Our Little World - DahMin

Chapter 07

Jimin didn't want to watch the show. He knew exactly what happened on idol survival shows. The girls would be analyzed, criticized, and essentially bullied in front of a camera for the entertainment of the audience. After seeing a clip where one of the girls revealed that her self-confidence has notably diminished since the show started, he found himself grimacing. After watching everyone in the group brought to tears when one of the girls was eliminated, he finally decided not to watch at all. When there were tears, and he was sure that there would be many more, he didn't want to know if they were Dahyun's. Perhaps it was selfish of him, but he didn't want to know.

Luckily for him, he didn't need to watch the show to know exactly what was happening. Jungkook seemed to watch the show with excitement, and he would bring up every so often that he his biggest fan was going to be an idol. He'd gush about her talent, and how she managed to pull quite a few laughs from Mr. JYP himself. But usually, when the show was on, Jimin would hide himself in his room.

He guessed it wasn't that surprising that Dahyun intended to become an idol. She was always so busy, after all. He knew that half of it was school, but he didn't suspect that the other half would be because she'd a trainee. If anything, her personality was perfect for idol life. She was so bright, and her comically distinct laugh was contagious. But he saw firsthand how idol life can change a person, and it hurt him that he couldn't truly root for her with all of his heart.

Jimin stretched when he stepped into the kitchen for a snack. Pulling an apple from the fridge, he yelped in surprise when someone jumped onto his back. "Whoa!" He exclaimed, eliciting a laugh from Jungkook. "You're too heavy to do that. I'll fall down next time," he scolded between laughs.

"She made it," Jungkook's dark eyes flashed with excitement.

"What?"

"She made it," He repeated himself, pointing to the scrunchie on his wrist. "Dahyun made it into the group! She's going to debut," he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and typed furiously into it before turning the phone towards Jimin. "Look!"

With a furrowed brow and a shaking hand, Jimin pulled the phone from Jungkook's hand and scrolled through the list of chosen members. And indeed, there she was, shining brilliantly even among her fellow trainees - well, he supposed he'd have to call them idols soon enough after they debuted.

He scrolled further and saw the comments. People that complimented the girls' visuals, that praised their talents, and were excited for them to come together as a group. Specifically for Dahyun, they were drawn in by her charisma and her eagle dance - watching Jungkook and Hobi imitating her dance was always good for a laugh.

And then, he scrolled too far and found those comments. The outrage that a previously eliminated girl was added to the final lineup, and questioning the fairness of her addition to the group. There were some laughs and emphasis on the critiques and body figures of some of the girls. He was just reading a comment questioning Dahyun's talents when the phone was swiped from his hand.

"I'm going to show the other guys. Then I can say that I'm a fan of my biggest fan," he smiled before running off. Just as Jimin was exhaling a sigh of relief, Jungkook popped his head out from the corner. "By the way, you busy right now? Would you mind picking me up some kombucha?"

Jimin haphazardly threw the apple back into the fridge. "Happy to."

It had been a long time since he wore the hat-mask combo, and despite the distance, somehow Jimin found himself craving Dahyun's presence more than ever. When the two of them said goodbye, he knew that he would need some time to adjust to her absence, but now that he finally has, she was everywhere. And now that she was an idol, she was going to stay everywhere. He rolled his eyes and scoffed at his own bad luck.

He stepped into the convenience store, relieved when the breeze of warm air washed over him. Picking up a small basket, he weaved through the aisles for Jungkook's kombucha. He turned a corner when he saw two smaller figures also in the store. He stiffened and lowered his hat before quickly wandering to the other side, eyes widening with relief as he recognized the drink that Jungkook was so fond of.

With four of them in tow, he opted for the long way home. After all, he felt like a little fresh air was exactly what he needed. So, he strolled through the park.

He focused on his shoes, hardly even looking up where he was going until he knew that he was in front of the bench. Their bench. He brought his eyes up, and though he had been in this exact situation plenty of times before, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise when, after so long, he finally found exactly who he was looking for. He blinked several times, expecting her to disappear.

But she stayed. "I was hoping to see you here," Dahyun smiled. Her hair was considerably longer now, and it had streaks of pink, but aside from that, nothing changed. Her smile was just as luminous, if not even more so, and the pull that he felt towards her hadn't reduced in the slightest when they were apart.

Jimin was positively elated to see her and her smile again. If anything, he wanted to embrace her. It had been such a long time, now nearing 5 months since the last time they'd spoken. But the paranoia in him forbade him from even taking another step toward her.

She swing her legs as she sat on the bench and quirked her brow before giving him an expectant look. "Jihyung?"

He cleared his throat. He was taking too long to reply. "Hi, Dahyun," he finally greeted, waving awkwardly. "I heard that you're pretty good at rapping."

Dahyun reddened, and Jimin was charmed by how bashful she always became when she was complimented. "Yeah, sorry I never told you. I have to tell you though, I didn't think you'd have a whole lot of interest in idol survival shows."

Jimin shrugged. "I'm not. It's just that... news of your group's debut is everywhere. You have a name yet?"

"Twice," Dahyun nodded and brought herself to her feet.

"Twice," Jimin repeated. The name was foreign to his mouth now, but he was sure that he would be singing words of praise later on. "Well, consider me to be your first fan."

"I'd think that the first fans are probably the ones that watched the show," Dahyun teased. "Come sit with me," she reached out for him.

To her surprised, he pulled away. The hurt in her eyes was evident, and Jimin felt an uncomfortable squeeze in his chest when her smile dropped. "Are you mad at me for not telling you? I'm sorry, I just thought-"

"I'm not mad at you," Jimin interrupted. He didn't want to hear an apology that he didn't deserve. Dahyun's lips twitched downwards before quickly reverting back to a neutral position. Out of the corner of his eye, Jimin  saw a couple looking in their direction. When one of them pointed a finger, the headlines flashed before his eyes.

Twice member Kim Dahyun spotted with Mystery Man

Mystery Man identified as BTS Park Jimin

New JYP group disappoints netizens. Is it due to the scandal?

Kim Dahyun's personal social media accounts revealed to the public 

Twice falls to 8 members as JYP Entertainment terminates contract with Kim Dahyun

Dahyun pressed her lips together. "Jihyung," she tried again to reach out for him.

As if physically repelled, he took an entire step back. "Dahyun, I'm sorry. I have to go," he briefly nodded and brushed past her. Amid the glimpses of confusion and hurt, he recognized the sad sparkle in her eyes. With a deep breath and an extra pump in his step, he ignored the burning feeling of her stare. 

Jimin made the rest of the way home with a dry feeling in his throat. He hoped that, the next time they met, that they would be under different circumstances. Maybe he could even tell her who he was. But after so many months of not seeing the girl that made his heart beat faster, he couldn't even give her a smile. Then again, he supposed he never really showed her a smile because his face was always covered. But she had joined an idol group and was obviously in a celebratory mood. He couldn't match her excitement.

He didn't even congratulate her.