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The ever-busy city has once again sprung up to life with another sunrise. Scurrying steps of pedestrians, loud honking of the buses and the flashing signals can be witnessed around every corner of the city. Nothing is stagnant in this city.
In this city of Seoul.
This is the city which taught Jimin to stand on his own feet, taught him to fulfil his duties, taught him how to face life and reality.
The only thing it could not teach is Love.
And when did he have time for that. Whenever he viewed the city from afar, his parents seemed to come closer to him. Whenever he used to feel alone in this million city, he used to find refuge here… here beside the Han river, here beside the Banpo Bridge. This is where Park Jimin grew up, lost his parents at the age of fifteen, and became a true adult even before his age certified him.And this is his story. “Taehyung-ah… Where are you?”, Jimin shouts through the empty dining space.Taehyung appears within no time, and Jimin has learnt to ignore the puffy eyes he has every morning. Probably he called his parents once again this morning.“Where have you been, Jimin-ssi?”“Went to the Banpo Bridge.”“And may I ask why the destination was Han river for a simple morning walk?”“To meet someone, of course”, Jimin says, his eyes forming crescents as he fakes a smile. These morning-non-sense-talks.“And who is that, my pretty little soulmate?”“My boyfriend, you idiot!”, Jimin says with an annoyed face. They stare at each other for a while, but finally they yield to laughter as soon as they realise it is the most ridiculous thing; if not in future, then at least for now.Jimin rummages through the pile of letters that they have received today morning. Since they live in this apartment together—him, Taehyung and Jeongguk, Taehyung’s boyfriend of three years—Jimin has to take the responsibility of sorting the mails and parcels every morning.“Bills… bills… bills… Private and confidential? To Mr. Kim Taehyung? Huh?”. Jimin looks up with questions in his mind, but Taehyung wastes no time in grabbing the thing from his hand.“That’s mine.”Jimin knows he should pay more attention, probably ask more questions about who Mrs. Min is—the name that was written above sender’s address, but he dismisses the thought as soon as he sees that some droplets have pooled in his puffy eyes.“Were you crying Tae?”, Jimin asks, in spite of knowing the only probable answer.“Nope, not at all. Were you crying Jiminie?”. Jimin withdraws his face from the close position, because that meant Taehyung could see his eyes too. And he is perfectly sure his eyes are still red from the time he spent at the Bridge.“Absolutely not.” And this is how they often lied to each other, although it was hard to find best friends closer than them. Jimin knew he could not help Taehyung mend his relationship with his homophobic parents; but he also knew that Taehyung could never fill up the void his parents had left. “Jimin-hyung, come fast. They are fighting. Again.”Jeongguk’s voice gets replaced by blankness as the younger cuts the call. Jimin lets out a deep sigh and pockets the phone as he prepares himself for what is about to follow. He picks up his belongings from the floor and leaves his practice room. Not even Sundays are spared nowadays. Twenty minutes later, Jimin is standing in between the empty coffee shop that Taehyung and Namjoon co-own. Jeongguk is standing next to him, and both of them are watching as Taehyung and Namjoon argue about one endless topic for the nth time since the shop was opened.“No hyung, that is not an excuse. How can you care less about the payment? The customer did not pay three fucking dollars! And this is the alibi for it? That your story book had reached the climax? You just accepted anything he gave you!”Jimin knows Taehyung will continue scolding Namjoon, like he is older than the two-year older male. What he cannot believe is Namjoon snaps back this time.“Don’t you dare let out your frustrations at me now! If you are that good at handling things, you should look after the counter while I serve.”“While you serve?”, Taehyung smirks a bit, but his entire body is trembling with anger. “I hope you have not forgotten all those times you broke cups, jars and spilled coffee on customers.”Taehyung stops for a moment when he realises that this is going way too beyond than it should. Namjoon unties the apron around his waist and places it on a nearby table. Guilt-ridden, Taehyung stops Namjoon midway as the latter attempts to leave the place.“Joon-hyung, we all know that a lot of things depend on the success of this shop… we can’t be careless even a bit. I hope you understand. It is getting more difficult for me to pay for my photography course, and I just can’t let Jeongguk or Jimin to pay for me anymore.”Namjoon cannot ignore when the younger becomes emotional… the Taehyung who is usually cheerful—at least that is what he used to be. Namjoon hugs him lightly and murmurs a soft “I am sorry, Tae”. They wipe their tears and turn to look at Jimin and Jeongguk. This is their signal to join them, to complete the group hug. The four boys smile weakly as they get back to their respective works once again. “Jimin-ah!”Jimin looks over his shoulder to find the source of the voice. But the rain—pouring like there is no tomorrow—obstructs his vision. He sees his other best friend only when he comes close enough… under the umbrella they often share.They have known each other for three years now, since the time Jimin joined the dance classes he could only dream of attending when he was younger. On the other hand, Hoseok was already experienced in hip-hop, and this was his second course in dancing—this time contemporary.“Sorry I’m late…,” Hoseok says, displaying his teeth as if that would melt Jimin’s heart and he would forgive him.“Now walk hyung, we’re already late!”As they begin to walk, Jimin notices a slight bruise on Hoseok’s right cheek that is otherwise invisible. “Who hit you today? Now don’t tell me you got hit by another guy you were hitting on or because you asked some random girl her phone number and his boyfriend smacked you.”Jimin’s assumptions are always true, and he does not even get credited. “Yeah… her boyfriend. Inside the elevator.”“Oh God hyung when will you stop this?” When the class finally comes to an end, they come out of the building exhausted to their last cell. The rain has stopped and so they go for some coffee at the local shop.Sipping his espresso, Hoseok says, “You know what, Jimin, I like you a lot.”“Why this sudden realisation?”, Jimin asks almost immediately.“Because you are not like the others. You are straightforward—not at all fake, you always have time for me and… well, the only one I’m not interested in flirting with”, Hoseok replies confidently, as he takes out his black pocket diary and scribbles something. Jimin does not know what the older guy writes in his tiny journal; and Jimin is never interested enough to ask. Hoseok is a bit eccentric, Jimin knows, and he pretends to be cooler in front of people. But he is actually a ball of sunshine who never lets Jimin stop smiling.And he is happy that he has Hoseok in his life. The door of their shared room finally swings open. Jimin finds a crying Taehyung, who instantly throws his arms around Jimin, ignoring how tiny the latter is compared to his limbs.“What happened Tae? Did you call them again?”“N-No… It’s K-kook, Jiminie…”And suddenly Jimin remembers that Jeongguk had an interview this afternoon. The third interview this month. He has been applying for the post of a clerk at various business firms, but has been failing for some reason they do not know. The loving, the good-at-everything, the baby-bunny and the amazing boyfriend to Taehyung, Jeongguk is almost perfect.To his horror, Jimin realises what the younger had promised to himself if he could not succeed in this infinite-th attempt since last two years. Jimin pushes open the door of Taehyung and Jeongguk’s shared bedroom, and finds Jeongguk sitting on the bed, eyes unfocused.“Why did you do that Jeongguk? I thought you were joking because that night we were intoxicated…”, Jimin manages to speak, after seeing several marks of sharp cuts, which he himself has drawn on his skin. “Do you even care for your life?”“No”, comes a stern reply.“Then at least care for Tae, me and Joon-hyung. We need you Jeongguk. Taking your own life won’t help, please understand.”This time Jeongguk looks up and their eyes meet. Tears silently roll down both of their cheeks as Jimin caresses the younger’s head with his hand. Taehyung hugs Jimin from behind, which causes Jimin’s shirt to get soaked with tears. “Everything is going to be fine”, Jimin tells them. But deep inside he knows, he is assuring himself only.