~ Areum's POV ~
Hyuna and Eunha had both expressed how happy they were for me for winning first place in the second round, but I wasn't convinced. I know they were just trying to be kind but I could tell they were jealous. I mean, which contestant wasn't? Ever since the match, I had been getting dirty looks from each of the contestants. Each of them was jealous that I would be getting to spend the whole day with Jimin whereas they would be stuck in the castle doing nothing.
Seokjin, on the other hand, was having a blast. After the match, he had pulled me aside and congratulated me about a thousand times. Saying how he knew that he sponsored the right contestant, and how I was better than every other girl here, and that I would most definitely be winning this competition.
He had also threatened me. If I didn't wear a pink dress on my 'date' tomorrow he would and I quote "disown me", which I didn't know how he would accomplish that since I wasn't even his child. But Seokjin had been so kind to me since the start and I had started to develop a brotherly bond with him so I took heed to his threat and decided to wear a pink dress.
I had woken up before Hyuna and Eunha and decided to get ready. Jimin hadn't told me what time we would be going, where we would be going, or what we would be doing, so I had decided that I would go wait for him in the dining room. I slipped on the light pink dress Seokjin had bought for me when I had first met him, and I smiled, he really did have good taste. I slipped on a pair of white flats and quickly combed through my hair. I looked at my reflection and raised my fists and gave myself a quick 'fighting' before running out the door.
I reached the dining room and saw that the maids were already preparing the room to serve breakfast for the contestants. I walked over to the closest maid, who I immediately recognized to be Mei. I could tell that she was struggling with setting all the plates down. I quickly rushed over to her side and took most of the plates before they shattered on the floor. She looked over to thank me but when she saw my face she immediately bowed.
"Miss I am so sorry about that, I'll take the plates and I'll have someone come to give you breakfast."
"Mei call me Areum, and I can tell you're struggling with that. Trust me, I'd love to help." I said enthusiastically
She paused for a bit however before she could reject my offer I took the plates and started setting them around the table. I looked up to see her smiling warmly at me which made me smile as well.
~ Jimin's POV ~
I slipped on my denim jacket and strolled out of my room down to the dining room to grab some breakfast before taking Areum out for the day. I reached the kitchen and quickly grabbed a bagel and moved out before anyone saw me. I reached the dining room and saw that the maids were preparing the room. I heard some laughing and turned to see Areum helping in setting the table. I watched as she interacted with the maids kindly and I couldn't help myself from cracking a small smile.
She looked absolutely breathtaking, who was I kidding she could be wearing a trash bag and I still would think she looked beautiful. Areum just had that charm, she didn't need to wear makeup or dress extravagantly to try showing her beauty, she was just born beautiful. I walked over to her making sure not to make any noise. I snaked my arms around her waist and brought her closer to me, she even smelled beautiful.
"You look gorgeous."
She turned around in my hold until our faces were a few inches apart, she playfully rolled her eyes as she examined my outfit
"You don't look too bad yourself. Now, where are we going today?"
I chuckled at her response, and took her by the hand and led her out of the dining room to the main gates. When we stepped out of the castle we were immediately swarmed by Seokjin and his band of cameras. I groaned, did this have to be televised as well? I looked over to Areum who had the same expression adorned on her face.
I wasn't going to let these cameras ruin my first date with Areum, so I racked my brain trying to think of an idea, and then I finally thought of something. I gripped onto Areum's hand and took off running. We ran as fast as we could and stopped when we neared my car. I quickly opened the door for Areum and closed it as she slipped in, and ran around to the other door. I looked to my right and saw the cameramen running to catch up but they were too slow. I revved the car and drove off leaving them in the dust.
~ Time skip ~
"How can you pick such a boring ice cream flavor?"
"You can never go wrong with Vanilla, Jimin," Areum said as she started shaking sprinkles onto her ice cream.
I had taken her shopping earlier which was very eventful. I made sure to throw everything she liked into a pile and later buy all of it for her but Areum had other plans. Whenever I turned to pick out something else for her she would take the clothes from the pile and put them back from where I had found them. In the end, I bought her a new pair of sunglasses which I was proud to say she was wearing right now, a necklace with her name engraved on it and finally my last gift which was a surprise. She had been eyeing a pair of earrings but since it was too expensive she put them back but I made sure to come back and buy them for her.
I wasn't usually like this with girls, but there was something about Areum that was different. She was the first girl that made me genuinely smile and laugh, she was the first girl that didn't try to change herself for me as most girls had done before, and I genuinely felt comfortable around her which I had never felt around any other girl before.
"So how are you liking the competition so far?"
She looked up from her ice cream and smirked "Other than your arrogant ass, I'm loving it."
"So you've been staring at my ass?" I asked which made her throw her spoon at me.
"You're an idiot Jimin."
"Oh but you love me, princess, don't even try to deny it."
She rolled her eyes and averted her gaze to the sky. It was already dark which I hadn't even realized. The day had gone by so fast, but I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stay in this moment with Areum by my side. I looked up and saw that the sky was filled with thousands of stars, it was amazing.
"My dad would always take me stargazing when I was younger. We would go camping in the woods near the edge of our town and at night we would just lay on a blanket and stare at the stars, trying to trace out every possible shape we could envision. My brother and mom always hated camping so they would stay behind, so it was always just my dad and me. When I was younger I used to call it my starry vacation."
I smiled. "You are your dad must have been close."
She nodded her head "We still are. I love my mom and my brother but my dad is my favorite person in the world, I mean he saved me."
"What do you mean he saved you?"
Areum started to fidget nervously in her seat. I could tell it was a touchy subject by the way she was acting. I took her hand and intertwined our fingers and rubbed small circles on her hand with my thumb trying to calm her down.
"Princess, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She looked up at me and shook her head "I trust you Jimin... I owe my dad my life, if it wasn't for him I'd probably be dead. My birth parents weren't ready to be parents I guess, so they decided to leave me on the side of the road hoping someone else would take me. I was a small baby at the time, probably just a few months old and that night it had started to rain. My dad was working late and luckily on his way back home, he saw me and brought me with him. I may not be his blood but my dad loves me more than anything and the same goes with the rest of my family."
I didn't say anything. Instead, I pulled her closer to me and engulfed her in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her waist and her arms immediately wrapped around my neck. I couldn't describe the emotion I was feeling right now, but I knew deep down that I would do anything for Areum.
~ End of Chapter 11 ~
A/n
I have established the fact that seven is, in fact, an army
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