➵ jimin
the automatic doors of the shopping mall stood before us as yoongi and i stepped out of the taxi, exchanging identical glances. we were both nervous to start this new life together but also excited. "ready?" i checked.
"as i'll ever be." yoongi confirmed, leading the way into the building.
the night before, we'd set yoongi up in the second bedroom, me helping him hang his clothes up in the closet and unpack his few assorted belongings. after we'd ordered takeaway and sat on the worn couch, chatting about random things and getting to know each other better. i had learned yoongi was actually two years older than me, and had smacked him for not telling me, since i hadn't been using honorifics this entire time.
before going to bed we'd decided to go shopping the next day since we had barely the essentials, and we both wanted to make the house our own. we'd compiled a list of items to pick up, and some things we would order online later, like new beds and such.
bright fluorescent lights illuminated the vast store around us. "okay. we cannot split up, we'll get lost," i said insistently. yoongi laughed, a grin on his face.
i returned the smile though something told me his was less than genuine. it didn't quite reach his eyes. something was up with him, and i vowed to figure it out. yesterday when i'd met him at the hotel he was staying at, he'd been distant and quiet, even acting weird whenever i had made that comment about him packing light. i suspected it had something to do with why he moved to seoul, but i knew from my own experience that sometimes fresh starts came after pain and tragedy. it was possible yoongi didn't want to talk about his past, and i could respect that. but if we were to live together, he had to trust me. i hoped to one day be trusted with that information about his past.
"where do you wanna start?" i asked.
"how about house stuff first? that way we can have fun buying clothes after," yoongi suggested wisely.
"sounds good to me!" i cheered, leading the way to the giant furniture store in front of us.
after two hours and three different stores, yoongi and i had picked out kitchen accessories, several fake plants, other random decorations, as well as linen and stuff for our rooms.
yoongi had opted for a white color scheme, as it was his favourite colour. he'd chosen a comforter that was white with thin black stripes. meanwhile i went for a baby blue plain comforter, deciding on a more pastel theme for my room.
we had our first fight over towels.
yoongi wanted white, and i wanted beige. we came to a compromise by deciding on white bath towels and a beige hand towel. after we picked out a shower curtain, a rug, and other little knickknacks yoongi kept picking up and insisting we buy, like toothbrush holders and a soap dispenser. we'd decided to go with a navy blue/beige theme for the bathroom, and since the walls were already a light sand colour, it would eliminate us having to repaint.
we decided to take a break a little after noon and get something to eat before resuming our shopping spree. yoongi and i headed over to the food court, and after we got our lunch, we found a little table and sat down to enjoy our meal.
"so," yoongi began through a mouthful of food, "what do you like to do?"
"like for fun?" i asked taking a sip of my green tea. yoongi made an 'mhm' sound and nodded. "uh, well, i like to sing. dance. that's it, really. i never had much free time back home. always working."
"where'd you live before?"
i quickly swallowed the bite of food i'd just taken, washing it down with a swig of tea. "born and raised in busan. how about you?" i asked, hoping i could get him to open up.
yoongi looked down at his food for a moment. "daegu."
guess it wasn't opening up time.
"oh, that's cool. i've heard it's really nice there. not that busan isn't, but daegu seems, i don't know," i rambled, gesturing wildly with my free hand. "different."
"i heard the beaches in busan are really nice," yoongi commented.
"they are," i smiled proudly. "do you like going to the beach?"
"yeah, my brother and i used–" yoongi suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence, a pained look on his face.
"yoongi hyung?"
the blonde haired boy looked up at me, his previously shining brown eyes now glazed over in pain. "i-it's nothing, jimin. just ignore it." he put down his fork, obviously having lost his appetite. something about his brother had made him hurt. pushing away his tray, he stood up and grabbed some of the bags sitting at our feet. "ready to finish shopping?" yoongi asked, a sad, tight smile on his face. he seemed to be full of fake smiles.
"sure, hyung." i finished my food hurriedly and grabbed the rest of the bags and followed after him.
and with that we continued shopping, neither of us mentioning what had happened and instead engaging in light conversation as we picked out clothes for each another.
by the time we left the mall it was about 3pm, four hours since we arrived at the giant shopping plaza. i could hardly believe we'd spent that much time just shopping.
we then called a taxi, where thankfully the driver didn't complain about the many bags we stuffed into the trunk, the ones that didn't fit on our laps.
"that was a tiring day," i commented as the driver pulled out of the parking lot. yoongi was fiddling with some of the items in our bags, smiling softly.
"and now we get to go home and put this shit away."
i groaned, resting my head against the headrest. "can't we just do it tomorrow?"
"i guess we can. netflix and chill?" yoongi suggested with a small grin. i snorted, turning to gaze out the window at the passing city life. this was my home now. i was now living with this ridiculously attractive guy who was clearly haunted by his past and refused to talk about it, about to make a life for myself in a strange new city.
i could hardly wait to prove my parents wrong.
