The Reluctant Manny

Episode Fifteen

It was two days until the deadline, and the work room occupants had hardly been seen for the last two days. Very little noise came from the room. Even Jin poking in his head and offering food didn't lure them out.

Minji came out to see the twins for a few minutes here and there, and to kiss them goodnight and tuck them in. Other than that, Jin had barely seen her face. The same could be said for his brother and Jungkook.

One day before the deadline, Jin was called out of the blanket fort he and the twins had made in the living room by a harsh knocking on the door. He slid in his socks across the floor to the door and opened it.

Namjoon stood on the step, staring at Jin. "Dude, what happened to you?"

"Huh?" Jin looked at the mirror on the wall by the door. His hair was sticking out every which way, and his skin was flushed from being under a thick blanket tent with two active two year olds.

"Sorry. Twins and I were building a blanket fort. Are you here to see Minji?" Jin rubbed his hands down his hair, trying to quell the raging static.

Namjoon nodded, a smirk on his lips. "Yeah. I've been trying to call her for two days. No answer. Is she even alive?"

Jin laughed and nodded. "I think I saw her come out of the work room this morning to grab a bottle of water and then she disappeared. Seeing any of them is about as likely as seeing a Sasquatch."

Namjoon laughed and nodded. "It's crunch time. I would expect no different. Can you point me in the right direction?"

Jin led the way to the work room, where he knocked and got no response. "I swear they're in there. Just go on in."

Namjoon nodded and pushed into the room slowly, poking his head in first.

* * *

Minji's eyes felt like sandpaper, but they were so close to being finished and caught up, that sleep was far down on the list of necessities right now.

"Noona, I'm waiting on that last panel," said Taehyung, his voice low and raspy with exhaustion.

"Kook, how's it coming over there?" Taehyung rolled his chair, struggling the entire way, over to Jungkook, tapping the boy on the shoulder.

Jungkook responded by slowly falling forward, his forehead resting on the tablet in front of him.

"Whoa, no, Kookie, you can't sleep yet. Wake up. I promise I will take you for something good to eat as soon as we're done."

"Don't want food," mumbled Jungkook, trying to pull his eyelids open and failing.

"Want a nap," he finished.

"I know, Kookie, we all do. Just a little more, okay?" Taehyung stood to his feet and massaged Jungkook's shoulders, trying to stir some life into the boy.

Minji was lost in her own world, staring through her gritty eyes at the tablet. She furiously sketched the final panel, finally seeing light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Thought light was the last thing she wanted to see. Her retinas felt scorched by the glowing white screen of the tablet.

"Minji?"

She kept sketching.

"Minji??"

A tap on her shoulder made Minji almost fling her stylus across the room. The toss was accompanied by a screech.

"Namjoon! Do not do that again!" Clutching her chest, Minji collapsed back into her chair, her body going limp slowly from her exhaustion.

"I've been trying to call you for two days. Why aren't you answering your phone?"