Names- Jikook (✔️)

Chapter One

Jimin's POV

"I'm holding on to what I know, and what I know, I must let go." - Twenty One Pilots, Glowing Eyes

He had been up all night and half the early morning, a pulse-quickening combination of nerves and excitement keeping him from sleep.

I turn sixteen at four-thirty in the morning, exactly. Not a minute over, he thought, daring a quick glance at the clock. 4:25, It's illuminated pixels proclaimed. His heart beat audibly in his chest. Five more minutes. Three hundred more seconds until I know who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. Although he was nervous to the point of shaking, he couldn't help but smile with anticipation. I wonder what her name is? If she'll have beautiful black hair, huge dark eyes I can get lost in...

4:26. Two hundred-and-forty more seconds, and they were ticking away fast. Through his southernmost wall, he could hear movement in his parent's bedroom, the hissing murmur of hushed voices. They were watching the clock as well, doubtless, waiting to congratulate him and find out the identity of the girl lucky enough to marry their son. He leaned partway out of his bed to flick on the room's light switch, not wanting to waste even a second on turning it on when the time finally arrived.

4:27, 4:28, 4:29...Jimin's heart beat faster by the minute. Did everybody feel this way on the eve of their birthday, this anxious to find out such a crucial part of their lives? He certainly hoped so. Sweat trickled down his temple in a wavering line. He was ready. He wasn't ready. He really didn't know.

4:30. The boy tore his gaze from the clock and stared at his forearm. Nothing. His pale skin was completely blank, a canvas he desperately wanted to be filled. Thirty seconds passed, and still nothing. Was something wrong with him? Or worse, was he destined to be alone forever? Excitement turned to dread with every passing moment.

Finally, with only ten seconds left until 4:31, it appeared. In neatly executed characters, the name of his wife-to-be wavered into existence on the white flesh of his forearm. Only, it wasn't a girl's name. Jimin's heart seemed to stop as he said the name aloud, just to make sure that he had read it correctly.

"Jeon Jungkook. Jungkook...oh, no." He whispered. This was bad. Never in his wildest dreams, (and he had had a lot concerning this particular subject), had he thought that his partner might be male.

"Jimin?" He froze as his mother gently knocked on his door. "Has it happened? Can we see?"

"One moment," He managed, frantically scanning the room for something to cover up the name. When it came to matters of sexuality, his parents were anything but accepting. Jimin couldn't imagine how they might react if they found out the true identity of his spouse-to-be, but he doubted it would be pretty. There. A sharpie lay on his desk across the room, truly a gift from God. He ran over to grab it, accidentally colliding with his bookshelf on the way. He cringed as one of the heavier books, A Concise History of the World, fell to the ground with a loud thunk.

"Is everything okay in there?" His mom asked from the other side of the door. She was beginning to grow suspicious suspicious, he could tell from the tone of her voice.

"Yeah, one more second," he called back, hurriedly uncapping the marker and thinking of possible names for his fake wife-to-be. It had to sound pretty, or at least respectable. Mi Na... Kim Mi Na. Yes, that will do it. He wrote the name on his opposite arm, trying to execute it in his neatest calligraphy despite using his non-dominant hand. Satisfied, he blew gently on the ink in order to dry it before allowing his parents in. "You can come in now," he announced.

The Parks entered the room, his mother's dark eyes glittering excitedly while his father's serious mask poorly hid his curiosity.

"Well, can I see?" His mother asked, reaching for Jimin's right arm. He jerked it away just in time, thanking God that he was wearing long sleeves.

"Uh...actually, it's on my left arm," He stammered, pulling up his beige-colored sleeve to reveal the fake name he had written. Mrs. Park seized it immediately, while her husband leaned in to get a clear look at the name.

"That's funny... the writing doesn't look anything like what's written on my arm. It's a lot messier." she remarked. Jimin grimaced. Even with his good hand, he didn't exactly have high marks in school when it came to calligraphy. "But," she continued, "what a nice-sounding girl she is! I can't wait to meet her, can you, dear?" Her husband shook his head in silent agreement. He wasn't exactly the vocal type, though his eyes shone with emotion as he looked up from his son's arm.

"You're growing up fast, Jimin." He remarked, the pride in his voice more than evident. Jimin swallowed back guilt, knowing that his reaction would be entirely different if only he knew the truth.

Yeah, he thought to himself as his mother continued to gush over the name written on his forearm. I guess I am growing up. If only I knew what to do about it...

Jungkook's POV

"Someday soon we'll be together." - Major Lazer, Be Together

He had taken the day off of school, partly because it was tradition in his family to do so and partly because he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate when the moment he would find out his future husband's identity was so close at hand. It wasn't that he was obsessed with the idea of knowing who he would marry, as his friend Seokjin had been last year, but he was understandably anxious. He rubbed the pale skin on his wrist absentmindedly. For lack of anything better to do, he was slumped lazily in a living room chair, watching a newscaster's pixilated face announce trivial-sounding news on the TV. A small ding emanated from his phone about halfway through the news anchor's rant on counterterrorism. The screen lit up, a message from the boy's best friend written in black characters.

Jin: Yo, anything happen yet?

Jungkook sighed. He wished something had, as the anticipation was killing him.

Nope, he reluctantly typed. I don't remember exactly when I was born, but I'm beginning to think it was 11:59 at night. Just my luck, lol. His thumb pressed "send" and he leaned back, glancing at the clock. Four twenty-five. His mom would be home from work soon, doubtlessly as disappointed as him to learn that there was no sign of a name on his blank arm.

Minutes ticked by. The newscaster droned on, something about troops in Yemen or Iran or some other country he didn't really care about. 4:26, 4:27, 4:28...he could hear his mother's car pull into the cement driveway. He sighed, wishing that he knew for certain when his soulmate's name would appear on his skin. It would make this game of wait-and-hope a whole lot easier, that was for sure. Another sixty seconds ticked by. Still nothing on the pale, winter melon-colored flesh of his forearm. His phone dinged again, the screen announcing another message from Seokjin. The TV babbled on.

All the sudden, there it was. He wasn't sure how he knew, exactly, that something had changed, but when he whipped his gaze down to his wrist he knew that it would be there. Sure enough, at ten seconds to 4:31, an array of characters had shimmered into existence on his arm.

Park Jimin. He grinned, unable to stop even if he had wanted to. He had a name. He knew the identity of his soulmate. Almost coincidentally, his mother bustled through the door, her arms laden with grocery bags.

"Mom! It came!" He exclaimed with the glee of a child on Christmas day. The older woman let the bags fall where she stood, ignoring the ugly thunk of heavy cans falling to the wooden floor as she hurried over to envelop her son in a hug. She didn't say anything for a few moments, just hugged him as tight as she could. Eyes closed, Jungkook breathed in her scent. Flowers and moth balls, a distinctly motherly smell. When she pulled away, there were tears in her chocolate-colored eyes.

"Ah, Kookie, you're growing up so fast," She shifted her attention to his exposed forearm, eyes lighting up. "Park Jimin! Such a lovely name!" She exclaimed, pulling his wrist to her face so she could read it. "I can't wait to meet him. Oh, Jungkook. I'm just so proud of how big and grown-up you've become." Jungkook rolled his eyes, though he gladly accepted her second hug. Parents would get sentimental when it came to these things, there was no doubting it.

Park Jimin, he thought to himself, shifting his arm so he could see the characters clearly. The inky-black of the writing went so perfectly against his white skin, it almost seemed like it was meant to be. Which, he supposed, it was. I can't wait to meet you.