Dear My Friend: Chapter 1

The idea of making friends with a stranger you’ve never met is nothing short of frightening. When Jimin’s class becomes part of his school’s regional penpal programme, his first qualm is, What if my new friend plays Beyblade instead of Pokemon?

After all, he’s encountered many a Beyblade elitist in his school alone. The boys in his own class are separated into different factions: you have the Pokemon masters, the Beybladers and then there are the Yu-Gi-Oh! card experts. If his penpal turns out to be anything like the boys in his class, Jimin is not quite sure he’s ready for such a fragile relationship.

Nevertheless, Jimin initiates contact by sending one letter first. His first letter goes along the lines of:

Dear Min yoongi,

Hello I am Park Jimin! I am exzited to be your new friend! First of all I like color blue and chocolate ice cream and I like to watching the Dooly show. If you see this leter tell me whats yuor favourite color amd desert is also.

Bye bye, have a nice day!

He spends the rest of the week loitering next to their mailbox beside the gate, but when he never gets a reply, he starts to wonder if his penpal still hasn’t memorized his alphabet at the wise old age of 8. But then another horrible thought then occurs to him. Perhaps his penpal is… shy?

Thus, his second letter:

Daer min yoongi,

Hello again I am Park Jimin from Busan Elementary School. You never replyed my 1st leter so here is one more, please dun be shy I won’t be mean to you. Ok so I have a mother a father, a baby brother who is 3 and my grandfather is a fisherman. Can I ask how big is your family?

When the second letter goes unanswered yet again, Jimin throws a tantrum and pouts all throughout class because how come his classmates have such nice penpals, yet he can’t even hear back from his just once? He vows never to write again! If Min Yoongi doesn’t wanna be friends, okay!

But two weeks later, he gets hurt during PE. It’s all because that snot-faced Lee Jungwon pushed him too hastily at the playground, and now he has a booboo on his knee plus an achy right wrist. Jimin is made to sit out the rest of Sports Day, left to his own devices by the watch stands. He takes out a notepad and kills time by writing, painstakingly, with his left hand. This, undoubtedly, is the hardest thing he’s done.

hel lo, Min Yoooogi,

um hi penpal pls dont i̶g̶n̶o̶rrr̶ignore me again becos I am sad. I have an owwie ok? I s̶p̶r̶e̶y sprayned my hand so Im using left today. so hard to do. Are you OK? Can you raed my other letterz? I hope we can be frends. Have a nice day. Byebye!

Sad friend Park Jimin

Jimin gives up when he doesn’t hear back from after a few more days. In his 8 years of life, he has never been so brutally rejected. When he tells his harabeoji, the old man laughs and ruffles his hair.

“Stormier seas will come.”

“Okay,” says Jimin, then adds in a petulant afterthought, “but we’re on land!”

So, it comes as a total surprise when, the next day, his eomma quietly slips into his room while Jimin is doing homework and slides a pristine white envelope across his kiddy desk. Jimin blinks down at it.

“From your friend,” says Eomma.

Jimin gasps and pounces on the envelope. He gingerly opens the flap, noting how the letter smells like gummy bears, and reads:

Hello penpal,

Yes, my name is Min Yoongi from Daegu Prep School. My favorite color is grey and I like to eat dalgona candy. These days I watch Pokemon and Power Rangers against my will. Sorry I am writing this so late, my family moved downtown. If you hate me, don’t reply, it’s OK.

P.S sorry about the owwie. I sprained my ankle last year. Drink medicine, did your eomma kiss it yet? I hope you are not sad. Bye bye!

Min Yoongi

Prior to reading the contents of the letter, Jimin had already decided he hates Min Yoongi, so he tells himself not to reply for two whole, gruelling days. However, in that time, it never slips his mind that his penpal had mentioned a darling, crucial piece of information: he’s Team Pokemon! It’s a huge win!

It’s also a lot to take in. Each time Jimin glances at his desk, he’s hit with a wave of odd reluctance to sit down and write.  Not because he has nothing to say; in fact, he’s positively bubbling with questions. It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that he can’t write with his right hand yet. It also has nothing to do with the fact that now that Min Yoongi is real, Jimin feels shy to write.

Daer Mean Yoongi,

I haaate you—

Jimin growls and tosses the paper into the bin. He reads Min Yoongi’s letter over and over and realizes how the two of them spell some words differently. He decides to copy some of the boy’s spelling.

Dear Min Yoongi,

Wow hello! I don’t hate you, so here iz my reply. My sprain is better a little bit because I drinked medicine but I am werried. I hope your ankle owwie is better now? What do you mean you watch ‘against your will’?

Also is your new house big? Do you have your own room?

from penpal Park Jimin

Dear penpal,

Good afternoon. Ankle sprains don’t last a year, so don’t worry. You will be better and the pain will be gone soon. I have a room with my hyung, and he watches Pokemon and Power Rangers, and there is only one TV for us to share. That’s why I have to watch what he likes, too. Anyway, I sleep on the top bunk bed because I am lighter, which is fine. Our new house is very big, it has an upstairs.

I found a lizard egg in the closet so we are trying to hatch it. I also have a mother and father.

Friend,

Min Yoongi

Wow, thinks Jimin. His penpal is so… eloquent and well-written. He can’t help but read the reply in awe. How does he know so many big words?

Over the course of the following weeks, Jimin learns some basic facts about his Daegu penpal. He likes orange juice and anything orange-related. He doesn’t like the sun but his older brother does, so he puts on sun lotion (against his will) all the time. He wants a bike, the kind without training wheels. He likes to play Nintendogs. He is older, or at least Jimin thinks so.

Dear penpal Min Yoongi,

Are you my hyung?

from Park Jimin

Dear Park Jimin,

How old are you? The lizard egg disappeared but I saw a tortoise at the pond near our house. Eomma says we can’t bring it in, so the tortoise will stay at the pond. It’s mine now. Also you like Dooly, right? I have an extra Dooly notebook and ruler. Want it?

from Min Yoongi

Dear Min Yoongi,

I dont watch Dooly anymore! I am focusing more on Pokémon now. Bulbysor and Charmenderr are good.

The notebook and ruler? You can give them away to the cherrity. Eomma says the cherrity is good.

I am 8 now. So are you my hyung?

Does your tortoise have a name yet?

Your friend also,

Park Jiminie

Dear Park Jimin,

The tortoise is called Bulbasaur.

I am 10 years old. Of course, I am your hyung. What else would I be, your oppa?

Friend,

Yoongi

Jimin reads the afterthought note at the bottom of the paper and falls over himself, giggling. He clutches Yoongi’s letter to his chest and snickers while rolling on his room’s floor.

Oppa! What a thought! This Min Yoongi penpal of his is funnier than the bananas in pyjamas!

Dear Yoongi hyung,

See? I called you hyung. You have the best jokes! Today during art class we made a bookmark. So here I drew my laughing face at the bottom of this letter so you know what i look like when I read your jokes. What does your face look like? Next time i will draw you too.

Your friend,

Park Jiminie

Dear Park Jiminie,

Here is my self-portrait. I’m not as good as you at drawing.

Your Friend,

Yoongi hyung

Dear my friend Yoongi hyung,

Wow yes the drawing is ugly, but its OK! You look like Ditto uwaah. ㅋㅋㅋ Hyung this week I am confused. My classmate Hyeorin gave me her bungeo-ppang at recess. I tried to pay her but she just gave it to me for free. She is so nice.

Your Friend,

Jiminie

Dear my friend Jiminie,

Ditto? so funny ㅋㅋㅋ

Our halmeoni says I don’t look like any of my parents and our eomma told me once, she found me under a bridge that's why I dont look like anyone.

Why are you confused with Hyeorin’s gift? Is she a friend?

Friend,

Min Yoongi hyung

Jimin thinks long and hard about how to reply. His eomma once told him that everyone in his classroom is his friend, but now that he’s become frequent penpals with Min Yoongi from Daegu, he is beginning to wonder if the same definitions still apply. They’re not classmates, but Jimin still knows more about Min Yoongi than he knows about the rest of his classmates. Sure, he knows that Yoo Hyeorin is the quiet girl who sits at the front of class, but that’s it.

Dear my friend Yoongi hyung,

You don't understand, she’s a classmate. But you are my FRIEND. Why would a girl give me her bread?

Jiminie

He posts the letter in the morning on the way to school. In class later the same day, Yoo Hyeorin comes over and puts down a tin can of cookies with pink and red heart sprinkles on Jimin’s desk. He looks up curiously, but the girl just shyly skips away to her friends, cheeks splotched pink.

Jimin lifts one cookie for inspection, and a lilac card tumbles out.

Happy Valentines’ Day, it reads.

Dear my friend Jimin,

Oooh, maybe she has a CRUSH on you. Don’t you know what day it is today? If you don’t, I’m going to tell you now – Happy Valentines’ Day.

p.s I’m not greeting you, just informing you. Don’t get the wrong idea.

Min Yoongi hyung

Dear my friend Yoongi hyung,

What kind of wrong idea?

Crush... I don't care about crushes! Anyway, I don’t know if she has a crush on me or hates me, because she just keeps running away when I say hi to her in the hallways, so maybe you’re wrong. Friends are tuff. :(

I have other more important questions! What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m gonna  be a firefighter and save cats.

Your friend,

Jiminie

Dear my friend Jiminie,

Nevermind. Don’t think too much about it!

When I grow up I will become a pianist. Our eomma makes me go to piano classes every week. Fun! I will write music and play for you someday. Do you like piano music?

Friend,

Min Yoongi hyung

P.S. I practiced writing your name with calligraphy today, so look.

***

Jimin has been writing to his penpal on and off for two years now. After the frenzy of a newfound friendship in the first few months, his and Yoongi’s conversations eventually settled to an easy, fixed flow that’s neither dry nor overzealous.

He just loves writing to the boy. Min Yoongi is a delightful storyteller whose sharp wit and snark only seems to grow with time. His advice is very useful, too. Especially during one particular incident when Jimin complained about Hyeorin proclaiming she hates him because he was apparently supposed to give her something on White Day (he didn’t know that was necessary). Ever since then, a new rumor began about how Park Jimin isn’t a good crush candidate, whatever that means. Yoongi tells Jimin to look at the bright side, and Jimin supposes it’s a blessing in disguise, because the girls don’t really approach him anymore and he can better focus on reading manga volumes to his heart’s content.

It’s not like they talk every week. The back and forth of their letters grow less frequent during exam season, and during holidays their families tend to want to get away from Korea, so there’s even less communication then, too. Jimin’s family, in particular, enjoys overseas trips, so he’s always hungry to hear from Yoongi. He looks forward to his friend’s long letters about family gatherings the most—there was one about Chuseok, and another about a disastrous Christmas weekend that Yoongi hated.

Today, though, the letter that’s waiting at Jimin’s study desk is short:

Jiminie,

Bulbasaur is dead.

We’re burying him tonight.

Yoongi hyung

In grief, Jimin spends the evening in a tearful, sullen tantrum, shoulders hunched as he drags his feet all around their house. When his eomma asks what’s wrong, he bursts into tears and buries his face in her lap, unable to put a word to the thunderstorm between his ribs.

Dear sad Yoongi hyung,

Super duper sorry about Bulbasaur. I loved Bulbasaur.

I never met him but I will talk to his ghost when I go to heaven someday. Or if you want, we can go together.

Eomma went to a garden yesterday and gave me seeds to grow but I think you need it more. Here, take these! Cheer up hyung!

Your friend,

Jiminie

Dear my friend Jiminie,

We buried Bulbasaur in our backyard. And then I planted your seeds in a pot.

It’s funny how we can’t plant bodies because they’re dead, but we can’t bury seeds because they are alive.

Is this your first gift? Thanks. What should I name it?

Yoongi hyung

“Bulbasaur’s funeral was today,” says Jimin the moment he slides into his seat at the dinner table.

A confused silence falls.

“Who’s Bulbasaur, Jiminie?” asks his dad.

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry,” his mom says, hugging Jimin’s head to her chest. “Here, have more chicken.”

The grieving period for pets varies from child to child. Jimin has always felt deeply for all things in the world, so he sniffles when he asks the same thing his penpal wrote.

“How come we can only bury dead things, but we must plant alive things?”

His parents exchange a look.

“Well, that’s your cue, yeobo,” says his dad before shoving a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

Jimin’s mom hums, then strokes the top of his head. “You’ll understand when you’re a big boy.”

“But I’m already a big boy. I’m 10, Eomma!”

His mother laughs. “My cheeky boy.”

Jimin puffs out his cheeks stubbornly and refuses to pick up his spoon. His mother sighs and tweaks his nose between her index and forefinger knuckles.

“Well, it’s a matter of the words you pick. If you plant something, you expect it to grow. If you bury something, it decays.”

Jimin scratches his head. “But you’re still just putting things underground?”

“It’s a nuance, Jimin,” his dad chimes in. “You’ll get it someday. When you’re older.”

“Okay.” Jimin decides he will—he MUST—understand this concept by his next birthday.

In the meantime, he answers.

Dear Yoongi hyung who I hope isn’t sad anymore,

My parents taught me a new-once. If you plant something, you can expect it to grow. But if you bury it, bye bye it will rot. It’s a new-once.

You can name the seeds anything, but my nickname is Mimi hahaha :D

Your friend,

Jimin

The reply comes a week later.

Dear Jiminie (Mimi?),

I put them in a temporary pot. Itsname is the Mimi Pot. Since they are planted, not buried, they should grow well, right?

I am not sad anymore but I did start middle school on Monday, which is meh. Here is a picture of my Mimi Pot.

Yoongi hyung

Dear my friend Yoongi hyung,

Mimi pot is cute!

What is middle school like? What color is your uniform? Congratulations on becoming more grown up~ I’ll be in middle school soon! 2 more years!

Your friend who also wants to be in middle school tomorrow,

Mimi

Dear Jiminie,

I am keeping a close eye on Mimi pot, but some of them didn’t grow and I realized you sent me dried marigolds?

Are they marigolds??

Middle school is noisy. Everyone has a crush… do you have one yet?

Uniform? Here is a picture from the school website.

Yoongi hyung

Dear Yoongi hyung,

Secret. You need to grow the seeds to find out!

Yes!! I have a crush on all the nice people in my class. I have a crush on Minseo, Yoojin, Hana, Gikwang, Yeji, and Hyunsoo. I have crushes. I have many.

The uniform looks so cool!

Your friend,

Mimi

Time has since changed Jimin’s perspective on crushes. Weeks after the great Hyeorin Incident, it seems that a new frenzy hasdcome to sweep Jimin’s cohort, leaving nobody immune – the lovebug. Crushes run rampant. Those without one get called “weeeeirdoes”.

Dear my Mimi,

How could that be? ㅋㅋㅋ

In my school, people only have one crush, and they confess during recess if you give your name tags. If you have a crush on all nice people, then does that make me a crush too?

Don’t run out of envelopes, Mimi.

Your laughing hyung,

Yoongi

Dear Yoongi hyung,

HUH!!!!! I DON’T HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU, YOU’RE MY FRIEND!!!!!! I WOULD NEVER!!!!!

Your not-laughing friend,

Jimin

Dear my Mimi,

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Right.

Yoongi hyung

***

Hey Jimin,

I was just teasing.

Are you angry with me? If you are, that’s okay. If you hate me, don’t reply. I’ll write you an apology song.

This week, the Mimi pot grew an inch. Isn’t that really fast? Here’s some seeds for you, too. Plant it, maybe?

Worried,

Yoongi hyung

That week, Jimin’s parents get into a huge fight that ends up with his dad storming out and disappearing for three days. He doesn’t want to bother his eomma, whose eyes are red each time she calls him for dinner, so he can’t ask her to help him plant the seeds from Yoongi.

He’s in no mood to write either, so he spends most afternoons hanging from the playground’s monkey bars with their new neighbor’s son, Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook is a zesty, dark-haired boy who always has a sticky face when he eats ice cream (or anything, really – he and sugar are inseparable), but he’s more interested in playing catch than talking, which is what Jimin needs.

“I brought you an extra towel today,” Jimin says. It’s a sweltering summer afternoon, and he always brings towels to the playground because the feeling of sweat is icky. “You slather ice cream instead of slurping.”

“Okay, thanks!” Jungkook says, then frowns at Jimin. “But at least I don’t bite ice cream all weird like you, hyung. Be better!”

Jimin gawks at Jungkook’s running figure.

Hi Yoongi hyung,

I don’t hate you. I am sad. I want to hide under my blanky and sleep because I am sad.

I didn’t plant the seeds yet. I am too deprezed.

Mimi

P.S. I made a new friend. His name is Jungkook and he always has sticky fingers. But he can jump high and runs fast!

Dear my only Mimi,

I’m so happy you answered my last letter! Good thing, because I dunno how to apology songs really ㅋㅋㅋ

You can plant the seeds anytime. What will you name them when they grow, though?

Your Yoongi hyung

P.S. Jungkook sounds like one of my classmates, Taehyung.

P.S.S. What made you sad? Is someone bullying you? I’ll beat ‘em up.

For the first time in his 10 (and a half) years of life, Jimin’s heart thumps extra hard, despite his melancholia.

My only Mimi, the letter had addressed him. He doesn't know what his Yoongi-hyung's face looks like, so he can't bring himself to imagine what his friend's expression must have been like, writing Jimin's name with not only a possessive affix, but also pairing it with 'only'. Only, by Jimin's understanding, means that there is just one out of many. There is a specialness to it, and Jimin marvels at how words can sound so special. It's a new feeling that calls for further inspection. He doesn't mention it in his next letter, though.

To my only Yoongi hyung,

No need to beat anyone!! Unless you can punch me, because I made myself sad.

I dunno why I’m sad. Haha! Tell me a nice joke?

Your Mimi

P.S. Jungkook caught a beetle and tied it to a string this afternoon. It flew around until we set it free. That was fun.

To cheer himself up, Jimin comes up with an optimal solution: he rifles through Yoongi’s past letters, pulls out the one containing his doodled self-portrait, and pins it to his dresser mirror. Jimin stares and stares and wonders why he likes that doodle so much.

To my depressed Mimi,

Don’t be sad. eat the food you like and listen to some of your favorite songs to cheer up. Who’s your favorite singer? I like Epik High’s songs.

Your Yoongi hyung

P.S. Jungkook sounds cool. Tell him I said hi?

***

“How do you know you have a crush on someone?” Jimin asks while sucking on a popsicle the next afternoon, swinging next to Jungkook at the playground.

Jungkook shrugs. “I don’t have crushes. I just crush.”

“Crush what?”

“The villains.”

Jimin nods because that makes sense. He decides to rephrase the question. “How do you know you like someone?”

Jungkook shrugs again. “I like you. You always wipe my mouth.”

“But do you want to hug me?”

Jungkook gapes at him, horrified. It’s the answer Jimin needs. He pushes off the swing and waves goodbye.

“My penpal says hi, by the way.”

In response, Jungkook waves absently, too busy slurping up his melting ice cream.

To Yoongi hyung,

What if I have a crush on you?

Your Mimi

Obviously, Jimin does not send THAT one.

To my funny Yoongi hyung,

I am planting something new.

Your Mimi

Dear my Mimi,

Really?

Our house has a garden, but it's a little bare. Looks kinda lonely. I wonder if it'll sprout anything someday. There are only weeds and some wildflowers here.

What kind of plant is yours? Where'd you plant it?

Your Yoongi hyung

To my Yoongi hyung,

Secret!! A secret garden in a secret place. I wish we were neighbors so I could visit and see your garden and play together.

I will tell you a not-secret. My favorite singers! I really like BTZ. I listen to them a lot, their music is so good!

Today in class, our Teacher asked who our favorite superheroes are.

Who is hyung’s?

Your Mimi

Hey there my Mimi,

I like Batman. He has nice clothes, is rich and has a cool car. What about you?

Today in my class, we had to write our bucket list for our future selves. I didn’t really know what to write. What do you want to do when you are 20 years old?

Your Yoongi hyung

To my Batman hyung,

I like Jack Jack from the Incredibles! But did you know you are my hero, too?

Well my appa is my hero #1, but he doesn’t come home a lot lately because of work. So you are my cool friend-brother who helps me when nobody else is there.

I don’t know what a bucket list is, but when I’m 20, I want to eat cake with you. I will have more money by then.

Your excited Mimi

Dear my Mimi,

Okay. Let’s do that.

Things To Do When Min Yoongi is 20:

- eat cake with Jimin

- go to the beach

- cook with Jimin

- drink coffee, no milk

- go to a BTZ concert

- go to college in Seoul

- work part-time!

What do you think? It feels incomplete…

Your clueless Yoongi hyung

Dear my Batman hyung,

It’s so COOL.  I’ll think of something and write one, too! Things I want to do with my best friend. When we are 20 years old we are going to have money and jobs and big cars and we'll have fun in each other's houses and play video games together. And we'll still be the bestest of friends. You are my best friend, right? Am I yours?

Exams are coming soon again. Talk to you soon?

Your favorite Mimi

Dear my best friend,

Favourite, huh? What makes you think you are my favorite? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Just joking. Talk soon. Until the next letter!

Will miss writing,

Your Yoongi hyung

* * *

Jimin genuinely enjoys the grit of studying and acing exams (except for history) so he throws himself into the rigor of learning, holing up in his room until his answers correctly match the answer key printed on the back of his workbooks.

He turns 11 without word from Yoongi. Which is fine and expected. Jimin is more than used to it by now. After years of correspondence, the two of them have fallen into the unspoken understanding that there will eventually be periods of silence from each other, especially during exams. Yoongi is steady like that.

Still, that doesn’t mean Jimin isn’t looking forward to writing his old friend again as soon as possible. On the last day of his finals, just as the school lets out for the winter holidays, Jimin sends a new letter gushing about how confident he about his upcoming grades.

Dear my Yoongi hyung,

GUESS WHAT MY EXAMS ENDED TODAY! I can send you letters again, but maybe not for long? My family plans to visit Gangwon for skiing next week. I wish you could come!!

Your very happy Mimi

He waits approximately four days because it does take time to hear back from Yoongi sometimes, but on the fifth day Jimin supposes he can send another letter, just to alert his friend.

My superhero hyung,

I forgot to tell you that I can’t plant the seeds since it’s winter!

Mimi

Two days later sees Jimin rummaging through their family’s mailbox, and then giving a whoop of joy when he finds a baby blue letter addressed to him.

Heya Park Jimin,

That’s really cool. Have fun at the ski resort! Take many pictures and send ‘em over.

Cheers,

Min Yoongi

Jimin reads the letter twice, thrice, and then rubs his eyes. He wonders why his tummy feels like it’s being squeezed. Something feels odd. Since when did Yoongi's words read so... callously?

Quickly, he writes back.

Dear my Yoongi hyung,

Hello!! how was your exams? Does your family have any plans for the holidays?

Your Mimi

He waits for the next letter on jittery toes, but not out of joyful anticipation. For the first time since they’ve started writing each other, Jimin finds himself waiting with an anxious edge. There’s a panic in him—a desperate need to read Yoongi’s warm sign-off again. So when Yoongi’s letter arrives after a week, Jimin quickly in rips the envelope.

What’s up Jimin,

Exams went smoothly, thanks to classmates who studied with me. Fingers crossed I’ll cruise by just fine. For the holidays I’ll mostly hang out with my girlfriend.

Yoongi hyung

Dear hyung,

WOW I DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND ㅋㅋㅋㅋ THAT IS SO AMAZING WOW! WHAT IS HER NAME? DID SHE CONFESS TO YOU?

Tell me everything haha!

Park Jimin

“My penpal has a girlfriend,” Jimin announces in disgust while hanging upside down from the monkey bars.

Younger kids in the playground stare at him like he’s too old for this, but he ignores it.

“Oh,” Jungkook says. “Is she nice?”

“Dunno.”

“I don’t like girls.”

“Me, too.”

Yo Jimin,

Idk it happened randomly really. I’m part of a night study group and she sits at our table. Just before exams, dude, she asked to meet me outside the hall. I was nervous! Then she took out her nametag to give me. We’re dating now I guess.

Her name’s Sooha.

Hyung.

“Her name’s Sooha,” Jimin reports at the playground, teary-eyed.

Jungkook stops drawing faces into the sandbox when he hears Jimin sniffling.

Frowning, Jungkook says, “Let’s use FLAMES.”

He writes crosses on the sand:

YOONGI

SOOHA

“Count the leftover letters,” says Jungkook.

Jimin counts seven. Therefore, according to the rule of FLAMES, Yoongi and Sooha are fated to be friends, and friends only.

Jungkook nods solemnly. “My parents started out as friends too, then they got married.”

At that, Jimin flops on his butt and starts wailing on the sandbox.

He decides not to reply for a few days, if only to gather his wits and come up with a proper game plan. It’s not that he doesn’t like the idea of Yoongi having a girlfriend, he’s quite thrilled; he just needs to make sure this Sooha girl is good enough to deserve him.

A week later he writes.

Hi hyung,

So is she pretty? Is she nice? Does she cook well? How many siblings does she have? Does she like ramen? Do you like her? Have you held her hand yet? What does a girl’s hand feel like? Does her hair smell nice? What about bad breath?

Jiminie

This time round, it takes an entire month for Yoongi’s answer to reach Jimin’s mailbox—the longest time he’s ever taken to reply.

Hey Jimin,

Sorry, I’m a kinda busy these days lol! Joined a band as the youngest keyboardist!

Yes, Sooha held my hand. We’ve kissed, too.

Hyung.

Jimin doesn’t reply, this time. He tells Jungkook he’s gotten lazy and busy, when really, he just feels… replaced. The person on the other end of their correspondence doesn't feel like the best friend he's known for years - that's not his Yoongi anymore. It’s not the same anymore.

Yoongi doesn’t send him any follow-ups letters, either. Not now, nor for the next three years.

_________

A/N: Credits to Nova for editing and reformatting! 💜