Chapter Text
PART II
Run away
Jimin practically runs the entire way to his room. No, scratch that, he actually runs like a madman running for his life. When he slams the door shut behind him, his chest rises and falls rapidly.
His nose is frozen from the hard wind that hits his face, and his clothes are full of fallen leaves and mud. He gets rid of them as if they are on fire, tearing off the fucking white shirt from his head with violence, throwing it over his shoulder as he walks to the bathroom.
Jimin turns on the light and looks at himself in the mirror.
The corners of his eyes are red, his hair looks like a bird's nest, pointing in all different directions, his cheeks are flushed, and his lips are swollen and slightly bleeding. There are bite marks all over his bottom lip. Jimin touches it with the tips of his cold fingers, his eyes wide as he faces the stranger in the mirror.
He's never looked like this before, red all over, disheveled, like a walking mess.
Jimin can barely even keep himself upright because his legs are shaking like crazy. All the muscles of his body feel soft and weird, as if they have become jelly.
Jimin pushes his body back, away from the image, feeling his blood heat up. He takes off his pants, feeling the air hitting his hot skin like a cruel reminder of how hard he still is. He refuses to acknowledge that, though.
He walks out of the bathroom, ignoring how the bruises on his waist and the side of his hips are already starting to purple. Ignoring how heavy his leaking cock feels with every step he takes.
He pushes the closet door open, grabs the first gym shorts he finds, and pulls them on quickly, trying to cover himself as fast as possible. But the moment the hem passes over the sensitive skin of his dick head, Jimin's whole body leans forward when pure, wild pleasure runs through his veins.
He moans, using one hand to support his weight against the wall. His whole body freezes, trying to control his fast breathing, trying to control the urge to grab himself and stroke the hard length, the need to release stronger than he's ever felt before, even during rut.
Flashes of Jungkook's warm breath against the skin of his face as he held him by the nape to push his tongue against Jimin's mouth, hit him out of the blue, and Jimin's knees buckle forward when his cock twitches.
Jimin presses his head against the wall, still holding his shorts halfway up with one hand, feeling so lost and so wrong his eyes water. His eyes drift down, and he looks at the way his cock stands proudly and thick, the tip wet and glistening, the length red and furious, begging him to grab it and stroke. The shorts rested just below his tight balls.
Jimin pouts with watering eyes, messy hair falling over his forehead as he looks down, not knowing what to do. He can't just succumb to his body's desires. He can't allow himself to come. He has never even done this for fuck's sake. Never had the need to, anyway.
And now here he is, on the brink of insanity because of a fucking alpha.
Jimin had the most gorgeous omegas handed to him during rut: males, females, soft skin, pretty curves, sweet scent, and cute moans. Yet even when his wolf was crazy in sexual lust, plunging into wet, slippery holes, he never felt blinded by pleasure or without control over his own actions.
And tonight, in the middle of the woods, Jimin had lost all sense of self-preservation and control over his own body the moment Jungkook pressed their lips together.
It was different than any kiss Jimin ever had because Jungkook wasn't an omega. He wasn't sweet and sensual; he was violent and aggressive. He took what he wanted, and he controlled Jimin to have him just the way he liked best. His scent was so musky and strong it clouded Jimin's mind completely, his calloused hands squeezing Jimin's skin as if Jungkook wanted to mold the flesh under his fingers.
A groan escapes Jimin's abused lips when he remembers, his hips thrusting forward unconsciously. He hides his face in the crook of his scarred forearm, feeling the rough patterns scratching the sensitive skin of his face.
Jungkook saw it.
Jungkook touched them so carefully that it wrecked Jimin's control.
He opens his eyes and pulls up the shorts at once, ignoring the pain that hits him when his sensitive cock is rudely buried under fabric, also pulling a long-sleeve shirt over his head, covering the embarrassing scars and the even more mortifying memories.
Jimin walks out of the closet and grabs the whole crystal bottle, downing the dark liquid at once, feeling his throat burn and his stomach turn upside down. He needs to calm the fuck down, but his heart won't stop thundering inside his chest, his hands won't stop shaking as he grabs another bottle and pours himself another drink, in a glass this time.
But even the alcohol is not enough to extinguish the fire within himself; if anything, it actually adds fuel to his messy thoughts.
"I'm the weak one," Jungkook had said, closer than they ever had been. "I'm weak when it comes to you ."
"What does this even suppose to mean?" Jimin groans to the empty room. "How dare he? Who the fuck does he think he is?!" he asks the walls, walking back and forth with a half glass full of whiskey and turbulent thoughts.
Just a couple of weeks ago, they were throwing punches at each other, and Jimin even almost killed him. And yet tonight, Jungkook out of nowhere grabs him in the middle of the woods and kisses the shit out of him as if he had been wanting to for a very long time.
When Jimin knows very well Jungkook hates him just as much, when Jimin knows they have been resenting each other since they were kids.
Why would he do such an absurd thing?
And why the fuck would Jimin correspond instead of ending the motherfucker's life right there?
Jimin empties the contents of the glass at once, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. He can't; he is going insane. He is about to jump out of the balcony just to put an end to his thoughts when a knock on the door startles him.
Jimin's blood freezes, and he stops in the middle of a step, staring at the door with wide eyes.
Whoever it is knocks again, making Jimin almost jump out of his skin.
Is he...
He can't even complete the thought, his stomach turning upside down, his body heating up with unwanted anticipation. He forces himself to walk towards the door, his mind completely blank, almost like a doll.
He controls the trembling in his fingers when he pulls it open.
His eyes automatically lift up, unconsciously expecting to find dark orbs like the night sky outside, but he finds nothing because standing in front of him, a little shorter than he is, is Yoongi.
"Hey," he greets, and Jimin refuses to acknowledge whether what runs through him is relief or disappointment.
He opens a yellow grin and nods back, opening space for the omega to walk in. "Yoongi, I wanted to talk to you," Jimin says as he closes the door.
Yoongi opens his mouth to respond, but his steps suddenly stop in the middle of the room. He furrows his eyebrows, his nose scrunching up as he looks around. "Was Jungkook here?" he asks, making Jimin's heart skip a beat.
"What?!" he asks a little too loudly, an awkward laughter escaping his lips before he can stop himself. "No! No, no," Jimin shakes his head. "He wasn't here at all. Why would you even say that?" another weird laughter.
Yoongi raises one brow, clearly surprised by Jimin's overreaction to such a simple question. He squints his eyes in his direction, and Jimin makes the most effort he has ever made in his life to stay still.
"It's just that the room smells heavily of him," Yoongi replies, sniffing around one more time. "Of you both, actually. It feels like I just walked into a thunderstorm in the middle of the woods."
Jimin can feel his face getting hotter. He forces a chuckle again, walking towards the balcony he never opened before to slide the glass door. "Ah," he says when the fresh cold breeze enters the room. "He was here to report his state. I guess I forgot."
Jimin turns around with a tight smile, and Yoongi faces him, jaw open, so clearly shocked that Jimin feels the panic starting to creep into his mind. He quickly rubs his lips with the palm of his hand, self-conscious.
"I just bumped into him on the way," Yoongi says. "He seemed to be very distressed."
Jimin's heart beats so fast inside his chest that he thinks he can actually pass out at any moment. He does his best to control his scent and his facial expression, but the tension on his shoulders is very apparent.
Yoongi squints his eyes, looking at Jimin upside down with his black and white orbs as if he can see right through Jimin's soul to his most hidden secrets, buried so deeply that not even himself can have access to.
"Did you two fight again?" he asks finally, and Jimin only notices he was holding his breath when a shaken exhale escapes his bitten lips.
"Yes," he nods, thanking the heavens for the dimmed light in the bedroom and the fact that Yoongi's vision is not the best with only one functional eye. "Yes, we fought. That’s it."
Yoongi looks at him for a little while longer, the night breeze from the open door ruffling the white dress shirt he wears tucked into his pants, bringing back memories of Jimin. He's traumatized.
" I should never wear a white shirt ever again," he promises himself as shivers run down his spine.
"So," he interrupts Yoongi's line of thought before he realizes exactly what is happening here, "why are you here?"
"Right," Yoongi sighs, deciding to let it go for now. "I'm here to tell you what I have found out about this whole war with the Kim pack."
Jimin's aura shifts, getting more serious as every other thought is temporarily swapped out of his head. "Go ahead," he says, crossing his arms over his chest with a nod.
Finally, the answers he needs.
"Well," Yoongi starts, "I'm sure since the beginning you also thought there was something not quite right about this whole situation." He waits for Jimin to confirm before continuing. "Everything, from the timing of the first attack to the attackers themselves. Why would the Kim's send a bunch of untrained, barely presented alphas to accomplish such an important matter as the assassination of the Park Heir?"
"Doesn't make much sense for sure," Jimin chuckles dryly.
"I interrogated the only survivor of that night, and the answers he gave us were just enough to serve as proof for the head alpha to declare war as retaliation. I thought that that was odd too," Yoongi scratches his chin deep in thought, the red scar over his eye visible even in the dim light. "That's why I asked him more questions when we were alone, and what I found out took me to the club where they got the information for the attack."
"Wait," Jimin interrupts him with a frown, "they got the information at a club?"
"Not exactly," Yoongi answers. "The overall information they received over the phone through a disposable number we couldn't track. But the specific details, like the time and location of where you would be, were passed by a waiter in a club that doesn't belong to either of our territories."
Jimin's heartbeat starts to increase, adrenaline running through his veins. "What club? And more importantly, who is the waiter?"
"Dreams NightClub, just past our border," Yoongi says. "And about the waiter, well, that's the tricky part."
"How come?" Jimin furrows.
"Well, before I could get the description of them, the prisoner was taken to the infirmary. So I had no face to look for, only a place," Yoongi's voice is calm as the gentle breeze brushes against Jimin's back. "I went to the club since an acquaintance of mine works there as manager, but all the footage of that day was erased, and because I didn't know who the waiter was, she refused to expose all her employees."
"Fuck," Jimin runs his hand through his hair, stressed.
"Precisely," Yoongi agrees with a side smirk. "I returned to the pack to try to talk with the prisoner again and maybe get more information, but... well, he was dead."
"I heard he died," Jimin nods, "but I never knew how. Do you know?"
“It doesn’t matter,” Yoongi shakes his head dismissively. “What is important is that it was the head alpha who authorized his execution.”
Jimin's blood runs colder by the second as he hears more. "Why would he do that?"
Yoongi shrugs. “He probably thought he was useless. The head alpha already had everything he needed. The fact is, I hit a wall, and that's when the omega you met at the senator's party enters.”
“Who? Is he the waiter?” Jimin asks, confused.
“No, he works there as a bartender. But he was there on the day the attackers went, and he helped me to find out who it was.”
“Did you find out already?”
“Yes, I did. But the information he gave me was useless. He described the man who sent the letter as the most ordinary person in the world. Dark hair, small eyes, small stature, and no specific characteristics or traits.”
Fuck, that would be very hard to track. Jimin sighs, “How about the camera footage of that day?”
Yoongi shakes his head, long hair sliding over his shoulders. “I don’t know where it went. The waiter did not seem to know anything.”
That doesn't make sense. Who would have taken footage of it without anyone noticing? It must have been someone who worked there and could pass unnoticed. “What about that omega who helped you?” Jimin asks suddenly.
“What about him?” Yoongi looks at him blankly.
“Don’t you think it's weirdly coincidental how he was working at the same party where the Kims attended?” Jimin insists.
He nods, “That's true. It was definitely too big a coincidence.”
Why is Yoongi being so blunt about this, Jimin wonders, irritated, “Do you think he works for the Kims?”
“He seems way too innocent for that, but you can never be sure. That's why I asked one of my contacts in the office to check on him. I'm waiting for their feedback.”
Jimin nods, his mind racing as he tries to think of another way for the investigation to continue, but there don't seem to be many options. “We really can't track the original source?” he repeats, hoping for a different answer.
“Well, I found out that the waiter came from the north, also out of our and Kim's territory. But I'm also waiting for confirmation to make sure he is clean.”
There isn't much they can do then. Jimin sighs again, feeling the tiredness of the day starting to get to him. He looks at Yoongi, his mind going to a place he knows is dangerous.
"What do you think? Do you think my father is involved in this?"
"I don't like to make conjectures without having all of the facts, Jimin. But I do think it's a possibility, yes," Yoongi responds solemnly.
After Yoongi leaves, Jimin is left alone with his thoughts again, and all of them are directed to just one person, one thing.
Jimin knows very well that the world he has known since he was born is crumbling down. His own father is probably plotting his death just because of greed. His head feels messier by the second; the shadow inside his soul is growing larger and larger, and Jimin knows very well he is in great danger.
He knows he is alone; he knows his future is uncertain, and he is not even sure he will live another day.
Still, it's not his many worries that occupy his thoughts; it's Jeon Jungkook.
Soon enough, Jimin is walking around the now freezing bedroom again, too afraid to close the door and be engulfed by Jungkook's scent, even when all of it must have dissipated into the night by now. He finishes the bottle of whiskey and smokes so much his room turns into a smoking mess, but still, by the time he lies down on his bed, his mind won't stop replaying the events from earlier.
Jimin remembers how he pushed Jungkook into the tree, how he stood on his tiptoes to reach the other alpha's mouth, how addicted he became to the feeling Jungkook stirred inside him. How amazing it was to have all the bad things that never left him alone, simply gone.
Jimin had to have more. And the funny thing is, he was never aware that he wanted to kiss Jungkook until he was pushing him and owning his mouth as it belonged to him since the beginning.
Sleep is impossible, so he just lies there, staring at the ceiling as images torment him like a physical torture that just won't stop. He is too drunk to care at this point, too drunk to try to understand what he is feeling, too drunk to stop them from coming to the surface.
He doesn't even know if he is sleeping or not, or whether the scenarios in his head are fantastic dreams or fresh memories. Jimin completely loses track of time.
Night turns into day. The skies clear bit by bit, the sun greets the earth once again, its golden rays piercing through the thin fabric of the curtain and entering through the door that was left open all night, slowly warming up the freezing bedroom, and the even colder person lying there, so immobile it could be very well dead.
Jimin only comes to himself when the sun is high enough to hurt his sensitive eyes. He gets up, holding his temple with an excruciating headache, all his muscles sore from having stayed in the same position for so long. Sure of one thing, if he has to spend a whole day locked inside this room, he is going insane.
He needs to go out, needs to breathe far away from here. He stands up and walks into the shower, determined to wash off the alcohol from his body.
"But where could I go?" he wonders as the cold jet of water falls from his closed eyes, easing the headache.
Jimin doesn't remember the last time he went out by himself. It was a very long time ago and only happened once. He doesn't know where to go, what to do, or even how to walk among ordinary people as if he were not completely damaged and ruined.
Jimin never thought of doing things by himself, of thinking about something in particular, of liking a specific thing, or of having hobbies and activities he enjoyed. It was useless because his father would eventually find out and rip it away from him.
It would hurt endlessly to lose something he learned to like, so Jimin stopped trying a long time ago.
He actually has no pleasure in life; everything is monotonous and gray. Jimin is fine with that. He doesn't need anything else. Just living in numbness is better than rebelling and fighting. He had tried multiple times before, but it was useless. His father would always win.
So when Jimin leaves his bedroom with dark shades on to hide the circles under his eyes and casual clothes he hasn't worn in so long, he has no place in mind.
He knows the center of the city is about thirty minutes from the pack, so maybe he would go there and stroll alongside normal people. What else could there be?
He just needs to go out without anyone noticing him, which shouldn't be so hard since it's so early in the morning, the pack would be mostly empty.
Jimin descends the marble stairs, looking around to make sure he is not being followed, even though he is not doing something forbidden. His father never explicitly told him he couldn't get out. Instead, he made sure to break Jimin enough so that not a single personal sparkle remained. He should be just a shell, nothing more.
And that is what he has been for a long, long time. That is, until Jungkook came and turned his world upside down, giving him so much to think and feel; Jimin was overwhelmed after so many years of nothing.
He grabs one of the many car keys hanging by the entrance hall and opens the door, squinting his eyes under the shades at the brightness of the sun he hasn't seen in a long time. He doesn't waste time letting his pale skin absorb it, though, quickly finding the car parked in the parking lot in front of the mansion.
It's a black car, Jimin barely notices as he starts to make his way to it.
He still doesn't know where he is going, but he is sure that once he starts driving, he will eventually get somewhere. Anywhere but here.
He opens the car door and is about to slide inside when a voice behind him freezes him on the spot.
"Where are you going?"
Jimin closes his eyes for a moment, clenching his jaw when the forest seems to engulf him from all sides. He doesn't want to look back; he doesn't want to acknowledge him; he doesn't want to see him at all.
"Out," Jimin answers, entering the car with a single movement, refusing to admit how fast he seems to be moving, almost like he is escaping something.
"Fuck," he curses under his breath, slamming the door closed.
Except it doesn't close because a hand gets in the way with enough strength to prevent Jimin's harsh moves.
"By yourself?" he asks, and Jimin finally raises his head to stare at Jeon Jungkook, regretting almost immediately.
Skin, bare golden skin everywhere Jimin looks. His eyes widen behind the glasses, and he thanks the gods the moment he decides to wear them. Jungkook seems to have gone out for a run, as he is wearing nothing more than a tank top that leaves his muscular, scarred arms bare and gym shorts that end just below his knees.
And Jimin hates how his blood heats up at the sight of droplets of sweat sliding from the alpha's forehead to his cheeks before disappearing on his neck.
"Do you have a problem with that?" he asks rudely, trying to close the door once again, just for Jungkook to pull it back with an irritated groan.
"You can't go out by yourself right now," he says, annoyed. "Have you forgotten someone is trying to kill you?"
"So?" Jimin sneers defiantly, pulling the door closed. "What does that have to do with you?"
"I'm your fucking bodyguard, so it does have to do with me," he pulls the door open.
"Stop meddling in my business," Jimin says through gritted teeth.
"If you die, I'll be the one hearing about it," Jungkook replies.
They end up playing a childish game of push-and-pull with the car door. Jungkook pushes it open; Jimin pulls it closed.
Jimin starts to get angrier by the second. He pulls it with all the strength he has, and when Jungkook pushes with the same force, Jimin lets it go, making Jungkook fall on his ass when the laws of physics act on them.
"Fuck," he growls in pain, and Jimin's laughter dies in his throat when he sees Jungkook close his eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asks, getting out of the car. He momentarily forgets that Jungkook had gone through heart surgery not long ago, and although alphas do tend to heal fast, it is still heart surgery. He kneels in front of Jungkook, raising his hand to touch him.
"I'm coming too," he says, pushing Jimin's arm away and standing up as if nothing happened, circling the car and getting into the passenger seat.
And that's how they end up in the car together in the most painfully awkward silence of Jimin's life.
"I should have let him die," Jimin thinks bitterly, while Jungkook sits back relaxed, lowering the windows down to let the wind mess his loose hair, throwing it in all directions.
Jimin looks at him angrily from the corner of his eyes, noticing how the thin fabric of the tank top clings to his strong chest muscles and chiseled abdomen. And if Jimin tries hard enough, he is sure he can count how many muscle contours there are.
His eyes lower subtly to his legs, and the car almost veers into the other lane when Jimin notices the state of Jungkook's shorts.
He tries his hardest to keep his eyes on the road ahead, but it's almost impossible; they keep averting to the side over and over again, and when the car stops at a red light, Jimin can't control them anymore.
He involuntarily lowers his gaze to Jungkook's thighs, strong, muscular thighs, golden, smooth skin still glistening with sweat, and barely even covered by the thin fabric of the gym shorts that rode up halfway up his thighs when he sat down.
Jimin wants to look away, wants to ignore it. But the way Jungkook is sitting lazily with his legs parted slightly is eliciting impure thoughts in Jimin's head that wouldn't dare to come to the surface before the kiss, but now are blooming at full speed as if he has no restraints at all.
Jimin wants to mark them, bite and suck until his presence is clearly stamped all over Jungkook's golden skin. He wants to kneel between these strong thighs and sink his teeth into the hard muscles, wants to look at Jungkook while he does it, wants to see him fall apart under his mouth, wants to see him throw his head back and expose his neck. Wants him bare and vulnerable, his to take, his to own, his to destroy.
He wants it so bad, his mouth waters, and he has to swallow the need that makes him squeeze his hands on the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white.
"See something that you like?" Jungkook asks, amused, pulling Jimin from his impure thoughts.
If Jungkook had said something like this before the kiss, Jimin would have sneered and mocked him, but now, after everything that happened in that fucking forest, Jimin feels so uncomfortable that he seriously contemplates the idea of jumping out of the car the moment the green light appears, and he hits the accelerator.
"You wish," he manages to murmur with red cheeks, trying to disguise the way his hands tremble.
"Right," Jungkook drags the word lazily, clearly not buying it at all. "Where are we going anyway?" he asks instead, deciding to let it go for now.
Jimin almost sighs with relief. "To a place," he answers, changing the gear of the automatic car.
"What place?" Jungkook insists, making Jimin roll his eyes under the dark shades.
"A place," he replies simply.
Jungkook raises a brow, pushing his hair back uselessly because the wind throws it back on his face in the next second. "You don't know where, do you?" he taunts with a sly grin.
Jimin gets mad because no, he doesn't have a clue. "Can you shut the fuck up?" he says instead.
"No," Jungkook replies right away like a fucking kid, and Jimin has to clench his jaw not to push him out of the moving car.
They spend the whole drive like this, bickering like two stupid kids, and Jimin almost forgets what happened just a few hours ago because he gets so annoyed with Jungkook's constant little commentary over every single thing he does. It completely drives Jimin out of his mind.
He stops the car just to get out of the enclosed space with this annoying freak.
Jimin doesn't even pay attention to where he is until the expensive perfume of the omega that walks past him hits his nostrils with force enough to make him gag.
He looks around to see the luxurious brand stores that adorn the entire side of the stone-paved sidewalk, rich people walking back and forth between them, and Jimin almost rolls his eyes at the irony of it all.
He wanted to escape the thoughts of Jungkook and end up stuck with the real person; he wanted a break from the plastic, made-up world that surrounded him and end up right where he started, with the same futile people he had grown so used to.
“ I shouldn't be so quick to judge, though ”, he thinks the moment Jungkook catches up to him, moving his long legs to keep Jimin's pace. His tall stature draws attention from a mile away; his presence and strong pheromones attract every omega who walks past him, and his scars seem more alluring than frightening.
And Jimin has to clench his teeth at the amount of sweet scent that grows around them as the omegas respond to Jungkook's alpha presence as if they are in heat.
“Couldn't you have worn clothes, for fuck's sake?” Jimin asks, annoyed, as a male omega almost hits his face on a lamppost, trying to keep looking at Jungkook.
“Well, I didn't know I was going on an excursion today, Your Highness,” Jungkook replies, seeming completely unaware of all the attention he is grabbing.
Jimin is about to reply when a tiny figure stops in front of them, making them freeze mid-step to avoid bumping into the female omega.
“Excuse me,” she says with a shy smile, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “Can I get your number?” She looks at Jungkook beneath her eyelashes, her red low-cut dress doing its best to contain her ample chest.
Jungkook looks down at her, completely surprised, his eyes wide. He scratches his nape, clearly embarrassed. “I—”
“He cannot,” Jimin interrupts him, grabbing his arm with a tight grip and practically dragging him to the nearest store.
“Get in here,” Jimin grunts, so annoyed he can't even think straight. Jungkook follows, unsteady on his feet, his body leaning forward a bit to match Jimin's height. “I can't believe you go around practically naked, spreading pheromones like you're in mid-rut,” he mumbles grumpily, pushing Jungkook inside the store.
Jimin barely looks at him, walking straight to the men's section and grabbing the first shirt he can find, throwing it in Jungkook's direction before walking to the pants section and doing the same thing.
“Go change,” he says, finally turning his body to face the alpha with his arms full of clothes, who is staring at him with a brow raised so high it almost disappears into his hairline.
“What the fuck?” Jungkook asks with a shocked chuckle.
Jimin crosses his arms over his chest, glasses hiding his eyes. “What?”
“What was that?”
“What?” he asks again, letting the shades fall to the middle of his nose.
“Are you serious right now?”
“What do you want me to say?” Jimin looks him up and down over his glasses. “You embarrass me dressed like this.”
“I embarrass you?” Jungkook says unbelievably.
“Very much so,” Jimin says, pushing his shades back in place. “Go change, or I'll leave you here.”
Jungkook chuckles again, shaking his head as if he is truly amused. He takes a step closer, invading Jimin's personal space and making him tilt his head back. Jungkook leans his head down to meet him halfway, lowering Jimin's glasses with his index finger to ensure their eyes are locked on each other. “Are you sure you're not just jealous?”
His finger travels through Jimin's nose bridge and cheek before stopping under the strong chin, raising it just slightly so that their breaths mingle together, very similar to how it happened in the forest.
Jimin's eyes flick from his eyes to his lips, which are raised to the side, flashing the dimple he has on his left cheek, and then to the little mole under his mouth, identical to the one he has right under his scent gland.
Jimin swallows hard, his Adam's apple bobbing as he licks his own lips, wetting them, making them even redder, pulling Jungkook's eyes downwards like a magnet.
His whole body heats with anticipation, his heartbeat increases, his hands sweat, and Jimin is about to close the distance between them when someone suddenly clears their throat behind them.
“I'm sorry to interrupt,” the attendant says with red cheeks, “but do you need help?”
Jimin pushes Jungkook away by the shoulder, being careful not to put too much strength into his moves to avoid hurting the wound on his chest. “Oh, yes,” he says with a smile, “where is the changing room?”
The attendant nods with a smile. “Follow me.”
Jimin follows her, feeling Jungkook's eyes burning holes into his back as he stays in the same place. Jimin shouldn't be amused; he shouldn't think any of this is funny; it's actually a nightmare that will end terribly. But the smile that spreads over his lips is as real as the way his heart is beating inside his chest.
He looks back over his shoulder, tapping the side of his thigh. “Come here, puppy,” he calls Jungkook, who blinks away the confusion and rolls his eyes in annoyance.
“I'm older, you brat,” he says as he reaches Jimin.
“Whatever you say,” Jimin says condescendingly. “Puppy,” he completes with a wink.
By the time they leave the store, a couple of hours have passed. The sun is higher in the sky as they walk out after Jimin had paid a couple of thousand for a pair of pants and a t-shirt.
The streets are emptier than earlier, and Jimin walks in the front. He feels a bit lighter for some reason; maybe it was a good idea to go out for a while. At least all the thoughts that haunted him overnight are not as loud anymore.
It seems that the cause of them is also the cure, since Jungkook's presence is so overpowering that it actually takes Jimin's mind away from everything but the moment. He sighs tiredly just when his stomach growls. Jimin puts a hand over his belly, surprised.
He rarely feels the need to eat, but right now, all he can think about is putting the greasiest, fattest food he can find inside his mouth, so different from the mild things he eats just to stay alive, it fills him with strange excitement.
He only realizes he has stopped when Jungkook touches his shoulder, sending electric waves all the way down his arm.
“What's wrong?” he asks with a frown, his body now covered with the most flashy, over-the-top luxury clothes Jimin has ever seen him wear before. He chose it as a gag, imagining Jungkook would look like a clown; instead, he looks like a runway model.
"I'm hungry," Jimin says, raising his head to look at him, his eyes wide as if that is the most unbelievable thing that has ever happened to him.
Jungkook stares at him for a moment, and Jimin gets to watch closely how his features soften bit by bit as a smile grows over his lips, pushing his cheek up, flashing his dimples, and making his nose scrunch up. And then Jungkook laughs, so softly, so quietly yet so close, Jimin feels it in every little piece of his very being.
It changes something inside him, it heals something deep down, it lights his soul, it heats him inside out, because Jimin has seen Jungkook smile, chuckle, even laugh, but never like this, never so close, never so intimate, never because of him.
It melts him, it saves him, it destroys him. It kills him. It hypnotizes him.
Everything. From the sparkling eyes to the dimples and the bunny teeth. Everything is just like Jimin remembers. Everything was just the same as the little boy he used to love so much.
Jimin looks up at Jungkook with his mouth open, completely bewildered. And Jungkook looks back at him, the laughter slowly dimming, but the light inside his eyes stays bright, and the softness remains there.
Their eyes meet each other in the middle of the empty street, in front of a dirty alley, and maybe it's because they are away from the life that consumes their very being, maybe it's because they are finally able to breathe, maybe it's because they could taste what freedom looks like for a small moment.
Maybe it's because of what happened the night before, maybe it's because everything changed, but at that exact moment, Jimin knows for a fact that if Jungkook kisses him again, he will kiss him back with all he has. Which might not be a lot, but it's everything Jimin owns and everything he is willing to give.
And maybe Jungkook sees it in his eyes, maybe it's because he feels the same, maybe it's because there is no other possible option but to want each other when they clearly should not, but he leans his head down, in Jimin's direction, mirroring his own actions from the night before.
Jimin's eyes flicker shut, and he steps closer almost unconsciously.
But Jungkook's lips never meet his, and Jimin opens his eyes to see him falling on his knees right in front of him.
"What—" Jimin doesn't have time to finish the sentence, to kneel in front of Jungkook, to get desperate, to worry. Suddenly, a stinging feeling hits the side of his neck and cuts his words.
He raises his hand to touch it, already feeling the dizziness overcome him. When he pulls it back, a syringe comes with his hand.
“A tranquilizer dart,” he thinks briefly before darkness falls over him, and he follows Jungkook into unconsciousness.