||Park Jimin

— Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

Jimin and Jungkook's connection was like an old, beloved, but too tight sweater: it was warm, but it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe.

Jimin was a master of the "unnoticed presence." He never demanded a response to his feelings, because officially they didn't exist. He was simply always there. He knew Jungkook's door code, knew that Jungkook's vocal cords ached after rehearsals, so he warmed up ointment in his palms beforehand. His care was everywhere: in the stocked fridge, in the paid bills, in the soft blanket that always landed on Jungkook's shoulders whenever he felt cold.

For Jungkook, Jimin was an anchor. But over time, the chain of that anchor became short. Jungkook didn't reciprocate his feelings not out of cruelty, but because Jimin had constructed an image of the ideal friend, one impossible to look at with lust, only with endless gratitude. Jungkook was drawn to someone else—the boisterous Taehyung—he was "different." With him, it was okay to make mistakes, argue, and be an adult. With Jimin, Jungkook always remained a child.

When Jungkook returned from dates, Jimin greeted him not with a fight, but with silence. He meticulously dissected his hobbies:

"Has Taehyung forgotten that you don't like spicy food? Oh, how inattentive. He was probably just preoccupied with himself."

Jimin didn't hit him—he wrapped him in cotton wool. He convinced Jungkook that the world outside was chaos, where he was sure to be hurt, and only in the dim light of the apartment, among the things Jimin had chosen, was he safe.

It was a psychological siege. Jimin was angry when Jungkook fell in love, but this anger turned into even more protectiveness. He proved his indispensability with his actions: if Jungkook left for another, Jimin found a problem that only he could solve.

Eventually, Jungkook inevitably ended up on the couch, pressed against Jimin's side. His hand would habitually run through his hair, and there was something tranquilizing about the gesture. Jimin wasn't declaring his love, but his triumphant gaze said:

• See? You're only happy with me.