LOVE ALARM

Chapter 5

♡ A year after the release of Love Alarm ♡

Taehyung was watching School 2013, listening to Jimin rant about how black-haired Lee Jong Suk was much sexier than blonde-haired Lee Jong Suk for the hundredth time. Taehyung said nothing because he agreed with Jimin; instead, he wondered if any old ladies would consider moving in with Jimin to clean up after him because he was about to take matters into his own hands.

"And it's like, dark hair is so sexy," Jimin said for the thousandth and the fifth time that evening. "Like yours," he added for the first time, startling Taehyung from his thoughts of cleaning up after Jimin had fallen asleep and couldn't wake him up. Jimin leaned heavily into Taehyung's personal space, relying on Taehyung's shoulder and chest for support, seemingly unaware that he had just set his blood on fire. "Your hair is so dark and beautiful!" Jimin reached up and stroked Taehyung's hair, effectively stopping his heart.

He, on the other hand, dismissed those thoughts as wishful thinking on his part. He'd seen Jimin being handsy and affectionate with everyone, so he reasoned that these kinds of advances were just the way Jimin was and weren't necessarily indicative of a desire for a romantic connection.

"Your hair is also dark," Taehyung said, hoping Jimin didn't notice when his voice shook.

"Do you think my hair is pretty, Taehyung?"

Taehyung was fairly certain that his brain was making that horrible phone alarm sound loud enough for Jimin to hear, but he didn't react.

"Taehyung, you must respond to my question!"

"What is your question?" He inquired, his voice cracking.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

That was a different question than the one before.

He hummed, certain that answering would cause him to spontaneously combust.

Jimin huffed and returned to the movie, plopping down next to Taehyung and settling in. Taehyung concentrated on keeping his soul in his body, making no attempt to withdraw. He was overcome with a vivid image of himself wrapping an arm around Jimin's waist and leaning forward to kiss him, and he cursed Namjoon's recent attempts to push the two of them together for the sudden influx of such thoughts. He usually had a good handle on them, only succumbing to such fantasies in his dreams where he had no control.

He tried to tell himself, "This is enough." The amount of love and attention he was getting from Jimin now was already more than he thought he'd ever get as a child, so asking for more was selfish. The way Jimin's shoulders relaxed when his gaze fell on him had to be enough to keep him going.

Taehyung opened his phone in a mindless motion and flicked to the final home screen to stare at the only app there: Love Alarm. He'd downloaded it in a fit of weakness six months ago when Jimin sighed wistfully at a Love Alarm commercial that had played while they were drinking boba in the mall's food court.

Before locking the phone and placing it face down on the table, his finger had hovered above the activation button for several long seconds.

What if Jimin didn't reciprocate his feelings?

What if he lost these precious moments?

He moved the app to the farthest screen on his phone and vowed never to use it again.

He didn't get rid of it.

"Jimin, have you ever rung someone else's Love Alarm?" Taehyung's subconscious mind spoke up.
Jimin sat up from Taehyung's shoulder and frowned at him, glancing down at his phone screen before he could lock it. Unfortunately, Jimin's quick wit and sharp eyes worked against him here, and Jimin recognised the icon right away, exclaiming loudly.

"Did you download it? place it on!"

Jimin lunged for the phone, and Taehyung jerked it away, holding it as far over the arm of the sofa as his arms could reach. Unfortunately for him, their arms were both capable of reaching the same distance, and Jimin had no regard for personal space. Jimin climbed onto Taehyung's lap, pressing their entire bodies together as he reached for the smartphone, laughing loudly in Taehyung's ear.

"Not at all!"

"You kept me waiting for months! I'm curious to see who Taehyung will ring the Love Alarm for!"

Jimin finally got his hands on Taehyung's phone and ignored his protests, quickly opening the app and tapping once on the little grey heart. Two chirping sounds echoed throughout the room after half a heartbeat of silence. Both men were frozen. They all looked away from the message on Taehyung's screen. Jimin's phone, which had just lit up with the same notification, had 'one person within a 10m radius loves you'.

Jimin's breathing became laboured. Taehyung's heart stopped beating.

"You-" Jimin exhaled, his cheeks flushed, the beginnings of a smile forming on his face as the realisation began to sink in.

Jimin wasted no time in closing the small gap between their lips and kissing him, leaving him breathless. He had his hands entwined in Jimin's hair, drawing him in as close as he could.

Taehyung assumed he had dozed off during the drama and that this was another of his dreams, but no dream could have had this much emotion. He bit Jimin's plump lip, and the groan that followed pushed every thought he'd ever had out of his head.