STRINGS | Vmin

09

"Is he your string?" He asked.

"Y-yes..." I said shyly.

"I'm happy for you Jimin." Jin smiled at me.

"Thank you hyung." I smiled back as I walked towards where Tae was seated. Taking a seat where we were face to face, I took a sip of my caramel macchiato. There was a short silence between us until Tae started talking.

"You must be close with him." Tae said.

"Yeah..." I stared at Jin hyung happily serving a customer. "You could say he's like a mum to me..."

"Well, he does give that motherly vibe." Tae joked and I laughed.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind being his child..." I giggled.

"What do you mean?" Tae gave a confused look.

Ah shit, I let myself slip... I cursed myself, "Ah! I-It's nothing just something I don't really like bringing up from time to time." I laughed it off scratching the back of my neck.

"I mean... You don't have to tell if you want to, we only just started this relationship..." Tae said, feeling guilty.

"No! It's not that... It's because..." I took a deep breath, "I grew up in an orphanage."

"Oh... Umm... I'm sorry for making you tell me." Tae said sincerely.

"No, it's not your fault! Really, plus I do have to tell you at some point." I said laughing nervously. "My mum got into an accident when I was 12. It all started when mt dad got addicted to gambling and abused us for money... He even cheated on my mum at one point with another woman." I started tearing up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back painful memories. You don't have to continue if it hurts so much." Tae comforted me.

"No, it's okay. I've only ever told this story to people close to me, and I don't mind telling it to you." I said, wiping my tears. "The next thing I knew, my mum couldn't take it anymore and fought back. She took me into custody and lived together with my grandparents, then one day we decided to go to the Amusement Park to celebrate my upcoming birthday..." I started tearing up again, "We were just driving my grandfather's car when we accidentally got hit by a car."

"Here." Tae handed me a handkerchief.

"Thank you." I said as I wiped my tears.

"I woke up in the hospital and quickly asking for mum but..." I took a deep breath, "The doctors tried to save her, I know they did, but they couldn't. I was still 12 and I didn't want to go back to my dad, I also didn't want to trouble my grandparents with me. So I decided to be sent to an orphanage, that's where I grew up till I moved out at 18. Rented an apartment, worked 3 jobs and studied like crazy, till I could get into the University of my choice here in Korea. That's when I met Jin. He started living next door and when he noticed how pale I was one day, he took care of me. I was a complete stranger to him but he still took care of me. When I told him my story, he wanted to quickly adopt me but I insisted not too. I was also the one who help set him and Namjoon hyung together, allowing me to live in the dorms for free!" I smiled.

"You're strong..." Tae said.

"What? No, I couldn't have done everything alone! I'm thankful to everyone that helped me get myself together. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be alive till this day actually..." I laughed but then I heard Tae slam the table gaining the attention of the people in the cafe.