Chapter 10

The past days felt like a blur to Minjeong. One day, she had been practicing with her friends and losing herself in her usual studies, and the other, it was already the night before the concert. 

And honestly? She felt like dying inside. 

The opportunity to perform again felt like a dream. A once in a lifetime chance, that she planned on wholeheartedly taking. Jimin and the others had done everything in their power to make sure this concert would go well after all, so she could not let them down.

But a part of her felt utterly afraid. The concert wasn’t what was scaring her though. Not at all.

The thought of playing in front of other people after what happened with her mother did. The sole thought of her mother was enough to create a small but growing sensation of stress and anxiety in the pit of her stomach. 

What if she came again, and took her away from music? From her band? From Jimin?

Minjeong could not bear going through this another time. But at the same time, she knows that she can’t run away from her family forever. Because she will need to see them eventually again. For Christmas break that’s coming, and then for the winter break, and then for-

As she was about to swirl into her overthinking tendencies, Minjeong abruptly got cut by the sensation of her phone buzzing against her stomach. She grabbed it, and couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her lips when she saw who the caller was.

“Hello?”

“Minjeong!” Minjeong’s smile widened after hearing this voice she likes oh so much. “I hope I’m not disturbing you…”

Minjeong relaxed a little bit, and laid down on her bed, shuffling on her side. “It’s okay Jimin, you never bother me.”

Jimin chuckled. And gosh was this sound satisfying. “Sweet talker,” teased the older girl. 

“Only with you.”

Was Minjeong being a bit too bold? Definitely. But for her defense, she blames it on her stressed-self!

Jimin paused a bit at her words, before timidly talking again. “A-anyways,” she stuttered. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

Minjeong sighed. “Music-wise, I’m definitely ready, yeah.”

“And.. what about mentally?” tentatively asked Jimin. 

Of course she knows. It was as if Jimin had a Minjeong 6th sense or something. How come she manages to reach out whenever Minjeong feels at her worst? 

“I want to say that I’m fine, but that would be lying,” she started. She heard Jimin shuffle a bit on the other end of the line. “I’m honestly really stressed…” she sheepishly admitted.

“It’s normal Minjeongie. But we will be fine, okay? You’re not alone in this, I promise. We’re all here to support you, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to rely on us!”

Jimin’s voice sounded like honey in Minjeong’s ears. And her words felt like a soft hug at the end of a long day. Comfortable. 

They had only been talking for a couple minutes, but Minjeong’s nerves already felt way more at ease than they did when she was busy overthinking all by herself. 

“Thank you Jimin,” she suddenly blurted out. For some reason, she felt the urge to thank the older girl. Not just for cheering her up now, but for everything she has done for her ever since they met. 

Before meeting Jimin, Minjeong was mostly closed in on herself, with the only exception of a human’s soul allowed next to her being Yizhuo. But after her strange encounter with the other woman in the empty classroom, it was as if Minjeong’s life gained the colors that vanished from her life long ago. 

Jimin brought warmth with her in Minjeong’s life. But she also showed her how it feels to be free to make her own decisions, to create and walk her own path. And she’s deeply thankful for that.