| jae min |
it was the beginning of summer. the breeze cooled down the harsh, unbearable heat of the sun as it shone down onto the earth's crust. in seoul, people bustled about, going places, seeing things, enjoying their times with their families, at least -- some are.
perhaps it was the way the girl held herself, a lonely passerby that does not have anything to go for her. or perhaps it was that she did not want to have the pleasure of accompanying anyone at the moment. she sat on a bench, her hair tangling in the wind as it pushed towards her face. her eyes squinted as a speck of pollen got into her eye. in one swift motion, she had her right arm bent and it went up to her mouth as she let out a soaring sneeze.
she excused herself because no one else did.
her eyes darted up above her to glance at the puffy white clouds as they race to one side. her bright chocolate-hazel eyes sparkled at the beauty. the sky was a baby blue color. a small smile was seen on her face. she begins to hum a small tune which turned into a small singing session.
"butterfly. like a butterfly..." it was one of her favorite songs. it was so melodic. how could anything so beautiful make someone cry? well, tears began to form in her eyes. the song was something so beautiful and she wished someone could see her that way.
she imagined the rest of the song in her head, mentally hearing every members voice sing out each part. when it came to his part, she couldn't stop the smiles from appearing. his voice was something else. it was always so perfect, so deep, so meaningful.
unintentionally, she began to sing out loud up until the last part of his little solo.
"it's all free for you baby. . . "
she could feel her heartbeat. it was speeding and it felt like it could go through her chest in any minute. each beat took her breath away and soon she had to inhale more oxygen to provide for her deoxygenated blood. she felt a little light headed. soon she got up from her spot on the bench and began to walk to the coffee shop.
she wanted to have something warm in her system despite the heat outside. she sat in a far corner of the cafe where are windows to see out onto the streets of seoul. her eyes were too focused that she did not see the idle coffee cup in front of her.
"why does being a fan have to be so hard?" she whispered out loud.
being a fan is both a blessing and a curse. she was always on constant support of her idols, but not being able to meet them because of financial struggles and the accustomed way of life she is living now; working until her bones ached and wander around the city as if it was the most interesting thing to see during the weekends.
honestly, she thought her life wasn't worth anything. working to make a living; that was not how she imagined her life style to be when she reached college. now that she graduated, it was something forgotten of her.
a heavy sigh escaped her lips as she began to look around the cafe some more. her eyes darted to the small television that hung on the wall of the cafe. it showed the news of some random events that occurred both here in seoul and around the world, which she confessed she didn't find any interest in too much.
something did catch her attention though. it was a boy group, bts, and they were seen in seoul, wandering about. but where in seoul? this is a huge city and it would take her forever to find them so she insisted that she sit down, though she had to do a lot of talking to her sub conscious about it.
she decide to leave that alone and to continue drinking her heated beverage that now cooled down due to her ignorance to avert her attention from her distracting thoughts to the drink. another sigh escaped her lips. she would have to just go through this otherwise it would be a waste of money, something she does not have time to waste.
as soon as she finished the drink, a group of people came into the shop. it was strange. she came here all the time and they never had so many customers come in at the same time. she didn't pay any attention to them since she was never a social butterfly. she gets nervous conversing with others. asking for help, she was fine but if it was a friendly conversation like what she hears everyday, it wasn't anything she was fond with.
she got up and picked up her cup. she took it to the counter and began to order something to eat since it was around lunch time and she didn't have any food at her place. she blamed herself for forgetting to grab groceries. a blt sandwich was placed on the counter for her, neatly cut into two triangles. the server just smiled at her.
"it's on the house, jae min." the boy gave her a shy smile. "our manager said you come in every week and order the same thing. have a good day." he was very kind, their manager too. she had been coming here for the past four years. it was her favorite place to be in. it was quiet.
"thanks." she smiled and handed the boy 20000 won as a tip. he looked young and probably needed the money to help with his education. he became flustered and bowed in thanks.
jae min walked back to her table but when she did, she glanced at the table with seven people seated. they seemed to be in conversation. they all wore face masks. one person was watching her though and she looked into the eyes from afar. his eyes showed an unreadable expression. when the other six notice they turn their attention to jae min.
flustered, she quickly scurried to her table and begin to eat her sandwich in peace, but she could not shake the feeling that there are eyes watching her every move. when she looked back at the group, they were glancing at her. blood rushed to her cheeks and she felt like she could not breathe.
she quickly got up and went to the counter again to grab a to-go box. once she got her leftovers in the box, she hurriedly made her way out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of the cafe. once she stepped foot outside, she took a deep breath and dug out her phone from her pocket. she looked at the time. it was 15:32. with a sigh, she began her journey home, but was stopped by someone poking her shoulder. she let out a small yelp and turned to see the same seven figures. they looked familiar for some reason, but in her state of panic she could not remember for the life of her.
"sorry we scared you off" the tallest one said, the one who originally looked at her. she blinked several times. heat rose to her cheeks.
"oh. . " damnit, say something. "it's. . all good! i mean, i nev-er had anyone.... um, actually sorry. i gotta go." and with that, she quickly turned around and sped walked to the direction of her apartment, leaving the guys perplexed.
well, there goes your chance at making a first impression, jae min. she stood in front of her bathroom mirror and sighed. today had been a long day. she went to her bed and took out her phone. she had received some notifications on social networks.
'bts spotted with a woman outside a cafe' jae min clicked on the article and saw the same seven figures outside the cafe with her. she gasped and suddenly she felt light-headed.
"well, shit." she turned off her phone and just sat on her bed for the next thirty minutes before going to bed, anxiety rising in her system. tomorrow would be a new day, right? that's what everyone says. hopefully tomorrow wouldn't be bad because she didn't want to have to deal with fans, or stalkers, recognizing her. hopefully tomorrow would be okay.
hopefully. . .
