open new message from parkthatjiminshi?
yes | no

parkthatjiminshi
where art thou turtle

jjungkookie
im literally the fastest person you know

parkthatjiminshi
well you're late so not anymore 😍😍

jjungkookie
go stuff your face shithead

jjungkookie
I'll be there in ten

jjungkookie
tell hobi hyung I said hi!!

parkthatjiminshi
where's my hi

jjungkookie
wHy wOuLd I sAy hI eVeRyTimE I tAlk tO yOu

parkthatjiminshi
you fucking fetus

parkthatjiminshi
hurry up I'm hungry

jjungkookie
no ones stopping you

parkthatjiminshi
my respect is

parkthatjiminshi
because im an ADULT that waits for people to show up before starting a meal✋

jjungkookie
just because I ate half the leftovers before you got home doesn't mean you can be salty🙄🙄🙄

jjungkookie
your fault for showing up after a century

parkthatjiminshi
half

parkthatjiminshi
H A L F😀😀

parkthatjiminshi
I WAS STILL HUNGRY AFTER EATING THE FIVE BITES YOU LEFT

jjungkookie
hey isn't it rude to be on your phone texting someone else when you're on a friend date with THE dancer of bighit??🥰🥰

parkthatjiminshi
ya know what

parkthatjiminshi
maybe I'll just eat the whole canteen so you starve

jjungkookie
the tables too??😳😳 minie poor joonie hyung is gonna have a dead boyfriend

parkthatjiminshi
bye.

jjungkookie
BYE MY BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD YOULL SEE MY BEAUTIFUL FACE SOON

"Honestly, Jinnie and Yoongi would get along perfectly with him."

Jimin nearly fell out of his seat, scrambling up to his feet as the bright smiley dancer stepped away from his position peering over Jimin's shoulder. "Hobi Hyung! How long have you been standing there?"

"Only a few seconds," Hoseok took a seat in the chair opposite to him. "Seriously though, they'd get along well."

"I'm sure they would if they met," Jimin laughed, looking at the can of sprite in the celebrity's hand. "You should have gotten food, too, Hyung. I'm sorry he's late."

"Oh, shush," Hoseok pinched two fingers on the can tab, pulling it back until it pierced the metal with a pop and a hissing fizzle sounded immediately after. "My special guests are late, too."

"What do you mean?" Jimin frowned. He hadn't known Hoseok had called anyone else to the canteen. "Who?"

"My closest friends." The elder swirled his soda can around before taking a gulp of the drink, Jimin gazing at the entrance of the canteen in surprise, knowing exactly who that was.

"Does that mean Taehyung...."

"No," Hoseok sighed. "He's busy with work so they won't be crossing paths. Jinnie and Yoongi Hyung asked me out for food earlier and I told them I was with you, so they decided to just come by."

"Taehyung knows I'm here?"

"No, actually," Hoseok's frown deepened, leaning back in his seat to think. "I talked to them in person earlier today and he wasn't there. Taehyung doesn't know anything about you guys being in Seoul."

Jimin groaned and let his cheek sit in the curve of his palm, tracing the grain of the canteen's wood tables with frustration. "Glad he's not coming then, he would have a heart attack if he showed up and saw Jungkook."

The senior dancer quickly knocked his knuckles on the table, chuckling nervously as Jimin stared at him incredulously. "What?" Hoseok defended himself. "You can never be too sure."

The canteen was calm at that hour, past most employees' lunch breaks and leaving a quiet buzz of chatter that was absorbed into the clatter of kitchen noises.

Another few minutes of small conversation floated at the table before Hoseok, who was facing the entrance, perked up and caught the eyes of someone behind, excitedly waving a hand around to capture the newcomer's attention.

Jimin whipped around in his chair and rolled his eyes at his best friend nearly waddling in, awkward in his attempt to pull the cap lower over his face and conceal whatever the mask didn't. The photographer caught Hoseok's waving hand and his face lit up, awkwardness vanishing as he hurried over.

"Finally showed up." Jimin let out an exasperated sigh and stood as the photographer walked around the table to hug the elder dancer first. "Bitch—"

"I'm hungry! Lets go get food!" Jungkook's voice was hushed with excitement, the mask and cap removed, acting like he was undercover on a secret mission in the BigHit building and Jimin wanted to deck him, despite their size difference. "Oh, hi Jiminie."

"Bye." He scoffed and Hoseok laughed at their interaction before patting the youngest's shoulder as they all headed for the ordering counter.

They got their food fairly quickly with the lack of traffic. It was around a quarter till two when they were back at the table, sitting down for not even a minute before and a duo, one sporting designer clothes and the other dressed down in a hoodie and sweats, appeared around the corner to the entrance.

"There you guys are!" Hoseok jumped out of his chair to step between Jin and Yoongi, arms thrown over their shoulders and having them take in the presence of the Busan boys.

"Jungkook, it's great to see you!" Jin greeted, comfortable with the younger considering how much they had spoken since the gala. The eldest eagerly shook the shocked photographer's hand before taking the seat next to Hoseok.

"It's good to see you, kid." Yoongi greeted warmly, keeping to himself and Jungkook flushed slightly before returning to his food.

"I'm happy to see you guys, too." The youngest cowered at the attention, poking his noodles timidly before Jin led the conversation onwards.

"Do I have any makeup left on my face, Hobi?" The model leaned close to the dancer, who's mouth was stuffed with food, and Jimin giggled at Hoseok's flustered state.

"Don't tease him," Yoongi scowled. "He's gonna choke."

Jin rolled his eyes with a grin on his lips, leaning away so Hoseok could regain himself and swallow his food. They all laughed at the exchange as Jungkook leaned over to Jimin's ear.

"I didn't know they'd be here." The younger spoke in a hushed manner, Jimin sighing at the worry in his best friend's voice. "Won't—"

"He's not coming."

Jungkook's shoulders deflated, but he nodded knowingly. "Working?"

Jimin nodded and patted his shoulder gently. "Sorry, Jungkook."

"It's okay." He shrugged the sadness out of his system to join back into the lightness of the celebrities they sat amongst. "How's work going for all of you today?"

"I had an interview this morning." Jin started. "I got asked the dumbest questions. I swear they ask five year olds to come up with them."

"You're just too smart." Yoongi rolled his eyes. Jin beamed until he understood the sarcasm, glare sharpening as he threw a napkin towards the producer. They all laughed and Hoseok picked up the stray napkin from the table, folding it and keeping it on the side. "I was just working on some demos, like to pile em' up to turn to if I need a sample."

"That's really cool." Jungkook whispered with wide eyes. "Do you ever recycle them?"

"Oh, for sure," The producer turned his focus to the photographer upon noticing the attention to detail Jungkook had. He loved talking about what he did. "I use samples I created before I even got signed in some recent songs. Lyrics, too."

"Wow..." The youngest said in awe, the conversation narrowing to just the two.

He wasn't used to recycling old things. Photography was a lot of keeping up with new camera models and fashion trends, leaving the old to stay dormant in the past. Music was reusable and adaptable.

"You must have hundreds of lyrics."

"When I got under this label," Yoongi gazed upwards in thought, lips moving as he recalled a faint memory. "I would write a song everyday. Not all good ones, but the thoughts flowed like a waterfall."

"A song a day?" Jungkook exclaimed. It drew Hoseok's attention, the dancer sitting beside Yoongi and hugging the elder's arm.

"He's incredible, Jungkook. Insane mind."

"You've got insane limbs." Yoongi said back, embarrassed by the sudden compliment.

"Don't lie, you used to dance too!"

"Before I got hit by a car." The elder huffed and Jungkook gaped at him.

"You got hit by a what?"

"Story for another day." Hoseok giggled. "He does it all, honestly."

"We all do." Yoongi defended his modesty. The dancer nudged him before returning to the other conversation. "I didn't know you'd be interested in music. You're a photographer."

"I've listened to your songs," Jungkook smiled shyly. "I just like appreciating talent."

"What's up with all the flattery today?" Yoongi groaned and the photographer chuckled at that. "But thank you, for listening and appreciating, I mean."

"Of course, Hyung. Any new songs I should look out for?"

"I'll just say to watch for next week." Jungkook's lips parted in surprise at the given time aligning with the surprise project's release. "Anyways, tell me about you, Jungkook."

"Me?"

"Is there someone else here named Jungkook?"

"Um... maybe? I mean, it can be a common name—"

"Kid. Tell me about yourself." Yoongi chuckled softly, the quiet voice was pleasant and Jungkook was enamored but it. The elder man was usually seen as the reserved one in the group of friends, not very talkative, but Jungkook found it so easy to converse with him.

"Well, I'm 23. From Busan. I like the color black—"

"Are you answering Jin's five year old's interview questions?"

The photographer hid his face in his hands, cheeks burning before dainty fingers pulled his wrist away from his face, a large smile on Yoongi's face. The glimpse of his gums made Jungkook internally coo.

"S-Sorry. But, um, yeah," he sighed, relaxing and letting his hands fall on his lap. "Started taking pictures in middle school and did small projects before I did my freelancing after graduating high school."

"You get a degree or focused on work?"

"Got one in business. Thought it'd be helpful." The younger shrugged and Yoongi's eyebrows raised appreciatively.

"That's impressive, kid. It's not easy doing both. I would know." Yoongi grabbed Hoseok's sprite can and took a sip, throat bobbing and Jungkook found himself surprised by the easiness of the air.

It all felt so normal and safe. He felt safe in their presence. No cameras. No news channels. Even Namjoon's absence was taken in peace, knowing they were all right where they should be.

All that was missing was Taehyung.

"You gonna look into getting contracted?" Yoongi asked him and Jungkook was jarred out of his thoughts. "I'm sure the connections with BigHit would help."

"I considered it." Jungkook nodded, lips pursed at the serious topic. "But, then I decided that I like being independent. Freelancing has worked me wonders for the past few years and it's nice to run my own show."

"Hmm, you're smart, Jungkook. I respect you for that choice." The elder tapped fingers mindlessly on the table, drumming out some obscure rhythm that might make it to his mix in the far future. "Just don't block out possibilities. Change is good."

"I know. Thanks, Yoongi Hyung."

The elder seemed to brighten at the informal name, wordlessly happy to have reached that level of comfortability in the photographer. "Anytime."

"I-I need to pee—" Jimin was clutching his stomach, throwing himself onto Jungkook and startling the younger who jumped to catch him. "You just said—" Jimin burst out laughing again and abruptly stood from his chair, hitting the table and knocking his cup of ice water over.

The water was smacked off the table and hit Jungkook's chest, the coldness inversely burning him and causing him to shoot up to his feet and push away from the table. Hoseok frantically grabbed napkins for him as Yoongi and Jin pushed the food and belongings out of the water's way.

"Dammit," Jungkook groaned at the soaked front of his hoodie, the material clinging to his skin in darker coloration. He took the napkins from Hoseok and dabbed them to his chest, the paper getting soaked into useless clumps within seconds.

"Shit, sorry, Kook," Jimin gasped. "I'll go get you some more—"

"No, no," the younger waved him down, balling the damp tissues into a ball of trash. "It's okay, I'll go. I'll get some for the table, too."

He smiled apologetically and pushed his chair back in, ducking his head and shuffling away. Jungkook found a few napkins at the center disposal station, returning with them and then realizing it wasn't enough.

"I'll try the food stations." He said hurriedly, turning on his foot and heading for the far end of the canteen in need of more napkins.

Jimin continuously apologized as they wiped down the mess with the few napkins Jungkook had delivered, the youngest leaving again for more.

"It's alright, Jimin." Jin assured. "This table probably needed to be cleaned anyways."

His sheepish smile was thankful for the lack of bashing, stacking the napkins on the corner of the table once they were too wet to soak up any more liquid.

He really needed to use the restroom.

"Crap, I'll be back, I'm so sorry—"

"Stop apologizing," Hoseok shushed, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Go! We got this."

Jimin was jogging to the canteen's restroom in an instant. The three BigHit employees left behind stacked empty trays and made due with the mess while waiting for Jungkook, joking about the situation lightly.

"Woah, what the hell happened here?"

They all froze, caught in their act by the one man they didn't want there.

"Taehyung?" The simultaneous surprised greeting hit the model, who was frowning at the reaction to his presence.

"Uh, hi...?"

"What are you doing here?" Hoseok's voice was frantic, strained and Taehyung's brows furrowed in confusion. "Well— I mean, weren't you busy with a shoot this afternoon?"

"It got pushed back!" Taehyung chuckled, clasping his hands together excitedly. "My manager said to take a break, but I didn't know you all were meeting here. I finally get to hang out, isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah... amazing..." Yoongi mumbled nervously, gazing at Jungkook wandering around the food stations in search of napkins on the other side of the floor.

"Why don't you sit, Taehyung?" Jin rushed, pushing him towards a chair. "'ll go get you a snack."

The model frowned and pulled away from Jin. "No, it's okay. I wanna go look around at the selections." He seemed too eager for his own food, adding absentmindedly, "And I'll go get some more napkins for whatever mess happened here..."

"Hey, you should sit and relax!" Hoseok tried again. "Since you're getting a break, take full advantage. We will cater to you, dear Prince."

Taehyung gazed around at the three of them, noticing the anxious expressions. He let out a slow sound of disbelief before speaking. "Are you guys alright? You're acting strange."

A buzz went off on Taehyung's phone and the model gazed downwards at it. His eyes widened at the notification he'd gotten and quickly snapped them up.

"I'll be quick in grabbing my food." The model pushed. "Don't leave."

They didn't even have another chance to object before the model was walking away towards the back half of the canteen where a collision was bound to happen.

"Shit." Jin fell into his chair, Yoongi burying his face in one palm.

"We are so fucked." Hoseok groaned.

"Aha!" Jungkook found a stray stack of the tissues on the corner of the stir fry station, nodding gratefully at the cook behind the glass, and grabbed a handful of them.

He separated some and pressed the smaller bunch to his chest, napkins crumpling and soaking up the water like a sponge. His navy hoodie colored black with the water on his abdomen and he was chuckling to himself at the amusing situation.

Keeping the rest of the tissues in hand, he kept wiping down his clothing, hardly gazing up and relying on his peripheral for guidance in the blindspots.

"Silly Jimin." He giggled softly, the cold of the ice now warming on his clothes with the continuous ridding of the dampness.

He completely missed another person heading for him, the other man distracted by gazing around with curiosity such that they both went unnoticed by each other.

Until Jungkook hit the man's chest straight on, that is, forehead slamming into the protruding collarbone and causing him to snap away, holding his head in pain.

"Fucking hell," he hissed. "What is up with my luck today?"

A sharp inhale.

Jungkook rubbed his head and peeled his eyes open carefully slow. "Sorry, I wasn't watching... where... I..."

His words drifted away like the wind carrying the sail of his ship. His muscles tensed and the napkins, he'd gone so hopefully searching for, fell to the floor.

His heart nearly stopped as he met those beautifully different eyes, staring at him so deeply, as if they both instantly believed it was a hallucination.

He couldn't look away. He was physically incapable of it. He'd wanted that day for just over a month and it was hitting him out of absolutely nowhere.

Life was like that. Unpredictable. Incredibly deceitful in the sense that it chose the most random times for the most beautiful moments.

It was what made life so wonderful. You would never know when you'll cross paths with that special someone, where you'll find an opportunity that would change your life.

You could only remain hopeful for better days, or for days to remain good.

The beauty of life was not knowing where the beauty of your moments lie until they arrive.

It was letting that hand reach out for you in the dark at a time only life knew.

It was letting two lost ships fatefully cross paths on a voyage only life had planned.

Life was beautifully unpredictable and that made it worth something.

"Taehyung?"

—

felt like spoiling you all today💙