Date: ‪October 23rd‬
Time: ‪11:48am‬
Location: Restaurant
Mood:
Jams: Found. Wig: Snatched. Hotel: Trivago.
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She said hello. She smiled. She acknowledged him. She was happy to see him. She was his mate and he couldn't have been happier. Not just because she greeted him, but because she was her.

Jimin figured out early on that he was crushing on Y/n in a very real way; a way that was separate from the bond destiny had formed between them. There was his mate, Y/n, who he loved instantly and felt his soul connect to. Then there was Y/n, that small girl who worked in his cousin's convenient store. Kind and mysterious, shy but straight forward in her words when she chose to speak. She fascinated him. He wanted to find out every single thing about her. From her future dreams to her shoe size, he wanted it all.

Besides, how could he not crush on her? She was adorable.

The moment he stepped (or ran) into the restaurant, the sweet and salty scent he attributed to her swept over him and the last week, as hard as it had been, became a thing of distant past. All of his worries and heartache disappeared. The insistent tugging on his heart to be near his mate, the nagging worry that was always around when she was away, even the dull ache in his injured arm eased off.

Finally he could rest easy and enjoy life again. She was good and healthy and alive, as his wolf had assured she would be. There was no sign of tingling ears but there was a hint of rosemary in the air at the red flush that covered her face and neck after greeting him.

There were other people at the table. Namjoon, Kitty, and a third person he realized was there but didn't stop to look at. Really, he didn't stop to look at any of them, choosing instead to squeeze past Namjoon and sit across from Y/n.

Elbows on the table, he went ahead and placed his face in both palms, watching her with loving, heart filled eyes that seemed to flow from him and slap her in the face, if the increasing flush on it was anything to go by. After a quick glance his way she lowered her gaze to her lap and shifted a bit as she rubbed her palms together.

"Hi." he said again, this time a blush of his own warming his cheeks. "I missed you."

Next to him Namjoon awkwardly cleared his throat. Though Jimin never took his eyes off of the woman in front of him, he managed to pick up Kitty's voice whispering to his hyung. "They're so cute it's killing me! Let's adopt them."

And Namjoon's incredulous voice answering, "you realize they aren't cats, right?"

The woman next to Y/n leaned sideways in her direction after nudging her with an elbow. He took a second to evaluate her person, taking in the dyed hair, the leather jacket and the odd scent of disinfectant. Apart from that there was something off about how she smelled. For a moment he thought on it, trying to piece together why it didn't seem right or why it was strangely familiar, as if it was something he had smelled long ago and should remember. For whatever reason it made him feel sad. But he still couldn't manage to pick a particular memory out from the rest to allude to.

"Yo, Velma," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "That yer stalker?"

At Y/n's nod to her question, he startled a bit. She thought he was a stalker?

You are a stalker.

Maybe he came off that way, but he never thought of himself in that aspect. If he was a stalker he'd be watching her twenty four seven and do crazy things like follow her around and find out where she lived and...where...she...worked...

See?

Maybe he was a stalker.

"He's cute as fuck! If you don't want him, I'll take em'." the blonde woman, who he suspected was Y/n's friend, continued to whisper. Y/n frowned a bit at her words but Jimin failed to notice because he directed his gaze to the woman next to her, the love in his eyes dropping like a hundred ton weight.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested."

"HAAA!" Namjoon jabbed a finger in her direction in a taunting sort of way, and Jimin found himself high-key judging his hyung for being so mean. He only meant to let her know the truth, not hurt her in any way. And besides, he couldn't let his mate think he was interested in anyone else. The blonde woman was no doubt very beautiful, but next to Y/n she paled in comparison. There was nothing marshmallow about her.

At Jimin's rejection she appeared embarrassed that she was heard, but seemed more annoyed with Namjoon than anyone else. Anxiety bloomed in Y/n's chest once again when the air between the two enemies grew heavy. They were going to start a fight and everyone was going to look at them.

The mounting tension caused her mouth to feel irregularly dry so in response she pulled on the straw sticking out of the fizzy soda.

A second later the most delicious taste invaded her mouth and she hummed in surprised delight, wide eyes looking down at the soda while her lips remained latched around the straw. It had been years since she'd last had anything to drink that wasn't water or milk and now she was wondering why this wasn't deemed a necessity in their household.

Everyone stared.

"That's it. She's mine." Hyuna demanded, causing Jimin to outright bare his teeth at her. She replied by sticking out her tongue.

"No!" Kitty said quickly. "I said I was adopting her first! Didn't I, Namjoon?"

"Uh, I don't see how-"

Ok, she's ours. They don't understand that and it is what it is. As long as we know she's ours-

Jimin's temper rushed passed his wolf's common sense. "She's mine!" he argued, mainly in Hyuna's direction. "I saw her first!"

The response was to flip her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, well, I saw her second and two is greater than one."

About to lose it, his fist slammed onto the table, finally bringing Y/n's attention back to reality. Looking back up and finding everyone glaring at each other, it was somewhat alarming to know that she had been so caught up in her soda that it appeared a whole conversation had gone by without her noticing.

Then again, she wasn't entirely surprised by the fact. This drink was heaven.

Deciding that ignoring them all was preferable when drinking this sugary, syrupy goodness, she went back to taking in long sips through her straw.

It was with a smug expression directed at the others across the table that Hyuna asked her, "ya like it, Velma? Don't forget Unnie Hyuna bought it for ya."

"Her name is red marshmallow!" Jimin argued.

"Her name is Y/n." Namjoon said, boredom and tired resignation in his tone.

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" Kitty questioned absently.

"Food is here!" the waitress announced, arriving with an enormous platter of food. On one side was three simple plates that Namjoon had ordered for his company and himself. On the other, an entire feast with every side dish the establishment offered.

"Here ya go, Velma," Hyuna put stress on the pet name while smirking in Jimin's and Kitty's direction. "I got it all, you eat whatever ya want. It's on me. Hyuna. Yer unnie. Not anyone else. Just me."

Y/n smiled shyly in thanks and the glaring between the others at the table intensified to an unhealthy degree.

Failing to notice her surroundings for once in her life, all attention went to the massive amounts of food displayed out in front of her. Truthfully, there wasn't much here she could eat. Definitely the rice and dried laver. A stack of Pajeon. And if she pulled the crab meat out of the gimbap that would work. Uttering a quiet thanks Hyuna's way she set to separating the meat from the rest of the roll.

"Why're ya doin' that?" came the question from the woman next to her.

The directed question her way brought her back to reality. In public, people everywhere, eating lunch with practical strangers, all of whom she just realized were staring at her in question. Why had she agreed to this, again?

"I'm a-a vegetarian." she answered quietly, halfway hoping that her voice would be lost in the din of the crowded restaurant.

No such luck. Everyone continued to stare, this time with her company looking at her as if she were an alien.

"How?" Jimin asked in wonder. He couldn't imagine living without eating meat. The idea of a vegetarian lifestyle, to him, was ludicrous. How anyone could live without a tender bulgogi steak melting on their tongue, or a hot bowl of seolleongtang on a rainy day, or fried chicken and beer after a long day was beyond him. What did vegetarians even eat? Twigs and berries? Salad for every meal? Unicorn dust?

Rabbit food.

In answer Y/n only shrugged and seemed to retreat in to herself at all of the eyes trained her way. Surreptitiously Hyuna picked up one the Korean pancakes and set it on Y/n's plate before going back to her own meal.

The action didn't go unnoticed by Jimin and he wondered: would it look bad if he took that pancake and threw it into the next dimension?

"How come?" Namjoon asked after a moment's silence. "Is it for health reasons or a personal decision?"

If she noticed the way Jimin was paying rapt attention to everything she said and did, she didn't given off any indication that she was aware of the fact.

"I-I don't like hur-hurting animals."

At the new revelation that she was even softer than a marshmallow, Jimin nearly lost it. All he wanted to do was cuddle her to death but instead he had to settle for running his hand through his hair in agitation.

I want cuddles too. Ask if she needs a hug.

Easily ignoring his wolf (because at this point it was second nature), he picked up his chopsticks and stared down at his meal. Grilled beef over rice with kimchi. His stomach ached for food and his mouth watered but now there was an internal debate raging inside.

Would Y/n be angry if he ate meat? Or, on the flip side, would she like him more if he became vegetarian too?

Please no.

The idea of getting her to like him was tantalizing. But also purely torturous when made to think about changing his entire diet for her.

"That's amazing." Kitty remarked around a mouth full of rice. "I could give up all meat except for fish. I think I'd die without it."

"I'd die without Samgyeopsal." Hyuna replied.

"You should cut that out of your diet, then." Namjoon mentioned casually, causing his girlfriend to send him a harsh look.

"Damn, Namjoon, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"SHE'S THE DEVIL!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're an atheist! You don't even believe in the devil!"

"Not until I met her."

"Namjoon, she seems like a perfectly reasonable-"

"Nah, I'm the devil." Hyuna says in a bored tone, chewing louder than necessary in an effort to annoy Namjoon more. "But at least I ain't no grammar Nazi."

As their battle rages on, Jimin completely forgets his own meal in front of him. His eyes are only for one, and for once she seems unbothered by his watchful stare and surroundings. Everything else takes a backseat now that food and soda are involved and she takes her time with it. Meticulously picking out all crab and then re-checking to make sure it was meat-free.

Once that task is complete she digs in, taking small nibbles at a time like a cute chipmunk. Then after determining that the flavor is pleasing to her taste buds, stuffing her mouth full so that her cheeks puffed out, causing her to resemble a chipmunk more so than before. More than once he has to hold in a very unmanly squeal as he observes what he considers to be more entertaining than TV.

He wonders how often she eats out and if she's getting enough food at home. It's shocking how much she's able to eat with that tiny body of hers. Where was she putting it all? Intrigued, he notes that she closes her eyes when drinking her soda, as if to close off one sense in order to heighten another. No one notices when she runs out or the pout at her empty glass that follows, so he quietly gestures to waitress to bring more.

Tell her to bring a whole case.

He should though, considering that she lit up when the waitress came to re-fill her glass. Mentally he added another life decision to his growing list. 1) All spiders must die. 2) All flowers must die. 3) Everyone that hurts her must die. And the newest decision: 4) Y/n gets all the soda she wants.

And food!

5) Y/n gets all the food she wants.

By the time she's finished eating an obscene amount of food, he hadn't taken a single bite of his own lunch, too fascinated in watching her. But he strangely felt full all the same. Hyuna and Namjoon are now debating over flat earth versus round earth. It obvious to everyone else that the former doesn't really believe in a flat earth but presents the argument anyway in an attempt to rile Namjoon up further. Kitty appears bored out of her mind while Y/n and Jimin are still settled into their own respective bubbles, uncaring of the argument going on next to them.

It isn't until Hyuna notices the large amount of food missing that they're all brought back into the same conversation.

"Whoa," her eyes widen as she takes in the lack of food. "Damn Velma, you eat all this?"

How does someone's entire face redden in an instant? Maybe it's from years of experience? What the reason was didn't really matter, but Jimin was interested all the same. Face the same hue of a ripe watermelon, Y/n blinked in surprise at the amount of missing food, obviously just realizing what she'd done. The embarrassment in her eyes was evident and without thinking Jimin inserted himself right in the middle.

"It was me," he lied through his teeth while aiming the biggest eye smile he could manage in Hyuna's direction. "Sorry."

The all powerful eye smile left her too stunned to react, especially in a negative way.

"I...uh...that's ok. That's totally fine."

—
Edited 7/11/22