Seven Seconds | jikook

Chapter 5

"So you want to make sure you stay nice and low; don't get too tense. And you're going to want to stick to skid turns. If you're carving up turns on your edges, you're going to find it a lot harder to control your speed."

Right now Jimin was having a hard time controlling his gaze where it kept wandering to Jungkook's ass. Which just so happened to be right in front of him, the instructor crouched in a typical downhill form to demonstrate.

It was the next day, and that meant it was time for Jimin's third ski lesson. Both boys had shown up early and eager, and it was finally time for Jimin to try out one of the more advanced slopes.

"Okay, I think we're ready!" Jungkook grinned widely, reaching up to pull his goggles down. "You all set?"

Jimin gave him a thumbs up, swallowing thickly to hide his nerves. This was the first time Jungkook was taking him down a proper trail. Not just the easy ones with gentle paths and few obstacles, but a real, steep, tricky downhill slope. His first in at least a year.

The only upside was that his nerves over the skiing part of this lesson were helping to combat the nerves over the Jungkook part of this lesson. When they'd parted ways last night at the bar, Jimin had been just seconds from giving in and telling Jungkook he liked him. An impromptu snowball fight with Seokjin and Namjoon however had snapped him out of it, and the two had parted ways with Jimin still a coward.

The distant cheer of his name snapped him out of his thoughts, spinning as best he could on skis to search the horizon. "Oh my god, tell me they didn't."

They did. Making their way from the ski lift was none other than Taehyung and Hoseok. "Do you know them?" Jungkook asked. Jimin groaned in answer, nodding as he tried to move faster towards the starting point.

"Those are my friends, Taehyung and Hoseok." Jungkook was watching the pair curiously, eyes following them as they slid easily over the snow.

"The Jung Hoseok, huh? They're pretty good skiers. How come they didn't give you some pointers?" Jimin froze at the question, not having expected it and unable to think of a quick reply. He'd spoken with Namjoon a bit more last night and decided he'd tell Jungkook the truth about his skiing when he told him the truth about his feelings.

"Oh, um, well, they just suck as teachers that's all," he finally settled on. Jungkook nodded, giving the pair a wave as Jimin groaned and tried to move faster.

"Come on, the last thing I need is for them to see me embarrass myself." He tried to go faster, Jungkook easily keeping pace. "You won't embarrass yourself, hyung! I think you're amazing."

What? Did he just say he thinks I'm amazing? Jimin's brain seemed to freeze at Jungkook's words, but his feet had not gotten the memo. Within seconds, his skis had crossed and tangled, sending Jimin slamming into the snow.

"Hyung!" Jungkook yelped, immediately leaning down to help Jimin up. The older boy didn't offer any assistance, just staying collapsed in the soft ground as his insides burned in embarrassment. "Or maybe I was wrong." He heard Jungkook tease. In the distance, Jimin could hear his friends laughing at him. Or maybe that's just in his head.

Jimin groaned lowly, hauling himself up to his feet. Great, he just had to do that when his friends were nearby. And right after Jungkook had complimented him too. "It's fine, just lost my focus for a second. Come on, let's get skiing."

Jimin fought down the bundle of nerves in his throat as he stared down the steep path, the snow a mess of lines where other skiers had already gone down. His heart was racing, his palms sweaty, and for once, it wasn't because of Jungkook.