A Caged Bird | Minjoon

51

a few weeks had passed and jimin and namjoon had spent the time processing everything and talking through what they were going to do the following year. namjoon had talked to sung-ha about the offer as well, which shocked him at first, but he encouraged namjoon to do whatever felt right for him. they had a few more weeks left of classes and they were both working hard, ready to have the best summer together.

jimin didn't want namjoon to go away to college, but he encouraged him to do it anyways. namjoon was the only person jimin had ever been in love with, so of course, it would be hard. but at the end of the day, he wanted what was best for him. he wanted namjoon to be happy more than anything and if going to a new school would make him happy in the long run, then that's what he wanted for him.

besides, he and namjoon had been talking a lot about the possibility of jimin also transferring to a school in seoul. the chances of him getting into namjoon's school were pretty much nonexistent, but at least a school close would be good. somewhere they could easily drive to see one another.

and jimin held onto that hope. he held onto that option because it was really all he had at the moment.

jimin didn't know all the answers- he didn't know what he would do if he didn't see namjoon every day anymore. but he knew one thing for sure- he and namjoon would be fine. they would spend the whole summer together, make it the most amazing thing ever, and when the time came for namjoon to go off to school they would figure it out. the two of them would be fine... it's not like they would break up or anything. if jimin couldn't figure out a way to hop on a plane and go with him by the time he had to leave, then they would have to try out long-distance. that's what they would have to do.

"oh! and an amusement park! that sounds like fun, doesn't it?" jimin said, smiling.

the two boys had been at the café for a few hours working on their finals homework and studying, but they got distracted when they decided to start talking about all the fun things they would do over the summer.

"it does," namjoon said, smiling back, "i'll add it."

the two of them had gotten so far into their fantasies that they decided to make a list of the fun things they would do over the summer, scribbling their ideas into a page in the back of namjoon's poetry journal with some of jimin's vibrant highlighters.

"maybe a fancy hotel would be fun," jimin said, thinking about it, "we don't have to go far, but just staying in a hotel anywhere would be nice."

namjoon nodded.

"maybe we could do that for my birthday in a few weeks," jimin said, lighting up at the idea, "i didn't really make any plans yet."

namjoon nodded.

"that would be amazing," namjoon said, "but what about your mom? i'm sure she wants to see you on your nineteenth birthday, don't you?"

jimin sighed.

"yeah, that's true. maybe we could drive up and see her before and see sung-ha for a bit, too. then at night we could check in... stay for a few days," jimin said, with a small little smirk on his face.

namjoon thought about it, then immediately headed to add it to the list.

"i feel like we'll need to get jobs or something," namjoon said, with a chuckle, "i don't think we'll be able to afford all this on our own." 

jimin shook his head, pouting.

"joonie, we can't get jobs! it's gonna be a fun summer. just you and me. we won't have any time off if we're working," jimin said, "plus my mom will give me money. i'll just pay for you."

namjoon sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

"i don't want you just paying for me all the time," namjoon said, "how about i just work once or twice a week? you can even hang out wherever i work during my hours if you want."

jimin just pouted.

"well... where would you apply?"

namjoon thought about it for a moment, then replied.

"you remember that little strip of stores that's close to my house? it has that little shop i got your sweater at."

jimin nodded, smiling a bit, before moving his hand to rub the soft material of the pink sweater he had on.

"maybe there? it's a nice place. and i remember the lady there saying it was hard running the place by herself."

jimin nodded.

"okay..," he said, "but i wanna apply, too. i want to work together."

namjoon smiled.

"okay," he said, "we'll work together... hang out together every day... check off our list items. it will be great."

jimin nodded in agreement.

"oh! i have something else for the list! maybe we could go horseback riding, too. i've always wanted to do that."

namjoon agreed, quickly adding it to the list.

"okay, we've got ten things now. that's probably all we can manage in a few months."

jimin nodded, not being able to stop smiling.

"i'm so excited. this... this will be great. i love spending time with you."

namjoon blushed a bit, twisting the promise ring on his finger before looking up at jimin.

"i do, too. i wish we could all the time."

"well, pretty soon we'll be able to. we'll have three months of fun. no responsibilities. no rules. just you and me."

namjoon half-smiled, with a nod.

"yeah, i mean... i just wish it could... stay like that."

namjoon looked distressed and jimin quickly shut it down.

"namjoon, it will always be like that. maybe next year will be hard but we're gonna get through it," jimin said, reaching across the table to lace his fingers with namjoon's, "we're gonna make it work, joon. you know we will. i'll find a way to come with you. or to see you really often or something. we'll figure it out."

namjoon nodded.

"you're right. and we have all summer. we don't need to worry about it now," joon said, cheering up.

"right," jimin said, before looking over to the café counter and making eye contact with hoseok.

"hoseok, refill!"

jimin shook his empty mug of hot chocolate, signaling that he wanted more.

namjoon busted out a laugh at that, watching hoseok smile, and quickly start making jimin's drink.

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y'all thought i was kidding when i said 6 months jxjdnxjdhd

WRITERS BLOCK IS REAAALLL

but if anyone is still reading this - thank u sm <3 i have the rest of the book planned so hopefully i can update more often now!