This is the first part of the reader's storyline with Jimin.
Your light breaths as the others made decisions didn't affect the outcome of ongoing discussion. The idea had been to room with Kim Seokjin for some help in vocals, but then the same argument came in rooming with Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook, and of course Jung Hoseok. It spun to where perhaps you needed some, and could provide, guidance in creating music and lyrics. That's when they considered to put you alongside Min Yoongi or Kim Namjoon. When the same logic kept being thrown around in search of a place you belonged, no one could agree on a certain match. No one thought of anything that couldn't be argued until Jimin broke the fit of conversation to announce how he wanted to be the one to room with you. His overall enthusiasm had everyone agree to disagree, all members helping move Hoseok's items out of the room he shared with Jimin. You apologized for pushing Hoseok out of his room, but he dismissed the idea of it being any kind of hassle. He seemed happy to help you feel welcome in any format. Items came and went from the room, Hoseok's being plentiful. They were switched with yours, the group effort completing the task in two hours since you didn't have a lot to bring in the first place. That didn't matter. At least not to you. You had enough to call it a wardrobe and that's what you needed in the end.
As everyone began leaving the room, you were left alone with Jimin. His eyes focused on you for quite some time. You'd glance his way and he'd wave rather shyly. You weren't up to much except writing things down inside of a journal. Considering the wave of thoughts you had on a constant basis, you had the idea to place them down somewhere. It gave you a visual clue to what occurred inside of the walls of your mind. This helped to make more connections, connections you didn't realize were there. So the sound of a pen gliding across paper filled the room, the notes in your lap as you sat cross legged. The blue ink flowed nicely across the sheet, your attention captured by the color and content. That didn't stop you from diverting focus once in a while.
Every now and then you'd peer at the quiet Jimin who laid in his bed in silence.
He wasn't always looking at you, but every so often, you'd catch him watching and he'd smile every time. It'd be you who would eventually look down. You couldn't put your finger on what his thoughts were or why he wanted to room with you in the first place, but you didn't try and dwell on that too much. If you did, you'd find yourself in an endless spiral of thought. While you did value contemplation, these kinds of things should never be explored since it often leads to assumptions setting up straight heartbreak and disappointment. Having faced both in your life before, you knew that pain. You'd rather not fall in that pit.
You placed your pen at the side of you when Jimin sat at the edge of your new bed. Curious orbs met his smiling face again, no real uncomfortable aura falling onto your shoulders as you stared forward. You reflected his smile, the crinkles at the side of your eyes forming as they did with his. Something about it spreaded almost contagiously. This infection, if you could even refer to it as that, was welcomed. This virus of sudden optimism stuck to your veins and with that, you couldn't help but allow it. Clearing your throat, you tilted your head slightly to the left, gauging action written in his features. Anticipation built, wondering if he wanted to say something and if so, why hadn't he already said it instead of closing proximity and keeping a riddle hanging in the air. Since you couldn't figure it out, almost strangled you as the Sphinx would, you opted for words. They weren't a strong suit (no one could tell you they were anyone's real strong suit) but you bargained this could aid in solving his game.
"What's on your mind?" You asked, breaking the silence between the two of you. His expression changed. Not by much, but it did. His smile softened, not as intense as before, but just as sincere. Leaning onto his elbow, his body went slacker than before. He was calm. Collected. Relaxed. You, on the other hand, had straightened your back in his presence. Your teeth gnawed at your bottom lip as you awaited his answer, reading his careful sigh as one of judgment. There you went: making assumptions. To a viewer, he seemed to be relieved to get something out of his system. He'd been controlled.
You wanted to switch postures.
"You're beautiful."
Okay. Now you opted for silence.
You were rendered speechless. What are you supposed to say to something like that? Your lips hung slightly open, parted in the circulation of shock combining into your blood. When the shock wore off, in came the shyness. A soft crimson tint traveled and bloomed across your skin from your neck to your cheeks. The flush quickly caught Jimin's eye, some studying done of the pigment. His widened smile from before returned and he nodded his head. His hand didn't hesitate from patting the top of yours, sliding off the edge opposite of you to leave from the room. You didn't consider the encounter awkward in the slightest, instead dawning on a face of bewilderment when you managed to look at the doorway. The door, slightly ajar, looked as if he didn't touch it. Something about it came off as smooth, a relative ease to manifest into your bones with a surplus of heat added to your blood.
Eventually, you did get back to your journal. You tried to write something, anything, but nothing came. Your hand wouldn't move.
You were somehow overthinking with a completely blank mind.
You almost didn't recognize yourself as your reflection stared back at you. You had nothing against women who wore makeup and those who wore minimal to nothing, but you figured something went awry when the young lady painting at your cheeks fled to find help. You guessed this occurred because they were used to the minimal aspect with the other members. Fortunately, this had been mere practice. Your cheeks were pinker than usual and eyeshadow struck a bit too bright. A frown came into fruition. You didn't want to cause any trouble or bring that over anyone's head.
Choosing a look for the reveal is what you wanted to do, but you were also nervous about the audience rejecting you. You started to pick at the smallest flaws. From the size of your eyes to the thickness of your lips, you started to see things people might not like. Things you didn't like yourself. Leaning your chin into both of your hands, you huffed out a breath of flowing anxiety. You'd get to this point sometimes. You had a big dream you were making come true everyday, but you tried to ignore the fact that soon you'd be performing in front of people and doing interviews. You didn't know if you could handle all of those things.
You were terrified of what you might say.
Snapping out of your trance, you saw a figure approach behind you. Your eyes focused on him, blurring you in the process. Jimin offered a grin in the reflection, to where you gave your haphazard attempt. Turning the chair away from the mirror, you were facing him instead this time. Blonde strands of hair fell into his visage, but he remained unbothered. Kneeling slightly, he came down to your level studying the makeup on your face. In came a look of concentration, his thumbs running across your rosy cheeks. Taking the moment to glance down at the pads of said thumbs, he laughed when pink powder coated them. You couldn't help but laugh yourself, your mood brightening up with him being there. Reaching for a wipe sitting on the vanity now behind you, Jimin's expression of concentration returned and he gently pressed the wipe across your skin. He started at your forehead. He carefully brought it to the bridge of your nose, avoiding your eyes as he took his time bringing the makeup off.
You scooted back, wondering if you should even be taking this off with the young lady still somewhere else in the building. He reassured you with a soft trust me and so you let tension seep out so he could resume.
"I didn't scare you off the other day, did I?" He asked softly. You were in the middle of experiencing the cool tone of the wipe and hadn't even thought about that. Yesterday he made a comment, a compliment that made your cheeks pinker than they were right now.
"Caught me off guard," you confessed. Your eyes opened to see his still looking at skin. He attended to that matter as he continued to speak.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward. I was very impressed when I saw you at your final audition. They had been letting us watch videos of the rounds and they finally gave us a chance to be there for the last three." Stopping his actions, he looked over at your face. He checked if there had been any remnants left as he folded the wipe. He went back to cleaning after that.
"I didn't even think about that. I just thought you all saw the last part." You said. He shook his head in a negative manner at that. That was always a universal motion.
"We got to see all of it, but we only got to see one thing in person. The other two were very good. But you? I was so amazed." He finished with the wipe, tossing it into the wastebasket at the side. Bringing his hands to the sides of your arm rests, he leaned forward and gleamed that smile yet again. Getting infected this way could be a habit you opted for.
"It's hard to keep track and watch so many people. We managed it, though. It was easier as the rounds went along, but sad to see great dancers and great singers come and go. You always seemed to stick out, though." He waited a beat to let his lips unravel from the curvature. They went down to a less intense grin.
"You wore a different color from the rest of them. It got my attention really fast. Then you were so fluid. Sang like heaven. I already had a personal favorite. I hope you don't think that's weird." He sheepishly said. Of course you didn't see it as weird. Before, you were a fan. You knew all their songs, all their dances, and learned their names within a day of discovering them so early on. You couldn't help but turn your head down in a developing smile. The makeup was off, but you felt heat rushing up to your facial structure and neck. His fingers tucked under your chin, tilting your head back up.
"I was very happy when they told us what decision they made. The members and I had put in our comments after it was all over and we really emphasized how good you were. I'm glad you're apart of us now." Chuckling, he took your hands in his and gave them a quick squeeze. "I'm also very glad that we're rooming together. I'll try to be the best roommate around, I promise."
His eyes gleamed with hope and you felt the same hope begin to surge throughout your form. Maybe thinking too much about everything would be too toxic for your liking. What you needed to do was recall that things would be alright.
"Now come on. Let's go wash that beautiful face!" He tugged lightly at your hand, standing erect in the process. You followed suit, moving from the chair as he took the lead.
