once upon an us ↞ jenmin

TWENTY, sick.

A week later

Jimin woke up, feeling a familiar body huddled against him. He glanced at his son, cuddled up against him, and a sleepy smile formed on his face.

Seo Ha had been used to sleeping with either Jungkook or Chae, or both, so when he and Jennie moved in, he had found it lonely.

Jimin still remembered the first night, after he put Seo Ha to bed. He went to bed as well, but his uneasy feeling of letting Jennie go alone at her could not be shaken off. He couldn't sleep, knowing that she could be possibly be at risk.

It was about ten minutes later, he had heard the creaking of his door. He had turned, seeing a small figure standing at the entrance of his room.

"Seo Ha?" he remembered asking, as the boy continued to stand at the doorway, silent.

A good minute or two of silence had passed until the boy shyly asked, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt, "Can I sleep next to you, Uncle?"

A wide smile had immediately spread across the older's face, and he patted the bed willingly, "Of course, bud. Come on."

Now, as he gentle stroked his son's head, he felt a sense of contentment, of peace, within himself. However, that feeling passed as fast as he got it.

Jimin reached out for his phone, eyes squinting slightly at the brightness.

It was about 6:30 a.m.

He heard shuffling sounds in the kitchen and knew Jennie was probably preparing to go to work. It was probably what woke him as well.

Exhaling lowly, he, as silently as he could, got out of bed, feeling the mattress dip with his weight. He put a pillow in his place for Seo Ha to hold on to, and went to the toilet to quickly refresh himself.

Once he was done, he checked again that Seo Ha wasn't near the edge of the bed. Using a towel to roughly wipe his face, Jimin left the room and closed the door gently behind him.

"Good morning, Jennie," he said as greeting when he entered the kitchen.

The brunette's back was facing him, and she didn't acknowledge him. It must've already been 6:45 a.m. by now, and she should, by right, be ready for work.

However, seeing her tangled hair, rumpled tee shirt and lack of response, he immediately knew something was wrong.

"Jen?"

The said girl flinched, startled, and turned around. She smiled, "You're up early."

"Yeah... aren't you late though?"

Jennie's eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

"It's almost 7 a.m."

He saw her eyes flare with panic, "Shit, shit, shit," she entangled one of hands into her hair, pulling at her locks in stress as she slumped against the counter, "I'm so late."

Her fingers reached for the mug of hot tea she had placed on the counter, but he noticed how her hand moved like it was chained to something heavier. Her fingers gripped the handle tightly. She looked dazed, lost, unsure.

It was silence for a few seconds. Jimin had a sinking feeling she was sick. Under normal circumstances, Jennie wouldn't freeze over if she was late. She would start rushing, multi-tasking, eliminating the miscellaneous tasks she had to do and would make sure she somehow reaches on the dot.

"Jen, are you okay?" he broke the silence, walking towards her.

She snapped out of her trance.

"Uh, yeah, just-" she exhaled heavily, "A bit tired. But nothing tea can't fix."