoided when the tattoo on his wrist hadn’t changed colour at all as he jogged at the pointed direction.
His thirteen year old self was convinced that the only thing he’d ever think having a soulmate would prove useful was the ability to transfer the pain or trauma to yourself from your partner. However, Jimin didn’t think he’d have the chance to do something as good as helping someone in particular unless his soulmate came to him .
_________
First day of high school and the person at the other end of his ‘red string of fate’, as Taehyung had phrased, decided to play hide and seek within the school grounds. Though Jimin hadn’t ever gone over the thought of actually getting up from his ass and finding his soulmate, he was sure they were in the same school and possibly running a marathon in the halls of the buildings. ‘Might as well beat an apology out of them if I see them today.’
Jimin’s wrist felt hot and itched as it constantly changed colour shades and faded every break.
“I swear to God, if he or she keeps walking past me every single time I’ll tear my arm off.” Taehyung heard Jimin curse as he poured water over his limb.
Having missed their bus, Jimin and Taehyung walked home instead of waiting for the next one and all the latter heard from Jimin was complaints.
“Jimin if you keep that face up you’ll get wrinkles before you turn thirty.”
“Tae, seriously?” He frowned harder at his friend and proceeded to poke at Taehyung’s side. “Were you listening or looking at my face?”
“Can’t lie to you so I was looking at you face.”
He replied with barely any emotion hinted and Jimin didn’t know whether or not he should be take seriously. “And now at your wrist- and behind you.” he added quickly.
Jimin looked down briefly at his arm and flicked his head back up to see another student turn round a corner into the residential area.
“No, Tae, we aren’t gonna follow him."
The other boy’s face fell and whined at the older, uttering something about a spy mission.
“What's the point in spying if he know’s I’m close by? And it’s the same thing as harassment if we’re caught stalking someone.”
Taehyung looks thoughtful for a moment and decides to accept the facts straight away.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
_________
Several weeks into Jimin’s encounter with his ‘fated one’, once again noted by Taehyung and Jungkook, he found himself oddly attached to him having never spoken to each other.
Min Yoongi, third year and senior of his school.
“It’s not stalking.” he muttered to himself. “He’s known because he’s friends with the student president. And the student president is Tae’s older brother. And Tae’s never told me anything about this until two weeks ago because he recognised who he was planning to but didn’t follow home that day.”
“It’s nice that you’re revising everything and organising your thoughts with purpose and denial, but the bus is here.” Taehyung says, voice laced with sarcasm.
Jimin sucks in a breath and lets out an annoyed sigh, once again in his own world and train of thoughts as he steps into the transport and seats himself without knowing.
His phone vibrates in his pocket and reminds him where he currently was, ‘Right, the bus.’
Unlocking his phone, he opens and reads the message notification.
From Tae
hyung(i'
mstillolder):
i thought you said you’d make a move if he came to you
7:46 am
why are you sitting next to him
7:46 am
Jimin stared at the device in his hands and darts his eyes to his left before shuffling his sweater sleeve up to find his right arm clean from the black tattoo he’d seen this morning. He sits awkwardly in his seat and jumps when he hears a ‘hey’ from beside him.
Despite the loud chatter in the bus, it was clear to Jimin that several students behind him had stopped talking, overhearing Yoongi greet someone and murmuring to each other about being antisocial and something about a fight.
“Hey, I’m Jimin, the one you avoided two years ago and tortured on my first day of high school,” he watches as the older boy give him a blank stare and a raised brow and continues as he takes Yoongi’s hand in both of his. “But I’ll forgive you.”
‘Even if you don’t look sorry.’
Jimin begins to feel stinging on the right of his forehead and hands as the bruise and grazes on the older boy’s face disappear.
Yoongi’s blank stare had morphed into one of shock and inspected his free hand. No cuts. He looked back up to the boy whose hands were holding his only to find him smiling softly at him.
Jimin sees Yoongi frown hard in their moment of silence and looks for more reaction in his expression.
“I can’t take it back.” he hears Yoongi deadpan, looking up again to see the freshman.
“You can’t take it back.” Jimin repeats knowingly.
“No shit.”