9 June 2018

Yoongi hadn't seen Jimin in a week and he felt like the air was being taken right out of his lungs. He laid in bed all day and wallowed. He didn't go to class, he didn't go to therapy. He listened to Yoonji and Agust argue. Then he would tell himself that they aren't actually Yoonji and Agust. He was just arguing with himself.

It went back and forth between You know you're sorry. Just call them and apologize. And They walked out on me. I'm not gonna beg anyone to stay in my life.

But as the days wore on, he realized he really did need them. He woke up around one in the afternoon without Victoria there to wake him with soothing touches and words of encouragement. He didn't eat because he refused to get up and Jimin wasn't there to cuddle him and give him that absolutely adorable smile that he couldn't resist. He was also lazy and Victoria wasn't there to make the amazing food she always did.

He couldn't deny it any longer. He missed them. He began dwelling less on his trauma and more on how he'd pushed the most important people in his life away. They were gone because he drove them to leave. Would they ever come back?

Now it was nine in the morning. That was the time they woke him on weekends, usually. He'd been such a dick to them lately that they had grown apprehensive about waking him up at all. And now the only thing to greet him in the morning was the musky scent of man that swirled around his room from lack of fresh air and the dark, dingy shade that everything was painted in. Maybe it was because he'd shut the sunlight out with the black curtains.

Or maybe it was because Jimin and Victoria weren't there to brighten his days.

The sound of the door opening and shutting threw him out of his thoughts. His stomach fluttered with hope, but he still refused to get up. If it was Jimin or Victoria, he didn't want them to know that he'd missed them. He turned on his side in his bed and stared at the wall.

Shoes slapped the wooden floor outside. By the way it sounded, he could tell it was Victoria. Jimin had a heavier step that was due to the muscle he'd been building up from dancing as he began to eat more. But then he wondered when he'd come to know her so well that he could tell her step apart from Jimin's.

Sure enough, when his bedroom door opened, he heard a distinctly female sigh. "Oh, Yoongi."

He stayed where he was, staring at the wall. The bed dipped on the other side before he felt a hand touch his arm before running over to his chest. She rested her chin on his shoulder. He missed her touch. "Have you been outside at all this past week?"

Yoongi only grunted in response and moved to sit up. She straightened as well, waiting until he was sitting and facing her to move a few messy strands of hair out of his face.

"Classes?"

He shook his head, averting his gaze to stare at the floral print on her dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. He wanted to touch the fabric; she always wore the softest clothes.

"Therapy?" she asked quieter, already knowing the answer.

He didn't shake his head. He only lowered it until his forehead was resting on her shoulder, slender fingers clutching her waist tightly. Victoria slid her arms around his shoulders and stroked the back of his head.

"Yoonie, why'd you push us away? All we wanted was the best for you." She sighed as he pressed his face further into her, shoulders beginning to shake as she felt wetness on her skin. "All we did was love you."

"I know," he sobbed, voice muffled. "I'm sorry—I never meant to do that to you. I was just scared." She smiled at the confession. He'd finally gotten there on his own. "Jimin has put up with me for so long and I was scared he would leave and you know so much about this stuff that I figured you wouldn't want to have a patient around all the time."

Victoria pulled him closer. "You're not a patient, Yoongi. You're my friend and I love you. So does Jimin. We will never leave you."

Yoongi raised his head a bit to look into her eyes. She raised her hand to wipe his tears. "Promise?"

"Promise," she swore, a small smile dancing across her features.

He didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she squished his face together by placing both hands on his cheeks. She only stared at his cute expression for a second longer before placing a small peck on his bunched-up lips.

Yoongi felt his face redden quickly, but she let go of him and stood up. He watched her open his curtain, letting sunshine filter in. He hissed, having been in the dark for so long. She laughed and opened his window to let fresh air in.

"Alright, drama queen. Up you go." Victoria pulled at his hands to get him out of bed. He hadn't stood for an entire week, so he stumbled a bit when she brought him to his feet, but she caught him. "Goodness. You need to eat something. But first, let's get you in the shower."

She helped him into the hallway and to the bathroom right across from his room. He felt confident enough to stand on his own now and just looked at her, feeling a bit awkward.

Victoria rolled her eyes and moved past him to turn the water on. "Please, Yoongi. I've seen you in just boxers plenty of times and trust me, they leave nothing to the imagination," she finished with a wink before turning to go back to his room. It was as if she was deliberately trying to make him blush. "Get in. I'll grab some clean clothes."

Shaking off the suggestive comments, Yoongi closed the door and rid himself of his underwear that should've been washed a week ago. It made him applaud Victoria's perseverance. Even he knew he smelled like a sweaty ballsack. She must have really cared about him.

As he let the warm water cascade over his pale skin, he knew that Jimin cared, too. He knew that Jimin loved him. And how did Yoongi repay him for all he'd done over the years? He basically said 'I don't give a fuck about you'. But that wasn't true. He gave the most fucks about Jimin. He didn't know what he would be without the handsome dancer.

He scrubbed at his scalp with his nails and shampoo when Victoria came back inside. "I'm just gonna put these on the toilet lid, okay? And I'll go make you something. Anything you want in particular?"

"Vic," he started, poking his head out of the shower curtain. "Is Jimin mad?"

She crossed her arms with a knowing smile. "He's not mad, Yoonie. He's more hurt than anything else."

"Tell him to come home. Will you? Please."

Victoria snickered before turning to leave. "He's actually on his way."

Yoongi's heart rate quickened as she shut the door. Jimin was coming. Did that mean he was forgiven? It didn't matter. He just wanted his best friend back. He made sure to scrub away all of his past anger and frustrations. The only thing that mattered was making things right.

Once he was dried and dressed, Yoongi practically sprinted into the living room to find Jimin sitting at a barstool, talking to Victoria while she was cooking. She spotted him and it didn't take long for Jimin to follow her gaze, turning around to look at his wet-haired best friend.

Before Jimin could say anything, Yoongi ran to him and threw his arms around his shoulders that were smaller than Yoongi's but bigger than Victoria's. "I'm sorry, Jiminie, you mean the world to me I'm so sorry please don't ever leave again," he rambled into the material of the younger's shirt.

"Hyung, your hair is still wet," Jimin complained playfully and hugged him back. "Don't ever tell me to leave again."

Yoongi nodded and held him tighter. Then he caught a whiff of what was cooking in the pan next to them. He raised his head to look and widened his eyes comically. "Kimchi jjigae!" he shouted and slid onto the stool next to Jimin.

"Look, hyung, she's making bulgogi, too!" Jimin said excitedly and pointed to the thinly sliced veal that was already marinated and waiting to be cooked.

Yoongi clasped his hands together. "You really do love us!"

"And later we can go get some sushi," she said with a sheepish smile.

-

Jimin stared at Yoongi contently as the three of them walked through the gardens below their apartment complex. He hadn't seen the older like that in a long time. Victoria was right. He just needed that week to give him a wake-up call.

They were thoroughly full from all the food, but it didn't seem to dampen the mood, because Yoongi kept pointing out butterflies and flowers that he liked. The green didn't bother him anymore—it was just a color.

A stream winded through nature. He noticed how Victoria couldn't stop staring down at the way the sunlight glittered on its surface and the koi fish that swam through. She'd almost tripped a few times because she'd become so distracted and the boys had to watch her so she didn't fall.

The trio found a bench that was positioned so perfectly in front of the water. Victoria had insisted that they sit for a while. With Yoongi in the middle, they sat on the bench and admired the greenery around them. He took one of each of their hands in his own, startling the pair.

"I used to hear Yoonji talking about how she likes this, but now I just think to myself that it's so pretty....Thanks, guys," he mumbled, staring at the colorful fish below. "You always know how to get me back on my feet. I..." He trailed off, pursing his lips. Victoria and Jimin knew what he wanted to say. It was a big thing to say for someone like him. It made sense that he wasn't yet ready to say it.

So they only sat in silence and let the unspoken love touch their hearts. True friendship is rare, but the three of them were happy to say that they had found it.