P-R-O-M-I-S-E || vmin ff

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Taehyung forgets about Jimin's odd behavior from their first night on campus after a while. The younger had slipped back into his usual self—bright, confident, and full of life—so Taehyung decided to shrug it off, chalking it up to the nerves of adjusting to a new place. Maybe Jimin had just been overwhelmed. It happens.

Since then, their semester had been going fairly well. Taehyung had fallen hopelessly in love with his art classes—well, most of them. The ones that involved creativity, freedom, and splashing colors onto a canvas in chaotic harmony? Absolute heaven. The ones where he had to sit through mind-numbing lectures on theory or, worse, numbers? A personal nightmare. Calculus? For an art major? He still couldn't wrap his head around that. The injustice of it all.

Jimin, on the other hand, seemed to be thriving. No—flourishing. If Taehyung had to describe him in a single word, it would be unstoppable. He had joined the university's dance team and, as expected, was already making waves. His performances were mesmerizing, his movements fluid like silk, every step carrying the weight of years of dedication. And his social circle? It had expanded at an alarming rate. Taehyung would barely blink before Jimin introduced him to yet another new friend.

"Taehyung, this is Namjoon-hyung. He composes music."

"Yoongi-hyung's a genius producer. He doesn't talk much, but he's cool."

"This is Jungkook! He's on the dance team with me—stop flexing, Jungkook."

Taehyung had always thought of himself as friendly, but Jimin took it to another level. His ability to collect people like fireflies in the palm of his hand was both admirable and, at times, exhausting.

At first, Taehyung felt a bit left out. His closest friends—Jimin, Jin, and Hoseok—had all found their place within the dance team, moving in sync, laughing over late-night practices, whispering about choreography like it was the center of the universe. And then there was Taehyung, who could barely remember his left foot from his right.

But they never once let him feel like an outsider. Jimin, Jin, and Hoseok had practically dragged him into their world, singing praises of his artistic skills to the team captain until he was given a role. Poster and costume design. It wasn't dancing, but it was something, and Taehyung found himself oddly proud of it.

"You're amazing at it, Tae," Jimin had grinned, resting his chin on Taehyung's shoulder as he looked over the sketches one evening. "No one else could do this as well as you."

The praise made Taehyung's ears burn. He had brushed it off with a casual shrug, but the words had stayed, tucked away in some corner of his heart.

And of course, Jimin wasn't just thriving socially—his academics were another thing entirely. Even the general education classes that Taehyung barely scraped through? Jimin breezed past them like they were nothing. Effortless, like an angel.

"Please tell me you struggled a little with that essay," Taehyung groaned one afternoon, dropping his head onto their shared cafeteria table. "Lie to me if you have to."

Jimin laughed, nudging his shoulder. "It wasn't that bad."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Debatable."

Jimin only giggled, shaking his head, and Taehyung sighed, peeking up at him through half-lidded eyes. Perfect like an angel. Who was surprised, really?

The dance studio buzzed with quiet chatter and the occasional thud of tape being ripped from its roll. Jimin stood on his toes, stretching his arms above his head as he tried to hang a string of fairy lights along the mirror-lined wall.