IT WAS RAINING heavily outside the building, making me feel even gloomier. Thanks to that little kid, Jimin, my mood was ruined ever since I stepped inside the practice room.
I was asked by their choreographer, who happened to be a friend of mine, to oversee their dance practice for today since he's calling in sick. And though I know that just by seeing his face will annoy me, I still agreed to take over his place for today.
"Noona! Why are you by the window? You have to watch us practice, you know," called an irritating voice. Just hearing it made me remember why I dislike this member so much.
He was just so arrogant! Whenever I see him inside the building, acting all big and high and mighty...
Well, actually, he wasn't really acting like that. But he gives off that kind of aura that made me instantly feel some kind of bias towards him. He looks like he won't respect anyone, and of course, as someone older than him, that would irritate me.
Grunting silently, I looked at Jimin who was smirking at me.
He really has the nerves, huh. I'm not just someone older than him, I am also his choreographer for today. Where's the respect?
Feeling my annoyance grew, I met his gaze dead straight before speaking.
"Maybe you should try polishing your moves first before I watch you perform? I don't want my eyes to burn from your sloppy moves." Jimin flinched and his gaze turned sharp, the smirk he was wearing a moment ago now gone.
Feeling triumphant over my small victory, I glanced at the window again, a small smile playing on my lips.
* * *
FINALLY, my session with BTS is over. I can go home and just enjoy the rest of my day doing nothing.
As soon as the last of the members disappear from the practice room, I turned to face the huge mirror and watched myself stretch.
I love watching myself do this. Call me narcissistic, but I just love to see how my muscles stretched under my skin while I exercise. It feels really fulfilling because I know that all the body pain pays off.
While I stretch, I heard a shuffling sound behind me. Raising my eyes, I saw Jimin walking out of the practice room, looking a little disoriented.
Huh. What's wrong with that kid? And why is he still in the room? I thought everyone already left? Oh, whatever, I thought as I continued to now stretch my legs.
When I feel like I've had enough, I stood up and grabbed my bag. Switching off all the electronic supply in the room, I rushed out and went straight to the elevator.
The rain outside was still pouring heavily, now matched with thunder and lightning.
I quickened my movements to reach the elevator faster. I need to get home fast or I might end up stranded on the streets.
When the elevator door opened, I immediately went inside, pressed Ground floor, and then closed the door. It began to slide close but before the doors can seal the me inside, it slid open again.
To my utter horror, it was the arrogant kid who stepped in to join me inside. He looked like he just bathed because his hair was still wet and he already changed his white shirt and pants with a gray hoodie and jogging pants.
He looked at me briefly when he stepped inside but averted his gaze when he realized who I am.
He pressed the close button again, and this time, the doors closed successfully.
Once we were sealed inside the elevator, the scent of his shampoo quickly filled the room. Against my will, I caught a sniff of it and it made me want to smell more. He smelled really good, it's addicting.
Mentally reprimanding myself, I tried my best to hold my breath.
As the sign in the wall indicated that I was approaching the ground floor, the elevator suddenly gave a violent shudder and halted. The lights went out and everything turned quiet.
My heart hammered behind my chest as the darkness enveloped me. What happened? What on earth happened?
"Looks like we got stuck in here," Jimin said, his voice the only sound I can hear. Somehow, it didn't annoy me. Under normal circumstances, that statement would definitely irritate me. Like, do you really have to state the obvious? But not right now. In this moment, his voice that usually annoys me calmed me. The deep undertone in the way he spoke spread some kind of warmth in me.
"What, noona? No sarcastic remarks?" He spoke again when I didn't reply.
As if on cue, the lights from the elevator returned, but it still didn't move. The sudden light momentarily blinded me, making me blink a few times. When my vission returned, it was Jimin's concerned face that I saw first.
He was staring at me intently, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you okay? Did you go into shock?" he asked, still staring at me and I just stared back.
Did I go into shock, he asked? Maybe? Because if I weren't, I wouldn't be finding his proximity with me pleasant. I wouldn't be fighting my hands to keep it beside me so I wouldn't grab him and pull him closer.
Jimin must have noticed the trail of my thoughts because his eyes suddenly turned darker, the concern in his face slowly fading.
An awkward silence hang between us, the air thick with some kind of tension.
After a moment, it was Jimin who moved first. Slowly, he closed the little distance that separates us, his eyes never leaving mine.
When we were finally only an inch or so away from each other, he dipped his head downwards, towards me while I stood there frozen.
I could already smell his breath, like a mint, and felt it against my lips. I gasped at it, just a small little intake of breath, but it was enough to ruin my focus. My hands began to move up, towards Jimin's head, ready to pull him to me. He must've caught sight of it because his eyes even turned darker and a mischievous grin played on his lips.
But, before I can even touch his hair, the elevator moved again and a voice spoke, indicating that we reached the ground floor already.
Jimin, with some obvious difficulty, teared his gaze away from me and faced the door, right as it opened. Without another word, he stepped out and left.
I, on the other hand, finally released the breath I didn't I was holding. My knees suddenly turned into jelly and I slid down the floor. It was then, while I was staring into the empty space in front of me, that I realized something.
I disliked Jimin not because I think he was arrogant. No. To be honest, I now knew that I never thought he was arrogant. He just looked like it, but I knew he's not. But my subconcious probably led me to think that so I won't like him. Because I'm afraid to like him, what with him being younger than me.
But this event in the elevator threw me off-balance. I was always on-guard when he's around that when a sudden moment of vurnerability arose, it was enough to crash my walls.
And now that the walls were gone, the reality came rushing to me.
I like Park Jimin.
I like him, and there's no going back now, because he knew it too.
