The next day I woke up to the delicious smell of what seemed like pancakes.  Still half-conscious, I got up and went to the kitchen to see Jimin by the stove, tossing a pancake on the frying pan, looking really professional.

“Wow, you seem like a real chef”

He turned around and smiled.

“Well, I have a lot of experience” he eyed me and chuckled “You look really cute in the morning”

I felt my cheeks grow hot.

I wanted to say “So do you” but he was faster.

“Go sit by the table, I will bring you the pancakes is a moment.”

I obediently sat at the table. After a minute or two he also came with two plates in his hands.

“Here you are, the delicious pancakes by the recipe of chef Park Jimin”

I chuckled.

“Thank you very much for this gourmet breakfast.”

We ate up the pancakes in comfortable silence. I had to give it to him, they really were delicious.

“Do you want to go out together somewhere today? Since it’s Saturday.” I asked while applying some strawberry jam on my pancake.

“Sure, where to?”

“I don’t know…” Amusement park? Nah, that’s too cheesy. Cinema? It’s too crowded. Then…

“If you don’t have idea, can I choose? I want to show you something” he cut into the flow of my thoughts.

I looked at him in surprise.

“Sure, what is it?”

“It’s a surprise, Jungkookie” he chuckled and ruffled my hair “Eat up or it’s going to be cold”

***

I was surprised when we entered that park where we first met.

“Why are we here” I asked.

“You will see” he simply answered. I was getting really curious.

We walked through the whole park until we reached “my” bench, the one that I always sat on. He then turned to the alley on the left that led to a small, old, wooden arbor. It was completely covered by ivy from the outside, looking abandoned.

Jimin stepped inside and I followed. We sat next to each other on the bench that was set up there. I looked around. I couldn’t see anything from the outside because of the ivy. It was also quite dark, only a little bit of sunshine could get through the nature-maid curtain and all the sounds of the outside were muffled.

It suddenly felt as if me and Jimin entered another world where only we existed. A place, where there is no time.

“I come, or rather came here every day” Jimin’s quiet voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Here I feel like I can forget. Like I can just be myself and not care about anyone. That's why I wanted to show you, to explain. You see, I've always wanted to be a dancer so I decided to skip college and start dancing seriously. But my parents, they... they didn't like it. " His voice started to shake. "It’s really hard, you know. Not being accepted by the people you love.” 

 I just sat there, letting him speak his heart out.

“The people whose recognition I need the most. But they can’t accept me even though I’m their son. Even though I am someone that they created. They want someone else. They want the perfect son.” I felt him shake beside me. A single tear dropped on my hand. “Jungkook…”

I looked at him and immediately regretted it. It was definitely not a sight that I wanted to see. Ever.

His eyes were full of tears and with such pain that I couldn’t even imagine. His eyes were screaming for help, desperately. He gripped the front of my t-shirt. My heart squeezed. 

“Jungkook, what should I do? Do I really have to be like they want me to? Do I have to lose myself for them to love me?” his voice, full of desperation,  sent shivers down my spine. My eyes got teary too. I pulled him in for a tight hug. He buried his face into my chest, wetting my t-shirt. Now I understood everything.

“It’s not like that, Jimin.” I said in a barely audible voice into his hair “If you lose yourself, that’s when you will really become unhappy.  What’s the point of living if can’t be yourself?” I caressed his hair. “I’m sure that they will accept you someday. They will come to realize that what they are trying to do to you is wrong. I think that right now, they are blinded by their own reasons so much, that they can’t even see the real you anymore. They can only see the “Jimin” that they want. But I’m sure that one day they will know, and they will see the truth. See what an amazing person you already are and ythat you don’t need any improvements. That you are perfect just the way that you are. So please” I kissed the top of his head “do me a favor and just be yourself.”

I just hugged him tight until his sobs subdued. Finally, he pulled away a little, sniffling, his hands still gipping my front tight.

“Thank you” His voice cracked a little. He smiled at me through his tears.

I felt another petal grow, when I smiled back and brushed his cheek.

“Jimin, stay with me” his eyes widened a little in surprise. “At least for now. The apartment is big enough for two people and it won’t feel so lonely anymore. And besides, I like having you there.” My cheeks got a little warm.

“I’ll be glad to stay. Thank you, Jungkookie” and suddenly he hugged me tight.

Another petal.

He finally pulled away and just sat there beside me, his head down.

“I’m sorry I burst out like that. I never thought that I… that it would happen. I’m sorry”

He must’ve been embarrassed.

“Actually, I’m a bit happy” he raised his head in confusion.

“Happy?”

“Yeah. I got to know something new about you.”

He smiled weakly and looked away again.

“Do you always know what to say?” he mumbled. I noticed his cheeks becoming a little bit pink.

“Of course, after all, my name is Jeon Jungkook.” I answered trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit and I was glad to see him laughing for the second time in my life. It lasted only a moment, but my the butterflies appeared again in my insides and so did another petal.

“You know, I’ve always seen you” Jimin broke the silence after a while. “About three weeks after I discovered this place, that’s when I first saw you. You were sitting on that bench of yours, staring at the people passing by with a bored and judging expression on your face. After that day, I saw you every day, without a fail.” He looked at me. “Ever since, I’ve been so curious what you were thinking. And why have been you coming to the park every day just to sit on that bench? Was there a reason to it?”

“There wasn't” I shook my head. “One day I stumbled across this place on my way home and something just pulled me back here. It felt as if I would miss something if I didn’t come. Something really important.” And I found it. “And as far as what I was thinking, I was just contemplating how people are blind to the beauty of the world around them while waiting for something to happen.”

“Oh... so do you feel like you have to keep coming back?”

I looked at him and smiled.

“Not anymore”

“Oh…” he just said, his cheeks becoming pink. He looked so adorable at that moment that I wanted to die. I wiped away the leftovers of his tears.

“I’m hungry, let’s go home” I said standing up.

“Yeah, let’s go home”

Another petal.

***

“ So, what’s up with you lately?”

I lifted my head, suddenly brought back to reality by Tae’s question. The said boy was currently watching me carefully from the other side of the school cafeteria table, chewing a bite of a sweet bun.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on Jungkook, don’t try to hide it. Something’s up.” He brought himself closer to me. His stare was really no joke. It felt as if he was interrogating me. I even became a little nervous.

“Wh-why would you say that?” I stuttered.

Tae returned to his previous relaxed position.

“First, you don’t go to that precious park of yours anymore, but straight home since last week. You even missed a practice. Second, you are always daydreaming and smiling to yourself. Third, you bought way too much food to eat by one person the other day. So tell me, Mr. Jeon, what crime did you commit? Did you bring an orphan to your house?”

He was smart when he wanted to. His eyes seemed to have seen through my soul. I felt really uncomfortable under his gaze.

“N-no…”

“Hm? Really?” he tilted his head “So what is it? Come ooon, Kookie, won’t you tell your best friend? Huh? Kooookieee “

I was a little shocked at his sudden change of strategy. A moment ago he was being a scary officer and now he was showering with his aegyo. He was really a scary manipulator. And I knew him enough to be conscious if the fact that he won’t stop unless I give him what he wants. I sighed.

“Ok, I’ll tell you. Just stop it already. It’s not cute at all” I lied. He was actually so cute that my heart was screaming. But he didn’t need to know that.

Tae immediately straightened and put on a concentrated face.

“There is that guy…”

“What guy? Do I know him?” he immediately interrupted me.

“No, you don’t. And don’t disturb me or I won’t tell you the story.”

“Yes, sir. Please, continue.”

“So, there is that guy that I met first in the park. Yes it’s that park which I was going to every day. Don’t interrupt” I quickly added as I saw him opening that big mouth of his again “And after that I didn’t saw him for a while, but I saw something that happened to him and I took him home to take care of him and he is staying at my apartment for now because he can’t exactly go back because he.. has a situation. The end.” I said in one breath. V was staring at me, trying to transform what I just said.

“So, he’s living with you? What’s his name?”

“Jimin”

“What’s he like? Doesn’t he disturb you? You said you didn’t like other people because they are “blind to the world” or something like that. Is he ok?” V has always asked rapid questions, but I was used to it by now.

“Yes, he is… he is fine.” V looked at me expectantly and urged me to say something more with his hand. “Well, he’s funny and he can cook too. He smiles a lot, even though I can see that half of those smiles are actually fake. He is also really kind to me, always taking care of me, helping me with my homework and such. Not to mention, he is very handsome. Like, really, you could cut your hand on his jawline. And his eyes – if you saw them, you would know what I mean. They are just so beautiful. He always squints them when he smiles, which makes him look very cute. ” I thought for a second “And that’s basically everything. So yeah, he’s fine.” I concluded.

V just stared at me, studying me carefully, making me uncomfortable again.

“Kookie...”

“What?”

“You are totally smitten by this Jimin guy”

He really was smart. Or maybe, I was just too obvious.

“W-what are you saying? Me? No…” I protested, but it came out rather weak.

“As if.”

I just turned my fiery red face away and continued to eat in silence. I heard him sigh as he returned to eating his bun.

***

As I was going home, I was still thinking about that conversation with Tae.

The truth is, I already knew it. I was falling in love with Jimin. From the very first moment that I saw him soaked in the rain. And with every day, with his every smile, with every morning that I woke up to his sleeping face, since we've been sleeping in the same bed, I was falling deeper and deeper.

The flower in my heart was being watered daily so it was growing grew more and more petals every day out of those seven that we have spent together. It was almost about to bloom.

We both knew that. He knew what I was feeling and I knew that he was feeling the same. We just let it be without naming it.

And I was quite sure that I was slowly becoming truly happy again.