A Little Bit Yours • Park Jimin

Chapter 11: The End of Hell Week

The rest of your week followed the same pattern as Monday and Tuesday - perpetual stress and despair followed by anxiety-induced sleep. You haven't had a moment of being truly at ease since Tuesday morning before your midterm. Every moment after that has just been completely and utterly draining.

You hadn't worked since Monday night. You (obviously) got your shift covered on Tuesday and you had gone over to your parents house because you did not want to be alone. Although their presence didn't rid you completely of the anxiety that you felt was completely eating you up from the inside out, it helped a bit. You had brought your laptop over to their house and were able to get the rest of your essay finished and send it off. It was not your best work and you knew it, but you had a good enough grade that you knew you wouldn't fail if you didn't do too hot on this essay.

The second essay was a trainwreck from start to finish. It was so bad that you emailed your prof and explained your problems to them (not the Jimin problems, but more your grandmother and the pressure you were facing.) This professor was one of the nicest you had and you had a pretty solid relationship with them so they gave you a bit of an extension which helped alleviate some of the stress.

However, that stress was quickly brought back when you thought of your grandmother. She was still kicking, but you knew she didn't have much longer in her. The stroke that she had obviously was quite serious and given her history of not only falls but strokes, you knew it was getting close to say goodbye.

You've started to realize and accept that your grandmother more than likely wouldn't survive - you've had 3ish days to come to terms with that fact. The hardest part was waiting for the phone call that she had passed. It was getting completely draining and as bad as it sounded, you really hoped that her suffering would end soon.

Your aunt was calling with daily updates which you were both really happy about, but also didn't really appreciate. It was mentally draining going from 'she's not doing too well today,' to 'she looks like she might bounce back' daily. What's worse is that you and your mom discussed in length that your grandmother wouldn't be able to take too much more and your heart broke in a million pieces the moment you came to terms with it.

You were glad it was finally Friday because that meant that Hell Week was over (minus the essay that you got an extension on) and you had your first shift since Monday. Although your school work was under control, Jimin and your grandmother were still up in the air.

This constant state of anxiety was really starting to frustrate you. You were tired, you constantly had a headache and you can't even remember the last time you had a solid, legitimate meal that wasn't a kid's breakfast cereal.

You worked that night and for Saturday brunch, and no shift on Sunday. Maybe after your shift tomorrow morning, you'd celebrate and de-stress by bawling hysterically until you knock yourself out.

You couldn't wait.

But the main issue at hand was your appearance. You hadn't been taking care of yourself this past week and you looked it. Your eyes were a bit red (as should happen when you've been holding back tears for a week straight) and you had dark circles under your eyes. Normally this wouldn't bother you but because you had to look presentable considering your job was creating a positive experience for guests dining at the restaurant and you know, not terrifying any of them.

By the time you looked good enough to be actually seen in public (if you put any more makeup on your face than you already had, you'd have to change your name to Sephora) you climbed in your car and got ready to go to work.

You stuck the key in the ignition and turned and - wait, why wasn't the car starting?

You tried again and - nope, nothing. You screamed.

Like, actually, genuinely screamed because are you serious? You couldn't catch a break for just one day?

But it's fine, totally fine. Everything was fine. You just had to last like, one more day and then you could cry to your little heart's content. You just had to last two shifts. You just had to call an Uber, get to work and deal with your car the next day.

Seems completely doable.

———

This was not doable; at all.

Your Uber was late, which made you late. This made your manager yell at you. Which made you almost cry - but you didn't. You were holding out for tomorrow - that's when you'd relieve all the stress and frustrations out.

Your section was beside Jimin because apparently your manager wanted you to be punished for being late.

In the week that you didn't work, you thought you had sorted out your feelings. Sure, you might've had a tiny (cough, massive) crush on Jimin but you used the last few days of not seeing him to convince yourself that these feelings would pass. After all, there's no way he could have any feelings (other than pity and a touch of disgust) for a train wreck like yourself?

Too bad for yourself that as soon as you saw him, and his gorgeous smile, pretty face and windswept hair (god you were whipped), you fell right back down the rabbit hole and the only thought you were able to muster was 'fuck.'

What was he so hot for, goddammit?

The beginning of the shift started slow but the busier it got, the more overwhelmed you got. You were trying to avoid Jimin but it wasn't working really well (especially with you guys being right next to each other all shift). But, as it turns out, working beside the guy you are thirsting hard after prevented you from crying hysterically. You figured it had something to do with not wanting to look completely psychotic in front of him, but you couldn't be sure.

It was a bad night for you, but you didn't expect anything less from this week honestly. And apparently, Jimin's mystery 'anti-crying' charms only had about a two hour window and you could feel every ounce of resolve crumble slowly and surely.

Everything was going wrong - kitchen were sending out orders wrong, food was taking forever to come up, you'd make absolutely rookie mistakes, spilling an entire tray full of drinks all over one poor guest.

But, the one thing that made the dam break (and it was stupid, you admit) is when one of your button's on your top popped open in front of a table. You were wearing an undershirt (thank gosh) but you were downright mortified. You left the table quickly, told the manager you needed some time and if they could watch your tables, and the moment you nodded, you were gone.

You were hysterical - the kind of crying where you can barely even breathe properly. The kind that racks over your body and makes you hunch over. It was embarrassing but God, did it feel good to let it all out.

At least it did, until a certain server ran to the back to check on you.

"Y/n? Oh my god, are you okay?" Jimin's hands cupped your jaw as he looked into your eyes. He was concerned, his eyes spoke it all but you couldn't care at that moment. Hell, you couldn't even talk. "It's okay love, you're okay. Just let it out and you'll be fine."

The sobs were wreaking havoc on your body and you barely had time to process the nickname that left his lips, but you still caught it. "Love?"

"Do you already have someone to watch your tables?" You sniffled and nodded your head because speaking was not an option right now. "Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?" You shook your head, and him being so sweet to you made you cry even harder.

"Okay, I'm gonna go back to my section but let me know if you need anything okay?" Your eyes were closed and you nodded, but apparently that wasn't good enough for Jimin. He shook your head just enough to get your attention. "Promise me, please Y/n?"

Although your eyes were teary, you could still make out his perfect face with a frown etched into his eyebrows. Suddenly you felt terrible, because you were the cause of him being worried. Regardless, you nodded in hopes of seeing him smile.

He looked appeased by your acknowledgement and turned around to head back to the dining room, but not before pressing his lips into your forehead for the second time this week.

"I'll come and check on you soon love, alright? Take all the time you need."

Suddenly, you were alone in the back with nothing but teary eyes, a runny nose, a flaming red blush covering your cheeks, and a pounding heart.