"No way!" Jimin's lips parted, watching his sister with round, astonished eyes. "He tripped you? Really?"
"Yup." Seren confirmed, stirring her black bean noodles. "I was just as shocked as you are."
"Why didn't you say anything?" He questioned, finding the troubles she went through egregious.
Which, they were.
She was aware that putting up with the arbitrary situations from working there was completely ridiculous.
"Well, I didn't exactly catch that myself." Seren swabbed paste off the side of her lip. "Someone told me after they had left. I just didn't wanna make a big deal about it, I had to worry about cleaning up the mess."
Jimin lowered his head, shutting his eyes. "I hate that you work there, you know. I already knew it was going to be a dangerous job, but with everything you tell me — it just seems worse."
She frowned, sympathetic with her brother.
"Jimin, I don't tell you these things to make you feel bad. I just thought it would be funny, I guess?" She explained, trying to catch his fallen gaze.
She sighed, looking elsewhere in the small eatery.
"It's not your fault you have to work there," he finally looked up. "It's Mom. She just made everything so hard for you, she practically drove you away."
Her mother did make it difficult for her, and she was the reason Seren had left to live with their Aunt, Jiyu. Regardless, Seren decided to move out on her own.
"Yes, but I did make the choice to move out on my own." Seren reminded him, voice holding sincerity.
"What mother doesn't stop their child from that, though?" Jimin shook his head in disbelief. "You were only nineteen, you were still very young."
"Maybe it just would have been easier for them to afford everything if I really did move out." Seren guessed, her nails tapping against her cup of water. "They take care of you, right?"
"Yeah." He said tersely, getting back to the food on his plate.
She knew that it bothered him to see her struggle so much. Seren didn't always work at a night lounge, that decision was almost recent.
When Jiyu was still alive, she covered the bills while Seren went to school. It was like that for a full three years, until she passed.
The house was owned by Jiyu, so rent wasn't due, but bills were still going to be something that Seren had to take care of.
That, and buying food to fill the fridge, and essentials she needed.
Although the place she works at can be a nightmare at times and is probably the reason she's already found gray hairs on her head, it still pays the bills.
"Did I tell you someone left me a one hundred eighty dollar tip, though?" She prompted, triumphantly smiling.
He tilted his head, studying her expression. "Forreal?"
"Yup." She grinned. "Not counting the other two hundred I made just from tips."
"Woah, all that money just from tips?" His chest hovered over the table absentmindedly. "What do you do for that?"
"I just be polite, and smile." She sipped her water.
"Oh, and it's drunk men from a bar." Jimin realized, clicking his tongue. "They're so drunk, they just blow their money like nothing."
"Exactly." Seren finished her meal.
"Even though it's dinky and seems like a nightmare to deal with all that, I guess it pays." He hesitantly agreed, afraid to encourage that lifestyle.
"It's not all bad. I have a few caring co-workers." She acknowledged, Seokjin and Rina instantly coming to mind.
"You are being safe though, right?" He asked, his brotherly instincts coming into play. "You get out very late, and there's a lot of creeps out."
"Jimin, there are creeps out anytime of the day." Seren informed shrewdly. "These days, they've become desperate. You should be watching your surroundings as well."
"I am. You don't need to worry about me." His voice transmitted confidence. "I'm eighteen, and strong enough, plus, Jungkook is always with me."
"Oh!" She perked, finding that name to be very familiar. "You haven't brought Jungkook up in so long, how is he?"
To her understanding, Jimin and Jungkook were best friends and had been ever since middle school.
"Oh, he's great." His deep coffee eyes gleamed. "We also made a new friend, his name is Taehyung. He's really nice, he came from Daegu."
"Speaking of Daegu, have you spoken to Yoongi?" He continued to ask.
Her breathing became unsteady, spontaneously feeling the restaurant's atmosphere become oppressive. Her palms perspired, drinking water to douse her deserted throat.
"No, I haven't spoken to him since he last visited." Seren cleared her throat.
Jimin almost rolled his eyes. "Is he still a sensitive topic for you?"
She chortled at his statement, despite it being slightly true. "No. I just become anxious whenever he's randomly brought up. Nothing wrong with that."
Things that reminded her of Yoongi would always give her a small glimpse of his face, how aloof and cold he always looked. He appeared bored half the time, but really, that was just his peaceful expression.
The best part was his smile. It carried such innocence and a mellow spirit, it was invariably seen by the ones he was most comfortable around.
Seren and Yoongi were best friends in high school, they went to the same middle school, but didn't officially speak until their first year, being seated together in homeroom, and their math class.
They never realized how much they had in common, immediately becoming friends, and sticking by one another.
But, of course, when a boy and girl become best friends, things could turn intimate.
Or at least that's what occurred between them. They never made things official, wanting to stay friends.
But, the level of intimacy didn't just stop at a kiss.
They used math projects as an excuse to visit each other at their homes. Kissing for fun was how it all started, but towards their last year of being high schoolers, they reached another type of intimacy. It was sensual and mostly vehement.
It was always slow and soft.
It caused Seren to fall for him, and she knew he felt the same. However, life had other plans.
Yoongi did, actually. He played basketball all of high school, but his dream was to be a producer.
He chased it and had officially reached that goal sometime the year before.
Seren was elated to hear of his success, and see his stage name everywhere, but she wished she could have stuck by him.
"You get anxious because you like him. Still." Jimin mentioned.
"No, it's not that." Her forehead creased, trying to throw away thoughts of him. "It's just that memories of him always get played out when I hear about things that involved him. It's not by choice, sometimes I just can't stop my brain from it."
"Well, I guess that makes sense, you guys were best friends for a long time." He said, running his fingers through his dyed orange hair.
"Yeah..." She lost train of thought. "Ready to go?" Seren asked, beginning to pick up their finished foods into the tray.
"Yeah, let's get going, I still have to study for my exams." He sighed, disappointment drenching his tone, helping her gather the trash.
She chuckled. "I feel you, I still have one more semester of school."
"One semester amounts to nothing compared to the next years of college that I'll have." Jimin added morosely.
After cleaning up their mess and Seren taking care of the bill, they left the restaurant.
"I'm so stuffed." Jimin patted his stomach as they walked to her car.
"Really?" She asked, laughing. " Because I feel like I can still go for some ice cream." Seren hinted at him.
"You're right, so am I." He chuckled, walking over to the passenger seat of her Hyundai.
"By the way," She asked, speaking to him over the hood of the car. "How did mom react when you dyed your hair orange?"
He grunted, rolling his eyes carelessly. "She reacted the way you'd expect."
"So, she blamed me?" Seren evaluated accurately, seeing her brother nod his head.
"Figures." She mumbled, watching him get into the car.
Just as she was about to do the same, and enter her car, something caught her eye.
It was an obscure figure, an outline of a very tall man standing straight ahead of the parking lot, near the old abandoned construction building that was obscured in the shadows of sprouting trees, and overgrown weeds.
There was a burning tobacco filter, a bright red light beaming as he inhaled.
The sight made her sick to her stomach, nauseated.
Not just because of her substantial dislike for cigarettes, but also because of his piercing eyes that perforated right through her.
She looked down over at Jimin who was already in the car, she then glanced back to the man.
To her astonishment, he was gone.
Left without a trace, as if he had never been there.
Seren breathed out a breath that she held in the trench of her chest, turning around to see if anybody else was nearby.
Anybody that could have witnessed what she did.
"Seren?" Jimin called, grabbing her attention. "Are we going?"
She snapped back, her body jolting involuntarily. "Yeah! Sorry."
Seren got into the car, shoved the keys into the ignition, and locked the doors.
Jimin watched her frantic behavior, his eyebrows pushed, meeting in the middle of his forehead.
"Why're you so jumpy?" He asked, watching her leave the parking lot without allowing the engine to warm up.
She remained silent for a moment, focused on exiting the parking lot, her eyes glued to the abandoned building for a second — trying to see any hint of people that had been there.
"Seren, hello!" Jimin exclaimed a bit louder this time. "You're freaking me out here." He mumbled, pulling on his seatbelt.
"No, it's just— I could have sworn I saw somebody standing at that building back there." She told him, entering one lane.
There were many logical explanations for that, it could have been some random man that wanted to take a smoking break near an area that wasn't packed with people, and that made the most sense to her.
Perhaps she caught his eye, and that would explain why his body was directed to her.
"Alright, well you act like this isn't a popular part of Busan." Jimin mentioned in a low murmur, irritated with her jumpy behavior. "Or maybe it was a ghost~ ooh."
"Stop! You know how I feel about that." Seren threatened, switching lanes quickly to make a left turn.
"I know, that's why it's funny." He laughed, reaching for the radio. "Let's play music, take your mind off things."
"Could you give me my sunglasses, the sun is blinding right now." She reached her hand over to him, waiting for the glasses.
He searched the glove box, finding the pair.
Instead of giving them to her, he put them on.
"How do I look?" He asked, turning to his sister with a playful grin attached to his plump lips.
She whacked his arm, hiding her giggles. "Come on, I might crash this car if this lasts any longer."
"Alright, here. Ghost girl." He surrendered, handing her the item.
Seren sighed, putting the glasses on. "You're just jealous spirits don't contact you for help."
"What sane person would want that, Seren?" He laughed, shaking his head at her foolish comment.
"It could be cool, sometimes." She wavered. "Not when I'm trying to sleep, though."
"Maybe it's just Jiyu telling you to pay the bills."
They both laughed, followed by another blow Seren gave to her brother's broad shoulder.
"You ass. You're lucky to get even a lick of ice cream after that." She warned, making a turn into the ice cream shop.
Jimin was trying to make jokes, wanting her to forget about the anomalous sight.
It was true, he knew of the moments she was able to sense negative energies brought upon lingering spirits. He always tried to lighten things up with harmless jokes, just wanting to hear her laugh. Even if that meant his shoulder had to suffer inflictions.
Although he tried to make things better, that shadow still nipped at her.
It was strange.
There was an uncomplicated and logical explanation for it, but the spiritual part of her brain told her otherwise.
"What flavor will you get?" Jimin unbuckled his seatbelt, trying to make more conversation.
"Maybe strawberry." She followed him, exiting the car.
"Basic." He muttered. "I might get vanilla, and add my own topping."
"Oh, and I'm basic, huh?" Seren opened the door, stepping inside the shop first.
"Exactly." He confirmed, smiling.
☾