To Find Something True

※ sixteen

The next day came.

Fortunately, Seokjin's buttock and spine stayed intact. The loud crack he heard was coming from a broken toy gun beneath him. But his back got bruises caused by the toy gun, and Jungkook had been acting as his temporary crutch when he needed.

Jisoo claimed that she was embarrassed of her brother. Jiah received an apology for her brother's overreacting and that got her off guard. She assured the younger woman that it was fine.

But, Jiah found it difficult to step in again. Even though, she realized that it wasn't her fault, the idea that she had shown a side she shouldn't have had forced her to undergo a moment of embarrassment.

She didn't plan to use her self-defense skills on anyone. In spite of this, she realized if this wasn't a test, her co-workers and the boss might get hurt if she chose to do nothing.

Seeing Seokjin limping through the way, passing her, the thought of embarrassment clouded her mind again. She clenched her fist with a frown and hit her head with it, whispering to herself, "stupid!"

"Jiah." The mentioned woman got startled. She turned around to see Yoongi walking closer to her. "Is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah," she answered.

Yoongi's cheeks formed rounds as he made a tight smile, nodding his head and then, walked past her. But he stopped again and faced her to tell her, "don't forget Hoseok's coffee."

As the man walked further into the store, she murmured sadly, "yeah."

Seokjin and the younger staff were fighting over a suitable position for a cushion to be placed behind him. Yoongi remained unbothered by the ruckus, minding his own business with the desktop. She headed to the pantry to make coffee for her boss, ignoring the noise in the main area.

While waiting for the water from the electric jug to boil, she exhaled a sigh. She wasn't completely ignorant about the tests they conduct, but she wondered if others experienced the same before joining the team. But as scary as this?

The beep sound from the jug shook her out of her thoughts. Her index finger pushed the switch off and pulled the plug out of the socket. Then, she poured the water into the cup, stirring the dark brown powder into a solvent. Without a fuss in her mind, she brought the cup to Hoseok's office.

Hoseok was drawing in his sketchbook when she arrived. She knocked on the glass door which raised the man's head. The man didn't sign or tell her to come in. Nonetheless, she pushed the door and entered. She then said, "your coffee."

"Uh," He kept looking nervously at his table and at her. Pointing at a vacant spot, he said, "there."

"You want me to put it there?" she asked. Without raising his head, he nodded. She proceeded to move to the table and placed the cup on the area Hoseok pointed earlier. Again, she asked, "do you need anything else?"

Again, without looking at her, he shook his head side to side.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be outside," she said. She walked out of the office with a sigh. She wondered how long his boss would continue to behave like that.

No commands from Hoseok, thus she ended up keeping herself busy with other stuff, helping Wheein and Jisoo with the store. When Seokjin asked how was everything going with her boss, she didn't know how to answer that.

**********

Another day went by. She spotted Jimin, Jisoo, Wheein and Namjoon walking together. They bowed and greeted each other 'good morning' just as Yoongi - who happened to stay the night at the boutique - unlocked the door. Soon, she heard loud and heavy footsteps behind her.

Seokjin's loud heaves could be heard from the distant. Stopped, she waited for him. The moment Seokjin stopped, he bent forward with palms on his knees. More huffs left his mouth, trying to steady his breathing before he stood up straight again. His eyes met Jiah's. He smiled at her. "Wow," he chuckled in between his heaves. "Good morning," he said, his voice almost cracked.

"Good morning," she chriped.

"Never had anyone waited for me while I ran behind them. Got you here feels great," he said, taking a deep breath.

"Poor you," she said, scrunching her nose and smiling.

"I know, right?" he said. They walked together to the boutique.

As she didn't want to create an awkward atmosphere, she said, "I noticed how you guys always walk together from afar. You guys live together?"

"Nah, we don't. Jisoo and I do, since we're brother and sister."

"Oh."

"We usually have breakfast together at the nearest restaurant," he said, earning another 'oh' from Jiah.

"Taehyung and Jungkook aren't joining you guys today?" she asked.

"Jungkook is on a day off today. Taehyung is probably late again."

"Oh yeah, it's Saturday. Does Taehyung live far?"

"Nope. That boy lives alone in a goshiwon* nearby."

"Oh!"

"Do you live alone?" Seokjin asked.

Jiah answered, "I live with my father."

Seokjin nodded his head as he said, "Ah ha! Anyway, you should join us for breakfast next time."

Raising both of her shoulders with a light smile, she said, "I'll see if I can." As she realized that he was moving normally, she wondered if the impact on his back had fully healed. Carefully, she asked, "is your back okay?"

Seokjin reached his hand to his back. Releasing a breathy laugh as if he remembered what happened the day before, he said, "it's gotten better." He smiled. "Don't worry."

Jiah displayed a bitter smile. "I'm sorry. I was, you know, protecting -"

They stopped walking when they almost reached the clock-in device. The man turned to face her and said, "that was nothing to apologize for. You did the right thing." He sighed. "It was Yoongi who should apologize. I bet he planned the test to poke fun at me."

Despite awkwardly chuckling at his statement, she was relieved by his words. It was fortunate that Seokjin was fine or she would have to work the whole day with guilt.

Their colleagues dispersed to their places after they inserted their cards into the time clock. When it was Seokjin's turn, the hinges from the entrance winced. Everyone turned to see who. It was Taehyung, huffing and puffing at the door - his palm stuck to the door handle and his head resting on it.

He almost couldn't utter a proper "good morning", but no one minded. He walked towards the time clock and stood behind Jiah.

"See, I told you. He's always late," Seokjin said.

"Were you talking behind me?" Taehyung asked.

"We weren't talking behind you. We are talking in front of you," the oldest staff member said. Jiah laughed, recognizing the pun.

"Hyung," Taehyung sighed. "I'm not in the mood for your puns."

Feigning an ignorance, Seokjin opened his arms in the air and loudly announcing, "to have a good day, you should start with a pun. Dad's jokes for life!"

"Ridiculous." Then, Taehyung mumbled to Jiah, "he is always ridiculous. Be careful."

And Jiah could not help but to giggle at their silliness.

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*goshiwon - A goshiwon (고시원) is a very small room that can range from 26 to 39 feet along, which sometimes includes the bathroom. This small space always includes: a bed, a small wardrobe or shelf for clothes and items, a desk and a chair. It is inexpensive and doesn't require a deposit.

Source : Google