A Fractured Mind | 민윤기

Twenty-one

20 July 2018

"I am not visiting that woman. She's evil and she hates me."

Victoria and Yoongi were lounging on the couch with her legs swung over his. They were half-watching the mind-numbingly unrealistic k-drama and half-listening to Jimin on the phone with his mother. Apparently, the trip to Busan to visit his parents was not a pleasant one. He came back muttering about how they couldn't tell him what to do.

When Jimin said that his parents wanted him to stay with his grandmother for a few days, Victoria was perplexed at the horrified gasp that Yoongi gave along with a, "My God, do they hate you all of the sudden?" They had to explain to her that Jimin's grandmother, Sookja, was an escapee of North Korea during the war. Her entire family, including her first three kids, were slaughtered for treason and she escaped to the south with her husband. They started a new family and had Jimin's mother and on and on and on.

Because of her horrible early life, Sookja was an awful person. A monster, as Jimin described. A woman who 'feeds off of the pain and suffering of small children and adults alike'—also Jimin's words. Victoria thought he was exaggerating, but she would have a new perspective in the following days.

"Well did you invite her to your house?" Jimin asked furiously, pausing in the kitchen to put a hand on his hip.

Yoongi smirked at his cute stance and nudged Victoria, who tore her attention away from the sappy scene on the screen and to the youngest. She smiled, too, and shared a knowing look with her peer.

"Hey, why don't I get on a train and surprise you?" he said animatedly, waving his hands in the air. Apparently, the response was not good, because he pouted. "Are you seriously threatening me with that? You can't keep holding that over my head!"

The two exchanged an uneasy look this time as the conversation was clearly getting heated. Jimin stomped into Yoongi's office and closed the door. Yoongi took his feet off of the coffee table and leaned forward, muting the TV. They weren't usually this nosy, but it was Jimin.

"Oh! Maybe I should thank you!" Jimin yelled, his angry voice being extremely audible through the walls. "Thank you, mother, for making my life a living hell!"

It got very quiet after that. They have to lean forward even more to hear his voice. And once they did, they shared a curious look.

"No. No, mom—I swear. He's not."

It wasn't too much longer until he emerged from the office space, sulking with the phone in his hand. As soon as the doorknob turned, Yoongi and Victoria sat back and resumed their previous position while hastily unmuting the television.

Jimin eyed the older two on the couch before sighing. When they didn't react, he sighed again—louder this time.

Victoria caught on and perked up. "Oh—Minnie, what's wrong?" She stood and went over to wrap her arms around his torso.

Yoongi only raised an eyebrow from the couch. "You're so dramatic. What did your mom say?"

"I have to go watch that witch for the weekend," Jimin shot back, glaring at him while he moved his arms around Victoria.

"This weekend?" the older asked with knitted eyebrows. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Tonight," he corrected. "Apparently she already bought my plane ticket and emailed it to me."

"And the boat ticket?"

"Yep."

Victoria pulled back slightly to look up at Jimin inquisitively. "Boat ticket?"

"Good ol' Sookja lives on Yeoseodo," Yoongi replied before the youngest could while Sunset jumped onto his lap. "I don't get why they're sending you. They live way closer."

Jimin sighed once more. "Because nobody wants to be around that horrible woman. And they said they'd kick me—us out if I didn't do it."

Yoongi eyed him suspiciously while Victoria seemed to be in deep thought. "Jiminie, why don't you get a job?"

"I don't need one. I'm rich."

The older two pressed their lips together and shared a look. "No, sweetie. Your parents are rich."

"Minnie, what if your parents decided to cut you off for real?" Yoongi asked seriously from the couch while stroking the feline's purring head.

Jimin pondered this, his brows drawing in slowly as he realized that he had no idea. "Oh," he said quietly. "I don't know. I never....I never really thought about that."

"Maybe you should look for something full-time since you're graduating. I'm sure there are a lot of dance companies that will take someone with a bachelor's degree," she pitched, rubbing his back reassuringly.

He only nodded, still thinking as he stared at the wooden floor. "Yeah...I'll look."

-

Victoria and Yoongi took Jimin to the airport and saw him onto the plane. When he was gone, they returned to the apartment. It only took about twenty minutes for Yoongi to say, "I miss Jimin." To which Victoria replied sadly, "Me too."

They sulked around for the rest of the night until she announced that she should get going, to which Yoongi grabbed her wrist lightly and asked her to stay in Jimin's room. He insisted that it was just because it felt weird without someone there, but she heard him mutter, "It would make me feel better" as he retreated to his own room.

She sat on the phone with Vernon for a while before finally turning in on Jimin's huge bed. It was plush and a lot bigger than Yoongi's. The room was larger as well. It was too big. Too lonely. She began to wonder if Jimin ever felt like that when he was trying to sleep.

It possessed her to get up and lightly make her way to Yoongi's room, where she opened the door and proceeded to make up excuses for her to sleep in there. The half-asleep man just grunted for her to come in, so she did. She quietly laid on the floor, which was cold, but it still felt a million times better with Yoongi in the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a bit annoyed. "Get up here, idiot."

Victoria's eyes widened as she sat up to look at him. "Huh?"

"You're not sleeping on the floor."

She watched him move over a bit and turn to face the wall, his back to her. Grateful for his implication, she carefully crawled under his covers. But it was still kind of cold. She found herself pressing up against his bare back, which was extremely warm and soft. He was only in boxers, but she knew he slept that way. It wasn't bothersome. She didn't even notice.

Yoongi felt her cuddle against him from behind and couldn't help but smile. Closeness was something he found he really liked those days. The only thing he could've asked for was Jimin to be there, too, relying on his warmth as well.

Victoria moved her legs around a bit to find a comfortable position. Her feet brushed Yoongi's, making him flinch and move them away. "Hey! Your toes are like icicles. Jesus Christ..."

She snickered a bit and pressed against him further, with one hand resting on his waist. "Sorry," she mumbled into his skin.

Jimin was the actual light of their lives. With him gone, they only had each other to count on. To make matters worse, Yeoseodo had no reception for cell phones. They could only hope that the days passed quickly. Then they could see him again.