/whispers/ boyfriends

Chapter 10: shine on my heart

A loud ping echoes across the lecture hall. Yoongi curses himself for forgetting to mute his phone and excuses himself to check on it. However, when his eyes land on the lit screen, he lets out a soft chuckle and a gentle smile graces his features.

jiminnie: meet me after class?

Yoongi was falling asleep while teaching his class but he has newfound energy to push through after reading Jimin’s message. He turns back to his waiting students, a soft grin spreading across his face.  

“Let’s continue!”

Jimin falls to the floor, groaning and about how his limbs feel like they are about to fall off. Hoseok punches him in the arm while laughing and pulls him off the ground.

The dance team is preparing for their competition two weeks ahead and Jimin has been dancing for three hours straight, only stopping for short water breaks. He isn’t lying when he says he feels paralysed from the waist down. If it wasn’t for Hoseok’s constant encouragements and the thought of seeing Yoongi after practice, Jimin would have fallen flat and never gotten up again.

They fall into formation, Jimin taking the centre position. As the intro to the song starts playing, Jimin’s muscle memory does their work and he finds himself moving perfectly in sync with the music. His constant practice isn’t for naught. All of his late nights staying up just to perfect a routine and all of those sprained muscles from trying to execute a particularly complex move have boiled down to this.

He imagines himself on the vast stage, a thousand lights shining upon him. Adrenaline rushes through his veins and he gathers the remaining energy left in him before doing a backflip and landing back on the ground with a soft thud. It’s the best landing he has ever done and he cannot help the soaring in his heart as he looks at himself in the wide mirror.

Jimin finds himself grinning from ear to ear when the music dies down. Jinyoung, one of the dance members, grips onto his shoulder and shoots him thumbs up. Jimin returns his gesture with a resounding hi five.

Finally, Jimin heads towards his bag and starts to pack up, throwing his used towel and empty bottle into it. Just then, one of the members, Bora, peeks out from the door and calls for him. “Jimin, there’s someone outside looking for you!” she shouts. His eyes immediately light up and he shoves all his remaining belongings before making a dash for the door.

“Thank you for today guys, see you again!” he calls out behind him and the other members nod in acknowledgment, saying their goodbyes.

Jimin steps out into the dark hallway and he cannot help but feel a shiver run down his spine. He scans his surroundings but there is not a single soul in sight. He sighs softly and is about to take out his phone to text Yoongi when he feels a pair of arms around his waist and a chin resting on his shoulder.

“How was practice?” a raspy voice whispers and thin lips brush against his ear. Jimin relaxes into his grip and breaks out into an enormous grin. He spins around and takes his boyfriend’s hand, smiling adoringly at him. He hasn’t seen him the whole day and his tough practice almost made him forget how much he missed him; almost.

“I did a really nice backflip! I think we’re going to do well,” Jimin replies earnestly and he can still feel pride surging in him. Yoongi ruffles his hair and kisses him on the forehead.

“I’m so proud of you sunshine,” Yoongi mumbles into his forehead and Jimin lets out a quiet giggle only loud enough for the both of them to hear.

“I’m your sunshine now?”

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,” Yoongi sings and wraps his fingers tighter around Jimin’s, “you make me happy when skies are grey.”

“Cheesy,” Jimin gazes at the older man and wonders what he has ever done in his life, past or present, to deserve him. He has never felt such strong emotions for someone and honestly he’s a little scared. They say good things don’t last forever but Jimin wants them to stay like this until the end of time – just the two of them holding each other and never letting go.

They end up going to the Chinese restaurant near the university and Jimin picks a seat near the window because he can see the bakery opposite the restaurant. The bakery reminds him of home.

Fifteen minutes into dinner, Yoongi is crossing his arms and leaning back into the plush seat as he listens to Jimin ramble on about his favourite pastries – how he prefers savoury over sweet bread, how he hates anything that has banana in it, how his mother used to bake his favourite strawberry shortcake on his birthday. Yoongi thinks he can listen to Jimin talk forever.

Their food arrives and Jimin raises his cutlery while smacking his lips together. Just as he is about to dig into his bowl of ulmyeon, Yoongi places a hand on top of his right hand and swiftly takes over his chopsticks. Jimin quietly watches Yoongi pick out the pieces of squid and place it in his own bowl.

“Hyung…” Jimin whines softly and stares at the older man. The latter returns him his chopsticks and Jimin feels a warm feeling blanketing him.

“I know you hate squid,” Yoongi says and begins eating his own share of food. Jimin tries to suppress the laughter bubbling in him but ends up snickering as he digs into his noodles. They continue eating in silence but Jimin doesn’t mind; in fact he loves the atmosphere now, soft music playing in the background as he occasionally looks up to see Yoongi stuffing himself with jjamppong.

Jimin finishes his food and wipes his mouth with a napkin when he hears a loud click. He looks up to see Yoongi with his phone in his hands and a devilish smirk across his face. “Pretty,” Yoongi mumbles under his breath as he stares at the picture of a wide-eyed Jimin rubbing the napkin across his pink lips. The latter feels himself burning and blushing furiously as he stares at his lap.

“You’re so mean,” Jimin complains in a hushed voice, causing Yoongi to let out a breathy chuckle.

“Not mean Jiminnie, I just want to preserve this moment forever. It’s our first meal outside together after all,” Yoongi replies smugly. “Ah yes, before I forget, I have something to tell you,” he continues after a brief pause. Jimin looks up from his lap, biting his lips nervously at the suspense in Yoongi’s words. It isn’t going to be something bad, is it?

Yoongi scrolls through his phone before stopping at something. He pushes the device across the table, signalling for Jimin to read it.

EXCHANGE PROGRAMME AT UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

He continues scanning through the article, immediately captivated by the range of activities offered in the programme. Jimin has never travelled out of the country – except for that one time he went to Jeju Island with his mother – and his eyes immediately light up at the prospect of travelling abroad. He has always wanted to go to Japan, to see its sights and taste the delicacies there.

Yoongi notices how Jimin’s lips twitch up into a small smile and he beams. “I was thinking of recommending you for this programme. You up for it?” he asks.

Jimin glances up at Yoongi, eyes flickering with uncertainty. “I’m not sure if I have the ability…” his voice is b with insecurity and it trails off as he starts biting his lips. Yoongi reaches across the table and peels his hands off each other before rubbing his thumb and sending him an assuring smile.

“Sunshine, I’ve watched you improve over the months, and I can gladly say that you’re more than eligible for this trip,” Yoongi states firmly. Jimin closes his eyes and starts to think about reasons why he’s not good enough for this trip. Surely there are better students than him in the school, surely there are people more deserving of a spot than him. With only 15 spots available, there will definitely be pupils competing for a chance to go; and the expenses – how is he going to cover them? He doesn’t want to burden his mother, he doesn’t have a job…

“If you’re worrying about the finances, the school is offering to cover all the expenses.” As if he can read his mind, Yoongi addresses his concern and Jimin runs out of excuses – well, all except for one.

“Will you be going?” Jimin thinks, then he realises he has said that out loud and he clamps a hand over his mouth, cheeks turning into a bright red once again. Yoongi throws his head back and laughs, so, so amused by his boyfriend.

“Only if you want me to,” he quips.

Ten minutes into the conversation, Jimin’s initial doubts are easily forgotten as he gushes on and on about his plans for the trip. Yoongi just sits back and listens to him talk, occasionally expressing his thoughts when Jimin asks for an opinion. He has never seen the younger boy this enthusiastic, and he welcomes this change with open arms.

“We’re going to do so much sappy stuff together hyung, you won’t believe it,” Jimin exclaims with a cheeky grin. Yoongi takes his hand and laces their fingers together under the table.

“Like what, wear matching yukatas and take cheesy photos under cherry blossom trees?” Yoongi jokes, shaking with mirth.

“You just gave me an idea!” Jimin says. He continues talking about all the things in Japan they could do and Yoongi squeezes his hand slightly, encouraging him to go on.

Jimin speaks with a twinkle in his eyes and Yoongi thinks that not all stars are found in the skies. Sometimes stars, constellations or even entire galaxies are found in the windows to our souls.

When Yoongi looks into Jimin’s eyes, he finds the stars he used to chase while growing up and he wants to continue chasing them forever. 

a/n: i'm back!!! my exams are over (finally) and i can get back to updating regularly. i hope this chapter didn't disappoint! the story will progress kind of quickly from here so grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy the ride. i'll explore more into yoongi's character and it'll be tenser than now, just a heads up.

so much is happening in this fandom now i cannot catch up. first there's blonde jimin, then there's the summer package. i'm deceased there are so many yoonmin moments (YOONMIN RISE) and they look so good it should be illegal ugh. i really regret not buying it because it looks amazing.  WHY AM I SO BROKE. 

anyway, thank you for staying with q&a and for bearing with my super slow updates. next chapter will be up soon, i'll try to post it within a week.