Novelistá (Park Jimin Fanfiction)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

With the unexplained pain that tightened her chest, Jihyo immediately stormed out of Aleyna's house, and not wanting her best friend to see the sight of a weak Han Jihyo who used to be a cheerful and joyful woman.

A great tremor overtook her as tears raced down her so quickly. She couldn't harbour the feelings all at once as she dropped on the ground in a dishevelled heap with heavy chest, grief were shows by her flood of uncontrollable tears. She couldn't explain the overwhelming feelings she has right now as the gut-wrenching sobs tore her chest apart, and body rocked with storming sobs and tears.

Loud sobs left her lips as she covered her face with her shaking hands, and chin trembled in horror and petrified when the image of Seokjin replayed her mind all over again.

Another flood of tears gushed down on her ashen cheeks with the sound of wailing and suffering resonated the neighbourhood yet no one was there to help. She mumbled incoherent words through her palms and choked on her sobs. Streams of tears flowed down faster than her heartbeat.

But she knew she was stronger deep down—she was more wilful and powerful than her emotional breakdowns just like what Seokjin told her.

Everything just reminded her of him, and it hurts her a lot.

As she took a bus on her way home, she wore her hoodie as to avoid the snickers she would receive from the judgemental society—assuming that she cried from a break-up or whatever people would come up. She opened the door of her Aunt's house, revealing no one but just loud giggles, laughs and noises upstairs that lead her up there.

"Good morning." Her voice cracked—attempting to be happy but ended up swallowing her sobs.

"What are you doing Tía?" She started chewing on her lower lip, trying to hold back the hot tears that were about to drop again while avoiding her Aunt's gaze, and trying not to be obvious as much as possible.

"Packing some clothes and toys for Jonathan." Her Aunt smiled but soon frowned when she noticed her niece's strange behaviour.

Jonna—Jihyo's Aunt, even noticed the way her niece dressed with that hood hanging over her head with her eyes looking down, not even taking a glance at her. The way Jihyo stood there with so much agitation like she wanted to leave the room was so obvious and evident.

Just by the position, she somehow looked gloomy and not her usual self—as if life has taken her everything away. Jihyo looked shattered and incomplete at all.

Jonna's lips parted, trying to question her niece but her husband and son got out of the bathroom—from her husband helping their soon pee.

"Tío," Jihyo called from the doorway, greeting his uncle.

"Noona!" Jonathan squealed, running towards his auntie and basically jumped in her arms. She was startled.

"What's up with the hoodie, Jihyo?" Ghatan, her uncle, chuckled as he approached Jihyo and grabbed his son from her arms before putting him at the edge of the bed. Gladly, he didn't notice that lifeless look she had in her face.

Jihyo stared blankly for a second before she could fathom the situation. "Nothing, uncle."

The two hesitantly nodded, wary of their niece's behaviour but decided to shrug it off.

"We're going to a father and son trip so It'll be you and your aunt." Her uncle said, starting to help Jonathan with trying his shoes.

"Why cant you just go too, Tía? So that I'll have the house myself." she tried to laugh it off, even joke the pain she was feeling.

It was so unbearable.

The pain in her chest just kept on shooting her every single damn time like it was nothing. The bomb of suffering that planted there exploded that made her reel and dizzy.

Her Aunt who wasn't amused at all by her niece's joke, lounged at her and gently hit her this time.

"I was kidding!" Jihyo grinned cheekily and playfully making all of them corrupted with loud giggles and laughed.

It was fake tor Jihyo but enough to fool those who doesn't know her well enough.

Jihyo's weak eyes landed at the multiple box on the floor. "Don't tell me you're going to bring those boxes with you?"

"I'll donate that to this orphanage, silly." Her Aunt giggled receiving a playful kiss from her husband who was already helping her with the packing after helping Jonathan.

It made Jihyo cringed—in a way it disgust her.

"Hope Orphanage?" She guessed, shivers sent down to her spine as she shuddered.

"You know." Her Aunt weakly smiled, the look of pity plastered her face.

After the talk with her aunt and uncle, she managed to get out of the suffocating place as she clutched her chest, trying to breathe in and out.

A tightening of her throat as if there's a lump forming, and a short intake of breath overtook her entire body as she quickly locked the door of her bedroom—breaking down again.

Deep down there, she miss Kim Seokjin a lot.

________________________

Hence everything, she managed to road down her way to the coffee shop. She cannot keep on missing her work like this—she didn't want her personal business to get in her work. Not with something like this.

Gladly, after the massive breakdown she had, she put on some concealer and foundation to hide her puffy eyes—even putting on a slight make up.

"Sorry for being absent." Jihyo greeted Kim Taehyung that was on the cashier—

wait? He became a temporary cashier?! She looked flustered to see Taehyung, the son of the coffee shop, being the cashier.

"It's fine, Noona." Taehyung smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't do much anyway since there's not much anyway."

"I actually wanted you to meet someone." He told her.

"Who—Who are you?" Jihyo screamed, stepping back away as a dark haired man came out of nowhere behind Taehyung making the both of them laughed in amusement.

"It wasn't even funny." She frowned, muttering under her breath but the two continue to laugh it off, not hearing her. She eyed the tall man behind Taehyung who was grinning at her after laughing.

"It's Jeon Jungkook." He smiled, showing his bunny tooth, lifting his hands for her to shake in which she received it.

"Nice to meet you, Noona." He put on the seemingly annoying sexy smug look on his face making her groan at him and rolled her eyes.

"You look beautiful with that make-up, Noona." Taehyung compliment making Jihyo instantly blush. She wasn't even prepared for such words but she did give him a simple 'thank you' afterwards.

Eventually, it was a good day for Jungkook and Taehyung that Jihyo worked today since the two of them will be out for some important matters leaving Jihyo alone to work inside the small coffee shop. And Taehyung never failed to mention to her that Jungkook will officially be working at the coffee shop starting tomorrow.

There wasn't much costumers inside the coffee shop ever since Seokjin's murder case happened—maybe they were too afraid and shock to hear about an employee dying outside their coffee shop.

When she goes back to the counter, her eyes fixed on the yellow sign that was placed outside the shop—indicating that Seokjin's dead body was rested there.

An anxious feeling attacked her again as a solemn tear feel down on her cheeks; her body looked nonchalant compared to how tangled her mind was. She was close to breaking down, deep emotions stirs again. Her heart was bleeding again.

"Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked, making her looked up to see him.

She didn't even noticed that someone entered the coffee shop as she was busy trying to ease herself from the pain firing inside her chest.

Jihyo's eyes remain unswerving, staring right into Jimin's eyes while her heart palpated and almost ready to leap out of her hurting chest. It's been days since she have last seen him. She didn't get why she was feeling the unexplained emotions overwhelming her entire body as soon as the two of them locked each other's eyes.

Starstruck. Just like the first day she met him, she was starstruck at the guy in front of her.

And without any hesitation, she wore off her apron leaving Jimin confused as she removed herself from the counter and jumped right into Jimin's arms making the other startled.

"I miss you." she whispered, arms around his neck as she snuggled his face on his shirt.

Jimin was surprised—yet confused as to why she was being like this. But he didn't know what great effect she caused with him not being by her side when she needed him the most.

While in Jihyo's case, she doesn't know why, or how, nor doesn't have any idea what comes in her mind—but she needed this.

The need to feel someone's touch—the touch of someone she missed and cared.

The touch of someone she needed.