Yoongi blinked away tears, confused as to why they even appeared. He looked at the cake again. Written on top in icing were the words Happy 54th Birthday Min Iseul.

Happy 19th Birthday Min Yoongi swirls over the top of the cake, and Yoongi laughs as his father blotches the i. “Dad, you should have let me do it.”

“Yoongi, don’t laugh. You were the one who spilled the sugar.” Smiling, Yoongi’s father flicks a bit of icing at him. “My precious birthday boy.”

“Oh my god, dad, stop so being cheesy!” Yoongi brushes the lump of icing off his shirt, grinning and shaking his head.

A phone rings, and Yoongi’s dad reaches for it. “Hello?”

Yoongi watches his dad as he moves away, talking quietly in construction jargon. After a few minutes, he comes back to the kitchen island with a sad look on his face.

“Do you need to go back to work, dad?” Yoongi asks, dissapointment winding through his mind.

Yoongi’s father suddenly grins. “No. I told my management to fob off because it’s my son’s birthday.”

Yoongi blinks in surprise, then smiles, joy unfurling in his heart. “Thanks, dad.”

Yoongi resurfaced from the memories when he heard voices beyond the door. Recollecting himself, he picked up the letter and the box and exited his office.

“Yah, boss! I was starting to worry about you!” Taehyung yelled. “Come down to lunch with us.” He slapped the person standing next to him heartily on the back.

Laughing, Yoongi moved to where the two were standing. “Sure… Park Jimin-ah, right?” The last part was directed towards Taehyung’s companion.

Jimin stiffened, nerves choking up his vocal cords. He was still up here?

Yoongi stepped closer, his brow furrowing a little. “Are you alright? Did you need anything?”

Jimin jumped, startled. “Oh, um- n-no, I’m fine.” He looked at the box Yoongi was carrying. “I-I’ll hold that for you, sir.”

Huffing a laugh, Yoongi put the box in Jimin’s waiting arms. “Thanks… You’re both going to the cafe, right?”

Jimin nodded, Taehyung nodded enthusiastically, and they both followed Yoongi into the waiting lift.

Taehyung turned suddenly to Jimin (who nearly dropped the box, which was weird, because he usually wasn’t surprised by Taehyung’s actions, so why- oh , Yoongi was looking at him with something almost like amusement, no wonder-), excitement shining on his face. “Ohmigod, did I tell you? I MET A CAT ON THE WAY HERE THIS MORNING AND IT WAS THE CUTEST THING!”

Jimin mashed the close door button with a knuckle, somewhat desperate to get this elevator ride over and done with because Yoongi just answered his mobile and he looked impossibly good talking quietly on it, one hand tucked into a pocket and voice amplified by the mirrors on the walls. “Th-that’s great, what did it look like?”

Taehyung reached for his pocket, a huge grin on his face. “It was a black and male and white paws and old man eyebrows type of cat! AND ITS EYES WERE A PRETTIER BLUE THAN THE SKY! Here, I’ll sh-”

He stopped talking, a look of confusion crossing his face. He patted down his jacket. “... I left my phone upstairs. I’ll go get it and grace your eyes with its beautiful dynamic figure! Hold on, won’t be a sec.” And before Jimin could process the taller’s words and his own growing panic, Taehyung had whirled out of the elevator and sprinted for the fire stairs, the doors sliding shut behind his receding figure.

Yoongi slipped his phone into his pocket and looked around, confusion flashing across his face. “Uh. So, where’s Taehyung?”

Jimin swallowed, his gaze dropping to the junction between the door and the floor. “Uh- he went to get his phone.”

“Ah, is that so.” Yoongi hummed and leant back against the mirrored wall. He scrutinised Jimin for a moment, taking note of the way his foot kept scraping little circles on the floor. “How was your trip to Busan?”

Jimin started, turning his head to face Yoongi but never quite meeting his eyes. “A-ah, it was okay… how did you know…?”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow, a slight grin tweaking his lips. “Taehyung told me. Besides, where people go-”

A sudden buzzing accompanied by a tapping noise interrupted Yoongi. He frowned and looked around the elevator. “Did you hear that?”

Jimin nodded, his eyes widening. “Y-yeah… this isn’t going to be something out of a horror movie, is it…?” He swallowed, his grip on the box in his arms tightening.

The elevator gave a sudden judder and stopped.

Jimin felt his heart freeze mid-beat. Are you literally kidding me? This is real life, not She Was Pretty. He his lips nervously. “The- the lift-”

Without warning, the elevator plunged and stabilised into its usual rhythm, pitching Jimin into the door and Yoongi on the floor. “Aaugh!” “Whoa!”

Jimin turned quickly, surprise stamped across his features. He held out his hand to Yoongi, doing his best not to drop the box. “A-are you okay-”

Suddenly, a small blur of motion dive-bombed from the elevator light at Yoongi. He shrieked and scrambled into the far corner of the lift, nearly causing Jimin to fall on the floor himself. “What? What it it!?”

“A ING COCKROACH oh my god get it out get it out-” Yoongi screeched, covering his head with his arms and his eyes following the buzzing flight of the insect as it careened against the walls, ducking fearfully as it zoomed at his face again.

Jimin started freaking out himself. “How do I get it out!? The lift’s still moving- AUUGH!” He dove to the floor as the cockroach tried to entangle itself in his hair, shoving the box into a corner. “What do you want me to do!?”

“Trap it or something! Just stop it flying!” Yoongi yelled back, shooting to the opposite corner of the lift with a piercing scream.

Jimin tore off the jacket around his waist, his eyes zipping around with the insect’s path of flight. Taking a none-too-careful aim, he flung the jacket up. It fell to the floor, the cockroach trapped underneath its fabric.

Yoongi slowly lowered his arms, his eyes darting to the jacket on the floor. Once he was certain the cockroach couldn’t escape to terrorise him anymore, he let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Jimin-ah.”

“Um, no problem.” Jimin took the chance to glance at Yoongi. He realised that that was a mistake to do, as Yoongi’s high-pitched scream echoed through his mind again. A giggle forced its way out of Jimin’s throat.

Yoongi snapped his head to Jimin. “What? Is my hair messed or something?” He patted his hair down, turning his head this way and that in the mirror.

“No… It’s just that you screamed like that. I didn't know you were afraid of insects.” Jimin looked at the ground and covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle his laughter. “S-sorry.”

Yoongi looked at Jimin giggling through the mirror, exasperation at himself stirring. “Aah, what a way to embarrass myself…” He shook his head, feeling his cheeks warm. He glanced at Jimin again and knocked the other’s shoulder with his knuckles. “Hey, stop laughing.”

“S-sorry.” Jimin pulled a hand down his face and blanked it before looking up. He met Yoongi’s gaze through the mirror and looked away quickly, just managing to rein in his mirth. “I’ll pretend this never happened.”

“That’d be great, thanks.” Yoongi patted Jimin’s shoulder, then rested his hand there as if it were an afterthought.

Jimin nodded, his gaze locking with Yoongi’s for a millisecond before darting away again. ‘Th-that’s okay.”

The lift pinged, announcing its arrival at ground floor. Yoongi composed himself, turning to pick up the box and taking great care to avoid the jacket. He turned to Jimin. “Thank you again, Jimin-ah.”

Jimin blinked, nerves surfacing at the sudden eye contact he was sharing with the Min Yoongi. “Ah, y-you’re welcome.”

Yoongi made as if to step out of the opening doors, but paused. He looked at Jimin again. “No, really… thank you. You lifted my mood.” He smiled wholeheartedly at the other before sweeping away.

Taehyung arrived a few seconds after this exchange to find Jimin staring after someone leaving through the revolving doors, his expression unreadable. He tilted his head in confusion and waved a hand in front of the shorter’s face. “Hey... earth to Jimin! You okay?”

Jimin snapped out of his mind. “Huh? Oh, Tae. I’m fine.” He smiled at the other.

Taehyung peered at Jimin suspiciously before noticing the jacket on the floor inside the elevator. “Hey, what’s with that? Isn’t that yours?”

Jimin glanced at the jacket. “Oh, that. There’s a cockroach under it, so you can have it now.” He grinned and slapped the taller’s chest before heading to the company cafe, leaving a very confused Taehyung behind.

Author's Note:

there honestly wasn't supposed to be any crack in this chapter I swear like hOLY CRAP the elevator scene took up literally half the chapter AAAGH-

i'm sorry for updating so late again ;-; my senior year just started and i only just got past the bulk of my exams and stuff hahaha the education system dumps all the important stuff in the same timeframe *cries*

*awkward out*