It was a lazy Friday, exactly two year and a month or two after their wedding. Jimin, who had had a very busy night before at the hospital, decided to sleep in for a few extra hours that day.
Jungkook, who had decided to work from home purely because his husband was not going into office that day, was downstairs preparing pancakes for their breakfast when he heard their home phone ring.
He waited a few minutes for Jimin to pick the line in the bedroom, and when he didn’t, he washed his hands and made his way to the sitting room to take the call.
“Yeoboseyo?”
“Jeon Jiminieeee….” The voice on the other end of the line crooned in excitement.
“Ohm, sorry, this is not him,” Jungkook replied to the stranger, “this is his husband. Who are you please?” He added, curious to know the stranger who seemed to know his husband.
“Oh, you must be the fortune Kookie husband.” The stranger really seemed bewildered.
“Sorry, the what now?”
“I am Jimin’s best friend, Taeming. If you don’t mind, could you please pass the phone to him, I really need to speak with him,” completely ignoring Jungkook’s question.
“Sure.”
Jungkook placed the receiver on the table and ran upstairs to their bedroom, where his tired husband was sleeping now.
“Cherub,” He gently shook him to wake him up. “Hey angel baby, you need to wake up now. Your friend is on the line.”
Jimin stirred then and opened his eyes, looking right into his husband’s own.
He then made the cutest pout Jungkook had ever seen. He had been about to scold his husband for waking him up when he knew exactly how tired he was when Jungkook decided to rob him of words and breath by pressing a gentle good morning kiss on his lush lips.
“Jungkookie, I had the sweetest dream about you,” Jimin said against his husband’s sweet lips.
“Another one, Cherub?” Jungkook asked, trying to steal another tinny kiss from his husband.
“Did I take you to the moon again?”
“You couldn’t have dreamt about watching the first snow together again because we do that all the time. Or did you?”
“Aniyo, you and I went to Tokyo for our second honeymoon. You took me to Disneyland, and you kept on filming every move I made. We were so happy” Jimin happily broke into a short narration of his dream.
“Really now?” Jungkook smiled into the dreamy eyes of his sweetest husband.
He was going to get lost in those eyes someday. And he was definitely taking the owner of those dreamy eyes to Disneyland very soon.” He thought.
He had also come up here to tell him something, but as usual, every working thought had run out his mind upon seeing Jimin’s ethereal beautiful morning face.
“Jagiya, honey, a friend of yours is on the line. That’s why I came up here, that’s why I woke you up.”
"A friend of mine?" Jimin asked. “Who?”
“He said his name is Taemoon or something.”
“Taemoon??” Jimin asked, confused for a second there. Then he got it,” Oh, you mean Taeming?”
“I guess,” Jungkook felt a little guilty for doing this, but he couldn’t help not liking the familiarity with which that Taeming guy spoke about his husband.
"Okay, tell me you just didn't butcher my friend's name just now out of pure possessiveness?" Jimin teased.
"I might have. What are you gonna do about it, though?" Jungkook smirked before lifting himself off the bed to allow Jimin room to access the receiver on their bedside table.
"Psst, you and your jealousy. I hate it, but make sure to keep it up, okay?" Jimin laughed before shifting his attention from his adorable husband to his long-lost friend.
He hurriedly got up to pick the phone, feeling his husband’s sweet but questioning gaze following him but ignoring him.
His Taeming had finally called him.
It had been years since he had seen or talked to his first best friend Taeming, and he had missed him so dearly. Taeming and Jimin went way back in their high school days.
Back then, they had been two boys from a small town who only had each other to rely on in the big city, Seoul. They had been so young and scared. And the city life they had not been accustomed to didn’t go easy on them, especially with their families so far away.
But together, they had endured and conquered the trials of teenagers in a big city high school. They had applied and gone into the same university to pursue degrees in medicine.
Soon, Taeming had met someone who had been an exchange student from a certain Ivy League university abroad. Taeming and this foreign guy supposedly hit it off, and as the days went by, Jimin had started seeing less of him.
Of course, he had been happy that his best friend had been happy with this stranger. He had not even minded that Taeming had never taken time to introduce him to his boyfriend. He had only cared about his happiness.
Later, Jimin met Jae, who had been a transfer student in his department.
They had quickly become best friends and started spending most of their time together.
But Jimin had not given up on his friendship with Taeming. He had continued to be there every time Taeming needed him, which was not a lot of times since he spent his every waking moment with his boyfriend.
Then they had graduated, and Taeming had decided to move to the States with his boyfriend. Jimin and Jae had decided to stay back in Korea and open a joint practice.
A few months after the move, Jimin had received a call from a heartbroken Taeming telling him that his boyfriend had dumped him in the cold for another man. They had cried together on the phone all night, and he had told Jimin that he wanted to come home to Korea to pick up the pieces of his life.
Two days after his talk with Jimin, Taeming had called again to inform him that he had canceled the plan to move back to Korea. He had said that he had met someone new and that it had been love at first sight. He had said he had wanted to stay back and see where that would lead.
Jimin had been skeptical at first and had tried to persuade him not to get into another relationship so soon before his heart was ready. But Teaming had been sold by this man.
He had assured Jimin that he was sure this time. And Jimin had reluctantly given in to him. And that had been the last time Jimin had heard from Taeming. Until now.
"Taeming baby hyungie, longtime no see.” Jimin almost screamed into the receiver.
“Jim Jim?” Taeming inquired just to make sure that he really had Jimin on the line this time.
“Who else, you fool,” Jimin replied and then hesitated to continue the conversation.
He threw a dismissing glance at his husband, who seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation.
"I will be downstairs, my love." Jungkook kissed Jimin loudly on the mouth just to rub it in on the caller just in case they already didn't know who owned Jimin body, heart and soul, "Breakfast is ready, I made pancakes with lots of chocolate syrup." Jungkook added a dramatic wink before turning to take his leave.
All his efforts earned him his first favorite Jimin eye smile for the day. He was content enough to whistle a free style love tune on his way down the stairs. He wanted to set the table for breakfast ready for when Jimin got off the phone.
On his way past the living room, he remembered that he had not hung up the receiver in the sitting room.
He headed to the sitting room to do just that. He lifted the receiver with every intention of putting it back in its place.
But suddenly, a strong wave of curiosity took over him. He wanted to know who exactly this Taeming was to Jimin. And why his husband, for the first time, had hesitated to speak on a call in his presence.
He placed the receiver on to his ear.
“…Honestly, I couldn’t quite believe it myself when I got the news of your nuptials.” Taeming was saying.
“I know, right? He just came in with his huge golden slef and swept me off my feet.”
“Who would have thought that all it took was just a large wallet to melt all that ice?”
“Its always the money, love.”
“And the face?”
“Have you not seen his pictures? He absolutely looks like a horse. I can barely bring myself to kiss him.” Jimin laughed saying that.
“Huh, I could imagine when I heard you two kissing on the line. You definitely don’t love him.”
“Of course I don’t love him, you idiot,” Jimin said with utmost conviction.
“He is not all that hot, and neither is he my type. I simply married him for all the connections and wealth, you know.” Jimin continued to laugh into the phone with Taeming.
“You gold digging little cute ass,” Taeming replied.
“He will never see you coming even with his eyes wide open,” Taeming laughed hard.
“Not on his life, baby. Not in this lifetime."
“Taeming-ah, I need to go now, I think my not so hot husband is waiting for me to eat the not so delicious breakfast he made for me,” Jimin said to his friend and promised that they would talk more when he came back to Korea.
Meanwhile, in the living room of their home, Jungkook stood frozen, the receiver still on his ear as he struggled to process what he had just heard.
His heart broke into a thousand little pieces.
Jimin never loved him. He was only a means to expand his business empire.