kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

019: burn

chapter 19: burn
location: columbus, oh, day 1

"What. The hell. Is this."

Yoongi got out of the magic purple van and looked around. The van had zapped them to some other Midwestern city, but had landed them right smack dab in the middle of a park. And man, was there a weird festival going on. There were stands everywhere, selling arts and crafts and painting kids' faces. He could smell food wafting in from food trucks. Somewhere in the distance, music was playing.

He hadn't minded the block party. But this was a different crowd. Most every man was shirtless, and most ever woman was in some state of undress. He watched a girl walk by and wondered if Levi's even made jeans that short. Another smell hit his nose, and it took him back to Astor Place and Alphabet City.

He shook his head. "Yep, I'm just gonna stay in the van."

"You get back here," Hoseok said, and he grabbed Yoongi by the arm, pulling him back out. "You are gonna have just as much fun with us as we are with you, and you're gonna like it!"

Yoongi pouted. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are. Now get your shirt off and let's go!"

What? And Yoongi had to pause because Hoseok untucked his shirt and ripped it off his head. Now he stood in front of Yoongi only wearing his shorts and sneakers. Yoongi glanced behind Hoseok and saw Jungkook was shirtless, as well, and he already had passersby staring at him.

Aw, HELL TO THE NO.

But when he couldn't resist peeking around the van, Namjoon was not shirtless, but just in a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. It showed off Namjoon's arms but thankfully not his abs. Yoongi kept his shirt on and was thankful to see Taehyung still had his on, as well as Seokjin.

Jimin, meanwhile, had already wandered away from the group and was being lei'd by some volunteers. He ran back to the group. "I got one for everybody!" he said as he stripped the leis off of his neck and passed them around.

Yoongi took one and put it on his neck. When he looked at Jimin, he thought Jimin looked like a surfer: tanned and perfect stomach with the lei decorating his neck. All Jimin had to do was attract the right lady, but Jimin was always too focused on his schoolwork. He had never even asked a girl on a date.

"So are we just gonna leave this van in the middle of the festival? I mean, I can totally sit here with it and make sure it doesn't get towed, we're gonna kind of need it -"

Yoongi was speaking to thin air. The boys had joined the festival crowds and were walking around in their pairs. He felt a tap on his shoulder and realized Jimin had waited on him. "Wanna go together?"

They did and wandered to the nearest food stand. Yoongi whipped out some money and bought them both corn dogs, which they ate while they wandered. "Jimin, why do you have your shirt off? Don't you have any modesty?"

"I wear what I want, when I want it. And right now, this whole shirtless thing seems pretty normal." Jimin pointed at a group of guys, all shirtless. "Isn't that right?"

The entire group of men hooted and hollered at Jimin. "Looking good, sweet cheeks!" one of them yelled.

"Jimin, they were totally gay," Yoongi whispered as they walked away.

Jimin shrugged. "So what? So am I."

Yoongi choked on his corn dog. "You what?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?" Jimin winked at Yoongi. "Sorry for letting it slip. Don't tell the others yet, mmkay?"

Yoongi had a bajillion questions, but everything suddenly made sense. The nights Jimin would be out and about, not giving specifics as to where he was going. The fact that he had never dated women before.

"So you're definitely gay."

"Yeah, isn't that just what I said? You don't, like, hate me for it, right?"

"Oh, no, Jimin — you're one of us, you know that, right? None of us are gonna hate you for this."

There was a sense of nervousness behind Jimin's eyes, but he nodded. "Yeah. I know. And I've wanted to mention it for some time. But there's just so much going on, and well, it just kind of slipped out."

"But what happens if your parents find out? And aren't you afraid of...you know...getting sick?"

"Heck no. Why would I want to spend my entire life being afraid of living it?" Jimin bit into the corn dog again. "Besides, I get tested as often as possible. There's a Planned Parenthood down by NYU, so my boyfriend and I go there."

"You have a boyfriend?!?" Yoongi was in shock.

"Mmhmm! But I've kept it a secret from all of you." And for once, Park Jimin looked kind of sad. "Or at least I had a boyfriend. We clicked really well at the beginning of this year, and we go on dates and stuff like that. But I told him I'd be back in Korea this summer, and so we're on a break. Problem is...I actually really miss him."

Yoongi absorbed this information as he walked with Jimin through the festival. He thought all the way back, to being in high school, waiting up all night to send emails to someone he thought was his best friend. But now, understanding what he knew now, that person probably hadn't been a best friend at all.

"Jimin?"

Jimin stopped walking, turning toward his hyung. "Hmm?"

"Can - can I tell you a secret? Promise not to tell?"

There was something about Yoongi's voice that Jimin understood. It was, after all, the same shaky voice he had used to tell others he was gay for the first time. And so, he paid it forward. When Yoongi broke down into tears, right in the middle of the festival, he just stayed put and hugged him, as long as it took, until the tears were all gone and Yoongi felt better.

"This is not a death sentence," Jimin whispered. "They will always try to make you think that. But it's not. It's just who you are, and you can't change that. So embrace it."

"Is - is it okay if it takes a while?"

"It can take as long as you need it to, Yoongi-hyung. We have all the time in the world."

Yoongi thankfully didn't have time to admit that he may or may not like how Namjoon's body looks without a shirt on. Jimin saw the purple van being towed before he did.

They both sprinted toward it. The van was on the back of a massive tow truck, now being driven through the festival on its way to the tow service. Luckily, with all the crowds, it had to drive super slow, and Jimin and Yoongi saw Namjoon and Taehyung sprinting towards it. Taehyung threw himself up at the van and pulled open the back doors.

The tow truck stopped for a moment, long enough for the four boys to climb in. Taehyung threw Namjoon the keys as Seokjin, Jungkook, and Hoseok got to the van and climbed in.

"Shut the doors!" Namjoon yelled as he turned the van on. Since it was being towed, he couldn't drive it, but they had one chance to get out in one piece. He held his breath and pressed the supercharged button, and thank God reality blipped around them. Within ten seconds, they were parked in the grass, somewhere new.

Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. Jimin, put your shirt on, damnit!"