The Bet - Masters of Puppetry » Jikook

열일곱

Part Seventeen
"Break ups really are the worst."
  
  
"Leave me alone, Hoseok. I told you I was fine," Jimin mewled while fighting for the blanket with his friend.

"Yeah, you can talk yourself into believing that as much as you want but you can't fool me. I can see right through you," Hoseok responded calmly. He had been standing next to the younger's bed for about ten minutes now, trying to get him out of his apartment and be an active part of society again.

Jimin groaned loudly. "Why do you always have to be so damn annoying?"

"Don't make me swear and now come on," the red-haired commanded him to stand up. "Get ready. We're leaving in five."

"I hate you," the younger called after him as he sat up begrudgingly to change into more decent clothes. The last couple of days he had done nothing but crying over schmaltzy movies in his worn out sweats while eating countless bowls of ice cream.

Jimin wasn't fine.

And although he hated to admit it, he was so, so glad to have Hoseok. Without him, he probably wouldn't have gotten out of the building for the next few weeks, at least. He was his source of energy, the sun that could brighten his day immediately and, of course, his hope. Hope that everything will fall back into place when it was time.

"I know for a fact that you love me," the elder chuckled the moment he saw Jimin enter the hallway to put on his boots. "Looking good there, Park."

"Thanks," the blond man murmured with a slight blush on his face when Hoseok grabbed his hand and headed outside.

[...]

"You must be Jimin!"

It came as a surprise for him when the man with pink hair flung his arms around him all of a sudden. "Hi! I'm Baekhyun," he introduced himself with a friendly grin on his face. He was almost as enthusiastic as Hoseok. No wonder they were friends.

"Please forgive his mood. He's going through a bad break up," the red-haired explained at the top of his voice because of the loud music while stroking Jimin's lower back reassuringly.

The youngest rolled his eyes at Hoseok's remark. "You don't have to tell everyone, you know. It's not a trait of character."

Baekhyun, who also gave him a soft pat on the shoulder, ignored his complaint. "Break ups really are the worst," he said shortly after, to show Jimin it was okay to be vulnerable, instead. "I'll go get us some drinks, be right back."

Once he was sure they were out of earshot, which they probably were as soon as Baekhyun wasn't standing directly next to them anymore, Jimin spoke up, "Why are we here exactly? I was okay with going out, also with your friends' being there. But a club? You know very well that it's reminding me of... him."

"That's exactly why we're here!"

"Huh?"

Hoseok shook his head, a wide smile playing around his lips as he put one arm around the younger. "You need to see that not everything is about him. Yeah, you two met in a club. So what? Are you planning on shunning them forever now?"