Can't Be

Chapter 9

September is a haze of classes, exams, new friends, new traditions, and so much time spent with the Park family, it feels like he was always here from the start, which is what he - and Minji - wanted all along, and it's so, so good.

The days start ticking by, and Jungkook is only aware of it when he leaves for class one morning, realizing he can see his breath. That's when he looks down and notices a plethora of red, yellow, and orange leaves on the ground, crunching beneath his boots.

Autumn is in full swing, and so is his life in New England.

It's the last day of September - a Saturday morning - when Jimin comes barging in through the door to the basement. He's in a faded gray beanie, a long sleeved off white sweater, torn skinny jeans, as per usual, white Converse, and of course, the glasses. Jungkook looks down and rubs his eyes with the palm of his hands until all he can see are swirls and unidentifiable shapes.

It's not the first time Jungkook has been overwhelmed with how attracted he is to Jimin; hell, it isn't even the first time today.

Objectively speaking, he's everything Jungkook looks for in someone he's trying to date or hook up with or, in Jungkook's current case, stare at from across the room until Jimin sneers, "What the hell do you want?"

He's unfairly toned, Jungkook's fists clenching whenever Jimin walks around the house shirtless, Jimin's smile blindingly bright, and he's the exact perfect size for Jungkook to wrap his arms around and hold close.

Not that he gets to do that that frequently. Jimin only lets him when they're drunk at Ted's or doing a pub crawl in downtown Hartford, usually pushing him off after a moment or two, anyhow, calling Jungkook the clingiest, biggest toddler he's ever known.

It's a physical attraction, Jungkook tries to force himself to believe, lust at most. Most days, he's able to convince himself of that.

Jimin plops himself down on Jungkook's bed, pushing his covers off of him. "How badly do you want an excuse to not study today?"

Jungkook sits up immediately. "More than anything."

"How would you like to experience a genuine New England day?"

He shrugs. "Well, if it's New England, chances are, I've already done it, but your version is probably deep fried and covered in cheese, yeah?"

Jimin whips a pillow at his face. "You can fuck right off. But yeah, that's true."

He laughs. "Where're we going?"

"Whole family is gearing up to head out. Get ready, and let's go."

They end up going apple picking, the orchard packed with families just like the Park clan, but in smaller numbers, and definitely less noisy.

Jungkook carries Yoo-na on his shoulders for the majority of the afternoon, as per her request, helping her twist and pull apples from the tree branches, placing them into a bag to bring home, and his neck is painfully sore from holding her for so long, but her happy squeals are completely worth it.

As a group, they make their way over to the corn maze, Jungkook holding Yoo-na's hand on his left side and Jae's on his right. They follow Jimin through the entrance, Jimin immediately making a hard left, breaking out into a full sprint.

Jungkook frowns. "Oh, good. Leave me with the two toddlers."

He turns around and looks behind him, and sees that the rest of the family appears to have separated from them, as well. "Perfect," he grumbles.

He continues to walk through the maze, kids running all around him, shrieking and laughing, and the longer he walks, the more he's certain that he's actually going to die in here, still holding the hands of his homestay family's youngest kids.

He doesn't know how much longer they walk for - long enough for Yoo-na to start whining that she wants to be carried - and he's picking her up to balance her on his hip when he starts to hear rustling to his right. He barely has the chance to question it before Jimin comes barreling out, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Jungkook all but drops Yoo-na to the ground, clutching at his chest, eyes wide. He's about to start screaming back, but then he sees that the twins are hysterically laughing - Jae has actual tears in his eyes - so he forces out a laugh, too.

"Oh, God, the look on your face," Jimin says through laughter.

"That was so worth hiding in a row of corn for 15 minutes."

"My face was fine," Jungkook mutters under his breath, picking Yoo-an back up.

"You were terrified."

"No, I wasn't. I thought it was funny."

"You did not! You were scared shitless!"

"I was fine."

"Time for a new adjective."

Jungkook pouts. "You're mean today."

"Nah, you're just a baby." He looks down at Jae. "Do you want to get out of here, and find some donuts? Or a candy apple?"

Jae nods, smiling. "Yes!"

"Awesome, let's go then."

They start to walk out together, Jimin and Jae holding hands. Jungkook clears his throat, heart finally not racing. "Hey, Min."

He looks back over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Last time you had a candy apple. Any chance of that repeating again today?"

Jimin laughs. "You'd like to see that, wouldn't you? A toothless wonder?"

"Absolutely."

"I'll stick to the donuts," he replies, flipping him off over his shoulder.

An hour later, on the way back to the car, Jungkook is holding about two pounds worth of apples, Eun-a and Soo-ji beside him, each holding their own weight in pumpkins and donut holes, when Jungkook hears Minji behind him say, " Jimin, I'm so glad you decided to come this year. We haven't done this all together since you were in high school, I think."

"Yeah, well, Jungkook's first time, and all," Jimin replies.

"Whatever the reason, it was nice. Thank you for coming, baby."

Jungkook climbs into the van, a couple of apples falling out of the top of the bag and rolling onto the carpet, and he tries to pretend like he wasn't listening but he's positive his blush is giving him away.

Jimin doesn't seem to notice, but based on Minji's smirk from the front seat and the way she's staring at Jungkook in the rearview mirror, she definitely knows.