Jimin made his way into Emily’s apartment, taking off his shoes at the entryway before venturing further inside. Emily’s apartment was a good reflection of her, bright and welcoming. Even though Emily was shy and reserved around people she wasn’t comfortable with, there was something about her that made other people to feel comfortable opening up to her. There had been a few times in the library, when he was waiting for her lunch break to start, that Jimin watched people come up asking for help finding a book, and without any probing from Emily’s end they would start telling her about things they had been struggling with. Inevitably, Emily would try and give them advice or comfort and they’d go get their books. In the beginning, Jimin wondered if people here were just over-sharers, but he noticed they didn’t share as much, if at all, with the other student workers.
Emily followed behind him, directing him to the kitchen. He placed the take out bags on her counter and watched as she circled over to the cabinets by the sink. She opened the cabinet and stretched up on her tiptoes, reaching for two plates. Jimin could feel himself checking her out and made himself look elsewhere. Only friends, only friends, he repeated to himself as he looked around the living room, turning his back on the kitchen.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Emily said, as she plated up the food. Jimin made his way over to the couch and sat down. He stretched his legs out in front of him, quietly groaning in satisfaction as the tension released from his legs and feet. Jimin looked toward the kitchen and saw Emily grabbing silverware for their food. He pulled his legs back, closer to the couch intending to stand up and help, when he felt something batting at his jeans. Leaning forward, Jimin saw a slightly fluffy, beigey paw reaching out from beneath the couch to swat his leg. A giggle escaped Jimin at the silly antics of the kitty. Reaching down towards his feet where Jack’s paw was, Jimin wiggled his fingers, trying to entice the cat to come out and play.
Emily smiled when she saw Jimin trying to play with Jack. The ornery little guy had taken to sequestering himself under tight spaces if he thought she was going to take his picture, or if he’d lost his jingle ball under the couch again. Grabbing the plates, she made her way around the island toward the couch. She set the plates down on her coffee table and Jimin looked up from the floor and smiled at her. Returning his smile, she knelt down and coaxed Jack the rest of the way out from under the couch. She cradled the kitty in her arms and turned to face Jimin, expecting him to coo over how cute Jack was. Instead, Jimin was looking at the kitty in her arms with a shocked expression. Jack started squirming in her arms when he noticed Jimin, fighting to get away.
Jack did manage to escape, scratching Emily’s arm in the process. She hissed at the stinging sensation as Jack scampered away.
“Are you okay?” Jimin yelped, reaching out for her arm as blood welled up in the cut. She nodded staring at the blood in shock. What is the matter with that cat? she wondered as she stood, making her way to the bathroom, Jimin trailing behind her. When she reached the bathroom, she turned on the water, grabbing a washcloth from the cabinet by the sink. She ran the washcloth under the water, wringing out the excess before wiping the cut with it.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jimin asked, worry evident in his tone. Emily glanced up at the mirror and was met with Jimin’s reflection, face stricken, hands fluttering in the air as he tried to find a way to be helpful.
“I have a first aid kit under the sink, in the kitchen. Could you get it for me?” She asked him. A determined look appeared on his face.
“Absolutely,” he replied. He turned swiftly and headed for the kitchen. Almost as soon as Jimin left the room, Jack strolled into the bathroom and leapt up on the counter, nudging her arm with his head. He looked up at Emily and she could have sworn the look in his eyes was apologetic.
“It’s okay, Jack,” she murmured to the cat. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I’m not sure why you’ve been acting crazy, but you don’t need to act up around Jimin. Jimin is a nice guy, so please just try to be nice.” Emily could hear Jimin banging around in the cabinets in the kitchen, trying to find the first aid kit. She checked her cut and found that it had mostly stopped bleeding. She rinsed the washcloth out and threw it in her towel hamper, before making her way to the kitchen.
As Jimin rifled through the cabinets looking for the first aid kit he couldn’t keep his thoughts from whirling out of control. It can’t be, right? I knew I felt a presence, but it surely can’t be the cat. The presence Jimin had felt when he was outside had been inky and evil, but the way Emily loved that cat, it surely couldn’t be Jack. As extraordinarily normal as Emily was, she was obviously very good at reading people, so if the evil was in her home she would recognize it. Jimin’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of Emily padding toward the kitchen.
Just as she entered the room and asked if he needed help, his eyes fixed on the first aid kit. He grabbed it and set it on the island as Emily made her way over to him. She reached for the first aid kit, but Jimin stopped her, placing his hand over hers and gently pushing it away.
“Let me do it,” he said, opening the box and pulling out the band-aids and antibiotic ointment. “I feel like it’s my fault and I want to help.” He ripped a little piece of paper towel off the roll sitting on the island and dabbed some ointment on it. He gently smoothed the ointment over the scratch on Emily’s arm, throwing the paper towel piece away when he was satisfied that he had adequately covered the scratch. While Jimin was busy rifling for the proper band-aid he missed the sweet look Emily shot him. Having finally retrieved the perfect band-aid, Jimin opened it and gently smoothed it over the scratch.
He glanced up at Emily as she cleared her throat and fixed her eyes on the floor. A small grin crossed Jimin’s lips at the sight. He loved that he had any effect on her. Stop it, Jimin. It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. He scolded himself. She looked back up at him.
“Thank you, Jimin,” she murmured. “It really wasn’t your fault, but thank you for wanting to help me.”
“It’s no trouble,” Jimin answered. He closed up the first aid kit and returned it to its rightful place. He took off his rings, placing them on the counter so he could wash his hands before turning to face her again. He nodded toward the living room where their food was waiting for them. They sank down into the couch and began devouring their food. Emily turned on the T.V. And brought up Netflix, picking the show she and Jimin had been discussing over lunch for the past week. Jimin was still working on his food when Emily finished hers. She curled her legs up underneath her and watched the show. Jimin finished his food shortly after and placed his empty plate on the coffee table alongside Emily’s. He had just leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him again, when Jack slowly loped into the room. His steps faltered a little when he saw Jimin, but he continued padding in Jimin’s direction. He leapt up on the couch and butted his little beigey head against Jimin’s leg, before curling up on the cushion next to him and falling asleep.
Jimin’s eyes widened in shock. That absolutely was not the presence he felt outside, but it absolutely was a presence he recognized. He covertly directed his gaze at the supposedly sleeping feline and projected his thoughts. Taehyung? Is that you?
YOU ARE READING
Wish (Wishing Well #1)
Fanfiction"I remember everything." Emily ground out. "And you have a lot of explaining to do." "When you picked the CD. You picked me." ****** "I believe that everyone runs across something they can't explain sometimes." Cover c...
