The first weekend of summer break is, sadly, expected to have terrible weather, meaning most outdoor plans Jeongguk or his friends may want to schedule will have to be rescheduled. It doesn't bother him much. Rather, it gives Jeongguk time to do other things, to do some odd jobs, make a little extra money, or just sit around playing guitar.

Of course, he'd much rather be hanging out at the beach with Taehyung and Yoongi and Hoseok and maybe even Jimin and some other guys right now, but he's not childish enough to go in the corner and pout about the skies being cloudy and full of rain.

Right now, it's not raining, though. But it's clearly going to. Middle of the evening, window open just a crack to let the cool breeze drift into his bedroom, Jeongguk sits on his bed, practicing chords and wondering if he should learn a new song. He texted Taehyung not long ago. The boy in question, again, claimed to be under "cruel and unusual punishment," as his father requested assistance in the kitchen. Quite a project, it would seem. And being the only and eldest son Taehyung was doomed from the start.

That being said, at the moment Jeongguk is pretty bored. Earlier today he mowed lawns for his neighbors and walked dogs, the latter of which he thoroughly enjoyed, but now he's almost wishing there were more dogs to walk. Or lawns to mow. But preferably dogs.

Sighing, Jeongguk sets his guitar down in front of him. His gaze travels, lazily as it can, over to his phone which sits on his night stand. He reaches over to grab it.

Yoongi texted him.

-

Yoongi
f

Yoongi
sorry i meant to send that to taetae

Yoongi
*tae

Yoongi
deleting myself goodbye

me
call him taetae i double dare you

Yoongi
user not found

me
this isn't social media nice try (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)

-

He chuckles at his friend, pressing the top corner of his screen to view his other text conversations. Jimin hasn't responded to the hey, how are you? message Jeongguk sent about an hour ago. The boy hasn't seen it yet, either, making Jeongguk assume he's busy or just hasn't gotten around to it. Which he can understand. But he's bored, so he wishes Jimin weren't busy.

"Can't be helped," he says aloud, falling back on his pillows. He stares at the ceiling mindlessly. Thoughtlessly.

His head hurts a little. Just a minor headache, nothing particularly bothersome, but it's still there.

Maybe a nap would help, he thinks. And, with not much else to do, Jeongguk falls asleep.

He awakes roughly a half hour later. By then, Jeongguk's mother calls him for dinner, so he heads downstairs to eat with his family, helps clean up afterwards, and is upstairs in his room again before long.

He finds his guitar still on his bed. Not feeling motivated to play it, he carefully places the instrument back in its case, which he then leans against his dresser.

It hasn't started raining yet. But it will. Jeongguk knows it will, but till then he likes to keep the window open.

He sits on his bed and checks his phone.

Four unread messages from Jimin and a missed call.

"He called??"

Almost in a panic, Jeongguk opens the messages.

-

Jimin
jeongguk im sorry i really don't like asking favors but please

Jimin
i'm at this party for a relative of mine, i was guilt-tripped into going...

Jimin
i'd ask hoseok to come get me but he doesn't have a car and he told me he was spending time with his little sisters i don't wanna bother him

Jimin
please jeongguk i don't wanna be here

me
send me the address i'll be there as soon as i can

Jimin
[ location sent ]

Jimin
i'm sorry i really didn't want to bother you either...

me
jimin it's fine don't worry about it

me
hang in there i'll be there soon alright?

Jimin
okay...

-

Jeongguk doesn't hesitate to get on his feet. He changes out of his sweatpants and into some jeans, grabs a random shirt from his drawer, taking nothing with him but his phone as he rushes out of his bedroom and down the stairs. His steps are loud, hasty, and some may say concerning, too. Including his parents sitting in the living room, watching a movie.

"Where are you in such a hurry?" his mother asks. Jeongguk hardly manages to form words as he's shoving his feet into his boots.

"Picking up a friend from a party."

"It's supposed to rain, Jeongguk-"

"I'll be careful."

That's the last thing he says before racing out of the house, keys already extended to unlock his car. He gets in behind the steering wheel and sets up the GPS to take him to wherever this party is located.

Thirty-two minutes, according to the quickest route. For Jimin's sake, Jeongguk hopes the estimated time already accounted for traffic.

If Jimin asked for his help things must not be pretty. An introvert and a party. Not a good mix, from what Jeongguk can gather.

As it turns out the GPS's estimate is accurate after all. In a little more than thirty minutes time, Jeongguk comes across the address Jimin sent him, and from inside he can hear music and loud cheering from what sounds to be a considerable amount of people.

"Oh, poor Jimin..." Jeongguk breathes unsteadily as he takes out his phone.

-

me
i'm right outside

me
do you need help or are you gonna be ok?

Jimin
i'll be right out

-

He gives it a couple seconds. Surely enough, within those seconds, Jeongguk is greeted with the sight of Jimin opening and closing the door to the house in a hurry, then making his way even faster to Jeongguk's car. He climbs in the front seat.

Exhausted. Jeongguk can tell from just a glance. The boy's exhausted, miserable, pale-faced, utterly drained from whatever undesirable circumstances he had been thrown into.

There's a smear of what appears to be lipstick across his cheek - not a lip print, but as though someone had taken lipstick and just rubbed it on Jimin's face. Jeongguk feels a jolt in his chest.

"Were they bullying you?"

"No," Jimin answers breathlessly. He raises his arm, clutching the hem of his sleeve as he attempts to rub away the stain. "This was an accident. But I just wanted to get away, I...I can't be around them, they're so...they're, they're too much for me, it's too much..."

His voice is teary, wavering. On the verge of crying. Jeongguk's heart goes out to him.

"It's okay. I'll drive you home."

"Thank you, Jeongguk..."

"Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm not." Jimin sniffles. "My cousins aren't bad people, I just...don't think they understand why I don't like to participate in the games and singing and dancing and everything. And they're drinking, 'cus it's my cousin's 21st birthday..."

"Did they force you to drink anything?"

"No..."

"Good."

In frustration, Jeongguk grips the steering wheel. If they had hurt Jimin or forced him to drink, he's afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself right now from storming into that house and giving those people a piece of his mind. Even still he's a bit annoyed. He takes a moment to get himself together before starting the route to Jimin's house.

"Your aunt couldn't pick you up?" Jeongguk asks as the thought comes to mind.

"She and my uncle went out together tonight, I didn't want to disturb their date, especially for something like this."

"You say that as though your suffering isn't valid."

"Jeongguk, you know what I mean..."

"I know." He exhales deeply, slowing down to stop at a red light.

The rain has picked up noticeably at this point. And it only seems to be growing heavier and worse. The closer Jeongguk gets to Jimin's house, the heavier it begins to fall.

It's a little scary to drive in, he won't deny. Especially by the time he actually arrives to the boy's house, and it's an absolute nightmare of a downpour.

"Mother Nature has no mercy on us mortals, does she?" Jeongguk forces a chuckle as he stares out the windshield at the barely visible street. The wipers aren't doing much for him at this point, nothing more than sloshing the rain around to create a puddle on the glass. "I'm sorry, I was too stupid to bring an umbrella...but hey, at least I got a spot right in front of your house. Is it unlocked?"

"I have a spare house key," Jimin replies softly.

"Okay, good. I guess I'll see you later, then?"

He's met with a stare. A sad, conflicted stare from the boy sitting across from him, whose frown is as deep as Jeongguk thinks he's ever seen it.

"What? You said you had your house key, right?"

"Jeongguk..."

"Did you leave it at your cousin's?"

"Jeongguk, it's pouring."

"I can see that." He laughs again, not fully amused by the situation but he's accepting it. "I've driven in rain before, I'll be fine."

"It's not safe," Jimin mutters. "It'd be irresponsible of you to..."

"Then what, should I wait in my car till it stops?"

The frown's deepened even more now.

"Jimin-"

"You can stay at my aunt's and uncle's house," he interrupts, then proceeds to aggressively unbuckle his seatbelt. Jimin digs out his house key. "I'll unlock it, and you run inside."

The boy sounds angry almost, but Jeongguk knows that's not the case, rather that in this particular act of kindness Jimin happens to be a little awkward. And it only makes him more endearing.

It's not until Jimin is outside in the heavy rain that Jeongguk registers the boy isn't wearing a hood - nothing over his head, in fact, allowing his hair and face to get drenched along with the rest of him in that short period of time he's racing to the front door to unlock it. Once he's inside, he motions Jeongguk to join him. Then he stops him by canceling out the hand gesture.

Jeongguk sits inside his car in confusion. Nevertheless he waits, and seconds later he's watching as Jimin races back outside, this time with a wide-brimmed, spotted umbrella shakily clutched in his little hands. With the wind picking up it's easy to tell he's struggling. Jeongguk quickly opens his doors and ducks under the umbrella, then hurries with Jimin back into the house - after, of course, Jimin closes the umbrella right outside the door as it's too big to fit through the doorway.

"You didn't have to do that." Jeongguk sighs as the other boy hangs the umbrella next to the coats. "If you had to get rained on so should I."

"No, I'm already inconveniencing you by having you pick me up in the first place."

"It's really not an issue-"

"You can make yourself at home, okay?"

He can't argue with Jimin - well, he can, but the boy's thoughtfulness isn't something he really wants to argue with anyway. So Jeongguk just smiles.

"Thank you, Jimin."

—