once upon an us ↞ jenmin

TWENTY-SEVEN, the end of a new beginning.

Jennie could feel her heart racing a thousand miles per minute - no, per second - as she paced frantically up and down the hall.

"Jennie, can you please sit down? Seeing you walk like the end of the world is drawing near makes me anxious," Taehyung complained from the couch, eyes following the brunette as she circled the coffee table.

"Yeah, Jennie," Jungkook echoed, "Just sit down."

"I can't," she muttered, all their whines going through one ear and out the other.

"I'm sure it will all turn out fine," the man said, tired.

No, it will not, Jennie wanted to yell back. What if Seo Ha doesn't like his gifts? What if he doesn't accept Jimin as his father? What if he hates me for hiding it from him? What if—

"Jennie. Please," a third voice practically begged, "Your face basically radiates your anxiety. And no, Seo Ha will take everything positively. Calm the fuck down."

Chaeyoung was very, very close to throttling her best friend, and Jennie could sense that, making her pause midstride.

But it wasn't enough to make her stop pacing around.

Her anxieties wouldn't cease. In fact, it just increased as minutes ticked by, approaching 6 o'clock. The ticking of the clock resounded in her ears as she backed increasingly aware of how fast seconds passed. 

This wasn't going to end up good.

What had she been thinking?

This was a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

"This was a bad idea," she muttered, her eyes widening as her hands dragged themselves up her scalp roughly, "This was a very bad idea."

"Jennie!"

Chaeyoung stood up angrily, stalking up to the brunette and grabbing her shoulders firmly, making the older girl look into her eyes properly. The slightly hysterical look, maybe even a crazed one and the blonde felt like she was going to lose her sense of reality just standing a metre radius of Jennie and feeling her paranoia radiate in waves.

She shook her shoulders harshly.

"For fucks' sake Jen, everything will turn out fine! Just sit! Down! How did you bring up such a good son if you're currently lacking the brain cells to think this simple situation out rationally?"

Jennie reached out to grab Chaeyoung's hands which where were resting on her shoulders, "T-this isn't a simple situation!"

"Of course it is! Look, we are just celebrating his birthday! If you feel he's not ready to receive the news, then don't tell him today?? This is literally in your own fucking hands. Jen, the last thing Seo Ha needs when he comes in about a minute is seeing his mother an incoherent wreck walking like a madwoman."

The brunette just stared in response.

Chaeyoung sighed, "You know what? Nevermind. Just sit down—"

"We're back!" Jimin yelled, knocking at the door.

Panic ensued.

That was the hint to get your brain and legs moving and hide. Everything was a blur for Jennie in that quick three seconds. Taehyung dashed to switch off the lights and hid with Jungkook behind the sofa. Chaeyoung dragged Jennie into the kitchen, away from the view from the front door just as the telltale sound of keys entering the lock was heard.

From the previous chaos, there was a huge shift in atmosphere as the four were so silent, it was eerie. All of them waited intensely for Jimin to unlock the door quickly. When the door creaked open, Jennie was on her toes, waiting anxiously for the right time to jump out. Her mind was still all over the place, but at least she knew what she had to do now.