Chapter 9....

...After that funny picture, they went back to the car to continue their long road trip. They were already halfway through it, and the sun was all the way up in the sky. Because of the laughs they shared at that poster advertisement, they were less awkward with each other....

...But, even though Yoongi was shy around Jimin, he was so interested in Jimin that he overcame it to start a conversation with him....

...“I’ve never been to Busan,” he said, and Jimin turned to him, “How is there?”...

...“Never?” Jimin asked, surprised. Yoongi nodded,...

...“I mean, sometimes my father had business trips in there and he would invite me to go with him but I never really went with him.” he said. “I just saw it on TV, I guess.”...

...“Ah, but they don’t live in that part.” Jimin said, “My parents live far from the more urbanized area, and closer to the beach. It’s a fishing community.”...

...“Aah…” Yoongi said, having a hard time imagining it, looking to the road ahead....

...“It’s really really simple, uh, nothing like those fancy apartments you see on TV. It’s very suburban, I guess.” Jimin mumbled, avoiding Yoongi’s eyes, but Yoongi didn’t notice it....

...“I can’t wait to meet your parents.” Yoongi admitted. “I hope they like me.”...

...“I hope you like them.” Jimin smiled nervously, thinking back at his mom, and how she could have a strong personality, sometimes....

...“I probably will.” Yoongi said without hesitation. He already liked them for having raised Jimin to be such a nice person....

...“I will take you to see the beach if it’s not too cold in there today. My house is some blocks away from the coast, we could walk there if you want.” Jimin said, smiling at the memories he had, “Actually, everything is at walking distance in that neighborhood. It’s a small place. The school me and Taehyung went to, and our houses… Ah, I can’t wait to see his family, too.”...

...“And the sea…” Jimin continued, looking to the side of the road. They were still far from Busan, and Jimin couldn’t wait to see the ocean and revel in that familiar smell, “I miss that place.” he concluded mostly for himself, lost in thoughts. Yoongi smiled....

...“There’s a restaurant coming near, maybe we should stop for lunch now?” he suggested. It was already midday....

...Jimin’s head turned so quickly at the mention of food that Yoongi worried a bit about his neck....

...“Yes, please!”...

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

...They got to the restaurant and Yoongi walked slowly beside Jimin. It was midday, but the sun wasn’t warming the place enough in that early-winter weather....

...They sat near the window and ate in comfortable silence. The restaurant was at its peak hour, so most of the tables were occupied....

...When Jimin was finished, he just relaxed in his seat and checked his phone. Yoongi looked down and realized Jimin had took his shoes off while he was eating, and was now only in socks under the table....

...“Let me take a look at your feet,” he said, and bent down to take Jimin’s feet in his lap. Jimin let him, not being one to reject a foot massage....

...They stayed like that, Jimin distracted with his phone while Yoongi sat across from him on the table and focused on massaging his feet....

...None of them noticed a group of teens approaching until they were awkwardly standing next to their table. Yoongi didn’t see them at first, but Jimin looked up at them, mild surprise in his eyes behind his glasses....

...“Uhm, e-excuse me…” a boy said, unsure of himself, and Yoongi looked up at hearing his voice, “Are you… are you Agust D?...” he asked, and Yoongi tried not let his pure annoyance show on his face. He concentrated on letting out a polite smile....

...“Yes. You want a picture, right?” he went straight to the point, the annoyance burning inside of him. It got worse when he noticed the curious glances they sent in Jimin’s direction, that curious glint in their eyes....

...“Y-yes! If it’s not a bother…” the girl of the group smiled nervously, but Yoongi couldn’t bring himself to be sympathetic that time around....

...He sighed and lifted Jimin’s feet up from his lap, placing them again in his chair and getting up. The teens eyed that movement in surprise, but Yoongi didn’t let them have time to think about it so much, and positioned himself for a selfie....

...The group got the pictures they wanted, and made to keep talking about music, but Yoongi was pissed and didn’t want them to notice it. So he said, trying to sound gentle,...

...“Actually I need to go, so I can’t talk right now. Sorry.” he dismissed them, and the three easily got out, already satisfied with their selfies. Yoongi sighed once again and turned to Jimin....

...“I’m sorry for that…”...

...“Yoongi, it’s okay.” Jimin smiled sweetly and adjusted his glasses, pulling his hoodie up to cover his pastel-orange hair, “But we should probably go before more people start coming over to our table.” he said, and Yoongi couldn’t agree more....

...Yoongi crouched down to the ground and got a hold of one of Jimin’s feet, and gently started to put in his sneakers back on for him. He missed the way Jimin blushed while he was focused on tying his shoelaces in a way that wasn’t too tight on his swollen feet. The both of them missed some people discreetly taking pictures of that scene with their phones....

...They were both kind of bad at that ‘celebrity’ thing....

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

...They got back on the road, and their initial awkwardness seemed to be gone, now....

...They were sitting in silence. Jimin played a game on his phone and eventually Yoongi suggested that they turn on the radio....

...Jimin reached out and turned it on careless about what station to choose. Pop songs started playing and Jimin resisted the urge to open the windows to create a carefree atmosphere, because he knew the weather was too cold for that....

...Some two songs played on the radio before it happened. Fate wasn’t really joking with them today, because a familiar tune started playing, and Yoongi’s eyes went wide. It was one of his songs, one of the most popular ones, closer to hip hop than rap, actually....

...“Yeah!!!!” Jimin cheered, laughing good naturedly, “This song is really good, hyung!” he said, and Yoongi nearly froze at that name. Jimin had never called him hyung before....

...“T-thanks…” he murmured, gripping the steering wheel. He felt like receiving praise from his clueless crush....

...“A to the g to the u to the std~” Jimin sang along, banging his head with a wide smile on his face. Jimin’s fingers were itching to record a snapchat of that moment, but he held himself back....

...Other artist’s songs kept coming in after that and Jimin animatedly sang along to every one of them, and Yoongi felt his happiness in him too, like it was contagious....

...Soon, they were already in Busan, and it was the end of the afternoon. The sun was starting to set, blaring directly on their eyes in the road. Jimin started to get really excited to see his family in person after more than a year without getting in touch with them, and excitedly gave Yoongi the directions to his neighborhood. He was practically jumping in his seat, and Yoongi had a dumb smile on his face without even realising....

...They finally reached Jimin’s neighborhood. It was a little cramped with houses, but the place looked very well lived, and simple, calm, nothing like the busy part city. Yoongi followed the instructions, silently admiring the streets and trying to imagine Jimin as a kid growing up there, when they pulled up in front of Jimin’s old house....

...It was a light green house, had a simple wall and a gate, and the house was right behind it. And in the front, there was a garage-like store, that was currently opened. A wooden-products store....

...“Oh, I didn’t tell you, right? My dad works as a carpenter.” Jimin smiled....

...Yoongi parked the car right at in front of the small store, and there was already a very tall middle-aged man standing in front of if, expectantly looking at the black shiny car that just parked. Jimin excitedly waved from behind the window and opened his door. His dad was at his side immediately, and they hugged the moment he stepped out of the car....

...Yoongi got out of the car too and stood a few steps behind, awkwardly....

...Yoongi watched Jimin’s father hold his shoulder to look at him, his eyes stopping at his belly. Jimin smiled shyly and rested his hand on his baby bump. Jimin’s dad smile was one of the brightest and most honest Yoongi had seen in a long time....

...That was for sure a beautiful and healthy relationship between father and son, Yoongi thought to himself....

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

...That same day, a man in his fifties, dressed up in a impeccable black suit, was seated in the middle of his office in Seoul, looking at the screen of his phone in deep thought. The room was luxurious all over, with expensive artwork hanging on the walls, expensive furniture all around him. The picture he saw, on his phone, was opened by a browser, that showed a website called “Instagram”. He didn’t care about those things, but he understood very well the weight of it in their society....

...He stared at the picture - the reflex of his son on that store’s glass wall, standing there, smiling like an idiot - with a silent scowl....

...He did not approve of his son’s relationship with that attention-seeking model....

...He didn’t want his only son to go through the same disillusions he had in life....

...He was going to protect his son, whether he liked it or not. One day, he would thank him for this....

...The man looked ahead to the panoramic view of Gangnam in silence, with a contemplative expression. The sun was setting beautifully in that late-autumn day....

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