DMF Weekend Update: pt. I

[A/N: We lift off roughly from where the thread is currently at.]

[dtownbeats] 

are you bored, can’t sleep, or what

[jimin of the park]

little bit of all

jihyun’s still in the shower

[dtownbeats]

glad to know I’m a past-time

[jimin of the park]

hyung

what is family to you?

This time, Yoongi’s answer is not immediate.

[dtownbeats] 

why?

[jimin of the park]

just wondering ㅋㅋ

dtownbeats is typing…

Jimin stares at the screen for several long moments, but the typing keeps going until his bedroom door creaks and his brother pokes his head in.

“Your turn, hyung.”

“Oh.” Jimin looks up from his phone. “Okay.”

He tosses his phone aside on his bed and heads into the shower. By the time he steps out, toweling off the dripping ends of his hair, Jihyun is already lounging on Jimin’s bed, browsing on his phone. It seems he’s already claimed the left side. Fine with Jimin.

“Seoul really is next level,” Jihyun says without looking up from his phone screen, eyes wide. He turns his phone towards Jimin. “How is it that some places can deliver even this late at night?”

“Some places open ‘til late,” Jimin explains, sitting next to him. “Why, you still hungry? We still have some leftover—”

Jihyun shakes his head. “I just love technology. And I missed real Korean food, I guess.”

Jimin’s heart lances painfully at that. He opens his mouth to further interrogate his little brother, but Jihyun beats him before words come.

“Your phone’s been vibrating, by the way.” Jihyun nods at Jimin’s cellphone on top of the blanket. “Who’s user dtownbeats, anyway?”

Jimin’s mouth forms a small “o” shape as he makes a dive for his phone, scrolling through the visible notifications. Distractedly, he replies, “He’s Yoongi-hyung.”

“Oh.” Thoughtful silence. “You guys a thing?”

“What?” Jimin splutters, lowering his phone to his lap to gape at his little brother. “What gave you that silly idea? Get outta here.”

Jihyun tilts his head, eyes glinting with mischief. “Oh. Your neck’s all red.”

Jimin half-sighs, half-groans, then falls sideways to bury his face into the mattress. “He’s an old childhood friend.”

“Aw c’mon, he’s not just your childhood friend. He’s the Min Yoongi, keyboardist of Blue&Grey!” Jihyun claps back, before reeling back with a more sober expression. “Didn’t expect him to be a little quiet, though,” Jihyun observes, not a hint of judgment or criticism in his tone.

“That’s Yoongi-hyung for you.” Never says a word, but always here to swoop in when people are in trouble. Jimin turns his head to one side and lifts his phone to his face, only then remembering how Yoongi has probably replied to the question where they left off before Jimin went to shower. Opening their Kakao chatbox, Jimin finds a new string of text messages waiting for him.

[dtownbeats]

this feels very familiar

do you remember what I told you back in high school?

what it means to want to be with someone forever…

going by that logic

to me, i guess family is

someone you don’t mind forever with

you get what i mean?

Jimin stares at the chat bubbles and lets out a whoosh of breath. Yoongi’s answer is good — profound, even — but Jimin himself can’t figure out why he’s not fully aboard with it. Not that he disagrees with Yoongi’s definition, but it feels like there’s something missing.

[jimin of the park]

Hmm

forever sounds like a longass time keke

[dtownbeats]

okay well

let me rephrase

someone who makes forever worth it.

[jimin of the park]

That sounds so nice it’s almost fictional keke

it's such a narrow requirement for family

[dtownbeats]

Why?

You don’t foresee spending forever with anyone?

Because forever is a commitment. Isn’t Jimin a bit too young to start fantasizing or planning for something so permanent? Wouldn’t it be nicer, instead, to find a person or a place who makes every moment stretch to feel like forever?

[jimin of the park]

I suppose it’s a little scary to think about

like

imo forever belongs in the distant future

I don’t know how to start thinking of the future when I’m still stuck figuring out the now, you get me?

Anyway how did we even get to this haha

[dtownbeats]

What’s family to you then?

Just curious too. since I gave you my answer

Jimin gnaws on his upper lip, hanging his wet towel on a wall hook. He glances up at his little brother, then surveys the entirety of his room, eyes landing on the textbooks Aunt Miseon bought for him, the slippers Uncle Sejin helped him pick out at the flea market, at the white secondhand headphones Hoseok had gifted him a few days into his stay at the Jung residence.

“Jihyunnie,” he says, scooting back so that he’s leaning against the headboard next to his younger brother. “What do you think of staying here so far?”

Jihyun turns to look at him. “I like it here.”

“Yeah?” Jimin smiles. “Why?”

Jihyun cranes his neck back, tapping his chin in the picture of thoughtful silence. He answers simply, “Food here’s warm. Eomma doesn’t cook that often.”

A fresh lump forms in Jimin’s throat. He knows all too well that it must have been like for Jihyun to come home to cold leftovers or worse, an empty dining table despite having both parents around. When they were younger and their family had been intact, their mother often cooked a variety of local dishes, from kimchi pajeon to ginseng chicken broth and Jimin’s favorite, kimchi jjigae. Days such as those were long gone, or so Jimin believed.

He reaches out to stroke the top of Jihyun’s hair. “Me, too.”

[A/N: To be continued tomorrow.]