Chapter Text
“Eomma? Appa? Your beloved son has returned!”
”Jimin-ah! Chickpea! We are in the kitchen. Drop everything in the livingroom and sit down, you are right on time for dinner. It’s just Kimchi Bokkeumbap, nothing too impressive, but –“
”Eomma, I told you. No matter what the two of you cook, it’ll always be my favourite food.”, Jimin bends down to hug his parents and give them a kiss on their cheek, “I’m sorry it took forever for me to come by. Work has been busy. A bit too busy if you ask me. It’s as if no one needs to go to work anymore and are spending all their time at ‘ChickTea’. Which is great for business, but as a small business owner it is stressing me out.”
”Chick, it’s all good. We told you to go to Seoul and follow your dreams.”, Jimin’s dad says, “I knew you would succeed and with success follows hard work. The only thing I’m surprised about is that the name ChickTea works.”, the man chuckles.
”I don’t care if it works or not. I needed part of you with me in Seoul, with you calling me chickpea at all times, it just made sense that I changed the P into a T. That way, it’s your nickname for me and the indication that we serve tea. Do you know what I call that appa?”
”Do tell son.”
”Smart and original. Unlike your suggestion at the time, ‘Books N Tea.”, Jimin winks at his dad, dodging his hand just in time, saving himself from a slap on the head.
”Sit down Chickpea, you look so tired. I’m worried baby. Are you staying over? Tell me you aren’t driving home?”, His mother questions him, while placing a plate of rice in front of him.
”I am staying this entire weekend, if that’s okay? I’m sorry I dropped in without asking.”, Jimin apologises, for what he feels is the hundred time that evening.
”You are welcome any time, son. You know that. At least now your mother will stop nagging me that you don’t come home enough and that you are working too hard.”, Jimin’s mother blushes at that, but doesn’t deny it.
”I’m here to spend time with you and to take my mind of work for a little. Soo-ah noona and Kwang-soo hyung promised me they would be able to handle it with the two of them and the twins have a younger brother, Jungwoo, who always helps out on busy days. I have faith in the three of them.”
”It still blows my mind that you are able of already having two fulltime staff members and a student to help you out, only three years after starting your business. That just speaks how blessed I was the day I had you. My smart, beautiful, humble, kind baby.”
”Eomma, stop it.”, Jimin blushes.
”I will never stop telling you the truth chickpea.”
”Is it the truth though? Or are you just biased?”
”Jiminie, when will you accept compliments, my boy. Being humble is one thing, deciphering yourself is a whole other thing. The opinion of some school children is the last thing that should stick around in your head, baby. They were just mean for the sake of ‘surviving’ high school. Guaranteed, if you look those kids up now, they probably aren’t in the position you are in. At the time they were good with words, but words get you nowhere. I’m proud of my chickpea.”
”Thanks Eomma. I love you.”, Jimin has always had a good bond with his parents, something he is very grateful for. They keep him sane at all times, which is something he needs more than he likes to admit.
”What brought you here this weekend though? You could have taken time off any time, so why now?”, Jimin’s dad asks, sharing his curious nature with his son.
”Well, seeing as it’s both your birthdays soon, I thought I could come home and maybe look around at the attic for some gift inspiration. You know I’ll never just give money, or flowers. I love giving flowers, but they are for everyday things, I want your gift to be original. Something you won’t expect, but will be very meaningful.”
”You don’t have to get us anything. Just celebrate it with us, that is more than enough.”
”Eomma, I know, but I do want to give you something. Besides, who knows what hidden treasures are lying around on the attic? I might get to know you and appa a bit better.”
Jimin and his parents enjoy the rest of their food together, watch an episode of his parents’ favourite drama and while their son has no clue what’s going on, he enjoys it all the same because he is simply surrounded by his parents and that is what he need the most right now. Falling asleep in his childhood bedroom is always an experience. Watching all his old posters of some kpop idols he lost his crush on over time, actors and his favourite anime characters brings back so many memories, it puts a smile on his face.
The next day, Jimin makes his way to the attic, while his parents spend all their time in the garden planting their son’s favourite flowers. Their garden might be small, but it is Jimin’s favourite place in his family’s home. Climbing on the stairs to the attic, he crawls inside. With the ceiling being so low, Jimin can’t stand up, but he doesn’t mind. Crawling works too, as long as he can reach the boxes, he is more than fine. Opening the first box, there isn’t much in there, some old clothes his mother was going to donate, but probably didn’t have time for and then totally forgot about, in the second box there’s some old wooden toys Jimin played with a lot as a toddler but then grew out of and moved onto other things. He has no idea why his parents are keeping them, but he is sure they have their reasons. Box after box he opens, without finding anything interesting. He knows what he is looking for, but at this point he isn’t sure the box is even here. Maybe, his mother keeps it safe underneath her bed. Crawling to the last box, one that is taped close unlike the others he has encountered, he notices the title on top written in black marker. ‘My loves’ it says, with a heart drawn next to it. BINGO! Jimin remembers giggling at the title of the box the first time he ever laid eyes upon it and even now he finds it endearingly cute. Who knew his mother could be such a fangirl? His dad, at first, was very jealous of her love for her favourite band, not once did he like the idea of being shared with six men, but once she married him and put that box on the attic, he got over it and even admitted to liking their music.
Taking out the first vinyl out of the box, he already loves the old-fashioned hairstyles, the rhinestone studded, bright suits and the shiny brown dress shoes. Their gelled back hair looks a little ridiculous to him, but solely because their hair looks too good to put gel in. Looking at the men on the cover, they seem familiar, though he doesn’t know who they remind him off. Scanning over the covers quickly, he gets an idea for his mother’s birthday. He is going to remake the covers of their albums, but by posing as each member. Not only that, he’ll also sing some of their songs. Both his parents have always loved his voice and while he has no plans to pursue any singing career, he doesn’t mind singing a few songs for her.
”Eomma!”, Jimin calls her, while stepping into the garden, “Can I borrow your Bangtan Albums?”
”Oh, My Loves? Well… As long as you bring them back to me, in perfect condition chickpea. You are my first love, but if you hurt my boys, I will hunt you down.”
”I thought appa was your first love?”, Jimin asks.
”Son, I am the eighth man on your mother’s list. You are number one, Bangtan takes places two to seven and I’m number eight. Don’t worry. I’m used to it. Though it breaks my heart. She married me, not those idols.”, His father grumbles playfully.
”Well, appa, you are my favourite man. My BTS men have the second to seventh place on my list too. You are my number one.”, He puts his head on his dad’s shoulder, looks up and bats his eyes.
”I knew I raised you right.”
”If you had raised him right mister, his eomma would be in first place.”, his mother complains.
”Eomma, don’t be upset, you are on my favourite woman list and you take all the places. From one until infinitely. No one can beat you.”
”Okay, your appa’s correct, we did raise you right. Thank you for lying to me, but I don’t care, because it was just too sweet.”
”I didn’t lie though. Soo-ah is nice and all, but she isn’t you. She most definitely didn’t raise me to be me. The only thing she does is annoying me and complaining about everything. She is lucky I like her,”, Jimin giggles.
”She keeps you on your toes though.”, his mum replies.
”So do you and Kwang-soo. Those twins… Yikes. If that’s what it is like to have siblings, I’m happy I’m an only child.”, the gold blonde giggles, happy his coworkers can't hear him right now.
The next day, Jimin and his parents have a gameboard day. Scrabble, Monopoly and Pictionary all get played, fried chicken gets ordered and devoured. At 8pm, Jimin gets back in his car to drive back home. Rolling down his window, he waves one last time at his parents, but before he can actually press the gas pedal, his mother stands next to him, giving him one last kiss on his cheek.
”I’m going to miss you baby. Come back soon, okay?”, She combs her fingers through his hair one last time.
”I’ll be back for your and dad's birthdays Eomma.”, Jimin smiles, leaning into the touch.
”Promise?”
”Pinkie promise.”
”My boy, I love you so much. Don’t bring a gift. You are the best gift I could have ever had.”, giving him a kiss on his forehead, she finally tells him to close the window.
”I want one though! A gift! Your presence is great, but a gift would be appreciated!”, He hears his dad yell before his window closes fully, making Jimin chuckle.
It takes him until Wednesday to finally look at the Vinyls. Work had been so busy, and with Soo-Ah and Kwang-Soo taking over the store during the weekend, he gave them each a day off. Neither one wanted to take their free day, but Jimin insisted. In order for no one to have a burnout, he demands for his employees to take time off whenever they are exhausted. Wednesday evening, once he finished his food and got himself a cup of tea, he takes out the first vinyl. Something really seems familiar about it, but he is just too tired to figure out what. On the TV, that is playing in the background, an ad for his favourite boyband’s new album pops up. Normally he pays his full attention to it. Having a crush on all of them and his bias changing every few weeks, he loves staring at them, but he needs to focus on his mum’s gift now and he’ll gladly sacrifices his time with his six dreamy men for it. Besides, he has the advertisement recorded on his DVR, saved on his IG and bookmarked on Twitter.
Going through all the records, he is deciding on which ones to use to recreate. The more he looks at his mother’s favourite idols, the more he understands why she loves them so much. Not only do they have that classic look, their voices are smooth like honey. For a moment, Jimin doubts whether his idea of covering their songs is a good idea, but seeing as he is his mother’s favourite man, he guesses he can at least give it a try. If she doesn’t like it, he can still buy her the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. Though knowing his parents, they’ll tell him it’s the best gift ever.
Finally his eyes fall on a cover he really loves. It’s a black and white picture that reminds him of the Beatles, though Bangtan, according to Jimin, is much better than that British band. Writing down what outfits and props he’ll need to recreate the cover, he puts on the album he is currently looking at. While ordering some clothes online, clothes that look exactly like what the six men are wearing, Jimin finds himself humming along to their songs. At first, he is proud of himself for knowing his mum’s favourite songs, but when the next song comes on, the gold blonde boy is confused once more. He can swear this song sounds exactly like his own favourite song, by his favourite band, just a little more jazzy. Either he is going crazy or it really sounds the same. He’ll look into it once the costumes, some film for his old camera and some empty cd’s are ordered. If he could he’d put it on a vinyl as well, but a cd will do.
He never gets to look into how similar the old and new version of Mikrokosmos sound, or if those songs just carry the same name, but sound nothing alike, seeing as he falls asleep on his sofa, with his laptop, still opened on the online store he was looking at, on his lap, the song completely forgotten. The next morning, he continues to browse for the props he needs to take those photos while keeping an eye on new customers, though he has no clue where he’ll find an old-fashioned drum. With how calm the morning his, he makes quite a lot of progress, though the drums stay a mystery to him. The only ones he does find online are very expensive and while he isn’t poor, he also can’t afford them.
”Jimin, anyone paying attention to you would think you’d live in the 50’s. You can just edit that drum in and before you tell me that editing isn’t authentic to that time period, you know you will have to edit the photo anyway, because you can’t split yourself in 6 people to take that picture. You will have to take six pictures and edit them into one. That extra bit of editing is not going to make a difference.”, Kwang-soo chuckles.
”Hyung, I’m not an idiot. I know I can edit it in. There’s just one issue. I have no clue how to put my six pictures into one, let alone to find a drum picture and put that in it as well…”, Jimin sighs, "maybe I should just give my mum flowers."
”Soo-ah is a pro at editing, I’m sure she’ll help out. She loved making the menus and the flyers, this is probably child’s play. Also, our dad has a small studio at his place and I play several instruments. Both of us can help you out with the cd.”
”Wait, how do you know I’m going to sing songs?”
”Jiminie”, Kwang-soo smiles, “you have talked about doing this for two years now. I’m surprised you are actually doing it now and last minute at that. Besides, we all adore your voice, so maybe you can make a second copy that we can play here in the cafe when we are sick of our usual playlists.”
”Maybe. Let’s see if I can do those songs justice first.”, Jimin says, closing his laptop, then make his way to the few customers that walked in.
”I’m sure you’ll do great boss!”, Kwang-soo holds up his two thumbs, a big smile plastered on his face.
The gold blonde does ask Soo-ah, if she can edit the album cover for him and maybe help him out with taking those pictures. She gladly agrees and tells him she’ll do his make up as well. When Jimin is ready to complain about it, she tells him that even though the picture will be in black and white, he can’t be too shiny, hence the layer of makeup. He sighs, then agrees, he’ll do whatever he needs to do give his mum the best present he can come up with. Soo-ah also agrees to assist him on his dad’s gift. She isn’t a pro at taking pictures, but she also isn’t the worst. As long as Jimin can make a photo album for him with reimagined old pictures, but also a few new ones, he’ll be happy.
Over the course of the next two weeks, Jimin, Kwang-soo and Soo-ah work diligently on his parents' surprise. Though, every day someone mentions how much Bangtan’s songs sound like BTS’ no one puts in more research to see whether their thoughts are right or wrong, due to finishing the project and reaching their deadline. With the help of Kwang-soo’s father, Jimin even learns how to hit some of the highest notes in these songs and while he sounds incredible, he does grumble inwardly about the songs being too hard. Someone should have told Bangtan to make those songs a little easier to sing, that way their fans would not constantly butchered those songs, even now on YouTube with new fans singing those songs, they just never sound right and it’d be easier for other artists to cover them. Even now, with the band having been inactive for years and most of the members presumably not being alive anymore, they gain new fans every single day, including big artists, who refuse to cover Bangtan songs as they are that hard, these singers would never reach that level of perfection and they know it themselves all too well.
Wrapping both projects up, two days before his mum’s birthday and four days before his dad grows a year older, he’s happy he managed all of it right on time. That night, he sits himself in front of the computer and listens to his versions of the Bangtan songs and once again thinks to himself that most of these songs really are familiar. Opening his spotify, he plays the song on the top of the list, which is his favourite BTS song of all time and a song he remembers humming along to, in the Bangtan version. Listening to the versions, he notices how similar they actually are, while one of them is more jazz, the other one is more pop, but the lyrics, the melody… It is the same. Pinching himself several times in his arm, he realises he isn’t dreaming and all of this is real. Maybe BTS’ favourite band was Bangtan too? Or maybe this is just one song and his brain provided him with the rest of the story. All of this can be purely coincidental. Maybe BTS has covers from other artists. It’s not that weird though? Ah, he is probably going crazy, with having worked on both presents, while keeping a business alive. For now, the gold blonde man goes to bed, he can always continue to compare the songs with each other another day, when he’s more awake and less prone to imagining things.
On Thursday, the last day that week Jimin can actually listen to his mum’s albums, he doubts she is going to borrow them to him any longer, he takes a random one from the box and puts it on. Listening to the song that starts, he realises he knows this one too, but not as jazzy as this version. Just like with Mikrokosmos, he knows a version of Spring Day that is more pop ballad. Going over the title names, he notices that a lot of them are similar to the BTS songs he knows. ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’, ‘Not Today’, ‘Life Goes On’, ‘Magic Shop’, ‘Love Maze’ and even ‘21st Century Girl’, though that is called ’20 Century Girl’, but it is the same song, Shazam has that one confirmed, just like all the songs he listened to. Shazam recognises them as BTS songs, and the Google Humming option gives both BTS and Bangtan as an option. Looking up pictures of BTS and holding the Bangtan vinyl cases against them, he really sees no difference between them. Not even a different nose, a different colour eye or a different shape of mouth. They are identical.
”Their families have incredible genes if they look this much alike, that is if they are even related? Maybe they are just vampires.”, Jimin giggles at the thought, “Vampires. This is definitely not Twilight.”
Searching for the Bangtan members’ names, they are also exactly the same as the BTS’ members. Grandchildren maybe? Though, no family members are added to the Bangtan singers' profiles, no parents, no partners, no children, not even siblings. Just the six of them. Trying to find out more about BTS, he finds their official pages on social media, but once again, family names are nowhere to be find. Not even blood types, shoe sizes or heights can be found. What he does find for both bands are their birthdates, which are once again exactly the same. Another thing that is missing is a disband date for Bangtan or any death dates. Now, even with their good genes and their healthy lifestyles, it seems impossible to Jimin that all six members are still alive. Maybe they just never officially disbanded? Though he also can’t find anything about them just ending their activities as a band or them falling ill. No old articles, nothing... Everything seems to be cloaked by a layer of mystery. Sure, at the time, there was nothing like social media or online magazines and newspapers, but with the amount of old articles uploaded on the internet, you’d think he’d find something. At least one of them not being alive anymore. With Bangtan having been that popular, someone must have written something? Jimin's brain is all over the place and it's driving him a little insane.
”Maybe they really are vampires?”, The gold blonde snorts at that, “Jiminie, Pabo. Though, what if their light skin in pictures isn’t whitewashing, but them actually being undead? Then again… If they were, they would not have a reflection? Right? Isn’t that something all the legends have told us? Well, maybe they need a better make-up artist then? Or a new editor?”
For a hot minute Jimin is distracted. Vampires, at this point, doesn’t sound too stupid, but they also aren’t real. Or maybe they are? Would it be that unlikely? They could have just spread a rumour that all those stories are just old tales. That’s what he would do if he were a vampire. Live amongst humans, hide in plain sight, then hypnotize them in believing their lies as lore. Oof, he’s tired. No wonder he loves reading this much, maybe one day he should try to write a book himself, he clearly has the imagination for it, especially when he's sleepy. Vampires. Everyone knows they don’t exist.
Placing all the vinyls back in the box, he places them neatly by the door, next to the overnight bag he placed there earlier. Closing his laptop, he puts it on top of his desk. This weekend, he’ll just check mails on his phone, but he hopes people just leave him be. It is his parents' birthday after all. The cafe is actually closed for the weekend, seeing as Soo-ah and Kwang-soo both wanted those day off as well. Closing during the weekend isn’t the smartest move, but 'ChickTea' has been doing amazing, they can afford it this one time. Besides, he’ll close his business any day, if it means he gets to see his parents. Jimin will always prioritize his family before money and his career.
”Eomma, Appa! Happy Birthday To you!”, Jimin walks into the living room with a box filled with different desserts and candles placed on top of those, “I know you don’t like cake, but I thought dessert can never hurt, so I bought some eclairs, tompouce, Boule de Berlin and donuts along. Please blow out the candles, before I set this box on fire and the chocolate on top of these desserts melt.”
Once the pastries have been devoured and the movie has been chosen, ‘The wizard of Oz’, Jimin’s mother looks at her son with a serious look on her face.
”Chickpea, where are my loves?”, She asks him, worry audible through her voice.
”In the hallway eomma. I’ll put them back on the attic once dinner is finished. Thank you for letting me borrow them.”
”Of course sweetheart. Everything for you. Were you able to use them?”
”Yes I was. You’ll see it later today. For now, let’s start this film. I was promised an old film marathon.”
Getting up from his spot on the little sofa, he walks to his parents and sits in between them. His head on his father’s shoulder while holding his mother’s hand. He knows it’s his parents’ birthday weekend, but he is definitely the one who is receiving gifts, his parents’ love, care and friendship.