EAT/JIKOOK.

twenty ninth.

"hyung..wake up.." jimin hears jungkook calling him, sounding as if he was muffled.

he opened his eyes, which were swollen from the night before, and saw jungkook, who had removed the hand he had on his shoulder and wouldn't make eye contact with him.

"sorry, i just..your appointment's in a couple hours..thought i'd wake you for it."

jimin nodded and wiped his eyes, and by the time he opened his eyes the younger had left. instead of dwelling on it, though, he just went to the bathroom.

***

an hour later, jimin was showered and changed, and had gone to the kitchen to have a drink of water. jungkook was there, sitting at the table, but he didn't say anything.

"did something..happen?" jimin asked tentatively, swirling the glass around slowly.

"i don't..know," jungkook responds. "do you still..d'you still want me to take you to the appointment?"

"of course. unless you're busy? you don't have to go. obviously. i can go myself." jimin caught himself rambling as the thought of last night ran through his mind again.

"no, no," jungkook stood up to go hold jimin's hands. "hyung..i should've told you i had made plans, okay? i wanted to invite you to come but i understand how you feel about sudden situations like that so it completely slipped my mind that i hadn't told you and i'm really, really sorry."

the elder smiles, allowing jungkook to hug him. "don't be sorry, jungkookie. i can take care of myself, you know."

jungkook didn't reply, and his unspoken words hang in the air— as they both know that jimin's last sentence was not true in the slightest.

***

after a small breakfast, the two boys had left for jimin's appointment, with the younger driving. they held hands over the console, and neither of them mentioned it in fear of ruining the moment.

"i don't need to..say much, right?" jimin asked, leaning his head back.

"not all at once, no. but i'm here to help you, yeah?" jungkook squeezes the other's hand. "and if at any time you need me to go, i can do that, too."

jimin hums, squeezing his hand back lightly and sighing. he doesn't protest against the offer, but he doesn't express interest in it either. he just decides for a simple, "thank you."

the clinic was nearly half an hour away with traffic, which was pretty close for somebody with a car. jungkook parked near the front, as close as he could, so that in case jimin needed an out he didn't have to run into the middle of the road (though of course he didn't tell him that).

he undid his own seatbelt before going around to help jimin out of the car, as this had become something of a tradition for them. it made jimin smile, so why wouldn't jungkook do it?

they walked toward the front doors hand in hand, but jungkook let go of his hand when they walked in. jimin thought that maybe he was uncomfortable, so he didn't say anything— though he visibly tenses without the touch.

what he didn't expect was for jungkook to wrap an arm around him instead, and he melted into the touch gratefully.

"is this okay?" the younger asked in a quiet voice.

"yeah."

"okay." jungkook smiles before leading them to the front desk. "hello, uhm..appointment for park jimin?"

the man looks down at his paper and nods, writing something down. "have a seat."

they didn't find seats side by side, as that's how full the waiting room was. instead of splitting up, jungkook led them to a seat on the end. jimin sat down, and jungkook stood next to him, his left arm around his neck. jimin tried to protest, but jungkook only shushed him.