The Interpreter • Park Jimin X Y/N

Chapter 2

"Kang Consultancy Group, which was suffering from financial difficulty, has declared bankruptcy today," the newsreader said, "The company has loans amounting to up to 10 billion won. Employees of the firm have been protesting outside the main office building from the morning, but the president has not appeared yet."

"Aigo, I feel so bad for them, both the company owner and those who lost their jobs. But what can anyone do? The times have taken everything away from them," the snack shop owner commented in her old, rusty voice.

Just then, the bus arrived and you got into it with your aunt. You were crying incessantly, and your aunt was trying her very best to console you.

* END OF FLASHBACK *

You left the club, where you met your friends, with tears threatening to fall. It was already difficult for you to earn money that way, you didn't need your friends to add to your misery. Your aunt couldn't afford to send you to college, and your father had no money left, trying to pay back the debts.

Having no choice left, you took a break from college, telling them that you would return next year to complete your degree. Since you always got straight A's, the college administration granted you permission to do so. You had to do those minimum wage paying part-time jobs to save up for college, you couldn't even land a high-paying job because you weren't qualified enough.

You walk for around twenty minutes to reach the city office to get a few documents for your next part-time job. Since you didn't carry anything to put the documents in, you have to carry three big files in your hand. It is pitch black, the street lights aren't turned on. You can't see a thing on the deserted road.

You attempt to cross the road, but when you just reach the middle of the street, you see two headlights coming straight toward you. A car comes driving at full speed and you almost get hit by it.

Jimin's POV:

After the argument with my manager, I was driving at full speed toward my apartment. Why does a translator need to be so highly qualified? HYBE can just hire anyone who can speak English and Korean fluently. We desperately need a translator for the upcoming world tour, and all they can do is keep posting a job on their Careers page, asking for one with great degrees.

I was really distracted while driving. Blasting the radio, I try to forget what happened. All my manager did was follow orders from the HR team. He cannot do anything if HYBE is incapable of finding a translator. It's not right for me to get mad at him for doing his job properly.

On top of everything, the road is pissing me off too. No lights are turned on, and my car's headlights are the only source of light. My eyesight has weakened lately. I didn't even bring my glasses with me. I was so mad that I left them in my studio. I was having a hard time looking ahead. Good thing it is very late at night and there isn't a soul on the street.

When I am around a kilometre away from my apartment, I see a hazy figure in the middle of the road. Before I realise what it is, my car gets dangerously close to it. After a while, I figure out that it is a real human, a girl! I try my best to stop the car before hitting her, but it is too late. She has already fallen down, with the papers in her hand flying out similar to how leaves fly out from trees during strong winds.

I start panicking. I cannot get in trouble. Not now, when my new solo album is about to come out. But I have to help the injured girl. I quickly put on my cap, mask and sunglasses, so that no one can identify me.

I get out of my car, but before I can reach her, I hear her crying. Is she badly hurt? I reach where she is crouched on the ground.

"Agassi, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?" I ask her, but she continues to sob incessantly. I tap on her shoulder slightly, but she pays no heed to me.

"Agassi, you need to tell me if you have any bruises so that I can pay for the medical bills." 

That's when she turns to look up at me. "You think your money can solve everything?" she asks between sobs.

I analyse her face for a moment. Her face is red and blotchy, her blue eyes are bloodshot, and her eyelids are puffy. But the emotions her eyes held, aren't those of someone who was hurt physically. It looks like she is sad, she is crying not because she is physically hurt, but because she is emotionally hurt. She is fragile, not because she is physically weak, but because she is mentally weak.

I can see a part of myself in her, and I hate it. I hate how her current state represents how I was not so long ago. I hate it.

"Agassi, you are being irrational. I believe I might have hit you with my car, so I am trying to pay for the damages. Why would I think my money can solve everything?" I say, with emphasis on the last word, "I am trying to use my money to solve the trouble I caused you."

She stands up and looks straight into my eyes. She tries to take a deep breath, but her breath stutters due to the amount of crying she had done.

"I am not hurt, but the papers that just flew away when you were about to hit me with your car, were for my part-time job. They have dirt on them now, I have to use those dirty pieces of paper for my copywriting job. I probably can't even make out what is written on them anymore. What are you going to do about that? How will your money solve this problem? Unlike you, I am poor and desperately need the money I earn." she says.