Pathways

The Left(l)overs

Yoongi's inspiration for the various decorations in his living room came from all the generic surprise-party scenes in American movies. It was knowledge he never anticipated using but was grateful for, nonetheless. He was cautious enough to fill his shopping basket with everything from fairy lights - because he knew Jimin adored them - to party hats, confetti poppers, balloons, funny straws, drinks for 14 people, and finger food. He would have cooked if he didn't have to work extra at the studio to compensate for the day off he booked on Friday.

His manager had been particularly encouraging of the little break and she looked at him as if somebody died each time they saw one other in the hall. He had been honest with her about his breakup and that he was working on being better but she still had a tint of pity in her eyes whenever they interacted. Maybe he looked miserable. " More than usual ," he silently concluded.

MunHee had been disturbingly fast at arranging the majority of things they bought which prompted Namjoon to compare her to literal angels. Who knew Namjoon was cheesy with his girlfriends? Yoongi grimaced and left them to work together in the living room. Well, he left MunHee to work and keep an eye on her boyfriend so that he didn't break anything. If she was an angel then she was a multitasking one.

By the time Yoongi plated the food, Jin and Hoseok had also arrived and were on music and drinks duty. However, the real hero had been Jungkook when Yoongi realized he forgot to pick up the cake, miscalculating his time. The bakery he placed the order with was reaching its closing hour in about 10 minutes. Sure, delivery was speedy in Seoul but none of them believed the cake would have made it and before Jin could decide who to call to solve the situation, Yoongi had already thrown his car keys to Jungkook and the maknae was out of sight in seconds without a single whine or extra explanations.

Did Yoongi pray Jungkook didn't scratch his car? He did, silently, while arranging corndogs on a plate. Did he hope the maknae would get back in time? He didn't need to. Jungkook entered the room short of breath, holding a giant cake box that he settled on the table in a bit over 15 minutes. Just driving a car one wasn't accustomed to so easily was impressive but doing it fast had to be qualified as a superpower, Yoongi thought.

Other members of the dance crew had arrived a few minutes before the ETA for Taehyung and Jimin, exactly as Hoseok had instructed them in a private group chat. Furthermore, Yoongi also thought about control over the exact moment when the two boys walked through the door. He was in a video call with Taehyung as soon as they reached the apartment building so they saw them coming up the stairs in all the weird angles Tae needed to hold his phone so that he wouldn't expose himself. Mostly, the video feed contained Taehyung's legs and shoes but it was enough for them to arrange themselves and light the candles.

When Tae opened the door and pushed Jimin inside with a loud "Tadaaaa", Yoongi was thankful that he explained the situation to his neighbors and apologized in advance for the ruckus while promising that they will be mindful. To his surprise, the honesty was much appreciated and once he finished adding how one of their friends had a plane for Europe the next day hence deeming the party necessary on a Thursday evening, all of the neighbors were understanding. Or maybe they were just too polite to outright state their dissatisfaction? Yoongi didn't know, but he felt victorious all in all.

Needless to say, Jimin was beyond shocked. He expected a quiet few hours, not a full-blown party, complete with party poppers that were already all over the previously clean floor. He wanted to take a few steps back as his mouth fell open but Taehyung gently pushed him further into the room with a devilish smile.

"How? Who? I... don't..." he tried saying but Namjoon was already patting Yoongi shoulder exposing him by shouting "it was all hyung's idea!" The statement made Jimin ignore the cake MunHee held in her arms and run to Yoongi, locking him in a tight embrace, pouring seconds of bliss over him between giggles and whispers.