Her Smile (Part2) [JK]

Chapter 16: The Clock is Ticking

{Chapter 16: The Clock is Ticking}

She sits on her bed, clutching onto one of the many pill bottles that she now has on her bedside. Her thoughts roam endlessly, her focus on the world around her practically freezing in time as she examines the bottle of pills. "Why did I have to be sick?"

She immediately thinks back to her mother, how sick she looked as she lied in her death bed as her heart monitor beeped every so often. She knew at that time that at any moment, her mother's heart would finally fail and that she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it.

Her mother had a frail heart, and had passed it on to her only child. MinJi knows that it's not like her mother did it on purpose, but she still can't help but feel bitter about how things are taking a turn for the worst. She knows she's practically on a time limit; the clock is ticking away, and eventually the ticking will come to an end.

MinJi doesn't want to die yet. There's still so much she hasn't done- so much that she wants to do with Jungkook, but she knows that it's only a matter of time...

She feels tears falling from her eyes and onto her hands that are clasping onto the bottle weakly. She can feel her chest aching and she swallows as her shoulders begin to shake. "I have to stay strong", she mutters, her voice cracking significantly. "I can't let this get the best of me... I will be strong-"

She jumps when a crack of thunder sounds loudly outside of her window, signalling the beginnings of a storm heading her way. She holds onto the bottle tightly and turns to face the window, watching the first drops of rain falling onto her window. She laughs soft and sadly to herself, shaking her head as she sniffles again. "What is this... Is this some sort of sign? Are you telling me that bad things are coming?"

MinJi sighs when the storm answers back with its thunderous clap once again. She looks away and back towards the bottles in her hands again, skimming the label briefly before looking to the side to grab her phone. She limply takes ahold of it, picking it up to see that it's her step-father calling her (though she still likes to refer to him as her real dad). She picks up the phone, clearing her throat before answering.

"Hello?"

"MinJi! How's it going? Feeling okay?"

She blinks for a moment, debating on whether to say anything but instead smiles with a shake of her head. "I'm doing great. Did you still want to plan a hangout with Jungkook?"

"Of course!" She hears him chuckle a bit. "Just come over whenever you two are free. I know how busy it can get with college and the long drive up here as well can be a bit of a hassle."

"Thanks, dad", she replies with a small smile, looking at the pill bottles in her hand again. She's about to put them on her bed stand when the pills rattle inside, causing her father to hear the noise.

"MinJi, you're taking your meds aren't you? Please don't forget-"

"I won't", she softly laughs, a tinge of sadness lacing her voice as she places them on the stand gently. "I won't forget. I remember, I always do."

She hears her father clear his throat a bit before asking, "Does... Does Jungkook know about-"

"Yes", she sighs a bit, bringing her knees close to her chest as she rests her back against the wall. "He knows about my pills, and things... He said he's really worried, and I don't-"

Her words break a bit as her throat closes up, her fingers clutching onto her cell tightly as her free hand moves to cover her mouth to hide any other noises from escaping. She knows she's being pathetic, but she can't help it. Her crazed emotions due to the medication she has to be taking are making her this way. "And I don't know if I can keep going like this", she finishes with a sob. She continues to muffle the noises that are escaping her mouth, the tears she had been trying to hold in finally escaping down her cheeks and onto her shaky hand.