FLOWER | Winrina

Chapter 14

Jimin heard someone talking in her room before she really registered that she was waking up. She was surprised for a moment, wondering if her mom was home, and then she recalled the morning's events and recognized the voice as Minjeong's. She was talking on the phone.

"She'll be okay," Minjeong was saying softly, "and no, I don't think she's mad at you, Aeri. She's had a rough week. Don't tell me that I was the only one who noticed that." Jimin stayed frozen in her bed, under the blankets, interested to hear what else Minjeong would say to Aeri.

"She's sleeping," Minjeong said, sounding like she was answering a question. A pause. "No, she's not ready to talk about it, and that's why she never said anything in the first place. I can't say that I blame her. No. Don't let him do that."

Who do what? Jimin wanted to know, but if she gave away that she was awake now, she was afraid that Minjeong would hang up the phone. So she stayed silent, listening.

"Okay, put him on the phone." A pause. "Hi, Jeno. This is Minjeong." Jeno? They couldn't all still be at lunch - was school already over and he'd sought them out to ask about Jimin? Jimin was itching to find out what was going on. "Yes, she'll be fine. I haven't left her side. Didn't Aeri tell you, or no? It's about her dad." 

A pause. "She hadn't told us, that's why it became a big deal. She told me that she thought it would mess things up to say anything. No, I'm sure it wasn't because she thought that it messed up things between you two." 

A longer pause. "She's asleep, Jeno," Minjeong's tone suddenly became firmer, "and I think that is a conversation you should have with Jimin in person. Not with me." A pause. "You're welcome. If that's all, could you give the phone back to Aeri?"

Jimin swallowed thickly, somehow surprised that so many people were worried about her. She had made some good friends in that small amount of time. Maybe they were all more than just mere distractions. "Yeah, I don't want to leave until I know that she'll be okay. She was exhausted earlier. Aeri... can we please talk about that later? Seriously, you don't know what you're talking about right now."

Jimin took Minjeong's impatient tone as her cue to begin to stir, so she rolled over a bit, groaning as she stretched out her limbs a bit.

Minjeong immediately said into the phone, "Jimin is waking up. I'll talk to you later." Jimin heard the phone being set down as she opened her eyes, rubbing them. She felt very refreshed, but she still wasn't sure of the time.

"Minjeong?" Jimin called out, her voice raspy with sleep.

"I'm right here," Minjeong promised, sitting on the bed near where Jimin's feet were, causing a dip that way and making it easier for Jimin to sit up. "Do you feel better?"

Jimin nodded, unable to fight the small smile that had grown on her face. Knowing that everyone cared about how she was, and even just the fact that Minjeong had stayed with her, had Jimin feeling like the luckiest girl ever. After a quick debate in her head, Jimin said, "I heard you on the phone."

"Oh," Minjeong said, blinking. "Everyone was just really worried. You did kind of run out of that place like... I don't know. Like you were going to do something crazy."

"I may have," Jimin admitted, letting out a light breath. "Good thing you followed me." She smiled again, and seeing Minjeong's returned smile made her heart bounce a little in her chest. "What time is it?"

"School just got out," Minjeong answered. "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

"I heard you tell Aeri to not let someone do something, and then I heard you talking to Jeno," Jimin answered, pulling her legs closer to herself and folding them under herself.