Stand By Me! | Jinkook

4. BFFs

Seokjin, Jimin, and Hoseok were lounging in the backyard of the Kim mansion. Soobin leaned against his appa's shoulder, engrossed in an anime on his iPad, both of them sporting matching AirPods. Yeonjun and Yoongi were enjoying their after-lunch nap, while Jungkook, Namjoon, and Taehyung were in Yoongi’s in-house studio, working on a new tune. Minyoung and Jisoo had decided to watch a movie in the living room.

"You’re so lucky, Jin, for having the most obedient son. My Yeonnie is always hyper and clumsy," Hoseok lamented.

"That’s because Soobin has Jungkook hyung’s genes. It goes without saying he’s obedient and clingy toward Seokjinnie hyung," Jimin reasoned. "Whereas Yeonjun is the son of a bi—uh, I mean a jumpy ball of sunshine and the God of Destruction. What do you expect?" He continued, resuming his spooning from the shared tub of chocolate ice cream.

Hoseok snatched the tub from Jimin, saying, "I thought you were on a diet, pig! Don’t come whining to me when you can’t move your body for my exceptional choreography!" He flipped his imaginary long hair dramatically at the end, prompting Jimin to pout.

"Hoba, you need to eat less fat too, so you can actually perform your own exceptional choreography," Seokjin replied, reclaiming the ice cream tub from Hoseok and feeding Soobin a spoonful. Soobin responded with his signature bunny smile before returning to his iPad.

Hoseok pouted at Seokjin, while Jimin smirked. They sat in silence for a few moments, scrolling through their phones while Seokjin continued to share ice cream with Soobin. Suddenly, Hoseok let out a squeak, drawing Seokjin and Jimin’s attention.

"Look at this post!" Hoseok exclaimed, showing them an Instagram photo of a new idol who had debuted under Big Hit Entertainment just a few months ago. Seokjin and Jimin's eyes widened at the sight of the idol’s picture. Hoseok fanned himself dramatically. "He’s so cute! And when he comes for dance practice—oh my god! Last week, he came in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He was looking H.O.T!" Hoseok continued, spelling out the last word while still fanning himself, as if feeling the heat from the photo.

Seokjin chuckled at his best friend's reaction. This was nothing new; Hoseok had always been like this, appreciating cute and hot guys—though only in his mind and in front of his closest friends.

Meanwhile, Jimin held Hoseok’s phone, staring at the idol’s picture. He was undeniably hot—no, he looked capital-letter H.O.T in that shirtless shot, flexing his abs. As an idol himself, Jimin met hot and cute guys every day. He kept a professional demeanor but couldn’t help but subtly check them out. Despite being with Taehyung, he still had flirty thoughts about a few people, but he kept those to himself, sharing only with Seokjin and Hoseok. Appreciating other H.O.T men didn’t diminish his love for Taehyung.

"You both need holy water for your dirty minds," Seokjin said, shaking his head when he saw their faces turn red. "Seriously, guys, my brothers are hotter than any idol you’ll ever see. We Kims are just… how do you say it? H.O.T." Seokjin said confidently, defending his brothers. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and your dad as well," Hoseok said without thinking.

"That man is aging like a fine wine," Jimin added.

"Oh, I still remember the first time I introduced Hoba to Dad. He was so all about Dad that he didn’t even notice hyung for the first year he came to our house! And how can I forget 'Sope'?" Seokjin teased.

"Wait, what’s ‘Sope’?" Jimin asked, curious.

"It was a combination of Dad's name, Suga, and Hoba's name, J-Hope. I may add that nobody but he himself gave him that cool name!" Seokjin replied, enjoying the chance to tease Hoseok. Jimin laughed, while Hoseok shot them both an annoyed glare. In moments like this, Hoseok often questioned his choice of friends.

"What are you laughing at, Yoonmin?" Seokjin asked, his tone mischievous.

Jimin stopped laughing and shot Seokjin a warning look. Hoseok glanced between them with questioning eyes, while Seokjin tilted his head in Jimin's direction. It took a moment for the realization to hit, and when it did, Hoseok burst out laughing.

Jimin buried his face in his hands, groaning. He was no better than Hoseok; he had a crush on Yoongi. But could you blame him? After meeting Taehyung, he learned to differentiate between a crush and true love. He kept this secret buried deep in his mind, but alcohol had a way of bringing out the truth. Unfortunately, Seokjin had been the unfortunate recipient of Jimin's drunken confession.

Jimin had realized, for the second time that day, that he had some particularly bitchy BFFs.