I know I said in the Foreword that the next story is Suga's but Jimin has been on my mind a lot lately so I made a story about him instead.

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1

“Park Jimin, you are such a flirt!” you complained to Jimin as you both watched an online video of him holding hands with a fan and smiling so sweetly.  You are seated on your living room couch, feet raised on a footstool, while he lay on his back along the same couch, his head on your lap.

“What? I was just being friendly,” he complained.

“You call that friendly? You even winked at that girl!”

“It was fan service,” he replied. “Fans love that sort of thing. You know how much we owe our ARMY for the amount of love and support they give to us.  We were just giving back the love.”

You had no reply to that so you just continued staring at your tablet screen.  You do understand that fan service is part of an idol life, but you sometimes think your boyfriend Jimin goes way out of line.  You don’t see their leader, Rapmonster, or the other members like Jin or Suga flirting with fans the way Jimin does.  Sure, compared to Jhope, Jimin is not that bad. But Jhope is single (to your knowledge) so he’s free to flirt and seduce or whatever it is he wants to do with anyone.

Jimin must have noticed you were still annoyed so he reached up his hand to cup your face and pull it down for a kiss.  “You know you’re my only girl, right?” he whispered in between kisses.

“It’s just that I can’t stop being jealous sometimes,” you confessed.  “A lot of the fans in those videos are really pretty, and I know they’d do anything to get your attention. I am a fan, too. I know how they feel.”

“No one’s prettier than you,” Jimin said with finality. “Now, why don’t you turn off that tablet? The weather has gone cold and I need warm hugs,” he added with a seductive smile.

You put down the tablet and settled yourself on the sofa, this time with your head on his chest and his arms around you.  You’re still not satisfied about the fan flirtations but for the moment, with him lying beside you, you put aside your doubts and fell asleep.

2

You woke up a few hours after, the living room in darkness.  You the lamp beside the couch and saw a note on the center table.  It was from Jimin.

“Babe, you were sleeping so deeply so I left without waking you up.  I just stole a kiss for good luck! My flight is at 7pm tonight. Send me a text message if you wake up before then.  If not, I’ll send you a text message when we arrive in L.A.

XOXO Your Jiminie-Cutie”

You looked at your phone and saw it was already 8:30. You groaned in frustration at not being able to say goodbye to Jimin before he left.  It will be about 12 hours before you get to message him and at least two weeks before you see him again. 

Their two-week tour includes 7 fan meetings in 6 different cities.  That means meeting with thousands of fans, 90% of them women. The fans are getting more aggressive vocally nowadays, confessing their love or making indecent proposals to the members sometimes.

You, of all people, know that idols can sometimes fall for their fans. You were once a fan yourself, following BTS whenever they have a show in Seoul or nearby districts.  You met Jimin at a fan signing event and gifted him his portrait which you drew yourself, boldly writing your name and phone number at the back of the frame. Then you had a picture taken with him and the other members, along with around 8 other fans, which is still displayed on your bedroom shelf.

When he called you two weeks after and asked you out to a movie date, you initially thought you were being pranked by one of your friends who knew of your sort-of-obsession with BTS and Jimin.  But you came anyway, on what you believed was a very slim chance than it was truly Jimin who called you, and got the most pleasant surprise of your life.  You began going out with him on other dates after that, on days that BTS’ schedule was free.  You imagined Jimin must have made very creative excuses to get out of their dorm during the times he met you—idols are notoriously very busy and their movements controlled by their talent agency. The thought of it flattered you and made you feel all gooey inside.

A few months after, Jimin formally asked you to be his girlfriend.  You immediately said yes.  The time you spent with him only made you fall more in love with him. He was a very simple guy- what you see is what you get. He is not afraid to show his affectionate and sweet side. He is always cheerful and finds the positive side to everything.  He is not afraid to cry with you during the sad bits of a movie and listens attentively to your problems at work. He really is the ideal boyfriend- if not for the fan flirtation thing. 

In your heart, you know the problem is probably you. Jimin has already said there was nothing to it.  You just need to trust your boyfriend more.  

3

5 months later

It was three days before Christmas and BTS has ended their concert tour of Southeast Asia. Their flight arrived this morning while you were at work. You and Jimin had plans to meet up the next day, a Saturday, because you told him you couldn’t take the day off. Secretly, you filed for a half-day leave and planned to visit him at his dorm in the afternoon.  You bought all his favorite food which he probably craved while being away for so long.  You even wore the red dress that he said was his favorite on you. 

Humming to yourself as you took the elevator in their building you imagined how surprised he would be.  You very seldom went to his dorm or his practice studio, only on special occasions like a member’s birthday or a special holiday, because both you and Jimin preferred the quiet and solitude of your apartment where you can spend real quality time together instead of competing for attention with the other 6 members of BTS.

When you arrived in front of their door, you pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.  There was no response so you rang it again after a few minutes. They were probably all sleeping, you thought. The tour must have been exhausting and the members are entitled to a good long rest.

You were debating to yourself whether to ring the doorbell again or just leave and come back after an hour when you heard footsteps inside the dorm signaling that someone is coming to open the door. You hoped it was Jimin.

To your surprise, the door was opened by a woman you didn’t know.  You were speechless for a few moments as you tried to remember if you’ve met her before. 

“Hello, are you looking for someone?” the girl asked you.

Her voice sounded very husky, like she just got out of bed.  You shook your head mentally and focused on the girl. You noticed she was only wearing a shirt which barely covered her bum and underpants--no pants. 

“Uh, I’m looking for ah-,” you stammered as you noticed that the girl was wearing Jimin’s shirt.  You know because you gave it to him for his birthday.  You designed the print yourself and had it custom-made. Why on earth would this girl wear your boyfriend’s shirt?  You rallied your power of speech and continued, “I’m looking for Ji-Jin-oppa,” you don’t know why you suddenly blurted out Jin’s name instead of Jimin’s.  You were still trying to process what is happening.

“Oh, Jin-oppa and the others went out to buy snacks and drinks. There’s only Jimin-oppa here,” the girl replied.  “Are you Jin-oppa’s dongsaeng?”

“N-n-no. Just a friend,” you said. Jimin and this girl have been alone in the house?  With no pants?  You felt like a knife is being wedged into your heart.

“They’ll probably be back soon. They've been gome for hours. Do you want to come inside and wait?” she asked.

“Please just give this to them,” you replied, clumsily handing the girl the food basket you brought. You heard a voice from inside the dorm shout- “Lena, who is it at the door?”- and you recognized it as Jimin’s voice. You felt an immediate need to leave so you said a quick goodbye to the girl and walked briskly back to the elevator lobby.

“Wait, what’s your name?” the girl shouted, clutching the basket, but the elevator has arrived and you went inside pretending you didn’t hear the girl’s question.

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Part 2 to follow