ACATALEPSY I BTS AU

CHAPTER 7 - Balancing acts

23 minutes later, the waitress entered Suzy's room, carrying the ordered dessert.

"Here's your parfait, miss," she announced politely.

"Set it here," Suzy commanded, waving toward the coffee table beside her. "Where's Jimin?"

"The young master is on the garden. He said he needed some fresh air," the waitress replied.

True enough, Jimin was in the garden, scrolling through the PDF of your class timetable that one of his men had sent him...a welcome distraction from the exhausting facade he had to maintain inside. After reviewing your schedule, he sighed and reluctantly made his way back to the actress.

"Honey, it's getting late. I have a lot of work to finish for tomorrow," he said, voice carefully neutral as he approached Suzy.

She fixed him with a gaze that demanded more. As he turned, ready to leave, she suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Not even a kiss? Why are you so cold to me? Maybe I should ask your father why, did you forget we are gonna be married soon?" Suzy murmured, licking her lower lip in a way that made Jimin's stomach turn.

Forced to play along, he gently took her hand and placed a quick, awkward kiss on it.

"How cute. A true shyster," she teased, clearly amused by his discomfort. As the manager observed the whole interaction.

"I'm off. Bye, beautiful," he said through gritted teeth, faking a smile while trying not to gag as the ghost of her skin lingered on his lips.

As soon as he left the villa, Jimin scrubbed his lips furiously with a handkerchief, desperate to erase any trace of her. The mere thought of Suzy repulsed him more than the wild rats he'd once seen scurrying through the streets of Paris.

**Returning to you... **

You arrived at your little brother Adam's football club just in time to see him waving excitedly to his best friend, Stefan. As you approached, Adam spotted you and immediately broke into a wide grin, sprinting over with arms open.

"Hi, big sis!" he exclaimed, wrapping you in a tight hug.

"Hey, Adam. How was practice?" you asked, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Super great, sis!" he said, his smile bright enough to light up the whole field.

After saying goodbye to his friends, you and Adam set off toward the bus station, chatting happily as you walked side by side.

**At home...**

"Big sis, can you make me some baked potatoes?" Adam asked as you tied your apron.

"Sure thing," you smiled, already reaching for the ingredients to start dinner.

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "I also wanted to ask you something."

"I'm all ears," you replied, curious.

"Kevin, my classmate, has this super cool toy...a red remote control car with green flames on the sides. He showed it to me today and it was so awesome, racing around like lightning!" Adam's eyes sparkled as he told you about it.

You could guess where this was going.

"So, I was thinking... maybe I could get one too? My birthday's coming up and it would make me really happy to have one, so I can race with Kevin," he said smoothly, hope shining in his voice.