18

CutiePatootie💕
Let's hang out. We've all been busy lately. I found this new dessert shop that recently opened.

Mia
I guess you really missed me that much huh? And this isn't anything fancy right? I'll pay this time.

. . .

"What? Are you sure there's a dessert place here? This looks like one of those business buildings!" My head tilts back from the tall building.

"It's on higher floors. It's popular for its unique setting." He explains as we get in the elevator.

The elevator vibrates, indicating it's moving. "This still seems like it's an overpriced expensive store. I don't know if-" The motion of the elevator stopping cut me off.

"What the- have we stopped? Are we stuck?" My eyes widen at Jimin.

"I- I think so." He stutters, pulling out his phone to dial some number.

"Oh shit! HELP! THERE'S PEOPLE STUCK IN HERE! " I try to yell in between the doors, hoping someone would hear.

I look around for whatever I think will help us. "I've read an incident before that a person died when the elevator stopped since it eventually fell all the way down and WE will die from the impact!" I panic level rises.

"Chill, I'm calling the maintenance." But no one seemed to pick up since he wasn't speaking to anyone on the phone.

"But what if we fall before they arrive?" I look up at the vent, trying to poke it to see if it will open. But it's fully properly sealed.

"This should open! I see it in movies and that's how they escape!"

"Okay, you just look like an ant trying to be noticed," he chuckles, which starts to piss me off because of his carelessness.

"Stop laughing! This isn't funny, what if this is our death? I haven't even done all the things I want to do yet!" My breath becomes fast and shallow, my panic really starting to kick in.

I clench my eyes shut, trying to sing to calm me down, but tears force itself out. I stay in the corner of the elevator, facing the wall, to hide my face from Jimin.

"Mia? Are you okay? Are you claustrophobic?" He taps my shoulder. I only nod in response, as I couldn't stop the tears anymore. My breathing is heavy as I fan myself, trying any way to calm down. I clutch my shirt tightly.

Jimin spins my shoulder around, squashing my face with both his hands, making me face him with my reddened eyes.

"Just follow me: inhale," he breathes in and I copy shakily. "Exhale." I end up blowing my breath out due to my unstable situation, earning a chuckle from him.

We continue this for a few more breathes, until I've fully composed myself.

He buries my head onto his chest and strokes my hair. I enclose my arms around his waist tightly as I close my eyes, trying to stabilize myself mentally with the help of his body warmth.

His shirt dampens due to my tears, which made me break the comfortable hug. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it'll dry up anyway." He tucks my loose hair behind me ears.

. . .

"Mia..."

I croakily hum, fluttering my eyes open. I straighten my upper body, moving my head away from his shoulder.

"They're here." He whispers. I pull out the earphones and hand them back to Jimin.

"Thanks for the music. It really helped," I smile at him. "How long was I asleep for?"

"Around half an hour."

He gets up, patting the dust behind him. "Get up. They're nearly done." He holds both his hands out, which I use to help me lift myself up.

. . .

We enter the shop, being lucky with the lack of customers. Jimin hides himself with his cap and his hoodie, but doesn't worry much as there was hardly teenage girls present, surprisingly.

"I'll pay this time, alright?" I tell Jimin, feeling in debt from my actions earlier, but he only chuckles apologetically.

My eyes enlargens at the sight of the prices.

"WHAT THE-" My eyebrows furrow from the menu, to Jimin's awkward smile.

"I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE CHEAP?" I whisper-yell at him, my voice squeaking, sounding unpleasant to the ears.

"I get that money is no longer a problem to you, but can't you look back to those moments when you didn't? SHOW SOME EMPATHY!" I scold at him.

Just when I thought he was being thoughtful by going to cheaper places for me to pay, he immediately destroy those thoughts!

"I told you, it's harder for me to go to cheaper places in public where more people are present," he explains. "And I have no problem paying-"

"NO." I cut him off. "I can still afford this," I uncomfortably chuckle at myself, knowing I'm lying.

I still have my pride.

"You'll just be adding more of my loans into your account anyway, so I think it's best not to add more." I pull out my card.

"Look, it's fine! You don't have to pay me back. Your presence is enough payment, okay?" He halts my hands, immediately feeling the warmth and fluttering my heart.

"I don't want to eat alone." He mutters.

"YOU HAVE LIKE- 6 OTHER OPTIONS!" I blurt out.

"Just order whatever you want, and stop being so humble for once." He reassures me.

"Are you sure? Because everything here looks delicious." I say playfully.

"Go ahead."

I turn to the person waiting at the counter to take our order. "Hmm.." I twirl my loose hair, acting like a brat.

"What is the most expensive thing that you have here?" I side-eye Jimin with a smirk on my face.

"Actually, why settle on one, when you can have all of them?" My smirk is wider than ever.

"Remember to order wisely, 'cause karma will punch you in the face when you're paying me back." He whispers in my ears, sending tingles on my spine.

"I thought my presence was enough." I mumble to myself, rolling my eyes.

"What's that?"

"N-nothing." I eyesmile.

"Kidding. Seriously though, order whatever you want to please your stomach. You can even order that whole fridge." He points at the fridge full of tub ice creams.

"No, I'll just get this. I'm actually kinda full anyway. Too much cold dessert makes me feel nauseous later on." I make up whatever story to persuade him I don't want any more.

Aish, the struggles of not having much money. Less ice cream, more worries.

"Okay, can I get this too? And- takeaway please, thanks." He chooses the same thing and pays for it.

Once we got our ice creams, I follow him out.

"Geez, how can something so small cost that much? I could literally buy a whole meal with that price." I rap as I rant. "If you add up the amount of money I owe you because of the incredibly expensive food stores you've brought me to, that would cost much more than my miserable life." I continue, as I lick the melting ice cream.

He laughs, showing off those charming eyes. "Does that mean I can just buy you too?"

That took me off guard. His deep tone made it seem like he was serious.

I couldn't think of anything to say back, so it was awkwardly quiet for a couple of seconds.

"W-well, t-too bad. I'm not for sale." I felt relieved to have said something back.

He scoffs. "Either way, I don't think I could afford you. You're worth more than anything."

My eyebrows furrow at his weird self.

I don't know if you would call that flirting, but I don't want to assume. It's safe not to assume, considering the amount of fun people take from breaking others' hearts. I mean- I don't think Jimin is that type of guy, but I guess you really just can't let your guard down. The dramas I've watched taught me so.

He stops in front of the elevator and clicks the 'down' button.

"There's no way we're getting on that again." I drag his elbow away from the elevator. "We're taking the stairs."

. . .