The next day

Jungkook was sitting in the cafeteria, alone. He had decided to eat earlier than usual so Jimin wouldn’t feel pressured by his presence. He was almost done with his sandwich when Taehyung appeared, sitting right in front of him.

“Look, I know you didn’t mean it but you really ed up.” he said, surprisingly calm.

“I know that too. If you’re here to yell at me, just do it. Yoongi already did the first part yesterday.” Jungkook replied.

“I’m not going to yell at you. I hate to admit it but you were kinda right.” Taehyung stated, making Jungkook look at him in disbelief. “I love Jimin, he’s my soulmate, but he’s taking too much time to make your relationship official and that’s worrying me. I don’t know how long he’s been bottling up everything but I know that’s not healthy at all. I couldn’t make him open up, he spent most of the night crying on my shoulder without saying anything. You’re the only one who can make him speak up now.” Taehyung explained, making Jungkook scoff.

“As if he’d like to see me. I hurt him, he kicked me out of the room and I deserved it. I didn’t mean any word that came out of my stupid mouth and I don’t care that he’s taking all the time in the world to officialise our relationship. I said I’ll wait for him and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. But the fact that he isn’t talking to you is worrisome. But I’m not the right person to talk to him now.”

“If you aren’t then who is?” Taehyung desperately asked. “Look, think about it okay? He’ll be done at 3 today, I know you don’t have class at that time. Go fetch him and try to talk it out. Please.”

Jungkook sighed and shrugged. Taehyung ruffled his hair and went away. Jungkook was very confused. The fact that Jimin was taking his time to be confident in his uality wasn’t worrying Jungkook. What scared him was the fact that he didn’t talk to Taehyung. The latter was the one who helped Jimin to come to terms with his uality and Jungkook didn’t get why he’d be bottling up what he feels. He deeply sighed, looking at his sandwich, feeling dejected. He got up, threw away what remained of his sandwich and walked to class.

At 3P.M, Jungkook was waiting in front of Jimin’s practice room. He understood he had rehearsed with the whole class when he saw a lot of people getting out of the room. Ten minutes later, Jimin still wasn’t out so he tried glancing inside. He found Jimin, his back facing him, talking with some other guy. Jimin was reflected in the wall-sized mirror and he was smiling widely at the unknown guy. Jungkook felt jealousy boil inside of him, pulling on his stomach, almost making him feel sick. He walked up to the pair, keeping a small distance between him and Jimin, glaring at the other guy.

Jimin turned to him, clearly surprised to see him.

“Jung-Jungkook-ah? What are you doing here?” Jimin asked, his voice wavering a little.

“I’m here to fetch you, Taehyung couldn’t come.” Jungkook replied, his voice hard, still staring at the other guy.

“Hi.” The other guy said. Jungkook nodded as a greeting. “I’m Lee Taemin. You must be Jiminie’s friend, Jungkook, right?”

Jungkook frowned when the guy, Taemin, said ‘Jiminie’. Who was he to use that nickname? Was he close to Jimin? How long have they known each other?

Jimin sensing that something was off with Jungkook tried to change topics.

“Taemin-ah, can we talk later? I really need to rest.”

“Of course, no problem. Seeya Jiminie!” Taemin said, leaving the practice room.

Jimin turned to Jungkook, pissed.

“What the hell was that? Why are you here?” Jimin asked, gathering his stuffs and shoving them messily into his bag.

“He was being too friendly with you.” Jungkook answered, his voice so low Jimin almost didn’t hear him.

“Are you ing joking? You’re jealous now!” Jimin exclaimed, in disbelief.

“Of course I am! We argued yesterday and when I come to talk to you I see this guy flirting with you!” Jungkook complained, taking Jimin’s bag from his hands and following him out of the practice room.

“He was not flirting with me. You must have been hallucinating.” Jimin replied, his heart fluttering at Jungkook’s gesture. He still took his bag from him, he might not be too angry.

“Let’s not argue about that, please.” Jungkook said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. “Jimin-ah, I’m sorry for what I said yesterday. I’ve been an and I swear I didn’t mean what I told you.”

Jungkook looked and sounded so genuine and hurt, Jimin couldn’t not forgive him. He always broke too easily when it came to Jungkook.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have reacted like I did, I know that Yugyeom is your friend but I guess I felt a bit… threatened?” Jimin admitted, looking around him to be sure no one could hear them.

“But why? You know there’s only you for me. I only have eyes for you, Jimin-ah, I thought you knew that.” Jungkook said, his voice not too loud just in case.

“And I feel the same for you. But I don’t know, I’ve been feeling very insecure lately, it’s driving me crazy.”

Jungkook softly smiled, hugging Jimin. He revelled in the way Jimin relaxed in his hold.

“Look, let’s go to your room and talk it out, okay?” he asked when they broke the embrace.

“Sounds good.”

They resumed on walking and soon were out of the dance building.

“By the way, I was supposed to tell you something yesterday but couldn’t.” Jungkook said.

“What is it?”

“You know the project for the end of the year. Hwang told us that if there’s a project he likes more than the others, they’ll be a little exhibit so the whole uni could see the work.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I’m sure you’ll be the one to get chosen.” Jimin said, excited.

“Ah, I don’t know. But it’s kinda pressuring, you know? I mean, my subject is very personal and it’s already hard for me to hand it to Hwang so if it has to be showcased in front of the whole school… I’m not sure I want that to happen to be honest.” Jungkook honestly admitted.

“You still don’t wanna tell me about your subject?” Jimin asked.

“I’ll tell you soon. I’m still editing the pictures, I want everything to be perfect.”

“I know how much of a perfectionist you are. Well, I guess I’ll have to be patient.” Jimin said, shrugging.

A comfortable silence took place between them and they arrived to the dorms without talking. Jungkook could sense Jimin wanted to say something but he wasn’t going to push him. If he wanted to talk, he would.

They entered Jimin’s room and made their way to Jimin’s bedroom, making themselves comfy. Jungkook lied down, quickly followed by Jimin who put his head on Jungkook’s chest and intertwined their fingers.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday.” Jimin began, his voice so soft Jungkook could have missed it if everything hadn’t been so silent. “About you and our friends being here for me. I’ve thought about it a lot last night and today and I think that I’m slowly getting there.” He made a short pause and cleared his throat. “I mean, I think that I’m getting more confident day by day. Seeing couples around the campus, seeing how our friends are happy in their relationship… I want that too. And I also want you to be happy. I know what you’ll say, that you’re already happy to be my boyfriend. But I know that you’d be happier if we were out. If I were out. I’m just asking you to be a little more patient? I’m getting there, I just have to get rid of some stupid insecurities.” Jimin explained.

Jungkook was so relieved Jimin had talked to him he could cry. He squeezed Jimin’s hand and brought his other hand to tangle in his hair.

“I could wait my whole life if I had to. I’m happy you talked to me and I’m happy that you’re getting more confident. I’m proud of you baby.” Jungkook said, letting go of Jimin’s hand and tilting his head toward him to leave a sweet kiss on his lips.

 

Some days later, Jimin was waiting in front of Jungkook’s dorm. The latter had told him that he was finally ready to show him what he would submit to Hwang. Jimin couldn’t more excited, he knew the wait would be worth it and he loved Jungkook’s approach to photography. He was looking at the time for the umpteenth time when, finally, Jungkook arrived.

“Sorry to be late, Hwang kept us a bit to pressure us a little more.” Jungkook said, chuckling.

“It’s okay. Let’s go in, I’m excited.” Jimin said, making Jungkook giggle.

He opened the door and immediately took Jimin’s hand, leading the way to his bedroom. They made themselves comfortable on Jungkook’s bed, sitting cross-legged, face to face.

“Okay. So, the subject I chose is ‘Art in motion’.”

“That sounds cool! And what did you take pictures of?” Jimin asked, eager to know more.

“I can’t tell you yet, sorry. But I’ll show the pictures when I will submit the project, okay?” Jungkook said.

“Promise?” Jimin asked, showing his pinky to Jungkook.

“Promise.” Jungkook stated, tangling their fingers together.

 

Jungkook spent the next month editing his photographs and Jimin practicing in the dance studio. Jungkook still met up with his old squad but less frequently so Jimin wouldn’t feel insecure and left out anymore. After some time of hanging out with Taemin, Jimin realised that Jungkook had been right about the guy flirting with him. He rejected him and stopped hanging out with him outside of class.

The couple felt happier day by day and Jimin initiating more skin ship in public didn’t go unnoticed by some people but they always played it as just very close friends. Jungkook saw that it still stressed Jimin but he was also happy and proud of the other for trying.

“Jungkook-ah, when are you submitting to Hwang?” Taehyung asked one Friday evening as all the guys were hanging out together.

“On Monday. Why?” Jungkook replied, a fond smile on his face as Jimin played with his fingers.

“Because I’m submitting to Choi on Monday too. You know that one of us will also see his work displayed, right?”

“I didn’t know. I thought it was only for photography students. I hope you’ll win, I love your paintings.”

“Thanks, Kook.” Taehyung replied, smiling sweetly. “What about you, dance majors?”

“Well, since we had a showcase not too long ago, there won’t be any open performance. We’ll have to perform in front of the teachers on Monday as well but no one is allowed in.” Hoseok explained.

“So I won’t be able to see you blow their minds with your choreo?” Yoongi asked, pouting.

“No, babe. But I’ll perform it only for you as a private show if you want.” Hoseok answered, kissing Yoongi’s pout away, ignoring the others’ gagging sounds.

“Get a room.” Seokjin said, making them all laugh.

“What about you Yoongs? Are you done already?” Namjoon asked.

“Yeah, I submitted my song yesterday. Haven’t you?” Yoongi asked.

They were both music majors but Yoongi was one year ahead of Namjoon.

“I was supposed to but I dropped my USB drive in my coffee cup yesterday morning so Lee told me I could submit my song to him on Monday.” Namjoon explained, making everyone laugh out loud.

“You’re lucky it was Lee because Song is a nightmare. He would’ve made you fail the semester, that bastard.” Yoongi said after they had all calmed down.

“Guys, have you seen the hour? It’s already 10PM. We better all get back to our rooms if we don’t want to get caught past curfew.”

Everyone agreed, moving to go back to their respective rooms. Jungkook was about to get up but Jimin held him back.

“Can you stay the night, please?” he asked.

“Of course, baby.” Jungkook replied, smiling and leaving a soft peck on Jimin’s cute button nose.

“Thanks.” Jimin said, leaving a soft peck on Jungkook’s cheek and hugging him.

“Why are you so clingy, baby? I’m not complaining, just wondering.”

“I just want to have you close, that’s all.” Jimin answered, looking furtively at Taehyung who nodded.

 

On Monday, the group of friends agreed to go have lunch in a Korean bbq place that was close to the dorms. As they all sat down, they immediately began to ask about the finals.

“Have y’all submitted your works?” Jin asked.

“Yeah, I went with Jungkook because I needed some mental support.” Taehyung answered, making them laugh.

“You’re so stupid. Your paintings are amazing, I really don’t get why you’re nervous.” Jungkook said.

“But you didn’t let me see your pics! I wanna know!” Taehyung complained.

“Everyone gets the same treatment, Yoongi hyung is the only exception.” Jungkook replied, blowing a kiss to Yoongi.

“You’re so cheesy, Kook!” Yoongi said, blowing a kiss back.

“Okay, stop flirting with my boyfriend please and let’s order.” Jimin joked and took Jungkook’s menu from his hands and began scanning it.

Jungkook was a bit surprised by Jimin’s words, it was the first time he addressed Jungkook as his boyfriend in public. Jungkook smiled softly to himself and leaned close to Jimin so he could also choose what to eat.

When they were done with lunch, they decided to go to a karaoke and have some more fun together. They all sang their lungs out, Jungkook and Jimin serenaded each other whereas Jin, Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi sang the Naruto theme song and Taehyung took pics and videos of his friends before rapping his heart out to Big Bang.

In the evening, when they were all back to their respective rooms, Jungkook thought about what had happened with Jimin. He had acknowledged Jungkook as his boyfriend in a public place, fully aware that people could hear him, he had initiated some PDA during lunch and had sang him a love song. Of course, Jungkook was happy but he was also confused and nervous. Jungkook was hoping for his work to get displayed and Jimin’s behaviour was promising but what if Jimin wasn’t ready to be so open? What if it messed everything up between them? But Jungkook decided to not think about it now. Maybe he wouldn’t get his work displayed so he wouldn’t have to worry about Jimin’s reaction.

 

The next Monday

“JUNGKOOK-AH!!!! JUNGKOOK!!!”

Jungkook stopped and turned around to see Taehyung running towards him, screaming his name, making every person near him to look at him.

“Why are you screaming like that? Did something happen?” Jungkook asked as his friend struggled to breathe.

“You got selected!” Taehyung managed to say between breaths.

“What? Selected for what?”

“You work! Hwang chose you!” Taehyung exclaimed, putting his hands on Jungkook’s shoulders and shaking him a bit.

“Wh-what? Are you serious?” Jungkook asked, bewildered.

“Yes! Did you check your mails today?”

Jungkook shook his head and took his phone out, checking his mails. To his surprised he had received one from Professor Hwang this morning. He read it and looked back at Taehyung.

“Oh my god. Oh my ing god.” He said.

“I know!! I’m so happy for you!” Taehyung said, hugging Jungkook.

When Taehyung released him, he expected to see a big smile on his face but was confused when he noticed he was scared.

“What’s up? Aren’t you happy?” he asked, worry lacing his voice.

“I-I am. But now I have something very difficult to do.” Jungkook said, resuming on walking towards the dorms.

“What is it? Maybe I can help you.”

“You can’t.”

“Tell me, I’m sure I can help–”

“No!” Jungkook exclaimed, startling Taehyung. “I’m sorry. But I can’t tell you and you really can’t help me, I have to do this alone. I’ll see you later.” Jungkook said and started running to the dorms, leaving a stunned Taehyung behind.

 

“Tae told me that you won, Kook.” Yoongi said as he opened the door to let his best friend in.

“I’m ed. How am I gonna tell Jimin about it?” Jungkook asked as he sat on the couch and put his head in his hands.

“You’re not ed.” Yoongi said, sitting next to Jungkook, putting an arm around him. “You still have some time, right? Your work will get displayed on Friday from what Tae told me.” Jungkook nodded. “And about telling Jimin, Tae probably already told him that you won.”

“That’s not the problem!” Jungkook whined, looking at Yoongi. “How am I gonna tell him that he is the project? Everyone will see the pictures I took of Jimin, my boyfriend whom I love and doesn’t want to get out yet.”

“Then why did you choose him as the project? You knew there was this possibility.” Yoongi asked, looking severely at Jungkook.

“Because he fits perfectly the subject I chose. Never in a million years I would have thought I’d see my work get displayed in front of the whole uni!”

“Look, lately Jimin has been very open, hasn’t he?”

“I guess, yeah. The other day he held my hand when we went back to the dorms from the library. And he kissed my cheek when we met up in front of the café yesterday.”

“That means he’s okay with making your relationship official. I think you should just tell him that you got selected and let him discover the pictures.”

“You mean to not tell him anything?” Jungkook asked, surprised. “But months ago you kept on telling me how important it is to tell him as soon as possible.”

“No, I was saying this about the possibility of your work getting displayed.” Yoongi corrected. “But think about it. Don’t you think Jimin will be super emotional to see that he was your project? He’ll be able to see how he looks like to you, to see how he looks in your eyes. To see how much you love him.”

“I didn’t know you were such a sappy one.” Jungkook joked, earning a punch. “But I guess you’re right. I hope he won’t break up with me though.”

“He won’t, stop stressing.”

 

“Jungkookie, I’m so proud of you!” Jimin exclaimed as he entered Jungkook’s room.

Jungkook had gone back to his room after talking with Yoongi and agreeing on not telling Jimin about the pictures. He had just reached his room when the bell had rung.

“Thanks, hyung. I’m so happy about it but also a bit nervous.”

“I’m sure your pictures are amazing, there must be a reason why Hwang chose you.” Jimin said, kissing Jungkook on the lips before making his way to Jungkook’s room.

He entered, lied down on the bed and tapped the spot beside him for Jungkook to lie down too. When Jungkook did, Jimin put his head on his chest, took Jungkook’s hand, intertwined their fingers and rested it on the taller’s stomach.

“Why are you so clingy? Not complaining though, I love being close to you.” Jungkook said, caressing Jimin’s hair with his free hand.

“I have something to tell you.” Jimin stated. He squeezed Jungkook’s hand and that gesture was enough to make Jungkook nervous.

“I thought about us a lot lately. I’ve been doing PDA often as you may have noticed. It was very hard in the beginning because I wasn’t used to it. But as time passed, it became easier and I started to enjoy it. I sometimes looked at how people looked at us and most of them were smiling fondly and it made me happy.” Jimin paused, taking a few breaths before continuing. “I want us to become official, Jungkook-ah.”

“Really?” Jungkook asked, not believing his ears.

“Yes. I finally understood why you wanted us to be out so badly and I’m sorry you had to wait.”

“Don’t be sorry, baby. What matters is that you’re confident enough to be open about your uality and our relationship. I just want you to be happy.” Jungkook said, kissing Jimin’s top of head.

“Thanks, Jungkookie. I was thinking that we could made it official at your exhibition?”

“Yes. That’s a very good idea.” Jungkook stated, tilting Jimin’s head towards him and kissing him on the lips.

What a perfect opportunity to confess, thought Jungkook.

 

The day of the exhibition

Jungkook was a nervous wreck. Never in his life had he ever been as nervous as he was at the moment. His hands were sweaty, he was feeling nauseous and his throat was as dry as the Sahara. He kept drinking water, trying to ease his nerves but nothing worked. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.

“Are you okay?” one of his classmates who had helped to set up everything, Beomgyu, asked.

“I’m very nervous.” Jungkook admitted.

“Don’t be. Your pictures are very beautiful. I noticed it’s Park Jimin, right? Is he your boyfriend?”

“Yeah. I’m not supposed to tell you but he wants us to become official here, today, and that’s why I’m so nervous. He doesn’t know he’s my project.” Jungkook explained in hope to calm down a little.

“I’m sure he’ll be touched. We can see how much you love him through your photographs. To be honest, I was jealous to know Hwang had chosen you.” Beomgyu said, giggling. “But I understand why you won now. You deserve it so stop stressing.”

“Thanks, Beomgyu.” Jungkook thanked him and the other walked away.

He looked at his watch. Almost 5P.M. He drank some more and went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit. He splashed his face with cold water, forced himself to calm down and went back to the exhibition hall.

Just then, he saw Mr. Hwang coming toward him.

“Ready, Jungkook?” he asked, apparently very excited.

“I have to, right?” Jungkook said, giggling nervously. “I’m still nervous, what if no one likes the exhibition?”

“I know how you feel but I can assure you that people will love it. The way you took the photographs and how you were able to convey your feelings through them is wonderful. I was a bit worried when you told me you had chosen ‘Art in motion’ as your subject but I’m very satisfied with the result.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Hwang.”

“Now, take a deep breath and let’s open the doors so everyone can come in and admire your beautiful work.” Hwang said, smiling at Jungkook.

Jungkook breathed a few times and followed Hwang to open the doors. A lot of people were waiting outside of the exhibition hall, most of them being art students, and as the doors opened, they began to enter. Those who knew Jungkook greeted him and began to stroll in the hall, studying every picture carefully.

Jungkook looked at everyone, trying to gauge their reactions. Most of the people seemed to like the pictures, small smiles on their lips. Jungkook was waiting for his friends to show up when a girl came up to him.

“Hi, I’m Seohyun and I write for the uni’s newspaper. I wanted to ask you which picture is your favourite and why.”

Jungkook was a bit taken aback by the question and the fact that the uni had its own newspaper. He thought about it for some time before leading Seohyun to show her his favourite pic.

“It’s this one. He looks very graceful but also powerful. His lines are perfect, you can tell he practiced a lot for this performance to be perfect. I also purposely took the pic without showing the stage so it looked like he was flying. He’s wearing all black but he still looks like an angel.” Jungkook explained as Seohyun took notes.

“Can I take a picture of you beside the picture?”

“Oh, um– sure.” Jungkook nervously answered, standing next to the picture. He smiled a little bit and Seohyun quickly snapped the pic.

“Thanks! You know, I went to this performance too, I thought it was amazing but the way you took the pictures… we can really tell how much you love your boyfriend.” She said and Jungkook awkwardly thanked her.

Ten minutes later, Jungkook was standing next to Mr. Hwang, talking with Mrs. Choi about the pictures. She was praising Jungkook when someone called his name.

“Jungkook!”

Jungkook turned toward the entrance to see Yoongi enter with Hoseok following him.

“Sorry to be late, I fell asleep.” Yoongi apologised. “I wanted to greet you before taking a look around.”

“It’s okay. Is Jimin gonna be here soon?” Jungkook asked, raising one of his hands to scratch at his nape.

“He’s coming don’t worry.” Hoseok replied. “I’m sure he’s gonna love it.”

“Thanks. Go take a look, now.” Jungkook told them, making them laugh at how nervous he still looked.

Not even 5 minutes later, Jungkook saw Taehyung, Namjoon, Seokjin and Jimin arrive. He gasped and went to hide before a column that was there. He kept his eyes fixed on Jimin, dreading but also waiting for his reaction. He watched Jimin’s eyes widen, soften and then fill with tears. He saw him smile as his friends talked with him and then he saw him search someone. Jungkook (the little genius) understood Jimin was looking for him. He took a deep breath, wiped his sweaty hands on his thighs and walked up to Jimin. He arrived in front of him and they stared at each other for some seconds.

“So… Do you come here often?” Jungkook asked, facepalming. What the actual was he saying again? A pick-up line? And a bad one? At least, it made Jimin laugh.

“You’re such an idiot! No, I don’t come here often, only when my boyfriend gets the opportunity to display his art work.” Jimin replied, smiling widely.

“You understand now why I couldn’t show you the pictures?”

“Yes, I do! And they’re beautiful, Jungkookie…” Jimin trailed off, blushing.

Jungkook sensed that this was the moment. It was his time to shine, to tell Jimin that he loved him.

“Jimin-ah…” Jungkook began, taking Jimin’s hands. “The reason I chose you for my project is because… I love you. It’s been hard these past weeks, being with you but not being able to tell you how much I love you, to hold you without being able to worship you the way you deserve to. I love you so much Jimin, I hope you can see this through the photographs.”

Jimin blushed all the more, his eyes feeling up with more tears until he couldn’t hold them back anymore. He squeezed Jungkook’s hand lightly before pulling him close and kissing him full on the mouth.

Jungkook was so surprised by the sudden move that it took a few seconds before reciprocating it. He closed his eyes and pulled Jimin even closer, putting his hands on his waist as Jimin had his around his neck. They started to make out, forgetting about all the people around them, forgetting that Jungkook was actually supposed to socialise. All Jungkook could think about was Jimin, Jimin, Jimin. His soft lips, his tongue clashing against his, his petite waist between his hands, his hands pulling lightly on his hair, his little satisfied sounds as they kept kissing each other. But they unfortunately had to break apart to catch their breaths, suddenly remembering where they were and what they just had done. A beat passed and everyone began to cheer, applauding them or teasingly whistling at them.

They both looked at each other, still as close as they were, both blushing but happy to finally be out to everyone.

“I love you too, baby. So much.” Jimin said, leaving a soft peck on Jungkook’s lips, smiling so wide it almost hurt.

If Jimin had known how happy he’d be to be himself, he’d have done it sooner, that’s for sure.

 

Here's the third chapter !! I said it'd be the end but I feel like writing just another one that will hopefully be short^^ Until then, don't hesitate to leave comments !