"why would you even spit the cupcake out? you said it was delicious before she told you what was in it. that was so rude. you should've seen the look on amelia's face."
"i did," jimin quietly says, placing a hand over his eyes. he suddenly feels his legs being pushed to the side as hoseok sits next to him.
"so?" hoseok questions, crossing his arms. an exasperated expression is visible on his face.
"why do you care so much about this, hoseok?" jimin complains, propping himself up on his elbows. the younger's temper begins to rise within him.
"because i care about amelia and the bakery itself. it's been around for 60 years!"
hoseok allows his head to rest in the palms of his hands, letting out a loud sigh. jimin isn't convinced. there is something more to this.
"come on, you're not fooling anyone. why are you so mad at me-"
"you're a dick, jimin!" hoseok exclaims, giving the pink-haired boy a deathly glare. jimin stares at hoseok with wide eyes, he has never seen his best friend lose his temper this badly.
"hoseok, please calm down-"
"don't you dare finish that sentence," hoseok threatens. angry hoseok truly is a terrifying sight. "can't you see that you're in the wrong this time?"
"i know," jimin sighs, grasping the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "i'm just frustrated."
"what could billionaire park jimin be frustrated about?" hoseok scoffs, rolling his eyes as he does so.
that word. billionaire. it sets off something within jimin. he hates how it's the one trait that has defined him throughout his entire life.
"that's just it, hobi. i hate my cushy life. i hate my desk job. i hate working at my family's tech company. i hate that my future's already been written out for me."
the words pour out of jimin in an instant, a sign of how repressed he has kept them. he feels as if a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders once he confesses his true feelings to hoseok.
jimin confides in hoseok more than anyone in the world. but, in his mind, sharing your raw emotions is a sign of weakness. at least that's what his parents taught him. so jimin simply pushed down all of his insecurities and hoped that, if he ignored them long enough, they would disappear. however, they didn't. now they have burst through the surface.
an understanding look flashes across hoseok's face. "so that's why you came, huh?"
"yeah... but i also wanted to see you again. you've always done whatever you want without caring about what others think. you wrote your own future, hobi. i find that to be so admirable about you."
hoseok lets out a flustered laugh before looking over at his best friend. even though jimin can be hotheaded at times (which is almost all of the time), hoseok still loves him more than anything.
they're brothers.
"do you even want to go back to seoul?"
hoseok's question rings within jimin's ears. jimin already knows the answer, but he's too afraid to say it out loud. his family would disown him if he stayed. on the other hand, he could start his own life and family in his own way.
noticing jimin's conflicted state over the question, hoseok decides to change the topic.
"you know, amelia's bakery was passed down to her after her grandmother passed away a couple of years ago. i got to meet her when i first got here, she was a very lovely woman. she raised amelia all on her own."
"i had no idea..." jimin mutters, mentally cursing at himself for being so rude to amelia. she didn't deserve to have jimin's repressed feelings lashed out onto her.
"even though she loves to bake, it was kind of a burden to have the bakery thrusted upon her. it was a big responsibility to have at such a young age. i aways tried to help her out to the best of my extent. the bakery soon became my hangout spot. i actually learned most of my spanish thanks to her."
"god, i feel like such an asshole," jimin huffs. what he did was wrong. and he shouldn't have needed to know part of amelia's life story to realize that.
"good. that's called guilt. now you know you're in the wrong," hoseok smiles, sympathetically patting jimin's knee. a light bulb suddenly goes off in his head. "amelia's a really sweet girl, jimin. you two have a lot in common..."
"how can i make it up to her?" jimin desperately asks.
a wide grin spreads across the older's face, pleased to see jimin going along with his plan. another idea comes to his mind.
"by doing what she loves most: baking!"
jimin's eyes grow wide with worry. "i don't know the first thing about baking, hobi. i'll just make a fool out of myself and she'll hate me even more."
"once again: never fear, for hobi is here! i can help you out. i've learned a thing or two after all of these years of knowing her. also, i know what her favorite dessert is."
"what is it?"
"lemon cupcakes..." hoseok quietly mutters, avoiding jimin's gaze. however, the younger's eyes throw daggers in his direction.
