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To cry during a storm was a perfect way to hide the tears streaming down his cheeks. At least, that's what Jimin thought when he stood outside in the pouring rain for a few more minutes, before storming back in the building with June following him behind.

''Where are you going?'' Hands crossed and eyebrows raised, Namjoon asked the boy whose eyes didn't greet him back.

''Home.'' Harsh and stiff was the answer Jimin gave as he kept shoving his belongings down the bottom of a backpack.

''You're not going anywhere.'' Though Namjoon made a few intimidating steps forward, almost demanding Jimin to stay. ''Not before you get yourself cleaned up.''

Sniffling, Jimin straightened up his spine, throwing a glance on his sleeve damped in both blood and rain.

''There's a first aid kit in the storage room'', was Namjoon's said direction as he thumb-pointed at the old door behind him.

Dropping the things remained to be packed, Jimin walked inside the storage room, completely blind to the movement Namjoon just made - a simple nod of his head as a cue for June to go help the injured boy.

When her feet stepped forward, her body a stranger to the former numb feeling, she was soon inside the small dark room with a dim light hovering above her. Just right in front of her, on his tiptoes, Jimin was trying to reach the first aid kid laying on top of the many dust-covered wooden shelves.

As Jimin struggled to reach the plastic box, June couldn't help but cackle a little because her eyes saw the white box on a shelf below and that Jimin was reaching for nothing at all.

Aware of June's laughter, Jimin got the sudden need to defend his actions. ''It's not because I'm short, I swear. I've just been injured and I can't seem to reach that far.''

Before his mouth can defend him some more, June wiggled her way in front of him, picking up the kit situated in front of his own nose.

With no words being said, Jimin responded with his cheeks flushed in red. Once leaning against the shelves, he watched the girl's hands as they went on a search for probably a gauze, a disinfectant and some bandages to heal his still wounded forearm.

Meanwhile, Jimin grabbed the hem of his shirt and slowly took it off, the bulb above casting enough light around the edges of every muscle lining down his stomach.

With a lump in her throat, June's breath hitched. It wasn't because she saw bruises and scratches that were like soldiers, formed in a line so colorful and yet sinister. It was the bare chest completely covered in sweat that caught her off guard.

Jimin's breathing was shallow and she blushes, trying to avert her eyes.

Please be more mature, June.

Careful not to hurt him more, June looked at his arm, it revealing a scratch that was far less scary than the blood made it appear. Once cleaning the stained blood with an antiseptic blood, Jimin winced, arching his back in pain.

''Ack, do you even know what you're doing?''

''Calm down tough boy. My mom is a nurse, I've learned a couple of useful things from her.''

As though words weren't assuring enough, Jimin scrutinized the movements her hands made around his arm. Careful and almost timid, she began wrapping a bandage around the wound, the pain almost disappearing as his eyes bounced up and down - from the scratch on his arm to her eyes etched on him.

''Hey, June?''

''Hmm?'' She hummed, focused on the process in front of her.

''I'm sorry.''

Then she stopped.

''What for?'' And her eyes looked up.

''For treating you like this.'' He sounded genuine, sincere. His face was now looking down, jaw tightened and glass-like eyes avoiding a possible contact. ''For playing around like an indecisive child. It was wrong and I'm sorry for that.''

He then paused, looking for another thing to say, another sentence that would explain his behavior but somehow everything seemed to be out of his reach today. That he needed to sort both himself and his thoughts out was a fact he already knew, though he needed to say something now, at least give a sign that this all meant something to him.

That she meant something to him.

''I don't blame you, Jimin.'' Knowing that all he wanted to do was not to hurt her, June was yet again steering all her energy into the bandage that was now almost completely wrapped around his arm.

''Do you think she'll be okay?'' Her soft voice changed the topic so swiftly it took a couple of seconds for Jimin to reply.

''Who? Bo? I think so.'' He nodded. ''Bo is a strong person. She'll get through it, just like she gets through everything.''

A smile stretched his lips, his mind reminiscing. ''We used to go on ballet practices a few years back, that's how I met her and I still remember the day she injured herself like it was yesterday. Madam Hwang, our dance teacher then, was so strict she forced her to keep on dancing, no matter how bad her ankle might've been hurt.''

''Is that how you've gotten all of these?'' She asked, afraid to touch the marks rooted into his skin. ''From dancing too much?''

Jimin cracked a smile, a chuckle escaping his plump lips. ''Some are, some aren't.'' His finger traced along a deep purple bruise resting just under the protruding ribs. ''This one I got just a few days ago, weird how it still won't go away.''

Eyes scanning down his body, he searches for more scars, more stories to tell. ''And this'', he pointed out at a few scratches on his other upper arm, these ones seeming deeper than the rest, ''This one's me being clumsy.''

Jimin gave a smile to hush his pain.

''I've read somewhere that if you aren't physically sick after a dance practice, to the point where you can actually throw up, you're not working hard enough.''

''Right.'' Disagreeing mentally, June nodded her head, closing the white box and putting it back where it belonged - down the shelf to collect dust once again.

Like always, Jimin's curiosity peeked through his posture, wanting to know more about the opinion from the girl standing in front of him. ''What? You don't think there's some truth behind it?''

Another smile was given to hush June's concern.

''You do have to work hard to succeed. But suffering isn't equal to working hard.'' Though she saw through him and her concern for the boy now floated on the surface of her skin. ''I just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all.''

That's what they both wanted - not seeing each other get hurt, though that wish had only made them more distant and afraid that a single touch that was so small, would slowly end up scarring them both.

But Jimin was daring, persistent and stubborn. He was one of those people who would constantly itch and pick the scab, making the wound much worse than it needed to be.

And the old habits soon kicked in as his small fingers went to scratch the newly wrapped up wound, though June's hand reached out, stopping him before he could cause a damage. ''To let a wound heal, you need to stop touching it.''

Now, his breath brushed against her skin, an intense gaze shared in between.

''What if I don't want to stop?'' Eager to get closer and hungry for affection, Jimin's face was so close to hers that even in the shadows, she could see the spark in his brown eyes and even smell the sweet ropy fragrance around his collars mixed with sweat.

June knew that if she kisses the boy, and gives her whole being into this one, small yet ephemeral moment, her mind won't be able to go back in time.

So she waited, listening for a minute longer to the sound of strong heartbeats before the universe could stop just for them.

Because Jimin then kissed her.

Softly at first, and then with a swift gradation of intensity that made her cling onto him as if he was the only solid thing in a dizzy world around her.

At his lips' touch, her breath hitched, eyes widened, muscles tensed and excitement rushed through her veins - a reviving, almost euphoric feeling as she closed her eyes.

His insistent, impatient mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors along her nerves, evoking from her sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling.

And before the swarm of greediness spun her round and round, she knew that she was kissing him back.

A complete stranger to the feeling, June merely wished to see his face, expecting to see the delicate joy she knew was her own.

But she doesn't catch a glimpse of Jimin's face when his tongue reaches her mouth.

It was wet and sloppy, her entire body suffocating but somehow, it still wanted more. Completely ruled by him, June doesn't know how to react. How to accept the sudden rush of endorphins that came like a hurricane.  

So he took the lead, hand reaching up under her shirt, an introduction to a whole new world. Her heart, somewhere below his touch, started to race even faster. It wasn't thumping, not exactly. Not even leaping. But a kind of calm flow, like a never-ending river.

Before the seconds counted, her hands gripped onto his hair, causing a few throaty groans leaving Jimin's lips as he grabbed her waist - a movement so strong and aggressive, causing their bodies to collide with the shelves behind, knocking down a few boxes and things that were so small of importance.

What it took for their lips to finally separate was the sudden noise the things have made when coming in touch with the floor beneath them. Both gasping for air and giggling like children, Jimin then rested his forehead against June's.

There's a small lip-biting smile on his lips. It starts off cocky and slowly becomes shy when his voice, not louder then a whisper, crawls inside June's ear. ''Namjoon might hear us.''

Then, there's silence.

A silence that was made of hesitation and longing, which soon turned quiet when a pair of hushed footsteps turned it down.

Immediately, it's a mad rush for the two. Like deer caught in headlights, they search for the act of staying composed, June fixing her hair and wiping away her mouth while Jimin struggles to put his shirt back on.

As if running away from police, like two thieves, they storm out of the storage room to a sight of smug smiling Namjoon. ''So, how'd the quality bonding time go?''

. . .

a/n: hope you enjoyed hehe. >:) btw guys, as a dental medicine student, i have successfully put on braces on my first patient aka my brother. the poor boy had to take the sacrifice of things going terribly wrong if i don't manage to straighten up his teeth. rip.

thank you for reading. if there's anything that doesn't make sense in the story, please let me know, my brain is weird sometimes lol. i love you ♡