"Jimin wait!" Yoongi called out, following the younger as he rushed out of the automatic doors. He managed to grab a hold of Jimin's arm before he got away, causing the younger to stop abruptly his steps. They were both panting, Yoongi more so than Jimin. But he could care less about that. "Jimin-ah."

"Le-let me go, hyung," the younger stuttered, pulling weakly at his arm from Yoongi's grasp. Yoongi squeezed his arm gently, trying to assure the younger that it was okay. He watched as Jimin's free arm rubbed at his eyes hastily. 

Then, a sniffle.

The sound clenched at his heart, hating the idea of Jimin crying because of not having the liberty to fully enjoy what he loved. Of being so insecure about his dancing that he's convinced he would inevitably fail. No matter how hard he worked.

He knew that feeling all too well. So, he understood.

So many instances where he'd been told to quit music because he wouldn't ever be able to succeed, and wouldn't it be better to choose a more practical career path?

Sure, it's difficult to pave his way into the industry right now, but he'd never been one to give up so easily. And it's not as if his mother and friends would allow him to.

Subsiding his thoughts, he looked at Jimin, who still had his back facing him. Sighing, he spoke.

"Yah, Park Jimin!" It caused the younger's shoulders to tense, but he still didn't turn around. "Are you gonna turn around and talk to me or not?" He saw Jimin shaking his head frantically.

Fine. Then, I'll just have to make him turn. Looking down at his hold of Jimin's arm, he tugged him towards himself, pulling him back inside.

"Yoongi hyunㅡ!" Jimin cried as he found himself being taken back inside. Yoongi chose to ignore him for the moment as he pulled the Jimin along, glad that the younger wasn't resisting too much.

Once he deemed them free of being eavesdropped, he looked at Jimin again, whose face he could now see despite the younger trying to hide it.

He squeezed his wrist again, letting Jimin know that he was there. Then released his hold, letting his arm drop back to his side.

Jimin wiped his eyes again, with both of his coat’s sleeves this time, continuously. The tears continued to fall regardless.

His eyes soften at the sight, heart clenching uncomfortably again. He really didn't like seeing Jimin crying. Curling his hands into a ball, he decided to speak, sighing.

"Jimin," he started again. The younger stopped rubbing at his eyes and started laughing nervously.

Yoongi brows furrowed in confusion.

"I know, it's stupid right? Me crying over something like this." Jimin chuckled, though it sounded broken what with the hiccupping and sniffling. "You must think I'm a crybaby. And I probably look really ugly right now too, huh?" The dancer was smiling at him, but it didn't reach his eyes, it looked pained. He looked so vulnerable that it made Yoongi frustrated, but he wasn't given a chance to intervene as Jimin shook his head. "It's okay. Everyone thinks it. Ugly, crybaby, , sissy, gay, you name it. I've been called them all." And the way Jimin laughed, so empty, and so tired.

He never knew.

Granted, he probably wasn't meant to find out but. Here he was, listening to the dancer blurt out his past trauma.

He resented all those who had treated Jimin so horribly.

"Jimin," was all he could utter before he was interrupted again. So, he stayed mum.

"I was always made fun of because of my love for dance. I've lost count the amount of times I've been called a sissy and gay for it, to be honest. Told by my parents that I'd never succeed, that I was making a mistake by choosing it over a more stable career path." He noticed the dancer's fingers crumple the sides of his coat as he remembered.

Why was he recalling those painful memories again? Yoongi thought in anger, his hands turning white from clenching them hard.

"I got so used to hearing those words that I simply accepted it as a fact. I even thought of changing my major at the start of the year, but Tae stopped me. Said he wouldn't forgive me if I did. That in the end, I would be the one regretting. I don't really know if I made the right choice yet, but he reminds me whenever I doubt myself. He's always been there, the only one who really stayed by my side. He's all I had whenever I fought with my parents."

He takes a deep breath, before continuing.

Yoongi understood now, why Taehyung was so protective over the dancer.

"He's all I had when they kicked me out after finding out I was gay, too. That's whyㅡI thought I should work even harder, so that I wouldn't end up disappointing Tae, too. Even though he told me that would never happen. I want to believe him butㅡit's difficult when you've been told all your life that you'll never be good enough you know? But then, todayㅡwhat your mum saidㅡwhat you said, hyung, I…I couldn't stop from breaking down, really." The younger croaked as he smiled weakly, wiping at his eyes again.

"I meant it, you know," Yoongi decided to speak up, causing the dancer to look directly at him with anxious eyes. "E-every wordㅡI meant it. My mum, too. You know – like how you've had Taehyung, she's all I had too. My dad, he...left when I was younger. And my older brother doesn't come home as often as he did when he first started living independently. So, it's just been me and mum mostly. She's my pillar. She's always been there for me, through all my decisions, good and bad. She supported me when I told her I wanted to continue with music after high school, despite everyone else telling her that she should be encouraging her son to choose a more practical path and that I'll only be met with failure."

Jimin looked surprised at this but didn't say anything. Rubbing the back of his head, Yoongi continued.

"But honestly, there's no career that guarantees total success, no matter how hard you try? What's fun about having a job like that anyway? My mum always tells me that failure makes you grow as a person, and helps you learn so much more about yourself than consistent success ever would. Don't you think so, Jimin-ah?"

For a moment, the younger didn't move. Blinking at him, taken aback by the sudden attention. Then slowly nodded in response.

Yoongi smiled at the dancer, taking a step forward. He reached out and ruffled Jimin's hair, "Just keep going like this – you're doing just fine, Jimin."

His hand stayed on top of Jimin's head for longer than he was probably supposed to, but he couldn't find himself to remove it. The dancer stared at ground, more tears streaking down his flushed cheeks and hands grasping his own coat.

"Mm." Jimin sounded, voice wavering as he nodded. Yoongi smiled faintly, head tilting to the side.

"Let's get you home, yeah?" He suggested, removing his hand from Jimin's head. This caused the dancer to whip his head up in surprise, then stepping back.

"I can go back by myself, hyung. You should go back to your mum, she must be wondering why you're taking so long..." the younger trailed off, fidgeting with the hem of his coat as he looked at the ground again.

Yoongi raised his brows, a lopsided smile on his face now. He wondered how Jimin would react if he told the younger that it was his mum who had sent him running here in the first place.

No. It's best he didn't.

"It's fine, I told her I’d visit her again later this week," he assured with a smile, putting his hands in his pockets again. He started walking to the exit and hoped that the younger would follow.

But when he only heard his own footsteps resounding the corridor, he turned around to find Jimin still where he had left him. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the younger expectantly. "What are you doing?"

"Butㅡ"

"Taehyung's going to be worried, you know?" He interjected. This caused Jimin to look back up again, wide eyed in realisation. Smiling, he nodded to the exit, "Come on." Jimin paused as if in thought, then nodded and made his way to him with timid steps.

When he finally got close enough, Yoongi took the younger's hand, causing Jimin to look at their hands and then at him. Blinked once. Twice. He raised his brows in confusion, then looked at their hands as well.

Oh.

Glancing at the younger, he noticed him looking with red cheeks. Yoongi released his hold of Jimin's hand, a similar hint of red painting his cheeks. What the hell did the hold his hand for? Min Yoongi, you .

"L-let's go," he stuttered, walking ahead and hoping that the younger would follow without another word because god, that was embarrassing. When he heard the footsteps behind him, he felt relieved.

As they left the hospital, Jimin stayed a few steps behind him and he was glad because his thoughts were all over the place in the moment. Why would he grab the younger's hand like that? So casually, as if he had the right. Which he didn't.

I probably made Jimin feel uncomfortable, he thought to himself as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the dancer. Jimin's eyes were already on him to his surprise.

He quickly turned away, a hint of red gracing his cheeks again. Scratching the back of his head, he shook his head of unnecessary thoughts and continued walking in the direction of the student dorms. Only their surroundings covered the silence that blanketed over them.

It was a stifling silence, but Yoongi really was not about to break it, knowing he’d only end up making things worse with his already awkward .

When they finally (finally) reached the university, Yoongi stopped, turning around to ask the dancer where his dorm was.

Only to get an extreme close up of Jimin, who looked directly at him again, his cheeks flushed and a puff of air escaping his lips.

They were practically nose to nose and Yoongiㅡwell, he didn't know what to do.

He'd never been this close to anyone, and he'd never wanted to. Yetㅡwith Jimin, he didn't seem to mind that proximity.

.

His heart was beating fast. And there's that stupid churning in his stomach again. It's always when he's with Jimin. What was itㅡoh.

He liked Jimin.

That's what it was, wasn't it?

He liked Jimin.

But the realisation made him pause. Jimin liked Hoseok. Probably still does, he thought. A frown appeared on his face at that.

He's such an idiot. Falling for someone who liked another. It was laughable really. What was he supposed to do now?

"Hyung," Jimin's soft voice snapped him out of his reverie. His eyes softened as directed his attention to the younger, who still hadn't moved away for some reason. Simply looked at him with a strange expression, and Yoongi didn't know how to interpret it. "I, mm..."

"Yeah?" He asked in a whisper, his breath fanning the younger's face. Didn't understand why he was whispering but something about the air between them had changed. He wasn't really sure what it was, but he didn't want to break it.

His eyes unconsciously glanced down at the younger's lips, provoking ridiculous thoughts of kissing Jimin.

He must have gone insane.

"Jimin-ah!" A familiar deep voice snapped them back to their senses, causing Yoongi to back away immediately. He turned around to find Taehyung running towards them, his cheeks red, panting heavily as if he had been running around for a while now. He probably had.

When he reached the two, he bent down, hands on his knees as he panted heavily.

"Ah! Jim...in-ah," he said as he tried to catch his breath. Finally standing straight, he frowned, looking at Yoongi and then at Jimin.

Yoongi realised the younger's eyes had become red from all the crying earlier. Noticing this, Taehyung placed a large hand on Jimin's shoulder, another cupping his face.

"What happened? Why are your eyes so red? Were you crying? Who made you cry, Jiminie? Give me their name and I'll make sure they'll regret it, I promise." The brunet glanced towards him, and his expression hardened.

"Was it you?" The brunet asked, sending a dangerous glare at Yoongi as he turned to move towards him. The look was intimidating but Yoongi was more worried about Jimin as he watched the younger from his peripheral. "I told you, didn't I? That if someone ever hurts Jimin again, I'll ㅡ"

"Tae, stop," Jimin called, grabbing his best friend's coat sleeve and pulling him back. "Yoongi hyung didn't do anything. Really." He assured when the brunet looked unconvinced and wrapped his arm around his friend's, pulling him close. Jimin looked at him and smiled faintly, "Thanks for walking me back, hyung. I'll see you later?"

Yoongi nodded in response, his eyes softening as waved goodbye. He watched as the younger bowed slightly, red painting his cheeks, before he pulled his best friend along.

Once the duo was far enough, he put a hand inside his coat pocket, pulling out his phone, and turned in the direction of Jin and Namjoon's apartment.

He had to talk to someone, and they were the only ones who'd understand, he thought.

He really hoped that they'd help convince him to give up on Jimin so that he wouldn't have to constantly feel pained when being around the younger. It was the only way.

To think there'd be a day where he, Min Yoongi, would have an unrequited love. He released a breath of laughter as headed to his destination.

a/n: This was shorter than most chapters i'm sorry sdkfjsdlf but i hope you still enjoyed it!! Thank you for reading <3