2021, OCTOBER 16th.

"How long has he been sleeping?

"I don't know. He's already asleep when I came here."

"Okay. Don't wake him up, let him rest."

He could feel someone softly drawing circles on his back with their palm, smoothing the invisible wrinkles on the back of his shirt, making him sleepier. There are people talking too, but Jimin's eyes are getting too heavy and he fell deeper into sleep.

2:01 PM.

He was woken up by the dull ache he felt in the back of his neck. A hushed groan escaped his lips as he tried to get back to sleep. But it's seems too late now. Waking up from his stupor, he slowly becomes aware of his surroundings. The place was filled with the distant sound of rambling airconditioners and the faint crispy sound of crinkling papers. And that's when he realized something.

He had been sleeping in the library.

Oh no.

Alarmed, Jimin opened his eyes like two flashlight beams. He immediately sits upright and wipes the drool on his face, willing to ignore the pain in his neck because already sitting in front of him is no other than Taehyung.

Kim Taehyung, the star of their college department. Almost everyone has a crush on him. He's handsome and smart. He's like the main character in a Romantic Comedy anime - like there's a light behind his head every time he walks by the university corridors, composed and fresh, no hint found from him that he's studying accountancy, but they all know he also had sleepless nights too. Whenever Jeongguk ask him what his secret was, Taehyung would only say that the latter just lacks vitamins.

(Little did everyone else know, Taehyung is a dork too, much like Jeongguk.)

And the same Kim Taehyung is glaring at him right now.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." Disappointed, Taehyung slowly shook his head before he returns his gaze to the book he's reading, flipping its pages a little bit louder. Jimin's dead. Then the guy anchored his eyes on him again, up went his eyebrows. "It's already two o'clock. You've been sleeping for an hour."

Scratching his head, Jimin sheepishly grinned. He has lost count of the times he fell asleep during their study sessions. "I'm sorry, Taehyung." He tittered, embarrassed. "You should have woken me up."

"How can I?" The blonde snorted. He pushes up the bridge of his round eyeglasses, turning his gaze from him to his book again. "Your best friend threatened me not to."

Best friend?

"Jeongguk was here?"

Jeongguk was actually the one who introduced them to each other during the second week of their freshman year. Jimin got sick for two days, and when he came back to school, Jeongguk already managed to make a new friend, Taehyung. Jimin is not used to them having a third party, so it was awkward at first. But after a couple of years of struggling together in college, they're now almost inseparable. Too bad, Jeongguk got into a separate block section now in their third year.

"Yeah, thirty minutes ago." Taehyung breathed out, "He told me to let you rest."

"Is that so?" Jimin laid back comfortably in his chair, skeptical. But Jeongguk is the best, he thinks. Then something clicks. "What? If you're going to sulk like this, you should have woken me up." Jimin clicked his tongue.

"I'm not sulking."

"Lies." Jimin retorts, pointing at the latter's lips, "You're pouting like a swordfish."

Taehyung catches Jimin's index finger, but Jimin withdrew his hand before Taehyung even pretends to bite it. Jimin chortled as Taehyung continue to glare daggers at him. Taehyung huffs grumpily.

"Let's just study." Taehyung said, looking back to his book. "It's been an hour and I've been struggling this chapter without you."

Taehyung never got this annoyed with Jimin falling asleep before, because the latter understands that Jimin is also tired from his everyday part-time job. Jimin wants to ask Taehyung what's giving him a hard time, but the latter is too focused on the book he's holding. Jimin decided to ask him next time.

"Taehyung-ah." A coy, charming smile appears on Jimin's face, forcing Taehyung to scoff and stop being 'mad'. "What chapter are you on?"

Growing up, Jimin often hears the saying 'no pain, no gain'. He heard it from dramas, from his father when he used to join him to the gym, from his Aunt Park when he offered her some help in her salon (which she refused to because she firmly believes that Jimin has to focus on his studies instead), and Jimin agrees with all them. Jimin knows that pain will forever be a part of anyone's life, including his. People say that in order to be used to it and to become stronger, he should welcome the pain.

But that doesn't mean he should do it literally.

If someone took a shot of soju every time Jimin hissed in pain, that someone would have to get drunken instantly.

Taehyung, a fellow freshman he met a few months ago, apologizes with a sheepish smile. "This is the only ointment I have, and we have to put a bandage on that right away so it won't get infected." He explains.

Jimin waves his hand, showing the same sheepish grin. "Oh. It's okay, don't apologize." Then he scratches the back of his neck, almost forgetting that he must not raise his eyebrows if he doesn't want to make the wound worse. "You're a lifesaver actually, and thanks for the pants."

"Right!" Taehyung beamed, his smile now reaching his eyes. He continues "I'm happy that it fits you-"

Jimin hissed at the sudden jolt of pain. Taehyung pauses and pulls his hand away from the latter's forehead, letting Jimin breathe for a second, before he resumes again.

"-I'll throw your old pants, if I were you."

"Yeah, I will..."

Jimin grimaces when his mind automatically reminds him of what happened thirty minutes ago.

Going home from university, first-year Jimin was taking a shortcut route in a suburban residence (where Taehyung's boarding house is) when he heard a cry all of a sudden. It was a kitten stuck in a tree he was about to pass by. The situation is really the same as when he first met Jeongguk - it was a pleasant sunny day, there's a tree, and somebody is crying and stuck up there, except it's a kitten and the kitten doesn't have a coconut haircut.

Since it was just a small ginger kitten and Jimin got a lot taller than when he was ten years old, he didn't hesitate to help it come down. It was easy for him to climb the tree to fetch the crying kitten. Jimin can't manage to leave it alone. Its voice is getting hoarse as he'd imagine it has been crying for a long time now. The kitten seems to want to go down, but is unable to.

But after putting effort to climb the tree, just when he was about to get the kitten, it suddenly jumped on his head which made him lose his balance. He hit his forehead on a thin branch and landed on a pile of shit. It turns out the kitten can go down on its own and it was just being dramatic. Ask who is the unluckiest guy on the planet and the answer will certainly be him. Embarrassing, but at least the injury wasn't that serious.

Thank God, Jeongguk was working at his part-time job, hence he wasn't there to witness any of that.

(It's not like they have the same route anyway. Jimin always rides his bike on his way home, while Jeongguk always takes a bus. No matter how much he tried, Jimin just can't convince his best friend to buy a bike too. Jeongguk can't be convinced about Jimin's save-the-Earth agenda.)

"Since it's just the two of us here, can I say something cheesy? I just want to clarify something." Asked Taehyung whose eyes are still pinned on his forehead, mending his scratch. Jimin hummed in response to encourage him to go on. "I thought you dislike me."

Surprised by the sudden revelation, Jimin almost choked on air. "Why?"

"Well..." The couch creaks when Taehyung moved to get the band-aid from the table. "You used to only talk to Jeongguk whenever I hang out with you guys, it's like you were ignoring me." Taehyung lamented.

"Hey, I was just-"

"I know." Taehyung didn't let him finish the talk while he partly removes the backing of the band-aid. "You were just being shy and not used to deal third parties. Jeongguk told me that."

Jimin averted his gaze, feeling embarrassed. "You're not a third party."

"Yeah, at least not anymore. It's okay to admit we've been strangers." Taehyung's smile reaches his eyes. He finally finishes covering the latter's scratch. "And now, you would've not called for my help if you still don't trust me, you know. I just want to be truthful with you, because we're friends now."

Jimin smiles back. "That we are." It feels like a weight from his shoulders was lifted. They have been lesser awkward for this past few days, so talking about it really helps to finally remove every ounce of awkwardness between them.

Jimin then scoots closer. "By the way," Jimin mutters sheepishly, "Can we keep this a secret? Especially from Jeongguk. He's going to tease the hell out of me if he finds out. If he asks about my wound, let's just say I fell off my bike-"

Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard.

"Uhm..." The way Taehyung begins to avoid his eyes slowly wipes the smile off his face. "Too late. I kinda told him while you were changing your pants."

The door slammed open.

"Jimin, you shitted your pants?" Jeongguk guffawed, holding his tummy as he laugh his ass off. Jimin closed his eyes and inhales deeply.

"That's totally not what I told him." Taehyung quickly defends himself even without hearing a word from the brunette. Taehyung slowly backs away.

And Jeongguk continues. "A small kitten made you shit your pants?"

"No! I fell off a bike!"

5:07 PM.

Bike.

Biking plays a major role in his life ever since Namjoon introduced it to him. It's not because he's scared of four-wheel vehicles because of the past, but because a bike has a lot to offer for him.

With his bike, Jimin can manage his travel time more efficiently. He could always feel the thrill of the street, day or night. Biking helps him in exercising too. He can take lots of shortcuts that four-wheel vehicles could never take. And most importantly, it costs him low expenses. No gasoline and no fees.

Jimin had also invited Jeongguk to join him in his bike adventures. He almost coerced the latter to bike his way all over Seoul. But the latter prefer waiting for a bus ride. And Jimin can't blame him. If only he wasn't so in love with his bike, he would also not exhaust himself by pedaling thousands of times after a long, tiring day at university.

Yet of course, just like everything else in this world, it cannot be perfect. There were many disturbances too that made Jimin halt his bike on his way.

It happened after their group study (or duo study because Jeongguk could no longer attend with them due to their different schedules). Jimin was on his way to his part-time job at a convenience store when a large group of people are gathered on the bike lane, chattering and whispering to one another, hindering him from pushing through. Sighing, Jimin set his one foot on the ground to support himself and looked in the direction where all their gaze are headed at.

Jimin gasped. What the hell?

On the other side of the road, there was a car badly crushed by massive structural steel. Jimin looks up and sees that the steel is still attached to the tall, broken metal crane.

"The owner of that construction building is going to be sued." Jimin suddenly heard someone talk right beside him. The guy has both of his hands on his hips, shaking his head. The guy seems to be wearing a Hawaiian shirt underneath his black jacket. His slacks pants is neatly ironed too. And he's wearing a very shiny silver wristwatch that will surely humiliate Jimin's worn-out leather wristwatch. It would be no wonder if the damaged car belongs to the guy.

Jimin checks his wristwatch. He still has fifteen minutes left to go to his part-time job. It means he got a plenty amount of time to chat. It's not every time he'll see something like this.

"Mister, excuse me..." He calls the attention of the man. The man perked his eyebrows and moved closer in response. "Does the car belongs to you?"

"Ah, no." The man waves his hand. "But it's still scary though. I witnessed everything..." He resumed.

The man thank God that he was walking on this side of the road when suddenly he heard a very loud crash. It was so loud, he thought he was going to lose his ears. Apparently, the metal crane fell onto its side, leading the steel crash into the car.

"Just imagine if I was walking there, my skull would be broken into pieces like a watermelon." The guy finishes, demonstrating how his head would break into two pieces with his hands, shivering. Then the guy puts both of his hands on his chest, sighing heavily like he was in a Disney movie. "It's still not my day."

"Ah... That's what happened." Jimin slowly nods and just smiles. He took a look from his wristwatch again. It's time to go. "I'm glad you're not hurt. Thank you, mister," Jimin bowed his head in courtesy. "I've got to go now-"

"Wait!" Jimin was surprised when the man suddenly held his arm, keeping him from pedaling. The man takes something from his pocket. "Here." The man hands him a business card. "I'm Jung Hoseok, but they call me Hobi, my English name." The man talks with a hearty smile. "I own the new convenience store near Seoul University."

Jimin tilted his head in confusion. He has heard about the new convenience store last week, a lot of his classmates have talked about it, but he just asked the guy about the accident, how come they're talking about business now? Don't tell him... is Hoseok looking for a business partner?

"But I'm still a student, sorry."

"Ah no, no. Don't worry." Hoseok suddenly talked in English. He then chuckled. "All are welcome to buy from the convenience store. We got plenty of business cards, you can show them that your parents. We do delivery too."

A convenience store doing deliveries? It sounds like a threat to Jimin's workplace. He worried about the old lady who owns the store he's currently working at.

But Jimin just smiles again. "That sounds great." He tried his best to sound sincere. "Good luck to your business, mister." They exchanged bows once again, before Jimin excuses himself again and combats with the crowd ahead.

Jimin shook his head and sighed. Too many random things has happened. First, he took a very long nap instead of studying (which Jimin would regret later on). Then, reminiscing happy memories while he rides his bike. Third, a steel crushing on top of a car. Then, there's this guy giving him a business card.

What is going on today?

Little did Jimin know that the day would not end like this.