◇▪~《 c h a p t e r  33 》~▪◇

❝ ᴡʜᴏ ❞

The doorbell hung above jingled when the door was pushed. The sound of blasting music and loud chatters took over. It was noisy compared to the outside and the bar reeked of alcohol. 

The man walked in, ignoring the couple beside him who were eating each other's faces off. He went straight to the bartender station and took a seat on the stool there. 

"Same as always?" the bartender asked. 

The man nodded at that and slid in the payment on the table. The bartender took it and went to grab his drink. 

Suddenly, a call came in and the man's phone vibrated in his pocket. He heaved a sigh before taking out his phone to see who was calling. Seeing the caller ID, he rolled his eyes and hung up the call.

"Girlfriend?" the bartender asked as he handed him a glass and a bottle of whiskey. 

The man took the bottle and poured a good amount of the whiskey into the glass before gulping it down. "Nah, just someone annoying," he replied.

The bartender nodded and once again tried to guess, "A fan? Or… someone who takes a liking to you?" He wriggled his eyebrow, having someone in his mind.

The man raised his brow. "Isn't that the same?" he asked.

The bartender shrugged. "It depends on the situation," he said. "So, who's the girl who takes a liking to you?" he asked, although he knew who it was.

The man chuckled. "Aren't you getting too comfy for a bartender?"

"Yah! We are friends too! What do you mean by that, Yoongi?!" the bartender whined and crossed his arms on his chest.

"What I meant is mind your own business, Hoseok," Yoongi said as he shook his head. He gulped another cup of whiskey and sighed. 

Hoseok clicked his tongue before taking a chair and sitting down on it. "I think I am gonna close down my bar," he started.

Yoongi's eyes widened at that. "Why?" he asked.

"Why don't you mind your own business, hyung—"

"Don't try my own dialogue on me." Yoongi cut him off.

Hoseok rolled his eyes, dissatisfied with his friend's attitude. "Fine. I just want to close it down because we're getting busy as artists. Our popularity suddenly shot up in a week. Soon we will have to get into more activities and promotions. This bar will be a burden."

Yoongi nodded his head, understanding his situation but even so, he asked to make sure, "But, it belongs to your dad. Are you sure you want to close it down?" 

Hoseok was silent for a moment, trying to make his final decision. "Well, this bar wasn't exactly his treasure. He worked here just to earn money to raise me," he answered.

"Excuse me, can I get a bottle of whiskey?" a woman chimed in, taking a seat closer to them. 

"Ah, sure! Right away!" Hoseok rushed to the shelves to grab a bottle and a glass. 

While he was away, the woman took a glance at Yoongi. She breathed in the air and smirked when she picked up a scent. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Yoongi sighed and gulped down his whiskey. "Yes," he simply replied.

The woman raised a brow, surprised by his boldness. "Name's Lethania. What's yours? Ah wait, I don't have to ask. I already know who you are, Min Yoongi." Lethania said and smirked.

"If you know who I am, then you should know by now that I don't appreciate people who sneak into my private life—especially saesangs." Yoongi spat, finally turning to glare at her.

Lethania flailed her hand in the air and chuckled. "Ah sorry, you must have misunderstood. I know you but not by that. I found out about you through someone you really cherish and had lost." 

Yoongi's eyebrows furrowed along with his narrowed eyes. A thought crossed his mind but he doubted it. Lethania easily cleared it up just by uttering a few simple words.

"I know your sister," she whispered and giggled. 

Yoongi's eyes widened and the glass in his hand almost slipped. "What?" His voice came out small but she heard him clearly.

She giggled again and her lips curved into a smirk when she stopped. "Wanna hear something even more interesting?" She stood up and leaned closer to his ear, "I have known her since her youth till the day she lay dead and after."

Chills ran down his spine after receiving the shocking information. His eyes glanced at the glass in his hand. He tightened it, planning to crash it against her head but before he could do it, she already figured him out.

Yoongi flinched when his hand was abruptly held down by an unknown force. He gritted his teeth and a groan left his lips as the force was getting stronger and stronger, hurting his wrist. 

"Ah, ah~ I wouldn't do that if I were you." She cooed and grabbed onto his chin before whispering, "Now, shall we visit your sister?"

Hoseok, who just got back from being delayed by a drunkard who caused a ruckus, brought with him the bottle of whiskey Lethania had ordered before. 

He halted when he saw no one was sitting by the counter. He walked slowly towards it as he looked around in search of his hyung and the woman. He frowned and placed down the bottle before crossing his arms.

"Did he go home? And what's with the woman ordering if she isn't going to drink?" Hoseok complained as he shook his head. He was about to put the bottle back up when someone slammed on the counter.

Hoseok jumped and luckily caught the bottle before it could hit the table. He turned to look at who it was and heaved a sigh of relief. "Seriously, Hae do you have to be this aggressive?"

"Where's Yoongi?" Hae asked, glaring at Hoseok when he had nothing to do with Yoongi's attitude towards her.

Hoseok shrugged before replying, "I don't know. He was here before but I think he just left." 

Hae took a sharp inhale before taking out her phone and once again calling Yoongi. "Pick up…" she growled but a familiar robotic female voice took over. Heat rose to her cheeks and she was ready to blow up when she met him.

She turned to look at Hoseok and he flinched at her glare. Hoseok cleared his throat. "Don't blame me… it's not my business." he squeaked out his last words. 

A sigh left Hae's lips. "Call me when he's here again."

Hoseok nodded his head. "Will do."

To this, Hae forced a smile and gave a polite bow in which Hoseok returned before taking her to leave. 

Hoseok watched her walk out of his bar and hear the bell jingles. He shook his head before chuckling. "Love is really stressful."

"F*ck!"

"Jimin, please calm down."

"Y/N...this is our 100th time explaining!" Jimin whined, almost pulling out his hair.

Y/N heaved a sigh, facepalming. "Stop exaggerating, it's only the 10th time. Plus, he's a kid."

"Kids are stupid."

"Hey! Don't be rude! And watch your language!" Y/N whisper-shouted and slapped Jimin's arm to which he hissed. 

"I just wanna get my ice cream," The boy whined on the verge of tearing up.

Y/N turned 180 degrees from Jimin and wore a wide smile when her eyes met the little boy in front of her. She kneeled once again and held the boy's hands. 

"I know I know. But my dear, this isn't the place to get ice cream. This place is complicated you see and isn't a place for a little boy like you." she cooed as she caressed the boy's head.

"But I have a feeling I can get an ice cream here." The boy pouted.

Y/N's smile dropped, feeling sorry that she couldn't get him an ice cream.

"Kid, stop pestering my girlfriend and find your ice cream somewhere else!" Jimin chimed in as he tried to fix the printer that he thought was broken. 

Y/N's cheeks flushed when she heard what he called her but decided to ignore it as it wasn't the time to be all lovey-dovey. 

Tears were building in the corner of the boy's eyes. His lips started to quiver and Y/N just knew he was going to explode. In just a second, the boy burst into tears.

Jimin jumped at the loud cries, leaving what he was doing. Y/N tried her best to comfort the boy but her voice was overlapped by his cries.

"I have to get ice cream! Mama says she wants ice cream!" he cried.

Y/N's eyebrows furrowed after hearing that. "Mama?" the question slipped from her lips. She turned to look at Jimin who too had a frown on his face. He nodded his head and Y/N knowing what he meant once again tried to calm the boy down.

"Stop crying, little one. Noona will help you get ice cream!" she said, successfully calming the boy down.

The boy sniffed and hiccuped. "Really?"

"Yes, but do you mind telling me why you want to get ice cream for your mom?" Y/N slowly asked.

The boy rubbed his nose before replying, "Mama says she wants to try out ice cream before she goes to sleep. M-Mama's already asleep yesterday b-but I still must get her an ice cream…" the boy stuttered through his words and even if his language was of a child, Y/N understood what he meant.

Y/N's eyes softened so did Jimin's. Her hands cupped his cheeks as she once again pulled her lips into a smile. "Thank you for telling me. Now, noona will help you get your ice cream," she said before standing up and holding out her hand for the boy to hold.

The boy hesitated but finally grabbed onto it timidly. Y/N giggled at that and turned to look at Jimin. "Told you to be calm~" she teased.

Jimin cleared his throat, looking everywhere but them. "Sorry," he apologised as he held out his hand for the boy to grab so they could form a truce. However, the boy ignored his hand and refused to forgive him. He stuck out his tongue at Jimin before hiding behind Y/N.

"You—" Jimin's words were cut off by Y/N's spontaneous burst of laughter. 

Jimin scoffed, finding this behaviour absurd but decided to let it slide as he was just a kid. He wasn't childish to fight with a kid, was what he thought but a few minutes ago he was about to start a fight with the boy.

Y/N, who was still a little giddy, brought the boy to the bookshelf before reaching out her hand to grab the golden book. She pulled it and prompted the shelf to slide to the side, revealing the secret room.

The boy's mouth opened in awe. She giggled at the boy's reaction before trying to walk in but halted when she felt the tug on her shirt. She looked down to see the boy holding tightly to her shirt, not wanting to step into the room. "Don't worry, it's safe." Y/N cooed, trying to convince him.

The boy stared at her for a moment before nodding his head. She smiled at that and walked in with him climbing tightly to her. Jimin scoffed from behind but followed them anyway. 

After reaching further inside, Y/N turned around to look at the boy and crouched down to his same level. "I will ask you to close your eyes and when you open it, you will be at an ice cream store but first, do you want noona to follow you?" she kindly offered.

The boy shook his head and smiled. "It's okay, noona! I can do it myself. Mama said I am a big boy so I should do everything myself when she's not here for me."

Y/N's eyes widened in surprise but later they softened. Although her smile curved upwards, it still appeared sad. She then ruffled the boy's hair and chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Jun woo!" the boy chirped.

"Jun woo…" she trailed before smiling again. "You can close your eyes now, Jun woo. Don't open it even if the wind blows on you. You will know when to open so don't worry," she reminded the boy.

It would be a lie if she said she wasn't worried. She wanted to follow him but seeing how confident the boy was, she decided to put her trust in him. 

"When you reach there, remember why you are there and what your purpose is. Don't ever forget it." Jimin piped in, leaving another reminder.

The boy said nothing and nodded his head, already keeping his eyes closed. 

Satisfied, Jimin averted his attention to Y/N and jerked his head, telling her to leave now. He walked away first with her following behind slowly.

She turned to take a last look at the boy before stepping out of the room. The shelf slowly closed when Jimin pushed in the golden book. The boy was finally blocked from Y/N's view when the bookshelf shut the opening to the room.

Her eyes stared at the bookshelf as she dove into her deep thoughts. Jimin's eyebrows furrowed as he wondered why she was acting out of place.

"Y/N?" He called and held her shoulder, pulling her out from her train of thoughts.

"Ah sorry, I was just thinking about someone."

"Who?"

At that, she smiled sadly. "My brother. I miss him a lot..." she answered as she fiddled with her fingers. 

Jimin's heart squeezed after hearing that and he pulled her into his embrace. She naturally wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. With his hand, Jimin caressed her head.

No words were needed between them as their actions spoke louder of their feelings for each other. Y/N knew she could feel better just by being in his arms and Jimin knew she needed it.

A smile appeared on both their faces as by being together, they were both comforted.

The door creaked open when Y/N pushed it. She walked in while massaging her nape, trying to relieve the tension over it. The door closed behind when she pushed it with her leg.

It was a busy day and customers kept coming in. There wasn't a time to relax until now, although Jimin was still up there handling another customer. 

Jimin insisted Y/N take her rest and that he will take over. She refused it a few times but ended up losing to him and now she's in his room to take her rest but before she could climb on the bed, a creak from the door was heard.

"Jimin, you closed the shop already?" she asked as she patted the pillow, not bothering to turn around and look.

Receiving no replies, her eyebrows furrowed. She finally turned around and a scream almost left her lips when she saw who stood in front of her but thankfully it came out as a gasp instead.

She pressed her hand against her chest as she was frightened. She could feel her heart beating fast and loudly. "Jeez, Valentine, do you have to scare me like that? You can just say it's you instead of sneaking in."

A smile appeared on the devil. "Sorry about that. I forgot to announce my arrival." 

Y/N arched her brow when she detected the stiffness in her voice. "Valent, are you okay?" she asked as she closed in, looking at her with her narrowed eyes.

"Better than ever," she said, smiling brightly.

"Weird. You usually would say, 'okay is an understatement' Or something else but never positive," she threw in her suspicions as she stared intensely at her.

It was a moment of tension in the air before Y/N broke it with a laugh. "Just kidding. It's nice to hear that. You're usually so negative so I am glad you said that." She smiled and patted her arm. "Now, why are you here? Do you have something to say?" she asked and turned around, getting back into adjusting the pillows.

Suddenly, a sting attacked her head followed by a pang of dizziness. She tried grabbing Valentine's shoulder but she pushed her hand away, causing her to fall on the bed. 

Her eyelids grew heavy and her consciousness slowly faded out. Before she fell into the darkness, she heard some words from the woman she trusted so much.

"Time to sleep now, dearie. You need the energy to meet someone." 

[ Edited by Sanabuii ]