In Retrospect - Jikook

Chapter Seven: Little White Lies

Jimin sat in an oversized hoodie with his feet kicked up on the coffee table in front of his couch. Some trashy dating show was playing on the tv, and he had a spoon of ice-cream half in his mouth as he was gaping at the absolute mess that was Netflix's Queer Love Ultimatum.

It was the night before the gala and over a week since his Park kills. The week had gone by strangely quiet. Yoongi didn't talk much on his patrols with Jimin and gave him the days off after them. Jungkook hadn't made much of an appearance either and Seokjin had simply thanked Jimin for taking care of Jungkook that night, but hadn't reached a handout further than that, which meant Jimin found himself with an incredible amount of time on his hands.

He could have kept going to the training gym, but with the rouse up that he didn't actually need to practice any combat skills, Jimin felt less of a pull to go. Additionally, the new curdle of anxiety in his stomach helped him hermit in his apartment. If it wasn't thoughts of Jungkook keeping him up then it was worry that Yoongi didn't want Jimin around either and that Seokjin, who he hadn't had the chance yet to get that close to, also was against him. More than Jimin would like to admit, it really bothered him.

They're discarding you. Screamed a voice in the back of his head. Why did you expect anything more than that? Did you really think Seoul would be any different? Funny how the Jeons were just starting to make Jimin feel human and Jimin had to go and fuck it all up in one night.

With nothing else to do, Jimin wallowed sitting in his apartment and watched trashy TV. He could lie and say it was to distract from the anxiety or to gloss over the fact that any of it frustrated him, but the truth was Jimin just wanted to sit with that feeling of loss. Yoongi had become a friend. Jungkook - Jungkook something more complicated than that. Even Seokjin had warmed to Jimin before The Park kills. Maybe Jimin liked the knot in his stomach because it felt foreign to sit with a feeling that was so complicated. Loss and pride, grief and joy. The grey scale felt like a luxury in contrast to the black and white of his life before in Busan.

Jimin was happy to gloss over any thought of Busan, eating another scoop of ice-cream as the next episode started to load. Somehow the relationships on the dating show were in a much worse spot than Jimin's own, which was crazy considering he was stuck between a Mafia leader and a Don's Son. It made Jimin feel slimy in a way, knowing that his dreams rarely had Taehyung in them and instead were filled with Jungkook. Jungkook's grin, his tattoo sleeve, his messy hair, his warmth.

Jimin blushed, shaking his head when he heard a knock on his door. His brows furrowed. It wasn't that late, maybe only ten, but even so it was a strange time for anyone to show up. The last time someone knocked on his door ended with Jimin getting a combat suit thrown at him and killing four people.

He paused his show, annoyed because the craziest contestant was getting a reality-check from dad on her toxicity towards her partner, and opened the door to find an envelope on the ground. It was about the size of Jimin's palm and over-all unassuming. Picking it up, he glanced around a perfectly empty hallway. He was about to close the door when he heard an elevator ring and watched as no one other than Min Yoongi came walking towards him.

Jimin slipped the envelope into the waistband of his boxers above his hip, covered by his hoodie. It wasn't the most covert hiding spot, but it was the best he could do on short notice.

"You normally stand with the door open?" Yoongi asked as he waved a small plastic bag at his side.

Jimin grinned. "I like to freak out the locals."

Yoongi snorted, letting himself into Jimin's apartment just like he had the week before. He opened Jimin's fridge and sighed when he found it completely empty. "I thought you probably haven't been taking care of yourself this week." He said as he pulled out a take-out box from the bag and put it out on Jimin's kitchen table. Yoongi looked over at Jimin and then back to the box. "Eat."