𝑬𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 | m.yg. ✓

열다섯 :: the storm

Present

Byeol stayed frozen, fear and shock evident all over her face and posture. Meanwhile, the so-called sister was enjoying her reaction, taking her time into slowly torturing her sister.

Kim Taehyung seemed to stunned as well, so he was the first to break the thick silence in the room. "She's your sister?" He gasped at the older woman, flabbergasted.

Evil eyes finally leaving her petrified form, she gazed at Taehyung. "Yes, I just said that. In fact, she's an annoying one. All she does is copy me." The hardness in her tone made the younger flinch slightly at her words. "She," The woman's gaze fell back on her, lips tugging upward in mischief. "is my shadow."

Byeol looked away, gaze falling on the floor as she clenched her hands tightly around her papers. Tears began to prickle her eyes and she was having trouble on pushing them back.

She was shocked and stunned. Why was her older sister here? Didn't she leave Seoul long ago? Was she back to torment her life again? Or...was it all really just a coincidence and that she wasn't really meant to be accepted here.

Nonetheless, she still felt humiliation and pain in her, causing her to stand up abruptly, catching the two off-guard.

"I-I..." she stuttered. "I have to g-go."

She attempted to walk past them, avoiding any contact with her sister when she felt a piercing pain on her arm. Her older sister's long nail-polished hand latched onto her arm, tugging her backwards, causing her to stumble on her feet.

"Oh no, you aren't," she hissed, eyelashes fluttering only to fuel the anger in her eyes. "Care to explain on why you're here, copycat? Here to attempt to steal my spotlight again? Or do you really just have a horrible habit of pissing others off that you couldn't leave them the fuck alone?"

"I...I didn't know..." she stuttered, heart hammering against her chest. "I-I swear this is a coincidence this time. I didn't mean to— I-I never meant to—"

The woman cut her off, slapping her in the cheek, making her whirl her head to the side, eyes widened with trickling tears caused by her emotions as well as the stinging sensation of the slap.

"Leave." Byeol heard her said in a loud tone, even making Taehyung flinch, who was still recovering from the shock of the scene that unfolded before him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat hard before looking away, clutching her things towards her chest. Avoiding the either's stares, she limped her way outside the office, making sure that her hair was covering her face for she wanted no one to see her in tears.

Byeol raced towards the fire exit instead of the elevators since she knew that she would have the highest possibility of not bumping into anyone there, so she raced down, feet pounding across the stairs, the only source of loud sound echoing through the walls, which were drowning out her loud sobbing.

However, when she exited through the door, she bumped into someone's chest, making her gasp.

She looked up to apologize but her mouth hung open instead, seeing a familiar face.

"J-Jimin?"

"Byeol, are you okay?" he immediately asked upon seeing the red cheeks and puffy eyes of hers. "Did something happen?"

"How— W-Why are you here?" she stuttered.

"I was passing by and ran into you, somehow." He gulped, his adam apple bobbing up and down slightly. "What happened?"

Byeol fluttered her eyes shut, looking away. "Nothing," she mumbled quietly before continuing. "I...have to go."

When she attempted to walk past him, he grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. Widening her eyes in the sudden action of Jimin, she hesitatingly and slowly turned her head back to meet his concerned gaze.

"If you...want to talk about it, I'm here," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. His grip loosened slightly around the female's arm, a sign of reassurance and no intentions of pressuring her.

Byeol left his gaze, looking faraway. "Instead of that...will you be my company? Just for awhile?" The last question came out in a whisper, showing her vulnerability.

Jimin nodded. His grip lowered to her wrist and he began to tug her gently as they began to walk. Byeol had a confused expression plastered across her face but Jimin paid no heed, nonetheless, leading the way. They turned a corner and Byeol made sure to settle her gaze downwards so that people wouldn't look at her.

Shortly, they arrived in a much more place where there were only a few people around. To be exact, Jimin took them to a playground. He lead her to a swing, making her sit down on it while he occupied the swing beside hers.

Then quietly and slowly, he began to swing himself, letting his gaze linger in front of him, instead of the girl.

Byeol stared at him, speechless. Her tears stopped from flowing and she felt her eyes becoming puffier as each second passed by. Wordlessly, she shifted her gaze in front of her as well, swinging along with Jimin.

The only sounds were the distant chattering of people and the creaking sound of the swings.

After a few minutes, Jimin broke the comfortable silence between them.

"Actually," he hesitated but continued anyway, "it wasn't coincidental that I was there. It's true that I was passing by but then I saw you and I was about to approach you when I saw you conversing seriously with the woman in the reception. I didn't mean to be a creep or a stalker but I waited for you, in the fire exit, to come out anyway. Never expected you to exit through there while...crying." He blushed, beginning to fiddle with his fingers.

"It's fine." The girl smiled, still not looking at him. Her eyes shifted instead to the documents placed on her lap, suddenly aware of the teardrop marks on them. She sighed and thought they would probably fade away sooner or later.

"So, you write?" Jimin asked softly.

Byeol chewed on her bottom lip as she nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah, but it's nothing to be proud of, really. I guess, it's just a little dream of mine that will soon pass. Maybe, I'm not really meant to be an author." She let out a humorless chuckle.

"Why do you say so? To be honest, even if I still barely know you," he paused, annoyed by the fact that he still did barely knew her before continuing, "I'm sure you're a good writer. I believe in you." He whipped his head to the side to smile at her, causing her to look back at him.

The smile reached his eyes, making them turn into crescent-shaped moons. Byeol laughed lightly, a snort escaping her nose. "My stories were rejected eight times already, I really doubt it." Then she chuckled again, this time a little more bitter than before. "I have no idea why I'm even still doing this. It's really the time to stop now, isn't it?"

Jimin's smile dissipated, a serious expression settling across his soft features.

"That is up to you, Byeol. Whether to let the world stop you or not."