Chapter 30 – My Story

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My heart belongs here. 

[ BG MUSIC ]

     Taehyung's shaking a bit with anxiousness. His fingers are playing around with each other and his eyes glance around at almost everything in the upper half of the room. The chair is soft and comfy, the large round table, covered fully with long, thick, white material dropping so low to the ground, is just above his elbow with thin glasses of pale wine on top. The hall was bright, clean and pretty. Yet here he was, with other things on his mind. 

He'll...say 'yes', right? 

He his lips one more time. 

Jimin returns from chatting with a former classmate and sits down before Taehyung, placing both his hands on top of the younger's and smiling sweetly into his eyes. "You okay?" He asks genuinely, tilting his head down a bit as to look at Taehyung better. 

The now brown-haired boy (as much as the orange looked good, he didn't like the fact that some prisoners wore clothes of the same colour, and besides, he wanted a more mature look, so he had it dyed brown as soon as his time in jail was up) glances back into Jimin's eyes and a small pout finds its way to his lips. Jimin felt a smile tug at his mouth and he leans in to whisper by Taehyung's ear. "You look so cute that if we weren't at Seokjin and Namjoon hyung's wedding I would've kissed you." 

And Taehyung finally smiles. "You still can," he mumbles as Jimin leans back. The elder chuckles lightly before zooming in and landing a quick peck on the boy's lips. "There. Happy?" 

Taehyung blinks in response. "Jiminie, I love you." 

Jimin blinks and looks down this time. "You're making it sound like it's our wedding."

"I wish it was." 

Jimin blinks again and locks eye with Taehyung, subconsciously leaning in slowly. "Do...do you really? Like, you really mean it?"

Taehyung nods quickly as some courage suddenly spurts in him. "I do." I do. "I mean it, hyung. Actually, I had something to ask y-" And the hall doors open right as Taehyung's hand is half way in his pocket. Damn it. 

They all stand up and for the next five minutes, all eyes are on Seokjin and Namjoon as they exchange vows, rings, and finish with kisses. As loud clapping echoes within the large room, Taehyung can't help but stare at Jimin, the elder cheering brightly with an eye smile so cute it still made him flutter with butterflies. That smile is seriously his weakness. 

     The schedule from then on was hectic. Seokjin and Namjoon surprised their friends by telling them they'd already paid for a five day trip to a beach city; the sunlight, the sand, the water, and we even hired a private yacht! You guys are gonna love it!

The days were fun, and they went quickly. On the last day, the promised yacht ride was delivered and they board the large boat excitedly. Jimin was wearing a white jumper with black stripes while Taehyung a black jumper with white stripes. Sitting opposite each other, they smile about it as the engine starts and they leave the dock. 

An hour later and they were all on the roof deck, breathing in cool air and letting the strong wind blow their hair in all types of directions. No one complains though; it was wonderful. Taehyung felt fingers slip into his own and looks down to see Jimin leaning his head on his side. He smiles gradually and pulls the elder closer, loving the way Jimin would snuggle his nose into his clothing. It tickles him a bit. Fuzzy feelings warm his insides and make him feel like he's fifteen again; young and immature. Jimin's presence makes him feel good, reassured. He tilts Jimin's chin in his fingers up to look at him and leans down so they could share a light kiss, briefly as lips simply touch and savouring in the sweetness of something that tasted like strawberries.

[ BG MUSIC ]

"Cute," someone comments, and they break away slowly to still be locking eyes lovingly. The others were all on the rooftop, and here it was going to happen. Taehyung tugs on Jimin's hand and leads him to the middle. The yacht was rocking slightly, his heart was beating rapidly, and as the others gather around with anticipating faces,  he stood calmly and patted Jimin's hand, still looking at him deeply. "Jimin-ah, I love you." 

Jimin gulps before nodding. 

Then it happens. 

Taehyung smiles, reaches a hand into his pocket and kneels down on one foot. He opens the ring box and the others all gasp because it was finally happening. 

"Jimin, will you marry me?" He asks, the words leaving his lips with such sincerity that all Jimin can do for a few moments is stare and blink. One, two, three thousand more rapid, pounding heart beats later, Taehyung gulps and begins to smile even wider as Jimin's hand reaches out. Four, five, six thousand more butterflies later, Jimin takes one step forward. Seven, eight, nine thousand more-

The boat suddenly rocks and they all stumble for a split second. The ring flies out of the box and Jimin watches as it flings itself off the yacht. He doesn't even hesitate before running to the edge and jumping in after it, falling a long three and a half metres before the splash rings in Taehyung's ears. As he gets to his feet in complete shock, he does the first thing he can think of. He leaps off the yacht and dives in after Jimin, all the others running to the edge and calling out to them. 

Taehyung wonders if he's having a heart attack because of how loud the organ in his left chest is beating. His pulse rate is probably racing at an insane speed as he swims out and panics for a moment because he can't see Jimin anywhere. He shoots his head up and looks at the others for help. 

"Over there!" Seokjin suddenly screams and points out. Taehyung follows his eyes and spots Jimin's striped clothing a few metres further away. He swims with all his strength and swings an arm around Jimin's waist, flipping the elder's head out from under the water surface. His eyes are closed. Taehyung kicks his feet to stay afloat and with the back of Jimin's head leaning against his shoulder, he shakes the boy desperately. "Jimin-ah! Jimin-ah! Wake up!" He screams, panic really sinking in as the features on Jimin's face don't change. He grunts and begins hauling the elder back towards the yacht. Namjoon throws them a life buoy and they're pulled in within a minute and a half. 

Taehyung carries Jimin onto the boat and places him down on the empty floor, hands immediately brushing over his wet face and swiping some fringe hair away. "Hyung! Check if he's breathing!" Jeongkook says quickly, and Taehyung drops his ear to Jimin's chest. He doesn't even report before he begins pressing above Jimin's heart, one hand over the other and counting softly. As soon as he mumbles a 20 he tilts Jimin's head back and gives him two big breaths of air. He slaps the elder's face as he stares down at his boyfriend, feeling the utmost relief come over him when Jimin finally coughs out water and regains consciousness. 

"..." Hoseok breathes out, all of them backing away to compose themselves. 

As Jimin's eyes travel to meet Taehyung's, the first thing the younger wants to do is punch him in the face. Jimin coughs lightly as he breaks into a smile. "Hi Tae." 

And Taehyung wants to roll his eyes, slap Jimin over the face again this time with more force, scream at him until his lungs burst, angry to the point where he could just throw Jimin off the deck himself, but he gives in and shoves Jimin up into his arms, holding him close and squeezing ever so tightly because ", you really scare me sometimes." 

Jimin's smiling meekly and he sinks easily into Taehyung's touch. "I know." 

Taehyung pulls away and can't resist a hard push on Jimin's shoulder. "Yah! Park Jimin! Are you that stupid as to actually jump in the ocean after a ring even though you can't swim?!" 

Jimin grins childishly. "I knew you'd come for me." 

"You're-" Taehyung blinks once and sighs, "you're so stupid."

There's two long moments of silence before Jimin chuckles. "Yes."

"And clumsy."

"Yes."

"Sometimes I wonder how you survived until 19."

"Yes."

Taehyung glares at Jimin with annoyance. "Why do you keep saying yes?"

One more moment of silence and Jimin grins before raising an arm to flash a shining object between his fingers. The others all come closer to see what it is, and Taehyung gets a playful shove in the back from Yoongi as he realises what Jimin's holding. His ring. 

"Yes." Jimin states again, and as Taehyung glances at him in the eyes shyly, somewhat overwhelmed, he feels a smirk at his lips. "I will marry you, Kim Taehyung." 

Shouts of congratulations, immense ruffles of hair and countless head locks later, Jimin suddenly speaks up again, tone anxious. "This is kinda embarrasing though."

Taehyung rolls his eyes. "Nah duh."

"No, I mean, because..." Jimin's voice fades off and he reaches inside his pocket to reveal a small black box, opening it to show a second ring. Taehyung's eyes widen and the others start complaining about how cringe worthy these two lovers are. Jimin looks down and blushes heavily. "I was going to propose first." 

"You still can." Taehyung says, and as Jimin smiles, he leans in and presses their foreheads together, both their eyes shut and breathing in the same air for a sweet moment. "But you already know my answer."

He hears Jimin giggle and smiles again. "I'll always be with you, Jimin." He says deeply, intertwining their fingers around the two rings. By the time they separate, they each have a ring on their fourth finger and suddenly, admiring the physical symbol of love around their skin seems like one of the most beautiful things on earth. 'Thankyou' is the only word that comes to mind as they glance over at one another. 

     "How do I start talking about the end? I could reflect on the middle, talk about how this is simply a new start, or go back to the very beginning. Jimin-ah, sometimes I wonder if this is really reality. We've gone through so much and time's flown by like every second I've known you for has blinked past in an instant. We shared so much intimacy among the uncertainty, and I worried a lot that we wouldn't pull through. But you reminded me, made sure I knew, that I wasn't alone, that I didn't have to face everything on my own. You were there for me, helped me, made me a better, stronger person. You shared your love with me, selflessly, taught me what love was. You fought for me, I fought for you. We struggled, we cried, we broke down, but we made it. You smiled along with me and I laughed with you, and somehow, we created promises of a future together, of a life non-existent without one another, and because I believed you, and you believed me, we're here. I'm going to marry you today, and..."

Jimin blinked, waiting until he raised an eyebrow at Taehyung's awkward expression. "...And?"

"Uh...I kinda forgot the rest."

Jimin slapped a palm on his own face. "You are hopeless," and Taehyung just grins with a 'hee' sound because I know you love me. You always will, and I promise I will too. Forever, until evermore. There's probably no such thing as being fully prepared for something, but I'm ready to set foot on this new journey with you, and I promise, that with your happiness, our happiness, as my priority, I will hold your hand and be there with you all the way. 

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Author's Note // Chapter 30. Annnnnnnddddd....that's it! (Just kidding, if you guys would like some sort of epilogue chapter, I'd be happy to write one) I usually always write in past tense for this story but for the last chapter I didn't. Think of it as, for the past 29 chapters, we were looking back on Tae's story, until now, the present, where we see the ending. Happy ending :) 
Please check out my other stories linked below; four of them have Vmin ^^. 
- Look at me, sunbae! - Vmin Drabble Collection - I Love Him More Than You Do - Be By My Side - 1:1 with Jeongkook! - 

To every single one of you reading this: Thankyou. That's seriously all I want to say in one word. :)