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"BROUGHT some refreshments," jimin said in a humming tune, returning from the mini refrigerator just a few feet away inside the relatively small dorm room, only to stop in his tracks a few moments later to seulgi with her head flat on the small studying table right in front of his bottom bunk, replying with a single, monotonous grunt, to which he wasn't quite sure if it meant she comprehended what he had just said.

he tried to fight the smile on his face as he jokingly cleared his throat.

she lifted her head up, her bangs sticking in tufts on her forehead. he thought she looked cute like this: bare face with a flush of acne scars on on of her cheeks, wearing nothing but leftover mascara on her face. she was in an off-white sweater and denim shorts, and her monolid eyes were half-lidded.

he remembered what she had said about his comment regarding her appearance. what else am i supposed to wear if i'm just going to hang out at your dorm, jimin?

"what?" she asked.

"i said," he repeated, walking closer towards her, "i brought some refreshments."

seulgi looked up at jimin, in jersey shorts and a tank top that exposed the side of his torso, his dark hair pushed back, the obvious baby fat in his cheeks still present and his tan skin right in front of her. they locked eyes for a minute, before she turned her attention to the two bottles he had with him: two soju bottles, one in each hand.

"soju is all the refreshment you can offer?" jimin smiled as he placed the two bottles on the table. "aren't you supposed to be offering me, what, lemonade, or something?"

"and you're not supposed to be questioning a broke college student's choice of lifestyle," he replied, mocking the playful sarcasm in her voice. "because last time i checked, we're just about the same level." she rolled her eyes at him as he sat down beside her and exhaled audibly as he laid one of his arms on the bed behind them, placing the arm behind seulgi's head, letting her head fall down on it, exhaling herself. then, they both fell silent again.

seulgi had been bugging jimin constantly the night before if she could spend her saturday at his dorm so she could read a script she just got and probably practice too - because there was no way in hell that she was practicing in her noisy dorm with her new roommate in the same room; that wendy chick seemed way too proper for her liking - and with jimin's weak resolve when it came to his girlfriend, seeing that he may need to study for his elective class's test the following day, he still said yes to her that night, bugged his roommate yoongi if he could have the room for the rest of the day, and opened her door to her the next day at eight-thirty in the morning, still in his boxer shorts.

and here they were, approximately five hours later, still bored and silent at the same time.

jimin brought the bottle to his lips and took one gulp before putting it back on the table, turning his attention to seulgi, who was reading what looked like a script. he took note of her soft breathing and her delicate hands on the pieces of white paper as he buried his nose in her untied hair, relishing in the sweet strawberry scent.

"what's that, baby?" he asked, his lips pressing on the crown of her head.

"a script," seulgi said, sighing as she read.

jimin rolled his eyes. "i know it's a script," he said as he began playing with her hair, "i asked to know what it's about."

seulgi let her hand fall down to her lap, bringing the piece of paper with it, placing her lips in a pout that wasn't visible to jimin. "it's a new play, another historical drama. seohyun unnie gave it to me." she blinked rapidly. "she said she wanted me to audition for a part. any part."

he raised an eyebrow. "and what is that?"

she lifted her head up to face him, her forehead all scrunched up. "what is what?"

"this." he brought his two index fingers to her cheeks, slowly running them to the sides of her lips, which were pointing downwards, her pout now visible to him. he tried to mimic the pout she had on, but with undeniably happy eyes, which made her push him away, whining.

"what?" jimin asked, half-chuckling, letting himself fall to the floor. he scanned her facial features, sitting back up to push her bangs back to reveal more of her face. "is something up?"

"no." she avoided his gaze, and it was obvious that there was something. he almost smiled at that again.

"there obviously is."

"no, there isn't."

"seulgi."

"what? i'm not lying."

"i didn't ask if you were lying."

"it's because i'm not."

"alright," jimin said, resuming his position from earlier, his back turned from his bed beside her. seulgi pouted at him some more as he drank from his bottle, looking at her with his seemingly innocent eyes, a smirk hidden by his drinking, until she rested her head on his shoulder, and one of her hands on his knees. jimin, cautious at first, slowly slid his right hand into hers, curling it around her fingers, until seulgi sighed a sigh of instant relief as his hand's warmth flushed into her own, curling her fingers into his.

then, silence again. it wasn't an awkward type of silence, he figured, so it was fine. but jimin was getting used to it; he hated that he was liking it.

"chim?" seulgi's voice came out as a loud murmur, and he could still hear the pout.

"yes, babe?"

"can i ask you something?" he turned his head to the direction of her head, even though he knew he had no clear view of her face.

"yes, baby, anything." he wondered if he sounded too antsy, like he really wanted her to tell him - and he did - because he didn't want to discourage her.

seulgi paused for a while, before huffing and speaking in almost the same volume as before, "am i a bad actress?"

jimin blinked. how am i supposed to answer that?

"a bad actress?" he repeated, his tone more unsure than before. "why'd you get to that?"

"just answer the question, babe," seulgi replied, her voice more audible now.

he just blinked again. "well, to be honest-"

seulgi lifted her head up, facing him, her arms crossed against her chest. "to be honest what?"

"y-you're not bad at it—"

"you're not siding with me on this, aren't you?" she began to ask, nearing his face as she moved closer, her arms still crossed. she raised an eyebrow. this is not going to end well.

jimin hurriedly put his hands up in defeat, trying to fight the smile creeping up his face. "—but i-i can't honestly say you're awesome at it—"

"i knew it," she said, glaring at him, getting up to sit on his bed, leaving the script on the table, "my own boyfriend thinks i'm a sucky actress. what a day."

"okay, i did not call you a bad actress, there has been no part of this conversation where i said that." he bit his lip to keep himself from smiling, much to no avail.

"oh, yeah. you didn't?"

"i didn't," he replied, his eyes shrinking to half their normal size as she smiled. she rolled her eyes at him as she plopped on the mattress, making the wooden bunk creak. "hey, i didn't say you're a sucky actress, alright? i just, well, implied it—"

"seriously? you're playing this right now?" she sighed through her nose, her nostrils flaring as she breathed, jimin beside her fighting the urge to laugh, which probably explained why he had a huge smirk on his face. "on the one day i thought i could count on you for support." seulgi sat upright on his bed, her arms crossed and her legs tucked in front of her, glaring at him.

jimin rolled his eyes playfully, slowly standing up to sit beside her on the bed. "c'mon, baby, i was joking," he replied, trying to snake her arms around her, only to be defeated as she moved away from his grasp. "seulgi. baby, don't be like this." he sat closer to her, letting his nose nuzzle into her cheek as she still fought it, playfully pouting as he laid his head on her lap, smiling up at her glaring eyes.

he let her glare at him for briefly a minute before asking, "can i talk?" in the smallest voice possible that seulgi closed her eyes and exhaled, before nodding slightly.

"i'm sorry, baby, i thought i could joke around," he cooed, reaching up to touch her cheek.

"you could have at least lied that you like my acting, you know," she replied. "it would've been nice to know you were on my side. even if you did hate my acting."

"i don't hate your acting, baby, i'm sorry." jimin pouted. "i'd lie some more if it means making you feel better."

she smiled as she immediately melted into his touch, bringing her face closer and kissing his knuckles.

she sighed, pouting as she ran her hand through jimin's hair, sweeping it away from his face as he gazed into her eyes, patiently waiting for her to speak.

"i'm flunking my method acting class," she said, exhaling deeply. she tried to smile to hide her faint expression, but she lost it as soon as she saw jimin look at her. "i have no idea if my professor hates me, or if i really am as bad an actress as i think i am."

jimin sighed, his face becoming more neutral. "what'd he say?"

"he said that my eyes don't seem to say as much as my voice does. all i do is look down when i act a certain way. my eyes just give my acting away." seulgi started twisting tufts of jimin's hair in her fingers, his hand still on her cheek. "bottom line," she said, biting her lip before continuing, "it sucks."

she felt his eyes on her as soon as she finished, looking to see both of them locked onto hers. she bit the inside of her cheek as she played with her hair some more. "sorry, i probably sound like an idiot."

"no, you don't. you sound like a theater major, which you are," jimin replied, kissing the back of her hand. "don't let one professor's comment bring you down, baby, even if you aren't that good, you're going to get better soon." he smiled again, brighter than ever, and she could feel herself smile, too. "it's okay to feel unconfident about your skills, too, that happens to me often, you're not alone."

seulgi raised an eyebrow. "yours is different, you're the best dancer in your class."

"doesn't mean i don't have my bad days, though."

 seulgi sighed as she tried to smile, looking at him straight in the eyes. jimin had that pondering look in his eyes again; as a college student who spent most of his time dancing or out of his dorm room at least, he didn't put on his thinking face much, which made her notice almost immediately. he got up and grabbed the papers by the study table, handed them over to her direction, and resumed his position laying down on her lap.

"read for me," he said, in the cutest, most innocent way as seulgi reluctantly took the script.

"what?" seulgi replied, confused. "why woul-"

"your professor said that your eyes don't say as much as your voice does," he said, snaking his arms around her waist. "i want to be that judge of that. convince me otherwise."

"this is silly, chim-"

"no, it's not." he looked up at her, a few strands of his hair tickling her thighs in the process, making her smile as he smiled. "just read for me, okay?"

seulgi stared down at the script in her hands, then at jimin on her lap. she cleared her throat before turning her attention back to the script, and started to read from it.

"'it was a mistake, oppa'," she began, looking down at jimin the first moments, then going on, "'because i thought that i could love you the way that the butterflies come for the flowers, or the way the eagles kiss the oceans, and expect that you'd love me in return.'"

jimin looked at her intently, every crease her forehead made, every crinkle her nose made, even the shade her eyes turned into. at one point he made sure to push a strand of her hair back behind her ear as she spoke. "'war is going to tear this country apart, but if it means anything, i will sit here and i will wait for your return, and wait for the answer i hope for.'"

park jimin held kang seulgi's hand even tighter. she is so beautiful.

"general-" seulgi cut herself off with a pause, closing her eyes and looking down at jimin. "ah, chim, this is silly-"

"you're right," he said, smirking again, "which is why i haven't been listening."

she glared at him, raising one of her eyebrows, "seriously?"

"yeah."

"you make me read this script in front of you, and you don't even-"

"i was busy looking at your eyes, seulgi. these beautiful, dark eyes," he said, rubbing his thumb dangerously close to her left eye's edge. "i wasn't listening the entire time you said two lines from the script-" seulgi rolled her eyes, almost smiling at him. 

"-but from those two lines, i came to know one thing," he said, sitting up in front of her, pushing his hair back so he could better see her, ghosting his lips closer to hers as he kept his hold on her and laid his forehead on hers.

"your eyes speak volumes louder than any heart can shout."

-----

SEULGI observed the small droplets of rain by the window, being dragged out by the wind and speed of the moving vehicle. she hugged herself in the jacket she unhooked from her apartment a minute ago, and she could still taste the wine on her tongue at four in the morning.

the silence was eerie, except for the whirring of the cab's engine, and it caused a lot of her thoughts to corrupt her mind so easily.

she somehow ended up recalling the events of last night in that cab; how she had given the speech of her lifetime at wendy's rehearsal dinner, how jimin somehow got her message, tears falling from her eyes and how he confronted her and didn't get the answer he wanted, only to be left alone in the lobby of the hotel. seulgi knew better than to talk to him a few hours after it had happened, especially since he had another date - another girl - to attend to, having slept at her place instead of his own room. she didn't know if he had that much control over himself, or if he didn't care at all now.

but when he showed up a few minutes before seulgi was ready to leave, a dusty duffel bag in her hand, him standing in front of the doorway with his tie undone and his hair wavier than last night, she thought he was there to stop her.

but he wasn't.

there was only a that's my duffel bag from jimin, the only words that didn't seem to matter at that night, to which seulgi replied a i don't have time for this jimin and a i have a cab waiting for me. but jimin didn't think twice when he said i'm not here to stop you.

instead, he stepped aside and let her out, holding open and closing the door behind her as he lowered his gaze to the ground, seulgi not even daring to look at his eyes herself, and walked away again. 

and a few moments later, here she was, in a dustier taxi cab at dawn, pondering if the ways they parted off from could have gone any better. it was for the best, she had hoped; her moving out would only mean more room for jimin to finally move on, to be with mina, at the very least. she wouldn't be there to cause any trouble anymore, and they could finally be at peace.

well, at least he could be at peace.

she looked out the window. starting from that night, where the streets of seoul still glowed dewy from behind the windows of the taxi cab, she was no longer jimin's roommate; even if she still had to return to get a few stuff and officially do the moving out paperwork. her relationship with him was now being reduced to uneventful strangers, little by little as the cab drew further from the apartment to her destination. she wondered if she ever got to become someone else to her, more than a roommate, because if he did want things to stay the same, he would've stopped her. he could've looked into her eyes and told her not to leave.

but he didn't.

she saw her reflection on the window. your eyes speak volumes louder than any heart can shout. "this is the place, oppa, this'll do."

she stepped out the cab, shutting the door behind her with her suitcase in front of her as a momentary thought struck her: she hadn't even said goodbye to jimin before she left.

he deserved that, right? at least a goodbye.

she held on tight to her umbrella as she waited for the door to open, shivering slightly in the cold she was currently in. the door swung open after a few rings of the doorbell, revealing wendy, in a white bathrobe over her pajamas, her hair down and her makeup non-existent.

here she was, saying hello to wendy for the billionth time, when she couldn't even bid jimin farewell properly. what a weakling.

"hi, wendy," seulgi said, on the verge of tears again, trying to smile her way out of a scolding by the former. but wendy didn't; instead, she embraced her, like the sister she's always been to her, rubbing her back as yoongi leaned by the doorway of the living room, his hands shoved into his pajama pockets.

"hi, roommate."

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okay i might legit republish this but hey here's chapter 24!

- nayeonsbunny -