Chapter Text
Jungkook’s coffee of choice was very simple. He liked to drink one shot of espresso straight up in the morning. No use in prolonging the experience when he only did this out of necessity. He didn’t even start drinking it until he started residency. Jimin’s always loved coffee and never understood how he could survive without it which is why when he started drinking it the blonde was just delighted at this new development. But he has such a low tolerance anything more than a shot of espresso would give him palpitations.
Back to the point at hand: he liked things simple. His life was anything but.
So he tries to simplify all things that he can control. Which he apparently doesn’t have much of these days.
He texts Jimin back as he walks out of his car and into the hospital for his morning shift.
What do you mean?
Why?
What the hell?
[PJM]
Are you mad? You seem mad a little
Frustrated at the very least
Frustrated I guess a little
But more like…disappointed
[PJM]
A little?
I think a lot hahaha
Disappointed? YES.
[PJM]
I know. I can tell. I knew this is exactly how you’d react once you knew lol
Why do it then?
[PJM]
Because it’s my decision and my life whether you agree or not
You’ve made many decisions I was disappointed with
I just accept them
You can do the same for me, don’t you think?
Well, he can’t argue with that.
Fair enough
That is true
He puts his phone in his pocket as he enters their office and feels it vibrate with a couple more texts as he settles in for their morning report but resists the urge to look at it. He listens to…whatshisname (Mike something?) drone on about what happened last night to their patients and gives the latest updates for this morning. He personally does not have any procedures today and isn’t paying 100% attention since all he has to do is make rounds on his post-ops.
His intern for the day is Lia, a Korean-American. She’s never actually been to Korea though and he likes to make fun of her for it.
“Come on, little whitewashed kimbap. Rounds.” he says with a smirk.
She rolls her eyes and smirks back. Sassy as always. He’s known her since medical school and actually thinks of her as a little sister of sorts. She’s almost done with her intern year and will officially start as a Neurosurgery resident in a few months.
“You’re in a mood today but I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. Just…a mood.” she says as they start walking to the elevator on their way to the Surgery floor.
“I’m still trying to figure it out myself. Definitely not good though.”
“Why?”
“Jimin problems.”
“What did you do this time? I told you to stop being stupid and put a ring on it the moment the gets off the plane!”
They enter the elevator and he can’t help but chuckle darkly as he says, “Jimin’s not moving here anymore.”
Lia’s eyes widen and she tries to say something but stops herself. They start doing rounds, Lia takes the lead as the junior doctor on duty, Jungkook remains quiet mostly putting in additional input when needed. Their patient in room 208 needs their dressing changed, something Lia can definitely do on her own so he takes a minute to step out and look at his phone.
[PJM]
But what part is the most disappointing exactly?
It wouldn’t be a bad life it’s just not what you expected
But how can you just change everything?
[PJM]
I just woke up one day and realized I’m fine staying here
I really can’t tell you
It just happened
You’re gonna have to give me some time to get used to this
I wasn’t gone that long was I?
[PJM]
That was almost two years, bub.
No, like a year?
[PJM]
Almost two years.
Yeah but my grandma passed and it was a mess
Family is all still shitty
[PJM]
I know. That’s why I felt like I didn’t need to tell you these things
It didn’t feel like a big deal
It is a big fucking deal wth?
[PJM]
I don’t know what to tell you
You weren’t exactly happy with me back then
Didn’t think you wanted to know anything
He tries to think back to when his grandma passed away apparently almost two years ago now and he hates to admit it but Jimin was right. Time really does fly when you’re drowning with so much bullshit and family drama. He was holding on to the this while going through all that.
This being one Park Jimin moving to the States after finishing medical school. Which has always been the plan before their paths even crossed that one summer he spent in their ancestral home in Busan almost ten years ago.
He was born in Busan but he barely remembers any of it. The Jung family was into a lot of businesses: transportation, media, real estate, telecommunications. They dabbled in a little bit of everything. His mother, Jung SeoYun fell in love with his father Jeon Jungho while she was in college in America. They opted to settle down there and they visit during the summer every 2 years or so and hence he was closely acquainted with his family. Jeon Jungkook met Park Jimin one summer day he was with his older cousins. He was 17 with more limbs and wide shoulders than he knew what to do with. He’d started going to the gym a few months prior and had bulked up considerably. He’s always been told he was handsome and he doesn’t bother acting like he didn’t know. He was young and cocky. He thought he was hot shit. American boy, new, foreign. And at the time, he really was something. They came from a prominent family and as such he’s used to girls being randomly introduced to him. It was a small circle after all. Girls from other well-off families flirting with him, asking him on dates, some coming to him for some sexual experiences they figured they couldn’t get from the more conservative "local” boys.
He was with his cousins Ji-woo and Hoseok, at their beach house, when he first laid eyes on Jimin. It wasn’t really a party per se, but there were quite a number of people in attendance. Ji-woo-noona was popular and her group of friends from college (mostly female) were there as well as Hobi-hyung’s friends from school. Jimin was lying down on one of the lounge chairs, oversized sunglasses on and a bottle of Coke in hand. He wasn’t really participating in the conversation, just nodding and laughing along with them a bit. He noticed him because his sunglasses just seemed to emphasize his lips, full and pouty and pink.
Jungkook liked. Very much.
He’s known he was bisexual ever since he was 16 and has kissed and has done some other things with boys. He wanted to kiss and maybe do some other things with this boy, too.
Jungkook was regaling them with the story of Bianca, his recent ex-girlfriend. She was pretty but was very clingy and he got tired of her easily and wouldn’t stop coming around even after they broke up.
“Like, at the time we’ve been broken up already but she would still make me breakfast and give it to me before classes start. Can you believe that?”
They all laugh.
“You’re a jerk.” Jimin says. Very nonchalant.
“Excuse me?” Says Jungkook.
Everyone just stays quiet, gauging the situation.
“I said you’re a jerk.” Jimin repeats. He takes a sip of coke and sits up slowly.
“Okay? But did you listen to the part where I did tell her I don’t like her anymore and I very clearly broke up with her but she still did it?” Jungkook says, clearly agitated.
“I did. You’re still a jerk. It’s not funny.”
“Jungkook-ah, maybe he has a point actually…” Ji-woo says.
“Yeah, she still had feelings for you and was doing nice things for you after you broke up. You should have just told her to stop but you didn’t did you? You just let it go on because it fed your ego which is why you’re telling this story, right? To point out that girls like you soooooo much?” Jimin says, still very calm.
“No, that’s not-“ Jungkook tries to counter.
“Jimin-ah!” a tall boy with fluffy looking curly brown hair yelled from near the water. He had a boxy smile on his face as he waves at them and both his cousins wave back as well.
“And that’s my cue to go, bye everyone.” Jimin stands and walks to the tall boy. They start talking animatedly.
“Okay?” Jungkook says.
“That was just Jimin being Jimin. He’s very blunt but he’s actually very nice. And is also maybe right?” Hoseok says, putting his left arm around Jungkook’s shoulders. “I know him well, you’d like him if you knew him.”
“Okay, maybe. I hate that I made a bad first impression.” Jungkook says. Especially when he’s so pretty, he thinks but doesn’t say.
The next time he sees Jimin was after 2 days. He was on his morning run when he spotted him seated al fresco at a cafe, earphones on and typing away on his phone with a croissant and an iced coffee. He wasn’t wearing sunglasses this time and for the first time he’s able to see just how fucking pretty he is. He has an oval shaped face, almond shaped eyes with sweeping curvy eyelids, perfect straight nose, high cheekbones and those damn lips.
He jogs over and says, in English, “Is this seat taken?”
Jimin looks up, raises an eyebrow when he sees him. “You can sit if you want I guess.” Also in perfect English, as he takes off his earphones.
“So…I just want to say I think we started off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?” Jungkook just blurts out. “I tend to say stupid things and people just usually let me get away with it. But not you. And I like that.”
“Of course people let you get away with it. You’re cute or whatever. But I just call ‘em as I see ‘em. You okay with that?” Jimin asks.
“I’m cute?” Jungkook smirks.
“Or whatever.” Jimin says and for the first time Jungkook sees him smile. Eyes turning into little crescent moons. So fucking pretty.
And that was it. He just knew. Jimin was it. IT. They spent that summer glued together. He doesn’t think anybody knows him better than Jimin knew him by the end of it. Jimin probably knew him better than he knew himself. Jungkook’s feeling started out as something like a crush, maybe? He didn’t really know what to call it. He just…liked Jimin. Like as a whole. He liked his entire being. He couldn’t even hide it even if he tried. He would often say and do things that gave away how Jimin was special, the exception to the rule. It didn't help that they just somehow understood each other and can spend hours talking and laughing, never running out of things to say. Jungkook has never had anything so wonderful. When he had to go back to Vegas, he thought that maybe that would fizzle out but technology was a wonderful thing and they found themselves in this constant cycle: friends who talk a lot and flirt way too much, then someone will confess to some degree then they’re in some sort of dating limbo, then comes the brief moment of bliss until the final stage wherein someone will overthink and they fight and “break up”. Maybe date other people for a while. They won’t talk for a variable amount of time but then either one will reach out and the cycle starts again. A constant push and pull. That was the only way he could summarize it. You could write an entire book series on them. They would be a hit tv show filled with multiple seasons of drama. They’ve both matured throughout the years to some degree (Jimin more than him definitely), growing up but never really apart. They just loved each other too much. They take turns deciding who flies over to visit, which became considerably harder as they both ended up in medical school. Throughout the years, he's admittedly done many stupid things in life he is not proud of and Jimin knows it all and somehow, by some miracle, still loves him.
Park Jimin was a constellation of contradictions he just could not get enough of. He would gladly give you some of his food but would never even get one chip or fry of yours. He was very polite and charming but would never hesitate to call someone out when they were being rude (case in point, their first meeting). He was so pessimistic about his own life but would always be so hopeful and positive whenever anybody needs advice. He hated surprises because he didn’t like “not knowing” things so he meticulously plans things out but also is very impulsive, suddenly deciding doing something and he would like to do it RIGHT NOW please thank you very much. When they were younger, Jimin was adamant that he would never have sex with someone he didn't like but as they grew older Jimin would alternate between that and using people to get off and forgetting about them. He hated when anyone looked down on people who didn't have "nice" things but he will refuse to wear anything that isn't designer. Jimin was very indecisive but also very decisive. Give him a menu and he’ll take forever picking out what to eat, afraid of making a bad food choice but he’ll tell you he’s only wanted to be a doctor for as long as he can remember and has already picked out what college to attend up to what specialization he wants to do. He wants to go to SNU for his medicine degree then after a year he’ll take the USMLE and move to the US for his Surgery residency.
Which is why Jungkook was stumped. In his mind’s eye it was going to be so simple. Park Jimin moves to San Francisco because all his aunts are there and at first they’ll visit each other back and forth. Las Vegas after all is just roughly an hour and a half via plane and he isn’t opposed to doing that regularly if he gets to see the beautiful boy smile at him. Then he’ll somehow get lucky and convince Jimin to move to the same city after he charms his family and reassures them he’ll take care of him. Jimin will insist on having his own place even if he offers that he can just stay with Jungkook. Jimin will just fit in seamlessly in his life. They’ll spend all their free time together until he finally gets Jimin to move in with him. Jimin starts residency at the same hospital. They both become establish wildly successful practices. They get married. Maybe adopt a kid or two. They live happily ever after. The end.
Simple, right?
It was always supposed to be them in the end. That was always the plan, wasn't it? What did those tv shows Jimin loved to watch call it? Endgame? Jimin and Jungkook were supposed to be endgame. Sure, they didn't have the best track record and one can even argue their relationship that has been on and off for just maybe over 10 years could at times be toxic but he's always been sure. He felt it in his bones when they first met as teenagers and he sure as hell still thinks so after all they've been through. They had it all planned out. So why the hell did Jimin just throw all of that away without an explanation?