jimin could scream. he could literally scream right now. it would feel quite releasing, and also would be 100% understandable.

and then he heard soft, repressed giggles float across the table. this little bitch. he was asking for it, wasn't he? he could pummel him, he really could.

"what," jimin finally managed, through gritted teeth, "are you doing here?"

a gasp. "jimin?!" jeongguk exclaimed. faux surprise was blatantly evident in his toneㅡjimin could practically see that cocky grin of his. oh, he should have gone with the pummelling. "oh my. we really need to stop meeting like this!"

jimin rested his clenched fists on the table. "i have only three questions for you," he spoke slowly, steadying his breathing. his heart rate still hadn't returned to normal, resulting in uneven breaths and a slightly garbled thought process. "how the fuck? why the fuck? and what? the? fuck?"

"answer my question and i'll answer yours," jeongguk chirped.

jimin rolled his eyes irritably. "what question?"

"the chopsticks."

chopsticks? the chopsticks. hearing jeongguk's voice had been such a shock in itself that he'd barely registered the very words he'd spoken. how had he even known about his ass' ability with chopsticks?

though now that he thought about it, there was only one possible person who could have notified jeongguk of that so-called talent of his... jimin made a mental reminder to somehow get back at seokjin for this. see if he'd show him anything to do with his butt ever again.

"yes, i can okay? now what the fㅡ"

"woah. woah woah woah. hold up." jimin wasn't sure if jeongguk was impressed or disgusted, until he released a low, appreciative whistle. "dude. that's so sick!"

"i'm gonna murder you. right here, right now," jimin informed him sweetly. "unless you explain yourself and what's going on before i truly lose my mind."

"all i seem to do these days is explain myselfㅡ"

"well maybe you should stop doing all these questionable things, huh?"

jimin could imagine jeongguk pondering in the silence that followed, eyebrows bunched together as he nodded slowly. finally, the other spoke up: "you may be onto something, jimin."

jimin scoffed, almost smiling with the motionㅡhe quickly banished the expression off his face, twisting his mouth into an exasperated scowl. 

"so? start talking. i don't know how you managed to switch with yugyeom, but he's waiting for me somewhere in this room and i'm not about to keep him wai...ting..." jimin trailed off, hearing a quiet snicker from the opposite side of the table. "what?"

"no, no. nothing." another snort, sounding like it was made into his hand. "please, do go on about yugyeom."

"jeongguk," jimin began cautiously, and then jeongguk burst out laughing, unrestricted and exuberant and just as beautiful as the first time he'd heard it. jimin pulled the corners of his lips as further down as he could, resisting the urge to join in, despite the fact that he really didn't see what the joke was and he was supposed to be angry, dammit. but jeongguk had that sort of contagious laugh which could bring out the best in just about anyone, which definitely wasn't ideal. 

"jeongguk," jimin repeated, realization starting to dawn and a bewildered panic beginning to set in, "jeongguk, does yugyeom exist?" he couldn't help but feel a genuine concern for his supposed date, and it only intensified on nothing but continued laughter from the other, seeming to heighten in intensity. "jeongguk! is kim yugyeom real?!"

it took a while before jimin could get an understandable response out of the younger boy, who clearly found the matter at hand absolutely hysterical. when he finally replied, though, he spoke in that standard nonchalant manner of his that infuriated jimin to no end:

"yeah, yeah. gyeomie exists. sorry if you were looking forward to meeting him."

"maybe i was!" jimin announced indignantly. "taehyung made him out to be pretty damn great!"

"yeah, uh." a stifled snort, before jeongguk pointed out, so innocently, "didn't taehyung tell you he looked exactly like me, though?"

a pause. another snort. 

"you... you bastard!" jimin screamed in despair, shaking his end of the table with his hands agitatedly, "explain yourself right now!"

"hey, calm down, hey, hey," jeongguk chuckled, and jimin huffed, fixing his hair primly and crossing his arms. "i'll tell you. you're acting exceptionally bratty today, jimbo."

"one, never call me that again. two," jimin flicked his eyebrows up incredulously, two fingers raised in the air to accompany his words, "listen, punk. i chewed my way through an entire pack of gum for this date, i literally swallowed my last piece because i was so nervousㅡi could very well die tonight. but i still gritted my teeth, got in that taxi and said, 'take me to the blindfold!' which, may i add, i never thought i'd have to say again in my life.

"but i did! i said it with my nauseating peppermint breath, i walked into this blasted establishment on my own two feet, i let some gaga fanboy hold my hand and lead me hereㅡwho, now that i think about it, was kinda cuteㅡand you know why i did all that? i did it for yugyeom, a seemingly nice guy who i genuinely wanted to give a chance. i did it for taehyung, my best friend who's been trying so long and so hard to successfully set me up. i would neverㅡlet me make this very clearㅡi would never have done any of that if i'd know it was for you."

there was a silence. for a second, jimin worried that he'd hurt the other boy's feelings. until: 

"you backed out though."

"what?"

"when you got here, you were all like, 'no sir. gotta go.' you would've been on a taxi home right now if i hadn't spoken." jimin opened his mouth, racking his brain for a defense to no success, as jeongguk coolly went on, "it's real nice that you did all that, but it all amounts to nothing if you were prepared to throw it away as soon as it came to the actual thing."

jeongguk had, irrefutably, got him there. the only thing that was keeping jimin's cheeks from flaring a red that would light up the entire restaurant, was the fact that jeongguk didn't know one thing. jimin wanting to back out? now that, that had been done for jeongguk.

"whatever," jimin muttered weakly. "i can't believe you'd drag tae into this, though, this stupid prank date. he'll really believe anything, you can't take advantage of my friend like that."

"me? drag taehyung into this?" and after a pause; "prank date?"

"uh, yeah? how else would he have set me up with yugyeom? yugyeom's your friend," jimin pointed out, raising his eyebrows.

"that's besides the point." how? "the point is that taehyung was the one who dragged me into this, not the other way round."

"taehyung dragged you into this," jimin repeated skeptically. "as in, he forced you to go on a prank date. with me."

"stop calling it a praㅡ"

"what do you want me to call it then? a date?" jeongguk didn't seem to have anything to say to that, and jimin scoffed, shaking his head pitifully. "do you really expect me to believe that? what reason would taehyung have to drag you into a date with me, when i've explicitly told him that i don't evenㅡ"

like you anymore. jimin swallowed the words down in record speed, leaving him spluttering uselessly for alternate words. when he came up with nothing, he settled for clearing his throat awkwardly and mumbling, "i mean. it's not very believable."

"mmm," jeongguk hummed, sounding pretty unimpressed. "really shouldn't lie to your best friend, jimbo."

jimin ignored the usage of the nickname, instead opting for a clipped, "excuse me?"

"you really shouldn't lie. to your best friend. taehyung," jeongguk elaborated slowly. "lying. telling something apart from the truth. to your best friend, who may not appreciate you telling him something apart from the truth. which is why you shouldn't do that thing. lying."

"excuse me," jimin repeated, knitting his eyebrows together in vexation, "as in, uh, i have no idea what the fuck you're going on about."

"quite a while ago, you, ah," jeongguk stopped himself delicately. then he said, like it was perfectly natural for him to be aware of what he was stating, "you told taehyung that you don't like me. romantically."

"yeah, iㅡwait whatㅡ"

"which was a lie," jeongguk continued breezily. "because you do."

jimin stared ahead mutely, suddenly reverted to his two-year-old self; a delightful age of an unfamiliarity with the feel of words in one's mouth, of constant expressions of wonder and shock. even as jeongguk had the nerve, the nerve to elaborate on that completely self-explanatory statement:

"because you do, you know. like me." a beat. "romantically."

jimin observed the darkness that shrouded jeongguk's figure for a few moments. then he put his head in his hands, screwed his eyes shut as he carefully laced his fingers through his hair. twisting a particular strand around his index finger, he tugged at it to the point that it hurt, before whispering, 

"oh my god."

and somehow, he wasn't even surprised. maybe he'd kind of been hoping for it.

because really, what had he been expecting? with all that casual flirting, constantly dropping hints, not to mention that he'd changed his username to a nickname that jeongguk himself had coined for him? he had been hoping for it. he'd wanted it. because it was so much easier than having to actually, verbally tell him: jeongguk, i have a ridiculous crush on you and i don't know what to do with it.

hinting at it had no consequences, whereas outright telling him had numerous. it was obvious which option jimin would take.

jeongguk knew. and yet. something felt off.

because there was something jimin had uncovered fairly soon into his venture to lead jeongguk to realization, and something that he'd come to understand was a solid, fixed characteristic of jeon jeongguk; was an indestructible obstacle to his goal of the other boy realizing on his own that jimin liked him, and most of the reason why he'd been so close to just giving up.

it was simply the fact that jeongguk was dense. so, so, dense, thus absolutely incapable of picking up the signs by himself. and if he hadn't picked up the signs himself, then someone else must have done it for him.

jimin surveyed his options. there weren't many.

and then:

of course.

"min yoongi," he finally spoke. even to himself his voice sounded monotonous, devoid of life. he'd really just reached that point of exhaustion. he released the innocent lock of hair from his grasp, massaging the abused area of his scalp as he repeated bitterly, "min fucking yoongi."

jeongguk had the courtesy to sound sheepish when he chuckled. "exposing comes as second nature to him," he explained, still slightly ashamed. "i should have warned you."

"he's so dead," jimin seethed through his teeth. "he is so dead, jeongguk. i don't care if he's your friend or seokjin hyung's unofficial spouse, but he is so. fucking. dead."

"he did save you some trouble though?" jeongguk pointed out delicately. jimin gave him an incredulous look, as if to say, how in the actual fuck? "i mean, you don't have to tell me now. that you like me."

"stop throwing that fact around. stop that." jimin grimaced, wanting nothing more than to dissolve into the dark. "you're so calm about this, you're... you're so calm about everything. it's so frustrating for me, jeongguk, you don't get it."

"if it's any consolation, i wasn't calm when i actually found outㅡ"

"and when exactly did you find out?"

a short silence; either jeongguk was calculating the time period or was fearing jimin's prospective reaction. jimin went with the latter when jeongguk finally replied timidly, "like, um. about a month..."

"a month?!" jimin whisper-yelled, dropping his hands onto the table. the cutlery rattled lightly and jeongguk let out an audible wince. "a month you've known, and this whole time i've just beenㅡoh my god. you are unbelievable. unbelievable!"

he leaned back into his chair with a soft, angered yell, fingers pushing through his hair as he rocked back and forth. and though it probably wasn't showing through his actions or words, jimin, more than anything else, was embarrassed.

embarrassed on jeongguk's behalf, who jimin deduced, once and for all, did not like him back, and had to go about bearing that information without a clue on what to do with it. and he was embarrassed for himself, for a lot more damn reasons. because this was just fucking cruel.

what the hell was he supposed to do now? reassure him that it was okay, you don't have to reciprocate my feelings! actually just forget about it completely and never think about it again!

"i'm sorry?" jeongguk spoke uncertainly. the questioning intonation to the words only made jimin even madderㅡthere was nothing to question about it. he should be sorry!

"and tae?" jimin breathed out, pushing his hair off of his forehead again to massage the area tensely, "please don't tell me you told tae that iㅡyou know, that iㅡ"

jeongguk seemed to heavily consider the consequences of his answer, before finally giving in with a subdued sigh. "yeah, that was yoongi too."

a wave of utter calm washed over jimin. he nodded slowly, finding his glass in the dark and tracing its circumference.

"i'm gonna kill him," he stated matter-of-factly, shrugging. "i'm sorry. i can't think of anything more fitting to do to him."

"actually, um, that was sorta my fault." jeongguk cleared his throat awkwardly. "uh, i didn't... believe yoongi when he told me that you. you know. so he went to tae for backup because tae's your best friend and he should know that kinda thing, but tae's all like, 'no, jimin's over jeongguk, he told me so'. so yoongi whipped out the screenshots..."

"i am never texting him again," jimin hissed, rising the glass to his lips in an attempt to direct his anger somewhere. (being he sipped it angrily. not very effective.)

"they were frightening me, jimin. i'd barely even processed the information and they're already getting on my case, pressurizing me into doing something, anything," jeongguk was full-out rambling at this point, tripping over his words and stammering repeatedlyㅡprobably reliving the panic he must have experienced when the events were actually taking place, "tae with his 'he's my best friend, asshole!' and yoongi going 'you're in love with him, fool!' like back off, y-you know?!"

jimin almost spat out his water. "wait, yoongi saidㅡ"

"god, they kept adding me to groupchats and grilling me! the pressure to do something was driving me crazy but i couldn't, okay? i'm a coward. and you know how tae gives yoongi discounts at dunkin' donuts? wellㅡ"

"he does what?" jimin exclaimed again, almost rising to his feet in indignation. "he doesn't even give me discounts!"

"ㅡwell, yoongi brought over yugyeom onceㅡhe's a mutual friend to the both of usㅡ'cause he wanted get in on that discount. and tae thought yoongi brought along me. apparently because of what you described me as to him, y'know," jeongguk paused his ranting to clear his throat. "cute laugh, tall, drop dead gorgeousㅡ"

"coconut headㅡ"

"anyway, i find myself in another groupchat with tae and yoongi and before i can leave they're gushing about their brand-new, foolproof plan, in which i don't have to raise a finger! but how it was supposed to work i couldn't understand, i mean why would you agree to go on a date with some yugyeom when you liked meㅡ"

"i said stop throwing that fact around," jimin snapped, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. "and did it occur to you that i'd wanna maybe, i dunno, move on?"

"uh, yeah. it did. that's why i finally agreed."

why? to not let me move on? jimin didn't say. instead, he said, "but i just don't understand."

"what else is there to explain? the booking? that was the easiest bit." before jimin could intervene with an i actually really don't care about the booking, jeongguk was off once again. "you'd think this place would be jikook-proofed by now. but when i called them, the guy who picked up shouts to his buddies, 'it's jeongguk! it's jeongguk!' and then there's this chorus of cheers. it was so heart-warming, jiminㅡthey've missed us, can you believe?" jeongguk chuckled lightly. "they absolutely loved this plan. more than willing to help. might even give them a nice review this time."

"no, that'sㅡ" jimin waved a hand dismissively. "that's great. but i don't understand. jeongguk, why?"

"what do you mean why? i just told youㅡ"

"let me speak in your terms: what's the point? what was the point of this, huh? it's not like," jimin swallowed, speaking significantly quieter, "it's not like you even like me back."

and god, he probably sounded like he was whining, sounded like he was so distraughtly heartbroken over the fact that jeongguk just couldn't like him that way; but jimin was tired. tired of this constant cycle of hoping and dreaming, only for the product of themㅡthe hopes, the dreamsㅡto be crushed to dust. sweep away their remains, repeat the cycle. and perhaps jimin was tired of being tired.

and perhaps, all he needed were the words, i don't like you, to settle it once and for all. perhaps it would all be okay then.

but when jeongguk said, "you're right. i don't," he didn't feel any rush of relief, or as if a huge weight was being lifted off his shoulders. no, jimin felt...

"look, i justㅡi had to do this," jeongguk went on, sounding almost desperate to make sense. 

"for whom, exactly?" rush of relief? no, angerㅡand he was by no means tired of that emotion, not even close. and a weight being lifted offㅡno, no. the world only seemed to be closing in on him further. "for yoongi? tae? wouldn't stop bugging you, huh?"

"no."

"oh, for me, then? poor silly me, thirsting after you for so long, might as well appease me with a date, right!"

"no, jimin. not for you." a soft exhale. "for me. i... wanted to."

jimin shook his head incredulously, "but you don't even likeㅡ"

"i don't." don't have to rub it in, jimin thought bitterly. "but i wanted to. okay? that's it."

"wanted to for what? for what, what's the point, jeongguk? where's that point that you preach about so endlessly? give me a point!"

"iㅡ" jeongguk's voice shook, "i don'tㅡ"

"god." jimin stumbled to his feet, hand bracing against the tableㅡhe startled when it made contact with something hot, wet. "bye, jeongguk. enjoy your meal. didn't catch the waiter this time, did you?"

"jimin, just wait!" jimin heard the distinct sound of a chair falling back against the ground, and he froze, glancing around self-consciously despite the situation (and, well, the setting). "i'm justㅡi'm giving you a chance, okay?"

all prior traces of inhibition vanished as jimin clenched his jaw, pointing a thumb towards himself with a disbelieving scoff. "oh, giving me a chance? why do i need a chance? i should be giving you a chance!"

and jeongguk yelled, "then give me a chance!"

jimin blinked, momentarily shaken into silence. that had caught him a bit by surprise, he'll admit.

"a chance forㅡ" he shook his head, more of hesitancy than denial, "what?"

"we'll see." jeongguk wasn't yelling now; was oddly quiet, actually.

"and what if i don't want to?"

"but you do," jeongguk said simply, and jimin opened his mouth halfway in protest before jeongguk continued, persistent, "a chance, jimin. c'mon."

jimin closed his mouth, gaze falling to the supposed ground as he picked at the wood of the table. finally, he muttered grudgingly, "all right. we'll see."

and jeongguk was definitely breaking into that grin of hisㅡjimin could just about feel the air shifting to accommodate for its size, could hear it in his damned tone when he said, "not here, we won't." and then there was that hand, grasping at his effortlessly in the midst of the darkness, "let's get out of here."

"what the hell? what are youㅡhey!" he yelped, feeling a strong yank out of his place, and he stumbled forward, away from the table. jeongguk was beginning to giggle. at once, numerous things clicked.

"oh." jimin felt himself blanch. he started to shake his head at the male beside him, who'd began carefully treading forward with jimin in tow, still cackling softly, "oh no. we're not doing this again."

"yeah, we are." jeongguk dropped his voice to a whisper, "now when i tell you to runㅡ"

"guk, they've just started to like us," jimin hissed. "we're gonna be felons jeongguk, do you realize we're fucking felons?"

"we're gonna go down in history, jimbo. we're..." a pause. "we're the delinquents of the dark."

and jimin must really have no self-restraint, because he found himself adding, "the sightless sinners."

"theㅡ" jeongguk dissolved into another fit of giggles, spitting out, "we're the blindfolded bad boys!"

and jimin was laughing, and jeongguk was laughing too, and it was so loud and infectious and pure that his heart couldn't help but swellㅡeven if it was a bit too loud and they were definitely going to get caught now. (but as jimin recalled jungwoo, in addition to how jeongguk had described the waiters' reaction to his request, he had a strong feeling that they'd gained themselves an immunity.)

"i'm sorry, jimin," jeongguk spoke, when they lapsed into silence. jimin looked at him in question, and he continued a little quieter, "i'm sorry i don't like you the way you want."

jimin looked away quickly, uselessly forcing a shrug. "s'okay." he pursed his lips, then: "i mean, it's not your fault you wanna limit your sexual preference to the opposite gender like some fuㅡ"

"let me finish," jeongguk laughed quietly, thumb involuntarily caressing the skin of jimin's hand. "i don't like you that way, yes. but i... i really could."

"well whoop dee doo for me," jimin muttered sarcastically. jeongguk pulled his hand away to give jimin's shoulder a light shove, whining incoherently. the force sent jimin reeling away momentarily in the darkㅡthen his hand found contact, and was engulfed snugly in jeongguk's once more.

"i really could," jeongguk said again, softer.

and in the safety of the darkness, jimin smiled. maybe he'd try for just one more round of hoping.

[ + ]

sorry for the wait, i kinda lost motivation like, completely lol (is anyone even surprised at this point) thankfully ive got it back now anddd just two chapters left!! which ive mostly written!! yay ):
also! if ure having exams rn, i hope you do well! and i also hope u arent reading this! ♡ bye bye