HER POV

“So, are you coming for my birthday?” I asked Jimin over the phone. I laid down on the couch, yawning hugely. I’d had a long day at work and had finally managed to squeeze in some time to talk with Jimin after a couple of weeks. Our phone conversations were always so spread out. I missed him in between, but I always appreciated the endless amount of selfies he sent me.

“Uh…I’m not sure yet.” He said hesitantly. I pouted to myself, knowing he couldn’t see it. I’d never show this kind of cutesy face in front of him.

“Boooo.” I rolled over onto my side.

“I’ll get you a nice gift to make up for it.” He promised. “What do you want?”

“You.” I said truthfully. “I just want you to celebrate with me as I age gracefully. I’ll be elderly soon. You won’t be able to soak in this youthful appearance much longer.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Jimin giggled. I smiled to myself at the sound of his laugh. He had a precious little giggle. “You’re still so young.”

“I’m gonna be twenty-three.” I sighed.

“Oh, really? I thought you were gonna be twenty-four.” Jimin said thoughtfully. “I thought you were four years older than me.”

“Nah, just three. More like two and a quarter, right? Your birthday’s in October?”

“Yeah, the thirteenth.” He told me. “What do you want for your birthday? Like a real present.”

“Um…I wanna go to the beach.” I decided.

“You go to the beach like every day.” Jimin grumbled.

“Yeah, but I wanna go on a beach trip. Let’s go to Jeju Island!” I cried excitedly.

“Baby, I can’t afford that.” Jimin said. “Pick something reasonable.”

“Buy me a Chanel bag.” I demanded, half-joking.

“Ugh.” He scoffed. “Are you just like all the rest of those girls? You need to have designer bags and clothes? What next, do I have to take you out to a fancy restaurant? Give you roses on every date? Buy you Tiffany jewelry?”

“Jeez, Jimin, I was joking.” I huffed. “And what if I was one of those girls? What would you do?”

“Not buy you anything.” Jimin threatened. “You’d be miserable, little gold-digger.”

“I’m not a gold-digger! I don’t even like you buying me things!” I cried, offended. “Now you have to buy me a Chanel bag. Ah, no, wait. I know what I want.”

“What?” Jimin asked warily, noticing my sly tone of voice.

“Your Givenchy backpack.” I grinned. “Give me that.”

“No way.” Jimin adamantly refused. “You’re not getting that.”

“You like that backpack more than you like me?” I asked, arching a brow. “Is that backpack gonna kiss you? Tell you it likes you? Run its fingers through your hair and whisper how pretty you are?”

Jimin laughed. “No, but you’ll still do those things anyway.”

“Don’t be so confident.” I told him. “If you’re going to miss my birthday, you better get me a damn good gift to make up for it.”

“You’re not getting that backpack, babe.” Jimin said stubbornly.

“Get me a puppy then.” I demanded. “A cute little fluffy one.”

“I could do that.” Jimin said thoughtfully. “What kind of puppy do you want?”

“Will you really get me a puppy?” I squealed, unable to contain my excitement. “Seriously, will you?”

“Yeah, baby, I can get you a puppy.” He sounded so proud of himself. How cute. “Would your roommates mind?”

“Ah, I hadn’t thought about them.” I bit my lip, wondering. “If you buy me one, they can’t say no.”

Jimin laughed. “You’re sneaky. That’s cute.”

“You think everything about me is cute.” I teased.

“Shut up.” He huffed, trying to sound cool. I imagined his adorable little blushing face. “You’re not always cute.”

“Name one time you didn’t find me cute.” I ordered, curious.

“I don’t like this game.” Jimin said warily. “Is this a trick?”

“No, I’m actually really curious.” I said seriously. “Tell me.”

“Um, let me see.” He thought for a moment. “That one time when you kept talking to all those guys at the bonfire. I was like low-key mad at you.”

“You were mad at me?” I asked in surprise. “I couldn’t tell at all.”

“I wasn’t mad, per say. More like I just kind of wanted to go home. Why’d you bring me to a place full of your ex-boys, anyway?” Jimin demanded. “That’s so rude.”

“I didn’t know they were going to be there.” I said defensively. “It’s not like I invited you there so I could show them off to you. Like ‘Oh hey, Jimin, I know we just started dating, but let me introduce you to a couple of people I used to make out with.’ Listen, it’s not like it’s pleasant to run into ex-boys. I don’t do it on purpose.”

“Yeah, but you have so many, it’s probably hard not to run into them.” Jimin muttered.

“Jealous, baby boy?” I asked casually, chipping away at my nail polish.

“Yeah.” Jimin said softly.

“Seriously?” I sat up, giving him my full attention. “You’re seriously jealous?”

“Yeah, baby.” Jimin mumbled. “Why wouldn’t I feel jealous? Other guys have kissed you and hugged you and, you know, been with you. Of course I’m jealous. I hate the thought of you even holding hands with another guy.”

“Huh.” I nodded, considering.

“Are you judging me?” Jimin asked. “You sound like you’re judging me.”

“I’m not judging you. I just don’t understand your feelings.” I reassured him.

“You don’t get jealous?” Jimin sounded skeptical.

“If I did, would I be able to date a guy who has thousands of screaming fangirls?” I laughed. “My roommate’s little sister is a huge fan of yours. She’s like so thirsty for you that it’s uncomfortable for me. Do you know the effect you have on teen girls?”

“Does she know we’re dating?” Jimin demanded. “You absolutely cannot let a fan of mine know that you’re my girlfriend.”

“See, you’re lucky I’m not the jealous type.” I huffed. “Otherwise I would never put up with this kind of . What if you were my secret boyfriend and I told you not to tell anyone about us?”

“I am your secret boyfriend.” Jimin laughed.

“Okay, but like I just wanna brag that I have this ing adorable boyfriend but I can’t even post pictures of us together on Instagram. Give me your Givenchy backpack to make up for it.”

“You think I’m adorable?” Jimin asked eagerly.

I rolled my eyes. This boy, seriously. “Is that all you got from that?”

“Listen, I’m getting you a puppy. Isn’t that enough?” Jimin sighed dramatically.

“Eh, just make out with me a lot when you do end up coming.” I said nonchalantly.

Jimin paused for a suspiciously long moment.

“Do you not wanna make out with me?” I asked, crossing my legs and leaning back in my chair.

“It’s not that.” Jimin said.

“What is it?” I demanded.

“.” Jimin muttered. “It’s just that…I want to – . I wanna make out with you so badly right now.” He said the last sentence in a rush, almost like he felt embarrassed to tell me.

“Oh, yeah?” I giggled. “Like how badly?”

“Like I just keep on thinking about that time we were in your bed and I took off your shirt and kissed down your body.” He told me in a low, husky voice.

“Interesting.” I smiled to myself. “What else were you thinking about?”

“Don’t tease me.” Jimin sounded almost whiny. “Seriously, baby, don’t do this to me. You’re not here and I can’t kiss you, so let’s just stop talking about it.”

“I had those hickeys for a while.” I told him. “Every time I changed I saw them and thought about you.”

“Good.” Jimin whispered. “Just continue to think about only me from now on.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.” I said lightly. “Finding Mr. Destiny is supposed to be on TV later, so I might be thinking about Gong Yoo sometime today.

“You’re the worst.” Jimin mumbled. “Just think of me! Only me!”

“Your jealousy is cute.” I decided. “It’s not like Tae Joon’s. You’re good, Jimin. I approve.”

“Um, thank you?” He sounded unsure. “Who’s Tae Joon?”

“Ah, you know…that person. The one who cheated on me.” I said quietly.

“Of course I’m nothing like that guy!” Jimin cried, sounding offended.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “You’re not.”

“I’ll buy you a Chanel bag if you really want one.” Jimin offered suddenly.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” I grinned.

“Because I want to treat you the way you deserve to be treated.” He murmured. “You deserve all the Chanel bags you want and all the puppies in the world.”

“That’s a lot of puppies.” I replied, feeling touched. “I’ll have to move to a bigger place.”

“I want to give you everything you want.” Jimin said. His voice sounded so tender that I could feel my heart melting. “I want to spoil you.”

“I don’t like being spoiled.” I whispered, lying down and snuggling into the couch. I wished I could snuggle with him instead.

“I’m going to spoil you anyway.” Jimin whispered back. “And when I see you again, I’m gonna cuddle you so good you’re never going to want to leave my arms. I’m gonna kiss your forehead and your neck and your cheeks and your mouth and everywhere else you want me to. And then when you’re satisfied with that, I’m going to take you out for ice cream and make sure you eat a lot.”

“I don’t like ice cream.” I interjected softly.

“What do you like?” Jimin asked. Ugh, his voice sounded so affectionate that I just wanted to grab him and make out with him.

“I like bubble tea.” I told him as I buried half of my face in my pillow, trying to control my frustration.

“Then we’ll get bubble tea.” Jimin continued. “And then we’ll go back home and have a movie marathon and I’ll cook you dinner. And then, if you feel up for it, we’ll take a couple of blankets and go down to the beach and snuggle in the sand and probably make out some more. And then you can fall asleep on me and I’ll give you a piggyback ride home.”

“And then what will you do?” I asked.

“Ah, well, and then I’ll go home.” Jimin said, a little sadly.

“Nah.” I disagreed. “You can sleepover. On the couch, of course.”

“Of course.” Jimin agreed. “What do you think? Does this sound like a good post-birthday celebration to you?”

“It sounds perfect.” I murmured. “You’re perfect.”

“I’m not perfect.” Jimin let out a shy laugh. “But I like you and I want you to know.”

“I know.” I told him, feeling very sappy and sentimental. “I like you, too, Jimin.”

We hung up soon after that. I lay on the couch for a little while, just soaking in his sweetness. Why did this perfect guy like me so much? I didn’t understand it, but I sure as hell was happy about it.

I went into my room and climbed into my bed. As I pulled the covers over myself, I remembered when Jimin was lying next to me a couple of weeks before, just holding me and telling me how much he liked me. I closed my eyes and imagined that he was there again, kissing my forehead as I fell asleep in his arms.

I couldn’t wait for him to come home.