Yoonmin in Malta

15 - When Yoongi leaves (I)

With a smile on his lips, Yoongi awakens to the lingering scent of Jimin. The sweet fragrance fills his senses as he inhales deeply, savoring the memory of their night together. As he stretches out his arm, hoping to pull Jimin closer, he realizes that the bed is empty and Jimin is no longer there.

Jimins warmth that had enveloped him last night is now gone, leaving him feeling cold and exposed. His heart aches as he remembers the way Jimin had fit so perfectly against him, and he longs to hold him again.

As he sits up in bed, Yoongi's eyes scan the room, searching for any sign of Jimin. The silence is deafening, but he can hear the sound of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance, the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.

---

"Aish, my puffy face is killing me," Yoongi mumbles, sitting in the back seat of the rented van, watching his own face in the rearview mirror. Hobi, who is driving the car, laughs happily at him, but for Yoongi it's a malicious sound. He is secretly glad that he didn't have to appear before Jimin's beautiful eyes this morning. Yesterday's visit to the pub has left its ugly traces.

The vacation program for the third day includes water sports on Gozo, the second largest of Malta's three islands. Taehyung has also announced that he will be joining them in Gozo as he was able to convince his manager to drive him directly from the airport to the island.

The band have once again split up into their two rental cars and in the usual summer weather, they make their way to the ferry that will take them from the main island to Gozo.

Jungkook is driving in the other car and Jimin is assisting him from the passenger seat as a human navigator. There is no way that Jimin would leave this job to Namjoon, who is sitting in the back seat for a reason. But even Jimin has to admit defeat when they take the wrong exit at a roundabout and there is no chance to turn around soon. Thus, they get further and further away from their friends' car, which is about to reach the ferry.

"Where are the others now?" Yoongi asks the group, pulling out his smartphone to call Namjoon.

But when he sees the message he just received, he forgets his plan again. There has been a recent death in his family and he is supposed to return to Korea to attend the funeral. He would have to leave Malta early, that's for sure.

He is not going to tell his friends yet. Before that, he has to think about how to tell Jimin the news.

How will Jimin react to his early departure? Will he even care?

Yoongi is still not sure what's going on between them. They certainly spent an incredible night together, but they didn't talk about the meaning of it – and the prospect of this conversation scares the hell out of Yoongi.

If he wasn't so damned bad at being open about his feelings, the whole thing wouldn't be so hard. This infamous rollercoaster of emotions just makes him tired.

Meanwhile, the car with Jungkook, Namjoon, and Jimin has also arrived at the ferry terminal. Yoongi, however, is lost in thought, trying to come up with the right words to tell Jimin that he has to leave.

During the boat passage, Yoongi is observed by Jimin, who tries to figure out why he is acting so absent-minded. He noticed that Yoongi avoided his gaze that morning and kept as far away from Jimin as possible.

Jimin did not expect this. Quite the opposite, he was afraid that Yoongi would get too close to him so that they would have to explain themselves to the others – but that didn't happen.

And instead of being happy about it, it irritates him, but even more, it hurts him.

Jimin remembers every moment of their night together. The way Yoongi's lips felt on his skin, the way his hands explored his body. It was unforgettable. But now Yoongi acts distant, as if it never happened.

Does he regret what happened between them? Was it just a mistake made while being drunk? Jimin can't help but wonder, he knows that the way Yoongi looked at him last night, his eyes dark with desire, wasn't just the alcohol talking.

When he remembers the way Yoongi's restless hands had roamed over his body, Jimin's cheeks flush with heat. He knows that it's wrong to be turned on by someone's intoxication, but he can't help the way his body reacts to that thought.

However, now that Yoongi is acting distant and avoiding him, he hates the thought of Yoongi regretting what happened between them.

---

Eventually, the band arrives on time at the diving school, where a snorkeling tour has been booked for them. Patiently, they sit down in the training room and wait for the obligatory briefing.

"While we're waiting, there's something I want to tell you," Yoongi suddenly speaks with a serious look to the ground while he continues to speak.

"I got a message on the way here. There's a death in the family and I have to fly back today to be at the funeral in time."

The room falls silent ​and Yoongi can feel everyone's eyes on him. He avoids looking at Jimin, knowing that he can't bear to see the disappointment in his eyes.

"I've already booked my plane ticket. I'm going back with the manager who's bringing Taehyung here later," Yoongi continues.

"We can go snorkeling together next time. Don't worry about it," Jin breaks the suffocating silence and the topic is off the table, just as Yoongi would prefer.

After the safety briefing and a snorkeling crash course in the dive school's practice pool, the friends find a restaurant and eagerly await Taehyung's arrival. Only after lunch will they start the actual snorkeling tour in one of Gozo's bays.

They've only been sitting on the restaurant's terrace for a few minutes when Taehyung emerges from the crowd and walks over to their table with a big grin on his face.

"There he is!" shouts Jimin pointing at his best friend.

"Your fashion won't last a day.", Jin rebukes the newcomer, who is now standing in front of him dressed completely in black.

"Why are you all dressed up? You make us all look bad. We're six messy tourists here," Namjoon says as Taehyung sits down next to him and glances around the group.

The friends have indeed adapted to the hot weather, abandoning any fashion sense to survive the sweltering days. Taehyung has yet to utter a word other than a murmur of approval while his friends chatter to him, happy that he has finally arrived.

"We felt your absence so much," Jimin says and reaches across the table to take his friend's hand.

The reunited group talks at length about what Taehyung has missed so far; that Jin and Yoongi went fishing, but Jin didn't catch any fish. They also talk about Jungkook learning how to drink Whiskey and Namjoon explaining what important places Taehyung has yet to visit.

"I'm going now," Yoongi finally announces.

"Hyung, you're not going to leave without saying anything," Hobi admonishes him.

"I wasn't planning on it," Yoongi replies. He takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what's to come, secretly directing his last words more to Jimin than to the rest of the band.

"I really enjoyed our time together in Malta. I'm sorry that I have to leave now. I really wish I could stay, but have a great vacation anyway".

Jimin senses that these words are directed at him. And although he believes them, he doesn't manage to look into Yoongi's eyes, who is eagerly waiting for this eye contact between the two of them.

And so Yoongi finally turns around and follows the manager to the car that will take him back.

Jimin watches as Yoongi walks away, his heart heavy with the knowledge that he won't see him again for a while.