the fool

Jimin wakes up early this morning. He scrolls through through their shared Twitter account. ARMYs have really gone crazy today. All he sees on his timeline is the tag #Hello_We_Are_Beardtan and BTS light stick accounts. K-armys are really organized in their pranking. He feels an odd sense of pride in that. But it is really fun seeing all the different edits people have made of them in beards. One of his favorite ones is the edit in which all of the members are black-haired together, sporting beards at BBMAs. ARMYs really are extra. He takes out his ARMY necklace from his dresser and looks at it fondly. He decides he is going to wear it today. He continues scrolling through Twitter. He remembers Taehyung showing him the edits someone had made of all of them in beards a few days ago. They had laughed a lot seeing it. He looks so weird in a beard. It had started with Taehyung’s fancafe post. Now that he thinks about it, this is all Taehyung’s fault. Jimin is going to get back at him and he has a perfect prank.

When Jimin walks into the living room he finds Taehyung already sitting at the table eating cereal. His hair is standing in all directions and his face is swollen. Jimin finds him really adorable. This makes him feel bad about what he is about to do. Taehyung looks up from his cereal when he hears Jimin come in.

“Good morning Chim”, Taehyung says with a gentle smile on his face. His voice still sounds a little hoarse.

“Oh, hey Tae”, Jimin says hesitantly. He is trying to put forward his best acting performance.

Taehyung seems to pick up on his best friends hesitant tone, just as Jimin had hoped. Taehyung furrows his eyebrows.

“Hey, is everything alright Jiminah?”, Taehyung asks, looking concerned for his best friend.

“Yeah...Tae...Can we talk?”, Jimin sounds honestly distressed. He is impressed by his own acting skills.

“Of course Jimin. What’s up?”

Taehyung gets up from his seat and moves next to Jimin on the couch.

“Tae, I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while now. We’re best friends and we share everything. But...”, Jimin waits for Taehyung to signal him to continue.

“But I don’t know how to say this. We’ve been friends since we were teenagers. You’ve always been there for me. You’ve held me while I cried. You’ve made me laugh countless times”, Jimin lets a tear slip from his eyes. This bit is not a part of the performance. “Tae, all those memories with you, all those late night walks and long conversations are some of my favorite memories of my life”, he continues. Jimin isn’t acting anymore. All this is easy to say to Taehyung. It’s all true.

Tae is looking at Jimin intently. His eyes are unreadable. He is waiting for Jimin to finish.

Jimin almost backs out. Almost. Jimin takes a long breath and continues.

“Tae, I guess what I am trying to say is that I like you. Like, romantically. This may seem like the most cliched best friends-to-lover fanfic but it is what it is”, he releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Jimin is surprised by how this was the easiest thing to say. Maybe, this is true too. Maybe he has always been in love with Taehyung. But this is not the time for revelations or realization of feelings. This is supposed to be a prank. Jimin looks up at Taehyung.

Taehyung is frozen in place. His face is blank. Usually Jimin is able to read his best friend like an open book. But now he has no idea what Taehyung is thinking.

“Tae…?”

Taehyung finally looks back at Jimin. He is looking into Jimin’s eyes, searching for answers.

“What are you saying Chim?...Are you serious?”, Taehyung’s voice is soft, his words measured.

As easy it had been to say it the first time, Jimin finds it is really hard to repeat himself. The look in Taehyung’s eyes isn’t something he’s seen before. It scares Jimin. He decides it’s time to end the prank. Hopefully, a ‘gotcha’ will be able to alleviate some of the tension in the room. By tomorrow they will have moved past it, and neither of them will mention it again. Jimin gathers all his strength to give his best fake laugh.

“Hahaha. I got you good, Didn’t I? Happy April Fool’s Day Tae”.

Taehyung smiles back at Jimin with his signature box smile. It’s Taehyung’s famous smile. Everybody is in love with it. It is usually enough to light up a room. But this time it doesn’t reach his eyes. The room is still dimly lit.

“You got me Jiminah. Now if you will excuse me, I have to use the bathroom. I’ll see you later during practice Jimin”.

Taehyung gets up and turns away from Jimin to leave but not before Jimin spots tears shining in his best friend’s eyes. His eyes wander to the half eaten bowl of cereal abandoned on the table as he realizes he has fucked up.

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