Between Footsteps| p.jm

TWENTY-ONE| -.-. .-.. --- ... .

With everything that had been going on, at first you were completely convinced that your brain was now making things up.

You were cursing your mind for conjuring the happening, but in continuous staring towards Jimin you soon found that his words had very much been real and they weren't a figment of your imagination. 

He was clearly attempting to keep up his confident persona and had even somehow managed to allow a light smile to touch his lips. However, he was also unable to stop the light pink hue against his face or the awkward out of place motions of his shuffling as he seemed to be waiting in a nervous energy for you to respond.

Your mouth had lightly fallen open but you were quick to clamp it shut as a sort of burning sensation touched your insides and you almost felt dizzy from the feeling.

The shock and nerves that were now cascading through you from the question were overwhelming, but you were soon able to recover just enough to acknowledge that you had been standing there like an idiot.

"S-Sorry, a... a what?"

Jimin's eyes glinted as his face attempted to keep it's composure. He tried to smile but it looked rather sad in comparison to his usual gestures.

"Peanut, do you not know what a kiss is? You act confused every time I bring it up."

"I do!" You were quick to snap, then swallowed hard in attempts to rid the odd sensation in your stomach. Like usual, Jimin was mostly acting nonchalant towards such things. It made you feel like an idiot for treating the situation any different.

"Then... an on stage kiss would mean that we kiss, on stage, at the end of our performance."

You bit your lower lip as he explained and confirmed your suspicions. 

Jimin's hands were lightly shaking as he watched for your reaction and saw that you clearly weren't immediately on board. He clenched them into fists and breathed out through his lips so that the strands resting against his forehead moved slightly. Somehow he still managed to force a smile.

"Look, it was just a suggestion," he made out while trying to ease you into feeling secure. "I understand if-"

"In front of people?" You interrupted, pursing your lips in heated thought as you crossed your arms securely in front of you. 

Somehow Jimin found that the color both left and flooded his face at once under your words.

"H-Huh?"

"I mean... we'd kiss in front of people? In front of an audience?" You questioned more softly, lightly playing with your ear lobe and avoiding eye contact. You were doing your best to view the situation the same way Jimin was.

It was an act, and he clearly was considering the kiss as a way to better the performance and make it more meaningful. 

Jimin fell a bit quiet as he was silently thrown into conflicted turmoil.

"Well... yeah," he finally admitted, unsure how to feel but trying to remain calm in composure. A small part of him that he hated was whispering wistful hopes into his ears, like how it was the audience you seemed to be concerned with... and not the kiss itself. 

His face burned as for the first time he wondered how you really felt towards him, and if he had been wrong to assume your feelings had never been on equal footing with his.

But these thoughts were clearly out of place, and he clenched his mouth shut in realization that his mind was practically making things up in an odd hopeful manner.

If there was one thing Jimin had learned in the Between, it was that there was no use in being hopeful.

"I'm sorry if this makes the performance not as good," you nervously made out, trying to rid the thoughts flooding your mind as you focused in on your dance partner and tried to remain professional when handling the question, "But I'm not going to lie, I don't know if I'm comfortable with that."