Go Ahead

Part 16

Jimin tells his friends that his brothers now feel like strangers . Taehyung thinks that it's pretty reasonable that people he hasn't seen for nine years would feel like strangers — if he were to see any of their high school classmates, he might not even remember their names. But Jimin also acknowledges that his hyungs aren't just normal friends — they were his brothers for so long. If he can't get along well with them, his appa's will be so sad.

But Jimin suddenly feels inspired. He remembers how whenever he goes to the countryside to visit his relatives, the ones he's less familiar with are always the ones who are the warmest and most welcoming. He can treat Jungkook and Kim-Bum like those distant relatives and pretend to be warm toward them.

Jimin cheerfully goes to bed, pleased that he's come up with a solution.

_________

The next morning, Kim-Bum is woken up by a knock at the door. When he sees that Jimin is the one outside, he gets nervous and spends a few seconds trying to hype himself up.

Jimin cheerily invites Kim-Bum to a belated birthday celebration dinner for HaeIn and asks him to make a cake. He also suggests that he should probably let them know that he's returned before tonight. Jimin hopes that Kim-bum isn't still planning on trying to surprise his dad — he doesn't need a surprise. Kim-Bum asks if he was pleasantly surprised. Jimin pauses before saying that he was really pleasantly surprised, with an overexaggerated laugh, then hurriedly says goodbye. Kim-bum offers to pick him up from work but Jimin puts out his hand to stop him and rushes away. He drops his smile and lets out a breath after He puts some distance between them.

Kim-Bum giggles to himself once Jimin is gone, but then freezes when he realizes that Jimin said "your dad." What did he mean by that?

Jimin admires a large chunk of wood he acquired. Jhope warns him that after this one, he isn't allowed to buy more new material. They don't have the money.

Jimin gets a text from the person he was texting the night before, saying, "Jimin, let's date!"

Mina calls Jungkook several times while he's in the middle of an appointment. He ignores them all.

After the appointment, he's washing up when a bawling girl clings to the doorframe of his exam room, unwilling to go further despite her mother's attempts to calm her down. He grabs a party blower and goes over, calming her down with just a few words. The girl clings to him with a hug, and Jungkook ends up treating her instead of her scheduled dentist, who motions her thanks from down the hall.

Later, he's grabbing a coffee when the other dentist shows up and introduces herself as Feng Xi Xi. She tells him to call her Xi Xi, but he insists on calling her Dr. Feng. Xi Xi comments that he seems pretty good with kids and asks what his secret is. Jungkook responds that he has a younger sibling. Xi Xi asks if he has extra party blowers she can have. Jungkook has three, but he plans on giving one to someone .

Kim-Bum steels himself before entering MinHo's restaurant, but instead of finding MinHo, he sees the hostess loudly suggesting different options to a foreign-looking man. MinHo immediately assumes that the man doesn't understand korea and steps in to explain the menu in English. 

After the man orders, the hostess asks Kim-Bum what he wants to eat. She guesses that he wants the sweet and sour rib noodle soup, then shows him a picture of him, Jimin, and Jungkook that sits on the front desk. They're the only ones who ever order that dish.

MinHo hears the hostess talking from inside the kitchen. He goes outside to investigate, and is overcome with emotion when he sees Kim-Bum.

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