V-HOPE DOUBLES WITH YOONMIN

DON'T WORRY THEY DIDN'T GO TO A RESTAURANT, THIS IS JUST THE ONLY PIC I COULD FIND OF THE QUAD

Jimin and Taehyung stared in awe at the array of marine life swimming above their heads. “This is going to be so amazing, Taehyungie,” he said throwing an arm around the younger’s shoulders to hug him close and bump their foreheads together. They were on a date…not with each other, though. Well, they kind of were, plus their boyfriends. “Jiminnie, come take a picture with me,” Taehyung said excitedly pulling his best friend toward the photographer a little ways away, "We need to document this epic night." 

Yoongi grinned and shook his head at the pair, at least they were excited about today. Jimin had managed to talk Yoongi into doubling with Hoseok and Taehyung. So far the awkward level was mellow but, then again, they’d just arrived and there was plenty of time for things to reach level red. Yoongi watched his boyfriend and best friend throw up bunny ears behind each other’s heads as the photographer snapped their picture; they looked like two 6-year-olds.

He wished he could be in carefree mode too, but unfortunately he was feeling a tiny bit weird about being on a date with his ex and his current boyfriend. “Am I the only one feeling weird about this date, Yoongi?” Hoseok asked nudging the elder. Hoseok always had a knack for reading his mind. “So ing weird,” Yoongi quickly agreed shoving his hands in his pockets, “but Jimin really wants to get to know you.” 

“Why?” Hoseok whined, “It’s weird.” “Because you’re his best friend’s boyfriend and because you’re still my friend and he wants you to be his friend too. He wants us all to be one big friendship square,” Yoongi answered with a shrug. 

“Aww that’s just about as cute as he is,” Hoseok cooed as a huge grin spread over his face. Yoongi elbowed his ex, “Yah, I don’t talk about how cute your weird boyfriend is, grant me the same respect,” he complained in all seriousness. It was Hoseok’s turn to shrug, “Tae isn’t as cute as Jimin, though.”  Yoongi didn’t know how to respond to that; it sounded like an ulterior motive disguised as a compliment to him. Or maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe he just didn’t like hearing anyone (especially his ex) calling Jimin cute.

“C’mon Yoongi-hyung, take a picture with me,” Jimin requested grabbing ahold of his boyfriend’s arm, “I’ve never been to the aquarium before and I want a picture as a souvenir.” “You too, Hoseokie,” Taehyung cutely pouted, “I need something to look at when I go back to school.” Hoseok laughed and wrapped an arm around Taehyung’s shoulders, “Alright Taehyungie, we’ll take lots of greasy aquarium photos to decorate your room with,” he promised guiding him towards the photographer.

Yoongi grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and led him over as well, he wasn’t about to be outdone by Hoseok. 

After standing there impatiently  while Taehyung and Hoseok took like 12 pictures, Yoongi walked around the photographer and shooed them out of the way, “Just take a photo album’s worth of pictures why don’t you?” he grumbled to the giggling couple, “Come on Jiminnie, it’s our turn.” Jimin eagerly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and smiled brightly as the photographer snapped their picture. “So handsome,” the photographer complimented as she took another picture. 

They barely got in 3 pictures before Hoseok was hugging Jimin’s shoulders tightly yelling out, “Group picture,” with a wide happy grin. Yoongi was 100% sure that their group picture sported him side-eyeing Jung Hoseok evilly. He unhooked his ex’s arms and led his boyfriend towards the sting rays. Yoongi vowed that he would keep an eye on Hoseok for the rest of the date.

How in the hell had they gotten separated? Yoongi was doing such a good job of keeping track of Hoseok…like P.I. good. It must have happened when he and Taehyung had stooped down to read the description of the giant Japanese spider crabs. “Great, where the hell did they go?” Yoongi mumbled in annoyance, damn his curiosity for gigantic shellfish.

He ran fingers through his hair and looked around for the lost pair of boyfriends. Taehyung reached over and tapped the elder’s shoulder, “You know, it’s nice to see Jimin with someone who makes him so happy and smiley,” he said. Yoongi looked over at the younger, “What?” he asked in confusion. What was this kid talking about so suddenly? 

Taehyung nodded and smiled, “Yea, I’ve known Jiminnie for a long time and I’ve never seen him so happy. I know that’s because of you, Yoongi-hyung,” he said crossing his hands behind his back. “You think so?” Yoongi questioned curiously as they headed in a random direction. Taehyung nodded again, “I don’t know too much about you hyung, but I do know Jimin very well and he’s had a really hard life. To lose his parents so young and to suddenly be all alone, he was very depressed. It’s just nice to see him smile so much and it’s only because he has you now. He talks about you all the time too; about how he can’t be with anyone else, and how much he loves you, and how blessed he is to have you, and blah, blah, blah.” 

Yoongi grinned at that, “I like him a lot,” he easily told the younger. “More than you liked Hoseok-hyung?” Taehyung questioned curiously, his wide eyes looking at the elder expectantly. “Much more,” the elder answered almost immediately, “more than I’ve ever liked anyone.” Taehyung nodded seeming satisfied with that answer, “Good, because Hoseok-hyung belongs to me now,” he declared through a box-smile. 

Yoongi laughed and patted the younger’s shoulder, “You got a good guy, the best guy actually,” he said, “Hoseokie might be the nicest person I know and I’m sure you’ll appreciate him more than I did. Just promise me you’ll tell him you love him every day.” “I already do,” Taehyung proudly said, “and he makes sure he says it right back.”

“So…you  and Yoongi-hyung, huh?” Hoseok asked lacing his fingers together behind his head, they were waiting by the restrooms while Jimin pinpointed their boyfriend’s whereabouts. Jimin grinned up at the elder and nodded, “Yea,” he conceded happily. “What was it like for you?” Jimin suddenly asked the elder, “being in a relationship with Min Yoongi?” 

Hoseok looked a little taken aback by the question, “You’re pretty straightforward aren’t you?” he queried. Jimin nodded, “Yea, a little,” he shrugged, “I just want to know if your Yoongi was anything like my Yoongi.” 

Hoseok nodded, that made sense, “Yoongi-hyung was the type of boyfriend who didn’t apologize. He had money then, so he would just buy me nice things instead of saying sorry. He was a really angry guy too, not at me, but just in general. And sometimes he would disappear for a couple of days and then return as if nothing happened, that used to scare me a lot,” he divulged as he smiled and waved to a young girl walking past with her parents. Jimin seemed genuinely shocked by this new bit of info. on old Yoongi, “God, was there anything good about your relationship?” he asked worriedly. 

Hoseok laughed and nodded, “Of course. Yoongi-hyung was very considerate, though he didn’t apologize, he took the initiative for lots of things. Even if he was feeling bad, he always made sure I was OK and that my problems were dealt with. I think it made his problems fade, if he focused all his attention on my problems then he wouldn’t have to think about his own. That was the one thing I was most thankful for: rain or shine, Yoongi was always there for me…it’s the reason we stayed friends after we broke up. And the support wasn’t one-sided either, whenever hyung did open up about the crap he was dealing with at home, I made sure I was there for him. The trust and honesty we had was the driving force in our relationship,” he told the younger.

Jimin nodded at that, “Yoongi is a very honest person, he tells me things I may not want to hear but need to,” he agreed. Jimin hesitantly cleared his throat, “Can I ask you another question, hyung?” Hoseok nodded, “Sure, as long as I can ask you a few after,” he bargained. “OK,” Jimin quickly accepted, “If you two had such a strong connection, why did you break up?” 

“He never told me he loved me,” Hoseok revealed. 

It was Jimin’s turn to be shocked, “What?” Hoseok laughed nervously, “I know it sounds very petty of me, but it’s good to hear it every once in a while. We were together for a whole year and he never said it…not even once, and I must have said it to him like once every 2 days,” he shrugged and scratched his head, “after a while you start to feel like your relationship is one-sided.” 

Jimin bit his lip, one question running through his mind: Has Yoongi ever told  him he loved him? 

Hoseok reached over and ruffled the younger’s hair, “OK my turn.” Jimin forced the sinking feeling he had down and nodded for the elder to continue. “What’s Jimin’s Min Yoongi like?” Hoseok queried. 

“Oh, hyung is a very happy boy. We laugh a lot, and we share a lot…God, we can talk for hours about anything. Our relationship is very quid pro quo; I teach him something and then he reciprocates. He does something for me and I return the favor. We have a give and take kind of thing and I love it. He takes care of me and I take care of him, I’m his rock and he’s my backbone. Trust and honesty is still very big for him, so we promised to always tell the truth no matter what,” Jimin said through a proud smile. 

“Do you love him?” Hoseok asked. Jimin nodded, “So much,” he answered and then asked, “What about you and Taehyung?”

Hoseok tilted his head back and laughed, “That guy is a handful, but he’s just so full of life. So animated. He can make just about any and every situation fun. He’s the weirdest, craziest, and funniest little monkey I’ve ever met. I’ve never dated anyone who could match my consistent bright personality so easily,” he revealed. Jimin laughed as well, “Your TaeTae is definitely different from mines, he’s a big troublemaker and always gets me into crazy situations. But I love that about him, he makes me take necessary risks. He’s a keeper in my book, you’ll never have a dull day,” he advocated.

“Well thanks for vouching for him, but I was already planning on keeping him,” Hoseok said patting the younger on the back. “Yoongi-hyung said to meet them by the manatees,” Jimin said pointing to his left. “OK, let’s go make our friendship square whole again,” Hoseok suggested following the younger down a tunnel of glorious colorful fishes.

“Kim Taehyung isn’t as dumb as he looks, Jimin,” Yoongi said as they walked toward the train station. Jimin raised a dark brow at his boyfriend, “I don’t know if I should be offended that you ever thought that or happy that you don’t think that anymore, so I’m just going to ignore it all together,” he responded. Yoongi chuckled, “I just meant, he’s a pretty insightful kid,” he elaborated. Jimin nodded and said, “TaeTae is very deep and I’m happy that you’re acknowledging that.” 

Yoongi nodded in return, “So, was it awkward being alone with my ex-boyfriend?” he asked. Jimin shook his head, “No, Hoseok-hyung is a great guy. He told me about you guys’ relationship,” he revealed.

“It was such a bipolar relationship, it was either really ing bad or really amazing,” Yoongi softly admitted, “We were terrible together, and part of the reason for that was because I was in such a bad place. I couldn’t give myself to him fully because I wasn’t happy with who I was at the time, but I always did my best to take care of Hoseokie.” 

Jimin sat down on one of the benches outside of the station, “He said you never told him you loved him,” he told the elder, “Did you?” “I couldn’t,” Yoongi answered shaking his head. He sat down beside his boyfriend, “I couldn’t love Hoseok the way he loved me,” he admitted. “Why not?” Jimin asked scooting closer to the elder.

Yoongi shrugged and leaned back against the bench, “The way I grew up, I guess. Love has never come first in my household, it always lost to business and logic. My parents always said, ‘Love is a secondary emotion, one that makes you blind.’ I didn’t hear about love in a positive light, it was always stupid and unnecessary. I can only remember hearing an ‘I love you’ from my parents a handful of times, I’m not sure if they even love each other. I think their marriage was a business investment,” he explained.

Jimin rested his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “And what about now? Do you still feel unsure about what love means?” he asked fidgeting with the studs in Yoongi’s ear. Yoongi twiddled his thumbs in his lap, “I don’t know, I’m starting to develop my own concept of love,” he broadly answered. Jimin wasn’t sure what that meant, but he hoped it meant he would be getting an, ‘I love you’ in the future. 

Yoongi squeezed his boyfriend’s knee, “Come on Jiminnie, the train is coming,” he said before he got up. “Wait,” Jimin said yanking him back down. He pulled his boyfriend into a sweet kiss, “I just wanted to tell you I love you, you know, if I haven’t already said it today,” he said the elder’s cheek. Yoongi smiled and patted the younger’s knee again, “You did, and I know you do,” he said before he stood up again. 

Jimin sighed and watched his boyfriend walked towards the platform, how long before he got fed up too?