WELCOME TO BANGTAN HIGH

welcome to bangtan high: a series in which you and your seven friends get into all sorts of trouble; requested by @army_pidge

JIMINIE PABO; JIMIN

The shrill bell cuts through your sentence, ringing through your ears as you lock eyes with Jimin and groan in exasperation for what's to come.

You continue to cast each other pitying looks before you blink away with a huff and slide your belongings into your arms, instinctively grimacing at the science book sitting at the top as you're reminded of how numbingly boring science is, even with Jimin by your side for every session.

"Might as well get this over with," you sigh, motioning towards the hall with a smile of encouragement to try and get Jimin to follow after you. Thinking that you might've just done the job, you spin on your heels and begin to walk away but are stopped by his warm hand closing in around your wrist to hold you back.

Curious, you once again meet his gaze as he tugs you to sit beside him on the old benches.

"Jimin," you whine, wriggling desperately to try and get out of his grip, "seriously, stop playing around. We're going to be late."

You notice a change in the look he gives you, eyes seemingly widening with a mischievousness that sparkles endearingly underneath the spring sun. Your heart almost flutters at the intensity of it, cheeks tingling ever so slightly as he inches closer, voice soft and calm as if anyone could be listening. "What if we don't have to go?"

You raise an eyebrow at him as if wordlessly asking if he's stupid. He clicks his tongue and tugs at your arm much like a child would. "C'mon! It'll be so fun! We can just ditch and go get food somewhere. Pretty please."

You roll your eyes but you can already feel yourself starting to give in to his puppy eyes and loving tone of voice. After all, anything would be better than listening to Mrs Lee drone on about chemicals. Jimin picks up on your change of demeanour, gasping softly as he tightens his grip on your arm in excitement.

Finally, you exhale with a nod. "Meet me out front in five."

The halls are unsettlingly quiet by the time you sneak in from the yard, the muffled sounds of voices filtering out from the cracks underneath the doors telling you that classes have well gone underway. You breathe through your nerves and straighten your posture, deciding that the only way you can fool them is if you at least act like you're supposed to be roaming through the halls.

With your heart climbing further and further up your throat, you walk past the classrooms, keeping your gaze forward until you reach your locker, hands trembling as you fiddle with the lock and hastily shove everything into your backpack once it pops off before swinging it onto your shoulder and marching back down the halls to entrance.

You keep your face devoid of any emotion as you walk out of the front gate, acting as if you have every right to do so. Luckily, your acting is believable enough to have nobody question you.

"Jimin," you whisper when you make it around the corner so that no-one from the inside can see you, "are you here?"

There's no answer.

Frowning, you stretch to see if he may have moved to wait by the other corner, barely even aware of the snickering figure sneaking up behind you. With a dramatic gasp, a hand clutches onto your shoulder, scaring the life out of you when you scream and drop to the floor.

"Sorry," he manages between fits of laughter, "Jin hyung was yelling at me about ditching."

You clear your throat in embarrassment, standing to brush the dirt of your knees and skirt as he looks behind him to see if anyone's watching before turning back to you with an impish grin.

"Let's go," he sings, reaching over to fold his hand over yours before, rather instinctively, intertwining your fingers together so that he swings your joined hands between the two of you as you walk down the street.

"So what do you want to do?" you ask, the excitement coursing through your blood, much like adrenaline would, making your voice sound bubbly.

Jimin laughs. "Well, I promised you food, didn't I?"

*

Within a half hour, you find yourself seated in a homey little restaurant on the corner of a street that you've never been down before but, according to Jimin, he's been here more times than he can count on his fingers so you watch him order for the both of you at the low counter with a fond little smile on your face.

He eventually returns with a look of disbelief carved onto his face. It shatters to pieces when you give him a weird look of your own, breaking out into a grin when he chuckles with a shake of his head.

"Do you know who that is?" he asks when he sits himself down on the floor across from you, hiking his head towards the old man who served him at the counter. You sigh and flick your gaze towards said man, smiling sweetly when he offers you a welcoming grin, looking away just as you begin to recognise that smile.

Still, you shake your head at Jimin.

"It's Taehyung's grandad," he reveals to you with wide eyes. Of course, you realise to yourself, that boxy grin, it's the exact same.

"Did you ask if he was?" you whisper, leaning forward so that you're not heard.

Jimin shakes his head. "He asked me if I knew Taehyung because of the uniform. I told him that the three of us are actually super close friends. He then told me that Taehyung talks about us a lot and that it's great to have us here."

"Tae's going to be so pissed when he finds out we went without him," you gasp, watching as Jimin nods along with a giggle just as Taehyung's grandad approaches the both of you with your ordered food.

You bow your head towards him as he slides it onto the table.

"Enjoy your meal," he hums, reaching over to place a hand on both your heads, looking proud when the both of you turn to thank him enthusiastically.

"Taehyung did say that his grandad owned a restaurant," Jimin starts after shovelling some noodles into his mouth, "but I didn't think it would be this one."

"You said you've been here so many times," you accuse with your eyes narrowed teasingly, "how could you not tell that that's Taehyung's grandad?"

"Well, to be fair, my mum orders when we come here so I've never actually met him until today," Jimin reasons with a pout, opening his mouth when you roll your eyes and reach out to feed him some rice.

"Do you think Tae works here?" you wonder aloud, admiring the simplicity of the place with an image of Taehyung walking around and serving customers painting your mind.

"Taehyung? Work? No way," he scoffs.

You allow the silence to settle in for a few seconds before breaking it with yet another question. "Do you think Mrs Lee knows we ditched?"

He drops a few pieces of kimchi onto your plate with a sigh. "Nah, I don't think so. She probably just thinks we got sick. That meat at school today seemed a little off."

You slap his arm with a laugh as the conversation eases into a comfortable flow of stories and laughter until there's more food left and the two of your are getting ready to leave for the park.

"Let's pay and head out," Jimin suggests as if that wasn't already the plan, there being something about his expectant gaze that has you suddenly worried for what's about to happen next.

You laugh nervously. "I'll wait outside, hurry up."

He pauses. "Wait, I'm not paying."

"What do you mean you're not paying?" you hiss, grabbing onto his sleeve as he tries to make a run for it. "You said that you promised me a meal which universally means that you're paying."

He then takes a step closer to you, his face just inches away from your own as you study the guilty expression he wears awkwardly. "I don't have money. I gave Hoseok hyung the last of it to pay him back for paying for my food last time."

"I don't have my wallet, idiot," you fret, tugging at his sleeve in a panic.

"Why not?" he whines, looking at you in disbelief.

"What do you mean why not?" you pout, slapping his arm with a groan. "You guys always pay for me when we go out."

"So you stopped bringing it?" he deadpans, his breath now fanning your lip. You roll your eyes and step away from him. 

"Yes," you hiss, panicking, and, as if his timing couldn't have been more perfect, Taehyung's grandad emerges from the kitchen to get the plates, only to stop short when he sees the two of you already getting to leave.

Whatever surprise he has on his face, he masks with yet another boxy grin.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" he asks politely, clasping his hands in front of him as the two of you nod sheepishly at him. "Great! So, how would you like to pay?"

You glance at Jimin to see him already looking at you with a slow shake of his head and wide eyes that make him look a lot crazier than he actually is. Your automatic reaction to his behaviour is to sigh heavily as you offer Taehyung's grandad an apologetic bow.

"We are so sorry but neither of us brought our wallets with us so we don't have any money to pay you with. Is there anything we can do to repay you?" you rush out in one breath, looking up at him with glistening eyes as if to persuade him to go easy on the two of you while ignoring the discrete thumbs up Jimin gives you.

Eventually, Taehyung's grandad chuckles fondly. "Ah, you're lucky that you're friends with Taehyung or else I'd have to punish you guys."

You laugh along and straighten yourself beside Jimin, watching as he begins to fidget with his fingers as the old man continues to speak. "How about this? Taehyung's shift doesn't start until five so I could use a little help cleaning up. Just do your dishes and wipe down the tables and then you're free to go

"Thank you so much," you grin, already reaching to pull your hair up into a ponytail, nudging Jimin in his ribs when all he does is scratch his head, looking as if he's about to ask for something else to do.

You give him a pointed look.

"Shut up and get in the kitchen, pabo," you hiss through gritted teeth, watching him lower his head like a dejected dog and walk in front of you as you follow after him, bowing repeatedly at Taehyung's grandad.