Yoonmin in Malta

12 - The second day

It's early in the morning and the first band members step out of the front door for a sightseeing tour of Malta's capital. The roommates, Hobi and Namjoon, sneak out of the house to visit some of the famous places that morning.

"We should stick to the classic route," advises Namjoon, who spent days researching the country and its sights before flying to Malta.

"The classic route?" informs Hobi wearily. He doesn't even need to ask what the classic route is. The bandleader would soon recite it to him like a model student.

"First we'll visit the St. John's Cathedral, then at noon we'll go to the Upper Barrakka Gardens to see the gun salutes being fired in time."

While Hobi and Namjoon make their way to the cathedral on foot, Jin persuades the tired Yoongi in the kitchen of the holiday apartment to see the city as well.

"Come on, you've been awake for hours anyway, you might as well come with me," Jin besieges the grumpy rapper.

"But only if you buy me an Iced Americano," Yoongi demands, adding, "Anything I want, as many times as I want."

Jin has no trouble agreeing to this simple condition, and so they head out into the sweltering heat.

"Do you think it's possible to fish here?" asks Jin, who discovers steps leading closer to the water at the entrance to their house.

Yoongi and Jin have developed an unusual friendship, as no two band members could be more different. Jin is the bubbly, always joking one, who is only theoretically the oldest in the group and should rather be assigned to the maknaes.

On the other hand, Yoongi is the opposite of his only hyung. However, as they shared the same room in the band's apartment for a few years, Yoongi grew fond of Jin. He doesn't really know why, but whenever Jin wants to go fishing, Yoongi fulfills his wish and goes with him.
That morning, Jin and Yoongi take note of the potential fishing spot, but set out to explore Valletta first.

Jimin and Jungkook are also the last to leave. Jungkook just didn't want to get up in the morning, no matter how many times Jimin visited him in his single room to kick him out of bed.

"It's best for me to stay in the shade the whole time," declares Jungkook, who also opted for an all-black outfit that day.

While Jimin and Jungkook search for the most authentic restaurant to try real Maltese cuisine, Hobi and Namjoon spend a typical tourist day. The classic route.
They take pictures and read background information about the history of each place, no matter how vaguely known.

Soon they reach St. John's Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Malta. While Hobi is busy taking videos of the magnificent decorations on the walls, Namjoon listens to the English audio guide and translates what he hears into Korean for Hobi. Eventually, he gives up given the amount of information he would have to translate for Hobi. So he packs up the guide and marvels with Hobi, not knowing exactly what to marvel about.

After their visit to the cathedral, the two make their way to the Upper Barrakka Gardens, as it will soon be noon. Coincidentally, they meet Yoongi and Jin, who are also on their way to the park, armed with ice cream cones, to witness the spectacular gun salute that Namjoon described upon their arrival.

Together, the group positions themselves at the front of the park's terrace to look down on the firing range. After the cannons are fired, the air fills with smoke instead of being carried away by the sea breeze.

"Whoa, that smell!", Hobi wrinkles his nose and turns away in disgust.

"Aish, it was just a firecracker!" complains Jin, who was expecting a cannonball to be fired into the bay.