Nefelibata
One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination; an unconventional person.
-
"I need your help Hobi." Once again, we sit in the coffee shop on the same table we'd been sat at just days before. The same day everything had changed for me and Jimin. "Boy problems again?" Hobi jokes, taking a sip of his hot chocolate which he immediately puts down with a grimace, sucking up cold air to try and soothe the burnt end of his tongue.
"I'm planning a surprise party for Jimin and I really need your help." It was Jimin's birthday tomorrow and I knew I had to do something really special and memorable for him. "I just need you to distract him for me and keep him far away from his apartment while I set everything up." I knew Jimin wouldn't want to do anything too fancy and over-the-top, despite loving to be the center of attention. So, I'd decided on a simple house party instead.
"What's in it for me?" Hobi shrugs with a mischievous smirk, knowing he was abusing the situation for his own benefit. "Nothing." I roll my eyes at him. I'd known this was coming, Hobi was the type to play around a lot, so asking for a simple favour was never going to be straightforward.
"I'm not helping then," he crosses his arms over his chest, maintaining a playful smile. "Wow, and you call me stubborn. Fine, what do you want?" I huff in dismay, giving in too quickly to the troublesome boy. Hobi looks shocked at my sudden surrender, clearly having expected me to put up more of a fight.
"Well, now that you've asked. I have to choreograph and perform a duet dance for a dance competition I'm entering, and I'm still looking for a partner," he smiles, wiggling his eyebrows, knowing he'd trapped me in his cunning plan. "No. Absolutely not. I don't dance." I cut him off immediately. There was no way in hell, he'd get me up on that stage to perform in front of however many people, with absolutely no dance experience.
"No party then," he stands up to leave, but I grab him by the wrist, dragging him back down to his seat. "Please, I'll do anything else. Just not humiliating myself in front of a crowd of people." If we hadn't been in a public space, I'd have gotten down on my knees to beg for his help. He was the only person who could help me with my plan, without him Jimin's surprise party would never work.
"It's one song, I'll teach you all of the moves and techniques beforehand. I promise I'd never let you humiliate yourself in front of anyone." Hobi's words turn sincere, his playful persona long gone. I stare at him, looking for anything that told me he was joking, but all I can find is honesty. "Fine," I sigh, unable to believe I was actually agreeing to do this. Jimin definitely owed me one.
"Great!" Hobi gets up from his seat, clapping at my defeat, "I'll text you all the details about practice times and getting costumes fitted," he squeals excitedly. "Hold up. Costumes? I didn't agree to any costumes," I argue, watching as Hobi shrugs carelessly, dismissing my distress.
"Yeah, I was thinking of the lion king soundtrack, you can be Mufasa, and I'll be Simba because I'm the cute one." I opened my mouth wide in shock, this was certainly not part of the deal. Hobi put down his drink before falling into a fit of laughter. He fell off his chair and started rolling on the floor in a dramatic fashion. Other customers gave him a concerned look before tutting and carrying on with their conversations.
"I'm only joking, you should have seen your face," he chokes out in between laughs as he gets up from the floor. "Shut up," I punch him lightly on the arm, but unable to stop a smile that is forcing itself onto my face at witnessing him at peak happiness.
"What's the plan then?" He asks, after finally composing himself, despite still smiling widely. "I don't exactly have a plan, I was hoping you would think of something." I scratch at my head nervously. I'd spent all morning trying to come up with a foolproof plan but nothing even remotely plausible had come to me. Hobi drinks from his mug, before setting it down on the table, "okay, I think I have a plan." A flood of relief washes over me and for the first time today I feel a sense of hope.
"It involves fire."
With that, all hope had vanished into oblivion. "Nope. No way." I decide there's no use in even entertaining Hobi's crazy idea. "Why not?" Hobi complains in disbelief, looking genuinely hurt by my dismissal of his plan. "Alright. I have a plan, a proper one that doesn't involve fire. I'll drop by yours tomorrow and we can put the plan in to action."
-
"You know it's October, right?" I question, eyes scanning Hobi who had turned up in a black jumper, shorts, and the kind of sandals you'd wear on a holiday to Greece, not Seoul.
"I don't let the weather dictate my fashion choices, beauty is pain." He laughed as he walked into my apartment.
"You got the keys to his apartment, right? And remembered to message all his friends about the party?" I fire the questions at Hobi the moment he steps into my apartment, not even giving him a chance to respond. I'd left a lot in his hands, and I was beginning to worry maybe I'd given him too much to remember. If just one thing went wrong the whole surprise would be ruined.
"Of course, don't worry I've got this totally under control." Noticing my uneasiness, he takes hold of my shoulders, turning me to face him so he can guide me through a series of breathing exercises to calm the anxiety eating away at my body. "I'm fine. I'm totally fine," I convince myself once I finally feel in control of my body again.
"Autumn, I've got this covered. If plan A doesn't work, I have a plan B." He lowers his body on to one of the kitchen stools, aggressively swinging his backpack onto the countertop, with a far from reassuring grin. "Right.." I give him a worried glance as he takes what looks like a small metal flask out of his backpack. I watch as he opened the flask taking a sip before screwing the lid back on. I shake my head, putting my coat on getting ready to leave. Standing here, carrying this conversation on any further with Hobi, was only going to stress me out more, considering I was convinced I'd never see Jimin or Hobi ever again at this rate.
Almost forgetting, I run to the fridge to grab the frosted birthday cake stood on the top shelf. I carefully slide it in to my bag along with the keys to Jimin's apartment. "I'm leaving now, and so are you. Come on." I grab hold of Hobi's hand, dragging him out of my apartment and locking the door behind me.
-
After 10 minutes of walking, we part ways. Hobi continues the rest of the walk to Jimin's apartment to put the plan into action, while I make my way to a small supermarket to pick up some candles and a few decorations. Finally, after only just managing to fit everything into my bag, I make my way over to Jimin's apartment, which hopefully would be empty. The low buzz of my phone in my pocket steals my attention away from the crunch of leaves under my feet. I quickly fish it out from the bottom of my bag, checking it to see if Hobi had messaged to let me know they were out of the apartment. As I read the message, I let out a sigh of relief at the reassurance that everything was going to plan.
It was currently 5pm, I had just 2 hours to put up a few balloons and lay the snacks out which - if things went according to plan - was more than enough time. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. Jimin's friends would be arriving at 7pm, yet I had no idea how many people would be coming and who they were. Hobi had taken care of all that. I push the intrusive thoughts to the back of my mind as I unlocked his apartment and stepped inside the familiar room. It looked different to the last time I had seen it before flying to London. It seemed brighter now and the smell of lavender filled the air. It may be me just overthinking it, but it seemed like Jimin was really making a conscious effort to better himself.
I smile and hum joyfully to myself as I decorate the small apartment, the nerves beginning to settle down. It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. I glance down at the watch face around my wrist, surprised at the realisation that it was already 6:50pm. I panic, worrying that it was Hobi and Jimin who had come back too early. I apprehensively make my way to the door, flattening down my dress and presenting a wide smile, before swinging it open.
YOU ARE READING
Autumn Leaves / Park Jimin fanfiction
Fanfiction"We can't be just friends and you know that." Grabbing my arm he pushed me against the wall, my hip hitting the table causing a shooting pain to travel up the right side of my body. I was trapped in his arms, I didn't have an escape route and I kne...
