Don't Call Me Angel || VMIN

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Body aching, Jimin slowly made his way up the front steps, his shoes snapping against the stone. He paused briefly and bent down to remove them. The embossed leather had rubbed against the exposed skin of his ankle, which was now a faint shade of scarlet and very painful to touch. He let them dangle uselessly from his hand as he waited in front of the door. Seconds passed and they slowly turned into minutes. Waited for what exactly, the ravenette didn't know, for he hadn't even knocked.

He groaned in annoyance. Sunwoo had told him to leave his phone behind, saying that he apparently wouldn't need it because someone would always be with him. Well, that didn't turn out how either of them had planned and now he stood in the cold, damp night air, completely alone. 

The sleek silver car that had dropped him off had disappeared moments after the dancer had gotten out. He had missed his opportunity to ask someone what he should do when he watched it roll down the driveway. Not a word had been shared to inform him when the old man might return home, no, the driver hadn't spoken to him at all and Jimin suspected Sunwoo was behind the stony silence.

Frustration filled his petite frame and he swore quietly under his breath. He didn't want to knock, or ring the doorbell for that fact, because he knew no one would appreciate being woken up at this ungodly time in the morning.

It was funny, or at least Jimin might have found it amusing if he wasn't exhausted, that he didn't even know what time it was. He could only thank his lack of a mobile device for that. A sliver of light breaking over the horizon signalled dawn was maybe a couple of hours away, but he could've already guessed that much.

He had arrived at the penthouse suite shortly after eleven according to the grandfather clock in the lobby and the man had taken his time with the younger, ensuring several hours had passed before he called for him to be taken away. No aftercare had been offered to him, not that he had expected any, and he had been shunted out of the door before he was properly dressed. 

Much to the receptionist's entertainment, he had been forced to wander back through the lobby to get to the car waiting for him outside, with his hair dishevelled and his shirt completely undone. If that hadn't been enough of a giveaway as to what had happened in the room above, the smudges of gloss around his swollen lips and tear-stained mascara clumped at the corners of his eyes had laid the answer out nicely. Only by hurrying through the revolving door had he been able to avoid the worst of her condescending glare, but he hadn't been fortunate enough to miss the scoff she had uttered. Oh, what wouldn't he give for people to understand?

His muscles were sore and his backside burned. Images of the night flashed across his mind and he shuddered. Keen to forget it ever happened, he lowered himself onto the floor and let out a subdued hiss, even though the chill from the smooth tiles was soothing it didn't stop it from hurting.

Resting his head atop his knees, the dancer admitted defeat and prepared himself to wait for the old man's return, praying this wasn't one of the nights he decided to sleep over at his franchise. That would mean he would be blessed with a total of zero hours of sleep, although he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. From past experiences, he knew he could always rest during the day, however, those short naps never seemed to have the same effect.

To his surprise, he had only been sitting for a few minutes when he heard the door swing open behind him. Thank God, he thought, turning around and stopping when he caught sight of the figure standing in the doorframe. An amused expression hid behind the bangs resting across his forehead, his hazel hair dappled with soft light from inside.

"You really just gonna sit there?" Taehyung asked sarcastically, pulling the door open wider so the younger could walk through.

Instead of snapping back, which Jimin would have done if he hadn't been overtired and scared that Sunwoo would punish him, he simply sighed, dropping his gaze to the floor. Just the greeting he was looking for.