EATJIN! | KSJ & PJM

-fire-

"Mr. Kim Seokjin, please come to the gym, Mr. Kim Seokjin, come to the gym." The P.A. said, voice buzzing through the empty hallway. Seokjin felt a little dumb, being paged in the middle of an assembly. The only time he'd ever been paged was when he was supposed to receive an academic award in fourth grade, but he was home sick. He was about to curse for the millionth time in the short morning, but he looked back at Jimin, and suddenly bit it back.

The boy didn't need more negativity today.

So Seokjin turned to face the P.A. and yelled: "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" 

And to the chef's delight, Jimin's eyes transformed into crescents, almost like they were smiling on their own, even though was pursing his lips so a real smile wouldn't creep onto his face.

And that, made his crappy morning way better.

Soon enough, Jimin seemed to get restless, and tried to break out into a sprint, but Seokjin simply caught his arm and pulled him back.

"Aren't you going to be late?" Jimin asked, astounded. He ripped his hand from Seokjin's. Seokjin was unbothered by the hostile reaction, and simply smiled.

"You see," Seokjin said, staring up at the fluorescent lights that hung above their heads. Then he turned to Jimin. "I have a plan."

Ms. Kwon was getting a little frustrated with the chef. Seokjin had run off to God knows where, and she'd had to page him in the middle of the assembly. She was absolutely mortified. 

"Yebin, have some water." Yang Jiyong said from beside her, holding out an unopened water bottle out to his best friend, and superior. "Your lips are dry."

"I'm not in the mood, Jiyong." She told him, shaking her head sadly, as she pushed Jiyong's overly large hand away from her, along with the water bottle he was holding. "The first assembly of the school year, and I managed to mess it up."

"Hey," Jiyong chided, cracking the water bottle open himself, and taking a sip from it. "If you're responsible, then I am too. Not in a sentimental way, but seriously. I'm the vice principal, and it'll be your fault if I get fired for a dysfunctional assembly. So, hush."

"You suck," She told him.

"I suck better than you,"

"Idiot."

To Kwon Yebin's dismay, mutters rose from the rows of students like tendrils of smoke from a fire. She'd already seen some kids sneak out of the gym, using Seokjin's absence as an excuse to be absent, as well. She felt like ripping out the honey blonde curls off her scalp in frustration. 

"I'll go find him," Jiyong offered, nudging the principal's shoulder softly. 

"He'll turn up," The honey blonde answered, forcing an optimistic smile onto her rosy lips. "He will."

And as if her words worked magic, Kim Seokjin stormed through the blue gym doors, just like she knew he would. She'd let go of the breath she'd been holding for the past two minutes, and nearly sobbed, overcome with relief. He'd pulled through after all.

"Is that Park Jimin?" Jiyong asked from the next seat over. "What's he doing?"

Yebin squinted, just to check if Yang Jiyong was indeed, correct. And for once, he was. But Yebin didn't think much of it. The principal watched as the student council had started the assembly, introducing Seokjin, and adjusting the microphone for him.

She'd done her job, and now, she hoped he could do his.

Seokjin took a deep breath, and glanced at Jimin, who was positioned against the wall, arms folded. Unconsciously, Seokjin's knee had started to bounce again.

 "Aren't you going to be late?"  Jimin had asked.

"I have a friend," Seokjin said. He'd started inadvertently, but now that he had started, he couldn't stop. "And he's very diligent. A hardworking, successful man. My friend's name is Kim Nam-" Suddenly Seokjin halted. He could see Jimin from the corner of his eye, tilting his head in confusion.

And suddenly, he didn't want to give his intended speech.

"You know what?" Seokjin said, ripping the microphone from its respective spot on the stand. "I won't speak about someone you don't know. I want to talk about someone you can relate to."

Jimin's chocolate eyes widened from the side of the gym.

"I met someone today," The chef said into the mic. "And at first, I didn't want to help them. Please stand if you've ever done that."

The gym rumbled with the sound of shuffling feet as nearly everyone stood up. Seokjin took a small moment to examine the faces of the standing. A tall girl with tan skin and short hair that fell just above her shoulders. A bulky boy with bangs that nearly covered his eyes. Even the teachers had stood.

"But I did end up helping them." Seokjin told the students on the bleachers. "And we had a small conversation. I'm going to tell you this: I don't even know what my point is, right now. I'm winging it." He heard a slight snicker arise from the bleachers, quickly silenced by menacing looks from the teachers. "Now, I'm not telling you to wing your whole life. But one thing that struck me was that he told me I could get away with winging it, and that I seemed confident already."

Out of the corner of his eye, Seokjin could see Jimin trying not to panic. But Seokjin kept going. Jimin would thank him in the end.

"Second truth, I am, matter of fact, very confident. I won't lie and tell you that I'm in a terrible position and don't love myself, because I do. I've been in an amazing environment with loving people around me, and I acknowledge the fact that I'm very fortunate to have my family with me, and a good friend circle." He continued, gesturing towards the bleachers. "But not all of us get to have this luxury."

Seokjin paused for a minute, and he realized that his knee had stopped bouncing. He gazed over at the students situated at the back of the gym, who were nodding slightly, waiting for the next words of his speech to spill over his lips.

"Some people don't have a good education. Some people struggle with mental illness. Some people-" He paused. "Some people don't love themselves. And that's because people don't show them that they should be loved, and that they do, in fact, love others. High school is a hell hole, no doubt, and even statistics know that. I've seen a lot of kids hurting themselves, and calling themselves talent-less, when I could clearly see their potential. I've seen people beating themselves up, and other kids joining in. Sure, I might not have gone through such severe acts when I was in high school. But I didn't like myself at one point, either. What brought me out of that was, yeah, the diligent, hardworking man I was supposed to talk about- Kim Namjoon. My boyfriend."

Seokjin ignored the disapproving looks from the bleachers. It didn't matter to him, at all. The mutters were like tiny pieces of ash, floating away from the fire that was Seokjin himself. Insignificant, miniscule, and dull.

"When someone shows you that you're worth it, and that they care for you, it can make your personal hell a little less hellish, and hopefully, with time, maybe a little heavenly, too." Seokjin said. "Learning how to love myself and finally being confident was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and it wouldn't have been possible without help. Without Namjoon, I wouldn't be here, standing in front of you, as South Korea's Gordon Ramsay. And maybe one of you can help transform someone you know into someone equally amazing. It's easier than you think it is. Thank you for your time."

As Seokjin placed the microphone back onto the stand, he was bombarded with an enormous amount of applause, echoing throughout the gymnasium. He was fully aware of the homophobic students pumping their fists into the air, with their thumbs pointed towards the ground, but the cheering was louder. 

Ash was dead, lifeless and discarded.

But these students, these students were sparks, ready to take the world by storm. He could see it in their eyes, glowing with interest, like embers you'd see in a fireplace. Burning brightly, enough to outshine the sun. 

And when he looked to Jimin, he was rewarded with the brightest fire of them all.