𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆.

2. Monochrome Rain

Sitting in the corner of the red velvet booth, bandaged in her lavender silk robe as a livid Jimin paced up and down the edge of the table.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" hissed Jimin as he glared at Valentina with burning eyes, drawing into her skin like blades, already feeling the scars forming.

"I'm looking for the Easter Bunny... what the fuck do you think I'm doing here? I'm trying to do my job." she snapped back, not caring that Jimin was going to tell Jungkook. She was more aggravated that she saw his judging brown eyes drilling into her.

This is the exact reason why she didn't tell anyone, not even Jin.

"I'm going to take a stab in the dark and assume that Jungkook doesn't know about Amethyst Lightning." he said harshly as he stopped pacing and placed his hands on his hips, acting like a scolding parent with an ill-behaved child.

To Jimin, he really shouldn't have been surprised. The perfect housewife in the suburbs turns out to be an escort, most likely living out her sensual fantasies with other men apart from the one who she has promised to love for the rest of her life. It disgusted him. As he stared at her more, he could feel the repulsion growing inside of him.

"Jungkook doesn't know about this because he doesn't have to." she swore back at him, finally standing up to him at eye level. "You look at me as if I'm a pile of shit. Do you think I fucking enjoy this? Because I don't! All those men that come in here and watch me... some even having the audacity to try and feel me up. It's disgusting!" Valentina spat out as she slammed the table into an earthquake.

"If you hate it so much, why are you still here? If you need the money, get a fucking proper job instead of fucking creeps for cash." he barked at her before seeing her expression mutate from rage to disgust.

"You think I have sex with those men? Are you bloody serious? Did you really think that I would stoop to that level? I just dance...that's all." she grimaced as she wrapped herself tighter in her robe.

Valentina thought at first that Jimin was quite good looking, but suddenly the pearl white pigment that radiated off his skin like an angel seemed to be drowned with a nauseating spinach green. She couldn't bear to look at him, almost the same way that he couldn't bear to look at her.

"If you're just dancing... then you're obviously not desperate for money. So, why are you still here, even though you clearly hate it?" he challenged, the anger seeming to cool down slightly, but certainly not freezing over any time soon.

"Fine. Do you really want to know? I'm here because of the same reason all the other girls are here... because I needed my citizenship card. When I turned 19, I had to reapply for my citizenship card... I got denied and the owner here, Mr Santos, told me he could get me my citizenship card back. He did...but I still owe him, so this is how I'm repaying him. Happy?" mimicked Valentina as she crashed back into the velvet pillows, Jimin watching her dark purple lip moving around as if the words of the rest of the story were fighting their way out of her lips.

He looked at her. Not seeing Amethyst Lightning, the most desirable stripper in Seoul. Not seeing her as the future Mrs Jeon, the perfect housewife. He saw her as Valentina Santiago, the young woman trying to stay in the country where everything she loved was rooted. It was as if he was seeing her for the very first time, the overpowering shadow of Jeon Jungkook and Amethyst Lightning absent, leaving the woman in a perfect light.

Jimin was finally starting to sense the betrayal in his eyes dissipate into the atmosphere as he realised that she wasn't forsaking her love for Jungkook for the promise of money and sinful fulfilment.