Let Me Help You (Jirose)

Chapter 31

Author's Note:

This is update 2/?

Enjoy!

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"It's been five days, hyung." Jimin weakly stated, his head resting against Jin's shoulder who was gently patting his back. He heard a soft sigh before he was pulled away slowly and was met with a tired smile. Jimin knew these last few days had been emotionally and physically draining for everyone involved. Five days had gone by and yet nothing regarding Chaeyoung's whereabouts had been discovered. It was as if she had suddenly dropped off of the face of the earth. Jin and Jungkook had even left to go visit their old place to see if they could maybe locate her there but nothing came of it. Park Chaeyoung had completely disappeared without a trace. Now everyone, including the police, looked exhausted.

"I know, Jiminie. The only thing we can do now is remain hopeful. We'll keep on looking for her even if it's the last thing we do. Park Chaeyoung is somewhere out there, I'm sure of it." The complete determination coming from Jin made Jimin envious. He wished he was that positive but the negative part of him that had lost all hope kept jabbing at him more and more. "D-do you think s-she's been..." Jimin didn't even get to finish his question before a hand roughly surrounded his neck in a firm grasp. "Don't. You. Ever. Assume. That." Jungkook hissed, dropping his grasp on Jimin's neck in an instant when Jin tiredly told him to stop. Jimin coughed for a few seconds before finally regaining enough strength to speak while fixing the ruined collar of his white dress shirt.

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to m-make you upset. I just c-can't seem to think o-" "Don't think then." Jin softly interrupted, giving Jimin a small but genuine smile. "She's okay. I'm sure of it. As you know, Chaeyoung has gone through so much all on her very own. She practically raised herself. So, if anyone is okay on their own then that person is Park Chaeyoung. It's only been five days, Jimin. We still have plenty of time to keep looking. We just need to remain hopeful." Jimin nodded before lowering his head, his teeth practically ripping at the soft skin of his bottom lip. "If...if I hadn't been so stupid...she would still be here..." he whispered before being pulled into a tight embrace.

"Stop blaming yourself, dummy. You were under shock so no one can blame you for having human reactions. We would all act the same way if we would have been in the same situation as you. Don't you ever think that this is your fault. You hear me? Now, it's about time for guests to start arriving so make yourself presentable while I get the food and drinks ready." Jin cleared off some of Jimin's tears as he pulled away, straightening out his suit before finally walking towards the direction of the hospital funeral home kitchen with Jungkook gloomily following his trail.

Jimin glanced at the portrait of his mother that had been placed in the center of an alter right above the beautifully jewel-encrusted urn that contained his mother's cremated body. Surrounding the portrait and the urn was an array of beautiful flowers of all shapes, colors, and sizes. He sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of the alter, eyes stinging with fresh tears as he stared at his mother's beautiful smiling face. "Eomma...if you were here you would tell me not to cry but I can't help it." Jimin sniffled. His mother's memorial service had been held back for a few days due to ongoing investigation but the hospital couldn't hold onto the body for much longer. It was beginning to rot and the odor was affecting the mental state of the hospital staff that happened to go up there.

Out of respect for whatever was left of his mother's body, police decided to finally allow for the hospital to hold a memorial service as Jimin had requested. Due to the state of his mother's body, she had to be cremated before the service was even held thus what was supposed to be a service of three days ending in cremation, had become a service of one afternoon with an already cremated body. Jimin felt quite ashamed that he couldn't even provide his mother with a proper memorial service. He had worked day and night doing all sorts of part-time jobs aside from the one he had with Jin. Jin hadn't even gone back to work at the café and had given Jimin the time off too but Jimin refused to take it even when his leave was paid for. Working was the only way to take his mind off of Chaeyoung's disappearance and the horrible memory of his mother's death.