"Go, go, go!" Seokjin shouted, grabbing Jimin's wrist and dragging him along to his car. "Let's get out of here."

He ushered Jimin inside, whipping backwards to check, once again, for the thugs, then stepped inside himself. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Jimin asked, eyes narrowed. Seokjin raised an eyebrow.

"I'm saving you from becoming ground meat," Seokjin answered, like it was obvious. "Duh."

"I didn't ask for you to save me," Jimin huffed, looking out the window. 

"Please," Seokjin scoffed. "One more hit, and you would've fallen. Where do you wanna go?"

Jimin didn't answer, and continued to glare out the window. Seokjin nudged him, rolling his eyes.

Jimin was drowning in his thoughts. He barely even knew this guy. Sure, he'd seen him on TV, and all the high-class people dined in his restaurant, but as a person, Jimin knew nothing about him. But he'd saved Jimin from the perils of Yoongi and Hoseok, and that must've counted for something.

Seokjin didn't even know him, but he'd managed to help Jimin escape from the two main characters of his nightmares. Hoseok and Yoongi were the two worst people Jimin had ever known. Arrogant and stuck up, they'd always pick on Jimin in the halls, make fun of him during basketball, and get away with tripping him in games. He'd learned to fend them off by trying to blend in, but they always made him feel extra special. In the worst possible way.

"Tick tock," Seokjin mused, looking in the mirror. "The thugs are catching up."

Jimin's eyes widened, and he pressed himself to the car seat. "Go anywhere!" He yelped, ducking and covering his head, as a bomb was about to be triggered. Seokjin heeded his advice, shifting gears. The two thugs were close to the car now, and they'd started running. In a few seconds, they'd be at the window. "Step on it!"

And with that, Seokjin and Jimin raced down the street, leaving Yoongi and Hoseok in a cloud of exhaust, coughing. 

"Care to explain?" Seokjin asked, eyes trained on the road. Jimin, under any other circumstances, would've said no, but this time, he felt an obligation to the chef. This was, what, the second time Seokjin had done Jimin a favor? There was no way Jimin could be rude to him. Especially not now.

"They're old friends," Jimin said, gritting his teeth. "They go to school with me."

"They're quite.."

Intimidating, Jimin finished. Scary. Ruthless.

"..pathetic." Jimin's eyes widened at the comment. Out of habit, he looked behind him, then realized where he was, and then relaxed a little. "I mean, seriously. Gold chains were so 2013."

Jimin looked at Seokjin, wondering what must have been going on in the man's head. He thought about his brain being muddled from the steam that came from a pot of poorly cooked noodles, but Jimin abandoned that thought. All it would do was moisturize. But there must have been some misunderstanding. Yoongi and Hoseok were the two scariest figures he'd ever encountered. As for the gold chains, Jimin wanted to inform Seokjin of the time they'd dropped one in the toilet and forced Jimin to pluck it out. Then they shoved his head inside the toilet. Maybe if Seokjin knew, he might not think those two were so pathetic, after all.

"You're awfully quiet," Seokjin mused, stopping at a red light. "Goddamn, these red lights are always on!"

Jimin made no comment.

"Where's your house, kid?" Seokjin asked, restraining the urge to honk at the red light. 

"I don't wanna go there," Jimin simply said. "And don't ask me why." 

You see, Jimin's parents weren't the best at parenting. Family time could be challenging when, in fact, he didn't have family to really spend it with. Constantly on business trips, only visiting once a month, where they'd stay for a day, drop off money, and during their family time, they'd be answering work emails and be on call all the time. Jimin was completely independent. He'd had a younger brother who'd been sent to live with a relative, but they would only take the younger. They just didn't have the space. So the oldest Park brother had started depending on himself, studying on his own, cooking on his own, living on his own, and everything in between, on his own. It got...lonely.

"Any parents, siblings I can call for you?"

Stop asking, goddammit! 

"No," Jimin said, shakily. "No."

"Jimin, I can't keep you in a car!" Seokjin burst out. Jimin flinched, preparing to block a strike. But it never came. Seokjin just kept talking, using his hands in a frantic manner. "Let me help you, okay? Just this once. Let me get you a roof over your head, and I can just-"

That was when he realized Seokjin's intentions, and suddenly a wall inside of him tumbled down. "I'm lonely," Jimin conceded, rubbing his hands along his arms. "I live by myself, and I get scared at night, okay? I'm a lonely kid."

Jimin spat out the word 'kid' like it was a wrapper attached to the piece of candy he was chewing. 

"Pass me your phone," Seokjin said, holding out his hand. Jimin did as he said, slightly curious. Seokjin clicked the 'ADD CONTACT' button, and dialed in his number. "Come here." Jimin leaned in, as Seokjin held up the phone. "Smile!" 

CLICK.

Seokjin typed in his name, and passed the phone back to it's respective owner. "I'm going to take you home." he declared. "But, you're going to call me so you don't get lonely."

Jimin looked down at his phone, then back up at the driving chef, as the lights turned green. "Thanks," He said, heart fluttering.

It had been a while since someone had offered to do something of the sort, something so... generous for Jimin.

He felt...

loved.

And Jimin promised himself he'd try to keep the feeling for as long as possible, as he and Seokjin drove off into the night. Maybe his personal hell could be a little more heavenly, after all.

---

a/n: cONSISTENT UPDATES?? EATJIN REALLY BE THAT BITCH

stan ateez

-ri