Technically, it's Taehyung's fault.

If Taehyung didn't loudly whisper "dude, I wanna play next", Jeongguk probably wouldn't have gotten caught playing in class later that same day.

Jokes on him, though, Jeongguk thinks at first, I drive him home so he'll have to wait for me.

Because it's the first time it's happened for him there isn't a serious punishment. The teachers all know Jeongguk to be a relatively well-behaved individual, never much of a troublemaker in school and none of them really have any issues with him, but rules are rules.

Clean the classroom once the students are all dismissed: that's his task. Something he can bear with, something Taehyung can also physically bear with, but he asks Yoongi to drop him off since they live in the same direction. So he doesn't have to wait for his best friend after all.

Since the room wasn't messy to begin with it doesn't take too long. He finds some crumpled up notebook paper, a few gum wrappers, and a 3DS left under one of the desks.

Jimin's 3DS.

"Aw, Jimin..."

Jeongguk sighs as a smile slips onto his face. It must have slipped out of the boy's school bag, or maybe he took it out and forgot to pick it up again. Either way, this is definitely his game system.

Jeongguk slides it into his own bag. With the teacher out of the room and his cleaning finished, he heads out and goes to his car, then climbs in behind the steering wheel.

-

me
hey jimin you left your ds at school

me
i can drop it off at your house since i have my car, it's not an issue

-

He waits a couple of minutes for a reply. Nothing. Jeongguk frowns as he takes out the 3DS and sets it on his dashboard. What if he wants it today...?

Sighing, he decides to see if Hoseok will respond.

-

me
heyyyy hoseok quick favor

me
jimin left his ds at school, i was gonna drop it off at his house, you know his address right?

Hoseok
yeah hold on

Hoseok
[ address sent ]

Hoseok
if no one answers after the first knock you're probably better off just dropping it off in the mailbox

me
but won't someone steal it?

Hoseok
? doubtful lol, it's not a ghetto neighborhood or anything

Hoseok
jimin sometimes takes naps after school so i'm just saying if no one answers that might be why

me
oh okay

me
thanks hoseok

Hoseok
yup :)

-

He's pleasantly surprised Hoseok agreed so easily. Pulling up Google Maps, Jeongguk types in the address his friend sent him and drives to Jimin's house, humming a happy little tune to himself.

It takes a bit longer than it does for Jeongguk to drive to school - not that it bothers him, as he's got nothing of importance to do today, and besides, the idea of Jimin's smile appearing as Jeongguk returns the 3DS is something he's willing to sacrifice a little time for.

He pulls up to an empty parking spot near the house already with a smile on his own face. He leaves his school bag in the car but makes sure his keys, phone, and the game system are with him.

Standing in front of the pale blue door, Jeongguk lifts his hand and prepares to knock. His knuckles touch the surface for not even a second before it opens.

"Oh, hi! I'm sorry!"

A woman answers. Hastily having swung open the door, she stands in front of Jeongguk now dressed in slacks and a white button-up, a long-strapped purse over her shoulder. She smiles politely at the boy.

"Are you Jimin's friend?"

This must be his mom. She looks young. "Uh, yeah." He smiles back. "Jimin left something at school, I just came to return it to him."

"Oh, well, go on inside," she encourages. "He's downstairs, I think. Go on, make yourself at home. He hardly ever has friends over."

Jeongguk hardly has time to think it over before realizing the woman is already making her way past him, waving goodbye and apologizing for being in a hurry. The front door is left open.

Of course Jeongguk feels a bit awkward inviting himself inside. But at the same time, he did just receive permission, so if Jimin yells at him, at least he'll have an excuse.

With that he takes a few small steps inside and closes the door.

"Hello? Jimin, it's me, Jeongguk."

No response. Jeongguk purses his lips as his gaze drops to the floor where several pairs of shoes are lined up. He slips out of his own and leaves them there, too.

"Jimin?"

Bravely he makes his way around the corner, not knowing what room he'll be entering but hoping Jimin will be there so he doesn't have to wander any further looking for him.

He's in luck. Around the corner Jeongguk finds the living room, in the midst of which sits Jimin, on the floor with his legs folded, earphones in as he appears to be working diligently with yarn. There's a large tote beside him that looks to be filled with colored yarn and sewing supplies, too.

"Jimin, hey."

Rather than the sound of Jeongguk's voice, it's his presence out of Jimin's peripheral vision that alerts the boy. Alarmed, he yanks out his earphones and stares with demanding eyes at Jeongguk.

"I'm not intruding," he blurts immediately. "Your mom invited me in."

Jimin pauses for a moment. His eyes drift away from the other boy and back to the spool of yarn in his hands. "That's my aunt."

"Oh." Dumb Jeongguk. "Was she visiting? She was just leaving as I walked up to the door."

"No, this is her house," Jimin explains briefly. His fingers tangle in the yarn. "I live here with her and her husband."

"Ohh, okay."

He has questions. Obviously, he has questions, but Jimin's melancholic expression halts Jeongguk from asking any of them. Rather, he makes a different bold choice by sitting down in front of Jimin on the living room floor. The smaller boy looks at him oddly.

"Oh," Jeongguk chuckles, "I came here to give you back your DS. You left it at school."

"I did?"

Genuine surprise. He's too cute. "Yeah, it's right here."

To prove his claim, Jeongguk reaches into the pocket of his sweatshirt and takes out the device, then holds it out to Jimin who accepts it into his own hands.

"You...could've waited to give it back tomorrow."

"Well, I didn't know, maybe you'd want it later today. I'm the one who convinced you to bring it in the first place."

"That's true..." A pout forms on his lips as he glances at Jeongguk. "Did you...get in a lot of trouble...?"

"Nah," the boy waves dismissively. "Just a measly cleaning job. Nothing really. More importantly..."

Jeongguk's voice trails noticeably. His eyes, focused and curious, wash over the supplies Jimin has surrounding him.

"I didn't know you knitted."

The smile on his face is unrestrained. Jimin, however, hesitates to even look at the other now. His hands clutch the yarn tighter, shaking a bit. "Didn't think to mention it," he says in a quiet voice. "Besides...it's exactly the type of thing people would make fun of me for."

"You think I'd make fun of you?"

Dishearteningly, Jimin's head sinks into his shoulders and he shrugs.

"I wouldn't," Jeongguk says. "Why would I? I think it's cool."

"You don't have to lie to me..."

"I'm not. What point would I have in lying to you?"

"I don't know. Just 'cus..."

Jeongguk watches the boy untangle his fingers from the yarn again. "You don't think very highly of me, do you?"

For some reason this question earns a pout from Jimin and a side glance directed towards nothing in particular. "Yeah, sure," he mumbles sarcastically. "Everyone thinks highly of you..."

This again. "Why exactly are you insistent on this?" Jeongguk asks, forcing a laugh to avoid seeming frustrated. "Sounds a little passive aggressive to me."

Jimin looks at up him, lips still pouted and head facing down. "It's not...I'm sorry..."

The boy's apologies never fail to make Jeongguk's heart waver. He already wants to change the subject.

To his relief, it's not too difficult, considering what Jimin happens to be caught up in at the moment.

"Did you already make something?"

For a moment Jimin seems confused. The spool of yarn in his hands is a new one, by the looks of it, but then the boy realizes Jeongguk is referring to the knitted accessory beside him. He takes the material between his fingers and lifts it from the floor.

It's a scarf, Jeongguk sees now. A scarf made of an assortment of bright colors, but they tie together in such a way that it's not too blinding or flashy. Quite simply, it's beautiful.

"You made this?"

"Uh...yeah." Jimin gives a shy nod.

"That's incredible. Can I see it?"

"You are seeing it."

"I meant hold it..."

"...I guess."

Chuckling, Jeongguk accepts the scarf from Jimin and stretches it out to look at the full extent of it. The colors look even more stunning this way. His smile widens.

"You're so talented, Jimin..."

"I'm—no, I-"

"You are," he cuts him off. "End of story. Are you self-taught?"

Jimin turns away as the other's smile becomes directed towards him. "I...watched tutorials for the basics...and learned the rest by doing it myself..."

"That's amazing."

"Not really..."

"Here, try it on." Eagerly Jeongguk holds the scarf back out to Jimin, who takes it in his hands. "C'mon, try it on," Jeongguk encourages. "Please?"

"It's just a scarf..."

"Right, so it's not like you have to go to another room to change. So why don't you try it on?"

A blush creeps onto the boy's cheeks. Timidity in his expression, Jimin wraps the scarf carefully around his neck and loops it at the front, then adjusts if before returning his gaze to Jeongguk.

"Wow..."

The blush deepens. This, naturally, delights the other boy, who scarcely resists the temptation to reach out and pinch Jimin's round, cherry-colored cheeks.

"It's so pretty..."

"Oh, it probably doesn't look that good on me," Jimin whispers, but is countered almost right away.

"It looks great on you, Jimin."

"I feel like you're just saying that..."

"No, really!" Jeongguk takes a part of the scarf in his hand and lifts it. "The colors wouldn't suit just anyone. You could be a model, Jimin."

He considers it may be a bold thing to say, but the strongest reaction he can assume will come out of it is Jimin's face turning even redder. And to Jeongguk, that's not a bad thing. As long as it doesn't make Jimin uncomfortable, he has no shame in giving compliments where they're due.

But Jeongguk doesn't receive the reaction he expects at all.

Jimin's expression goes blank. The color in his cheeks fade. His gaze becomes fixed on nothing.

And he begins to ramble, but by the looks of it, without fully realizing it.

"Try again."

His voice is unrecognizable.

"Try again. Try again. Keep going, you're not there yet, try again. Tr̴̬̥̓͂͆͛ý̴̛͇̔̆̂̀́̾̾͊̏̎̕ ̴͕̫͍͔͍̭̓̄̀͑͋͛̏͛̓̊͂̕͠a̶͚̜̾̀̄̃͐̏͒̀͘͝g̴̢̨͉̺̯̤̝̺̩̼͓͙̎̔̄͐͌a̷̬̓̎͊ĩ̷͕̤͓̱̩͗͂͊̓͘͝ņ̴̡̧̛͕̭̜̪͎̫̫̘͈̟̊̀̆̾̎́́͘.you must be picturesque, p̴͎̪͌̀͗̚í̶̧̧̜̠̫̹̤̰̞͉̾ç̸̧̢͔̘̥̟̬̀͒ţ̸̜͑͊̀̆̓̀̆ū̴̥͛̇̔ṙ̸̢̪̫̣͚͉̥̄̋̓̅̑̈́͊͐͊̚e̴̢̠̺͇̟̭͍̹͖͗ͅs̸̨̥̭̯̱͕̗͈͇̹̖͖̿̄̋̓q̵̩͖̘̅̀͋̂̽̒̕͝͝ù̷̦̯̝͕̦͔̹̥̺͆̉̈́̑̕͘͠ḛ̴̪̱̪͒́̀̊, picture perfect, try again—"

"Jimin??"

"Huh?"

In a panic Jeongguk blurts the boy's name, and he's successful in snapping Jimin from whatever trance he was in, but it doesn't comfort Jeongguk, not in the slightest.

It came out of nowhere. That rambling, those repetitive, outspoken thoughts that didn't even sound like they belonged to Jimin.

Furthermore, the boy seems unaware. Completely unaware.

"What's wrong? Jeongguk, you're looking at me weird." His gaze drops to the scarf still wrapped around his neck. "It's this thing, isn't it? It does look weird, I knew it..."

"N-no, no, it looks-" Breathe, act calm. "Like I said, it looks great. You're really talented, Jimin."

The color returns again to his face. "Thanks...it's not that difficult, though. Anyone can learn from watching tutorials."

"Ha, I mean, I don't think anyone could."

"Mm."

Completely unaware. Either that, or it's a freakishly convincing act.

"Thanks for bringing my DS back, by the way."

"Hm? Oh, yeah...no problem. I should..." Gradually, Jeongguk rises to his feet. He smiles down at the other boy. "My mom's probably wondering where I am, I forgot to call her, uh...I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Mm. See you tomorrow."

He leaves without another word, retrieving his shoes from by the door, then silently getting back into his car.

He spends a few minutes sitting in front of the steering wheel, not moving, not even taking out his car keys.

"Jimin."

What happened to you?

—