JiMina Collection

A Secret For Two ~ Part 13

             Mina felt tears roll down her face once again, as she stumbled back to the dorm. She'd spent the past hour with Jimin, and it hurt immensely to leave. Wiping her stray tears with the back of her sleeve, she inhaled deeply. Mina pulled herself together before she entered the building, making sure she looked as normal as possible. Unlocking the door, the weak sound of sniffling and sobbing surprised her and caught her attention. It was both sad and joyful, but Mina came to see the similarities between the two emotions. 

            Tzuyu, and Sanas were seated on the sofa, swarmed by the other TWICE members. Tissues and words of consolation were passed around, but seeing her members crying sparked her own sorrows and joys in turn. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she joined her very best friends. Her family. They all shared their chance encounters;  Tzuyu and Sana bumped into Jungkook and Taehyung at the convenience store, and of course, Mina met Jimin at their special spot. It seemed impossible that it all happened on the same day, yet it gave them hope. 

           Giggling and smiling together, they began to reflect. Someone up there must really be looking out for them. Sitting there in comfortable silence, they thought that, maybe, their story really would have a happy ending. Eventually, the scandal will die down, their dating ban would be over, and they could continue to build their relationships with their newly aquired friends. However, the tranquility of that moment was shattered by the buzzing of their phones. Pulling hers out, Jeongyeon gasped.

"Oh no. Oh please, no. No." she begged, not wanting to believe her eyes. Nayeon pulled hers out as well. Pulling up her notifications, she softly started to cry.

                 The media was blowing up. Again. Photographers caught some of their encounters on camera, with the sole exception of Mina and Jimin. Photos of Tzuyu, Sana, Jungkook, and Taehyung in the convenience store swarmed the Internet. Several outlets even went as far as tapping into surveillance cameras, just for something to report on. And the worst part; JYP was having none of it. Mina was glad she was in the clear this time, but it was devastating that now, the rest of TWICE no longer had a clean slate. It was ironic and aggravating how the media brought the mine them to fame and kickstarted their careers, but now, it was ruthlessly tearing them down. 

                 The next few hours passed by in a blur, putting all nine of them in shock. Their managers quickly escorted them into JYP's office, where they endured the scolding of a lifetime, fearing the worst. Mina was reliving a nightmare. Her knees knocked together as she waited for it to end. He couldn't possibly punish one of his most successful groups. Could he? For what seemed like hours, they hopelessly tried to convince him that it was all chance.

"Please, I promise it wasn't planned. We just bumped into each other!" Sana pleaded.

"That's impossible. The six of you happen to meet at the same place, on the same day, at the same time? Never. Why did they go so far? There is another convenience store much closer to BigHit Entertainment. Explain to me why they didn't go there instead." JYP argued.

"I - I don't know." Sana hung her head. JYP raised his eyebrow, as if to prove his point. It looked as if their good luck was quickly turning against them.

"This is unacceptable. You are clearly lying t-"

"No, she's telling the tru-" Tzuyu interrupted.

"I don't want to hear it." He shot back. "You cannot date. Period. This was explicitly mentioned on the contract."

"But we're just friends!" Momo interjected, yet she visibly winced at the words. JYP raised an eyebrow yet again.

"I also told you guys several months ago that you are forbidden to see them again. I trusted you all to keep your word. But now, it seems that I need to implement some reinforcement."

               By the end of the ordeal, all were visibly sad that there was no possible way to keep their relationship with the members of BTS. For a moment, the anger on JYP's face slipped off and he looked sadly at the nine girls. Maybe he didn't really want to do that to them. After all, he was something of a father figure to them. But, it was all part of business. And so, he continued. They were to be put on a kind of house arrest. They could only leave for business related reasons and only with several managers to watch their every move. All their other needs and errands would be done for them. They were confined. 

                Finally, at the end of the day, they were led out of the building, still having quite a bit of trouble accepting their consequences. Dejected and exhausted, the nine members of TWICE stumbled back home and fell asleep. Their eyes were as dry as deserts, having cried out all the tears they had. On the plus side, it was impossible to cry if there was nothing left. Just when things were looking up, their world crashed down on their heads for the second time. It seemed as though life would be like this from now on. An everlasting, unpredictable storm hovering over them. There was no way to stop it. All they could do was wait for the sun to come out again. Whenever it will.