♡ Keys ♡ → myg | pjm

♡Nine♡

Yoongi shuffled his feet awkwardly under the table. 

He was twirling the straw of his half-finished milkshake between his fingers as he stared at the remnants of the whipped cream that sat on the top of the chocolate-y drink, knowing full well that Jimin was staring at him. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." Yoongi answered easily, although the answer that sat on the tip of his tongue was quite the opposite. 

The truth was Yoongi was very uncomfortable and on-edge, for multiple reasons. For one, the booth they had been sitting at was by a front window, so Yoongi could see that batshit crazy reporter stop someone on their way in, show them her press ID card, give them a wad of cash and her business card before ushering them inside and leaving. Yoongi wasn't dumb. He knew she had bribed them to take photos of him and Jimin. For that particular reason, Yoongi had pulled the bill of his cap down over his eyes. 

The second reason he felt so uneasy was because Jimin had told that damn woman that they were dating. And god damn it, she believed it too. 

Daegu's biggest and slimiest gossip reporter had finally gotten dirt on Yoongi. Fake dirt, mind you, but this fake dirt could potentially cost Yoongi many things- one of them being Jimin. 

Now that brought him to the third reason... Since Jimin had made that wild claim, Yoongi couldn't help but feel semi-pressured. He knew this wasn't a date, but it felt like it, okay? And maybe it didn't for Jimin, but Yoongi always was one to overthink these sorts of things...

Damn it, all he wanted was to get away from Daegu and get rid of stress, not add more of it. 

"If you insist." Jimin raised an eyebrow. "Are you done? Or do you want another half hour to finish that?" There was a hint of teasing in the boy's tone, enough of it that Yoongi managed a quiet chuckle. 

Yoongi shook his head and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, taking out four 10,000 won bills out and leaving them on the table. "Let's head out." He stood and shoved his wallet back into his pocket. Jimin stood as well, but not without protest. 

"40,000- Yoongi, lunch was hardly even-"

"It's whatever. They can keep the change." Yoongi shrugged without a care and began to leave the diner with Jimin in tow. So maybe he had overpaid by roughly 15,000 won, but it wasn't a big deal to him. That was cheap, compared to other places Yoongi had been to. 

-

Jimin and Yoongi practiced for hours. 

Yoongi had never seen someone so insistent on working this long or this hard. He had always gone with the flow of things and practiced as needed. 

Jimin was a different story. As soon as he had changed into more comfortable practice clothes, he was moving non-stop, sweat evident on his face and his neck, his steps becoming less graceful and more forced and powerful. He had tripped up at the climax of the piece during their third run through of the night, which was about two hours ago. Since then, Jimin had refused to stop practicing until he felt satisfied with himself. 

When Yoongi glanced over his shoulder quickly (he wrote the damn piece, so he knew it by heart), he saw Jimin's face contorted into a look of persistence, pain, and despair as he attempted the same move he had been having trouble with all night. 

Yoongi stopped playing instantly. 

Jimin snapped his head up towards Yoongi and glared. "What did you stop for? We're only half in."

"We're done." Yoongi said calmly, collecting the sheet music that was on the stand and putting it into the folder neatly. "Want me to walk you home?"

"Done? Like hell we're done!" Jimin snapped and Yoongi tensed a little, turning to see the madness that was in the tired boy's eyes. "We're not finished until we get this perfect, okay? I've never missed a step like that before. So unless your finger are broken, sit down and keep playing."

Yoongi relaxed. 

The desire for perfection drove people crazy. He knew that better than anybody. The amount of times he starved himself of food and sleep out of desire for the perfect piece were one too many. It seemed musicians weren't the only victims of this mindset. 

"You'll never get it with that attitude." Yoongi replied, continuing to pack the folder away. Jimin stared at him, chest rising and falling as he continued catching his breath. "Go home and rest."

"How would you know?" Jimin walked over to him. "You're not a dancer, are you?" The question was accusatory and defensive. Yoongi expected that. 

"No, but I'm a musician. I know all too well how it feels to make a mistake and strive to correct it." He set his bag on the piano seat and turned to face the worn out dancer. "But the more you force yourself and scold yourself, the less likely it will be that you'll ever get it. Have you ever seen someone try to bake without a recipe?" 

Jimin's face went blank for a moment, tilting his head quietly. Yoongi smiled a little. 

"A friend of mine once tried to make the perfect batch of brownies, determined to do it without any recipe or any help. Wanna guess what happened?" Yoongi sighed. "They were flat as a pancake. He got so upset that he insisted on trying about... 3 or 4 more times that day. He made a lot of runs to the store for ingredients, put in all of that effort and he never got it that day. Not even close." 

Jimin had taken a seat on the piano bench next to Yoongi's bag and stared at his feet as he listened. 

"Dancing is a lot like baking, in that regard. My friend tried so hard that one day to get it right and he kept failing because he was too frustrated to even think about what he was doing. Right now, you're so focused on that one step, that you're shutting out everything else and getting sloppier." Yoongi shook his head. 

Jimin glared at him. "I am not sloppy."

"Never said you were, marshmallow." Yoongi grinned. "You're one of the smoothest dancers I've seen, but right now you could use a break. So let's call it a day, you go home and take it easy, and I'll do the same. We'll meet back here tomorrow. Deal?" 

Jimin rolled his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "You can go home. I'm going to practice on my own a bit more." He muttered, but remained seated on the piano bench. 

Yoongi frowned a little but lifted his back off the piano bench and shook his head. "Alright, that's up to you." He said as he walked to the exit. "See you tomorrow, Jimin." He waved over his shoulder and left, leaving the dancer to sit by himself. 

Jimin stared at his shoes in silence for few minutes. He had fully intended on staying but after thinking over what Yoongi said, he felt a bit... guilty.

"Damn it." He grumbled and ran over to the wall where he had tossed his bag earlier, threw it over his shoulder and ran out after Yoongi. 

The piano player was resting against the exterior of the building waiting patiently with a small smile on his lips. 

"Took you long enough. Want some company on the way home?" He teased. 

Jimin rolled his eyes. "As if I want your smug ass anywhere near me." He huffed as they began to walk together across the street. 

Yoongi grinned. "So why are you walking with me?"

Jimin slapped his arm. "Just shut up and walk me home, gummy." He crossed his arms over his chest and Yoongi chuckled in response. 

"Your wish is my command, marshmallow."