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35. Persuasive

"Jimin, I can still help. I'm not completely broke, I'm perfectly on my feet." Seren grimaced, a sense of shame burgeoning in her gut. "This new job I'm gonna work at may not give me the chance to make a lot of money through tips, but the pay is gonna be more than what I received from my old boss."

"How much more?" Jimin proceeded to ask.

"Three dollars and fifteen cents more." Seren answered, confidence rippling through her voice for once.

"Three dollars?" Jimin asked, baffled, not knowing whether it was a big difference to be ecstatic over.

"Hey, three dollars more is a big difference." Seren declared, staring past the random commercials playing on the flat screen.

"If you say so." Jimin responded flatly. "I just want you to take care of yourself first, you hardly have food in your fridge."

That was the second person to tell her that her fridge was practically always empty.

"Don't worry, I went on a shopping spree and filled my fridge up to the brim." She glanced over at Hoseok – who just smiled at that.

Jimin hummed after a moment. "Did somebody do that for you?"

"What makes you think that?" Seren asked, her eyebrows clipped.

"I don't know, it just doesn't sound like something you'd do." He explained, "Did someone do it for you?"

She glanced over at Hoseok again, who was wiping down the counter with a wet wipe.

"Yeah, Hoseok did." He glanced up at her when he heard his name.

Seren grinned at him, showing off her perfectly straight teeth.

The corner of his lip pulled, smirking at her, his eyes trailing down to the counter he was cleaning.

"Great to know he cares as much as I do." Jimin said. "He's nice, I guess."

Seren giggled, lifting her back from the cushions. "You still feel that way about it?" She asked, hoping Jimin would understand who she was referring to.

"Eh, he's okay." Jimin comprehended the reference. "He's just too nice and too polite. Those people got something to hide."

Seren could just roll her eyes, which is exactly what she did. She knew Hoseok, well enough to know that he wasn't hiding something from her. Even if he was, it was probably something like color-coding his boxer briefs, it seemed like something he'd definitely try keeping a secret.

"So, what? Should I leave?" Seren asked, hoping Hoseok wouldn't catch on to their conversation.

"No, I'm not saying you should leave him." Jimin sighed, the topic taking them absolutely nowhere. "Do you get a bad feeling when you're with him? You're good at that."

She turned over, seeing Hoseok toss a few dirty wipes in the trash can behind him.

All that she felt when they shared a glance was an overwhelming amount of butterflies swarming her body. Her heart felt warm, as though it were wrapped in a soft blanket.

Other than the sensations of fluster and admiration, she felt nothing else. Nothing that was bad, or off about him.

They slept in the same bed, and she felt safe for once in his arms.

That was enough to tell her he was genial.

"No, I don't." Seren confirmed, staring down at her floor.

He laughed. "Then, I guess people like him genuinely exist."

"They do." She assured, rubbing away the chills on the side of her arm. "You're one of those people, and so is Namjoon."