ACT XI | SCENE LII

❝AUDITION❞

[five years earlier]
august 2012

SOMETHING WAS WRONG. jangmi could feel it in her bones. at first, jimin had become distant, talking to her less and less. and now they hadn't spoken a word to each other in more than two weeks. it would be more accurate to say that jimin hadn't spoken to her in all that time. she hadn't even caught a glimpse of him in all that time. he'd written her the sweetest letter that had her insides turning to mush and then all of a sudden there was radio silence. he ignored all her calls and he was never at any of the usual places.

she was stuffing her face with spicy chicken wings, reading the random letter he'd sent out of the blue before he disappeared. she'd been eating a lot lately, feeling hungry every so often. she'd assumed the increase in appetite was her way of dealing with jimin seemingly cutting her off.

she had even sent him a text the week the neglect had begun, telling him she'd twisted her ankle and was scared she wouldn't be able to audition for the dance company she wanted to join. he never sent a reply. and he never called her. he still hadn't. at first, she'd been scared that something had happened to him but when she called taehyung, he'd said he was fine and they were speaking regularly.

tossing the piece of paper to the other side of the couch, she picked up her phone and dialed jimin's number again. it went to voicemail as it seemed to always do. letting out a loud groan, she chucked the phone, watching it land between the two throw pillows that had fallen on the floor. her eyes were beginning to well up with tears. taking a big sniff, she blinked them back, dumping the half eaten chicken wing back into the box. if this was his way of trying to break up with her, then he was no different from her lunch. she felt distaste rise at the back of her throat at the cowardly route he was taking.

but she just wanted to be wrong. she didn't want to think that the boy she loved was abandoning her without even the courtesy of an explanation. the jimin she knew would never do that. and not to her.

pushing herself up, she went to wash her hands in the sink. as she lathered her hands with soap, she heard the front door open. she twisted around, trying to see who it was, wishing it was jimin. "mimi!" her shoulders drooped at the sound of hoseok's voice. rinsing her hands under the tap, she listened to the sound of his approaching footsteps. "what the hell is this?" she heard him mutter behind her. she could tell he was staring at the four boxes of chicken she'd eaten.

"did you eat all this by yourself?" he asked as she turned to face him. "i was really hungry." she shrugged, ignoring his perturbed expression. "how did you eat four boxes of this stuff at once?" he exclaimed, disbelief colouring his voice. her shoulders only shrugged again. it was then that he took in her appearance. "han jangmi," he started calmly. "what the fuck are you wearing?" he eyed her from head to toe, nose crinkling. her long brown hair was a bird's nest atop her head, her big gray t-shirt had what looked like sauce stains on the front and her black sweatpants hung loose around her waist. "comfortable clothes." she answered, glancing down at herself.

"you should be wearing a ballet dancer's clothes because your audition is in less than two hours!" he threw his hands up. her eyes widened with realisation. "have you even had a bath?" he questioned, giving her another once-over. "no," she mumbled with a shake of her head. "oh my god, this girl." he shut his eyes and let out an exasperated breath. "it's because of him, isn't it? you forgot because your mind was on that boy who i am going to beat to a pulp because he promised me he will never hurt my little sister."

her lips curled up at that. she couldn't imagine hoseok beating anyone. and she also really liked it when he called her his little sister. his eyes narrowed at her. "you think i can't do it?" he folded his arms over his chest. giggling, she shook her head. "you can't even kill a cockroach without feeling guilty." she pointed out. "hey! murder is murder. it doesn't matter if the life you're taking is that of a disgusting ugly bug." he answered defensively.

she laughed at him, shaking her head at his words. "just go clean up so we can make it in time." he pointed in the direction of her bathroom. still chuckling, she did as she was told. "pig." he commented, watching her go. "i heard that!" she called behind her. "that was the point!"

and with just his presence, hoseok made her feel much better. and even if just for a while, managed to get her moving and her mind off jimin.

☀️☀️☀️

okay, i know i haven't been replying comments but i've been busy i promise i'll reply as soon as i can. but for now enjoy lii