#anyway i also needed a break from the swap au because aGH

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | one

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3384

chapter warnings: cussing / mature language, slight flirting, nothin’ too cray

notes: as mentioned on ‘perfectly wrong,’ i tend to write short chapters, but that means there will be quite a few chapters ahead.

> series masterlist <

The jetlag must have hit you bad because the sun is shining in brightly through the windows and it's about to be 1PM.

"Aw, fuck." You say to yourself as you sit up and rub your face to wake yourself up. You feel like you've been hit by a truck, but there was no way you were going to spend your day sleeping and getting yourself on track. Time is of the essence.

You head downstairs to the bathroom to wash up and start getting yourself ready for today. The TV is on a random channel while you toast yourself some bread to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You didn't feel too hungry, solely because you were more excited to get out there and try the local food.

As you finish up your sandwich, you start to make your way back upstairs to get into your outfit, but you suddenly stop when you hear a voice outside in the hallway. At first, it didn't cause any alarm because it sounded distant enough to make you think it wasn't coming towards your way. However, that quickly changes when the voice is right outside the door and is clear as day.

"Yo, Yana! Open up!" The knocks came suddenly on the door. You hesitated, wondering if Yana had also just left without giving anyone a heads up because who in the hell was this man pounding on her door at this time? The day barely started for you. "Yana! Come on! Quit playing around before I knock this door down myself!" You definitely didn't want that, so you cross your arms tightly near your chest as you walk to the door. You reach for the door handle to swing it open, revealing a somewhat flustered male standing in front of you with a huge tupperware of food in his hands.

"Uh, hi? Can I help you?"

"You're not.. Yana?" His eyebrows furrowed. He welcomes himself in, almost causing you to trip over yourself as you move aside, checking the bathroom and quickly glancing up and around the loft.

"Last time I checked, I sure wasn't." You shut the door and cross your arms tightly as you watch him stand there. You couldn't help but notice how attractive he was - standing at a good 5'9-5'10, fair skin, grey, ash-blonde hair that was parted down the middle, with some layers falling around the front of his face. His lips were pink and plump, and you couldn't help but gaze at his beautiful eyes, which for sure had grey tinted lenses in at the moment. You could see his resemblance to Yana. He seemed way too unreal though, in a good way. You quickly checked your appearance in the mirror through the bathroom, making sure your hair wasn't a mess or that you weren't a mess in general. But lo and behold, you were still in your Hello Kitty pajama shirt and shorts.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in like that. I'm Yana's brother, Jimin. Park Jimin." He softly smiles at you and shows off his pearly whites, his hand on the nape of his neck as he quickly checks you out from head to toe. "Nice jammies."

"Well, I wasn't necessarily expecting an intrusion at this time." You wrap your arms around your chest to cover up Hello Kitty as much as you can.

"Right, sorry. She wasn't answering my calls or texts so I came over here to check on her, plus my mom asked me to bring this over. Any idea where she might be since you're apparently occupying her space now?"

"She didn't tell you anything?" His right eyebrow raises.

"No? Care to fill me in?"

"She put her loft up on a home exchange website, so we decided to swap homes for a bit. She's down at my apartment in California right n-"

"California? Since when? How long is she going to be there for?" He laughed a bit. "You're talking about my sister Yana, right? She doesn't go anywhere. She barely even leaves her house."

"I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same Yana." You pursed your lips into a fine line before chiming in again. "I just got here yesterday afternoon, so I'm sure she's still getting herself situated. We're switching back after Christmas."

"Why didn't she say anything?" You can tell the question wasn't necessarily directed towards you and moreso just Jimin thinking out loud, but you respond anyway. He has such a soft demeanor that you don't feel threatened by him being around you at all, even if this whole thing was accidental.

"I don't.. know? I'm really sorry, I don't know what to tell you." You shrugged. You felt bad Yana's own brother was out of the loop, but you get it. You were in the same spot as she was. You just had to do what you had to do without anyone holding you back sometimes.

"Nah, no worries. I'll get a hold of her somehow." He shakes his head and makes his way to the kitchen. He places the tupperware he has in his hands in the fridge, then toothlessly smiles back at you as it closes. "Since you're here, help yourself to my mom's food."

"Mm, are you sure? I mean I don't want to-"

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Seriously, Yana isn't here to eat it and it shouldn't go to waste."

"Why don't you eat it?"

"Because I have my own at home." He smiled. "You're not going to get out of this one, you know?"

"Thank you. Or, um, thanks to your mom." You rub your arm as you chuckle nervously while following him to the door. The fuck Y/N, don't start acting up around him now.

"Sorry about that again." He turns to smile at you again, hands now deep in his pockets. "I didn't catch your name?"

"Y/N."

"Nice to meet you." Jimin nods and chuckles. "I promise I don't just barge into people's homes like that."

"Mhm, your sister must think you're a handful."

"If anything, she's the handful, clearly." He cocks his head to the side. "California, huh?"

"The golden state." You shrug and chuckle. Really, Y/N? The golden state?

"I bet." Is all he says before he starts to back away from the door. "Well, I don't want to take more time out of your day. You must have some plans to get through. Thanks again, Y/N."

"Yeah, no problem." You watch as he walks down the hallway. As he descends down the steps, you gently shut the door and walk upstairs to finish getting ready so you can finally start your first adventure. To where? You don't know and that's a-okay.

[Y/N] 1:56pm: Hey Yana, I hope you're settled in! Your brother came here to drop off some food and to check on you. I may have told him you were in California, but I didn't say anything else after that. I'm sorry :( Hopefully that doesn't cause issues. Let me know if you need anything.

[Yana] 2:05pm: Hey! Haha no worries, I'm struggling a little with the sleep schedule but I'll be fine. Thanks for letting me know! Was he mad?

[Y/N] 2:07pm: No, he just couldn't believe you were out there since he claims you don't leave the house often. Haha.

[Yana] 2:08pm: Wow, he said that? Very Jimin like. He's 25 years old going on 80 so he shouldn't be one to talk. Agh, can't live with him, can't live without him. I'll deal with it. Hope my little brother didn't bother you too much after that! Many apologies if he did!

From what you gather, Yana is super sweet and you can tell she has a close relationship with her brother. You were quite surprised Jimin was her little brother, simply due his slightly overprotective nature and how he threatened to break down the door. Nonetheless, Jimin seemed to be concerned for his sister's wellbeing and you could tell he was sad when he realized she wasn't going to be around for awhile. You truly hope you didn't mess anything up or cause any issues for her plans though. It reminds you of your own friends and how you'll probably get the same earful in the next couple of hours. Until then though, you stick to the plan and tuck your phone deep into your bag before navigating the nearby streets to do some exploring.

Meanwhile, Jimin tosses his keys onto the kitchen counter as he enters the apartment he shares with his two bestfriends.

"You find her?" Taehyung sits on the couch with one foot up. He's holding a cup of tea in his hand while watching a movie on TV.

"Yana?"

"I'm sorry, were you looking for someone else besides your sister?" Taehyung asks sarcastically, which Jimin ignores.

"No, but I met Y/N." Jimin flatly responds as he plops onto the couch next to him and pulls up Yana's number to get a hold of her.

"Who is Y/N?"

"She's living at Yana's."

"Wait, what? She has a roommate now?" Taehyung looked at him, completely and utterly confused with this whole conversation.

"Nope. My sister is apparently in California cause she swapped homes with her."

"That's a thing?"

"I guess so." Taehyung watches as Jimin puts the phone to his ear.

"Yana, what the hell?" Jimin says into the phone as he stands up and walks towards his room.

"Calm down, fool. Why did you barge into my place like that? Perfect impression to give Y/N while she's still settling down."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to California for the holidays?" He ran his hand through his hair. As guessed, he indeed had a very close relationship to his sister. Knowing she wouldn't be around for Christmas made him a pretty sad. He knew Yana had been wanting to get away for a bit, especially with the personal things she had going on, but he had wished she talked to him about what was going on first. He wanted to help in any way that he could.

"Because I knew if I did, you'd try and stop me."

"N-no!" He stuttered. "No, I wouldn't."

"Yes, you would've. Or, you would have tried to come with."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Chim, I just really want my own time in a new setting, away from everything that's familiar. Just for a bit." Jimin sighed. He wasn't going to argue.

"Alright, I get it. Please just stay safe out there, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. I'm surprised you haven't ran to mom yet." He chuckled.

"Jeez, is that what you think of me? A tattle-tale?"

"Mm, sometimes." She laughed. "You can be quite the baby."

"Hey, woah! This wasn't supposed to be about me." He grabbed his chest, feeling a little attacked by his sister. "Look, I'm not gonna say anything but eventually she's gonna notice. You know her."

"Then let her, I'll deal with it then."

"Alright, go for it." Jimin threw his hand up in defeat like Yana can see him somehow. Mom wasn't scary; if anything, she was always super supportive. However, Jimin and Yana both knew she'd be nothing but a worried mess knowing Yana was out in California on her own. "Let me know if you need anything from me, okay? Watch out for yourself down there."

"I will. I'll talk to you later, I'm gonna try to get on with my day before all I do is sleep. I love you."

"Love you too." Yana hangs up the phone, sighing at the mess she created with her luggage sprawled out in the room. She tried digging for something more appropriate for the Los Angeles weather at the moment, in which the sun was shining warmly but the surrounding morning air was cold. She headed back into the living room to scroll through her phone and figure out what to do with her day. She could go for some good coffee and breakfast right now, but where? Something walkable? She figured she could also uber around until she got used to the public transportation around here.

Some pancakes, eggs and—

Knock, knock, knock.

Yana sprung her head up to face the door, unsure of who could be here this early. She too was wondering if you had just left without notice, or if it could be the mailman delivering a package. But, this early? Is this how they did it in California? She peeks through the peephole to see a rather tall figure, wearing a beanie, hoodie, sweats, a coat and sneakers. He held two cups of coffee in his hands as he waited patiently for the door to be swung open.

"Hi." Yana said, cocking her head to the side as she held onto the door knob. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to why she was answering the door and not his bestfriend.

"Hi, I'm sorry. Is Y/N here?" Yana chuckled and shook her head. Figures. They were exactly on the same page with this swap.

"No, I'm sorry. She's in Seoul." His eyes widened.

"Seoul? As in South Korea Seoul?" She nodded.

"Yeah, we swapped homes for the month. Sorry, I'm guessing she didn't tell you anything." He shook his head. "Come in. I'm Yana." She smiled, having him return the smile back.

"Namjoon." He steps in and directly goes for the kitchen to place the coffee cups down. "Help yourself to the coffee I brought over."

"Thanks." She smiled softly.

"So, when exactly did this swap happen?"

"I just got here not too long ago, actually. Y/N just got situated too."

"Damn, that recent?" Namjoon shook his head. "I don't get why she just upped and left like that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sure it wasn't anything personal."

"No need to apologize." He chuckled. "I'm kind of just thinking out loud here. It's a little random, that's all. I'm sure I'll hear the reasoning soon." He leaned his back against the counter. Yana thought he was really attractive, with the way he leaned back against the counter, buff arms crossed at the chest. She knew her reasoning for agreeing to the swap, especially with the troubles she's had with her ex, Jackson. But, to be honest, she wouldn't mind running into this man every so often. He showed off his dimple when he smiled and chuckled earlier, giving off some sort of calmness to his personality.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will."

"Did you guys know each other for awhile or something?"

"Nope, met completely out of the blue on the home exchange site."

"Nice." He nodded. He was just confused and almost shocked that you left without briefing him and Yoongi. Not that you owed them any explanation, but you've all been so transparent with each other due to the nature of your relationship. Why did you go off so far? Why didn't you let them tag along? What kind of Hannah Montana ass life are you living? "Definitely not something Y/N would do." Namjoon did a little head tilt.

"Are you her.. significant other?"

"God, no." He made a sour face. "We've been close since high school. Me, her and our other friend Yoongi. It's always been us three." She nodded.

"That's sweet." He smiled at her toothlessly, keeping his gaze on her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt her cheeks heat up, so she couldn't help but break the staring game by looking down at the floor.

"Sorry, you must have things to do. I'll get going." He pushed off on the counter.

"I was actually just trying to figure out what I could do with my day. Any recommendations?"

"Tons. Depends on what you're looking to do to start off your first day in LA." She chuckled.

"Not too much since the jetlag will hit me sometime soon."

"I can show you around if you'd like? It's honestly not easy getting around here without a car. Uber is cool and all but those surcharges can get to you." She smiled but hesitated to answer. They had literally just met, but she didn't feel any weird vibes coming from him. If anything, he was already showing how down to earth and laid back he was. "Only if you'd like, of course. I promise I don't bite or anything." She chuckled.

"Actually, yeah. I'm down for that. I just need to go get ready."

"Take your time." Namjoon hung over the kitchen counter to go through his phone as Yana walked away. He figured he could help her get some breakfast and take her down to Santa Monica, for starters.

Later that afternoon, Namjoon brought Yana back home to rest up early. There were only so many things you could do from early on and he could tell she was getting pretty tired even though she tried her hardest to keep up, which made him feel bad. He got to his apartment that he shared with Yoongi and threw his beanie and keys off to the side of the dining table. 

“Yoongi-ah!” He called out for Yoongi. The boy came out of his room, looking like he had just woken up from a deep nap.

“Why are you yelling for me?”

“Did you know Y/N was in Seoul?” 

“Our Y/N? In Seoul?”

“Yes, that’s what I just asked.” Yoongi scratched his head and sat down on the couch, head tilting back to rest on it. 

“No. The fuck? Since when?”

“Like a day or whatever ago, I don’t really want to calculate the time difference right now.”

“Why is she there?”

“Dunno. Wanna find out?” Yoongi scrolled through his phone and shook his head.

“They’re 15 hours ahead, so it’s like 8:30 AM there. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. She’s probably ti-” Namjoon instantly went into the Favorites tab of his phone to quickly pull up your contact info and call you. “Alright, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” The first time he called you through Facetime, you didn't pick up. So he tries again, completely ignoring the whole time difference shpeel from Yoongs.

"What?" You asked groggily on the other line, eyes still closed while you had the phone staring up at the ceiling so Namjoon couldn't see you.

"How's Seoul?"

"Namjoon, leave me alone. It's 8AM."

"You’re usually up by that time when you’re here, get up out of that bed.”

“Clearly, I’m not home. You just said it.” You groaned.

“I told you she would be mad.” Yoongi peeks his head into the small Facetime frame on Namjoon’s phone. “Just for the record Y/N, I told him not to call you.”

“Why didn't you tell me?! I brought coffee only to find Yana at your apartment.” Namjoon continues to ignore all cues.

"You met her and she had coffee. Sounds like a win-win to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?" He whined.

"Because I knew if I did, you and Yoongi would try and come along."

"Ah, wait, wait. Is that so bad?!" Yoongi chimed in, a little hurt from that statement.

"I love you both dearly, but I really just wanted this to be solo-dolo." Namjoon sighed.

"Are you okay at least?"

"Yes, I promise. I'd be even more fine if you both let me get a little bit more sleep."

"You didn't do this because of Romeo, did you?"

"I'd be lying if I said no. Look, for the most part, I just wanted to get away from LA for a bit. Get away from work and all the other stressors that home has been bringing. Okay?”

"I get it."

"Now stop going to my house and scaring Yana, you giant."

"I took her around today."

"Don't start with the funny business, Joonie."

"And what if the funny business comes to me instead?" He pulled the camera close to his face, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows. ‘You’re ugly,’ You hear Yoongi faintly say in the background, who is now completely out of the frame.

"Bye." You hang up and turn over to try and head back to sleep. Let's get this straight - you love Namjoon and Yoongi. You've done a lot of things together and you always look for their company. But, there were things you needed to get past on your own. The work stress and the impostor syndrome, keeping up with LA, your ex and the on and off years you've been putting yourself through all the hurt.

You felt like you really couldn't blame anyone but yourself, especially with Romeo and how he had been treating you. He had been treating you like a convenience and he never showed any effort. Yet, you always gave in because this was a man you loved for nearly the past 5 years.

It was just time. You were done. You had to remind yourself who you were.

#bts #bts fanfiction #jimin fanfiction #jimin #park jimin #off the grid #otg #writing #jimin x reader