Seoul, South Korea
Jimin followed Jin and the man as they continued to walk down the street, arms around each other. She could barely hold in her surprise as she dodged several people to keep up with them.
After a few minutes of following them, they arrived at a restaurant before they entered and were guided by a hostess to a table. However, Jimin was stopped immediately when she attempted to follow them.
"Do you have a reservation?" a man dressed in a suit asked her, looking her up and down with a doubtful look.
"No but I have to─"
"Sorry ma'am. You can't enter this area without a reservation," he said sternly. She crossed her arms before she demanded,
"Let me speak to your manager."
The man heaved a frustrated sigh before he turned around, in search of the manager.
And while he was gone, Areum took that chance to sneak herself to a table close to where Jin was sitting. She picked up a menu and ducked her head behind it, taking occasional peaks at the couple to find them feeding each other.
She rolled her eyes just before the man returned without his manager but with two security guards.
"You have to leave now," the man said.
"Just give me a few more seconds," she told him, still looking at Jin as she held hands with the man. She heard a snap of fingers before the guards picked her up and began to walk towards the entrance. And instead of flailing to escape, she felt her eyes glued to Jin as she looked at the man she was with.
And in that moment, she couldn't miss just how happy and in love Jin looked as she continued to keep eye contact with the man.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina
Areum picked up her glass of soda as she looked towards where Joon had gone. She took a sip of her drink just before their waiter arrived with their order. He smiled at her as he placed the two plates on his tray in their correct spots.
"Enjoy your meal, ma'am," he told her. Areum smiled before pointing to Joon's plate and asking,
"Do you mind bringing something to cover it?"
"Certainly," he replied before leaving towards the kitchen. And as soon as he left, Areum sat back in her chair, taking slow sips of her drink as she wondered what was happening to Joon.
Joon kept the phone pressed firmly against his ear as he listened to his sister's recollection of what she had seen earlier, feeling his anger elevate with each sentence she said, as he looked outside where it had began to rain. His grip on the phone tightened as his breathing rate increased.
"Joon, are you okay?" he heard Jimin ask, her voice sounding from afar.
"Yeah," he barely whispered.
"So who are you on the trip with if it's not Jin?" she asked him. And at that moment, he snapped out of the daze.
"A friend," was his only reply. There was a short moment of silence before his sister spoke again.
"Which friend?" she pried.
"I'll explain later," was his reply. And as what had just been said registered in his mind, he asked,
"Does mom know?"
"No, I wanted to talk to you first," Jimin replied.
"Okay, don't tell her," was all he said before he said his goodbye and hung up the phone.
Areum stared at the food cover, while the smell of her untouched food filled her nostrils. She felt her stomach as it began to make sounds, causing her to use her arm to cover it in an attempt to reduce the sound. She bit her lip as she looked around, wondering when Joon would return so that she could finally eat.
To her relief, it didn't take long before she saw him approaching from afar, his phone held firmly in his hands. She smiled at the thought of finally being able to eat as she watched him take his seat.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, beginning to worry as she finally noticed the dark mask which had taken over his face. He looked at her and forced a smile.
"Yeah."
However, as soon as that one word--those four letters--left his lips, he was no longer able to contain his composure as he felt one of his hands tighten into a fist.
"She looked so happy, Joon," he remembered his sister's words. As soon as he noticed a waiter walking past, he got his attention and ordered a bottle of wine.
"You're drinking?" Areum asked, surprised by his sudden gesture. He nodded his head.
"You're welcome to join me if you want," he offered but instead of immediately rejecting the offer, she just looked at him as she began to feel that something must have happened.
"Are you alright Joon?" she asked, attempting once again to get answers. But just like before, he only replied with one word,
"Yeah."
It didn't take long before his wine arrived and as soon as it did, he poured himself a full glass and gulped the contents, feeling the slight burn in his throat. When he placed the glass down, he refilled it and attempted to take another gulp but Areum placed a hand on his to stop him.
"Slow down, you didn't even eat yet," she said with a light tone. But that was missed as Joon ignored her and finished the glass. As he went to repeat the action, Areum picked up the bottle of wine and held it away from him.
"Give it to me," Joon said, not in the mood to be disrupted as memories of what his sister had said filled his mind.
"No," was all Areum said. And when there was a long stretch of silence, she said,
"I'm not stupid Joon. I know that we haven't known each other for long but I can tell when something's wrong. So what's going on?" she asked him. She watched as his shoulders slumped as if he had been defeated before he said,
"I feel like I'm going crazy."
And as she heard that, her grip on the wine bottle loosened, causing her to place it on the table as she continued to look at him, wondering what could have made him feel that way.
---
Areum struggled to walk towards their suite a few hours later after they exited the elevator, feeling Joon's heavy body dragging her down. She adjusted his arm around her neck and looked at him.
"Please just walk, Joon. We're almost there," she told him to no avail. She continued to pull him along and reached into her purse for the key card once they arrived at their door. She swiped the card and entered with him when the door opened.
Deciding against struggling to remove her shoes, she walked towards the bed with Joon. And as they got closer, Joon suddenly tripped over her foot and fell on the bed, dragging her down with him. She landed on top of him as he lay on the bed, his eyes suddenly closed, causing her to think that he may have fallen asleep. However, as soon as she tried to stand, his arms wrapped around her, keeping her in place.
"You're really pretty, you know that?" he slurred, his lips curving in a smile.
"You're drunk, Joon," she told him, reaching for his hand to loosen his grip but he held onto her arm instead.
"I'm not drunk, I'm being serious."
She froze as she watched his expression change, unable to decipher the truthfulness behind his words. She felt her heart beating faster as he released her arm and placed his hand on her cheek.
"Areum," was all he said before he began to gently pull her towards him.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2NbTLVuum
