BABY MAMA | pjm

LX

ACT XII | SCENE LX

❝9127 KM❞

A MARCHING BAND was playing in jimin's skull. his head began to throb the moment he stepped out of the conference room. he rubbed at his temples as he made his way to the elevators to go back down to his office. he felt like his head was going to cave in and just listening to the sound of both his footsteps and junmyeon's made his headache even worse.

when the elevators opened to his office floor, he hurried to his office to pack up his things, not feeling strong enough to do any more with work. "i'm leaving." he informed as he shrugged into his coat. "should i drive you?" junmyeon questioned. "no need." jimin shook his head, the action making the pain worse. "you know i don't like being driven."

"but you don't look well." junmyeon eyed his form worriedly. "i'll just stop by a pharmacy for some pain relievers. don't worry." jimin assured him with a forced smile. the other man nodded, the worried look never leaving his face as he followed him back out. jimin just hoped his father wouldn't call him to talk about the meeting. if he was being honest, somewhere towards the end of the meeting, he had zoned out, feeling the onset of his now full-blown headache. he had no clue what conclusion they had come to and quite frankly, he didn't really care.

the moment he was in his car, he placed his head on the steering wheel, taking a moment to breathe and rest a little. his phone began to ring then. sighing, he pushed the answer button on the wheel. "hello?" he mumbled. "hey, jimin... you okay?" namjoon's voice filled the car. "uh, yeah. just a headache. what's up, hyung?" jimin rested his chin on the wheel, opening his eyes slightly.

"you cool for a drink? i want to talk to you about something." namjoon asked, voice unsure as if he thought it might have been more than a headache bothering jimin. "sure, i just need to get some pain relievers first. but what's this about?" jimin moved so that his cheek was now resting on the wheel as he stared at the dashboard where namjoon's contact name – joon hyung – was written on the display screen.

"brigitte." namjoon answered simply. jimin's brows went up in curiosity, mind wondering what this could possibly be about. "i'll be at our spot in twenty."

• • •

jimin showed up ten minutes later than he said he would, but namjoon didn't really mind. "sorry i'm late." he apologised as he took a seat opposite the older man. "tae coming?" jimin asked. namjoon shook his head. "didn't call him."

again, jimin's brows went up. "so, it's just us." he stated and namjoon nodded. "wow, okay." he breathed. "so, tell me, what's the big issue about brigitte?" he shook his head when namjoon offered him an unopened bottle of beer. "i'm thinking of asking her out." namjoon replied quietly, watching how jimin's eyes rounded in clear surprise.

"bri and i have been talking everyday for the past two months and i think she's a great girl. funny, sweet, can be a bit of a perv sometimes." he added the last bit lowly and jimin nodded his agreement. "but she's really amazing in every possible way." he smiled softly. "then what's the problem? you've never had an issue going for what you want and you obviously want her." jimin asked, resting his chin on his open palm. "she lives in france." namjoon deadpanned.

"and?" jimin asked like he didn't see the problem. "i live in south korea? there's a distance of nine thousand, one hundred and twenty seven kilometres between us." namjoon explained with a frown. jimin's brows creased together. "wait, did you take time out to calculate it?" his voice was full of shock. "yes." namjoon answered like it was normal. "well damn." jimin ran a hand through his hair. "but i still don't see the problem."

namjoon stared at him like he was stupid. "did you hear the distance between us? we live in two different continents. how is it going to work?" he sighed in frustration. "the same way it's been working the past couple of months." jimin shrugged. namjoon's gaze shot upwards as he placed a hand on his forehead. "it's not the same thing because if i ask her out, it'll officially become a long distance relationship. do you know how hard those are to maintain?" he questioned.

"still don't see how it's much different. you already have a long distance friendship, with feelings i might add, and it's working great. so why does it suddenly become harder because her label's gone from friend to girlfriend? i mean, the most important thing is having trust and loyalty, right? and you can always visit her and she could come over here sometimes. and if it lasts long enough and your feelings are strong enough, you could ask her to marry you and you two can work something out and you can hold and see her as much as you want. why lose a good person all because of distance? you can't really expect your soulmate to be living next door to you. and after all, they say love conquers all and i'm pretty sure that includes distance, no matter how long it may be."

namjoon just gawked at his younger friend for a while, unable to believe his words. "jimin, you're a soft romantic. that's why you've been in love with the same woman for almost eight years." he finally piped, a teasing grin on his face. "you ask me for help and i get paid back with a crack at my awful love life. and you guys wonder why i never offer relationship advice." jimin scowled, lips jutting out in a slight annoyed pout.

"i love how you didn't even try to deny how you feel about jangmi." the older man grinned smugly. "that's because i've learnt that it's nothing more than a futile effort." jimin shrugged his shoulders, not meeting his friend's gaze. "mhm," namjoon's smirk grew wider.

jimin rolled his eyes. "just ask the woman out and stop over thinking problems that aren't yet here." he rubbed at his temple with his index finger. namjoon took a swig of his beer, eyeing his friend over the bottle. "will do that."

☀️☀️☀️

lmao y'all just gon' have to wait a little longer to find out what jimin's reply was. but for now enjoy cheesy romantic jiminie. ++ i'm still soft from burn the stage. i'm so feckin proud of the boys. they've strived so hard for everything, they deserve the world.