No More Dream (Park Jimin ff)

Chapter 15: Reward

Author's POV

When Haeyoon got home last night, she didn't even realize that Sunghwan wasn't there. She thought he was already in bed.

Sunghwan still wasn't here when Haeyoon woke up. She simply thought he had to go to work early. But she didn't have time to focus on that.

Each class today had a hard test. Haeyoon worked the most to help him study for the test.

After she ate breakfast, Haeyoon saw Jimin's car pull up in front of her house. Haeyoon grabbed her backpack walking to the car and climbing into the front seat. "Morning baby, " Jimin said. "Morning Jimin. And stop calling me 'baby.'" Haeyoon replied.

Jimin just laughed it off and then Sojung climbed into the car. "Morning guys, sorry I'm late," she said. "No worries, Sojung. Haeyoon just got here too." Jimin said. Then he started driving, on the route to school.

A few minutes into the drive, Sojung sighed. "I'm really worried about Chanki, Haeyoon." "Why do you say that?" Haeyoon replied.

"Well, ever since our parents died, Chanki went out every night to go drinking. And when he comes home, I can't even look at him because he looks a lot different. The alcohol makes him look older."

Jimin looked at his review mirror to Sojung. "Where does he work at?"

"I don't know. But it's one of those jobs where you have to wear a fancy business suit and carry a briefcase."

Haeyoon's eyes grew wide. They made it to the school and Sojung said bye, getting out of the car. Once she was out of sight, Jimin looked at Haeyoon. "Could that drunk man you've encountered twice be...Chanki?" he asked.

Haeyoon shuddered and sighed. "Half of me thinks so, but the other half doesn't want to believe it." She grabbed Jimin's hand and smiled. "But we need to focus on the tests today. We'll see if my help paid off."

Jimin smirked. "What reward will I get if I pass all of my tests?"

Haeyoon put her finger to her cheek, pretending she was thinking. Then she smiled. "You'll see. Let's go inside now; the bell will ring in a few."

Jimin's POV

The first class of the day was math. It was my toughest subject.

Haeyoonie worked hard to help me understand the notes she made. But all of the equations and problems just confused me.

Haeyoonie explained to think of working in the convenience store, where it was important to check the labels, calculate the expiration dates, and check the quantities for all items.

Finally, it was time to start. While the teacher was passing out the tests, Haeyoonie turned around and gave me a smile and thumbs up. I did the same. Then the teacher said to start, and I picked up my pencil and started reading.

The school day had finally ended. Chanki was going to pick up Sojung, so it was just me and Haeyoonie today. I was excited, not only because we had alone time, but because of my tests.

She was standing by the car by the time I got there. I waved and unlocked the car. After we climbed inside, she looked at me. "So, how did you do?" she asked.

I unzipped my backpack and took out all of my tests.
I handed them to Haeyoon for her to look at them. She smiled and squealed. "Every grade is at least above a B-! Great job, Jimin!"

I blushed. "It's all thanks to you. All of that hard studying and help paid off." I leaned towards her. "So, where's my award?"

She closed her eyes and faced the front. "Just drive to the convenience store first." I gave her a confused look. Why would she want me to drive to the convenience store? "Um, okay."

As I drove, I was trying to come up with an answer. Is my reward there? What is Haeyoonie hiding? I hope it's worth it.

We parked in the back and walked inside. I was about to turn on the lights in the main area, but Haeyoon stopped me. "Wait, " she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the back office. She closed the door and locked it. "My goodness, I cannot believe I'm doing this," she whispered

Suddenly, Haeyoon slammed her lips into mine, making me surprised. Then I smiled, closing my eyes and pulling her closer.

Haeyoon's POV

The kiss seemed to last forever. After a while, Jimin pulled back and I pouted. "What's wrong? You didn't want it to end?" he laughed, stroking my hair. I didn't answer him; I just leaned my forehead onto his chest. "Well, if you wanna keep going, you need to be my girlfriend for that."

"Yes, I will." Jimin stopped laughing and held my head, making me look at him. "Wait, are you serious? You're not joking around, are you?"

"Park Jimin, when do I ever joke around?" Jimin smiled and pulled me in for another kiss. It was short but sweet. He grabbed my hands and he sat on the chair. He pulled me into his lap and kissed my neck, making me blush.

"It's funny though," Jimin said. "What's funny?" I asked him.

"Well, when I first met you, you hated me. It seemed like you hated everyone around you, except for Sojung and your mom. But now, look where you ended up at."

I smiled. "Yeah. And that phase where I called my dad by his first name. I wish that I could go back and time and fix that." Jimin laughed and soon I joined in. We continued to laugh until my phone suddenly ringed. I looked at the caller ID and saw the word "Dad."

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey, Haeyoonie. I'm sorry I wasn't home last night and this morning," he explained, voice breaking in the process.

"It's okay, Dad. Hey, what's wrong? It sounds like you've been crying."

"Um, I don't know how to say this. Haeyoonie, your mom is about to die real soon."

I ran through the hallway and into Momma's room, Jimin following behind me. My eyes erupted into tears at the sight I saw.

Momma had more machines connected to her than last time, and she was wearing a breathing mask. The monitor was slowly beeping, and it didn't look like she was awake.

Dad was praying, holding her hand. I felt Jimin rubbing my shoulders. I looked up at him, and he gave me a sad smile. "W-what happened to her?" I asked.

Dad slowly raised his head. "She had a cardiac arrest yesterday. They were able to save her, but there's too much fluid in her lungs, and there's nothing else the doctors can do."

"I thought she had lung cancer? How did she get fluid?"

"She developed pneumonia while in the hospital. Jisoo didn't even tell anybody." Dad's head went back down. A sob escaped from my lips. Jimin hugged me from behind, whispering in my ear. He was telling me it's going to be okay and she's gonna make it. Jisoo's a strong woman.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I broke from Jimin's grasp and ran out of the room, not looking back and ignoring the shouts of my name.

I ran outside and leaned against the wall, crying my eyes out. I don't want Momma to leave; it's too soon. I want her to see me graduate. I want her to see me get married and start a family of my own.

It was too soon.

I finished crying and was about to walk back inside. Suddenly, a large hand covered my whole face, and I felt someone breathing on my neck. They reeked of alcohol.

"I've finally found you," they said.

All of the memories and warnings came rushing into my head. It started from the store to the restaurant and ended at Sojung's house. I mentally slapped my head. Why didn't I recognize him sooner?

The drunk man in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, the man who encountered me and Momma, was Kwon Chanki.

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1343 words
What a whole rollercoaster in this chapter! Next chapter will be the last chapter. I promise that it'll be a happy ending!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote and follow!
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