Jimin's Pet | Park Jimin (a hybrid story)

^.^Nine~~

Jimin~
We grabbed protein bars and bottles of water on our way out the door the next morning. It didn't take long before we arrived at the Big Hit building. Walking past the front desk, Poppy smiled and waved at Mi-cha, but the older woman just watched us walk past her with no change of expression. I didn't get it. Poppy was sweet and friendly; why would Mi-cha, whom I've never known to be rude before, look at Poppy like she was invisible?

I opened the door to the practice room and turned on the lights. It was a large white room, brightly lit, with a mirror covering one entire wall. Poppy wandered around checking things out, getting comfortable in the room.

"We need to limber up first," I told her. "We don't want any injuries. Just watch what I do and do the same thing."

I watched her carefully, not wanting her to hurt herself, but I needn't have worried. She was very flexible, even able to do a side split, lying down. I turned on some music to see if she could find the beat; no problem there either. She picked up on it immediately. So far, so good.

I decided to try to teach her the beginning part of the Coming of Age ceremony dance. It was a fairly easy to learn dance without any difficult moves. It was a good dance to see how quickly she could pick up choreography.

At first I tried to stand in front of her, facing her, to show her the moves, having her follow me, but she kept doing it backwards. Once I turned around and she could see me in the mirror, she picked it up right away.

After a while, to help her get the feel of the movements, I stood directly behind her, my hands on her hips, guiding her. She was all business. By noon, she had the entire dance memorized.

I stood farther back, watching her do it by herself, to see how much of it she would remember without following me. The more she did it, the more confident her movements became. I nodded my head, grinning; I knew there was a dancer somewhere inside her, dying to come out.

When we were leaving the building, Poppy kept me between her and Mi-cha. She never looked toward the desk and she quickened her pace going through the lobby. I knew, then, Poppy had felt the way Mi-cha had dismissed her as someone she didn't even need to acknowledge. We were almost to the door when I decided to say something to Mi-cha. There was no reason for her to treat Poppy that way. I stopped walking and turned to go back to the desk, but Poppy grabbed my arm, pulling me along.

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Jimin," she begged. "It will only make her dislike me even more."

"But, why would she dislike you at all?" I asked, frowning.

Poppy rolled her eyes at me, "I don't know," she said. "Maybe she just doesn't like hybrids."

"That's ridiculous," I mumbled, "it can't be that. Everyone accepts hybrids now."

"I'm sure not everyone, Jimin."

I thought about it all the way home, but still couldn't believe Mi-cha would be rude just because Poppy was a hybrid. There must be some other explanation.

~~~

I asked Poppy if she thought she needed Hae's help getting ready for our dinner date tonight. I knew that Taemin and Valeria would look like fashion models and I didn't want Poppy to feel out of place.

"Does it really matter what I look like?" she asked. "After all, I'm just your pet. I don't think anyone will even notice me."

Obviously, she was bothered more than I thought by Mi-cha's dismissive actions. I put my arm around her, kissing her forehead. "You're not my pet. I already told you that," I said. "Please don't let the actions of one rude old lady ruin our night. Besides, Valeria is also a cat hybrid. She might end up being a new friend for you."