Glitch | 김 석진

Fourteen

A romantic stroll in the park sounded ideal for most, including Jimin and Victoria, but the couple had decided about twenty minutes in that they were both exhausted from the previous night—Jimin always went to sleep at obscene times in the morning and Victoria was too happy to sleep, or so she told him. In reality, she'd been having night terrors as of late that prevented her from actually sleeping.

Due to their state of exhaustion, they decided to go back to Jimin's apartment and watch movies. They entered the apartment to be met with complete silence as Hoseok was at work.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Jimin said with a giggle before pointing to the couch. "Have a seat."

Victoria did so sheepishly, as she was a bit shy to already be in Jimin's apartment with him. Alone. "So, movies?" she choked out.

Jimin kneeled in front of the TV to rummage through DVDs in the cupboards below. He was very focused on his task, giving her a chance to take a look around. The space was small, but big enough for two grown men living together. The flat screen TV they had clearly saved up for was against the wall opposite the couch, and next to them, the floor gave way to a small balcony that overlooked a small river shimmering in the sunlight and the greenery of the mountains above.

It was a peaceful place to be. A serene sigh flowed out of her as she calmly gazed at Jimin hunched over the movies, looking for one that would satisfy them both.

"Ah!" he said triumphantly and turned around with a big smile. "How about Oseam?"

Oseam was an animated movie that came out when she was a kid—it was arguably the best children's movie. The equivalent of a disney movie. Normally, excitement would surge through her at the sight of it, but she was tired.

It was all she could do to offer a weak smile and nod. Jimin recoiled, thinking she didn't want to watch it. "I—I can find something else." He began rummaging again, but Victoria shook her head.

"Baby, no, I like that movie. I'm just tired." She laid her head on the couch arm, eyelids heavier than usual. It was the third day she hadn't slept, at which she usually passed out from exhaustion before the vicious cycle started again.

Jimin's cheeks pinked at the name. "Baby," he muttered to himself before putting the movie into the DVD player. He crept to Victoria, who was on the edge of sleep. He smiled—she looked so cute this way.

He carefully crawled in behind her and wrapped his arms around her, face buried in her hair. She smelled of jasmine and hope. Something Jimin had seemed to have lost before he met her. Normally, he wouldn't expect to fall for someone so quickly, but it was clear that something weird was happening.

Victoria seemed to click immediately with all of them as if they were old friends. It was no wonder Jimin already felt so comfortable with her. It was like they were able to skip right over the 'getting to know each other' part of dating because they already did know each other.

It was the previous realities bleeding into the current one, but he didn't know that.

As the movie's OST played in the background, it lulled Jimin into a peaceful sleep with Victoria in his arms. It was a dreamless sleep, restful nonetheless. It wasn't until Hoseok came home that Victoria woke. She was an extremely light sleeper—another reason why it was hard for her to sleep. But it was easy with Jimin holding her.

Her eyes shot open as the door closed, a very surprised Hoseok standing there. "Oh! I didn't—sorry—I...I thought you guys went out."

Victoria smiled, still wrapped in Jimin's tight embrace. He was almost hugging her like a teddy bear, his muscular legs twined with hers, face buried deep in her neck. "We did, but we got tired."

The movie was long over, and as she struggled to look up, she noticed that night had fallen. It was apparent with how the space was only lit by the light in the kitchen that filtered through to the living room where they lay.

"I see." Hoseok smiled. "Well, I'll just be in my room. Don't feel pressured to leave!" he stressed. "You're always welcome here, Vic."

A grin found its way to her face. "Thank you, Hobi."

The younger gave a slight nod to accompany his bright expression before disappearing into the hallway. Once he was gone, she pushed back against Jimin. "Hey! Wake up," she whispered.

He only groaned and held her tighter. "Shh...sleepy time..."

"Jimin..." She couldn't help but laugh at his clinginess. "Come on, baby. I don't want to disturb Hoseok."

"Baby," he murmured before letting his head fall back with a loud groan. "Fine."

    She giggled. "Shh! Hoseok will think we're doing it or something."

    Now Jimin giggled before sluggishly getting up, pulling her with him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and penguin-walked them to his room.

"Don't look at my room—it's messy," he mumbled into her neck. But they were already in there so she couldn't just not look.

Despite his warning, Jimin's room was fairly neat with the occasional pile of crap—unused paint brushes, a pad of paper with doodles on it, a gun. Victoria's eyes widened at the thing, but then she remembered he was in the police academy. He had a twin bed against the wall in the small space.

Jimin closed the door with one hand, other still wrapped around her. She thought she would be more nervous about being alone with him in his room, but then she remembered that she was a grown ass woman. It was only their second date, sure, but if she and him wanted to have sex then they surely could and it wouldn't be against the law or anything.

He moved some pillows around and pulled back the comforter. His eyes, glazed with sleep, looked to her. She knew he wanted her to lay down first, so she laid on her back and he quickly crawled on top of her, resting his face in her neck before pulling the covers over them.

His breath was hot against her neck and she found herself reaching up to thread her fingers through his messy hair.

"Mmm." He smiled into her skin, pursing his lips to kiss her there.  

Victoria sighed, a question stirring deep in her mind. "Jimin," she started. He only hummed in response. "You love dance so much...so why are you trying to become a police officer?"

"Mom wanted me to be a cop," he mumbled, voice husky with sleep. "But she died and I'm still in the academy, so."

Her heart panged when he said his mother died, but she wasn't surprised—as if it wasn't new information. "Why don't you quit?"

"I think I will. Join hyung at his studio...even though he's better than me."

She pressed a kiss to his temple, speaking softly. "Don't say that."

"Okay, Noona." His breathing slowed quickly after that as he fell asleep on her. 

Victoria wanted to take care of Jimin, as he clearly needed it. She figured she could help him realize how special he was. It didn't take a psychologist to see that he had self-esteem issues. Victoria just didn't know how bad they were. Either way, she felt a fondness for Jimin. It was love carried across from previous dimensions. The same love she had for the rest of the boys. But with Jimin, it was morphing into something romantic.

She didn't just love Jimin, she wanted him.