Growing Pains

31

Jin came out of his bathroom, his head bowed as he towel-dried his hair.

He felt refreshed after his hot shower.

He still cannot believe that he forgot his own birthday.

He had been so busy preparing for his move to Seoul.

Namjoon's parents had bought a three-bedroom apartment not far from Hanyang, and Jin will be moving in with him.

He will also be going to Seoul with Namjoon next week to check out the apartment, and take a tour around the university.

Jin has yet to tell Jungkook about Hanyang because he is unsure of how the younger will react, but he knows he cannot put it off any longer.

Jin will be leaving their hometown the weekend after graduation.

Jin stopped when he sensed he was close to his bed.

He was still towelling off his hair, and his head remained bowed.

He heard Jungkook hiss.

Alarmed that he might have accidentally stepped on his dongsaeng's foot as he blindly walked into his bedroom, he looked up quickly and locked eyes with Jungkook.

"Oh sorry, Jungkook. I didn't see you there."

The dark look in Jungkook's eyes startled Jin because he had never seen it before.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook. You know what hyung is like when hyung just woke up. I'm like a zombie and I don't watch where I'm going."

Jin knew he was babbling but he didn't know what to make of the look on Jungkook's face.

"Umm... so what outfits did you pick for me?"

He saw Jungkook frown before the strange look on his face was replaced with a grin tinged with a little sadness.

It made Jin wonder what he did to make his dongsaeng sad.

"Your favourite salmon pink hoodie or my favourite cornflower blue sweater?" Jungkook held out the clothes to Jin.

Jin tapped his finger on his lip as he pretended to consider his choices.

He already knew which he was going to pick when he saw it in Jungkook's hand.

This might be the last birthday he'll share with Jungkook so he was going to make it the best for him.

"The cornflower blue."

Four hours later, Jin was tucking into his birthday lunch of steak and lobster - his ultimate favourite - while Jungkook shot a brief video of him moaning from the delicious bite he had just taken.

Jin and Jungkook were at a ski resort.

Jungkook had asked him to drive there, after getting permission from Jin's brother to borrow his car again.

They had spent the morning skiing and snowboarding the many slopes available at the resort, and now they were taking a break for Jin's birthday lunch.

It was exactly how Jin wanted to spend his birthday, and he was touched that Jungkook knew this and had planned accordingly.

Jin loved winter sports, and so he was quite talented at skiing and snowboarding.

Jungkook was not as accomplished but he managed to keep up with his hyung.

It had made Jin proud to see his dongsaeng soaring down the slopes with him, his hair flying behind him, his cheeks flushed from the cold air.

My Jungkook is beautiful, he thought every time they came to a halt at the bottom of the slope.

"Are you enjoying your birthday, hyung?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. Thank you, Jungkook-ah. I love it."

And I love you, my sweet boy.

"Shall we hit the slopes again?"

"Yes, but let's wait at least a half hour for our food to digest," Jin suggested.

"Okay, hyung. Anything for you," Jungkook smiled.

They ended up waiting two hours before going on the slopes again because Jungkook found a games arcade in the resort so they played several games before going back outside.

When they finally left the resort and headed home, Jungkook fell asleep in the car.

Jin smiled as he alternated between watching his sleeping dongsaeng and keeping his eyes on the road.

Jungkook looked so peaceful when he slept.

When they got to Jungkook's house, Jin carried his sleeping dongsaeng on his back up to his bedroom, smiling at Jungkook's mum as she held the front door open.

He placed Jungkook gently on his bed, and began pulling his shoes and socks off.

After putting Jungkook's footwear neatly by the door, Jin went into the bathroom across the hall to get a small basin of warm water and a hand towel.

He then trudged back to Jungkook's room and began undressing his dongsaeng so he could wipe him clean.

It made Jin smile because doing this reminded him of all the times that he had watched over Jungkook when he was a child, and given him baths.

It also made Jin chuckle when he remembered what Jungkook had said to him this morning.

"There's nothing that you have that I haven't seen on myself."

As he put Jungkook into his pyjamas, Jin began to cry quietly.

This may be the last time that he will get to take care of this boy that he watched grow up from the time he was one month old.

It has been a wonderful experience, and the memories that Jin will take with him when he leaves in two months will be bittersweet because the next time someone takes care of Jungkook like this, it will be his wife.

The pang in Jin's heart at the thought of Jungkook married to someone else was so painful that he thought he was having a heart attack.

He looked at his love, leaned down and gave him a tender kiss on the lips before he let himself out of the house and went next door to his home.