Theme song: Lol I actually listened to Vhope's cover of Hug Me while I wrote this but it's depressing as so no

K.Will - Love Blossom

            I was five minutes late.

            It wasn’t like it was my fault. Okay, yes it was. Partially. But it was mostly my mother, who just happened to get a random spout of nervousness and pulled me away for a lecture on safety and condoms and how to treat a girl (before I reminded her that I was dating a boy) right before I was going to leave. Thankfully, I managed to shorten the lecture time by half by reminding her that she was going to make me late, which worked a lot better than I expected it would – she ended up driving me to the park that was, like, two blocks away from our house.

            Embarrassing as hell. But I was too nervous and excited to pay much attention to what random strangers would think of an eighteen-year-old boy being driven to his date by his mother.

            When we pulled up to the curb right outside the park entrance, I immediately started searching everywhere within my field of vision for the familiar black hair and glowing complexion of my date. I didn’t stop looking around everywhere even as I stepped out of the car and gave an absentminded wave and an ‘I’ll call you’ to my lecturing mother, who finally got the hint that I wasn’t listening and rolled the window up.

            I saw Jungkook the moment I stepped into the park.

            He looked amazing. Beyond amazing. So beyond amazing, the word amazing fell extremely short of giving him any justice. He was standing beside a bench near the park entrance, looking deep in thought as the wind blew his hair around and added a whole new level of beautiful to him. I could tell upon first glance that Yoongi had helped with his clothing, because everything about his outfit was impeccable but still impossibly casual. He looked the tiniest bit underdressed for the unseasonably chilly August day, but I suspected Yoongi had done that on purpose.

            And then he saw me staring, and the way his eyes lit up took my breath away.

            I made a straight beeline towards him, took his face in my hands and kissed him before he could say any form of greeting. I didn’t care about the people who would judge the two guys randomly kissing in the middle of the park. I didn’t care about the fact that my mother, who had a tendency to stay just a little bit longer after she’d dropped me off to make sure I was safe, probably saw. All I cared about was that I could actually kiss him now, as much as I wanted to, without the boundaries of the friend zone holding me back.

            “Wow,” he chuckled when we pulled away. “Like, seriously, wow.”

            “You look amazing,” I told him, shuffling away and stuffing my hands into my pockets, fully aware that the atmosphere had suddenly grown slightly awkward.

            “So do you,” he said, grinning at me. “So, what’s this secret destination you refuse to tell me about?”

            I grinned back, my heart palpitating in excitement when I remembered everything I had planned out for today. “It’s still a secret,” I said, winking and tapping my nose. He groaned good-naturedly and hit me in the arm. I laughed, taking his hand and dragging him along down a well-memorized trail. “Come on.”

~

            “An amusement park?” was Jungkook’s immediate reaction when we arrived at the brightly painted entrance.

My heart sank in disappointment at his lack of enthusiasm. “I thought it would be nice...”

His eyes widened once he realized the impact his words had on me. “No! It’s perfect, Jimin, honestly,” he reassured, waving frantically to dispel what he’d said before.

“If you don’t like it, then we can just go somewhere else,” I said, still slightly let down by his initial reaction.

“I love it,” Jungkook said firmly, cupping my face with his hands and forcing me to look at him. “Seriously. I was just surprised, because I thought you got motion sickness...” he trailed off.

Oh. My mood brightened considerably, and I stood up straight. “I came here just for the Ferris wheel, idiot,” I said, smacking the back of his head lightly. “And maybe a few games.”

Jungkook laughed. “I like it. I’m totally going to cream you at every game.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s on.”

~

            He ended up winning every single game.

            But I didn’t even care when he danced around me and made a point of showing off his many prizes, because the sunlight lighting up his features made him look stunning and because we’d saved the Ferris wheel ride for last, which meant we were going to go on right after this.

            (And because he kissed me every time he won. Which was about fifteen times.)

            I took his hand and pulled him to the lengthy line of people waiting to board the wheel, practically skipping all the way there in excitement. Despite the numerous heads of couples ahead of us, the time flew by quickly, filled with conversations and laughter, until we were at the front of the line and the person manning the ride unhooked the rope and let us in.

           I couldn’t help clapping my hands in excitement as we approached the nearest capsule. Boarding in one swift step, Jungkook reached back a hand to help me up, which I took while still complaining that I wasn’t the girl in the relationship.

            “I know, but you’re certainly pretty enough to be,” was his response as we settled down across from each other.

            I turned pink at the compliment, turning away so he wouldn’t see my flushing face. “Says you.”

            He laughed, thanking the person who came to make sure the capsule door was securely closed. “True that.”

            The ride started, and the landscape around us slowly started receding until we were looking down at it from midair. Despite the breathtaking view and adorable sight of a fascinated Jungkook across from me, I still felt slightly terrified. Ever since I fell from my treehouse when I was four, I’d always harbored a fear of heights. It didn’t affect my thirst for adventure, but crippled me at the most inconvenient of times. Like now, for example.

            “Are you scared?” Jungkook suddenly spoke up, startling me. I looked up to lock gazes with a pair of concerned eyes. “You can admit it, you know. It’s okay.”

            I huffed, crossing my arms and stubbornly looking away. I didn’t want him to see my (only) weak side. “I didn’t deny it.”

            “So you do have a fear of heights!” Jungkook concluded, unreasonably triumphant.

            I blushed in embarrassment and refused to look at him. “Shut up.”

            He chuckled quietly to himself, and moved quickly to sit right beside me, putting his arms around my waist affectionately.

My eyes widened as my heart started racing in my chest. “And how will that help?”

“If we fall and die, we’ll fall and die in each other’s arms,” was his response as he snuggled closer to me and messed up my heart rate even further.

“So?” I tried and failed to sound skeptical. “We’ll still die.”

“Yeah, but we’ll also be that couple who died together,” Jungkook said. “People would totally write articles about us. Maybe even base a book or movie off of us. We’d be famous, Jimin.”

I snorted derisively, although I couldn’t deny I liked the idea. “You have a strange way of looking at things.”

I felt rather than saw him shrug. “I like to be optimistic.”

~

            “PARK JIMIN,” Jungkook yelled from the other side of the door, banging his fists against the wood surface. We’d stayed at the amusement park for longer than I thought, because Jungkook insisted on creaming me at a few more games, and I had to completely cut out the butterfly exhibition and rush home to change into my evening wear. I knew it wasn’t date-appropriate, but hopefully Jungkook wouldn’t mind.

            “JEON JUNGKOOK.” I yelled in response, quickly shrugging my jacket on and unlocking the door. Immediately, Jungkook burst through the door, something about how I took so long spilling out of his mouth before he saw me and froze, mouth and eyes wide.

            I grinned at him. “What do you think?”

            “I think you need to stop looking amazing,” he said, breathless. “Seriously. You’re beautiful already. Stop making everyone around you feel like trolls.”

            “You’re a gorgeous troll,” I reassured him, pulling him close for another kiss because – well – I could kiss him as much as I wanted now.

            He rolled his eyes once we pulled away. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

            I beamed at him. “Of course. Let’s go.”

~

            “This place...” Jungkook’s eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. “I feel underdressed and overdressed at the same time.”

            I didn’t blame him. Weeks ago, before Jungkook confessed, when the prospect of asking him out was impossible and constantly denied, I’d spent hours poring over restaurants in the area that would be perfect for a first date, despite the improbability of that first date actually happening. Now, with the guy I’d had year-long feelings for sitting across the table, I was extremely grateful for that sudden burst of restaurant-hunting need.

            This place, a result of countless hours spent staring at my laptop screen until my eyes hurt and my head throbbed, was both elegant and homely, hidden in the depths of a forest, accessible only by a thin but well-kept dirt path. Ditches were dug amidst trees, revealing their roots but still remaining environmentally friendly, the ground swept to a smooth finish. The table and chairs placed in the middle of the ditch were made of wood, and candles placed in the crooks of the trees around us (with a plastic dome around the flame to protect the tree sheltering it) lit up the evening air. A white tablecloth covered the perfectly sized square table, complete with gold edging on the napkins, dishes and cutlery. Roses were strewn across the table in a way that filled the empty space without making it seem cluttered. Gentle incense filled the air, along with a distant piano melody.

            I grinned. “Do you like it?”

            “Are you kidding me?” Jungkook gave me an incredulous look. “I love it. How did you find this place?”

            “Five hours, dry eyes and an overheated laptop,” I said, looking up when a waiter arrived with a notepad to take our orders.

            Jungkook scribbled something on a napkin with a pen he randomly pulled out of his jeans pocket while I was giving my order. Once the waiter had left, he slid it across the table to me.

            I raised a questioning eyebrow before unfolding the napkin and reading the message.

            I’ll never forget this.

            “What?” I asked, raising my eyes to look at an adorably embarrassed Jungkook shrinking back into his seat.

            “I just wanted you to know...” he said, smiling bashfully. “In case, I don’t know. In case.”

            I smiled, trying not to show how his words filled me with sadness and regret. “In case.”

            In case I really do forget this, because starting from tomorrow I’ll never get the chance to be with you again.