Sojourn ♣ JiKook|VMin

"JJK"

-edited 2026-

Chapter Seventeen

"JJK"

•

"I asked you before to dance with me. Do you remember?" Taehyung asked softly.

Jimin smiled. "You want to dance?"

"Yeah. I prepared a playlist just for tonight," Taehyung said as he stood up to turn the volume up slightly. Jimin hadn't even realized music had been playing all along.

Taehyung walked back toward him and offered his hand. Jimin took it without hesitation.

Taehyung pulled him closer, a little too firmly, wrapping him into a tight embrace—secure, grounding, inescapable in the gentlest way. His hands settled on Jimin's waist as if they had always belonged there. Jimin's arms slid up around Taehyung's neck, fingers interlacing, unconsciously locking him in place.

They swayed slowly.

Lovers in the night
Poets tryin' to write
We don't know how to rhyme
But damn, we try...

Taehyung's grip never loosened, guiding Jimin's steps, setting the pace. Jimin followed without thinking, letting himself be led.

But all I really know
You're where I wanna go
The part of me that's you will never die...

By the time the song neared its end, Jimin had rested his head against Taehyung's shoulder, breath calm, heart unguarded.

"Jimin," Taehyung murmured, voice low and certain, "I love you so much."

Jimin lifted his head. He smiled—but it didn't quite reach his eyes. His vision blurred as tears welled up, not from sadness, but from an overwhelming rush of warmth, relief, and safety.

"I love you too," he said softly. "A lot. An awful lot."

Taehyung chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss to Jimin's cheek. "Don't cry, baby," he said fondly. "Though you still look pretty when you do."

He wiped Jimin's tears away with his thumb, lingering just a second longer than necessary.

"I'm happy," Jimin admitted quietly. "It's been a long time since I've felt this happy."

"Me too," Taehyung replied, gaze steady, unwavering. "You saved me, Jimin. You gave me a reason not to run away anymore."

The words settled heavily between them—soft, sincere, and binding.

Taehyung lifted Jimin's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, holding his gaze the entire time, as if daring him to look away. Jimin blushed but didn't.

Then Taehyung kissed his wrist. Slowly. Deliberately. His lips trailed along Jimin's forearm before he pulled him closer, their bodies colliding. Jimin felt Taehyung's warm breath against his neck and realized he was standing on his toes, clinging without meaning to.

Taehyung's mouth brushed just beneath Jimin's earlobe, teeth grazing skin, a gentle suck that made Jimin shiver. It tickled—but it felt good. Too good.

A soft moan slipped out of Jimin before he could stop himself.

Suddenly, his knees weakened. He reached for Taehyung to steady himself, his other hand knocking into a candle on the table.

The candle fell, flames catching the tablecloth instantly.

They broke apart at once.

Jimin panicked, heart racing, while Taehyung rushed to the sink, filling a glass with water and throwing it over the table without hesitation. The fire was extinguished quickly, smoke curling into the air.