sɪɴᴄᴇ ʜɪɢʜsᴄʜᴏᴏʟ ☑

50. Since High school

Jimin was walking behind Jungkook as the boy was on his way to the sports stadium. "Will you please. Leave. Me. Alone?" Jungkook reeled off, turning around and throwing his bag on the ground harshly.

"I can't," Jimin shook his head determinedly. "You have to talk to me, Jungkook. Give me something. Tell me you don't love me anymore. If there are no more feelings from your side, I won't look at you for the whole semester and transfer back to LA. But you have to talk to me." Walking closer, he picked up the bag before extending it to Jungkook.

"I hate you," Jungkook grumbled. "There, I said it. Now leave me the fuck alone!"

Jimin gripped Jungkook's arm and twisted him around. The younger was now held by the older's arms firmly.

"You aren't the same person who cared about me," the younger said, dejectedly.

"I am, Jungkook," Jimin mumbled, looking into Jungkook's eyes that he knew were on the verge of tearing up again.

"You don't really love me," Jungkook shook his head again.

"I really care about you, Jungkook. What part of me transferring school and hauling behind you isn't understandable to you? I have been trying to talk to you for weeks. I can't be patient anymore."

"Weeks?" Jungkook asked in a broken voice, grabbing onto the older's collar and shaking him. "A whole year, Hyung. I suffered for a year and you didn't care. All I wanted was for you to come back to me. But now it's convenient for you so you are here. What if your father tells you you can't see me anymore? What then?"

Jimin's neck tightened on its own, feeling the guilt and shame. "I won't lose you again," he mumbled, looking down. "Not for anyone."

"You already lost me, Hyung."

Pulling himself away, Jungkook turned on his feet and began to walk away. He clutched his bag to his chest and hung his head low.

"I went to the quiz because of you," Jimin spoke as he trodded right behind Jungkook. "I wanted you for so long, but I didn't think I deserved you. Our study sessions - I used to look forward to those, not because I wanted to study, but because I wanted to see you. I would drop other people home first when your home was right after mine so that I could spend a few extra minutes with you. I wanted you to stay away from a few people in school because I wanted to protect your innocence. When you hurt yourself, all I thought of was ways to alleviate your pain, to take some part of it."

Jungkook's legs had slowed down as he keened his ears to hear what Jimin had to say. "All I wanted to do when we started dating was to make you happy, keep you smiling, feed you everything you liked. I knew you read romance novels on rainy nights so I started watching rom-com on holidays. I wanted to become someone you craved, someone you could love and be proud of. I had high expectations from myself, but I failed and I know I hurt you over and over again. I knew you were a hopeless romantic stuck in a hook-up culture generation."

Jungkook stopped moving at once and tears now freely fell from his eyes, but he didn't look back.

"I hurt your feelings when I slept with someone while I was very well aware of my feelings for you. The decision I took, I know was stupid. I know choosing anything over you was the dumbest thing I could have ever done. But Jungkook-ah, I was scared too," Jimin's voice broke as he sniffled. "I was scared if I failed in life, how would I take your responsibility? I thought my father wouldn't accept us. I wanted to become something for you. You might think that I am making all this up now for pity. But this was my deepest fear, to lose respect in your eyes. I didn't only see you as any boy I was dating. I thought about our future. It wasn't very bright, let me tell you. If we ended up together while I had nothing to support you with, I couldn't bear to see you lead a miserable life with me. But everything is okay now. All I need is one chance, Jungkook. All I want from you is trust again. I p-promise, I w-will make you proud, baby. I will make you proud."

Jungkook turned to see Jimin crouching down while hiding his eyes behind his palm. His shoulder shook as he cried fervently, letting the pain out.

"Hyung," Jungkook's lips quivered as he called Jimin, but the older didn't look at him.

Staying in the same position, he kept crying. "Just one chance, baby."

"Hyung~" This time, Jungkook raised his voice as he whined.

Wiping his tears after stopping the sobs, Jimin tried to smile at Jungkook, stretching his lips, but they would drop back down to their original state. "Yes, baby?" He cleared his throat.

"Do you want water?" Jungkook asked, pouting now.

"Do you, baby?" Jimin's thumb rubbed the corner of Jungkook's lips to clean them. "I have banana milk in my dorm." He spoke very slowly.

Jungkook nodded, offering his palm to the older to grab. The two got up on their feet and walked back to the dormitories. Jungkook knew that Jimin took a room near his own, but it was the first time that he went inside and looked around. Seeing his own grinning picture on the wall made him blush and also want to cry. He knew that he wasn't the only one in the relationship with such intense and deep feelings.

"Sit here," Jimin took Jungkook's bag and made him sit on the bed. Jungkook looked at the older walk to the fridge and take out a bottle and a straw.

He accepted the cool liquid and put the straw in, slowly taking a drag of it. Jimin smiled involuntarily and sat beside him. Jungkook gulped the liquid with difficulty when he sniffed Jimin's cologne. It was something different, stronger, but he liked it.

When the bubbles at the bottom of the bottle made gurgling sounds, Jimin advanced his hands towards the empty bottle and Jungkook let it go with difficulty. Chucking the bottle in the trashcan from the bed, which Jungkook's eyes followed, Jimin held his hands. "Why did you stop me from crying?" He smiled as he asked softly.

"I didn't. I asked if you wanted water," Jungkook pouted defensively as his heart went off like a machine gun.

"Forgive me now?" Jimin knelt down in front of the bed, looking up at Jungkook's red nose with a soft smile.

"I- I want to give you one more chance, but," Jungkook pointed his finger, putting a momentary stop to Jimin's beaming smile. "You have to do as I say."

"Gladly," Jimin blinked softly at the boy, feeling relief hitting him left, right, and center.

"You can't talk to that Suzi. I don't like her. She flirts with you."

"What? No..." Jimin creased his brows. "She doesn't flirt with me. She is just nice."

Jungkook now glared at Jimin.

"Okay, I will tell the world that you are my boyfriend."

Jungkook's eyes averted down to his lap as he blushed. "And I love my boyfriend," Jimin confessed, making the teen glance at him. "I love you, Jungkook. I am in love with you since high school."

The boy smiled sadly. "You don't get the exit this time, Hyung. I am warning you. I can't take any more pain."

Getting up, Jimin got on his feet and pulled Jungkook with him. "Never again," he mumbled. "I am in love with you deeply. I won't ever hurt you, except of course when we make love."

Jimin groaned when Jungkook punched him and then he cooed when the teen got into his arms. An immense sense of protection and care washed over Jimin. He needed to take care of his little one, make him happy, do crazy things with him, live their youth together, and if everything went well, for which Jimin was sure that it would, spend the rest of the age together too.

"I have figured it all out now. If you are with me, Jungkook... I can stay strong. I can attend my dance classes at night and study my ass off here during the days. I just need you in my arms. I am so sorry, baby. There is nothing and no one above you, and it never was. I love you, doll."

"I forgive you. I love you too, Hyung," Jungkook answered with a big smile as the last bit of tears from the corner of his eyes rolled down, absorbing into Jimin's expensive button-up shirt.

Jimin tightened the grip around Jungkook's tiny waist, breathing in his silky and soft hair, feeling as though he had an emotional and mental orgasm. "Can Hyung kiss you?"

"Mm," Jungkook nodded on Jimin's shoulder.

12 May 2022