Stronger || PJM

Ch24: Business, baby

Jimin steadies himself on the crutches before reaching a hand out to knock on the huge metal door. He could've just slid it open, but he doubted he could do that with one arm as he needed the other to hold the crutches.

Lee opens the door, and he greets her with a "good morning" and a smile. She smiles back and nods in acknowledgement as he walks in. He notices the sweat trickling down her body, the baby hairs that escaped from her braids sticking to her forehead, and so he concludes she's been practicing for quite a while now.

He walks up to the bench at the other side of the room and sits down, settling the crutches aside.

"You haven't been going to school," Lee says as she picks up her water bottle from beside him, "Jungkook says you didn't show up all week."

"Yeah," Jimin says, "I don't really feel like going."

Lee raises an eyebrow at him, one hand on her waist and the other still holding the bottle.

Jimin sighs. "It's just that.. I don't want anyone to see me like this."

"You don't want to let that Jeongyeon know you have a broken leg because of him?"

Jimin shrugs, and she takes it as a yes.

"Listen," She starts, "Right now, they have no idea where you are. They probably think you chickened out after they attacked you. Bet they think you won't come to school again. But you're not that weak. You need to show up. So they know that they didn't hurt you, and that you'll come back and kick their asses once you remove the cast."

"Kick their asses?" Jimin repeats sarcastically, pointing at his broken leg. "The last time I tried to 'kick their asses' they mopped the floor with mine."

"You weren't prepared," Lee says, pausing to drink some water, "After your leg heals, we'll go back to practice. Not saying that you're bad, but you can't handle five guys at once."

"Well, I could use some help."

Lee stays silent for a few seconds before she talks. "So you want me to help you fight a bunch of highschoolers?"

"You did it before," Jimin says, "Except you were in highschool and they were a bunch of middle-schoolers."

"Jungkook told me," He adds when he sees the confused look on her face, "I thought he was the shy type but he's really talkative once you get to know him. I kinda regret giving him my number. He calls me everyday to tell me about how he's training Thanos to attack people on order."

Lee opens her mouth to reply, but she's interrupted by the sound of the metal door sliding open. Namjoon walks in, this time with no smoke between his lips which takes Jimin by surprise. He doesn't think he's ever seen the guy without a cigarette, so this is a first.

"Hey, Yeongju, Jimin," He says as he walks towards them, hands in pockets, "What's up?"

"She doesn't want to help me fight the guys who attacked me and broke my leg," Jimin says.

"How about you sue them?" Namjoon asks.

Lee scoffs, "The police, Joon? Are you kidding me? They don't do shit."

"Right," Namjoon mutters under his breath, thinking for a second, "I can help."

"What?"

"You'll help me fight them?" Jimin asks with a smile, his eyes brightening, "For real?"

"Sure, why not? Look at your leg," He says, "How many are they?"

"Five."

"I can bring a guy, too. We can meet them in an alley andㅡ"

"What happened to not fighting violence with violence?" Lee cuts him off.

"So what will you do about it?" Namjoon asks, "Just let them get away with it? Who knows what else they might do. Yeah, violence isn't always the answer, but sometimes it's the only answer. You know that."

He finishes with a smile and turns his head back to Jimin. "Tell me when you get that thing off your leg."

"Ah, almost forgot," Namjoon looks back at Lee, "Yoongi finally got the license and we found a good spot though it's a little pricey. We'll go check it out tomorrow and try to bargain."

Jimin stays quiet, now feeling out of place as they talk about things that he knows are none of his business, but he listens anyway.

"It's gonna take a while, isn't it?" Lee says as she sits down beside Jimin and looks up at Namjoon, "Maybe I should get that job at the supermarket till we open it."

"That's a good idea. Who knows how long it'll take," Namjoon says before averting his gaze to Jimin, who looks back at him with a straight face.

"You're searching for a job?" Jimin finally asks Lee, now looking at her.

"Yeah," She says, "I did make a shit ton of money from the fight club but money runs out, kid. Jungkook's also going to college next year and I don't know if I have enough for that."

"Why don't you go back to teaching MMA?" Jimin asks.

Lee doesn't reply as she leans forward in her seat, settling her elbows on her knees and intertwining her hands together.

"I don't know if I can do that anymore," She says in a low voice, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"We're opening a tattoo parlour," Namjoon says, "With a friend of ours. He has a passion for tattoos so it was his idea."

"That sounds cool," Jimin says, "I'll come and get a tattoo for free once you guys open."

"For free?" Lee chuckles, "If you're a customer, you pay."

"Business, baby," Namjoon says with a smile, "Anyway, I gotta go now."

And with that, he turns around and walks out.

"I've never seen him without a cigarette before," Jimin says, eyes on the door Namjoon has just walked out from.

Lee doesn't reply, so he looks at her to see her still smiling at the door. She blinks then looks at Jimin, nodding slowly.

"Yeah.. " She trails off before standing up, "I'm gonna go take a shower then I'm going home. Are you staying here for long?"

"I'll wait for you," Jimin says, "Let's go home together."