Winter's Blooms

Chapter 6: Talk Of The Town

Jimin had never hated the paparazzi before in her life. She knew that they were only doing their jobs, often, they crossed a line but she always found it in her heart to forgive them.

But right now, she really couldn't. They were really pissing her off.

It had been a week since she found out that Minjeong had a fiancé. Not a boyfriend, but a soon to be husband.

That night, she called Ningning and Aeri from her car, asking them if they could go to her place instead as she couldn't bring herself to stay too close to Minjeong after the news she just heard.

That night, she couldn't stop crying as she drove. She even had to pull over a few times when her sobs were getting too much.

That night, she walked out of the parking lot of her apartment building and got caught by the paparazzi, with her eyes red, streaks of tears on display for everyone to see.

And now, when she was done filming her new music video, she finally saw some of them get leaked even after her agency tried their best to make the pictures disappear.

"Fuck." She whispered as she looked at herself, hair still dark, looking pathetic as she faced away from the camera.

"I know, you looked miserable." Jimin rolled her eyes at Wendy's comment as the older woman laughed, draping a blanket on her shoulder. "Never in my life I thought I would get to see you like that because the girl you like actually has a boyfriend." She flopped down next to the glaring Jimin and zoomed in on the picture on Jimin's cellphone. "Pardon me, a fiancé."

"You're so heartless."

"Aw, is Jimin angry because I tease her too much?" She poked her cheek and Jimin swatted her hand away before slouching on her chair. "Oh, don't sulk, here, do you want me to listen to Minjeong-ssi's messages and tell you how she's doing again?" She held out her palm.

"Shut up."

A crew passed by and bowed to them. "Karina-ssi, that blond hair really suits you." She smiled and nodded, making an amazed expression at her.

"You think so?" Jimin stroked her new bleached hair, and when the crew nodded eagerly, she smiled. "Thank you."

They watched her walk away again and started chatting with the others, pointing at the duo.

"How many times have you gotten compliments today? I told you, you shouldn't worry about that, you'd look good with everything."

"I know you're trying to cheer me up, but this happy act is really starting to tire me out." She gestured to her face, pointing at the fake smile she was wearing.

Though Jimin was continuing her busy life, she couldn't lie to herself. She was heartbroken. These past few nights, she had been asking for her two friends to accompany her, crying her heart out before she either went to sleep, or stayed up all night watching sad movies, wondering how Minjeong was doing.

The florist had sent her multiple messages every day since the incident. Jimin was never able to open them, she didn't think she could handle hearing Minjeong's voice right now.

Her mind kept picturing the woman, next to the man she met that night.

That night, when she almost kissed Minjeong, unaware that the florist was engaged to someone else. To a man.

But she couldn't stop worrying. She did ask Minjeong to tell her if she ever needed Jimin's help. She did tell her that she could contact her anytime. She told her that Minjeong had her. And disappearing on her like this weighed heavily on both her shoulders and her heart.