Young Writers Society

He sat and watched Jimin through the window of the 7-Eleven for an hour before he was mentally calm enough to approach him. He didn’t want another episode of crumbling into Jimin’s arms or Jimin feeling the need to take off work to care for him, he had him and his father to support.

Feeling the need for Cheetos and Jimin’s smile, Taehyung turned off the ignition of his car, grabbed his wallet and walked across the street into the store.

Jimin heard the bell ring as Taehyung entered and called out to him. “Taehyung! How are you?” he asked brightly.

“I’m okay,” Taehyung replied pulling his hood securely around his head to hide the cuts from the attack. He didn’t want Jimin to see them and make a fuss.

“Do you want anything?” Jimin asked. He reached behind the counter and brought out a few bags of snacks. “I have plenty to share.”

Taehyung shrugged and walked over to the counter to see what there was. Sure enough, there were Cheetos among the bags. He picked them up and smiled. Jimin stopped him when he reached for his wallet.

“There’s no need, I already bought these,” he insisted. Taehyung felt bad and he didn’t want to just take Jimin’s food, he had done so much for him already. He pulled out a bill and slid it across the counter.

“I insist, you’re too kind to me,” He said as Jimin shook his head.

“That’s what friends are for! You’re helping me by eating some of this, I always get too much junk and it’s going to hurt what little abs I have,” Jimin chuckled, sliding the bill back. Taehyung smirked and lightly pushed the bill back.

“I mean it, just take it. You and your abs don’t scare me,” Taehyung laughed. Jimin tilted his head in interest.

“Oh yeah?” he challenged jumping over the counter and grabbing Taehyung in a hold. Taehyung fought to escape but couldn’t. He was laughing until all of a sudden the tight hold was too much to bear. Flashes of Jungkook’s attack flashed and he cried out, shoving against Jimin. Jimin sensed the change in the atmosphere and let go, looking at Taehyung with concern.

“I’m sorry…” Taehyung mumbled. He began to notice the breeze on his neck and color rushed to his face as he realized Jimin was staring at the marks he was trying to hide. Jimin’s mouth gaped and he rushed over to Taehyung.

“Turn around, now,” he said seriously. Taehyung didn’t bother to fight him, he knew when he was at a loss. Jimin audibly gasped at the cuts and stitches that were healing on the back of Taehyung’s head and neck. “What happened?” Jimin said softly.

Taehyung looked down silently. He didn’t know what to say, Jimin couldn’t know the truth, or the whole truth anyway. “I was mugged the other night. The guy jumped me from behind,” he said, telling a half-truth.

Jimin sighed and turned Taehyung to face him. “Why were you hiding it?” he asked. Taehyung looked at his shoes and shrugged.

“I didn’t want you to make a big deal out of it,” he said plainly. The bottom of his hoodie became the most interesting thing in the world as he stood and ran his fingers over it over and over while Jimin stood and watched him in silence.

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be your friend,” Jimin frowned, glancing back at the wounds.

Taehyung took a step back and grabbed the chips, leaving the money on the counter. “I’m gonna go…”

Jimin ran behind him and grabbed his shoulder before he could reach the door. “Hey, I don’t know why, but you and I have this connection, I can’t place it but it’s there. Call me crazy, but I value our friendship, what little time it has existed. You can come to me for good, bad, anything. I’ll always be here for you.”

Taehyung refused to face him, he didn’t want Jimin to see the tears streaming down his face. His shoulder lightly throbbed from Jimin grabbing it, but he ignored it.

“Tomorrow morning at eleven, meet me here. I’m off work and I wanna treat you. You seem to be going through hell lately and I want to see you smile,” Jimin pleaded. Taehyung nodded and shrugged Jimin’s hand off his shoulder and walked out of the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder. He jogged back to his car and wiped the tears. How he would get away tomorrow to hang out with Jimin, he didn’t know, but he would deal with it when the time came.

He was about to pull up when he heard tapping on his passenger window. His face showed his surprise when he saw Irene smiling back at him. He rolled down his window and she leaned in.

“I was walking and thought it was you in here! How are you feeling?” Irene asked. Taehyung smiled back at her, her charms making his tears dry up. He couldn’t help but smile around her, her aura was contagious.

“I’m feeling better, just some cuts and bruises to deal with, not a big deal,” he shrugged off. Irene rolled her eyes at him.

“You guys don’t always have to be tough,” she laughed. Taehyung chuckled along with her.

Taehyung sat for a moment, unsure of what to say. “How have you been?” he asked. He didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t contacted her since the hospital because he figured she was just being nice so he didn’t know anything about her.

“Good! I have nothing to complain about,” she shrugged. She sighed and stood for a moment, taking a quick look around the interior of Taehyung’s car. He was glad his meticulous habits from years of learning to cover up after himself because of The Swan’s jobs made it so he was neat. He didn’t have trash around his car to embarrass him.

“Wanna go somewhere? I believe you said you owed me, hm?” she asked with a sly grin, eyeing the passenger seat. “You look better enough.”

Taehyung sighed and looked at his phone. He had about reached the watch time needed. He looked back at her hopeful face and threw years of procedure out the window. First having contact with an assigned target and now letting strangers in his car, he was asking to get beat again. “Come in,” he smiled, tossing his bag into the back seat.

Irene didn’t waste any time getting in and buckling her seat belt. “Where to?” Taehyung asked.

“Is there an ice cream shop or something nearby? I have a bit of a sweet tooth at the moment,” she giggled, blushed slightly. Taehyung couldn’t help but genuinely smile at her kind innocent nature, he just wanted to cuddle her and protect her.

“I know just the place,” he said with a playful wink. There was a place a few minutes from the 7-Eleven that he went to on special occasions. He normally saved it to take himself to around Christmas every year to treat himself. He hadn’t gone with anyone there before, including Minjun. It was a sweet secret he had kept to himself before Irene had asked.

He couldn’t believe how giddy he felt around her. He had never had time for crushes or dating due to The Swan’s want for him to keep a low profile. He would appreciate a woman’s beauty from afar, but never had any feelings for one before.

There was a comfortable silence for the whole drive there. When Taehyung parked and unlocked the doors, Irene was practically skipping into the shop. Taehyung couldn’t help but grin at her childlike actions. He never got to be a child, but this place brought out the small child that live weakly within him.

They walked up and down in front of the glass display cases to look for what they wanted. Taehyung had gotten a simple strawberry cone while Irene seemed to pick about anything red-colored.

He paid for their treats and they sat down at a small booth in the back. Irene quickly dug in and Taehyung couldn’t help but watch her while he ate his own. She got in a few spoons before she paused to look at Taehyung. She blushed when she realized her manners.

“I’m sorry, I literally love anything red flavored,” she said shyly. Taehyung laughed and flashed her a kind smile.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re here to treat you. I can’t thank you enough for your kindness the other night,” he reassured, placing a hand on one of hers. She blushed more and nodded.

“You’re really too kind. I was just doing the right thing, I was lucky to have the bonus of finding someone so attractive..” she said before her eyes widened in shock and she covered her mouth, blushing. Taehyung laughed outright at her cuteness, he couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, finally stifling the outburst, “You’re just really cute,” he admitted, blushing slightly himself. She smiled and went back to eating her ice cream. They ate for a minute before the conversation picked back up.

“What do you do for a living?” he asked, actually curious. She paused for a moment, seeming to think about the question like it was hard. Taehyung raised his eyebrow and she held up her hand.

“Brainfreeze!” she said, holding her head. Taehyung laughed and nodded. She took a moment to recover and then put her spoon down.

“I’m a dancer,” she was with a slight smile. Taehyung glanced at her and didn’t have any doubts, she did have a fit body from what he had seen.

“That’s cool, it’s great that you do something you’re passionate about for a living,” he complimented.

“Yeah, it’s okay I guess, I loved dancing more when I was younger,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. Taehyung nodded and finished his last bite of ice cream. He looked at her red runny bowl and saw she wasn’t far from finishing hers either.

They continued to ask questions back and forth for an hour, long after their ice cream remains were long melted. Taehyung fibbed about certain details of his life for obvious reasons but was honest about his likes and dislikes, finding that she shared them too. It was a genuinely nice time that left Taehyung wanting more.

He glanced at the clock on his phone and realized that he needed to be headed back soon, he didn’t need to raise any attention from Minjun, especially on the shaky ground they were on when he left.

“Hey, I’ve had a great time, but I really have to be getting home,” he said regretfully. Irene smiled and waved him off.

“Don’t apologize, I had a great time too. Want to do it again sometime?” she asked. Taehyung grinned and nodded. “Good,” she smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Text me and we’ll figure it out!”

Taehyung agreed and offered her a ride him, but she refused, insisting her apartment wasn’t that far of a walk. He gave a final wave before pulling away. Irene was creating feelings he had never felt before and it scared him. First Jimin was being a kind friend, now this girl? He had never even been on a date with a girl before-well, I guess that time with Irene would count as his first one, but even that was a stretch.

He pulled into the driveway when he saw Minjun’s silhouette in the front doorway. He groaned when he got out of the car. He was opening the back passenger door to get his back when he heard the beginning of the shouts.

“Where were you? You went to go do your assignment, right? You were supposed to be back an hour ago at least,” Minjun nagged like a strict suburban mother. Taehyung rolled his eyes and walked up to the door, shoving him with his shoulder lightly to get in the door. He went up the stairs without even looking at Minjun.

“Hey, where is the respect, Taehyung? You’re better than this. I get it that you’re pissed, but that’s life. You need to grow up and get over it. This is your life, don’t make things more difficult than they have to be!” Minjun scolded up the stairs, but he was met with nothing but the slamming of Taehyung’s bedroom door. That’s what he thought of Minjun’s bitching.