---CHAPTER 3---

Jimin entered the silent house with a pout on his lips as he slowly walked toward the living room and unceremoniously slumping on the wide couch.

“Jimin?” A voice inquired making the younger to jump up because according to his knowledge no one was supposed to home at that moment. Just then a skeptical looking Seokjin came out of his room with a pair of half folded slacks in his hands. “Hey, why the long face?”

“Nothing, just had a bad day at work,” Jimin muttered before he slapped his cheeks lightly to gather his wits. “Anyways, where are others? And I thought you were going back home today.”

“Taehyung and Yoongi left just an hour ago,” Seokjin explained while attempting to fold his twisted slacks. “Hoseok and Namjoon left early in the morning. Something came up at the work so I have to call in tomorrow morning for a couple of hours. I would just pack up and take the luggage with me to work and leave for my home from there. Jungkook still hadn’t come back home from University. When do you two plan to leave? Tomorrow night, right?”

“I am not going home this weekend,” Jimin sighed deeply.

“What? But why?” Seokjin noticed the exceptionally slumped shoulders of other so came to sit beside his younger friend. “But it’s the rare long weekend due to a national holiday on Monday… you can’t possibly miss out on the chance to go home and meet your family. What happen Jimin?”

“Something came up at the work and I would be busy tomorrow till late at night,” Jimin replied with a strained smile. “Mom would be crushed but I would take a day off next week and head back home, I guess.”

“Well that ,” Seokjin muttered sincerely sorry for his friends. “So what about Jungkook? You two were supposed to go together, right?”

“Umm,” Jimin gulped and carefully avoided Seokjin’s soft gaze. “I would convince him to go home with me next week.”

“Oh that’s good, and then at least you won’t be all alone for the whole weekend.” Seokjin said encouragingly. They made small talk after that with Seokjin going back to his room to pack and Jimin following the elder. They only stopped when Jungkook came back home late in the evening declaring he was starving. Jimin went to order through home delivery services. They ate in relative silence and with a meaningful look directed at Jimin Seokjin bide them good night and went to sleep. The elder had not brought up Jimin’s change of plans in front of the younger and Jimin was grateful for that.

“I wanna talk,” Jimin muttered while sitting on his bed and slowly abusing his plump bottom lip.

“What’s up?” Jungkook asked as he vigorously toweled his freshly washed hairs.

“I would not be able to go home this weekend because something came up at work,” Jimin muttered while gulping several times. “So I was wondering if you can change your plans too.”

“Okay…” Jungkook replied carefully as he lowered the towel and stared at Jimin who seemed to be avoiding the eye contact for some reason. “But why?”

“The thing is…” Jimin started before pausing to get his jumbled thoughts organized. The elder boy looked up to lock eyes with Jungkook’s forever blown orbs. “I wanna tell you something but I need you to promise that you won’t tell it to others or laugh at me… please Jungkook.”

“Of course, Hyung,” The younger said solemnly before coming to sit beside the elder after clearing a couple of spare pillows off the bed. “Is everything alright? You are freaking me out.”

“You remember how you guys searched over my company six months back and found that it only hired competent females, right?” Jimin gathered a deep breath once Jungkook nodded uncertainly. “Well the lady boss indeed rejected me saying the same statement that day when I went for my interview.”

“But then how did you get the job?” Jungkook asked the most rational question while tilting his head innocently, hitting Jimin with another wave of guilt for reining in the innocent younger friend of his in this mess.

“I told my boss that I am gay,” Jimin started in a weak voice, pointedly ignoring Jungkook’s hinged jaws. “And to make my case more solid, I even invented an imaginary boyfriend to go with.”

“That’s just… wow…” Jungkook muttered in shock. “And I am not allowed to tell this epic piece of news to Taehyung?”

“Jungkook,” Jimin warned threateningly, yet the pink embarrass hue on his cheek was what stopped Jungkook from teasing his friend any further.

“But how does that stop us from going back home?” Jungkook wondered, scratching his non itchy scalp.

“My boss wishes to promote me but there is a small problem,” Jimin carried on, internally grateful for Jungkook to let his shocking news sink in so neutrally. “Even if I tried my best to keep up with my loving boyfriend façade she still seems to doubt me. So I invited her to have dinner with me and my boyfriend, tomorrow night.”

“Oh,” Jungkook’s lips rounded in a rather dazed ‘oh’ as his owlish eyes blinked rapidly. “It’s a good thing rest of the guys won’t be home tomorrow because I guess you would be needing the house all alone. So you want me to go and hang out at some friend’s place as well?”

“Jungkook, yes I would need the house alone but I also need a boyfriend,” Jimin said with a pointed look.

“Where are you gonna get a boyfriend?” The younger asked while scraping his nose tip.

“You are kidding with me, right?” Jimin sighed exaggeratedly before rubbing his hands over his face in a rough manner. “You are gonna be my boyfriend for the night, dummy.”

“What?” Jungkook shrieked making Jimin to hush the younger so that he won’t wake up Seokjin. “But… but…”

“Come on Jungkook,” Jimin tried using his puppy tone. “It’s only a onetime thing and besides, don’t you want to see me get a promotion? I would be the manager… it’s what Hyung always wanted.”

Jungkook bite his lower lip as he fell in deep thinking. Jimin carefully observed the different shades of expressions that touched the younger’s face in that short amount of time.

“I understand your predicament,” The younger stated after a length of silence. “But we are friends so pretending to be boyfriends would only prove to be awkward for us later on. Can’t you get someone else to play ‘boyfriend’ with you? Because, I sincerely can’t do that, Jimin Hyung.”

“I can’t,” Jimin admitted sheepishly. “You see, there are nearly twenty pictures of my boyfriend pasted on the wall of my cubicle.”

“Your imaginary boyfriend comes with pictures?” Jungkook asked in astonishment. “Whose pictures did you used?”

“Your…?” All hell broke loose with Jimin’s one word as Jungkook picked up a pillow from the so-called fortress Jimin creates every night before bed and started hitting the elder.

“Why is it always me?” Jungkook demanded once Jimin was buried deeply under the piled pillows.

O-o-o-o-O

“We are dating for three years and six months and twenty days now,” Jimin recited once more for Jungkook to get the hang of all the stories Jimin had brewed over the time in his new company. “We met in university… had same group of friends… you initiated our first kiss and at that moment we both knew we were made for each other-”

“Could you have got anymore cornier?” Jungkook asked sarcastically from his place in the kitchen where he was busy taking out the fine crockery from a higher cupboard. “I am just glad you used mostly the actual story of our life and twisted it into some romantic gala… keeps it simple for me to remember all the . Also makes me question about your wild fantasy world that somehow seems to revolve around me.”

Jimin looked at the younger with dagger glare before continuing in favor to ignore Jungkook’s words, “We live in a shared house with another gay couple… I never gave their names away so we can make up any couple we like.”

“How about Seokjin and Yoongi?” Jungkook suggested with a chortle. “They give me a feeling of being married sometimes.”

“Yeah, whatever you like,” Jimin waved away offhandedly while peering outside the house window only to notice that it started to snow. “Hey Jungkook it’s snowing. That’s the first snow of the season.”

“That’s great pumpkin,” Jungkook’s voice that hardly containing the mirth came from the kitchen, making Jimin to suspiciously slant his eyes in that direction. “We can later cuddle on the couch with hot cocoa, okay baby?”

“Yes baby fantastic idea,” Jimin retorted with sarcasm as he came to stand in the door way of their little kitchen. “Keep up with this attitude,” Jungkook turned around with a raised brow. “You know, with this overly loving and pinning boyfriend… because I kind of made you sound the most perfect boyfriend to exist, who loves me quite dearly.”

“Well that’s easy,” Jungkook said before turning his attention back on the food he had agreed to prepare since Jimin lack in that department quite drastically. “I already love you Hyung so pretending to love you won’t be hard and let me assure you I would be the most perfect boyfriend if you ever gave me the chance to be one.”

“Aww, I love you too baby,” Jimin gushed while slithering his arms around Jungkook’s waist from behind and landing a teeny tiny bit of peck at younger’s jawline. Jimin felt Jungkook’s body stiffening in his hold but on cue the doorbell rang loud and angry. “That must be my boss. Get ready. It’s show time baby,”

With a final tap on Jungkook’s bottom, Jimin went to answer the door.