Written in the stars

Please don't

Seokjin

As I celebrate our win,

I stand on the stool with the Number 1 spot.

Something in me just felt wrong.

I made my parents proud,

But myself?

I'm far from being satisfied.

"I'm so proud of you son," Dad said as he patted me on my back.

I won, yet I feel suffocated.

I succeeded yet I feel lost and failed.

I feel like I'm not supposed to be here at all.

It's like I'm not even trying to win anymore.

Just trying to get the correct answers so I can not disappoint my parents.

I excuse myself to head to the restroom, with these thoughts in mind.

I open the restroom door to see one stall available.

I try to open it, but it's locked.

I wait for a while,

Till I hear sniffles.

I immediately lock the restroom door and sit down.

Someone tries to open the door.

"Occupied" I shout.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask the person in the stall.

"Yes, I'm fine, please just go away." The girl answers.

Jisoo?

I just stay there for a while.

Suddenly, a metal sounding object drops on the cold, hard floor.

It dropped outside of the stall, but Jisoo's swift hands grabbed it.

Thanks to my eagle-like eyes,

I knew exactly what it was.

This situation was all too familiar.

"Jisoo, please don't do this."

"Jisoo, this is not the way, I promise you."

"It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

I say trying to convince her not to do it...

"Temporary?Temporary?! I've been feeling like this for a long time now, Seokjin. I have never wanted to do this more" Jisoo bitterly spat.

"Jisoo, I've been in your position before,open the door, please.Please Jisoo, just open the door." I pleaded.

"No one wants me here Jin. I'm a failure. I can't do anything right. It's better to end it now while it reaches its peak." She reasons.

"Jisoo, I've been in this situation before,

please just open the door.

If you won't do it for yourself,

do it for me, do it for your friends, who'd worry where you've gone and feel guilty they didn't do anything about it.

Think about them and me Jisoo."

I plead once more in an attempt to convince her not to resort to death.

Finally, the blade drops and the stall door opens.

I immediately rush inside to see a crying Jisoo, black liquid running down her cheek as she's crouched down with her back against the wall.

I sit beside her with my arm around her shoulder as I grab the blade with my empty hand to throw into the bin.

I put my jacket around her as I pull her into a hug.

She buries her head into my chest as she just cries even harder.

"I'm sorry, I'll get your shirt dry-cleaned,and I'll return your jacket. I'm such a mess, I'm sorry."She apologizes.

"It's fine, I have many of these, anyway." I say, reassuring her.

"I don't understand, why are you, of all people, helping me?" She asks.

"Both our parents pit us against each other,

in an attempt to win over each other. I

t doesn't make sense why I would hate you,

if we're both in the same situation.

Besides, it feels comforting to know there's someone like me,

who faces the same things I do." I explain.

She just nods.

"Thank you." She mumbles, sniffling.

"Anyways, I have to go, my mom will freak out even more, if her failure of a daughter disrespectfully ran away from her dad." Jisoo chuckles bitterly.

"Hey don't say that.

Your worth isn't defined by someone else,

or your achievements.

We're all just people trying to survive,

in a cruel world we didn't ask to be born into." I reply.

We both stand up.

She pulls out a pouch,

As she touches up her makeup.

Then, she plasters a scarily-real looking smile.

"Oh and I'll return your jacket, just tell me when." She smiles.

"I'll just give you my number since we go to different schools." I offered.

"O-oh okay" Jisoo replied, as she handed her phone to me.

I typed in my number.

As we were both about to exit,

She stopped us.

"Wait, it would be weird if we exited at the same time, don't you think?" She said.

"Oh yeah." I replied, nodding my head.

"Who wants to go first?" She asks.

"You can go, my parents are probably still talking to other parents." I suggested.

"Oh, okay," She says.

As she heads out the door, she stops and turns to me.

"Hey Jin?" She calls out.

"Yeah?" I answer.

"Thanks for everything, I wouldn't be here without you." She smiles, a genuine one.

I nod and smile back.

Happy that I made her smile for real.