hello, dreamer!

the audience could hear minjun wondering out loud as he played and immediately got a response from the fans, making him laugh along with them. for someone who wasn’t so familiar with games and controls, and he could totally blame his parents for that, he had been doing a pretty good job failing while playing.

at least he mastered the controls and how to make some cool moves, not to make a complete fool of himself; he wondered if that had to do with him being an idol and the fans loving him, and for that, they didn’t give him a hard time when he messed up one more time, dumping his character from a vine and missing a chance to move forward.

the game wasn’t hard - his other idol friends told him it was the most chilling game ever, but minjun wasn’t used to it. he’d rather give the audience some funny losing gameplay than try to play it seriously and look like a fool.

run to the left and then jump?, he said out loud, looking at the screen where comments were popping out like crazy, and nodded with a smile, adjusting his yoshi hat cutely before he tried the commands coming from the fans, “is that what you want me to do?” 

he tried the first time and missed the vine again, falling from it. Immediately, he pouted at the screen and sighed, giving the audience an impressive interpretation of a failed person. “you were playing me; that was not cool!”

“minjun needs to press his controls harder,” he read another message and then tried the commands again, and once he managed to reach exactly what he wanted, he did a victory dance and leaned closer, kissing the screen. “you were great now! thank you for the tip, i think etervals are really my lucky charm!”

“this is nice, i don’t want it to be over!” minjun pouted again, not expecting to have so much fun while playing that game. he sincerely loved being able to interact with his fans, he felt really blessed, even if he didn’t have them physically around them. 

minjun stared and then crossed his arms, rolling his eyes so dramatically that even if he was wearing a cap and a mask, the people in front of him could definitely see what he did.

v&a were having the smallest break in seoul and after ignoring the majority of the messages his brother sent him, asking for a meeting, he felt ready enough to answer one of them.

what he didn’t expect was that he’d be meeting not only his brother, but his mother as well.

to have a conversation with song yoona and not get irritated in the process was something minjun wasn’t mentally prepared for. he had a faint idea why jimin had booked that meeting, and just the thought of it made his blood boil.

they wanted to talk about his relationship; he was so sure of it. because Jimin never got over the fact rowon chose someone else over him, he expected him to stay forever condemned to a failed relationship.

he never considered minjun as a changing factor.

“hello mother.”

minjun offered her a bow and sat down in front of the duo, and they were so similar and unnatural, minjun understood why jimin used to tease him in the past, saying he was adopted. of course, at the time, he meant that minjun wasn’t talented like he was, but now the idol could accept that reality, if it really was true.

he didn’t feel like he belonged there. he felt alive, colorful, and pretty, while his mother and brother looked like an old version of a failed family.

“congratulations on your debut, minjun.”, her voice sounded sweet, but there was no warmth there; it was just protocol, like when you ask someone if they’re well, when you meet them after a long time.

“it’s been two years.” 

jimin cleared his throat when he noticed the cold passing from minjun to their mother and interrupted any kind of awkward conversations.

“we wanted to talk to you about something.”

“you want to talk to me about rowon.” minjun interrupted jimin, noticing the air getting colder by the second. “you couldn’t just accept what i told you the last time we met, and now you brought mom here to try to convince me i need to change things about my life.”

“kang minjun, don’t be disrespectful to your brother. he has only concerns about…” his mother’s tone was firm and in any other moment of his life, minjun would’ve flinched and shrank upon that tone. 

but he wasn’t that boy anymore.

“the only concern jimin has is the fact i’m dating his ex for more than one year now. a scandal would look amazing for his career, since people would start hating me and comparing us, giving him more credit for being the good brother. i’m glad he decided to go complain to you and not sell the story to dispatch.”

“how dare you talk to us like that?” her fist hitting the table made minjun flinch, but smirk at the same time - jimin remained silent, a shocked expression covering his face. “we gave you nothing but -”

“but crumbles, mother. for years, you’ve given me crumbles of affection, attention, love, and dedication. i was never your first choice, and i grew up like that, i don’t need you telling me what to do. because i told jimin i don’t consider you my family anymore, you never cared about me, you never wanted me to succeed and if i did, you wanted it so it wouldn’t overshadow jimin. let’s not pretend things here.”

he stood up. That conversation was a waste of time; he could’ve been doing so many other things instead of being there.

“i appreciate if you keep the information about my relationship away from the news outlets. if you’re genuine about caring for me, you’ll forget i told you about it. i really hope you both can find happiness, just like i am happy.”

but this time, everything was quiet; the only sound came from his shoes, and even his breathing sounded louder than he was used to.

there were many memories tied to those rooms, but now everything seemed to be fading slowly. Sometimes, he didn’t feel as blessed as he thought he was, and the burden of carrying the title of an idol weighed on his shoulders.

he danced, though, as hard as he could; the piercing lyrics made his body work harder, push his limits, and he closed his eyes, unaware there was someone else there watching him. he didn’t care; all minjun wanted was to chase away that feeling, one he didn’t welcome around.

but this time, everything was quiet; the only sound came from his shoes, and even his breathing sounded louder than he was used to.

there were many memories tied to those rooms, but now everything seemed to be fading slowly. Sometimes, he didn’t feel as blessed as he thought he was, and the burden of carrying the title of an idol weighed on his shoulders.

he danced, though, as hard as he could; the piercing lyrics made his body work harder, push his limits, and he closed his eyes, unaware there was someone else there watching him. he didn’t care; all minjun wanted was to chase away that feeling, one he didn’t welcome around.

it shouldn't feel that shocking, and minjun shouldn't be that surprised by the news he just got. he had been working hard on lyrics, and to receive a response like the one he just got was exactly what he should have been expecting. Still, it made his hands shake, and his body reacted the same way it did when he got the news he was going to debut as an idol - mouth hanging open, heart racing, and sweaty palms.

“wow that's big”, he found himself saying, his head already thinking about his schedules and how he couldn't mess yet another chance, how in just a few years he managed to accomplish so much (and how secretly he owed that to leaving lots of baggage behind, namely his family).

“you'll be performing in Los Angeles, minjun”, his manager informed and he felt his cheeks burn, the anticipation for the event reaching crazy levels, as he could only nod a response; his mouth felt so dry, his tongue tasted like sandpaper. 

when they were dismissed, as if that wasn't something so big it could change their lives forever,  since it was a solo schedule, and they received positive feedback on their lyrics to the point it opened a door for them to perform with HARU, minjun still had to choose a song to perform.

He wanted something that could showcase his talent, make people remember him, and, at the same time, make people turn their eyes to his group as well. He wanted to take not only his name but V&A's name along with him.

because he was a rogue, his mascot had the ability to find hidden objects and hidden clues, so he thought it would be super easy to navigate the mall in a short amount of time and help his group the best way he could.

Unfortunately, things were easier in his head than in action. first off, the mall was huge - not that he wasn’t aware of that -, but when they had the whole place closed for them, the eerie feeling of solitude was just overwhelming, making him gasp for air from time to time as he used the escalators to climb to the higher floors.

deciding it would be easier to reach the top flood and then search for clues while climbing down, minjun was mesmerized when he entered one of the terraces and saw the amazing and exquisite garden there - it was beautiful, filled with exotic plants and flowers minjun never knew existed, and even if he did have a task to fill, he couldn’t help but spend some moments just enjoying the place surrounding him.

wake up minjun, you need to win this thing.

shaking his head, he took a look at his mascot and smiled, “let’s do this, just help me out”, he didn’t know exactly how the mascot was going to help him out, but when he found an envelope with a riddle, he was excited ot open it and proceed to the next one.

this is fake, don’t buy it.

“ohhh, that’s how this thing works then!”, he was excited when the message informed him that he had a fake clue in his hands, immediately dropping the envelope and searching for some more clues.

when minjun finally arrived at the spot, he and jimin decided to meet, his brother was already waiting for him. he checked his watch and wasn’t surprised to realize he wasn’t late, the older man arrived earlier; his trained brain immediately formed the idea jimin was going to make some kind of comment about him getting there late.

but the comment never came, not when minjun greeted him with a respectful bow, nor when he sat down in front of him, placing two large bags with their food (fried chicken and tteokpokki) and beverages (iced americano) between them.

“i was surprised to get your text, asking for a meeting.” minjun was clearly in a defensive mode, but tried to hide it as much as he could, his mask covering most of his face, even if the late hours did most to cover their meeting.

jimin, on the other hand, was flaunting his face proudly, almost making minjun roll his eyes. obviously.

“you shouldn’t be so surprised. we’re siblings, of course i’d like to see you.”

“and this has nothing to do with my interview for the WKorea magazine?” his tone was filled with irony, his stare was hard, not giving any kind of breach for his brother to escape.

“touchè.” minjun rolled his eyes at his brother's answer, and took a few moments to retrieve the boxes of food, handing his brother one cup of coffee. 

he expected that to happen, but he hoped it’d take some time. he knew his words were going to cause some commotion, especially with his family, since most of his friends and groupmates already knew he wasn’t in good terms with his family, mostly with his brother, for quite some time.

“we could have been a great team, minjun. but you had to make things difficult.”

minjun laughed, rolling his eyes.

“we could never be a good team, because you’d never want me standing there sharing the space with you. you don’t want a teammate, dear brother. you want someone to be under you. and i’m not going to be this person.”

“why do you want to make everything so difficult, minjun? you always act like a kid!”

minjun sighed and smirked. jimin was clearly using the same tactic he used to when minjun was younger, trying to push his buttons, make him look like an immature man that couldn’t be taken seriously. but what jimin didn’t realize was that minjun wasn’t falling for those tricks again; he no longer had those strings attached to his brother, so he couldn’t harm him with those words anymore.

“hyung, with all due respect. if you don’t have anything else to say, i should spend the rest of the night practicing,” he started to gather his things, but jimin’s voice startled him, keeping him seated.

“i called you to talk about rowon.”

minjun tensed. they never spoke about rowon, and he wasn’t going to start now.

he opened his mouth to start talking and, for the first time, jimin used his hyung card, speaking louder, firmer, making minjun stare, crossing his arms in a defensive position.

“i believe i told you to stay away from him. you’re far too young and naive to believe everything that man tells you. he’s not good for you, he’s-..”

“he’s my boyfriend.” minjun interrupted jimin, already standing up; his brother’s expression was a mixture of shock, surprise, and something minjun could explain as…anger? “i’d appreciate if you didn’t speak of him when he’s not here.”

“boyfriend? are you insane? do you know what he can do to your career? to your future?”

“yes. i’m sure we both know what we can do to each other’s careers, and to be honest, we don’t give a fuck.” the words, when he spoke about rowon, came out easy and honest; he didn’t have anything to hide, and minjun wanted to tell his brother about it for so long, it was just refreshing.

“minjun, for god’s sake! this is absurd!” jimin’s voice grew an octave and minjun smirked again.