chasing cars [jikook]

chasing cars

 I just.. I can't explain it. I never expected him to be-to be so..

Different.

Jimin met Jeongguk back when he was in high school. He remembers that because Jeongguk was a lost little freshman who just transferred from a junior high on the other side of Busan. Jimin admired his bunny smile and his little chubby cheeks. He took the younger under his wing as if he were his second brother. Jimin introduced Jeongguk to his best friend Taehyung and all of Taehyung's friends--Jimin knew them, he just wasn't as close to them like he was with Tae--since Taehyung was such a social butterfly.

The three youngest were gathered around at Taehyung's place. His parents were out of town. Taehyung tried to invite the whole gang, but it was Spring Break. Hoseok was out of town, Seokjin was working, Namjoon claimed to be napping, and Yoongi just told them to go fuck themselves and hung up.

He was lying back on Taehyung's bed as the two on the floor were getting to know each other. When Jeongguk told him his nickname, Taehyung was disturbed.

"'Kookie,'" Taehyung cringed, "That's so lame!"

Jeongguk pouted before defending himself. "It's not my fault! That's just what everyone calls me!"

"Well, I'm gonna call you 'Muscle Pig.'"

"What?" Jimin spoke, looking over at the two as he sat up, "Why ''Muscle Pig?' Why not something that makes more sense? 'Kookie' makes sense." He placed his phone down next to him.

"Shut up, Mochi," Taehyung spat back playfully, "'Kookie' makes him sound like a nine-year-old."

Jimin rolled his eyes. "Like 'Muscle Pig' sounds any better."

Jeongguk watched the two bicker shyly before speaking up, "What does 'Muscle Pig' mean exactly?"

The two stopped bickering and put their attention on Jeongguk, who blushed at the sudden attention. Jimin smiled.

"Taehyung is implying you are very muscular. I refuse to call you that because it just seems gross and disrespectful." He glared at Taehyung who only grinned.

"For a tiny little fourteen-year-old, you really are muscular. I'm going to assume you have a six-pack underneath that shirt." He reached for Jeongguk's t-shirt.

"Taehyung!" Jimin shouted, swatting at the younger's hand, "Don't be so rude to the poor boy!"

Jeongguk's eyes wandered to Jimin and he blushed again before looking down at his lap.

I.. don't know why I never noticed it.

It was a day before Seokjin's birthday, and Jimin was working on making him a homemade pizza. According to Hoseok, he was the only one who was good at making it. Jimin thought that was a lie. But what does he know? He was in the middle of slicing his second pepperoni when the music playing from his phone abruptly stopped and instead played his familiar ringtone. It was simple and overrated, but it was the default ringtone and Jimin wasn't quite sure how to change it. He placed the knife down gently, wiped his hands on a nearby dish towel, and picked it up. The screen read, "MUSCULAR PIGBOY OUT TO BREAK HEARTS." He rolled his eyes. That was the last time he let Taehyung see his phone.

He answered, "Jeongguk-ah. How's Seoul?"

Jeongguk laughed, and Jimin could feel the smile on his face, "It's nice. Very nice. The snow makes everything look even more beautiful. I feel like I'm disrespecting the place just by being here."