ACT XIV | SCENE LXX

❝CONVENIENCE STORE❞

JANGMI WAS CONSCIOUS of the man trailing a few steps behind them as they walked. jimin took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers in a natural fluid motion, his eyes casted downwards in thought. she held on tight, latching to him like an anchor. if she was being honest, he was the only thing keeping her grounded at the moment.

the whole situation still felt surreal to her. like she was staring at someone else's life through their eyes. it had already been over twenty four hours since the dreadful moment she realised rosalie had been kidnapped. and it seemed like all the channels that were deployed were getting nowhere. it was driving her insane and she kept suppressing the urge to just stand and yell into oblivion or until she lost her voice.

there was a painful ache in her chest that hadn't gone away since the whole ordeal began. and she knew it wouldn't leave until her daughter was found, until she saw her and held her in her arms. her grip on jimin's hand tightened and he looked at her. neither of them had said anything to each other since they had been out hours ago. the only time she had spoken wasn't even to him. it was to hoseok who'd had a mini panic attack on the phone, telling her he'd be on the next flight out of cape verde. it took a lot to convince him otherwise and she had to promise to keep him updated every hour.

"ready to go back home?" jimin whispered, giving her hand a squeeze. "ah, yeah, i guess. we've been out the whole day." she mumbled, glancing down at their intertwined hands. her lips pursed, realising just how much physical contact she and jimin had had in the past two days. she ordinarily wouldn't allow it but right now, it was something she greatly needed. she needed the comfort that he offered.

they turned the corner back towards the street where jangmi's home was at. their pace slowed, not eager to return to the house without rosalie there. she sighed deeply, tugging at the ponytail she had pulled her hair into before they left.

"where do you want to go after?" he questioned out of the blue. she moved her gaze up to see his soft brown eyes already fixed on her. "go after what?" her brows furrowed together. "where do you want to go after we get rosalie back?" his voice was low, a little gritty and it made her wonder if he'd been crying when she wasn't paying attention. she casted her gaze downwards in thought. "i don't know. i'll just be glad to have her back." he pressed his lips together at her response. "we will. we have to."

she glanced at him, a tight smile on her face as she moved her head in a nod. "i'm going to buy her a bucket load of chocolate croissants." he popped out cutely, staring up at the warm gold sky of dusk. her gaze followed his and her lips pulled up in a sad smile. she really had no desire to spend another night without her daughter. her heart throbbed painfully at the thought of rosalie being scared out of her wits by herself.

she began to tear up at the thought. "i'm sure she'll be so excited to—" jimin froze when he glanced over at jangmi to see tears freely rolling down her cheeks. "y-you're crying again." he pointed out the obvious, stopping in his steps, he turned to face her. he brought his free hand up and wiped her tearstained cheeks. "she's alone, jimin. i'm not there, you're not there, hoseok's not with her, not even taehyung or namjoon to soothe her. she'll be so scared. she's such a bright kid. i don't want to think of what this would do to her. she—"

"shh," he pulled her into a tight hug. "don't think about that. just focus on getting her back, okay?" his hand ran up her back comfortingly. "she'll be fine, i promise." he whispered, feeling her nuzzle into the crook of his neck, tears wetting his t-shirt. he ran his fingers through her hair, humming a soft tune. "no more crying, okay? you want to look bright and beautiful for when rosalie comes back." he said when she finally pulled away. sniffing, she nodded, allowing him to wipe her tears. his lips quirked up on one side, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

his phone buzzed then and he broke eye contact. glancing down, he reached for his phone in his jeans quickly. "hello?" his voice rose with expectation. "yeah, do you have any news?" jangmi just listened to his half of the conversation, watching the several expressions that passed across his face. "really? are you sure? call me when you get more information." jangmi stared at him with big eyes, waiting for him to end the call. "w-what happened?" she queried as he shoved the phone back in his pocket, a somewhat brightened expression on his face.

"the guy miss shin described? he was caught on camera in a convenience store."

☀️☀️☀️

in case y'all freak out, the man trailing after jimin and jangmi is the security detail protecting them.
so we have a hint of their first clue in finding rosalie. what would he have been looking for at a convenience store? it could be anything at this point. what do you think? i'll be posting a sneak peek of the next chapter on my ig if you want a clue! have a lovely day/night! - t