(JIKOOK) Texting Story Snippets

Sidewalk

"I'm not going."

"You're not going where?"

"The sidewalk."

"The sidewalk?"

"Where he got shot, you idiot!" Jimin folds his arms again, slumping into a chair inside of the chilly restaurant. His eyes watch the pearly white tiles that make up the floor, grey scuffs marking up their surface. He knows for certain that Hoseok is aware of every destination on the list that they're supposed to find. It was fun until this point, but now Jimin just wants to find his boyfriend instead, just to give him a lecture about safety precautions.

"Chim," Hoseok whispers with a sigh trailing behind his hushed voice. Jimin has a tendency to forget to use his inside voice when he's upset. "It's broad daylight. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"That's easy for you to say." Jimin grumbles now. He leans into the back brace of his seat, pointedly showing disinterest in leaving. "Your boyfriend didn't almost die there."

Hoseok pulls out a chair beside Jimin, letting himself down into it and crossing his arms to mirror his friend. He does understand how Jimin must feel, especially when the younger has a difficult time letting things go. Jimin's love for others amounts to much more than that which he allows himself. To have almost lost the one person he loves most in the world is a tragedy of its own accord. "But, Jungkook didn't die. And now, the place that he got hurt is only a sidewalk. He doesn't want you to keep ignoring it, and he's right."

Jimin huffs softly, shaking his foot nervously as his skin crawls. Thinking about going back to that spot stabs needles into his heart. "What is the point of going back there, Hoseok?"

Quirking an eyebrow at the sharp edges in Jimin's tone, the older takes a moment to mentally piece together an argument that won't be chewed up and spit out. Jimin's reluctance to return to a place that caused him heartache is persistent, but given the right amount of encouragement, he can come to understand the importance of finding closure and peace. "Kook said you would hate this part, and he asked me if it was something he should put you through. I told him 'absolutely', because you need it, Chim. You do."

Jimin scoffs harshly, shaking his head in blatant disagreement. "I already understand the importance of finding closure and peace. I don't need to go back to the scene of the crime to figure those things out. I'm coping the way that I need to be." He argues, shoulders tensed.

Hoseok sweeps a hand through his light brown locks of hair, biting his tongue against words of pure argumentative nature. There would be no use in fighting with Jimin, upsetting the younger into a down hill spiral over a sensitive subject he'd love to ignore. Instead of fighting, he uses the cold, hard truth. "You haven't found closure or peace with what happened, Jimin. That's just a fact. And you're not going to until you face what you saw that night."

"I have faced it." The younger bites back immediately, expecting the response. He's heard it before, from Jungkook and from his friends.

"No," Hoseok shakes his head aggressively. "You've only practiced avoiding it ever happening again. You're still afraid of it, instead of accepting it as a part of not only Jungkook's past, but yours as well. You choose to pretend it doesn't exist." He knows damn well his points are valid, soaked in truth. Jungkook is much softer than he comes off as when riled up, but Hoseok works on tempering down to show his genuine understanding of his friends real emotions. Still, Jimin response is made with agitation and the same levels of resistance.

"I know what happened, Hoseok. I don't need to be there to remember, or to address it."

It's a decent stance, the older admits, but Jimin isn't getting out of it with a good excuse. "Maybe not, but if you're going to address it, why not address it to its face?"