Close to Heaven

Surprises

I didn't let it show, but I was just as surprised as Jimin when I leaned in to kiss him. Up until now, he had initiated all of our kisses. I was nervous, but the butterflies in my stomach felt good. Having cancer meant nothing to look forward to. Only death, my stomach was an empty pit, no emotions daring to enter. Suddenly, a memory flew into my head.

I don't want the food they are serving. It's all the same. Gross, boring, or too weird. I'm going to die anyway, why not speed up the process? They won't let me though. The first day in the facility, Mi Na, the too happy nurse, brought me a tray of food and left. When she came back three hours later with dinner and found the untouched tray, she frowned. Without a word, she picked up both trays and left the room. Later, a man entered my room. He smiled and asked me why I wouldn't eat. I said I didn't want to. The first two days, nobody made me eat, they just left me alone. The third day, the same man came back and said that if I wasn't going to eat, they would need to use needles to give me necessary nutrients. I said nothing. I hated needles. They scared me. The man sighed and then left, returning later with a cart and a tall pole with a bag of clear fluid hanging at the top. I recognized it as an IV. I frowned. The cart had more IV packs on it. My eyes widened as the doctor pulled his rubber gloves on and apologized before sticking the first needle into my arm.

I blinked. What was that? I thought. The dark memory had come up out of nowhere. I couldn't ever remember refusing to eat and then being stuck with IV's. I shook my head. I must be making up stories in my head or something. 

As the vision faded away, I found myself still in my wheelchair, Jimin pushing me towards the kitchen. I smiled, his presence warming me immediately. When we arrived in the kitchen, all of BTS and Jae Eun were talking quietly on one side of the room. J-Hope noticed us first. "Oh hey," he said. The group broke up as they noticed, their faces almost guilty. Jae Eun was the only one who broke out into a huge smile. 

"Oh hi Jimin," she said. Then I realized. She knew. They all knew. Jungkook and then other one told all of them what they had seen. I groaned. That was all I had time for before I was hit with an onslaught of inappropriate innuendos and jokes, all originals by Jae Eun.

The rest of BTS loosened up as they found that they didn't need to be as conserved as they thought they did. My standards for conserved were very low, having lived with Jae Eun for several years. Yoongi, the other member's name who I couldn't recall, seemed so uptight and grumpy, but even he began to take on the light mood. 

"What took you two so long?" he smirked, he gums showing. His usually staid face was transformed by the gummy grin, turning him into a little puppy. I laughed, despite the joke being something I would usually disapprove of coming from someone I had just met. The rest of the night continued like that. 

Jimin introduced me to each member like he had done when they had first found me at the hospice center, this time giving me tips on remembering each one's name. Jin was the one with the broad shoulders. Namjoon had dimples. Taehyung had the box smile. Yoongi always looked serious. Hoseok was the one who was constantly grinning, and Jungkook looked like a bunny rabbit when he smiled. 

Jae Eun brought out a bottle of soju. I hadn't had any for so long, but when I held out my cup, she shook her head. "You're still healing," she explained. I rolled my eyes. "One shot won't hurt me," but I put my glass back down, remembering the pain my stomach ulcer had initially caused.

As I sat there, the other eight people in the room numbed by alcohol chatted groggily, the occasional hiccup mixed in. Jae Eun turned to me from across the table. I knew from the glazed look in her eyes and her relaxed that she was about to say something she would regret the next morning. 

"Mi Sun, I think I'm in love with Hoseok," she put a hand around her mouth shakily, as if telling me a secret. Despite this, her whisper-yell reached across the table. Everyone heard her. Thank god nobody would remember anything the next morning. I nodded encouragingly. Jae Eun nodded with round eyes and turned back to Hoseok, who sat to her left. Jae Eun lazily flirted in a drunk way that wasn't really attractive, but silly and cute. My gaze fell on Jimin. He sat in his chair numbly, his hands in front of him, twiddling his thumbs. As soon as I looked over, he immediately brought his head up and locked eyes with me. He said nothing, only stared at me with his almond eyes. 

His thumbs had stilled. Suddenly he pushed himself up to stand. The chair scraped across the floor loudly. The conversations paused for a moment but then continued. Nobody seemed to notice Jimin. I guess they're too drunk, I thought. Jimin then walked around the table. He walked carefully and steadily. He sure looked sure of himself, even when he was drunk. He reached my chair and pulled me out from my spot at the table. "Hey," I protested. "What are you doing?" I implored. 

Jimin said nothing, only began to push me down the hall. I realized that talking at this point might be pointless. I let him push me until we got to the end of the hall. It was dark. I couldn't see anything, but I could sense Jimin's presence behind me. Suddenly, I felt the presence disappear. "Jimin?" I called out. Why would he wheel me down the hall and just leave me here? Well he is drunk, of course...Then, I felt the presence reappear. A pair of warm, strong hands underneath my shoulders accompanied it. 

I gasped loudly as the hands pulled me up to stand from my wheelchair. It had been a while since I had been able to walk and stand up. My legs were weak, but not ineffective. They kept me upright as Jimin's presence switched from behind me to in front of me, his hands going from my underarms to my waist. In the dim light emanating from the kitchen down the hall, I could see his shining eyes and sparkling lips. I was content just staring at his face until he began to spin me around slowly. 

"Jimin, what are you doing?" I asked. I was thoroughly confused. He spun me ninety degrees and then let go of me. "Jimin," I cried out. My legs didn't feel strong enough to hold my balance, and I could feel myself losing it. 

I stumbled backward, the wall breaking my fall. I leaned against the surface, breathing deeply after my brief panic. "Jimin," I scolded. "Why would you do-" I broke off as he placed one hand on my waist, another on my neck. He was roughly nine inches taller than me, and as he came closer, his stature towered over me. 

The sudden, almost aggressive movement shocked me. His face neared mine. "If you want me to stop, tell me now," he kissed my cheek. "Now," he kissed my jaw. "Now," he kissed my forehead. "Or now," this time, a crackle of his voice came through the whisper. 

I made no move to stop him, and his face lowered to mine. In the light of the kitchen, I caught his devilish smile before he leaned in, meeting his lips to mine. This time was different. He was hungrier, more desperate. 

His hand around my neck circled around her further, pulling me deeper into the kiss. I didn't mind. I began to feel breathless in a new fascinating way. As I pulled away from him to take a breath, he cursed under his breath for the second time that day. He looked down at his feet and then back up at me. He seemed to be having an internal argument with himself. 

After a few more seconds of this, he pushed himself away from me and walked back to the kitchen, leaving me breathless and confused. Don't worry. He's drunk. He won't remember any of this tomorrow. I reassured myself with this thought. My back was still against the wall, the only thing keeping me standing. 

I carefully pushed myself off with my elbows and then placed a hand on the opposite wall, taking tiny baby steps with my underused legs. As I plopped back down into my wheelchair, I looked down the hallway to see all of the guests beginning to file into the entryway. I wheeled over and said goodbye. As soon as they were gone, I turned to Jae Eun. She was still a little wobbly and was mumbling about Hoseok and sunshine. "Let's sleep Jae Eun," I said and playfully hit her shoulder. 

She looked down at me and nodded, smiling dreamily. Even in her drunk state, she still helped me get dressed and get into bed. When she finished helping me, she said goodnight and turned off my lamp, going to lay in her own bed. After a few moments, I spoke. "Jae Eun, how much did Jimin have to drink?" There was no answer. I listened to her breathing and found it even and heavy. She was already asleep. "Pabo," I mumbled, and turned onto my side, slowly drifting off myself.

I awoke slowly, the sun streaming in, casting bright squares of light along my face. I stretched, welcoming the warm sun onto my face. I heard a groan from Jae Eun's bed. I looked over. She had pulled the sheets over her head and was groaning about the sun being too bright. I smiled. 

"Time to get up!" I shouted cheerfully. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Then I remembered the previous night. "Jae Eun, how much did Jimin drink last night? He seemed pretty tipsy," I asked. Jae Eun pulled the covers off of her face, a grumpy look pasted on. "Pabo, he didn't drink."

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I wasn't kidding when I said the chapters were going to get longer :) Also I might be compressing previous chapters so pls don't get mad if the chapters aren't the same. Don't forget to vote and comment <3