Try-Hard, Sin Harder

8. His Gemini

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up." 

  "Sorry about that," I mumbled. "I had to sort a few things out with my brother and his family, and it took longer than I had anticipated." 

 "What sort of things?" Jimin asked. 

 "My nephew will be staying with me during his summer break this year. He's coming all the way from Québec in about a month or so, and we were just trying to work out how he's going to get here," I told him.  

 "Nephew?" Jimin's eyes widened. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?" 

 "I'll be nineteen next month. My brother just turned twenty eight." 

 He let out his breath. "That makes more sense." He turned and began leading me down the busy street. "From Québec to here, eh? That's quite a long travel." 

 "One that I can't afford," I said. "That's why he's coming to me." 

 "Why doesn't he just stay with his father?" 

 I sighed. "It's a long story that I'd rather not get into right now." 

 "Fair enough," he said, and we began to walk in silence. 

 It had been two weeks since Jimin and Namjoon had come to my apartment, and I hadn't seen much of any of the guys since. Yes, they did come to the café from time to time, but not all together like they had once before. Generally they came in pairs, but there were times when Suga or V opted to come alone. I never asked them why, as it wasn't really my business. There seemed to be a silent agreement between the eight of us; if there was something someone wanted you to know, they'd tell you. Until then, leave all questions for the end. 

 "So, where are we going?" 

 Jimin lowered his head as we passed a bustling crowd of people, raising his voice so I could hear him. "Grabbing some lunch from somewhere, we can eat it at the park." 

 "Like a picnic?" I asked. 

 He gestured to the bag slung over his shoulder. "That's what I needed the blanket for." 

 "Oh," I said. "right. I forgot about that. Honestly, it didn't even cross my mind." 

 A muscle twitched in his cheek. "Do you not like the idea? If you wanted, we could do something else..." 

 "Oh no!" I cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I'd love to go on a picnic, I have had one in years!" 

 The edge of his lips tipped to a small smile. "We'll grab a few things from a vendor just down the street, I called ahead so he'd have them ready for us. I'll find us a spot at the park where we can have lunch, then we'll just do whatever we want from there." 

 "Sounds like a plan," I chimed. 

 The crowd around us suddenly became more packed. People shoved past one another, filling up the sidewalk in claustrophobia-inducing amounts. I found it increasingly more difficult to breath, and held my hands to my chest to keep my heart from bursting out of it. Having grown up in the countryside, the crowds were one of the largest difficulties I had to face. There was too much action, too much noise, and much too many people. It was like being caught in a current; dragged further and further out to sea until I found myself drowning. As Jimin pressed forward, and the steadily increasing distance between us grew to where I could no longer see him, I found myself wondering why I thought I'd be able to handle this. I wasn't made for the city life, and I certainly wasn't ready for it. 

 Pressing myself against the wall of a stone building, I did my best to keep out of everyone's way. Though, even peering over the hoard on my tip-toes didn't give me enough of a vantage point to see Jimin. I cursed my height, or rather, the height of everyone around me. Why were so many people so friggin' tall nowadays?