Always Loved You || Jikook ✅

1.

Jimin Pov

Ten Years Later...

Jimin grinned as his grandpa
slid into the red leather booth seat across from him.

Even before they had reached the front door of Rocket, the older man's face had lit up.

"I'm glad you wanted to
come here this evening." His grandpa said.

"I don't think I'll ever get
tired of this place, everywhere
I look in here, I'm reminded
of all the good times your grandmother and I had."

"That's what makes it my
favorite place to eat,
too." Jimin said, still smiling
as his grandpa looked around with eyes full of emotion.

"I don't think it's changed a
bit here in the ten years
I've been gone."

"Maybe a little more neon."

"A few more flying saucers..."

"Been pretty much the same ever since that vintage
out front was new."

"The black and white tile, the
red leather seats, the light
blue bar stools with the
shiny silver..."

"They've replaced most of it
over the years, of course but
the feel of the place—the
spirit takes me right back
to when I was younger."

Jimin could and did spend
hours sometimes listening
to his grandpa talk about
how things used to be.

Even if Jimin sort of doubted
the "good old days" were
actually that much better—
hello, no cell phones?

No internet?—the way he
talked made it almost sound
like a different world.

He'd lived in busan all his life
and even now, well into his seventies, there still wasn't
much that happened in town without him hearing about it.

But the old stories were Jimin's favorite, from back when his grandma had been alive.

For the moment though, Jimin was okay with delaying story time for at least a few minutes while they ordered some food.

Rocket was a place he hadn't thought much about over the years since he'd been living in New York but now that he
was visiting it was like
reuniting with an old friend.

The decor might be a little
tacky and Jimin had thought
so even before he had taken
up decorating as a career but
the food was good and the portions were generous a
fact his stomach was in total agreement with, judging by
the way it was starting to rumble.

"Do you know what you're
going to get, pa? Are the
burgers still as good as they
used to be?" Jimin asked, reaching for a menu.

His grandpa simply nodded,
still lost in his memories as
his eyes roamed over every detail of the diner.

"Nothing is as good as it used
to be." Pa answered, finally.

"But those burgers... well, I guess they probably are still
as good."

"I never thought you could
mess up a burger until some
of those other fast food
places came to town."

Jimin had to smile because of course Pa remembered when
the first other fast food place came to town.

Just more proof that he'd
seen all the comings and
goings on in Busan for
decades from the front porch
of his old Victorian house.

Growing up, Jimin couldn't
wait to get away.