Jimin just looked at him. Eunjeong wasn’t just any girl. He sighed. But Jin wasn’t just another friend either. Jin was one of his best friends. He didn’t want to lose him. Not even over the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Maybe they could agree on a truce, that neither would pursue her. They could both admire her together from a distance.
But then he remembered that Jin had said he’d kissed her. What was that about?
Jin took his silence as Jimin’s agreement that he would fight him for the honor of dating the pretty girl next door.
“I gotta go,” he mumbled as he spun around and ran out the door, his heart disappointed that his best friend would choose a pretty girl over him, especially after all the years they’d been friends.
Jimin climbed from the bed, his tea forgotten. As he stood, a wave of dizziness hit him. It didn’t matter. He overcame it and followed Jin down the stairs. Jimin held tightly to the railing the whole way. He wouldn’t do either of them any good if he smashed his skull falling down the stairs. Although, then Jin could have Eunjeong. Jimin was sure they’d live happily ever after…
“Jin, I’m so sorry about your friend,” Eunjeong exclaimed.
“It’s all right, darling. Jimin sacrificed himself for love of us. He knew that we both couldn’t have you, so he gave up on life to see you and me happy together.”
Jin bent his head to kiss her…
Jimin snapped out of it just in time to realize his foot was sliding off a step, and he was about to pitch headlong down the very stairs he’d sought to avoid falling down but a moment before. His hand tightened on the railing as he stopped moving to regain his equilibrium. Why was he so dizzy? Then he carefully descended the remainder of the steps in safety. Poor Jin. Disappointed in love again.
Jin had planted his feet in the doorway of the back entrance to the shop. He was observing Eunjeong standing at the counter helping a customer. As Jimin approached him, he turned to slide in next to Jin in the doorway. His body facing Jin, Jimin turned his face towards Eunjeong. He was in a prime position to witness her reaction when the door would open a moment later. Jimin leaned his head back against the doorframe. He was praying the dizziness would pass soon.
But right now, he was concerned about Jin. They were in a dilemma. Would their friendship die over their pursuit of the same woman? How had they come to this pass? In the past they’d been attracted to very different girls. But not today. Would they survive Eunjeong? Would the relationship they’d developed during all the years they’d been buddies prove stronger than the allure of the raven-haired beauty next door?
Just then, the bell over the shop door jingled as Jungkook walked in. Eunjeong turned to look at him, and her face told it all. One look at the golden maknae, his long, dark locks nearly blinding him, was all it took. When his eyes rose to meet her own, her heart was given in that second.
Jin and Jimin saw the expression on her face. They exchanged a knowing look. They knew their friendship was still safe. Today, at least. They’d both been bested by their youngest friend.
Epilogue: Twenty Years Later
Jungkook and Eunjeong sat in front of their television watching Good Morning, South Korea. Jin, still worldwide handsome, was seated across from the interviewer.
She asked him, “So Mr. Kim, how did you become a billionaire?”
“Well,” Jin mulled over her question. “It all began with my jam business. My best friend let me sell them in his grandmother’s rice cake shop. They still stock them to this day.”
“What’s the most popular flavor?”
“Oh, that’s easy! Jimin’s Jams.”
Finally, Jungkook reflected, Jimin finally had some jams.
