#jk my fics already aren’t the best because I don’t proofread them because I’m too excited to post what I’ve written | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

silverlightqueen · 4 years ago

Text

21 Things To Do This Summer PJM

y/n has a week left to live and 21 things she wanted to do this summer. Jimin vows to help her do them all before she dies and give her the summer of a lifetime.

jimin x reader - angst, fluff, comedy, non-idol!au

Part of BangtanHQ’s ‘Bangtan Boardwalk’ at the ‘Summertime Sadness’ booth!

Rating: Mature (heavy themes and strong language - read with caution)

Word Count: 7.2k+

Warnings: death and illness, discussion of death and illness, jokes about death and illness, brain tumour, I think that’s it but please let me know if I missed anything

a/n: here’s part two guys !! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long but I’ve just been so busy and tumblr’s been an absolute bitch by not letting me upload smh. if you enjoy this fic, make sure to check out the other fics in the Summertime Sadness booth, and the other booths on the Bangtan Boardwalk! a huge thank you to @silverlightprincess for proofreading this massive fic, I love you so damn much, and thank you so much to @brinnalaine and @strxwberri-milk for giving me such lovely feedback on the first part, I really appreciate it xx

silverlightqueen masterlist

I wake up to the sound of knocking, followed by Jimin’s voice; ‘y/n?’ ‘Come in,’ I call groggily, throat dry and voice thick with sleep, and I blink in the light that streams in when Jimin opens the door. ‘Morning!’ he says cheerfully as I rub at my eyes, forcing myself to sit up in bed. He throws up the curtains, and I squint, my eyes stinging from how bright it is. ‘Do you mind?’ I ask tiredly, the boy sitting down on the end of the bed. ‘Well, you have been asleep for 9 hours. I would’ve thought that’s plenty of time,’ he says mildly, and the words don’t register for a few moments.

‘9? It’s already 11? I thought we were getting an early start on the road trip today!’ I demand, and he grins. ‘Well, that was the plan, but the plan didn’t take into consideration that the boys would all be so enthusiastic about helping us tick off the list. So we’re gonna go on the road trip tomorrow instead,’ he says, and I blink at him for a few moments. ‘How are we gonna get everything done?’ I ask, and he waves my concerns off. ‘Don’t worry about it. Just leave it to me, y/n, I’ve got it all planned out,’ he says, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘That’s what I’m worried about.’

‘Stop being so negative and get your ass up because we’ve got a bucket list to tick off!’ he says excitedly, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of bed. ‘Hold on, hold on. Let me go to the toilet, and wash my face before we go downstairs. I look a mess,’ I say, rubbing my eyes and yawning as I shuffle towards the bathroom. ‘You don’t. You’re a vision of beauty,’ he calls after me, and I roll my eyes, shutting the door as I say, ‘suck-up.’

Once I’ve done a wee and washed my face (I completely forgot about the tattoos until I saw the one on my finger whilst washing my hands – I thought it was a bug at first before I realised, and I had to quickly move my hand away from the water before I washed away the wrapping that JK put on last night), I venture back into the bedroom, Jimin sat on the bed with his phone in his hand. He jumps up with a grin, grabbing my hand and pulling me along behind him, all the way downstairs and into the kitchen. Taehyung, Jungkook and Hobi are sat around the island, sipping from Starbucks cups, and Coco and Tan are both lying in Tan’s huge bed, chewing on dog toys. ‘Morning,’ the boys chorus when they see me. ‘Morning. Isn’t it a betrayal to Yoongi for you to be getting drinks from Starbucks?’ I ask, all of them laughing as Tae holds out a cup to me. ‘He prefers Starbucks himself. This one’s for you,’ he says, and I raise an eyebrow.

‘How did you know I like caramel frappes?’ I ask, and the three of them look to Jimin. ‘I did some insta highlights stalking, and saw that you had one of these on a date with Nayeon a few months ago,’ he says shamelessly, and my eyes widen. ‘That is so weird.’ ‘Not as weird as you going on a date with Nayeon,’ he says with a shrug, and I shoot him a look. ‘Why is that weird?’ ‘As far as I remember, she’s straight. Unless Jungkook put her off boys,’ Jimin says, everyone laughing as Jungkook gives him a dirty look. ‘She is straight. It’s just a thing girls say, I guess. You can go on dates with your friends too,’ I explain as I take the empty seat beside Hobi.

‘How is Nayeon, y/n? I haven’t seen her since school ended. I haven’t seen any of the girls, now that I think about it,’ Taehyung asks, and I smile at the thought of them. ‘She’s good – they all are. Nayeon’s writing – she actually got a book deal a few months ago and had her first book published. It’s really good,’ I say, the boys all nodding. ‘We all read it and we loved it. She’s a good writer,’ Hobi says, and I can’t help but notice that Jungkook’s awfully quiet.

‘Why don’t you guys set up some kind of reunion with the girls? They’d like to see you again,’ I say, and they all exchange a look. ‘I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing them soon anyway. At your funeral,’ Jimin says, and then it just hits me all over again. I’m dying. I’m really dying. The next time all of my high school friends see each other again will be once I’m dead.

My eyes instantly fill with tears, and I can see the panic in Jimin’s face. ‘Sorry, y/n, I shouldn’t have s-’ ‘No, don’t apologise. It’s easy to forget that I’m dying, and then it hurts when it hits me again. But it’s not your fault, don’t apologise,’ I say, sniffling, as Hobi puts an arm around me. ‘y/n, you’re breaking my heart,’ Jungkook says with a small smile, his eyes shining with tears, and I can’t help but laugh, the others joining in. ‘Right, enough, before Jimin starts crying too,’ Taehyung says, and I look at Jimin with surprise. ‘Don’t tell me you’re a crier too,’ I say, Jimin looking a little embarrassed. ‘It used to be really easy to make me cry, but Jungkook’s worse than me these days,’ he says, Jungkook sticking his tongue out at him.

‘Okay, what are we doing first?’ I ask, and Tae jumps up with a grin. He goes to the fridge (I’m pretty sure it’s a smart fridge, which is so boujee – I always wanted a smart fridge) and gets out a tray covered with a tea towel. He puts the tray down on the marble island in front of me and pulls the tea towel away with a flourish, revealing a load of different ingredients. Sugar, flour, vanilla, milk, butter, cream, condensed milk and chocolate chips. ‘Are we baking?’ I ask, trying to remember if I put any baking on the list. ‘Nope. We’re making cookie dough ice cream!’ Taehyung announces, and I gasp excitedly. ‘Cookie dough ice cream’s my favourite!’ I exclaim, and they all look to Jimin before Jungkook says, ‘we know.’ ‘Listen, if I hadn’t have done any insta stalking, you wouldn’t be having your favourite drink or your favourite ice cream, so don’t give me that look!’

‘Anyway, I found the recipe on Tasty, and there’s a video with it, so we should just copy that because none of us are good at cooking,’ Tae says, and I hold back a laugh. ‘Not one of you?’ I ask, all of them shaking their heads. ‘Jin and Yoongi are the best, but they’re at work. Just be thankful Namjoon isn’t here – he’d probably find a way to set something on fire,’ Hobi says dryly, and I can’t say I’m surprised – I remember when our Spanish teacher booked us into the school kitchen to cook some Spanish dishes. Let’s just say, we had to use the fire extinguisher in Namjoon’s area. Twice.

We decide as a group that I’ll take the lead on the cooking (though it’s hardly cooking – no heat is involved at all) and Jimin will be my sous chef (Tae puts up a fight, but Jimin points out that he’s my ‘fabulously beautiful assistant’ so he gets to be the sous chef by default). We start by weighing out butter and sugar into a bowl, and getting Jungkook to cream them together (Tae doesn’t have an electric mixer and Jungkook’s stronger than the rest of us so he’s the obvious choice). Then we add milk and vanilla extract, Jungkook mixing that in as well, before we get him to mix in the flour, and then the chocolate chips too. Then Jimin scoops out the cookie dough with a spoon and I shape them into tiny little balls before laying them out on a tray. And then we put them in the freezer, where they need to stay for an hour.

‘What can we do for an hour?’ Hobi asks, Jimin having a look at the list whilst sipping on his drink – he obviously didn’t realise we’d have an hour in the middle of making the ice cream. ‘Ooh, we can cloud watch,’ he says excitedly, and I turn to look out of the kitchen window. The sky’s a beautiful blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, and a soft breeze ruffles the leaves on the trees. ‘Okay, let me get changed before we go outside,’ I say, heading towards the stairs, and Jimin grabs my arm. ‘Today can be your pyjama day!’ he exclaims, and I sigh, wondering why I put that on the list. ‘At least let me put a bra and socks on. And if I have to wear pyjamas, you all do too,’ I say with a grin, and the other boys looking reluctant but Jimin nods, obviously not one to back down. ‘Fine,’ he grins, ‘we will.’

‘That one looks like a dinosaur.’ ‘That one’s like a duck.’ ‘Don’t you think that one looks like a heart?’ ‘Yeah, it does. And that one looks like a plane.’ ‘Which one?’ ‘That little one, by the duck.’ ‘That’s not a plane-shaped cloud, Taehyung, that’s an actual plane.’ ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Yes, I’m sure. You need to start wearing your glasses again.’ ‘That one looks like Jimin.’ ‘I swear to God, can you stop saying all the ugly ones look like me?’

‘What are you idiots doing?’ Yoongi’s voice comes from behind us, and we all sit up, turning to look at him. ‘Cloud watching. It’s on y/n’s list,’ Jimin says, Yoongi nodding, before he frowns. ‘Why are you all in pyjamas?’ ‘Pyjama day. That’s on y/n’s list too. You gotta go put on some pyjamas,’ Jungkook says, Yoongi sighing as turns to go back into the house. ‘Aren’t you in the studio tonight, Yoongi?’ Hobi calls after him, the other boy not bothering to turn around, just shouting, ‘I took the day off!’

When I came back downstairs from putting my bra and some socks on, Taehyung was sat in the kitchen with the dogs, in his pyjamas (a stripy dark blue and white, shirt and trousers set with that alien-heart cartoon character on it – he literally looks adorable). I asked him where the others were and he said they’d gone to their house to get their pyjamas – they’d slept over last night but in their day clothes, and went back home this morning to get changed (boys are weird – I could never sleep in my day clothes). Then the other boys arrived, the three of them in matching pyjamas to Taehyung’s (Jungkook’s in pink and white with a little pink bunny cartoon character on it, Hobi’s in baby blue and white with a purple and blue horse cartoon character on it, and Jimin’s in a slightly darker blue and white with a yellow dog cartoon character on it). Apparently, the seven of them have these matching pyjamas but different characters, all of them from this cartoon thing they’ve been watching since they were kids called BT21 (when I told them I’d never heard of it, I was told I’m tasteless and uncultured).

Now, we’re laid out on a load of picnic blankets, looking up at the clouds and picking out shapes (that aren’t really there, but I don’t mind). The air’s deliciously warm, the sun beating down, making up for the slight breeze that rushes past every few minutes. The sky’s a vibrant blue and the clouds are all white and fluffy, not one grey cloud in sight. The leaves on the trees that line that garden are rich and dark, the flowers bright and facing up to the sun. The soft music that plays from Tae’s speaker is only disrupted by the singing of birds, and I can’t even find it in me to get annoyed by their chirping like I always do. Summer was never my favourite season, but it’s moments like these that make me feel like if life was an eternal summer, I would have no complaints.

‘Has it been an hour yet?’ Jungkook asks, Hobi checking his watch. ‘Um, yeah, it has actually. An hour and twenty-two minutes,’ he says sheepishly. ‘Hobi, you were supposed to keep an eye on the time!’ Tae exclaims as we all get up, slipping our shoes on from where they’re all lying around the picnic blankets. Tae practically sprints up to the house, the rest of us following slowly behind, and he has the condensed milk and cream out ready for us when we get in.

Jimin and I measure them out into a bowl, and we get Jungkook to whip it up until it thickens into soft peaks (as the recipe says) before we mix in the frozen cookie dough balls. We spoon the mixture out into a glass tray and put it into the freezer. And that’s our ice cream done. ‘I should put chef on my CV now,’ Jimin says, leaning back against the counter and wiping his forehead of sweat that isn’t there. ‘Are you kidding me? I’m the one that did all the actual work! You two just measured everything out!’ Jungkook exclaims incredulously, and Jimin puts a hand on his chest as though he’s offended. ‘The measuring out is the hardest part! Do you know how difficult it is to be precise?’ he asks defensively, Jungkook rolling his eyes as Jimin shoots me a grin.

‘Okay, now that the ice cream’s done, what next?’ I ask, Jimin looking thoughtful for a moment before he smiles mischievously. ‘I know.’ ‘Oh, God,’ I say, Jimin pretending to look hurt again. ‘What do you mean, ‘Oh, God’? I hope you’re not saying that about my idea,’ he says, eyes sparkling, and I side-eye him. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying it about.’ ‘Well, I was going to suggest that we go and sit back outside and relax after all that cooking, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine,’ he says, Jungkook looking like he wants to punch him.

‘Don’t we need to get on with the list?’ I ask, and Jimin rolls his eyes. ‘It’s been just over a day – 25 hours to be precise – meaning I have two days and 23 hours left, which is plenty of time. We’ve already ticked eight things off, and are in the process of ticking two more off. And anyway, stop worrying your pretty little head about the list. That’s for me to worry about, not you,’ he says, holding an arm out to me which I take, and I let him lead me back out into the garden. ‘Have some faith in me, y/n,’ he says gently, looking at me with warm eyes, ‘I won’t disappoint you. I’ll give you the summer you deserve.’

‘y/n? y/nie? y/n, wake up,’ Jimin’s gentle voice breaks through my slumber, and I blink in the bright sunlight. ‘Ooh, she’s up,’ Jimin says lightly, grinning down at me, and I blink again, rubbing my eyes and sitting up, Coco and Tan both fast asleep beside me. ‘How long have I been asleep?’ I ask, voice slightly deeper from sleep, and Jimin grins. ‘About an hour and a half. Tae was speaking to you for, like, a minute, before he realised you were asleep. But it’s fine. I’ve been setting up the next thing on the list,’ he says, eyes sparkling, making me eye him suspiciously. ‘I hate that you do that face every time I tell you I’ve got the next thing set up. Can’t you just trust me?’ he grins, holding a hand out to me and I take it, letting him pull me up.

‘Leave the blanket, I’ll sort it out afterwards. The others are waiting for us,’ he says, pulling me up towards the house and I hold back a laugh. ‘Why aren’t they at work?’ I ask, Jimin laughing. ‘Hobi sent out a mass text to all our students to say that all dance classes would be cancelled for today, and all my classes would be cancelled for the next few days. Jin had a lecture this morning and he swapped his shift at the restaurant for one tomorrow night instead. Joon and Yoongi both took the day off at the record label. They’re all really into this,’ he laughs, and my heart warms a little. It’s really sweet, how enthusiastic they are about the list, and I really appreciate how much effort they’re all putting in to help.

Jimin leads me through the house and takes a hoodie from the coat-hooks beside the front door, handing it to me. ‘What for? It’s hot,’ I say, and he grins. ‘Just put it on,’ he says, and I shoot him another suspicious look before pulling it over my head. It’s big and warm, black with ‘Good For You’ written on it several times in different colours, the toggles a bright orange. And then he hands me a pair of gloves. ‘Wha- are we going to a snow dome or something? What the hell?’ I ask, holding back laughter as I pull them on. ‘Jungkook gave you the tattoo aftercare speech, right?’ he asks, and I narrow my eyes at him. ‘So you know you can’t get water on them,’ he says with a mischievous grin, and before I can even register his words, he’s yanking the door open and pushing me out of it.

As soon as I step onto the concrete slabs of Tae and Joon’s front doorstep, a water balloon explodes at my feet. It’s a fat one, too, and the water covers me, leaving me drenched. I blink a few times before looking up to see the other six boys (in their matching pyjamas) stood dotted around the garden, all of them with water guns and a small bucket full of water balloons, grinning stupidly. I wipe my face, the gloves coming in handy with soaking all the water up before I hear Jimin shutting the door behind me. When I turn to look at him, he’s got two guns in his hands, and he hands me one. And it isn’t just any old water gun – it’s a proper super soaker. ‘Every man for himself. We go until we’ve all run out of water,’ Jimin says slowly as he moves away from me so that we’re all stood in a circle, equal distance between each of us. ‘Ready.’ I feel myself tense a little, excitement filling me as I grin. ‘Set.’ I hold the gun up, ready to aim. ‘Go!’

The second he says the word, I feel water hit me from all directions, before I can even shoot anyone, and I let out a shriek. ‘You can’t all go for me!’ I shout, laughter echoing around me. The water fight properly begins, everyone turning on the people next to them, and I take the moment that they’re all using their water guns to grab a water balloon from the bucket at my feet. I hurl it at Jimin, bursting into laughter when it explodes at his feet, covering him in water. That seems to remind them all that they have water balloons and they all begin throwing them too.

Laughter fills the air as we soak each other, tossing water balloons and shooting streams of water with our super soakers. We run around the sopping wet grass and the splash through the colourful chalk stained puddles on the driveway to avoid each other, all of us slipping and sliding several times, and I actually double over in laughter when Namjoon falls to the floor after running to try and avoid a water balloon from Yoongi, the water balloon exploding in his face and making him blink several times.

Jimin drops his gun at one point, and Jungkook slides across the floor action-movie style, scooping it up before soaking Jimin with a gun in each hand. Jimin jumps onto his back in an attempt to grab his gun back, before giving up, opting to burst a water balloon over Jungkook’s head instead.

Jin runs out of water in his gun first, shouting out when he does, and Taehyung and Hoseok take the opportunity to drench him with their guns. All Jin can do is run, unable to defend himself, and they chase him. Until their guns run out too, and they’re all throwing water balloons instead.

It seems they’ve all forgotten about me (or are deciding not to target me), and I use it to my advantage, managing to spray them all with water and throw water balloons at them without any of them realising it’s me, too preoccupied with each other. Until Jimin notices, pointing me out to Jungkook, and he comes charging towards me, Jimin still on his back, and I scream before sprinting away, laughing when I feel the water from his guns hit me.

Soon, we all run out of water in our guns, and just throw water balloons at each other instead. It’s hilarious when the balloons explode in our hands, soaking us before we can even throw them at anyone else, and we all burst into laughter several times, waiting until we get our breath back to resume the fight. By far the funniest moment is when Taehyung and Yoongi both throw water balloons at Jungkook at the same time, and they hit either side of his head, the boy blinking in shock, his face dripping with water as we all literally howl with laughter. The neighbours are watching us through their windows, but none of us care; we’re having the time of our lives, every single one of us drenched.

But the fun ends when a water balloon hits me in the head, and it really hurts, searing pain shooting through my head. I go dizzy, losing my footing, and I trip to floor. The laughter stops abruptly, and I try to get myself back up, vision blurry, before I feel a pair of hands on my waist. ‘y/n, stop, just sit down,’ Jimin says soothingly, helping me to sit on the soaking wet grass. I put my head in my hands, keeping my eyes closed until I feel the dizziness ebb away. ‘I told you guys not to aim for her head!’ Jimin says angrily, but I shake my head, blinking as I move my hands from my face. ‘It’s fine, Jimin, it was an accident,’ I say quietly, the boy nodding as he looks at me with concern.

He really looks… gorgeous. His wet blond hair is slicked back, water droplets dripping from his tan skin, and his pyjamas are clinging to his body, the top a little see-through, the lines of his muscles faint through the material. ‘You okay?’ he asks, and I nod, blinking as I try to shake off the thirsty thoughts. If I can ogle him, then I’m fine. ‘You sure?’ ‘I’m okay, honestly. It just… took me by surprise. I’m completely fine now,’ I say with a little force, and he nods, still looking slightly concerned. ‘Right, I think we should stop now then,’ Taehyung says, the boys all nodding sombrely, and I just want to cry. We were having so much fun – I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much – and I fucking ruined it with my stupid tumour.

My eyes fill with tears, and Jimin notices instantly. ‘y/n, if it hurts, we can take you to the hosp-’ ‘It doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt. I’m just annoyed,’ I say sullenly, and he seems to understand, looking a little amused. ‘Don’t sulk. We were nearly finished with the water balloons anyway,’ he says, and I nod, but I still feel angry with myself. ‘How about… y/n oversees you guys cleaning up whilst I get us some ice cream?’ Taehyung says with a grin, not waiting to hear the boys’ protests about having to clean up before darting up to the house. They all start grumbling, and I hold back laughter as I watch them trudge around the garden, picking up all the rubber bits of the water balloons.

‘y/n,’ Jungkook hisses, and I turn to look at him, biting back a laugh when he puts a finger to his lips, an unburst water balloon in his hand. He motions at Jimin, who’s crouched down, collecting up rubbish, before he throws it, the balloon landing square on his left ass cheek. He lets out a loud shriek of pain, and I burst into laughter, actual tears coming to my eyes as he chases Jungkook around the garden, until he trips on a water gun, falling to the floor with a thud. I laugh even harder, the other boys watching with amusement as Jungkook goes to help him up. And then he trips on Jimin’s foot, falling and landing on top of the other boy, and now I’m laughing so hard that no noise is coming out, tears streaming down my face as Jimin and Jungkook shout at each other, the boys all laughing too.

When Taehyung comes out with a tray in his hands, we’ve all calmed down, though I can’t help but let out giggles every now and then when the moment replays in my head. Taehyung hands out bowls of ice cream, giving me the one with the most in it, and we sit in a circle on the wet grass as we eat, silent save for a few appreciative noises. The ice cream’s really good – it tastes the same as the ice cream you get from those parlours at the seaside, like actual scoops of summer, and I’m happy again, my annoyance from earlier completely gone, though there’s a slight ache in my head where the balloon hit me.

‘What now?’ Jungkook asks once we’ve all finished, and all of us look to Jimin. ‘Um… we’ve got a couple hours to kill. Well, y/n has. I’ve got to set the next thing up,’ he says, looking at me, and I sigh. ‘I think I might have another nap. I think it’s the tumour or something, because I’ve been so tired all the time the past couple months,’ I say, deciding not to say that I want to sleep off my headache – I don’t want any of them to feel guilty. ‘Well, that works out perfectly. Off you go, then,’ Jimin says, pulling me up from the floor, and leading me to the front door, making me laugh at his hastiness.

‘If you wake up and none of us are here, just text or call me,’ he says as we reach the door, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘I don’t have your number.’ ‘You do, actually. I left it on a slip of paper in your phone case, in case you woke up and none of us were home, whilst you were in the garden. We had to go and get some supplies for the water fight,’ he says, and I stare at him incredulously. ‘You left me alone fast asleep in Taehyung’s back garden?’ I demand, and he opens his mouth to speak before stopping. ‘Okay, I just realised that that probably wasn’t a good idea. But nothing happened, so let’s not get annoyed,’ he says, and I roll my eyes, holding back a laugh. ‘What if something had happened to me?’ I challenge, and he raises an eyebrow. ‘As I said yesterday, you’re going to die anyway,’ he says carefully, sounding tentative, and when I let out a strangled laugh, surprised at the suddenness of his words, he relaxes, laughing along with me. ‘Right, go, upstairs to bed,’ he says, pulling the door open and pushing me in, ‘I’ve got work to do, woman.’

‘Okay, are you ready to go?’ Jimin asks, and I nod, slipping my shoes on and trying not to step on Yeontan in the process. I slept for a couple hours and then I just sat in bed, scrolling through tiktok for a while, until Jimin burst into my room with Coco and Tan (they’re inseparable, already the best of friends – maybe I will ask Tae to adopt Coco for me). He had some chicken nuggets and fries for me from McDonalds, and said that I’d have to eat them in the car, because we had somewhere to go. He was still in his (now dry) pyjamas, so he said I had to wear mine too – I hope to god he’s not taking me somewhere public. I’ll feel like an idiot walking around in my satin Victoria’s Secret pyjamas.

Now, we’re stood at the front door, shoes on and a big bag in Jimin’s hand – my curiosity has been piqued, but he won’t let me see what’s inside it, its contents hidden beneath the big fluffy blanket he’s just about managed to fit in. ‘I’m ready,’ I reply, and he looks up from the door to me, eyes sparkling with amusement before he says, ‘I wasn’t speaking to you, I was speaking to the dogs.’ I shove him gently, ignoring his low chuckles as I pull the front door open, sticking out a leg to hold the dogs back. I reach down to lift up Tan, leaving my own bigger dog for Jimin to lift up, holding back a laugh when he sticks his tongue out at me. We head towards his car, the dogs jumping into the back, and I get into the passenger seat as Jimin puts the bag into the boot. When he climbs in beside me, he hands me his phone. ‘The passcode’s 131095. Can you put on a Spotify playlist?’ His phone automatically connects to car when he starts it up, and I put in the passcode, opening his Spotify. ‘Which playlist?’ ‘The one named ’21 Things To Do This Summer’. Duh,’ he says with a grin as he reverses out of Tae’s drive, and I let out a little laugh, endeared that he’s made us a playlist. I click shuffle play, the soft piano notes and low trap beat of Mabel’s ‘Finders Keepers’ floating out from the speakers as Jimin rolls down the windows, the cool air seeping into the warmth inside the car. ‘Okay, so… why is this song in the playlist?’ I ask, curious, and he grins as he reverses out of Tae and Joon’s drive. I try to stop myself from getting flustered about him putting his hand on the back of my seat as he looks behind him – it’s so hot when guys do that, and it’s even hotter when the guy is as hot as Jimin. ‘It’s not really that relevant to our situation but it’s a good song to drive to – easy, chill… just nice. Oh, and one of the lyrics is ‘make use of the timing’, and that’s what we’re doing.’ ‘You make it sound like we decided to make use of the timing.’ ‘We did.’ ‘No. You did. If it were up to me, I’d probably be at home, crying and cuddling Coco.’ ‘So, in that case… I guess you should thank me,’ he says with an amused grin, eyes ahead of him on the road, and I roll my eyes, holding back a smile. ‘Thank you,’ I say with a grin, and he lets out a low chuckle. ‘You’re more than welcome.’

We fall into a comfortable silence as Jimin drives, my eyes flitting around our surroundings, Jimin gently singing along to the music as I eat my McDonalds. We’re driving through a residential area and it’s so interesting to look at each house. We pass a young couple sat on their front garden, playing with a toddler who runs around the grass on chubby little legs, and an elderly woman knitting on her porch, a serene smile on her face. We pass a man cutting the grass in nothing but shorts (even his feet are bare, which I find kinda disturbing), and a big group of people, kids, adults and elderly, having a barbecue, laughter and music filling the air around them, the smoky smell of the cooking meat floating through the open window and making my mouth water for more flavoursome food than McDonalds. There’s a group of teens on skateboards and scooters racing down the wide pavement, their laughter echoing behind them, and two teen girls sat on a picnic blanket, one fast asleep with her head in the other girl’s lap. And it really hits me that everyone has their own lives. For me, my world is falling apart, and Jimin and I are desperately trying to hold it together. For all these other people, their lives are just normal. They’re all with their friends and family, making the most of the nice weather and enjoying the simple things in life. Things that I may never be able to enjoy again.

The song changes to Brockhampton’s ‘Sugar’ as Jimin joins the motorway, and I gasp, instantly singing along as he lets out a gentle laugh, turning up the volume with a small smile. This song is just perfect for a summer evening drive and, even though my death is looming near, I’m inexplicably happy, and at peace. We’re the only people on the motorway, and in this moment, it feels like we’re the only people on Earth. It’s just me and Jimin under the sun.

‘So,’ I begin once the song’s finished, ‘where are we going?’ ‘It’s a surprise,’ he says neutrally – for, like, the fifth time – and I let out a long sigh. ‘Well… is it far away?’ I ask, and he shakes his head. ‘We’re about… ten minutes away. So stop being so impatient. And finish your nuggets,’ he says mildly, and I let out a little huff, pretending to be more annoyed than I am. I do as he says, finishing off my food, and it’s not long before he’s exiting the motorway, turning off the roundabout onto small country roads. ‘Oh God, I hate country roads. I’m gonna be sick if we’re on them for too long.’ ‘What? Seriously?’ he asks, sounding alarmed as he looks over at me with wide eyes, the car nearly swerving into a hedge. ‘Eyes on the road!’ I shriek as he quickly turns the wheel, looking sheepish. ‘The twists and turns make my stomach turn.’ ‘We shouldn’t be on them for much longer – maybe… three minutes,’ he says, speeding up slightly.

The roads are on grassy fields and hills, and it feels like we’re just driving up and down, which doesn’t help my car sickness at all. I try to keep my eyes on the sky, which usually helps, but I’m also curious as to where we’re going so I keep looking around, but all I can see is miles of fields. ‘Where the hell are you taking me?’ I ask, and he laughs as the car slows down, an even smaller road to the right. He turns onto it, making me look at him with wide eyes, and he laughs even more. ’30 seconds, and all will be revealed. Just relax,’ he says, and I nod, still slightly sceptical. I count down the thirty seconds, itching with curiosity as I crane my neck trying to see where we could be going. And then I spot it.

‘Oh, my God,’ I whisper, holding a hand over my mouth, and Jimin grins as he swerves off the road onto the field, driving towards where a grey truck is parked, the other six boys waving at us. But my focus is on the giant sheet stretched out behind them, the two sides of the sheet attached to two long poles, fairy lights hung across the top of the sheet and down the poles. And the word ‘Movie Night’ is projected onto the sheet, making me squeal in excitement. ‘A drive-in movie?’ I shriek, Jimin nodding with a laugh as he pulls up beside the truck. ‘It’s not quite a drive-in movie, but it’s the best I could do on such short notice.’ ‘No, no, it’s perfect!,’ I say happily, Jimin grinning, proud of himself. ‘Come on, let’s get out – they’re itching to hear if you like it,’ Jimin says drily, and it makes me laugh when I look up to see the anticipation on all of their faces.

‘This is amazing, guys!’ I exclaim as I climb out of the car, the boys looking relieved to hear it. ‘He might be an idiot, but he has good ideas every now and then,’ Jin says fondly, Jimin sticking his tongue out at him as he opens the back door of his car, the dogs bounding out and chasing each other across the grass. ‘Whose is the truck?’ I ask as I head over to where they’re stood, and they all look to Yoongi. ‘My parents bought her for me when I moved out. She’s a little battered, but she gets the job done. You and Jimin are taking her on your road trip,’ Yoongi says, and I look to Jimin with a raised eyebrow.

‘Are you insured on the truck?’ I ask seriously, the boys all laughing as Jimin nods with a grin. ‘Funnily enough, yes. We needed it to move a lot of equipment when Hobi opened the studio, so I got insured on it, and now Yoongi and I kinda share it,’ Jimin says, Yoongi rolling his eyes. ‘She’s 80% mine, 20% yours,’ he says, all of us laughing. I move closer to the truck, curious to see how they’ve set it up. The cargo bed is full of blankets and snacks, and I spot a projector on the floor, aimed at the white sheet. ‘D’you like it?’ Jimin asks from behind me, big bag in his hand, and I nod, turning to look at him, seeing the other boys watching us over his shoulder. ‘I love it. Thank you,’ I say softly, and he grins. ‘You’re most welcome. Now, would you like to take your seat, madam?’ ‘I would love to, kind Sir,’ I say, mimicking his tone. ‘Do you mind if I…?’ he trails off, hands hovering around my waist, and I realise he’s asking if I mind him lifting me up. ‘Um, no, I don’t mind,’ I reply as calmly as possible, and he nods, strong hands gripping onto my waist. He lifts me up effortlessly and my pyjama top rides up, his fingers touching my bare skin as he puts me down in the cargo bed, before climbing up to join me, my skin still tingling where he touched it.

The others join us then, Yoongi messing with the back of the cargo bed for a few seconds, before it completely comes down, allowing them to just step into the truck. ‘Are you kidding? I didn’t know it did that!’ Jimin exclaims, Yoongi rolling his eyes. ‘How can you claim to share her with me if you didn’t even know she was a drop-side?’ Yoongi asks, Jimin sulking. I’m assuming it would’ve saved him a lot of effort over the years if he’d know that.

I move to sit with my back leaning against the cab, Yoongi and Namjoon squeezing in either side of me, whilst Jungkook climbs up to sit on top of the cab, legs crossed so his feet don’t dangle down onto us. Jimin and Hoseok sprawl out across the bottom of the bed whilst Tae lays a picnic blanket onto the floor, he and Jin sitting atop it with their backs against the truck. Jimin gets the blanket out of his bag before pulling out four buckets of popcorn. ‘Is that actual cinema popcorn?’ I ask and he nods proudly, handing out the buckets. ‘I got some weird looks when I got four buckets and then walked straight back out,’ he says, all of us laughing, the boys already beginning to stuff the popcorn into their mouths as Tan and Coco jump up into the cargo bed to join us.

‘Shall we get a picture?’ I ask, Jimin looking at me with a grin. ‘The boys already took some pictures.’ ‘But I want some with you guys,’ I say, the words coming out a little whiny, and Jimin rolls his eyes with a little grin. ‘Fine, I’ll take it.’ ‘No, you have to be in it.’ ‘So, who’s gonna take it then?’ ‘I… don’t know.’ And another argument breaks out, but I insist that we’re all in it, so Namjoon (with his long arms) holds the camera up and takes a selfie. It takes a few tries to get one with all of us in it, but when we get it, it’s really nice, and I decide it’s going on the front page on the scrapbook.

‘What are we watching?’ I ask as Yoongi types and clicks at his laptop, the screen angled away from me. ‘We’ve got two different choices. There’s Dirty Dancing, and Grown Ups,’ Jin says, and I laugh at how different the two films are. ‘Shall we do a vote or…?’ ‘No, you choose,’ Hoseok says, and I hesitate. I love Dirty Dancing, but… I don’t think I have it in me to watch a romantic film. Grown Ups? It’s perfect. It’s stupid and childish and the humour is so ridiculous; it’s just what I need to get my mind off things. ‘Let’s watch Grown Ups,’ I say, all of them looking at me in shock. Except for Jimin. ‘Seriously?’ Taehyung asks, and I nod, confused. ‘We can watch the other one if you w-’ ‘No, we would’ve voted for Grown Ups. Well, Jungkook would’ve liked Dirty Dancing, but we just thought…’ ‘I’d wanna watch the romantic film?’ I say with a roll of my eyes, Jimin grinning even wider.

‘I hate to say ‘I told you so’ but…’ he says, trailing off, and I look at him in confusion. ‘How did you know?’ ‘Because why would you wanna watch a romantic film when you’ve never been in love and you’re about to die?’ he asks matter-of-factly, voicing my thoughts, and I smile softly at him, nodding. ‘Well. Maybe he isn’t as stupid as we always thought,’ Jungkook jokes, Jimin punching his leg gently. And then Yoongi puts on the film, and I share a bucket of popcorn with Namjoon, and we laugh in all the right places, and the setting sun casts a glow onto us, streaking the sky with beautiful vibrant colours, and all of my sadness disappears. I’m just a girl with her friends watching a movie while the sun sets.

We don’t know which moments in our lives will become memories, and nearly all of our memories were just insignificant moments that became significant. Those memories that you never knew would become memories because, in the moment, everything is so simple and happy and warm and light, but it doesn’t feel like that big of a deal, but it is and life will never be that simple or happy or warm or light again.

This isn’t one of those moments. This is one of those moments when you know you’ll remember it forever. And maybe my forever isn’t that long, but the thought still makes me smile.

10 notes · View notes