silhouette | jhs ✓

22. Sibling Bond

He was right.

Seren was fallible, just like any other human. But, when it came to her mother – Seren's mistakes were nearly inexcusable. She was the one that took the blame, whether she wanted to or not, all based on Hana's suspicions.

Seren just knew she would hear it from Hana the morning after. She would be blamed for taking Jimin out of his home at such a late hour. She was aware of what she did, and how she called Jimin over for her selfish intentions.

That's when reality struck her helpless and feeble mind.

When she realized how much of a bad idea it was to call Jimin over to her house when there was a stalker around.

Her palms began to sweat as she thought about how the stalker would feel if he saw Jimin arrive at her place at such a late hour, how wrong it seemed when he didn't know that Jimin was just her helpful younger brother.

The vomit that once wanted to erupt from before made its presence known. It weighed down in her stomach like heavy bricks as she tried to think of other things that could possibly ground her, her fingertips silently tapping the cup in her hands.

"Seren?" Jimin angled his head, watching her fingers tap to a rhythm he didn't recognize. "I promise that everything will be alright. Mom won't get mad, and if she does, I'll tell her that it was my decision to come."

He tried searching for her eyes, lowering his posture.

"No, it's okay," she finally spoke, raising her head. "I figured she'd get upset. But, it's just- I feel really bad for dragging you out of bed and having you come here all for my selfish needs."

Jimin snorted, shaking his head. "If you're afraid that you woke me up, trust me, you didn't."

Seren couldn't help but snicker, shutting her eyes for a moment. "Really? You sounded tired over the phone."

"Well, I was laying down. But, I was nowhere near sleepy." He revealed a smile, his slightly crooked tooth peeking through his pudgy pink lips.

It made her grin, favoring his teeth arrangement.

"Anyway, don't worry about me." Jimin returned, sighing. "Finish your tea, and we can sleep everything off."

She agreed, taking a larger sip of her tea. "You can sleep up in my room, it's too dark down here."

Seren just wanted him to be in her room, she didn't trust being in her living room at such a late hour.

Mostly because she was afraid the shadow would come back and watch her through her window. She felt safer when she was up one story, watching him at an elevated angle, knowing that, at her height, she would be almost untouchable.

"Great. I didn't wanna have to sleep alone down here." Jimin chuckled bashfully, searching around the area with taut eyes.

"I know. It could get pretty creepy down here at times." She searched with him, her eyes falling to the dark corners of her house.

Jimin shut the tv off. "Let's get going then, we can finish our conversation upstairs."

Seren tagged along with his orders as if it were his home.

He sported a worn-out black backpack over his shoulders, allowing Seren to walk up the stairs first, letting her guide them to her bedroom.

Although Jimin was her younger brother, he felt like her older brother at times. It wasn't just because of the height difference, but because there were times when he took care of Seren like he was the eldest.

Still, there were numerous times when Seren acted like the older sister that she was.

They helped each other out.

"The bathrooms open for you to use, whenever you want." Seren began, opening her bedroom door. "I don't know if you wanna sleep on the floor. Or you can sleep by the end of the bed, and I can sleep by the headboard."

Jimin placed a pillow by the end of the bed. "I'll sleep here, becuase I don't know if you keep your floors clean." He said wryly, setting his bag above the bed.

Seren just shook her head, setting her mug down by her nightstand.

"Ima get ready for bed," he grabbed a few things from his bag. "I'll be back."

Seren decided to do the same, changing into another shirt that she hadn't been sweating in that same night.

She wadded up the shirt and threw it in the bin beside her vanity, sighing to herself, the water running in the bathroom Jimin was in.

She brought her phone out of her pocket, crushed when there weren't any notifications from Hoseok waiting on her lock screen. He had informed her that he was going to bed, but she missed seeing his name appear above her phone, he brought her a sense of security. He was another one of Seren's safety zones.

She rested above the corner of her bed with another dreaded heavy sigh, setting her phone down beside her leg.

Her curious eyes reached over to her window, the curtain pulled in front of the fiberglass to give her concealed privacy.

Her heart thumped against her chest, swallowing the thick saliva that formed in her mouth. She released a shaky breath through her nose, praying that he wouldn't show up that night.

Something about that news story told her he was responsible for it.

It hit close to home.

That same night the guy that she saw at the club was found dead, deformed, and grotesque.

The running water stopped, and so did her detailed thoughts.

A few seconds passed before the bathroom door opened, followed by a composed Jimin entering the room with his toothbrush and face wash in his hands again.

"Were you waiting to use the bathroom too?" Jimin asked, finding her idling body a bit strange.

"No, I was just lost in thought. Again." Seren told the truth, allowing her body to fall backward, her head crashing against her pillow.

"Okay, come on, let's get ready for bed." Jimin muttered. "Put your thoughts to rest for a bit."

The bed slightly dipped as he laid in the open spot next to Seren's body, hearing a deep sigh exit his lips.

After a small moment of silence, Seren spoke up.

"Jimin?" She questioned in a whisper, staring up at her blank ceiling.

"Yeah?" He asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Just..." she hesitated for a moment. "Thank you for coming."

He smiled, closing his eyes. "Don't thank me, Seren. I'm glad you called to have me by your side turing your tough times."

She smiled too, tapping his leg that was a few inches beside her head. "Goodnight, little brother."

He repeated her actions, chuckling. "Goodnight, big sis."

☾