FLOWER TRAILS ★ YOONMIN

TWO

CHAPTER TWO: I Want to Protect You One More Time Before Tears Run Down Your Face

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During dinner, Jimin made sure that he sat as far away from Yoongi as possible. He took his seat at the end of the table, cramped in between Seokjin and Jungkook, and patiently waited for everyone to settle down.

His face lit up with a tinge of annoyance and embarrassment when he saw the green-haired boy. He tried his best not to glance at him, but he failed a few seconds later. It was just too hard for him not to do so, especially because Yoongi had taken the spot across him, which made him uncomfortable as ever. He shifted in his seat, letting out a string of inaudible words in discomfort, before biting the inside of his cheek to refrain himself from looking towards at Yoongi's direction.

Suddenly, Jimin could feel Seokjin's hardened gaze on him, as if his stare was drilling holes into the back of his head. So, he moved his head to the left, seeing his hyung giving him a questioning face. Jimin shook his head no and averted his eyes from him. He focused on his empty plate instead; it was much more comfortable.

"Well," Namjoon started, "should we start eating?"

Everyone then started devouring the food on the table like animals, but after giving their praises and thanks, of course. It was one of the practices they never forgot to do when they're in the household, and probably one of the things they'll pass on to the next generations of their group.

As you can see, in the boys' house, you will always find yourself ending up in a war zone; because only a few minutes had passed, yet bowls of rice and steaming hot soup, plates of deep-fried chicken covered in garlic seasoning, and dishes of well-marinated barbecue were almost empty. There were a variety of dishes Jimin could even muster, but all seven of them had the stomachs of pirañas, and they weren't picky eaters, so it was no problem for them to finish all the food in ten seconds, tops.

Chatters came from the mouth of the boys, most of them being rambles about how their days went on that wintry afternoon. Jimin had heard the story of Taehyung sliding down the steep hill near their residence in a unicorn onesie with a pacifier in between his lips from Jungkook. Then, he heard Namjoon's story about being chased by a cat for roughly ten minutes in the city. Everyone laughed in sync at his narration, excluding Yoongi.

"Well, the three of us just stayed indoors the whole day," Seokjin said, referring to himself, Jimin, and Hoseok. He looked at the tired cabbage-head and shot his famous questioning look. "Where have you been, Yoongi?"

And as if on cue, the male slumped on his chair and looked at anywhere else except for his friends. He contemplated whether or not he'd spill the beans, but he chose to tell them to investigate something. He waited a little bit before finally confessing what he had done earlier that day.

"I went to a florist."

Everyone looked at him suspiciously, especially Jimin, whose eyebrows had jumped from surprise. He wasn't expecting to receive such answer from Yoongi. He thought he was hanging out somewhere private all by himself, like what he always used to do. Apparently, he had guessed wrong.

"Why did you go to a florist?" Jungkook asked. "It's winter."

Yoongi shrugged. "My high school friend works there. She told me to visit her sometime."

It was as if the stems caging his lungs were alive and had heard what Yoongi said, for they tightened even more when Yoongi's answer reached Jimin's ears. Jimin suddenly felt his throat itching, pink tulip petals traveling up to his larynx, then appearing in his mouth a little while later. He once more had trouble taking in oxygen, and his mind started to swirl. But, despite the symptoms of the disease showing for the hundredth time that day, he pretended to be all right.

He was about to give up trying to hide his illness from all of them, since he was getting tired of making up false excuses every time, but Seokjin would never want any of them to know. So, sensing that Jimin was having the shitty urge to throw up again, Seokjin clasped his hands together that got everyone's attention focused on him.

"So today is New Year's, and we all know what happened on December 31 three years ago." Seokjin flashed a half-fake -- but believable -- grin at the group. "It's the day when we all decided to meet each other in person by the wishing well in the woods. Now, get your butts going and wrap yourselves in thick clothing because we're going there tonight like last year. Go!"

With a final gesture telling the rest of his best friends to change into winter clothes, Seokjin forced everyone out of the dining room, leaving him and Jimin alone.

And Jimin, feeling really relieved that Jungkook, Taehyung, and his three other hyungs had already left, instantaneously got up from his chair and rushed to the nearest bathroom. Seokjin followed him and patted his back a few times and handed him paper towels.

"Thank you," Jimin managed to utter out.

"It's the only thing I can do at the moment." Seokjin sighed. "You know, Yoongi could be lying. He could have visited the flower shop for another reason."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. It's just a gut-feeling," Seokjin said. "Just look at him. Would you actually believe the things he just said?"

"Yes. I know for a fact that he would never lie to us."

"And I also know for a fact that he didn't have much friends in high school," Seokjin stated, "or more like he had none at all."

Jimin slapped his arm lightly. "Really?"

"Yes."

"That's mean."

"I might have worded it out wrong," the older pouted, "but it's true. And a girl friend? Please, he's the second person in our squad who doesn't like to be around girls the most. You know, right after Jungkook."

Jimin squinted his eyes at Seokjin. "You don't sound like the eomma I know."

"Your eomma is just showing a different side. A new one, to be exact." Seokjin did a pretty boy hair-flip. "And can we go now? They'll ask why we're not dressed."

Jimin laughed heartily and threw his arms around Seokjin's neck. It was one of the jovial gestures he always did to him ever since they met each other three years ago.

"Of course."

Seokjin held Jimin's wrist and led him to his room to choose what they will be wearing that night. But, little did they know, a specific mint-haired boy was eavesdropping while hiding in the shadows of the hallway, now silently vacating the place and dashing to his room without leaving any traces of evidence behind.

And when he was finally caged in his bedroom, where no one could hear him, he frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair and leaned on the door.

"Will I be an accessory to murder if he dies because of the disease?"