Temptation [ Min Yoongi | ENG ]

F I F T Y T H R E E

A trip between the girls was just what I needed. I felt stupid for saying girls. We were already women in every way, but something in our social construction still makes us feel childish, especially when referring to our collective.

We all went, the 5 women, to Antwerp. We had no idea what to do and we didn't plan well. We took two days of vacation plus a weekend and went, for 4 days, to Belgium. The plan was to drink and eat and get out of the routine for a little while. The idea had been Evi's, because I deserved to rest since I didn't have an end of the year break. The others did, but no one would say no to a girls trip.

It was the night of our third day here and we were sitting around the fireplace in the house where we stayed. We had dedicated our afternoon to drinking, in a self-organized and very poorly planned beer tasting. I separated from the group and walked over to one of the windows, opening it up just a bit for me to smoke without the smoke coming back inside.

"Hey! Shut it Roos!" Tulip exclaimed, wrapping herself in a blanket.

"You should stop smoking." I heard Lotte say and rolled my eyes.

"It's difficult." I shrugged my shoulders.

"It must be, Yoongi made it his resolution for last year and it's nowhere near that." Evi spoke. I winced when I heard his name.

"He set out to do a lot of things that he didn't do." Maud's voice still carried the grudge she acquired for him.

"I think that now he even smokes more." Lotte spoke again. I ignored the direction the conversation took.

"Do you see him frequently?" Grietje was curious and her question captured my attention.

"Not much. He's been going to Den Haag a lot. But the two times we had dinner with him and Jimin, he spent most of the time outside, with a cigarette between his lips."

"And what is Jimin like, anyway?" Evi's curiosity was proportional to my desire to jump out that window. I continued smoking and staring at the dimly lit street.

"She's... okay?" Her answer was a question. "She is pleasant and helpful, but she is not interesting. You can see that she is well intentioned, but there is not much depth there." I noticed when she looked at me before continuing "she is completely dedicated to Yoongi, but I have a feeling he doesn't find her interesting either..." She added in a low voice.

"Huh?!" Grietje and Tulip exclaimed together and laughed of it.

"I hope she is the most unbearable person in the universe and that Yoongi will acknowledge the shitty mistake he made." Maud spoke again, her voice filled with the disgust she felt.

I finished my cigarette and plopped down on an armchair, letting out an audible sigh.

"We should be able to get over it," Tulip said. "Roos seems to be doing well on this path, aren't you, Roos?" She wanted confirmation from me, but I just shrugged my shoulders.

"How's Jaap, kitty?" Grietje smirked. "How long has this been going on?"

"Just over two weeks." My response did not match the excitement of my interlocutor.

"And...?" Evi spoke, always curious.

"He's so attractive it hurts my eyes." I gave in. "He is attentive and careful and is an excellent lover too."

"But?" That was Maud's voice.

"It's been 16 days and nothing has changed." I frowned at myself. "I like being with him, but I still see him as a friend. Worse... as a colleague."

"Maybe it takes longer?" Grietje suggested.

"Um... no. If it were to change, she would already be feeling something." Tulip stated. I shrugged, I agreed with her.

>>>><<<<

I was just finishing organizing my backpack when Maud appeared in the room I shared with Grietje.

"Ready to go back to reality?" She wanted to know as she sat on the bed next to my backpack.

"Never."

"How's work and that monster?"

"Better than I could have imagined. Jaap has been a great shield, but sometimes he still hits me." I zipped up and sat next to her. "But I hope I won't be there much longer."

"Ah?!"

"I submitted several resumes at the beginning of the month. I should receive proposals for interviews soon."

"What about Jaap?" She wanted to know.

"I'm going to need to end whatever that is... I can't drag this any longer."

"You will know what to do. You always do the right thing." She tried to encourage me. I sighed.

"Sometimes at a very high cost."