several weeks had passed, bringing in several more college rejection letters. jimin and namjoon were hardly fazed, though, as they were still eagerly waiting to hear back from snu.

namjoon remained unwaveringly confident that jimin would get in. he was more than confident, actually—

he was dependent on it.

jimin, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. after receiving rejection letters from almost every school nearby that were all far less prestigious than snu, he was almost certain that he wouldn't get in. the thought gnawed at him, but he refused to let it upset him too much. he had a backup plan.

a gap year.

jimin would take time off from school, move in with namjoon, and be with him while he focused on his studies. it would be perfect. jimin could work and help contribute to their finances and namjoon could keep his focus on school and on being his boyfriend. it would be great.

and jimin knew that if the idea had crossed his own mind, namjoon certainly must have been thinking about it, too. jimin was sure that joon was just waiting to suggest the idea until the rejection letter came in from snu, so he wasn't worried about it.

as long as he and namjoon were staying together, jimin was fine. his goal wasn't ever to go to that stupid college, anyway. his goal was always to stay with namjoon.

as long as they were together, nothing else really mattered.

-

lately, their days were filled with work, laughter, and making memories—especially today, jimin's birthday. namjoon had assumed jimin would want something wild to celebrate turning nineteen, but all jimin really wanted was to spend the day with him.

and namjoon still couldn't believe how lucky he was.

they started the morning with a visit to jimin's mom, followed by a picnic in the park, and ended the day swimming in the lake. it was simple, but for jimin, it was perfect.

and now that the two of them were full from a home-cooked meal sung-ha had prepared, they were curled up together in namjoon's room, scrolling through apartment listings on jimin's phone.

jimin rested his head against namjoon's arm, absentmindedly tapping through options,

"i think these look nice," he murmured, "they're kinda small, but the price is good."

namjoon glanced at the screen, nodding. he had to put down a deposit within the week, so he wanted to make sure jimin liked the place, too—assuming, of course, that jimin got into snu.

"yeah, that one's nice," namjoon said, softly, "but it could be a shoebox for all i care, as long as you're there with me."

jimin looked up at him, smiling—his cute, little eyes crinkling in such a way that never failed to make namjoon's heart melt.

namjoon smiled back, and jimin wasted no time leaning in to kiss him.

jimin shifted, sitting up slightly as he cupped namjoon's face, deepening the kiss.

and it was nice. jimin loved how namjoon was always just as eager as he was. he loved how namjoon grasped onto his waist and pulled him in closer, like he never wanted to let go.

he loved everything about namjoon.

but more than anything, jimin loved his loyalty. he loved that namjoon was just as determined to keep them together, no matter what. he never doubted that they would find a way to make it work. and knowing that—knowing he was that wanted, that needed—was intoxicating.

when they finally pulled away, they simply gazed at each other, smiling.

"you're so beautiful," namjoon murmured, eyes tracing jimin's face, "shocks me sometimes."

jimin laughed, cheeks warming, loving being so close to the other— loving the way namjoon spoke when they were so close to each other.

he leaned in again, eager for another kiss, but just as their lips met—

a dry cough interrupted them,

"boys,"

jimin flinched, turning toward the door to see sung-ha standing there, a knowing smile on his face. he was used to their antics by now.

"you've got some friends at the front door," he said, "they're here to see you."

jimin blinked,

"friends? this late?"

it wasn't that late—only eight—but they hadn't been expecting anyone tonight.

sung-ha made his way back to the kitchen and the two boys headed out to see who was at the door. jimin grabbed the nob and turned it, smiling when he realized what was happening.

areum and hoseok were there. they were holding gift bags and had little party hats strapped to their heads.

"happy birthday!" the two said, in unison, sporting big smiles.

jimin laughed, smiling big at them. namjoon appeared behind him shortly after to see what was happening and waved at them, laughing as well.

"hey guys!" jimin said, excitedly, "what a nice surprise!"

"we got you gifts," hoseok said, handing his over to jimin, adjusting the strap on his neck that was holding his party hat to his head.

"we were trying to be cute, but this party hat is cutting off the circulation to my brain," he said, removing the hat from his head.

areum looked over at him with a glare.

"i told you it would be five minutes! could you not have waited to take it off for five minutes, hoseok? you are such a baby."

hoseok laughed at her.

"i'm your baby, though."

she rolled her eyes.

"are you two back together?" namjoon asked.

areum laughed.

"maybe in hoseok's imagination."

hoseok rolled his eyes back and areum handed her gift to jimin.

"no need to open them in front of us or anything. we don't want to overstay our welcome, but we just wanted to say happy birthday," she said, smiling, "and also i wanted to say-"

hoseok nudged her.

"we wanted to say that we really appreciate your kindness this year," she said, "namjoon, you too. you guys are such loving people, and me and hoseok are so happy to call you guys friends now. i think all of us messed up at one point or another..," she started, looking over to glare at hoseok,

"some of us more than others."

hoseok nervously smiled and areum cleared her throat.

"it's been a rocky road, but i'm glad we're here now."

hoseok just laughed, nodding in agreement.

both jimin and namjoon smiled at that. namjoon was a little shy, but they all gave each other hugs regardless.

"thank you, guys," jimin said, "that was so sweet. me and namjoon really appreciate your friendship, too," he said, smiling, "why don't you guys come in?"

hoseok spoke up quickly.

"well.., we would come in, but unfortunately areum is forcing me to-"

areum nudged him.

"areum has so graciously invited me to a dinner at her parent's house, even though they hate my guts and despise-"

she nudged him again.

"they aren't too fond of me," he said, clearing his throat, "so we should really get going"

jimin and namjoon laughed, seeing the two of them together feeling like watching a comedy sketch.

"no worries," jimin said, smiling, "thank you so much for stopping by! i really appreciate it."

they smiled and waved at him, giving a few last birthday wishes, before starting to walk away.

"and thanks for supplying us with the birthday boys' location, joon!" areum said, winking at him.

namjoon laughed back and waved.

"have a good night," he said, shutting the door when they were out of sight.

as soon as the door shut, sung-ha spoke up.

"not that i was listening in..," he started, "but that was very sweet. you two keep those friends close, alright? they seem to really care about you."

jimin nodded, with a smile.

"we will. we care about them a lot, too."

sung- ha just looked at the two boys, while a smile came to his face.

"i'm gonna head to bed, you guys," he said, "but have a nice night, okay? i hope you had a good birthday, jimin."

jimin nodded in agreement, assuring the man that his birthday was better than he could have ever asked for.

sung-ha gave each of them a hug goodnight and then headed off to his room.

jimin spoke up as soon as he was out of sight.

"you knew they were coming!"

joon laughed.

"i thought it would be a nice surprise," he said.

jimin smiled back.

"well... it was!" he said, "but getting me all riled up before our friends came with your smooth talking and kissing wasn't exactly necessary-"

namjoon laughed.

"i believe if i recall, you're the one that started the kissing."

jimin scoffed at the accusation.

"well, you certainly didn't object."

joon smirked, coming closer to him.

"why would i ever-" he started, leaning down to the crook of jimin's neck, "object such an enticing offer?"

he said the last part with a whisper and it sent chills down jimin's spine.

"oh?" he replied, lightly, allowing namjoon's hands to find his waist, "touché."

joon left a kiss on his neck with a smile and replied,

"we're just getting started."

jimin laughed cutely as he was picked up from the floor, and quickly carried back to joon's bedroom.

_________________________________

oml there is no way anyone is still reading this JDJDJEJ like u know u have slow updates when ppl are commenting that they don't remember the plot of the book cuz they read it so long ago 😭😭 like i swear it hasn't been that long?? then i remember i started writing this in like 2020 LMAO

TEEHEE IM SORRY <<3