The Man Who Could Not Stop Time (Monsta X Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty Six: No Way Out

Of all the people to run into, Jimin was the last person I was planning on. This was bad, especially because I didn't want to mess up anything in my timeline on accident. According to the Butterfly Effect, things could change immensely simply if I tapped him on the shoulder. And who knows, the current me might be anywhere around the corner. I needed to bail out immediately.

"Areum! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Jimin smiled at me. My heart skipped a bit, reminding me of why I liked him so much. That boyish smile and sweet charm.

I tried to recall what was going on in December. I suppose I might have been on vacation out in Jeju?

"Yeah..." I replied, trying to find my way out of this conversation. I needed to catch up with the boys before Hyungwon abandoned me here. "Listen, I have to-"

"Let's get coffee, my treat!" Jimin smiled at me.

"Uh, I can't." I replied, shaking me head. I had places to be.

"Oh, come on, don't be so shy. I'll pay!" Jimin grabbed onto my wrist and dragged me into the nearest coffee shop.

I recalled in the past when I would refuse to let Jimin buy things for me. I didn't want to take advantage of him and liked to pay for my own food.

He probably thought I was just being coy. But that was not the case, I had places to be!

Jimin picked a table for us in a cafe the we both sat down before waving down a waitress and ordering coffee for us both.

"Are you trying out for an agency or something?" Jimin asked, smiling over the table at me.

I shook my head, "No, what makes you think that?"

"Well, a couple of months ago I saw you with a group of guys..." Jimin replied, taking a sip of water. "I didn't recognize them, I thought you were trying out for a group or something."

'Right, he saw me with the guys back when we helped Wonho...'

That would have been months ago for him, how did he remember that?

I had to come up with a lie, "No, they're just... some guy friends I made."

"Really, where did you meet them?" Jimin pressed.

'Why did he care so much?'

I would have to answer the questions in a way that the current me wouldn't get confused.

"It's nothing, really, they're some other friends I have. From another school." I replied, trying to brush it off. I accidentally came off as sounding really cool.

"How odd." Jimin muttered.

"Huh?" I asked, tapping my foot on the ground, waiting impatiently for the coffee to come. I planned on gulping it down and then leaving.

"You just seem really different." Jimin replied.

'Wow, this cafe is slow.'

I just couldn't seem to focus on the conversation. Normally I would have loved to spend time with Jimin, but right now wasn't the right time.

"How?" I asked worriedly. He noticed I was acting odd, had I already blown my cover?

"You just seem... confident." He continued, "Usually you scurry away before I can talk to you. You don't make eye contact whenever I get a chance to hold a conversation. For as long as I've known you, you've been shy. But now? Now you seem so different, like Jekyll and Hyde."

'Oh no, he's catching on...'

I needed to come up with a lie right away, "Well sometimes when I... wake up early..." Jimin quirked his eyebrows at me as the words came out slowly, "...I have... more energy?"