REDAMANCY

Four

Chapter Four
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Ephemeral
(adj.) lasting for a very short time
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"I'm Yoongi."

Dark eyes met dark eyes. Jimin didn't feel cold anymore. He could breathe again. He could see clearly. All because of this person in front of him. What was happening?

"Do you think you can stand?" Yoongi asked, extending a hand.

"Thanks." Jimin said grabbing hold of his hand and they both stood up. Jimin took a deep breath and brushed off his sweater.

A car approaching them honked obnoxiously so Yoongi put a hand to Jimin's back and led him to the other side of the road. Jimin shivered at Yoongi's touch and pulled away. He wasn't used to physical contact from a stranger. But if Yoongi noticed, he didn't say.

"T-thank you." Jimin stammered, dipping his head in respect.

"Are you sure you'll be okay getting to your destination?" Yoongi asked.

"Yeah." Jimin said quickly. "I went for a walk, so I was just heading back. Where are you headed?"

"The convenience store, I dropped milk all over my kitchen so I needed to pick up some more." Yoongi replied with a chuckle.

Jimin looked away. "I see."

"Well if you're fine now, I don't want to be preventing you from getting home." Yoongi said. "I'll leave you to it."

"I—" Jimin started but stopped. Want to talk to you more. What was he thinking? "Thank you again." Was all he said.

Yoongi dipped his head politely to the younger and left him on the sidewalk. Jimin watched as Yoongi walked away, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. After a minute, Jimin felt himself compelled to follow him.

What the hell are you thinking? Was all he could ask himself as he followed as discreetly as possible. He waited until Yoongi was inside the convenience store to enter as well. Jimin watched as he went over to the produce aisle. Yeah you're definitely a stalker Jimin.

"Um excuse me." Someone said from behind him, causing him to nearly piss himself out of fright.

"S-sorry," He muttered, averting his gaze as he moved so they could pass by. They gave him a strange look but proceeded.

Afraid of getting seen by Yoongi, he scampered all the way across the store to the bath products section. Once there, he began to look through the shelves to see if he could see anyone approaching. The strong smell of mango from one of the scented liquid soaps hit his nose and he recoiled in his dislike for mangoes.

"What are you doing here?"

Jimin nearly fell over as Yoongi's unmistakeable voice came from beside him. He was standing at the opening of the aisle, a milk jug balanced on his hip, and he was giving Jimin a very curious look.

"Ah...ahaha." Jimin felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. "I was just, uh, I remembered I needed something from here."

"Oh okay." Yoongi went into the aisle and began browsing toothpaste. Jimin stood there awkwardly, unsure if it would seem rude or not to just leave.

So Jimin began to fake browse for mouthwash.

"Are you going to checkout?" Yoongi asked, approaching Jimin. The latter was blocking the aisle again.

"O-of course!" Jimin stammered. Why do I have to be so horribly awkward?!

Wait. Jimin mentally cursed himself. "I don't have money." He found himself saying. Of course he didn't. He had only come in this store to stalk Yoongi.

"What is it you need?" Yoongi asked. "I can probably buy it for you if it's relatively cheap."

"Uh, this mouthwash." Jimin said quickly, grabbing a random bottle and holding it up as convincingly as possible. Yoongi nodded and Jimin followed him to the checkout.

"9,553 won." Same cashier. Same monotonous tone. Jimin glanced at Yoongi as the older gave a small huff of annoyance and began to count his money out.

"Didn't you both come here yesterday?" The cashier asked suspiciously.

"Yeah." Yoongi said, placing the money on the counter and grabbing the bag.

"So what, are you going to be coming here again tomorrow?" Jimin winced at the man's harsh tone.

"If you want us to, we will. You obviously need the business." Yoongi replied, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Jimin swallowed nervously, his gaze flitting back and forth between the two.

The cashier leaned over the counter and stared at Yoongi coldly. "Listen here, punk."

Yoongi met his gaze, unwavering. Something about him seemed off, but Jimin felt envious of his confidence.

"I'm all ears." Yoongi replied.

The cashier sighed in annoyance. "Forget it. Just leave."

"Alright then," Yoongi said, gesturing for Jimin to follow him. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

Outside, Yoongi handed Jimin his mouthwash and Jimin stood there awkwardly, once again.

"Thanks for buying it." He mumbled. Even though I didn't need it.

"Not a problem." Yoongi grinned. "You looked a little out of it so I thought it might help."

"Yeah."

"Are you nervous about that cashier?" Yoongi asked.

"Kinda." Jimin mumbled.

"Don't be. He's just a pissed off old man. He can't do anything to us." Jimin shivered involuntarily at the way Yoongi emphasized us.

"Yeah I guess." Was all he said.

"Nice to see you." Yoongi said, giving Jimin a nod. "Take care."

"Y-you too." Jimin stammered and watched as Yoongi walked off.

He must be super weirded out by me. Jimin thought anxiously. He's just pretending not to be. He's too nice to have to spend his money on me."

Still, Jimin came to a conclusion. He had given up on a lot of things and people. But meeting Yoongi sparked a newfound interest for Jimin. There was something very different about him and Jimin wanted to find out what it was.

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