omi°nct's c̶l̶o̶w̶n̶ princess

her (p.js) - pt.twenty four

  Jisung walks around the dorm, having nothing to do and ends up standing upon the fridge- resorting to eat.

  He opens the freezer and instantly spots the chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks- her favourite.

  A memory instantly resurfaces.

  It's the evening after their first Music Bank stage of Ridin'.

  "Sungie-yah!" She cheers, peeking her head into the idol's room with a beaming smile but it falters at the sight of him hunched disappointedly on the bed.
"What's wrong?"

  He pouts, staring at the floor. "Nothing..."

  "Mhm, sure," she responds with gentle sarcasm before joining his side. "It's because we can't meet the fans, isn't it?"

  Jisung nods somberly. She gives a small, sad smile, empathising with him. She can read him like a book.

  "I'm upset too, actually. But, I can't do anything about it considering it's for the greater good- making sure the virus doesn't spread more. So, to make up for it, I tried to do my best," she says.

  Jisung sniffs, still gloomy. "But what if I didn't do good enough? What ifㅡ"

  "shHhHhHhH sHhhH SHHH!"

  He jolts at her aggressive shushes and he turns to see her glaring not-so-threateningly at him, it's almost doting.

  Adorable.

  Jisung blinks, inconspicuously flustered.

  "pWaRk jiSuNG bEinG 'nOt gOoD enOUgh?' hAH! Never in my entire life have I heard and seen such nonsense," she declares strongly.

  "Ohㅡ"

  Jisung lets out when she cups his cheeks with her petite hands and forces him to meet her burning eyes.

  "So, stop thinking about all these negative 'what if's and start praising yourself for all the time you've done something greatly which, from my point of view, is every single breathing moment of yours.
  "You, yourself is already a ray of joy and light for many just by existing! You'll be surprised to know how many people out there who smile so genuinely just by seeing you."

  Jisung's heart races and his mind runs about her words.

  She abruptly looks down, touch on his cheeks turns gentler if it's even possible and she lifts her head. "So please, don't be so blue. The fans won't be happy to see you like this."

  By this time, he's already feeling much better than before- her words erasing every spot of gloom.

  He freezes suddenly when she hugs him, hands around his torso and he can feel his blood rush.

  "And if you're still having doubts with what I said, just know that I'm one of those people who you've helped to put a smile on," she whispers, warm breath tickling his nape while she tightens her embrace.

  THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

  His heart beats madly.

  She pulls away and beams, taking his breath away- he's honestly shocked how he's still maintaining and not turning into a puddle yet. 

  "Mochisung, cheer up!" She exclaims, giving a fist gesture and letting out a few airy laughs.

  Jisung sighs, eyes teary and hand feebly grabbing onto the freezer's door handle.

  She said all those words, gave all those smiles and manages to cheer him up while she, herself was hurt.

  Heo Yoon had already tied puppet strings on her by then and still, on that day, she put on a smile for him.

  "Jisung-ah, winter will come soon so you don't have to make the whole Korea cold now with that open freezer," Jeno comments and the younger flinches- quickly wiping his glossy eyes.

  "Ah, right! Sorry, hyung!"

  He shuts the fridge, suddenly losing appetite and heads back to his room just to bury himself under the covers- hiding his silent tears.