"We can't be together but I can't lose you too," his once soothing voice sounded pained.
"You're right, we can't be together." she agreed as her heart broke along with her soul.
"Not right now," he added.
She was in his arms, warm against the win...
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It was the 3rd night of Areum in Chicago. Areum took the chance to get to know some of the staff better by accompanying them to the grocery shops and spending free time with them whenever they could. Manager Ye Jin insisted that she shouldn't do too much for everyone, it wasn't her job to do it. Mr. Kim might have told him she'd be joining them to get a clear head and not make herself slaves to those who worked for their company—but it wasn't slavery to her, she just wanted to do something different. And wasn't bettering herself the whole point of joining the tour in the first place? Socializing is one way to get past through her resentment towards strangers.
She knew at some point she had to get used on doing something good to other people around her, grow out from her comfort zone. There's a real world outside her bubble. And though she was still on the high spectrum of being apathetic, there was no denying that she was trying to be better than yesterday's version of herself.
The night was dark and chilly, there were no stars in the dark blue skies, the wind was cold and quiet though the tree branches moved slowly along the breeze. Areum stood on the back porch on the second floor of the rental house they were staying at, the tea she had made for herself had gone cold in the mug she was holding as she stared at the rain-kissed grass below her. Her silk night robe swayed as the wind blew across her shivering frame. The staff's cabin had been quiet and lights off for a while now, Manager Ye Jin as well as all the members went to bed early to catch up on some good night's rest. She, on the other hand, had been standing by the porch for hours. She does it every night, before Chicago and even now that she was far from Los Angeles, the night terrors haven't gone away.
Areum was determined to be better before they all flew back to Korea, but even her strong will wasn't enough to get rid of her nightmares. She still hasn't been sleeping well, she still sees Luke in her dreams, hear Elijah's manic laugh when she closed her eyes. It still haunts her every night, everywhere she goes.
"Hey," Areum turned to face the hoarse voice she had gotten used to in the past days.
"Why're you still up?" Jungkook spoke softly as he rubbed his eyes while standing in the middle of the entertainment area on the second floor.
They had became closer in the past days as they've lived in the same roof—already, it felt like they've known each other for years. Hence why she wondered why it took them a while to get along. Jungkook was oftentimes quiet and calm, he's like a gentle river that flows in peace and harmony, sometimes he'd be hovering over the members, forcing them to play boxing or arm wrestling but other than that, he mostly kept to himself. He has an odd humor—the pure and innocent kind, a part of him that's just incredibly magnetizing. He liked moving around the house like a kid looking for someone—something to play with and sometimes he'd talk to objects and little bugs as if they were people, it was adorable. But mostly he was warm. He never stopped helping the staff and Areum taking care of the sick members despite being ill himself.
