Chris pulled open the heavy door, a bubble in her throat forming as she thought of all the ways this could go wrong.
But she didn't let that stop her.
Walking through the entrance, she scanned the place for the one man she was looking for.
"Hey!" the familiar voice came from behind her and Chris spun to face him.
"Jimin!"
"No hyung today?" Jimin looked over her shoulder and she shook her head.
"No, not today. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about him. Would you have five minutes to chat? Or could I catch you after your shift?"
He grinned, "My family owns the diner, I won't get into trouble." He put his notepad down onto the cashier's table, "Do you want to sit?"
"Probably. But I'll only be five minutes."
"Is everything okay?" he asked as he guided her to the booth she usually settled in with Hoseok.
"Yeah, everything's okay," she said as she sat down, "I just had a question about something regarding how things were done here, I didn't know who else to ask."
"Here? As in my diner?"
"No, sorry, in Alchemilla. So Hoseok told me that you guys do fundraisers quite regularly, he even mentioned a town ball that everyone attends to raise money for different things."
"Mhm," Jimin nodded, "The upcoming ball has been dedicated to the primary school because we didn't really have anything going on."
"Right, right. Well, you know how Hoseok's family isn't going to go through with treatment because of their finances?"
"Yeah."
"I was wondering-"
"Oh!" his eyes rounded like he'd just figured out the answer to one of life's craziest questions, "We could hold a fundraiser!"
The excitement and pride in Jimin's voice only made Chris giggle, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, you think it might be a good idea?"
"It's perfect!" he wiggled in his seat, "Honestly, the boys and I were trying to figure out ways to help, but we just didn't have enough to cover the remaining costs. We had no idea what to do."
"I think it's beautiful that you guys were trying to help in any way you could."
"Same goes to you, Chris," Jimin grinned, "I'm glad hyung met you."
"I'm glad I met him," she told him.
"You know, if he was here I'd deny this too but; I'm glad I met him too. Hyung's one of a kind, huh?"
"Yeah, he is."
"This is perfect, though! I could have a word with our mayor and arrange a meeting with you and Hoseok to discuss the logistics-"
"Okay so the thing is," she cut him off, "I don't really want him to know. I don't think he'd let us do it if he knew."
"Wait, you're right."
"Yeah, and also, I don't think it would be a good idea to go public about what the cause is. I don't want the entire town finding out about his father's illness when they had only told a few people, you know?"
"You're right again."
Chris laughed, "Yeah, see, now this is where I'm at a loss for what to do. I would have no problem organising a ball—we could do it at my hotel—but I don't want to make it known that this is the cause behind it."
"I mean, we could always just host the ball and not label it a fundraiser?"
"Would that be a success though?" Chris questioned, "From what Hoseok told me, the town loves the idea of coming together to help those in need of it."
"That is true," he continued to contemplate, "Perhaps we could discuss it with Seokjin hyung's dad?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, sorry," Jimin smiled, "I forget you're still yet to meet the rest of us! Seokjin hyung's dad is the mayor! He's super nice and obviously already knows about Hoseok hyung's situation so it would be perfect. Honestly, all our parents tried to help but his dad wouldn't accept any of the money so it would be a good idea to do it this way."
"Okay," she nodded, pulling her phone out, "When do you think would be a good time to?"
"I can give him a call tonight," Jimin assured her, "I'll ask him when he's free."
"Thank you so much Jimin, thank you for agreeing to do this with me."
"Honestly, thank you for doing this, Chris. We truly were at a loss for what we would do with their family not accepting any of our money."
"I don't like the idea of keeping this from him but if we told him what we were thinking he would definitely not let us do it, huh?"
"Nope," Jimin shook his head, "He'd stop us without a doubt."
Staring at her phone, she saw the text come in asking for her back at the hotel finally and she showed Jimin the screen.
"Sorry, I have to go now, but thank you so much for talking to me about this," sliding out of the booth, they both stood up, "Can you text me when you've been able to organise a time to talk to the mayor?"
He nodded enthusiastically before pulling out his own phone and getting her number.
After exchanging them, Chris bid him farewell.
She had walked there in the morning and didn't mind making the trip back, but as a couple buses passed her, she made a mental note to ask Hoseok about them the next time they spoke. Which never seemed too far away.
—
Jimin had managed to arrange a meeting with the mayor on the next day, informing Chris about it that evening. She was excited; envisioning the immense smile Hoseok would be wearing when it was all over.
Chris sat at her desk, bringing a pen to her notebook. It wasn't long before she felt her thoughts flood the pages, idea after idea hitting the paper. Different themes, different locations, different plans to minimise cost while still resulting in an event worth coming to.
But while the ideas started to overwhelm her, other thoughts began to spill through her mind.
She couldn't stop herself as she thought back to her ex-boyfriend, how he wouldn't have ever been unsure of anything.
Sighing, Chris turned to her phone, tapping it and watching it light up.
Subconsciously her eyes rolled at the sight of her home screen. She kept forgetting to change it.
You've been alone for so long that you always tend to take on everything on your own, and while it's an amazing work ethic, you're a bit overbearing.
She had been trying to push his words away every time they came back to eat at her. And yet they were still nestled in the corner of her mind, continuing to paint her brain.
Not just anyone can handle—
—me
She'd cut him off then but she could still hear the end of that sentence everyday.
The screen flashed again, a text notification appearing in the middle.
Hoseok: Photo Message
The smile appeared before Chris could stop herself, and she immediately opened it.
A picture of a tub of mint chocolate ice cream stared back at her.
Hoseok: Sorry you have to miss out on the beauty that is this flavour.
He truly had the best timing.
Chris: Sorry you seem to like eating toothpaste.
His reply came almost immediately.
Hoseok: Sorry you don't have any taste buds.
Hoseok: Dinner?
With a glance at her laptop, as if it were magic, she felt a weight lift off of her. And bit by bit she was becoming free.
Chris: I'm there.
After arranging to meet in their park, Chris was going to borrow a hotel car and Hoseok was just walking over from the bookstore. He had assured her he wouldn't get rained on, but by the look of the dark clouds overhead, she wasn't too sure.
Chris sat in her car when she arrived, waiting for him. Her worries about the weather were proven correct as she watched a few droplets hit her window.
Sighing, she looked around for an umbrella and hopped out of the car. Reaching for her phone, she didn't take too long to find his name.
"Hello?" Hoseok answered.
"See? It's raining, I told you."
After hearing the chuckle he let out, Chris had to crane her neck to check whether it really was raining. Somehow he had made it seem like the sun was out again.
"It seems to be, yes," how was it that she could hear the smile on his lips? "But I'm alright, I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait in the car!"
"Ten minutes? Where are you?"
"Just left the store now, sorry, my friend is quite a chatterbox."
"Hoseok," she muttered, before heading his direction, "Wait in the shelter."
"No, it's okay! I'm not sugar, I won't melt in water."
"But you could get sick," her pace quickened, "And you didn't even bring an umbrella."
"I'm telling you, I'm okay," he laughed again and it didn't ease her one bit. She knew he had been told to be careful of his health now that he was living with a cancer patient. He couldn't get sick.
Squinting, she managed to see a familiar yellow hoodie in the distance and she jogged over to him, "Don't move," she had said into the phone before hanging up.
She could make out the way the man in front of her looked down at his phone, confused, before slipping it into his pocket and starting to walk again.
However, that didn't take long before his eyes rested on her, widening.
"Chris?"
"I said don't move," she scolded him, dusting his shoulders of the rain, "What if you get sick?"
His eyes followed her as she did so, watching her skin glimmer with fresh water, hair sticking out in all directions from the humidity.
"I-I didn't know you were—"
"Let's not go out for dinner," she sighed, looking up at the sky again, "It doesn't seem like it's going to get any better."
"Do you have a better idea?"
And after a small silence, Hoseok spoke again, "How about you come over? I can show you our new greenhouse! And we could watch a movie?"
Chris obliviously tilted her head at his enthusiasm, not knowing a smile had blossomed across her lips as well.
But he saw it.
"Sounds good," she told him before they started to walk down the street she had come from. However, within seconds she felt her hand overcome with warmth and she turned to see his hand grab at the umbrella.
"Here," he mumbled, "I'll hold it."
"No- it's okay-"
"It's fine, really, let me hold it."
—
She was so glad Hoseok had suggested they spend the evening at his place. The greenhouse they had recently installed definitely was beautiful.
The glass windows stretched every side of the building, plants adorning every corner. The soft sounds of water hitting the roof and sliding down the sides only made the place seem more magical.
"Want a strawberry?" he asked, turning on a small light from the corner. It was only enough to illuminate his face and some of the surrounding foliage but it didn't matter to her.
Every minute she spent with him taught her that he didn't need to have light shining on him to glisten. He wasn't the moon that reflected rays. He was the sun.
"Sure," she found herself giggling as he disappeared behind the plants and appeared again holding a small container.
"Don't blame me if they're bad; this is our first attempt at growing strawberries here."
She shook her head at him after one bite, "Bad? These are delicious."
He watched her continue to eat, finding a seat and pat at the spot next to him after sitting down.
"How was your day?"
She brought the container of fruit with her as she sat down, crossing her legs to face him.
"It was the usual; workers making mistakes, customers complaining, organising events-"
"Organising events?" he perked up, "What are you organising?"
"Oh," waving her hand at him, she continued, "Nothing special really. It's kind of a secret at the moment."
He faked a gasp, "A secret? From your best friend?"
"Yeah," she laughed at him, handing him a strawberry, "Sorry mate."
Shaking his head, he took the fruit in his hand, biting on it.
When he was done eating, he looked up at Chris again, "Have I told you I'm proud of you?"
"Hmm?"
"I just forget how hard it is to achieve a job like yours at such a young age," his smile turned a little softer and somehow Chris felt something ignite in her chest, "You're amazing."
You need me, Chris.
How she wished she could get that damned voice out of her head.
"You're just saying that-"
"No I'm not," he insisted, "Not just anyone can accomplish what you've done, I'm really proud of you."
And before she could deny it a second time, she allowed herself to let his words sink in.
She allowed herself to perhaps believe them for a second.
"Thank you."
uwu i hope ur doing well angels! love you