Tension [JEONGMIN]

Chapter 24

Jeongyeon

She pulled on a pair of lilac jogging shorts and a plain white t-shirt.
Piling up her hair on top of her head in a messy bun(ish) she covered it with a black cap and wore a black mask.

She checked her reflection in the mirror, adjusting the cap and mask so that most of her face was hidden.

She was going out for a run with Chaeyoung.

They were going to release their new Japanese single "Candy Pop" in February and were currently preparing for it. Apart from that they were also planning on releasing a new album somewhere around April.

Due to this they already had quite a busy schedule. There were recording sessions everyday and dancing practises for Candy Pop.
She was also participating with songwriting for the new album which added to her workload.

Today she had felt extremely agitated when she had woken up. Her go-to stress release mechanism was always getting some fresh air and so she had asked Chaeyoung to join her.

Despite being one of the youngest, Chaeyoung had a very calming presence. She herself valued silent companionship and a peaceful and free headspace, hence she was the perfect companion for Jeongyeon right then.

She grabbed her sidebag which held a wad of cash and left the room, locking it behind her.

She arrived in front of a room and before she could knock, the door opened revealing the small form of Chaeyeong clad in black shorts, a gray tank top and cap and mask resembling hers.

She smiled and she could see Chaeyoung's eyes crinkle up in answer.
They walked down the stairs together.

"My face is covered okay right?" she asked.

"Yup, how's mine?"

"I can barely see your eyes." she laughed.

"Perfect" answered Chaeyoung with a chuckle.

They exited the building through the back door which opened into an obscure landing which was quite well hidden.
She had some minor flashbacks from when she used to sneak out to meet Mark.

They followed a desolate path for a few metres which eventually led them to a jogging track.

A few people were already running on the track and she sighed in relief seeing some of them were also wearing masks.

"We won't stand out"

The jogging track was quite popular among celebrities but she didn't recognize anyone.

"They wouldn't be recognisable even if they were here" she reminded herself.

Chaeyoung was already wearing her headphones.
She preffered the sounds of nature.

The jogging track surrounded a small green park and by the time they had covered the first lap she had managed to count five types of bird chirps.
She focused on the sounds of the wind rustling the trees.
It was very calming.

They jogged for around thirty minutes before both of them stopped midway panting.

She could barely breathe with the mask.

Chaeyoung was checking her smart watch to see how many calories she had burnt.
Jeongyeon didn't really care.

"I need to take off my mask...how are you even breathing??"

Chaeyoung loosed her masked from the bottom taking deep breaths.
"Like this"

She shook her head. That wasn't going to do it for her.
Suddenly she remembered a particular secluded part of the jogging track. It was like a branch which deviated from the main course and ran alongside a small stream.

She hadn't been there in years but if her memory was accurate not many people took that turn.
It would be the perfect place for them to jog without masks.

She tried to convince Chaeyoung in joining her but she wanted to stretch on the grass.

Jeongyeon left by herself, telling Chaeyoung she'd be back in ten minutes.

After some confusion, she managed to find the turn which lead her to the secluded track.
She looked around and as expected there seemed to be no one in sight.

She quickly took off her mask and breathed in the fresh air.
Masks were suffocating.

Putting her mask safely inside her sidebag, she started walking fast along the pathway.

Halfway through she spotted some fish in the stream. She peeped into the stream while walking, enjoying the sight of the gold and black creatures in the water. They seemed to be playing?

She turned her head back to the path and..
THUD
Her nose collided with something soft.
She felt a strong pair of hands grasp her shoulders and she reeled her head back reflexively.

A pair of puppy eyes stared down at her.
They were so close she could see specks of brown in them.
Her eyes automatically travelled down his face to a set of very plump lips.
His hot breathe fanned her face.

She felt the hands drop from her shoulders and she stepped back sighing in relief.

She couldn't believe she was actually relieved to see Park Jimin but she was thankful it wasn't a non celebrity, which would've led to a rather unpleasant situation.

"Oh thank god, it's just you." she let out breathing heavily.

He looked at her quizzically, his head tilting to the side in an adorable fashion.

"Came for some fresh air?"

She nodded.

He obviously wasn't wearing a mask either and his cheeks were flushed pink from the exercise.
She wondered if he was here for the same reason she was.

"You?"

"Same" he said, smiling slightly.
"Did you come alone?"

"No...Chaeyoung's in the park."

They stood there awkwardly, she didn't know what to say.
Her eyes darted around, looking at anything but him.
After failing to find anything to observe her eyes moved back to his face.
His eyes on the other hand, moved over her, his expression unreadable.
She felt as if she was being scanned by an x-ray machine.

"Wanna race back? " he asked out of nowhere.

She stared at him, startled by his sudden suggestion.
A sly boyish grin grew on his face.

She narrowed her eyes.
"You're going to push me into the stream aren't you?"

He laughed out loud at this.

There was a drastic difference in his features from his usual intimidating facade.
"Sunny" was the word that came to her mind as she watched him laugh. The corners of her lips pulled up into a smile involuntarily.

She ended up agreeing to race back with him.
They ran back to the turn like two twelve year olds. Surprisingly both of them reached the spot at more or less the same speed, where they stood panting.

She breathed heavily leaning over with her hands on her knees.

He seemed to be more fit than her.

After she had regained her breath she stood up straight to see Chaeyoung making her way towards them.

"Oh shit...how long was I here?"

She bit back a laugh as she watched Chaeyoung enter the track and stop midway as she noticed Jimin.
The look on her face was priceless.

"Hi" he said rather cheerfully, his cheeks flushed even more from the race.

"Um....hi" answered Chaeyoung, turning to shoot her an inquisitive look.

"We bumped into eachother on the track" said Jimin probably sensing her confusion, "anyway...I'll see you guys around."

He waved at them both and left, leaving them staring after his retreating back.

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Thanks for reading 😊