“So what is it that you actually do?” Yoongi asked as the two sat on a bench in the bus station. They arrived at Donghae without a fuss, though it was hard to find a taxi to transport them. Their arrival time was during the lunch hour of the surrounding businesses so everyone was on the streets, each with their own destination in mind. The only reason they were able to get the taxi in the first place was because Jimin promised to pay extra if the driver took them instead of the other man that was also trying to flag the cab down. Jimin would have felt bad for inconveniencing someone else for his own gain had the guy not been such an to whoever he was talking to on the phone.

Jimin put his hands in his jacket pockets and sunk into his coat to avoid the cold.

“What do you mean?” he said, looking up at Yoongi.

“You mentioned that you were good with numbers but you never really told me what you do specifically.”

“My technical job description is an accounting manager, but it involves much more than it sounds.”

“How so?”

“Well, you’d think because it’s ‘accounting manager,’ that I’d just really be working with numbers for most of the day, but the job also requires a lot of creative and organizational skills in order to build relationships between the business and the customers. I also carry a lot of responsibility because my position impacts the company’s profits.”

“So do you work with like...higher ups a lot?” Yoongi didn’t know much about technical business terms, but he was trying his best to understand what Jimin did in order to get to know him more. Jimin could tell and he smiled.

“It depends on the project I’m working on. Sometimes I have to go over portfolios and data with executives to get the okay to continue the project in hopes that it’ll make the company more successful, but a lot of times I just continue with whatever I’m doing until I finish the project.”

“You must be good at your job.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re really young but you still hold a lot of responsibility.”

“I guess that’s true.” Jimin’s cheeks reddened slightly at Yoongi’s compliment, but the cold weather provided a cover-up for the pink hue.

“What about you? You do photography but that’s a pretty broad spectrum.”

“I mostly do nature shots and every so often I’ll get a gig to do people.”

“You’re a freelance photographer though, so how do you make money?”

“I bring the pictures to different stores and companies and they choose whether or not they want to use them for their advertisements. On those rare occasions where I’ve photographed people, it was because I was needed to do a photoshoot. Those pay the most money, but my nature pictures are often featured in calendars. I also sell the pictures sometimes.”

“Sell them? Like, sell your rights to them?”

“Pretty much. I make a little contract arrangement that I’ll get a certain amount of money in order to give the company ownership of my pictures. Even though I don’t work for one, set company, I have a few regulars that I do business with.”

“That sounds really cool actually.”

“Really?”

“I think so. It’s nice that you’re not tied down to one thing. You could take pictures of whatever you want and sell them to whoever you want, it seems like a good deal to me. Plus I’m sure it leaves you a lot of free time to work on your music.”

“Yeah, that’s true. It’s not always as glamorous as you might think though, especially when I first started out. It was almost impossible to get business, but I started making free deals.”

“Free deals?”

“It’s not an official term, but that’s what I call them. I was practically begging for work at that time because I had this ty waiter job at a restaurant that I hated. I’d go to businesses who were hesitant to work with me and told them that I’d give them my pictures and the rights to them under the condition that if they saw profits, they’d start paying me for my work.” Jimin furrowed his eyebrows at the way Yoongi was explaining his situation. It didn’t make sense to him that he’d do business for free.

“Let me explain,” Yoongi started, seeing Jimin’s confusion. “For example, I mentioned I do nature shots for calendars. The first time I tried out this free deal, I told them that I’d give them the pictures to put on one of their calendars for free. If that specific calendar profited more than it had in previous years or more than the other calendars did, they would have to start paying me for the pictures.”

“And that worked?”

“Yeah, that’s how I got my first regular shop. It’s my most lucrative deal and it pays the bills, but it’s not what I want. It’s how I keep myself afloat until I can put my music out there.”

“When do you plan on doing that?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t even know where I’d start. My best bet is auditioning for a music company but…” Yoongi’s voice trailed off and he shrugged.

“Well your stuff is good, you should try it.” Yoongi shook his head.

“I feel confident in what I record, but not in how I sound live. It’s just...it’s different.” Jimin could see the change in Yoongi’s demeanor and noticed how uncomfortable and shy he suddenly looked.

“You have stage fright?” Jimin asked in shock.

“Ah, don’t say it like that,” Yoongi grumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“You do have stage fright!” Jimin teased with a smile and a giggle.

“Laughing at your hyung is very disrespectful,” Yoongi muttered with a pout.

“Ah, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” Jimin playfully pushed Yoongi who was visibly pink now. “I have stage fright too...well, sort of.”

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?”

“It depends on who’s watching me. If it’s just a few people, even if they’re strangers, I can handle it. Crowds are different. I had to perform in front of big crowds a lot, up to a thousand people sometimes, in order to be scouted and stuff like that. I did it because I knew it was important to further my career, but I was always scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Same thing you’re scared of. Messing up, rejection, take your pick.”

“Are you still like that?”

“A little. I obviously don’t face it that often anymore since the most performing I have to do is powerpoint presentations, but I don’t think my mindset has changed on it.” The two were quiet for a little while longer and then Yoongi spoke again.

“How’d you get over it?”

“Over what?”

“How’d you get over the initial fear of performing and force yourself to go out there?” Yoongi was partially asking out of genuine curiosity and also asking because maybe Jimin’s methods could help him. He wanted nothing more than for his work to be noticed, but a big part of him held him back from it. It felt as if his shortcomings and fears were a hand around his throat, and every time he tried to do something against that mindset, the fingers tightened and rendered him speechless. If the mere thought of performing put him at a loss for words, what would happen to him if his feet touched a stage?

“I don't think fear is a good way to describe it necessarily. It was more so me being anxious. When I would wait backstage behind the curtain, I couldn’t help but think about all the things that could go wrong during my performance. When my name was called to perform, my body would just go on autopilot and take me out to the stage. I’d hear the music start and it was like muscle memory when I would start out, I just knew how to move. When I got into a rhythm, I became comfortable and everything went as planned.” Jimin was looking at Yoongi, but his gaze looked past Yoongi as if his memories were playing out behind him. He could recall that feeling before each performance when his stomach would churn and he’d feel a burning in his chest while his hands shook from nervousness.

Yoongi had never given himself the opportunity to experience the feeling of overcoming that fear. Maybe his experience would be like Jimin and after the first few lyrics, he’d be comfortable. That thought gave him a sliver of hope.

“I’m sure you’re an amazing performer,” Yoongi said suddenly. Jimin could tell he meant it and wasn’t just trying to make him feel better. “I’d love to see you dance sometime.”

“I’ll make a deal with you then.” Jimin stood up as he took notice of their bus’ arrival and gathered his things. Yoongi followed suit and they formed a line to board the bus. “If you write a song for me, I’ll make a dance for you,” he finished as he glanced over his shoulder at Yoongi.

“Deal,” Yoongi replied without hesitation.