On the other side

[1]

Jimin

"Sejin!" He shouted, his eyes darting from place to place. The calico usually never stepped foot out of his apartment, he must've accidentally left the door loose. The panic began to rise as the search became futile. "Sejin! Are you here...?" Jimin looked behind bushes and in alleyways, she couldn't have gotten far. She hates the outdoors and she wouldn't survive a second out in it.

Jimin chewed on his lips and felt himself become teary-eyed at the stinging of his nose. What if she- no. Don't you dare think about it. He continued walking hopelessly until he heard a faint barking. Sejin has always been scared of dogs, maybe if he can stop the barking she'll come out.

With that thought, he sprinted toward the barking and came to a halt when he spotted a large german shepherd barking up at a tree. "Oh god, you look big and scary..." Jimin shuddered and edged closer to the furry dog. He was never a dog person, he preferred admiring them from a distance.

"Hey buddy" Jimin spoke nervously, what was the dog barking at? A squirrel? At a safe enough distance, the shepherd looked at him and began wagging his tail excitedly, then continued barking as if it found treasure. Jimin took the moment to look up into the tree and gasped.

"Sejin!" He screeched, which only set off the dog more. Jimin almost wept like a baby when he saw his precious calico propped on a branch with her ears folded back in fear. Jimin could easily reach her if it wasn't for the madly barking dog that looked like it could tear his arms off.

"Shoo! You're very large, I love my cat very much... please don't make me fight you. Because i wi-"

"SOJU!" Jimin's head whipped around at the sound of a loud roar. He couldn't tell if the figure bounding toward him was angry or relieved. A tall man with dark hair tackled the dog into the ground and Jimin gaped.

"What the fuck you fat bastard!" The man wrestled with his dog, which it seemed to love. Jimin stared in utter shock and maybe awe, "You run away from me again and i'll put a collar on you that says Fat Bitch" The man grumbled and finally stood up. It seemed he didn't realise Jimin was stood there the whole time and froze when their eyes met.

"Oh- uh..." There was an awkward silence before Sejin meowed and Jimin gasped again, turning around quickly to grab his cat from the tree. He could have cried from relief then and there but no, he had an audience.

"I'm sorry if my dog chased your cat. He doesn't mean any harm, he really loves cats for some reason." The man spoke softly and Jimin was in a complete daze. Had he met him before?
The face was so familiar yet so distant it was like trying to grab hold of water.

Jimin remained silent. He didn't know what to say, his brain was still reaching at strings to find a memory he didn't have. His eyes darted to the man's lips, it was familiar, his voice had a familiar ring... his hair, his eyes. Nothing.

"H-have we met before?" Jimin finally spoke to the stranger.

"If you live around here, you might see me walking my dog? I'm very local, i work at the university just down the road." They talked as if they were friends and Jimin startled himself again as he bowed immediately.

"Ah! My name is Park Jimin, it's nice to meet you. Sorry, i didn't introduce earlier, thank you for saving my cat... is that your dog?" Jimin asked hesitantly, glancing at the dog that is now sat beside its owner obediently while the former stroked his cat's ears to calm her.

"I'm Kim Taehyung. Yeah, this is my beloved Soju. Don't ask about the name... it just came to me." He laughed and Jimin laughed along. It felt familiar, when he smiled it felt close to home, it didn't feel strange nor forced. Like he had done it a million times to the person standing before him.

"My cat, Sejin. She uh- she's afraid of dogs. Soju must've spooked her out the house." Jimin chuckled sheepishly, he couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact for more than two seconds. Taehyung hummed and smiled.

"Well, i'm sorry for causing you trouble. Could i make up for it by buying you a drink?"

Taehyung

A drink? What the fuck? He had work to be doing, definitely. The look on Jimin's face signalled to him that human interaction was something rare. Plus, the boy had a cat. That says it all.

"I uh- could we put a raincheck on that? I'm sorry, i just have work to do.." Jimin replied and Taehyung internally sighed with relief. 

"Yeah, tomorrow sounds like a good plan." Why was he making plans with a total stranger as if they were best friends? The way he spoke was casual and informal, he didn't feel uncomfortable talking to him even in the moments of awkward silences.

Jimin nodded and waved goodbye with a polite smile while Taehyung stood still in disbelief. Soju began whining and nudging his calf "What? You're hungry? Again?" Taehyung grumbled and turned around to walk home while the german shepherd followed obediently with a goofy smile. 

He was walking behind Jimin a safe distance away, they seemed to live in the same direction. Taehyung didn't take much notice and only swam in his thoughts, he couldn't help but think he had definitely met Jimin before. 

Five minutes of walking and he was basically following Jimin while the boy cooed to his cat. Taehyung's apartment was to his right and apparently so was Jimin's. Taehyung became more and more irked as he walked his way closer to his apartment block while also religiously following Jimin. 

Did he live in the same apartment block? 

In he went through the gated door, Taehyung followed close by. Up the stairs Jimin went and so did he. 

To the point where they stood side by side in the lift, the deafening silence surrounding them. Taehyung wanted to speak out and tell him that he was by no means following him but decided to keep the silence. 

Taehyung's bones rattled as they got off at the same floor, walking in the same direction. He thought he was able to exhale when he stopped at his door when Jimin suddenly came to a halt too....

Right next to him.

They both stared at each other in bewilderment.

"You-" Jimin was the balcony boy, the boy whom he listened to- night by night. Jimin was his neighbour?

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise" Jimin laughed sheepishly while trying to nervously put the key in the door. Taehyung chuckled to himself and smiled widely. What a coincidence. 

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Neighbour." He grinned.

-

Hellooooooo!!

Sorry the update took so long. I was mapping out the plot of the story and changed a lot about it. But here it is! 

A meet cute hehe

I hope you guys are liking it so far :)

i love your comments and i love you! 

- B