H0HYUNG
hey jiminieee

XYJIMIN
hoseok hyung! hi

H0HYUNG
what are your plans for today?

XYJIMIN
nothing much rly. ill probably binge-watch some tv show lol

H0HYUNG
jimin!! thats not right :(

H0HYUNG
i feel bad now, do you want taehyung for today?

XYJIMIN
  no its ok! im happy by myself, keep him :)

XYJIMIN
speaking of tae, nice username lol

H0HYUNG
surviving through it :D

H0HYUNG
anyways i still feel bad.. shall we both come over?

XYJIMIN
listen id hate that even more

XYJIMIN
no offense i kinda just wanna chill by myself today :P haha

H0HYUNG
oh HEY speaking of jeongguk!

XYJIMIN
what

H0HYUNG
hows that going hm????

XYJIMIN
well

XYJIMIN
ugh

H0HYUNG
that bad huh?

XYJIMIN
you have no idea

XYJIMIN
ure lucky taehyung came outta the womb gay, i have a confused straight boy on my hands and its jst . its not easy

H0HYUNG
details ☕

XYJIMIN
its like........... oh my GOD ? if youre going to stare at me like that u might as well kiss me ?!?!??! drives me nuts! i mean does he like me or is there like constantly a spot of grime on my mouth????? fukign. hel l .

XYJIMIN
nd now hes like???? fuckin avoiding me???? who does he think he is . IM avoiding him hes not supposed to do it BACK

H0HYUNG
wait why are you avoiding him

XYJIMIN
U G H

H0HYUNG
omg sorry i wont ask

H0HYUNG
maybe u should make the first move jiminie!

XYJIMIN
LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XYJIMIN
god hyung ure hilarious

H0HYUNG
:/

H0HYUNG
jimin, did taehyung ever tell you our love story?

XYJIMIN
oh barf

H0HYUNG
EXCUSE me

XYJIMIN
love @ 1st eye contact, yada yada yada. its all truly revolting

H0HYUNG
that is

H0HYUNG
literally not what happened at all

XYJIMIN
oh really. enlighten me

H0HYUNG
kiddo you have no idea whats coming

H0HYUNG
yk seokjin

XYJIMIN
my darling!!! yes!!

H0HYUNG
yeah so taehyung was head over heels in love with him

XYJIMIN
the

H0HYUNG
NO LIKE. LISTEN TO THIS BULLSHIT ALRIGHT????? my desperate ass had to ask tae out THREE TIMES like, can u believe, ME, JUNG HOSEOK, HAVING TO ASK A GUY T H R E E FUCKEN TIMES??!??!

H0HYUNG
and after all that? he agreed to get a COFFEE with me. ONE (1) BLOODY COFFEE!!!!!!

H0HYUNG
but THEN he fell for me. no surprise there

H0HYUNG
i dont mean to brag but..... coffee shops & me.....

H0HYUNG

H0HYUNG
yummy

XYJIMIN
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS

H0HYUNG
dunno, bud. maybe we could go out for coffee sometime and ill work my magic on ya ;;;))))

XYJIMIN
nOO i mean TAEHYUJNG

XYJIMIN
HOW COULD HE NOT TELL ME I MEAN. SEOKJIN HYUNG. THATS

H0HYUNG
why are you surprised? even i used to have a crush on seokjin and i'd literally met him once

H0HYUNG
jimin. he didn't even LOOK at me.

XYJIMIN
ok same

XYJIMIN
i still gotta grill tae though >:((( stupid goober

H0HYUNG
ok BUT the moral! the moral is

XYJIMIN
dont give up on what u care abt! ur story is actually weirdly inspirational hyung :0

H0HYUNG
no, the moral is dont be a pussy ass bitch and just ask jungfuck out, oh my GOD its like u read nothing i sent u?!??! unlike my case hes not going to turn u down even ONCE bc hes fuckjgingnifjgn

H0HYUNG
!!!wait !!!!!

H0HYUNG
did u hear though????

XYJIMIN
what what

H0HYUNG
namjoon & jimin (not u) ((lol)))

H0HYUNG
THEYRE DATING! officially

XYJIMIN
OH

XYJIMIN
wait is THAT why youre finally matching usernames w tae?????!

H0HYUNG
yap

XYJIMIN
wait but. HOLY SHIT

XYJIMIN
that's so great!! finally!!! good for them wow

H0HYUNG
youre cool with it right?

XYJIMIN
?? duh??? are YOU cool w it is the better question

H0HYUNG
haha

H0HYUNG
yeah

H0HYUNG
duh

XYJIMIN
so no

H0HYUNG
ITS JUST i miss joonie already :((((

H0HYUNG
im so used to him being single and free 24/7 :''((((( now whenever i wanna hang out hes always like "lemme check wit JIMIN first"

H0HYUNG
hmph

XYJIMIN
at least u can give tae more attention now!

H0HYUNG
yeahhhh

H0HYUNG
taes like the puppy i never asked for smh

H0HYUNG
hes so attention craving ::///

XYJIMIN
ha true

H0HYUNG
like a lil fluffy p u p

XYJIMIN
yeah

H0HYUNG
bow 🐶 wow 🐶 wow 🐶

XYJIMIN
.........ok hyung......

XYJIMIN
can u give me a sec? my doorbells ringing WAIT I TOLD U GUYS NOT TO COME OVER!!!!

H0HYUNG
its not us :)

XYJIMIN
but

XYJIMIN
its been scientifically proven that my house is invisible to the naked eye? numerous polls prove that 98% people passing by it assume its uninhabited?? taehyung is the only person who is aware of its exact coordinates???

H0HYUNG
hmmmmmm

H0HYUNG
better get that door then!!!!

XYJIMIN
yeah uhm

XYJIMIN
brb ..

···

okay, hoseok was not subtle at all, and neither was jimin an idiot. jeongguk was definitely at that door.

and maybe he would have been scrambling off of his couch, changing out of his standard "i-clearly-have-no-plans-for-the-day" combo of sweatpants and a white tee; maybe would have even visited his bathroom for a quick brush of the hair and teethㅡif there didn't exist the possibility that just maybe, jimin wasn't in the mood to see the boy.

and as it turned out, that possibility did exist, and it was not a possibility but a fact. jimin would much rather see yoongi than jeongguk right now. (he did not mean that at all. yoongi was wholly intolerable and his absolute worst enemy.)

but there did remain the fact that jeongguk was at his door, andㅡjimin looked towards it in annoyanceㅡthat made the third time he'd rang the bell in the last twenty seconds. how does he even know where i live? was only a background question in his mindㅡwhat jimin was really thinking about was how exactly he would go about getting his revenge for the first of september.

ah, the first of september. what a wonderful day it was supposed to be. supposed to, let him reiterate, if you didn't catch that.

the two weeks prior to said day had been thoroughly infuriatingㅡjeongguk had gone MIA for a good week before even deciding to send jimin a sign of life, "sorry, been busy," doing what? but jimin, kind, considerate jimin, had dismissed it, told him it was all right, because in just one week jeongguk would be aging a year and jimin had plans, did he have plans.

but apparently, jeongguk had plans too. and these plans did not include jimin, because the day had come around, and he'd barely typed happy birth before the message "i cant hang out today, my day is packed :(" had duly made its appearance.

happy birth indeed. jimin had deleted his message angrily and ignored him for the remainder of the day.

and the rest of september had proceeded in a similar fashionㅡonly towards the end of the month had jeongguk managed to 'clear his schedule up' enough to meet jimin for a grand total of five minutes, in which he'd halfway expressed his regret before jimin had tired of it and handed him his belated birthday gift, then promptly left because, maybe he'd still been kind of salty.

of course, it had been a while since then; but saltiness, much like jimin's crushes, did not dissipate easily. but then again, the idea of shooing jeongguk away as payback was already vanishing from his mind; because jimin's crushes, much like saltiness, did not dissipate easily, and goddammit he'd really missed the other's company.

but maybe jimin wasn't as prepared to meet jeongguk as he'd liked to have been. as they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and though they'd managed to text on a near daily basis (okay, so maybe jimin hadn't been that mad), there had definitely been a significant stretch in which he hadn't had to witness jeongguk smiling his stupid bunny smile, or laughing in that new, unrestricted way of his since they'd gotten closer, or his numerous little quirks that jimin had stored in his mind, the list of which only expanding by the day. the stuff that made jeongguk, well, jeongguk.

jeongguk, the person he liked. from whom he'd waited; so patiently, so devotedly; for just a sign of a reciprocation. jeon jeongguk;

who had cancelled his fucking birthday plan a month and a half ago, and honestly fuck him to hell, fuck him and his pretty face, jimin was still fucking salty.

so jimin arranged his features into an expression of utter indifference, cocked his chin up pettily, and grasped the doorknob with his hand and twisted. oh, jeongguk! he would say, with a pleasant raise of his eyebrows. what a nice surprise. also, what the hell are you doing here?

jimin swung the door open; and just as he'd suspected, there stood jeongguk in all his birthday-bunking glory. the swift motion startled him for only a moment before he affixed jimin with crinkling eyes and a lazy smile; unaffected, jimin recited, "oh, jeongguk! what a niceㅡ"

since when had eye contact been so difficult? distance makes the heart grow fonderㅡhad the fondness in his heart resulted in him going all the way back to day one of crushing on jeon jeongguk? then again, some distance right then would definitely make jimin's heart beat a little more naturally, considering that jeongguk was standing way too close for his liking. which also placed his eyes at a much less reachable height for contact.

clearly, eye contact was not an option. so he looked at jeongguk's feet.

the first thing jimin noticed was the fact that jeongguk was not wearing his timberlands. this was definitely notable, considering that it was indubitably the only foot attire he possessed. then he realized that jeongguk was wearing the shoes that jimin had gifted him for his birthday.

jimin would have taken an additional moment to truly appreciate this, if it wasn't for the second, slightly more significant thing he noticed. and that was the puppy.

"there's a puppy on my porch," jimin said, his original plan of words long forgotten.

he heard jeongguk emit a little gasp, so stupidly fake that on any other day, jimin would've scowled and given him a good flick to the forehead. but not today. because there was a puppy on his porch.

"so there is!" jeongguk exclaimed, taking a step back as he leaned down to scoop the pup up with his hands. he stood like that for a few beats, peering down at the animal, then looked up at jimin with blown wide eyes. now, jimin might flick him. "wow, how did she get here?"

"jeongguk," jimin began, voice laced with palpable irritation, but the other male only shook his head vehemently, gazing down at the puppy again.

"we've gotta return her to her ownerㅡ" in a sudden, unexpected move, jeongguk pushed the puppy into jimin's arms, and fuck, fuck, she was so small and cute, was he even holding her right, "check the collar, fast!"

and jimin did just so, only because there was now a puppy in his arms and she was just about the adorablest creature he'd ever laid eyes on. meaning that he'd endure jeongguk's ridiculous antics, as long as he had the little thing nuzzling his hand like that, god she was cute, jimin might combust.

"ji-min," jimin read, squinting at the tiny engraving on the collar's tag. he stared at it blankly for a good period of time, until even the puppy stopped rubbing its tiny wet nose against him.

jeongguk himself had gone completely silent, watching jimin intently as if gauging his reaction. when jimin met his gaze, jeongguk smiled, sort of nervous, and said, "surprise?"

"is this jimin's dog?" jimin asked abruptly.

jeongguk's expression switched almost comically fastㅡhis face twisted into something close to bewilderment as he spluttered, "wait, whatㅡ"

"you stole her freaking dog," jimin continued, shaking his head in disappointment, "just because she's dating namjoon? how immature can you get? i am not associating myself with this sick prank of yours, so take the puppy back to her, right now."

jimin extended the dog back to jeongguk; but he only stared down at her, unresponsive and unblinking. before jimin could repeat his statement, jeongguk looked up and said:

"jimin's dating namjoon?"

jimin blinked; once in a daze, then twice in a panic. the look in jeongguk's eyes, the parting of his lipsㅡit was actual, genuine surprise. his expression practically screamed "that is new information to me".

now see, jimin didn't consider that possibility.

"uh," he gaped dumbly. the puppy began to strain in his hold, apparently bored of hanging mid-air, and jimin drew her back into his chest. she was now his shield. "er, um... yes?"

he wasn't sure what reaction to expectㅡit had been, what, half a year, since he'd split up with her, hadn't it? he couldn't still possibly care; or maybe that was just wishful thinking on jimin's part.

the one reaction jimin had definitely not expected, though, was no reaction at all, but jeongguk did just thatㅡhe shook his head, as if completely dismissing jimin's words, then motioned to the puppy and said, "jimin."

"yeah?"

"jimin," jeongguk repeated with emphasis, motioning to the puppy again.

"what? why do you keep saying myㅡwait." jimin stopped then, head whipping down to look at the puppy. he shook his head, laughing in stilted denial, as his fingers fumbled with the collar once more. "no way, n-no wayㅡ"

jimin was engraved on one side of the name tagㅡhe turned it over between his trembling fingers and bit back a gasp.

that was his address.

"oh my god," jimin whispered. this was just a ridiculously vivid dream, wasn't it? he would wake up now and would finish typing happy birthday. but then the puppy touched her nose against his hand once more and the wetness was very much real. "oh my god, oh my godㅡ"

he stared, open-mouthed and quivering like a leaf, at jeongguk. jeongguk averted his gaze.

"um, nice place," he said.

"shut up, you got me a fucking dog?" jimin turned his head back down to admire herㅡthis couldn't be real though, she couldn't really be his. she stared back up at him, and then she opened her little mouth... and barked. and jeongguk's laugh was shoved down a spot on the Cutest Sounds Ever Made board, because. wow. shit.

"not, uh, exactly." jimin looked at him for an explanation, but jeongguk said instead, speaking faster as if anxious, "look i, i know you said that you might not be able to take care of one, but i can um, i can help, 'cause i had my dog since she was small too, so i'm good with, you know, all that. i canㅡi could help you. with her. if you want. only if you, um. if you want?"

there was a puppy in his arms that was hisㅡjimin really couldn't process that many words at once. he stared mutely at jeongguk, then repeated, "shut up."

jeongguk smiled awkwardly and nodded, and jimin burst out, "don't actually shut up! jeongguk, this is just." he breathed in. "what the fuck. um. i'm going to cry."

"don't," jeongguk said quietly, and jimin shook his head incredulously, gaze falling back to the puppy, in his arms, his puppy in his arms,

"why would you," jimin swallowed, unable to tear his eyes away from her as he spokeㅡshe was the prettiest puppy in the world, easy. "this is so crazy, guk, i don'tㅡ"

"can i come in?" jeongguk interrupted abruptly.

jimin bit his lip, beginning to say, "i wasn't really expecting company soㅡ"

"i kinda have to. gotta see if it's puppy-safe before i can trust you with her."

jimin's mouth fell open in understanding, nodding wordlessly and stepping back into the house to allow jeongguk entrance. jeongguk gave him a lopsided grin before striding in.

"nice place," jeongguk said again, this time with an actual appraisal. jimin scurried after him, clutching the puppy to his body as she gazed around curiously, releasing successive barks at her new surroundings.

"wait, so this is real?" jimin asked to confirm anxiously, falling into step beside him, "she's really mine? jeongguk, really?"

"she's yours if you want her." jeongguk stopped walking, looking around dubiously. "where's the kitchen?"

"jeongguk, yes. yes, yes, a million times yes!" jimin squealed, as both jeongguk and the puppy froze to stare at him in surprise. he controlled himself when he continued, though he still couldn't help but speak a little more high-pitched than usual, "this is just so amazing, i don't even know how to begin to, to like, express thatㅡ"

"you could start by telling me where the kitchen is."

jimin giggled in embarrassment, mumbling an, "oh! right," before leading him there, his puppy now observing the house quietly. jimin hoped she liked it.

jeongguk went straight for the fridge, leisurely rummaging through its contents, as jimin rested his back against the counter and watched him nervously. when jeongguk emerged with the previous day's leftover pizza, jimin was a little more than confused.

"wait," jimin spoke up, as jeongguk hummed softly to himself, placing a couple slices in the microwave and setting the timer, "is that for her?"

jeongguk looked at him like he was crazy. "no, it's for me."

jimin bit back a protest, looking down at his puppy and thinking better of it. she'd begun to squirm a little in his grasp, so he gently set her down on the counterㅡafter pawing at its surface curiously for a few counts, she set out on a trot. jimin's heart swelled.

"aren't you guys cute," jeongguk commented. it had probably been meant to be said in a teasing manner, but it came out sounding something quite else.

"she really is," jimin agreed softly, not daring to look away from her as she explored the limited area of the countertop. he only glanced up when jeongguk stopped the microwave, seconds before it beepedㅡjimin recalled jeongguk once admitting how he believed the microwave would explode when it reached zero, and his heart swelled even larger.

"hey," jeongguk said, jamming a slice into his mouth. he chewed slowly and swallowed before continuing. "aren't you gonna ask how i found out your address? i went through a lot of trouble, you know."

"oh, sure! how did youㅡcareful, girlㅡ" he pushed the puppy lightly away from the edge. "how did you find out my address?"

jeongguk grinned, clearly pleased to share what he'd gone through. "so since seokjin doesn't know where you liveㅡ" he pointed his pizza slice at jimin, eyebrows raised, "you should probably tell him, by the wayㅡi texted taehyung but hoseok replied, and i'm frankly terrified of that guyㅡ"

"terrified? of hoseok? psh."

"it's nice to see that you guys are so close now, y'know," jeongguk smiled. "he wouldn't give me the address at first. was all suspicious and shit, questioning my motives and all that. i had to send him pictures of the pup for him to give inㅡ" he paused. "wait, no. i'm pretty sure taehyung got his phone back by then and he promptly lost it."

"taehyung has this sixth sense when it comes to puppies. it's a little frightening."

jeongguk nodded slowly, as if pondering. "d'you think he'd want one?"

"one what?" jimin asked detachedly, petting his dog's head.

"puppy."

jimin laughed mildly at that, guessing it was a joke, but when jeongguk didn't join in he stopped abruptly. "wait. seriously?"

jeongguk took a bite out of the crust and nodded.

"you're just." jimin stared at him. "giving puppies out? for free?"

"oh, did i not mention?" jeongguk said, smiling guiltily as he picked up his second slice. "my dog gave birth. like two months ago."

jimin did a double take, leaning away from the counter. "what?" he blurted in disbelief. "i didn't even know your dog got pregnant in the first place!"

"oops," jeongguk mumbled around a mouthful of pizza.

jimin gazed down at the puppy as she pawed a paper napkin to shreds. "so... you're giving me this pup because you, like. have to."

"mhm. there's five others, too. if you know anyone else who'd be willing, that would be awesome."

and okay, maybe jimin was a bit hurt. maybe it was childish and silly. but on top of the fact that jimin had been given a puppy, it was that jeongguk had thought of him and gotten him a puppy that had had him so ecstatic. knowing now that he'd simply been trying to give all his dog's puppies homesㅡit wasn't a sin, but it was pretty dispiriting.

and jimin must have been making himself pretty damn obvious, because jeongguk asked, "what's wrong?"

jimin looked up from the tiled floor, shaking his head quickly and letting out a light laugh, but it was too lateㅡjeongguk's gaze was ridden with anxiety, even when jimin said, "no, nothing, i was just digesting all of thatㅡi'll ask tae if you'd like, but i'm not sure if hoseok hyung will be up for itㅡ"

"if you want," jeongguk cut in, swallowing on nothingnessㅡhis pizza slice hung limply from his hand, forgotten. "you can meet the other puppies too and, and take your pick. i actually, um, wasn't sure which one you'd like, but she's the only girl of the litter and, uh, whenever you talked about getting a dog and stuff you'd always refer to it as a she. i dunno. but it's totally cool if you wanna change."

jimin observed him quietly, with his fidgety fingers and flickering gaze. god. jeongguk had went to all that trouble of finding his address, had specifically picked out the puppy he thought jimin would like, had went and got him a freaking collar with his name engraved on itㅡand jimin had still managed to find something to mope about. the amount of gratitude he felt towards the younger boy was nowhere near expressible, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try.

"jeongguk." jimin reached out across the counter, stroking his thumb across the top of the puppy's head. he looked up at jeongguk, smiling genuinely, "she's perfect."

jeongguk's eyes appraised him silently as he spoke; then he nodded, working his jaw and placing his half-eaten slice on the counter.

"wanna take her out for a walk?" he asked abruptly, nodding towards the remains of the napkin and at the puppy, who was now hunting for her next victim. "she's been super restless."

jimin leaned back against the counter, relaxingㅡthough jeongguk had made no verbal implication of being put at ease, it was visible enough in his softened expression. "sure, butㅡaren't you gonna look around first? you've only seen the kitchen." (inside of the refrigerator, more like.)

"oh, everything's good, don't worry about it." jeongguk licked his fingers off before wiping them down on his jeans. "i'll bring over my old stuff, guidebooks and toys and the like, from when my dog was a pup, and you'll be set."

jimin froze, then he looked between the puppy and jeongguk and stammered in a panic, "you're just gonnaㅡleave me on my own? jeongguk, the last time i had a pet, i was twelve, andㅡ"

"ㅡall your fish died in a day, yes, you've told me that story a hundred times." jeongguk raised his eyebrows at him, fitting his hands into his pockets. "if you think i'm gonna let you take care of a two-month-old puppy all by yourself, then you're sorely mistaken."

"meaning?"

"meaning you better have more than leftover pizza and a jar of pickles when i come over tomorrow," jeongguk said, one corner of his mouth rising. he brushed past him pointedly as he left the kitchen.

jimin stood for a few counts, grinning slowly. then he picked the puppy off the counter and followed after him.

"i guess that could be arranged," he mused, holding her comfortably as he jogged to catch up to him.

"and," jeongguk paused, glancing around the house contemplatively, "do you perhaps have a guest bedroom?"

"that can most certainly not be arranged."

[ + ]

i wasnt sure if i shld update bc of the cb sjshd they came for . blood
MY FAVE TRACKS ARE the outro + airplane pt2 + the truth untold && anpanman is gRADUALLY. growing on me. also did seokjin pop off or did he pop OFF 😩😩
lastly! i decided to split this chapter into two bc it got too long IM SORRY two more chapters for real now