Chapter 5....

... Jimin woke up the next morning to his doorbell ringing incessantly. At 7 am....

... For some reason, he could already sense who it was even when he was still getting out of bed hastily while cursing under his breath. He stomped down the stairs grumpily and barefoot, his eyes still drowned in sleep....

... He went to the door and stopped in front of the little CCTV camera monitor to see who it was on the other side. He squinted at it for a second before recognising the figure in the small screen. He opened the door with his annoyance dampened, but still grumpy from being awake against his will....

...“Jiminie, you changed your password?” Taehyung asked as he immediately went past Jimin and entered the residence. ...

... Jimin watched the other waltz over his living room with two paper bags in his hands, “What? Not happy to see me? I brought breakfast!” he singsonged the last part, and Jimin squinted at the sight, not having his contact lenses on yet....

...“Is that… Starbucks?” he asked, and Taehyung went back to Jimin and closed the door for him, taking the hand that was still resting on the doorknob....

...“Yup!” he said and pulled Jimin with him to the kitchen. He made Jimin seat on a stool at the counter and started unloading the bags....

...“Uh, I’m not sure if I can drink coffee.” Jimin mumbled, still sleepy, but Taehyung scoffed....

...“I know, that’s why I brought decaf, silly!” Taehyung put the cup in front of Jimin playfully. It was Jimin’s favorite latte, and it indeed had the world ‘decaf’ marked above it....

...“...My prenatal nutritionist would have a heart attack if she knew about this.” Jimin said but took a sip of his coffee anyways. It was perfect....

...“What she doesn’t see can’t hurt her.” Taehyung said and took a big bite of his muffin....

... They ate in silence, and Jimin finally took the time to notice Taehyung’s appearance. He looked as handsome as ever, wore a denim jacket and a white t-shirt tucked into his high waisted jeans which made his legs look ever longer, and brown-tinted sunglasses perched on the back of his neck, hanging from his ears. His hair had been recently dyed in a sandy brown shade and its strands laid flat on his forehead, his fringe long and in his natural straight texture....

... Jimin, on the other side of the table, was in his baby blue pajamas, with long sleeves and pants. The shirt closed at the front with buttons of the same color and the two-piece outfit fell oversized on his delicate shoulders. His small baby bump was totally unnoticeable under it, and his pastel orange hair was a fluffy mess on his head....

...“Don’t you have schedule today?” Jimin asked, and Taehyung just looked at him with his cheeks stuffed of muffin. He looked like a squirrel while munching....

...“No.” he answered blankly. Jimin took a sip of his own coffee....

...“So you are just going to spend the day here?” Jimin asked but already knew the answer to that question would be negative....

...“Actually,” Taehyun put a finger up, and then started looking for something in the starbucks bag absentmindedly, “here.” he held a small paper bag in front of Jimin’s face....

...“What is this?”...

...“Choco cookie.”...

... Jimin rolled his eyes playfully and took it from his hands....

...“But I’m serious, if my nutritionist knows you’re feeding me Starbucks at seven in the morning she’s going to throw a fit .” Jimin stated, and Taehyung shrugged....

...“He doesn’t need to know,” Taehyung said and stood up to go to the fridge. He came back with a big carton of strawberry juice and two cups....

...“You still didn’t answer me,” Jimin said while took a sip of the juice Taehyung offered him, “because I know you wouldn’t dress this extra to just spend the day at my house.”...

...“Your words hurt me, Jiminie,” Taehyung frowned dramatically, bringing a hand to his heart....

...“I’m getting impatient, and I still didn’t forgive you for waking me up at hell o’clock in the morning for nothing.”...

...“Nothing?! Eating is important!” Taehyung protested but Jimin just kept staring at him....

...“Okay, fine .” Taehyung gave up, “I’m here because…” Taehyung started, and suddenly he was all sunny again, “We’re going shopping today!” he exclaimed, putting his hands up....

...“We’re going shopping?” Jimin frowned,...

...“We’re going shopping!” Taehyung repeated, excited all over again....

...“Uh… for what?” Jimin didn’t understand his friend’s point. Taehyung scoffed....

...“Jiminnie, look around, look at this empty house. Now look at you.” he pointed at Jimin’s belly, “You’re pregnant! That means that you have to buy so many new things! Actually, there are so many things to buy that we won’t be able to get even half of it today,”...

...“Ah,” Jimin’s face lit in understandment. He smiled. “We’re shopping baby clothes, then? I like that idea!”...

...“Baby clothes, hah!” Taehyung laughed and got up to clean the rest of their breakfast, “You’ll need a stroller, a crib, actual furniture to their room as well, sets of sheets, diapers, a lot of baby bottles and stuff- Yaaah so many things!” Taehyung brought his hands to his hair in fake panic, and Jimin wanted to laugh at his silliness....

...“It’ll be okay, Taehyung, we still got time,” he dismissed it lighthearted, and Taehyung quickly turned to him,...

...“You see?! That’s your problem, Jiminnie, you’re way too calm !” Taehyung joked and went to hug him from where he was still sitting in the kitchen stool. “You cutie!” Taehyung kissed his forehead and they stayed like that for some time, just cuddling, until Taehyung exclaimed,...

...“Now go brush your teeth and put on some warm clothes ‘cause it’s chilly outside!”...

...----------...

... Later on, they were getting out of Taehyung’s car at the mall’s outdoor parking lot. Taehyung had been right, the weather was indeed chilly....

...“Wait,” Taehyung jogged up to Jimin just as he closed the car door behind him. He looked up and saw that his friend carried a black cap with him, and Taehyung just approached him and put the hat in his head....

...“Why are you-”...

...“Jiminnie, your hair is orange, and a mess. I refuse to walk with you if you don’t wear this.” he joked and Jimin laughed, adjusting it in his head. It indeed covered his hair almost completely....

... And then he looked at Taehyung's face and wanted to laugh even more....

...“Taehyung… Wearing sunglasses and a beanie here is almost like carrying a neon sign around saying you’re a celebrity.”...

...“Pfff, I’m not a celebrity,” Taehyung exclaimed in disdain. Jimin rolled his eyes....

...“Whatever, let’s just hope today doesn’t get into a clickbait article,”...

... They got into a baby’s clothing store first and quickly found themselves on a dilemma. They stared at the interior dreadfully. The store was literally divided in Girl’s section, to the right, and Boy’s section to the left. All painfully pink and blue....

...“Let’s go to another place-” Taehyung started but Jimin held him by the arm to stop him,...

...“No, let’s give it a try! I’m sure we’ll find a lot of nice things,” he smiled and Taehyung gave in, and let himself get dragged to the girl’s section by Jimin....

...“Aaaawwwn, look at this one!” it was a tiny onesie, mainly white but with cute foxes all over it. It also came with a pair of red tiny pants....

...“But what if it’s a boy?” Taehyung asked, but didn’t really sound concerned about it. He was fumbling through a whole stack of onesies and taking several into his arms....

...“It’s not even that girly, it’s just an animal!” Jimin said excitedly and continued looking for more pieces. Then he turned to look at his friend and eyed the pile of clothes in his arms warily, “But make sure to stick to neutral themes, okay? Just pick cute and colorful things.”...

...“Yessir,” Taehyung mumbled and continued on his task....

...--------...

... Some time later, they got out of the store carrying three paper bags full of baby clothing....

...“We didn’t get too much, did we?” Jimin asked worried,...

...“Jimin, this is nothing! You’ll need a lot more than this!” he exclaimed, and then said “Can you wait in here a little bit, I’ll go drop these bags back in the car,” he motioned for a bench behind them, and Jimin happily sat down. His feet were slowly starting to swell, and he hated it, but knew it was all for a good cause....

... Taehyung went back to the parking lot and opened the back seat door to put the bags. He smiled to himself. Who would’ve thought he and Jimin would be shopping for baby clothes now… The same Jimin that would always make them both late for school and have them running around the neighborhood to get there on time, just to trip on his feet near the stairs, almost every day....

... While Taehyung hated the idea that the man responsible for half of that baby wasn’t nearly as present as he should at the moment, he at least could use that opportunity to spend more time with his best friend....

... Taehyung straightened himself again and just as he was about to close the door, he faced a man, probably in his forties, carrying a giant professional camera at less than two meters away from him. So much for being subtle....

... Taehyung resisted the urge to address him and got back to the mall in long strides. He would have to make sure those cameras didn’t ruin the day for him and Jimin....

... Jimin was still sitting at the bench, smiling at something on his phone. He was wearing an oversized white hoodie but his baby bump was still visible even from far away. He looked so soft and angelic in that moment that Taehyung’s heart felt weird for a second, but he quickly dismissed it....

...“May I know what’s gotten you so cheeky?” Taehyung said as he sat besides Jimin on the bench. Jimin blushed slightly....

...“I’m not cheeky…” Taehyung looked from his shoulder to Jimin’s phone and his eyes caught Jungkook’s name above the chat box. He frowned....

...“Jimin…”...

...“W-what?!” Jimin was defensive, holding the phone to his chest and looked like he expected a reprimand any second....

...“I’m worried for both of you.” Taehyung admitted, looking ahead....

...“You are?” Jimin asked quietly, watching Taehyung. “Why?...

...“Maybe I’m just worried about Jungkook’s heart, I guess.”...

...“Taehyung, what we did was nothing -” Jimin started but Taehyung interrupted him....

...“Nothing, to you. That’s the whole point here.” Jimin understood what Taehyung was trying to say, but didn’t feel like having that talk out there....

...“I don’t want to talk about it, and there’s nothing to worry about, really.” Jimin dismissed it, slightly nervous, “You don’t know what happened between us, but believe me, it was…” the words died in his mouth as he realised what he was about to say....

...“Nothing.” Taehyung concluded for him, and stood up. “It’s okay, I won’t say anything else about it.”...

...“We’re both adults.” Jimin mumbled under his breath but got up too to follow him....

...---------...

... They went to a big department store to look for strollers, baby straps and any other thing that would be useful. Taehyung was playing with the strollers around the store and they were also getting baby bottles and other kitchen utensils, when Jimin’s phone vibrated....

...“Hello?” he recognized the ID as one of his managers....

... While Jimin was talking on the phone, Taehyung was making sure to give the stink eye to the paparazzi camera man that was stalking them from behind the aisle. If they were going to take pictures, he might as well scowl at them to make them unusable for me media....

... When Jimin ended the call, Taehyung asked what it was about. Jimin looked deep in thought to the black screen of his phone and for a millisecond Taehyung felt worried something scandalous had happened again, until Jimin said as a matter of factly,...

...“It was management. They just needed to know my new address.” Jimin shrugged....

...--------...

... Jimin and Taehyung spent the entire day at the mall, with them stopping every time for Jimin to sit down for a moment and rest his legs....

... When they got home, it was already dark outside. They came and put all the shopping bags inside, and Jimin was exhausted....

...“Wait, you’re going back home? You can sleep here, if you want to.” Jimin offered his friend, who just looked like he had got caught in a lie and didn’t know how to get away with it....

...“Actually… I’m not going back home.” Taehyung winced, and stayed silent. Then, Jimin gasped,...

...“Oh my god, you had work today, didn’t you?!” Jimin couldn’t believe his friend....

...“It’s okay Jiminnie, it’s a night shooting so I didn’t really need to be there during the day anyways.”...

... Taehyung was an actor working on a SBS drama. He wasn’t a protagonist this time around, but his character still had a major appearance on it....

...“Taehyung, you should have spent the day sleeping!” Jimin scolded, and started slapping his shoulder with his sweater paws. Taehyung just laughed at his friend,...

...“I can drink coffee, and there’s makeup in this world too, Jiminnie,” Taehyung said, “Also, I was so excited to buy cute baby things with you that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyways!”...

... Jimin would continue reprimanding his friend for his recklessness, but decided to just let him go to work, instead....

...------...

...“Drive safely! And try to sleep before going in front of the camera, or else you’ll look tired on tv and I’ll feel bad!” Jimin exclaimed from the doorstep of his house. Taehyung smiled and just hugged Jimin, kissing the top of his head affectionately....

... Jimin watched him go back to his car, in his designer denim jacket and sunglasses perched at the top of his head, looking like the epitome of a superstar....

...“Bye bye!” Taehyung shouted silly, and then he was gone. Jimin sighed to himself and put his hands back at the pockets of his hoodie. It was indeed getting colder outside....

...-------...

... By the time Jimin was 21 weeks pregnant, he wasn’t really working anymore, at least not in photoshoots or fashion shows. Instead, he spent his time mostly at home, and just did some social media ads here and there. ...

... When he went out, it was to visit his friends; Jin at his famous bakery and Taehyung when the actor wasn’t super busy with shootings. ...

... Jimin had woken up that day planning on going to Jin’s bakery again to hang out, but he had been forced to give up that plans for the day when his “mail” came in that morning....

... It was actually a Big Hit van, and one of his managers greeted him politely, stating that he had brought all the packages on his name. Jimin smiled thankfully but on the inside he was dreading all the time that he would have to spend opening those boxes one by one to select which ones would end up in his Instagram stories....

... He knew it was a part of his job: to at least accept to receive products from brands, and maybe post pictures with them, but still. He was feeling a little lazy today....

... Jimin opened the door to let his manager put the boxes in his living room. When he was finished, he said goodbye to him and Jimin was left alone with that unwelcome pile of gifts staring back at him....

... Jimin pulled up his sleeves and cracked his neck....

...------...

... Jimin sat cross legged on the floor of his living room for a long time dealing with the PR packages. In the end, out of the twenty or so boxes he had struggled to open with his inconveniently small hands, only three or two he had actually liked. He would have to donate the rest later....

... And he kept all the chocolate....

... One that he didn’t quite understand was a box of Kumamon plushies and baby products, sent by a famous toy store. He understood why they thought to send the baby things, but why did they have to be all kumamon-themed?...

... But his favorite one had been a box sent by Puma that had a pair of white sneakers for him, then another pair of the same white sneakers, but baby-sized, so tiny that they both fit on palm of his hand. And there was even a white onesie sent by the brand as well....

... Still not getting up from the floor, he got his cellphone and went into his social media. At first he saw a headline that caught his attention, and he knew he probably shouldn’t click on it, but he did anyways....

... The first picture showing up was his pregnancy announcement post on Instagram. The text went on about how “Agust D” was the only artist to win several awards and chart high with his songs in the last five years without ever doing a live performance on a professional stage, or never appearing on TV. It also stated that he and Agust D had been dating for a year (based on what information, Jimin had no idea,) and implied not very subtly about how Jimin would be benefiting from giving birth to a heir of the Min Holdings group....

... Jimin closed the article immediately after reading those words. What scared him even more was that those were just on the first paragraph, and the text was big. What more could they be talking about him? He didn’t want to know....

... Just as he was struggling to get up from the floor, his phone started ringing. It was his parents again. He answered, and they all talked, even his little sister was participating that time,...

...“We saw Taehyungie last week, I think he was shooting nearby and could stop by, ” he heard his mom say,...

...“I know,”Jimin smiled at the memory “all he could talk about was Soonshim,”...

...“Yes, I swear, that dog is either immortal or turning into a dinosaur,” his mom said, but Jimin knew she would be just as heartbroken as everyone else when that dog decided to go....

...“And, Jimin, actually we called you to talk about those plans for next week,” his dad said, with his signature calm and gentle voice,...

...“W-What plans?!”Jimin tried to play dumb, but he remember perfectly just what his dad was talking about,...

...“We haven’t seen you in so long,and now you are expecting your first child,” his dad used his most emotional, sad voice, and Jimin shut his eyes, already knowing he was a goner, “How can I be in peace knowing you are so far away in his situation?”...

... There was a pause on the line, and Jimin sighed defeteadly....

...“...Of course I’m going, appa…” he said, and could practically see the sweet smile on his dad’s face, and the successful glint on his mom’s eye....

...“And have you talked to Min Yoongi about it yet?” his mom demanded, serious, and Jimin hesitated before answering,...

...“Not really.” he winced,...

...“Jimin…” she warned....

...“I just… didn’t know how to bring it up…” Jimin suppressed the information that, since that one time at the clinic, he and Yoongi hadn’t really talked. Jimin would just know about what was going on in Yoongi’s life when Namjoon was around and occasionally mentioned him....

...“Just tell him we are inviting him over for dinner! We want to meet him.” his mom stressed her point like that was a very simple thing to do....

...“Jimin, if you don’t do it you know we will just go to Seoul instead, whether you want it or not.” his little sister said in her typical know-it-all tone of voice....

...“...Okay, but I will invite Taehyung too,” Jimin said, not wanting to feel like he lost....

...“Yes, do it. That would be nice-” his dad said in an excited voice almost at the same time his mom said “But don’t forget to talk to Min Yoongi.” in a serious tone....

...-------...

... Later that day, Jimin texted Taehyung....

...Jimin:...

...tae, i’m going to busan next week...

...to visit my parents...

...wanna go too? :)...

... ...

...Taehyung:...

...when?...

... ...

...Jimin:...

...prob next weekend, like, friday or saturday…...

... ...

...Taehyung:...

...i’m sorry chimchimmmm...

...i can’t, i have to film a variety shw and take pictures...

...i wish i could go as well, i dont like you going alone...

...:( :(...

... ...

...Jimin:...

...i won’t be alone, i guess...

...actually, i probably will be anyways, but...

...my mom wants to meet yoongi, so she’s inviting him for dinner...

...Taehyung:...

...for real???!!!...

...i approve...

...i love mrs. park...

...she’ll give him hell...

... ...

...Jimin:...

...i know she will and I DON’T approve of this...

...and i’m so nervous, i don’t know how to talk to him about it...

... ...

...Taehyung:...

...no problem minie leave it to me ;)...

... ...

...Jimin:...

...NO...

...NO TAEHYUNG NO DONT...

...DON...

...DON’T GO TO HIM...

...YOU’RE WORSE THAN MY MOM...

...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

...TAEHYUNG ANSWER ME...

... ...

...-------...

... In the end, Jimin successfully convinced Taehyung to let him talk to Yoongi himself. But he was still seriously nervous and shy. He wasn’t sure why, as he used to go to bed with him before, but since his baby it was like he was looking at Yoongi in an entirely different way. Every interaction they had seemed to be so much more meaningful now....

... Also, Jimin had been asked to come to the Big Hit building to be present at sponsorship discussions with all their models and a reunion that afternoon. He knew he could stay at home instead, if he wanted, since his managers had been being more easy on him since he got pregnant. But he wanted to go. His ankles weren’t so swollen today....

... ...

... The Big Hit building, in a business area of Seoul, was a very tall building covered with a blue mirrored exterior. The company owned and managed a vast variety of entertainment businesses, like idol groups, acting careers, and models. Jimin was one of them, having signed a modeling contract with the company a few years ago....

... Jimin entered the company building trying to not bring too much attention to himself, even if he was walking slower than the crowd because of his swollen feet....

... Jimin got into the elevator and waited for his floor. The elevator wasn’t cramped with people, but he noticed some who seemed to recognize him. ...

... When he reached his floor, he got out looking down at his shoes, still thinking of people who might recognize him, worried about the general reactions to his pregnancy announcement, still, but-...

...“Ah, sorry,” Jimin mumbled when he collided with someone that had been waiting to get on the elevator, and then looked up, only to see Min Yoongi, in a suit, standing in front of him....

...-------...

...“What are you doing here?” Yoongi asked as the doors closed behind Jimin....

...“...Hello to you, too.” Jimin said under his breath, looking around to see if anyone was watching them talk....

...“I, I didn’t want to be rude or anything.” Yoongi tried to start over, rubbing at the back of his head and also letting his eyes roam around their surroundings quickly....

... The elevator hall of that building was very large, with tall floor-to-ceiling windows allowing the sun to softly shine upon the wall of elevators of that floor. There were few people in that space - most of them waiting for the elevators, going in and out of them, and some just walking around in office-like clothes, carrying papers, tablets, or on their phones....

...“I just didn’t expect to see you here, after… the announcement on Instagram.” Yoongi said, gulping as he looked at the place where Jimin’s baby bump supposedly would be at, then quickly back to Jimin’s face. ...

...Jimin suppressed the urge to lift one eyebrow at Yoongi. He looked up at Yoongi warily, with a pout on his lips....

...“I have a meeting with my managers.” Jimin answered quickly. ...

...“Really?” Yoongi looked surprised. “I thought… I thought you were on a break, since you’re…” Yoongi’s words died down. Jimin tilted his head....

...“Because I’m pregnant?” Jimin asked as a way of completing Yoongi’s sentence, unsure....

...“Yes. I think you should be resting, not coming here in person just for a meeting.” Yoongi said, frowning. “Your managers work for you, not the other way around. If they had something to talk with you in person they should have come to your house, not ask you to come here as if that would be so simple.”...

...“I mean, it’s not like…” Jimin started saying as Yoongi ranted, but Yoongi kept talking, growing more and more invested in the problem at hand....

...“That was so insensitive of your managers, Jimin. You’re pregnant, you need to rest more than usual.” Yoongi said, frowning more....

...“Yoongi, it’s okay-” Jimin tried to tell him again, but Yoongi continued,...

...“You know what, I’ll personally have a talk with them. Not only because I know you but because this is common sense. So insensitive, don’t they care about your health at all? I’ll have a talk with them right now .” Yoongi said with a hard voice and turned to walk in the direction of the meeting rooms, but Jimin, with his eyes wide, held one of Yoongi’s arms with two of his to make him stop....

...“Wait!” Jimin exclaimed....

... However, Jimin didn’t anticipate the strength of Yoongi’s powerful stride towards the meeting room’s direction, and wasn’t able to stop his movement completely. Instead, he was the one to get pulled, and, in the one second which all if that happened, he lost his balance and started to fall forward....

... But, in the next second, Yoongi turned back to Jimin and the orange-haired model collided against his chest for the second time that day....

... Yoongi’s hands went to Jimin’s waist to help him get his balance again....

... They stood flush, chest to chest, with their eyes wide and with their lips parted in surprise....

... Yoongi’s large hand in his waist felt warm, even through his sweatshirt’s material. Jimin’s skin was, suddenly, very sensitive to the touch. Standing as close as they were, Jimin could smell his perfume and, with his palm pressed to Yoongi’s chest, he could feel his fast-paced heart beat....

... In the middle of the eleventh floor of the Big Hit building, Jimin and Yoongi stood, with their chests flush, startled by their proximity. At a loss of words, during those few seconds that passed, yet felt like so much longer, they exchanged a look. Their surprised faces were so close that the tip of their noses brushed against each other....

... Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the building, the sunlight sparkled over them, tinted blue by the glass that oversaw the busy city in the afternoon. And, out of the few people that walked by, carrying papers and tablets in their hands, they were all too busy, none of them noticed. It was, truly, their own moment....

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