Crystal Academy (JiminXBTS)

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CRYSTAL ACADEMY: CHAPTER ONE

"Jimin dear, can you take your sister for me? I'm going to be late for work," his mother says as she nurses Hana in her arms. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, and she is wearing a pair of black jeans with a white turtle-neck with a small black bow.

"Of course." Jimin grabs his sister and rocks her gently, watching as his mother leaves for work. Hana is cooing in Jimin's arms while his brother is in the living room, watching the early morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal in his lap. On the other side of their small living room is a mannequin with scarlet red fabric draped over it, all held together with thin gold needles. A notebook is beside the mannequin on top of a tall table, opened to reveal a drawing of a beautiful red dress with slits by the thigh and upper arms. There are thin gold leaves drawn by the waist acting as a belt, with the same gold leaves tucked into the girl's hair.

To make some extra money for his family, Jimin commissions outfits for people. As a young boy, he was fascinated by clothing and fashion, and with his mother's help, learned to sew. He would take scraps of fabric and turn them into fashionable items of clothing for his mother and siblings.

Of course, he could never get a job as a designer. He isn't able to pay for a scholarship and get a degree.

"Jiminie, when will that dress be ready?" Jinhyun asks, getting up off the couch to put his now empty bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Hopefully, today, I just need to do some final stitching and add the gold leaves. I'll be meeting the customer once mom gets home at the local cafe down the street." Jimin goes down the hall to his mom's room where Hana's bed is and lays her down in it. She finally fell asleep so Jimin can finish the outfit then head out to pick up some last-minute groceries.

"When I head out to get food, you'll remember to lock the door, right?" Jimin asks as he enters the living room, immediately getting to work on the dress. "Yes," Jihyun replies, switching the channels to a different cartoon. "And you'll stay away from the windows and not answer the door unless it's my or mom's secret knock?" Jimin's fingers skillfully weave the thin metal leaves painted gold onto the dress. "Yes, don't worry, this isn't the first time you left us home alone," Jihyun says, finally settling on an episode of Spongebob.

"Yes, I know. But we can never be too careful, there's a lot of shady people in our neighborhood, and the last thing I want is to come back to find our house broken into and you and Hana gone." Jimin gets a little sidetracked as he talks and accidentally pricks his finger with the needle.

"I know. Jimin, we will be getting out of here soon, right?" Jimin freezes upon hearing that sentence. Yes, he wants nothing more than to get his mom and siblings out of this shitty neighborhood, and somewhere they can live peacefully. But he's unaware if he's able to make that dream a reality. Half the time, they barely have enough money for electricity. With their mother working as a waitress and Jimin making garments for people in the neighborhood, they wouldn't ever get enough money to leave.

"Honestly, I don't know, Jinhyun. But trust me, I will do whatever I can to get us out of here. For you to go to school, and become an artist, and for Hana to grow up with kids her age. And especially for mom. She works so hard and has to deal with so much just so we have a roof over our heads and food on the table. She deserves a break." Jimin finishes with the final stitching and begins to clean up the excess threads and scraps of red fabric.

When he has small pieces of cloth that are too small to be a part of an outfit, he throws it in a box along with other discarded fabrics, and over time, he cuts them into small squares and sews them into onesies for Hana.