♡

Jimin's core muscles tighten as he hovers above the ground. The fabric of the purple hammock is tightly wrapped around his outer thighs before he does a backward roll in the air, allowing it to loop around each thigh. Jimin stretches his back, swings forward, and reaches for the sides with both hands. Almost instantly, there's the familiar tightening sensation of the muscles in his body.

With every breath he tries to balance, Jimin feels the material of his t-shirt sticking to his skin from sweat; with every breath, his balance becomes harder and harder to maintain. But he doesn't really mind the struggle, his love for flying yoga overweighs all the cons and distracts him from how stressful college has become. On days like today, the exercises push him to his limits, and he's not alone as he lets his eyes travel around the room, curious about the other participants.

"Now move in the opposite direction with a forward roll to untangle yourself from the silk. Once you're freed, we will do one last simple pose to end today's lesson."

Jimin feels the silk material brush through his fingers as he does a forward roll till he is seated in it. He untangles himself and takes a moment to take a deep breath.

As he comes down from his workout high, he watches as the teacher helps another participant who's still tangled in the loops and moves in front of the group, smiling. Jimin's cheeks flush with shame as his gaze briefly wanders over the alpha's toned biceps. He wouldn't have thought he'd be glad at some point he took the scent blockers earlier.

Though the alpha also wears scent blockers, but even without smelling his scent, Jimin can't deny that the alpha is attractive, and perhaps he would have approached him already were it not for someone else he already has his eyes set on.

"Now take the silk, sling it, and put your right foot through it." The alpha demonstrates with a steady voice. He looks around to ensure everyone is on the same page and then nods, so he continues, "you'll then stretch your hind leg, bend your left leg and straighten your arms up until you feel the stretch in your back."

And oh boy, does he feel his muscles stretching; his legs tremble and feel numb. Jimin dreads when he thinks his bath tonight might not even help at this point. Maybe he could ask Jin to give him a massage once he picks him up from work. Thinking about seeing the handsome man again makes him feel all giddy and nervous. Jin was his gay awakening.

Jimin struggled with his sexuality in his teenage years until he entered college. He recalls meeting the alpha before their first official meeting as mentor and student. At that time, Jimin was going through a difficult situation when he was about to enter college. He went to a full-seated café, sat at the only open seat across from a student studying, and cried. Jin tried to calm him down and comfort him as much as one could comfort a stranger. Thanks to the kind alpha, he was able to calm down and digest his situation better.

"Excellent, everyone. This brings us to the end of the lesson. I hope to see you all again next week."

Jimin thanks the teacher with a slight bow, and goes to the small set of lockers in the corner of the room where he pulls his water bottle out of the bag and then gulps down a considerable amount of water, then heads to the changing room. Jimin freshens up and changes back into his regular clothes. He rotates his shoulders and shakes out his legs a little to help loosen up his muscles and prevent the soreness from settling in.

Leaving the building, he takes out his phone to see if his best friend has texted him, but there's no text. Slightly annoyed, Jimin decides to text him instead.

Jimin [3.58 pm]
Are you still at work?

Jin [3.59 pm]
Yes, but I'm almost done.
You're picking me up, right?

Jimin [3.59 pm]
Yup.
My course is over.
I can't wait to get something into my stomach.

Jin [4.00 pm]
Haven't you eaten anything?

Jimin [4.00 pm]
You know I can't eat anything before my flying yoga course:/
I would eat twice

Jin [4.01 pm]
Ah, right, and on Friday, you have aerial silks.
Sorry, I keep forgetting.
Do you want to go to our usual café?
I might actually need a warm drink.

Jimin [4.02 pm]
Sure, let's go to our usual café.

Jimin's stomach uncomfortably grumbles as he puts his phone back into his pants pocket. He hasn't eaten anything in over three hours and feels like he could eat more than one chocolate muffin or cake before dinner. He feels depleted without food in his stomach, but Jimin knows he'll feel content when he steps into the flower café. Jimin has visited it often enough to know that they have more than just sweet things to eat and drink. It also connects Jin and Jimin with their past, so he likes to visit it.

"Jimin!"

He hears his name, which causes him to look up from the floor. Jin and his gazes meet a few metres in front of the Department of social services, where his best friend, with his honey-brown hair and brown coat, is already waiting for him. Jimin's plump lips curl into a radiant smile, and his blonde hair falls into his face as he attempts to walk faster towards his best friend if his sore muscles allow him. The alpha embraces him in a tight hug when Jimin comes to a halt next to him, and Jimin can't stop inhaling his dark chocolate scent.

"How are you? How's work?"

"You're asking me like we haven't seen each other in a week." Jin teases and brushes his fingers through Jimin's hair. He blushes and turns his head away from Jin to hide his pink cheeks and his elated expression. "Anyway, it's been stressful, but these days I'm learning how to make important decisions."

"Tell me about it." Jimin tilts his head and looks at him curiously. Since he, like Jin, is studying social work, he knows that Jin can't tell him everything in detail. The privacy policy applies to the majority of things. Yet, because they're best friends and Jimin is only in his second year of studies, these example situations occasionally help him be better prepared for situations in his internship. Sometimes they advise each other.

"There are actually two cases I'm working on with another social worker, both involving children with negligence. In one case, the flat had no living standard for a child or anyone for that matter. We got informed about the child's absence from school and went to see the family. The mother was completely overwhelmed with the situation of providing for and caring for a child, so we brought the boy with us to see if he could live with other relatives until his mother improves the living situation."

"Seems like you'll have to visit a lot more and talk to his mother many times. I hope it works out, and the mother is willing to do that. What's the other case about?"

Jimin feels sad for the child. From what he's heard, you'll encounter extreme cases as a social worker and maybe get in dangerous situations sometimes. Jimin, regardless, believes that children deserve nothing more than love, education, and the freedom to be themselves. He wants to help children and improve their living conditions, and figuring out how to solve these cases intrigues him because each one is different.

"Apparently, a neighbour heard some yelling and saw some physical altercation happening between the parents. Their child got yelled at, and the police were already there, so now we have to check on them."

"Both situations are tough. It breaks my heart, listening to what children have to go through." Jimin sighs and thinks about what he's learned and seen in his internship. There were no severe cases because his team had decided to introduce him to the cases slowly. Unlike Jin, who already has his bachelor's degree and is currently doing his master's, Jimin is still almost at the beginning and has by no means seen the worst. He is exceptionally grateful, as it can build up with his college subjects. "Do you know what you are going to do with the child where the parents are yelling?"

"Hm, I'm not sure yet." Jin shrugs and opens the door of the flower café, holding it open until Jimin steps inside. "We might discuss it tomorrow and perhaps revisit them, suggesting solutions to improve their situation. I think I will try to ask the boy a few questions tomorrow. He seemed quite intimidated and also by the situation when we arrived. If the parents refuse, and it gets worse, then we will have to see if we can arrange something where the boy can be safe elsewhere."

While stepping closer to the counter, Jimin's eyes wander over the different kinds of flowers that make the café appear out of this world, like a fairy tale. It's calm and spacious but also pleasantly colourful. It never gets boring eating there due to the changing flower arrangements. His favourite detail, though, has to be the cherry blossom tree in a corner.

Jimin's eyes roam around the counter when his gaze falls on the sandwich on the menu above it and all the different kinds of sweets in the glass display case.

"What do you want? It's on me today."

"No, it's fine. You order, go find a seat, and I'll pay today."

"No, I can't accept that," Jimin whines cutely.

"Yes, you can. You paid the last time. Now tell the friendly employee what you want. Others are waiting behind us already," Jin says sternly, leaving Jimin no choice but to accept as he throws a glance behind them. Mildly offended, Jimin huffs, air blowing up to brush his hair strands aside, and he defeatedly mumbles a fine.

"One chicken and cheese sandwich and a macchiato."

The woman behind the counter smiles friendly and nods, turning her attention to Jin.

"For me, one slice of red velvet cake and one mocha frappé."

"That's everything?"

Jin nods. "For here or take away?"

"No, for here."

Jimin doesn't hear how much he has to pay. He looks for a seat away from the other chairs and under one of the cherry blossom trees decorations. He puts his bag down next to him and waits until the food is ready to collect from the counter. As soon as he sees Jin taking the sandwich and the slice of cake, Jimin gets up and helps carry their drinks to their table.

Jimin's heart flutters as Jin pushes a small sugar packet to him on the table, knowing that when Jimin orders this kind of coffee, he always adds a small sugar packet. Jin's caring personality is one thing he absolutely adores about his best friend. He hasn't met a lot of alphas who could be considered considerate and caring like him. In his high school, many of the alphas were about flirting, wild teen hormones and presenting.

Of course, some quieter ones were among them, but Jimin had less to do with them. To be fair, he was also one of the quiet omegas, and he is, to this day, somewhat reserved if he's not with Jin. Perhaps this is why he has been harbouring feelings for the older man. He has no clue when or how it happened, but ever since he met Jin for the first time, he was intrigued and stunned that he didn't feel uncomfortable with an alpha this close to him. He can just be himself with Jin; now, he's in love with him.

Back when he began university, Jimin was more than delighted to know that Jin had signed up as a mentor at his university. He was over the moon when Jin was assigned to him as a mentor, resulting in them spending a lot of time together and becoming closer. Even though Jimin didn't know Jin's sexuality for the first semester, he couldn't stop developing a crush that eventually grew stronger.

It wasn't until this one incident, where a male student tried to flirt with Jin, that the alpha told Jimin about him being bi. Hope began to blossom in his chest, but he had never confessed. The fear of rejection was too big. But one day, he promises himself he would tell him.

__________

A/N:

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