Before You Go

This Isn't A Date

"Yu Jimin, you shouldn't be running so much!"

Aeri chases after a giggling Jimin, groaning to herself when her friend starts to climb the bleachers of the football stadium.

"Says the person who's chasing after me!" Jimin yells out to her, grinning widely, as she stops once she reaches the top of the bleachers, heaving heavily with her hands on her knees.

"I'm chasing you, so I can stop you from running, you twat!"

Aeri grunts, forcing herself to walk up the bleachers to reach her friend. "I swear to god, Yu Jimin." She curses out loud, panting heavily.

Jimin laughs faintly, breathing growing shallower. She places her hand on her chest, before sitting herself down onto the steps, trying to regain her breathing.

She doesn't notice when Aeri reaches her, and she's surprised just how fast Aeri had climbed those steps, but the hurried clutter on the cement grows louder in her ear, and Jimin assumes the latter had started to run towards her upon seeing just how hard it was for Jimin to breathe.

Jimin tries hard to focus her blurry vision onto a very concerned Aeri, "I'm fine. I just need time to catch my breath." She chuckles uneasily, rubbing her palm against her chest.

"Why do you do this to yourself? You know you're not supposed to strain your heart like that." Aeri clicks her tongue, rubbing her friend's knee in comfort, seeing that she couldn't really do much for her.

When Jimin finally gets her heart to calm down, she pouts at her friend. "But that makes life so boring. I can suffer for a couple of minutes just to have some fun."

Aeri looks at her pointedly, "not when it puts your life in danger."

Jimin rolls her eyes, "don't be dramatic."

She stands up to start walking down the bleachers, and Aeri scoffs, following after her in a hurry. "I am notbeing dramatic, Yu Jimin, and you fucking know it."

Jimin only smiles, continuing to make her way across the football field.

Aeri clutches onto Jimin's arm, stopping her abruptly. "Stop being reckless. Please, Jimin. You need to take care of yourself. You have no idea how much I fucking worry when I'm not there to make sure you're not putting yourself in danger like that."

A frown graces Jimin's lips, "I'm not. The things I do are normal. I can run. I can join the swim team. I can—," Aeri heaves a frustrated sigh, "you can't do those things. Those tasks are not normal for you to do because those are the things that can kill you."

"It's not fair!" Jimin pulls her arm away from her friend's grasp, "I want to live! I want to do things that I enjoy. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being afraid to do the things that I want because it will kill me." She starts to pant again, maybe out of anger, or maybe because her heart was constricting unbearably once again.

Jimin clutches onto her chest, "that's not living, Aeri. I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I want to live."

Aeri sighs, eyes softening at her best friend. "Jimin.."

The latter smiles, huffing out a shallow breath, before reaching for Aeri. She hugs her tight, "you should start living too, Aeri. Stop worrying about me so much, okay? I can take care of myself."

"I'm always going to worry." Aeri mumbles against her shoulder, and the latter feels the growing pout against her skin.

Jimin smiles, "I know."