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The month of July started with an unbearable heat that struck the city of Seoul. The temperature rose a digit every single day which benefited a small ice-cream parlour located near a local university. While the heat boosted, students around the area would visit the parlour every day for ice-creams, smoothies or cold coffees. Sometimes, they just hung around the place regardless of the limited seating due to little space. It wasn’t surprising to see people cramming the shop around noon especially by students who wanted to take a break from the stress they were carrying. One of them being Park Jimin, a third-year mathematics student who low-key want a career in dancing.
Math was hard. However, Jimin didn’t hate it since he was the only person in the course that genuinely enjoyed problem-solving with numbers, as he presumed. He called math a puzzle game, described as challenges to decode. Also, that way of thinking has helped him tolerate the course. On the other hand, dancing was something he took interest upon since he was a little boy. He learned ballet that turned into contemporary where he found his passion. Until he became a teenager which completely soaked him into the pool of expectations. Particularly, his parents who had lots of expectations around their only child, a pressure that controlled him into studying harder to grab the chance of university and graduating with a degree.
The first semester was almost over, nearing the end of the month which meant more coursework and exams to look forward to. The anxiety that came with it was no joke but Jimin had his way to cool his boiling brain, with the help of dance. Dancing helped him forget about the stress of university, the unwanted pressure, his parent’s expectations and many other crappy kinds of stuff that polluted his head. Every weekend, he teaches a mixture of ballet and contemporary to five to ten-year-old kids in his university. It was a club, dance classes set up by Hoseok, a close friend of Jimin. Hoseok had a passion for dance as well, hip-hop or street in general. He decided to open the classes to find his way to dance between university breaks. And Jimin happily joined him, reliving his childhood dream. The idea of the club couldn’t get any better since Jimin loved kids and teaching them dance brought him greater joy. The two of his favourite things coming together: dancing and playing with kids.
Getting back to the parlour, Jimin had been queueing up for fifteen minutes, cravings in his mouth and ice-cream names repeating in his head. Hoseok had asked him to grab a few orders for them and the kids, a necessity in this hot weather.
Mint-chocolate ice cream.
Just recalling the name in his head had Jimin cringed at the thought of tasting mint-chocolate. It was his least favourite flavours of ice-cream, but he wouldn’t say that to Hoseok because the conversation would end up in a debate. When his name was called out from the counter, Jimin happily strode forward and greeted the owner of the shop with a sense of familiarity and comfort. “Jiminie, how’s your day been?”
Kim Seokjin was the owner of the parlour who quickly became attached to Jimin since he started visiting the shop two years ago. They end up chatting most of the time when it’s not too busy and Jimin also found out that Seokjin graduated from their university. “I should have become a lawyer by now.”, Seokjin would say, thinking over the struggles of law course yet in some way, quite a relief that he chose another path. Starting his own business.
“Exams are approaching, and I am not okay.” Jimin fiddled with his wallet in his pocket, taking it out as he quickly called out the orders that he wanted before he forgets.
“Mint-chocolate?”, Seokjin started scooping through the different flavours displayed on the fridge next to the counter. “I thought you hated it.”, he recalled Jimin and him discussing the certain flavour, both pointing out things against it.
“I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it that much. Besides, it’s for Hoseok hyung.”
The mention of his friend’s name had Seokjin paused for a moment before he continued scooping more ice-creams in a cup. “Hoseok-shi… likes mint-chocolate?”
Jimin couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle, clearly able to read Seokjin’s face since he knew the older had a small crush on his friend. On the other hand, Hoseok was no different. He would always have the same reaction if Seokjin’s name was mentioned. As of today, Jimin swore internally that all the ice-cream orders in the future would be done by his shy friend. After Seokjin placed the ice-cream cups in a cardboard holder for easy carry, Jimin noticed an extra cup of mint-chocolate ice cream. “Oh hyung, I just ordered one-“
“It’s my treat.”, the owner scratched behind his neck, a shy gesture which clearly stated the signal.
“I’m sure Hoseok hyung would love this.”, Jimin reassured with a bright smile and bid goodbye to Seokjin, promising to deliver the message to Hoseok.
-
The heat enveloped Jimin as soon as he burst out of the parlour, wishing to go back in the air-conditioned place. He speed-walked towards his university which was barely ten minutes away, but he feared the ice-creams would turn into milkshakes in this heatwave. He had a mission to deliver Seokjin’s piece of love to Hoseok in solid form. He can’t let it melt.
The ice-creams survived the heat since Jimin reached the university building in less than six minutes. The campus wasn’t busy due to weekends but some students were hanging around the area as exam weeks were nearing. Their studio was located at the sports building, big enough to fit gym rooms, basketball court and swimming pools. Two boxes of ice-creams in each hand, Jimin strolled his way towards the studio when he suddenly lagged his pace, approaching a small girl peeking into the window of their studio door. Lips parted in awe; she blinked her large doe eyes in fascination as the music echoed through the walls from the studio. Jimin couldn’t recognise her as he distinctly knew each of his students. He wasn’t a type to scare away children but when he cleared his throat to catch the kid’s attention, she flinched from the sudden presence. Backing away from the door, she fairly looked scared with her head hanging low as if she just committed the biggest crime.
Jimin hurriedly knelt, reassurance and softness in his voice when he called out the little girl. “Hey, what’s your name?” He placed the boxes down by his sides as he waited for the kid to open up. All their students get dropped off by their parents every weekend because no five or ten years old attended the university. That’s just silly. Yet, why is the little girl here without a guardian?
When no reply came back, Jimin tried another question. “Where’s your mother?” The kid still looked down, unable to hold her head up in shame or simply scared from the strange man. “Father?” The mention of her father made the girl look up briefly, a glimpse of her shining, teary eyes. Jimin assumed her father was lost. Lost his brain cells. He dropped off his child outside the studio and disappeared? Why would he even leave his child like this? That man is going to have an earful from Jimin if he comes back. The older boy had all sorts of questions for the kid but don’t think that he was going to get any answers back. “Do you love dan-“
His voice died down when he noticed the little girl staring at the ice-cream box without blinking. Jimin realised and smiled in admiration as he dragged the box in front of him and picked out a strawberry flavour. “You like ice-cream? Here…”, he gently pushed the cup towards the kid, but her gaze was still fixed on the box. The older boy retracted his arm and placed the ice-cream back. He looked up and found the girl pointing her little finger at the green ice-cream with chocolate chip toppings. “This one?”, he pointed at the mint-chocolate ice-cream and she quietly nodded. What an unusual taste. Jimin was delighted to finally get a response and he gladly handed over the mint-chocolate ice-cream. Got an extra from Seokjin anyway.
-
It didn’t take long for the little girl to follow Jimin inside the studio, meeting Hoseok and other kids who welcomed her warmly. He only found out that she was four years old as she struggled to raise four of her tiny fingers. All the kids took a break as they gathered around for ice-creams. Jimin passed the other mint-chocolate to Hoseok and gave him a knowing smile. “Seokjin hyung said hi.” Hoseok suddenly went red, taking the ice-cream and shaking his head at his friend’s teasing voice. Jimin busied himself working on simple ballet steps while few of his students tried to copy him, tiptoeing and twirling around. It was never about making it right or being perfect at it; dance was just about fun. The little girl settled down on the bench against the wall as she slurped her ice-cream while watching the performance in wonder. The knocks on the door followed through after a couple of moments which Hoseok hurriedly reacted to but Jimin was so engrossed into watching his kids attempting the new moves that he missed out on meeting the certain person behind the door. The little girl jumped off the bench and rushed towards the strange man as Hoseok watched the kid hugging the said guardian.
“Bye-bye!”
Jimin turned around to get the flash of little hand waving from the door until it closed shut. Regarding the confusion set on his face, Hoseok explained to him that the kid has left with her guardian and he even mentioned how worried and relieved the man looked when he saw her. “I think it was her brother?” How careless can he be? Jimin hurriedly exited the studio to find the empty hallway, hardly any sign of the two.
-
Weeks passed by and Jimin buried himself in the campus library with books. Mathematics didn’t feel like fun puzzles anymore; it was a misery which made him look back at the time when he applied for the said subject. Present Jimin was laughing at his past, what a fool he was. Sleepless night and bitter coffees were his favourite combo for these past weeks, exams papers kicking him with harder punches. Jimin was exhausted at this point but he continued with the dance classes at the weekends because that’s the only thing that kept him sane. Also, watching the kids dance their heart out, laughter filling the studio took him back to the times when he was their age. Dreams gleaming in their eyes.
It was around five in the evening when Jimin left the library. The sun hit him differently, making him squint his eyes, unable to decipher his surroundings. Backpack hanging on one shoulder, he strolled down the stairs towards the entrance gate when he heard a cry. Half-conscious, Jimin blinked his eyes and kept his hand against his forehead to avoid the direct sunlight. He squinted around to find the source of noise until his gaze stopped at the tall man just outside the gate, pulling a little kid by hand. The little kid was struggling to back away as she pulled her small body away from him. “No!”, she complained while trying to run away but the man wasn’t giving up. He was wearing a black suit with matching trousers, hair long with strands falling over his eyes and patterns of tattoos peeking from his collar. His knitted brows empowered the furiousness in his eyes as the little girl whimpered in fear. He moved forward and scooped the kid in his arms as he scrambled to open his car. Jimin fastened his pace, heart rapidly beating as he thought of the worst-case scenario. The man was kidnapping the kid! As he approached the scene closer, Jimin recognised the little kid. She was the lost kid from last time outside the studio. Minty, he named her after the last interaction.
“HEY!”
Jimin went off with a blow, managing to hit the side of the kidnapper’s face. The next thing he did was to grab onto Minty’s leg, successfully pulling her out of the man’s grip. “You! Stay away from her!”, he shouted while carrying Minty protectively on the side while the man looked astonished, lips moving but no sound could be heard. “Just you wait, you freak! I’ll call the police.”
“Wait-“
The man stepped forward but Jimin flashed him his phone to show that he was second close to hitting the green button to the police. Somehow, Minty was still struggling in his arm, crying her eyes out. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll find your parents.”, his razor-sharped voice turned mushy when he turned to the little girl who was trying to free herself from his hold. Just when he was about to cheer her up, she cried, “Daddy!” while extending her arms towards the strange man. “Daddy!!”
Jimin halted and slowly put the kid down, only to have her running towards the said kidnapper. The man quickly picked her up and hugged her into his chest shielding away from Jimin. He looked back at the smaller man possessively while trying to his calm his daughter by stroking her hair. When Jimin grasped the situation, he gasped loudly with his hands covering his face in embarrassment. Oh god, Jimin. You need to sleep. Flustered, he peeked through his fingers to find a pair of sharp gazes aiming towards him, waiting for an explanation. He bit his tongue, unable to voice out his feelings. Say something.
After the minutes of silence from both parties, the man in black pulled his phone out which alarmed Jimin and he blurted out a bunch of gibberish sounds. “I…I… you… kidnap… kid… thought…” He couldn’t make out any words and just bowed down in apology, feeling his cheeks burning. Not from the weather, he confirmed. “I-I am sorry.”, he quickly picked up his backpack from the ground and sprinted away without looking at them. Jimin has never felt this mortified of himself in 22 years of his life. He ran so fast to wherever his feet took him, an urgency to get away from the place, swearing on never to come across them again.
-
After the last exam of the semester, Jimin rushed back to the sports building as they were recruiting more students as now, they were free from stress. Hoseok had already set up the studio with welcoming decorations. Jimin managed to buy packets of candies for the new kids at the nearby supermarket. The studio was quite lively with parents conversing with the two adults while the kids ran around playfully, eating candies. They were discussing how the parents could put their trust on the two men. Hoseok and Jimin promised to look after the youngsters with all their heart. “Jimin here is very protective of the kids. Last time, he even-“, Jimin didn’t let Hoseok finish, pinching his side, knowing fully where the story was heading. Jimin should have known telling that embarrassing kidnapping story to Hoseok was a bad idea. Now, his friend tries to find every other way to bring the story just to tease him.
The meetings went perfectly with all the parents satisfied and kids joyous to start the classes from next week. It was time to clean up the studio as the sun was slowly setting down. Hoseok picked out the rubbish with dustpans while Jimin helped with the furniture, pushing them against the wall to create spaces. It was around seven when they heard a knock on the door. The two boys looked at each other in agitation but brushed off the alerting thoughts with “It might be the security guard.”
“Let me get it.”
Jimin dropped whatever he was doing and went to open the door for the black figure outside. As soon as he opened the door, he shut it as quickly with a yelp. Hoseok immediately came to his side, looking more confused than ever. “Who was it?”
Jimin panicked and backed away from the door, palm rubbing his forehead in agony as he started to spit out gibberish. “That… kidnapper… here… me…” He couldn’t believe that the man had found him in after many weeks. The flashbacks were back, repeating in his head as he saw himself in handcuffs. “Oh god, he’s going to take me to jail.”, he muttered under his breath while his friend Hoseok went to open the door for the stranger. “No, hyung! Wait-“
Helplessly, Jimin turned away, facing his back towards the door, pretending that he was invisible while standing in the middle of the studio. He could hear the greetings exchanged between Hoseok and the man. Jimin had his eyes shut, bottom lip between his teeth and internally praying to be awake from the dream.
“Jimin-ah, they came to the meeting.” Hoseok tapped on his shoulder but he recoiled from the sudden contact, hesitancy in his movements.
“I apologise for being late.”, he could hear the man, voice calm and weirdly young.
Exhaling all the bad air, Jimin peeked over his shoulder and turned his body fully towards the taller man. His eyes still avoided the presence until the man himself extended his hand towards him. “Hi, I am Jeon Jungkook.” Jimin glanced up from under his lashes to meet a pair of doe eyes with a hint of smile gleaming towards him. He looked quite young now that he could see his face, unable to believe that he is a parent. Minty or his daughter was carried on his side, head resting on her father’s shoulder as she shyly watched the exchange. The shorter male bowed lightly once, continuing to avert his eyes while softly introducing himself. “Park Jimin…”, he took the large hand, engulfing his small one.
Suddenly, he felt a gentle pull on his hand, their eyes meeting in the middle. Jimin held his breath, silence filling the room, but the rapid beating of his heart was louder in his ears.
“Nice to meet you, again.”