“Hyung, what do you want to eat?” Jimin asked curiously as he scanned the dining menu. Everything sounded appetizing to him, so he was having a hard time deciding, but Yoongi had already made up his mind.

“Japchae. That’s my favorite,” he commented as he closed his menu and set it on the table in front of him. His gaze then fell on Jimin whose face held a soft glow due to the candlelight’s shadow dancing across his skin. It only accentuated his childlike features and made him look more innocent.

“Ah, that sounds good. I’ll have that too.” He smiled at Yoongi and set his menu down off to the side. Then he propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his palms as his brows furrowed in thought.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” Yoongi smirked.

“I’m just trying to figure out what it’d be like to date you.”

“What do you mean?” Yoongi brought his glass of water closer to him and drank from his straw.

“I mean...you don’t seem like you have a lot of dating experience, yet you kinda give off a ‘hopeless romantic’ vibe, it’s weird.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. I haven’t been in a lot of relationships, I think my most serious one only lasted about six months, but...it was bound to end. It had run its course for both of us and we were just waiting for a convenient time to end it.”

“What made it convenient?”

“He found a new place to live so we could stop pretending like we were happy. I mean, we left on good terms, but...I don’t know. We both realized it just wasn’t working out anymore, so there weren’t any hard feelings. I’ve probably had more one night stands than I can count though, which isn’t good, but,” Yoongi shrugged as he reached for his chopsticks. He shyly fiddled with them, hoping that Jimin wouldn’t judge him too harshly for his past behavior. Jimin didn’t mind though, seeing as he held his own insecurities about only being with Jungkook. He had practically zero experience in dating too, just in a different way.

“I’m pretty much the opposite of that. I was never in a relationship until Jungkook and I haven’t been in one since then.”

“Why no one until Jungkook?”

“I was scared to open up to people in a romantic way because it made me feel vulnerable. Jungkook made me feel comfortable enough to share myself with him so I trusted him.” Jimin sighed and slumped in his chair. “I know our relationship probably wasn’t the best, but…I don’t think I regret it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I learned a lot about myself. Especially after he died. I did a lot of soul searching to ‘find myself’ I guess you could say.” He giggled at the typical adage as he fiddled with his napkin. “A part of me knew that we didn’t have a completely healthy relationship. When I looked at it logically, I understood that. The other part of me though was clinging to the idea of us because that seemed so much better to think about. I had tricked myself into thinking that it wasn’t as bad as everyone said it was. Even now, I feel guilty that I still miss him.”

“I think you have a right to miss him.”

“You do?”

“Mhm. You loved him.”

“I did, but I think I loved the idea of him more than the actual person. I just wanted us to be together with no cheating and to be happy. I tried to make him happy in so many different ways. I was there for him when he needed me, I always helped him when I could, I was the perfect boyfriend to him. I even had a few threesomes with him and some of the guys he would meet cause I thought maybe he’d see that I could be flexible and do what he liked too, but that didn’t work.”

“Wait, you’ve been in a ?” Jimin narrowed his eyes at Yoongi’s question.

“That’s what you got out of that?”

“Well, yeah, kinda. You don’t seem like the type.”

“What type do I seem like?”

“On the outside, you seem not to like much more besides missionary, but I think you like it kinda rough.” Jimin was sipping from his own water when Yoongi said that and nearly choked at his accusation. He wasn’t wrong, he did prefer a dominant partner, but Jungkook was almost always too rough.

“What makes you say that?”

“You were pretty responsive to me when I pulled your hair earlier…”  Yoongi smirked as he watched Jimin’s face change from curious to embarrassed in seconds when he remembered their heated makeout session.

“Shut up,” he murmured shyly as he turned his head to try and hide his blush.

“Don’t be embarrassed, I liked it.”

“You’re not helping!” Jimin squeaked as he covered his face with his hands. He wished a hole would open in the floor and swallow him up.

Yoongi reached up and took Jimin’s hands in his own. He looked at Jimin sincerely, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Don’t be embarrassed, baby, it’s okay.” Jimin paused.

“Did you just call me ‘baby’?” Now Yoongi was hesitant. Maybe it was too soon, maybe Jimin didn’t even like being called that.

“Maybe…” he tried to shrug it off, but Jimin beamed at him.

“I think you did.”

“So what?”

“Sooooo...I think it’s cute.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it sounds sweet when you say it. Do it again!”

“Say ‘baby’?”

“Yes!” Jimin’s smile was so genuine, Yoongi couldn’t help but comply with his request. He repeated the word and Jimin grew even more joyful. Yoongi had never seen someone made so happy by such a simple thing, but if that’s what it took to make Jimin smile like that, then he’d do it whenever it was asked of him.

The waiter approached them then and swiftly took their order. Before he left, Jimin called his attention.

“Could you bring a bottle of champagne?”

“Of course.” The waiter nodded and left without another word.

“Why did you order champagne?” Yoongi asked.

“I want to try some.”

“I thought you didn’t drink.”

“Well, I haven’t for two years. I also haven’t kissed anyone for two years, but that happened about an hour ago, so at the moment I’m all about trying things I normally wouldn’t.”

“Suit yourself.” Yoongi’s eyebrows furrowed in concern though, because he was sure that Jimin wouldn’t make it very far before getting drunk. He figured Jimin would have at most three glasses before he’d start getting tipsy.

The waiter came back with the bottle and two champagne glasses. He set them down on the table and retreated back to the kitchen. Jimin reached for the bottle and popped the cork before taking a glass. He filled it three-fourths of the way to the top and pushed it towards Yoongi. Then, he poured the same amount in his glass and raised it.

“I want to toast.”

“To what.” Yoongi followed suit and raised his glass.

“Hm...to new beginnings. That’s not too cliché, right?”

“Probably, but it’s fitting.” Jimin rolled his eyes at Yoongi and they clinked their glasses together. He sipped at his drink and made a face at the bitter taste on his tongue. Yoongi chuckled at his reaction.

“It’s been that long, huh?” he joked.

“Yeah but,” Jimin took another, longer, drink, “I’ll adjust.” He set his glass down in front of his plate and let the flavor and sharpness of the bubbles wash over his tongue. Admittedly, he didn’t really miss the taste of champagne, but there was something about it that made him feel like he was seeing an old friend for the first time in a while.

“Tell me about yourself, Jimin,” Yoongi offered as he scooted his chair closer to the table. He directed his full attention on Jimin. “I wanna know more about you.” Jimin smiled at Yoongi’s eagerness and paused for a moment as he tried to think about where to start.

“Well, I grew up in Busan. I lived a fairly comfortable childhood; I always had enough food to eat and toys to entertain myself with, and later on a brother to play with. Dancing had always been my passion ever since I was young, but I couldn’t afford dance classes. One of my instructors saw my potential and offered to pay for my classes so I could continue dancing…” Jimin leaned his cheek on his fist as he thought about that day when his instructor approached him. He’d been strict with Jimin, probably the strictest of all of them. He told Jimin that he had potential to be something one day, so he was willing to pay his way.

Yoongi could see the change in Jimin’s expression when he talked about dancing. It was almost as if his eyes twinkled when he talked about it. Overall, he just looked so at peace.

“Why not pursue it then?” Yoongi asked softly. Jimin shrugged.

“I would have loved to, but…it’s not a safe bet. I could get injured at any time and my career would just…not exist anymore. So I did what I thought was the next best thing and majored in business affairs in hopes of being able to work with a company involved with dancing or music. I got hired at a place that pays well and found Hoseok’s dance studio, so it’s not like I’m missing out on much.”

“Are you happy though?” Jimin paused because he really had to think about the answer in order to tell the truth.

“Yes and no. I like the pay and I like the company I work for, but…the work isn’t my favorite. Numbers come easily to me so it’s not a hassle but I work a lot of long nights and I often have to bring my work home to finish deadlines. It’s not the best situation but I could be in a much worse one.” Jimin always tried to be positive about his job and everything else in his life, which is probably why he clung to his relationship with Jungkook so hard. Yoongi also picked up on Jimin’s positivity.

“You seem to be quite the optimist.” He raised his drink and sipped the remaining alcohol. “My father tried to be like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“He tried to be positive about life, but it didn’t always work out. He seemed to work all the time, so much so that there were some days where I never saw him. He’d come home late at night and leave early in the morning. I was either at school or asleep most of the time. When I was young, he didn’t work as much so it wasn’t as bad. As I grew up though, I guess he realized that I wouldn’t have any money for university. My grades weren’t bad, so I could have gotten a few scholarships, but it wouldn’t have been enough.” He reached for the bottle and poured himself another glass while his words settled in Jimin’s mind.

“I appreciated all of the work my father put into me, but I often felt guilty. The life he wanted for me wasn’t the life I wanted for me. He wanted me to do something with business or medicine, but my heart wasn’t in it. It never had been. I remember taking advanced classes of the subject matter in high school and hating all of it.”

“Why?”

“It didn’t make me happy. Nothing really did except for music. High school was a rough time for me because it was when I was diagnosed with depression. It broke my father and my mother was just caught in the middle of it all, trying to make the best of a ty situation.” Yoongi thoughtfully rubbed the neck of his glass with his thumb as he went back to that time.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi said as if shaking himself from a trance.

“For what?”

“I wanted to know more about you and I ended up bringing the conversation back on me.”

“I don’t mind, really! You’re interesting.” Jimin smiled widely, his cheeks smushed against his hands where his chin was propped up.

“Why am I interesting?”

“I’ve never known anyone who followed their dream. Well, maybe Hoseok, but his dream wasn’t as risky.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“I believe in you though. I think you can be somebody famous.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I like your music, and that’s saying something because I usually don’t usually go for rap.”

“What do you like then?”

“Hmm…R&B is my favorite genre.”

“I like that too. I considered pursuing that instead of rap.”

“What stopped you.”

“Ahh...I’m not a good singer.”

“You’re lying.”

“How would you know, you’ve never even heard me sing.”

“I know, but you said your music wasn’t good either.” Jimin pouted slightly as if he was trying to imagine what Yoongi would sound like singing.

“Ah, I guess that’s true.” Yoongi smiled at Jimin’s expression and when Jimin noticed Yoongi’s stare, he smiled too.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked softly.

“Because I finally have a reason to,” Yoongi replied.