A/N: Yes, last time I updated this book was in May. Since then I have graduated college, changed jobs, moved twice, and finished another fic, Sutures. However, good news! This is now the next fic in line to be finished. I already know how this fic is ending, just have to work out some of the finer details, but I hope to put more of my energy into this fic in the coming months. Thanks for your patience.
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You only had forty-five minutes to get to work and you were just getting on the bus to your apartment. The vet had given you a cardboard carrier since you hadn't had a chance to buy one, which only made you feel more guilty as you set the carrier on your lap and peered in at the sedated kitten. He was cuddled in the corner and rested comfortably despite the plastic cone around his neck.
It hurt your heart to see him so out of it, but the vet mentioned he'd only need painkillers for a few days. The doors shut and the bus started moving. Luckily, you wouldn't have to switch buses, just walk a couple of blocks to your apartment. But, there was no way you weren't going to be late.
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You walked into work. You'd only managed to change into a pair of jeans and a black long-sleeved top. Still, you were half an hour late. The club was busy and you made your way behind the bar and tied an apron around your waist.
"You're late," a voice said. You felt a shiver run down your spine as you recognized it. He wasn't supposed to work tonight.
"Yeah, I am," you said. "I had something come up."
"You should've called."
"Probably." You started filling drink orders and paying your ex no mind. Chul-soo was right. You should've called, but it was a Wednesday night and usually, the club wasn't this packed. You'd just finished handing someone a beer when Chul-soo pushed you out of the way and took the tip out of their hand.
"Why don't you just leave? I'll handle it."
"Chul-soo, stop being ridiculous. I only work like two days a week, I need the shifts."
"You should've thought about that before you were late." He reached down and ripped the apron from your waist and tossed it to the side.
"I had to pick up my kitten from the vet," you said. "Ths bus was running late. I was worried about him so I didn't call. Can you stop being an ass for two seconds?"
"Becoming a cat lady now?" he asked. "I see Jimin already moved on."
You rolled your eyes and stepped from behind the bar. With all the worry bubbling up in your stomach about Jackson, you just let it go. You were about to walk towards the door when you heard someone's voice above the music.
"Hey!" a man shouted. He waved one of his hands up in the air and you met his eyes, after which he lowered his arm and pointed towards a quieter area of the club where all the pool tables were. This portion only had a few people, a couple using one of the tables and a few others lingering along the sides on their phones.
You leaned against one of the tables as the guy worked his way through the crowd. You'd definitely seen him at the club before. You could never forget a face like his. If only you could remember when you'd last seen him.
"Inna, right?" he asked. His black hair was combed back, exposing his forehead. The sleeves of his button-down were rolled up past the elbows and the shirt tucked in perfectly to show off his small waist.
"Uh yeah," you said. Despite not remembering where you'd last seen him and him somehow knowing your name, something told you that you could trust him. His eyes weren't raking over your body like most guys at the club.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "I saw what happened back there."
"Yeah, I'm fine. He's an ex, so he likes to be a jerk."
"You wanna play some pool?"
"Oh, I'm not really that good," you said, shifting your weight to one foot and biting your lip. "But I'll give it a shot."
The guy smiled and handed you a cue. "I'm Jin, by the way. I think we both know Jimin."
"Ah, that's how I know you," you said, trying not to dwell on Jimin's name. With the way he'd avoided you, you hadn't asked him to take you to pick up Jackson. It certainly would've saved you time. But you would've had to remember how his lips felt on yours and the ways his hands were so gentle against your skin. Like he was scared of breaking you again.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I think the Jimin's we know are very different." He racked up the balls and pushed them to three-quarters of the way down the table. "But he's still kinda a dick sometimes so I'll help you put on a show if you want. Just know I'm not exactly into your type."
"Ah," you said, nodding in understanding. "What's with all of his friends wanting to piss him off?" A laugh pouring out of you.
Jin motioned for you to take the first shot and break the balls, thus giving you the advantage in the game. You lined up the cue and hit the ball, but the balls barely broke up.
"He still owes me fifty bucks," he said, lining up his shot.
You laughed, your face falling as soon as Jin sunk in his first ball, permitting him to take another shot. "I didn't see him here tonight."
"You were supposed to work tonight. Of course, he's here."
Just as Jin finished his words, you spotted Jimin. He wasn't far away, but probably just out of earshot. Not dancing like usual, he sat at one of the tables and scrolled through his phone. You wondered why he even paid the cover charge. Of course, you knew plenty of people who came in just to sit, but that wasn't Jimin. He always came to dance or drink or both.
Jin leaned down. His second ball was in an awkward position. He leaned over the table and carefully angled his cue. You watched in amusement as his he exaggerated his movements and the ball shifted into a slightly better position.
You picked up your cue and looked for your first ball, which you had still not managed to sink into one of the pockets. The shot wasn't straightforward, but not impossible.
"Careful, Inna. Don't want to fall in."
You snorted and your pool cue slipped causing the ball to roll forward an inch. You hardly noticed through your laughter until Jin smirked, "My turn."
Your face fell. "Wait! Hey! That's not fair!"
You playfully slapped his arm as he lined up and took his shot, sinking two more balls. You huffed and crossed your arms, your pool cue leaning against the table.
"Jinnie, you're too good." You stuck out your bottom lip. "Can you teach me?"
With the way Jin's eyes swept over your expression, you knew he could see through your act. One corner of his lips turned upward and he approached you.
"Grab your cue," he said, coming to stand close behind you. He placed his hands over yours and his body brushing against yours. "The trick is to keep a good balance to your cue. And, depending on the shot you have to change the angle, but the balance should remain the same. Your balance was all over the place. It made your shots inconsistent."
"O-oh," you said. "Thanks. Where did you learn all this?"
"My friends like coming to the club and I don't like dancing. Plus, I can make a few hundred a night off drunk freshmen."
You laughed. "You got good just to hustle drunk frat tributes? I'm sure that's gotten you into some trouble."
Jin smirked. "Mm, I'm too pretty to hit."
"So, what do I owe you for losing?" you asked with a quirk of your lips.
"I'll never turn down a kiss from a pretty girl." He winked, before leaning back over the table and lining up his next shot.
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You walked up the stairs to your apartment and pulled out your keys. You'd left the club after losing the game of pool and surrendering a kiss on the cheek to Jin. Despite flirting with Jin to get to Jimin, you came to enjoy Jin's company. He was the oldest of Jimin's friend group you'd come to find out. He graduated Jimin's freshman year but still hung around them at the college hang out spots.
Before leaving, Jin had given you his number in case you needed anything. If Jin was into you, you would've jumped on the chance to date him, but you were thankful for a new friend nonetheless.
You walked into your apartment and your eyes shot towards where you'd left Jackson in his carrier. The kitten had ventured out, which was a good sign. If he was already up and around, he would be back to his normal self before long. It was only when you spotted the plastic cone upside down on the floor that your stomach dropped.
You eventually found the kitten curled up in your bedroom on one of your discarded T-shirts. He was awake and meowed in greeting when you entered the room. His temperament had improved. You picked him up and flipped him onto his back to find the surgery incision red and enflamed. It appeared Jackson pulled out a few of his stitches.
If you hadn't held the kitten in your arms, you would've fallen to your knees. You felt like you needed to vomit, despite having nothing to drink at the club. You checked the time: 1 a.m.
After Googling the nearest emergency vet, you pulled out your phone.
"What?" Jimin said, answering the phone. Luckily, his words didn't sound slurred and you didn't hear the music of the club.
"Jimin," your voice cracked as you held the phone with your shoulder and attempted to reattach the cone around Jackson's neck. Tears pricked at your eyes as the kitten clawed at your wrists and struggled against your grasp.
"Inna?" His voice suddenly shifted. "What's wrong? Where are you?"
"I came home and Mochi had gotten his cone off and it looks like he pulled out a few stitches and it looks really bad and maybe infected. He needs to go to the emergency vet but it's on the other side of the city and I don't know how I'm gonna get there or pay for it." Tears were falling onto your cheeks and your voice shaking with every word.
Maybe Jackson would've been better off if you and Jimin had left him in the alleyway for a rich homebody to find. Someone who can spend more time with him and who could pay for everything he needed. Not two broke college students who were barely friends and never home.
You heard rustling on the other end of the phone that brought you out of your thoughts. "I'll be there in ten minutes, okay?"
Jimin hung up the phone soon after and you continued trying to get the cone back around Jackson's neck so that he couldn't do any more damage. Eventually, you manage to re-fasten it and wrapped him in the T-shirt you'd found him on.
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It was less than ten minutes when you heard a quiet knock on the door. You opened it with one hand, cradling Jackson with the other. You figured it would be easier to take him without the carrier, that way you could ensure that he didn't do more damage to his incision.
"Hey," you said, not even meeting Jimin's eyes before you stepped outside and locked the door. You hadn't grabbed a jacket, but the air wasn't too cold, just a bit crisp against your skin. You hugged the kitten closer to your body.
"I called ahead," Jimin said. "They're expecting us. I borrowed Tae's car so it's easier and we can keep a better eye on him."
You looked up at him wide-eyed. He had really thought of everything while you only managed to stop Jackson from hurting himself more. Jimin led you down to Tae's car, a beige car that looked like something your grandmother would drive. But, the seats were large and it allowed you to bring your knees up to your chest and cuddle your kitten close.
"When did you pick him up?" Jimin asked, pulling onto the road from the parking lot of your apartment complex.
"Before I went to work," you said. "Well, supposed to work." You ran your fingers across the kitten's tiny brow. Jackson liked it, closing his eyes and nuzzling against your wrists which still burned underneath the fabric of your shirt with his scratches. "It was only supposed to be a few hours. I thought he would be out of it all night so I wouldn't have to worry." You paused before letting out a scoff laden sigh. "This is all my fault. I should've had someone watch him or called in or something."
"Hey," Jimin said, his voice silky and soft. "He could've done this in two minutes while your back was turned. He's gonna be okay, all right?"
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"It looks like he just ripped out the stitches and there may be the beginning of a small infection. We'll take care of the stitches and give him so antibiotics. We'll keep a watch on him until tomorrow to make sure there's nothing else major."
You nodded and handed over your credit card, knowing this was going to max it out, but not caring as long as Jackson was going to be okay.
"Wait," Jimin said, reaching into his back pocket. "Can you split it between these two?"
The woman nodded, glancing between the two of you as she placed half the bill on your card and the rest on Jimin's.
"You didn't have to do that," you said after you and Jimin had left the office and walked back to the car.
"Yes, I did. He's half mine."
You got into the car but didn't put on your seatbelt, not wanting to leave without your kitten. Jimin got in and shut his door, putting the keys in the ignition, but glancing over at you before starting the engine.
"Everything okay?"
"What time is it?"
"Uh, just past two fifteen."
"I don't want to go home without him," you said.
"I can stay with you," Jimin said.
"No, it's not that," you said. "I want to stay here. I can't leave him."
Jimin went quiet for a moment before starting the engine and you felt your objection growing in your throat before you realized that he hadn't turned out towards the road, but, instead was heading deeper into the parking lot. He parked towards the edge of the lot where you were out of the way. The streetlights only dimly lighting the interior of the car so you could just barely make out Jimin's face.
"We'll stay," he said. "But, you need to get some sleep. I think Tae has some blankets in the trunk. The backseat should be big enough to lay down."
Jimin got out of the car as you climbed into the back. He was right, the seat was larger enough for you to lay down, but you chose to sit until Jimin climbed in next to you.
"No blankets," he said. "But, you can use my jacket."
"I'm not cold, Jimin."
The conversation lulled and you felt the exhaustion finally beginning to overtake you. You leaned towards Jimin until you head connected with his body, not caring that you probably should avoid him, or that you felt more relaxed than you had in days when your body's connected.
Jimin responded immediately by placing his arm around your shoulders to make the position more comfortable for both of you. His hand came down to rest on your wrist, just below where your palm meets your wrist. You flinched as he brushed over the fresh cat scratches.
"Did that hurt?" he asked. You felt as he gently rolled up your sleeve revealing the shallow, red scratches. "You didn't tell me you were hurt."
"I had the wrestle the cone back on him," you said, your voice a grumble. "They're just cat scratches. I'm okay. I just want to sleep."
"Okay," he said, not arguing and simply bringing his fingers to interlock with yours.