In a special place, on a winter night

I. In a special place, on a winter night
 

She was brought back to reality by the bell. Jimin assumed it was Aeri. She was her best friend, who had followed her even in moving from one country to another, and who was part of her staff. She hastily wrapped herself up in a dressing gown, then she quickly made her way to the door. She opened the door, so she found herself in front of her friend that she invited to enter the penthouse, and she closed the door. She locked the door.

Jimin glanced at Aeri. It was a fairly comical scene, which made her smile and laugh spontaneously as it hadn't been for a long time. She held up two pizza cartons, which still smoked scattering the delicious aroma in the hallway, and some cans. She was really effortlessly funny. Jimin really cherished Aeri.

"Let me help you," Jimin said to Aeri.

"Thank you," Aeri replied to Jimin.

They moved into the living room. They laid both pizzas and drinks on the down table, opening the boxes and uncorking the cans to eat and drink to satiate. She didn't want to worry about keeping fit. Not tonight, not when she was in the company of her best friend, not today. She left the cellular nearby by accident, but there was still the same page with the same articles and comments that her friend immediately noticed.

"When are you going to stop?" Aeri asked Jimin. "You shouldn't read those articles, do those researches, or even read those comments. They make you sick. I don't want you to be sick," she told her.

"I know. You're right," Jimin answered Aeri. "I shouldn't do it, but I do it anyway. I just want to know what people think of me, but they think I'm a traitor, an arrivalist and a selfish person," she told her.

She knew her friend was right about it, but she still kept making and repeating the same mistakes.

“We know you're not that way. You're so much more," Aeri said to Jimin.

“Thank you,” Jimin replied to Aeri.

She didn’t believe her, although her friend certainly seemed sincere, genuine and honest about it. She was so overwhelmed by the malaise of being constantly attacked, humiliated and mocked, that she couldn’t really believe her. She wondered if she deserved to feel that way. She shook hier head. She didn't want to discuss this anymore at this point, because it just made her feel worse.

She was embraced by her. It happened so unexpectedly that she was almost taken aback by it, even if she was used to physical contact with her. She found herself with her own face sunk into the crook of her neck, trying to calm down. She didn't want to cry again. She had cried enough already.

 

She came to this café in the city center to relax herself, but most likely she must’ve underestimated the presence of the crowd and consequently that of the paparazzi. If too many people had gathered in front of the cafeteria, then the paparazzi would’ve noticed her. She wanted to avoid it in any way. She had been so foolish that she even forgot to wear sunglasses, with which she usually covered herself at least partially. It was such an important if not fundamental object for her. A life savior. She was such a fool.

She stepped into the café, already catching the attention of everyone because of how gorgeous she was with her silky, long and black hair, with the outfit she wore that consisted in a tight and black dress, with collant under it and black and high boots, and her shiny, big and black eyes. She was one of a kind.

She made the order to the counter, waiting for the employee to deliver it to the table she would’ve chosen. She sat on a chair, with a mug of cappuccino filled up with foam draped in grains of dark chocolate on top of it, and she looked around. She noticed the horde of people stationed outside the cafeteria. She could watch them all, one by one, through the windows. She hoped they wouldn’t join her, though she liked to get the attention of fans when at least she was prepared for it. She was okay with it when for example it was scheduled. She was used to having to take photographs or release autographs with them and for them, but this time he would’ve liked to spend much more time alone. She owed it to herself.

She suddenly spot the other female. A stranger. She was struck by her beauty. She had blonde and wavy hair, a petite body and round and hazel eyes. She thought that she really was beautiful, being made of such an indescribable beauty. Enchanting, alluring, captivating. Who was she?

She realized that the other female not only noticed her as well but also smiled at her.

But, just as she casted an elusive glance on the other female, she was interrupted. The thread of thoughts and scenarios was broken so suddenly, shattering them to pieces. She was approached by a group of rather young girls, who gathered beside her making a slight bow. She bowed as well towards them too as a sign of respect.

"Yoo Jimin-sshi?" one of them asked her. "I’m so sorry for the disturbance. I'm Hannah. I've been a fan of you since you were part of the group! I never stopped being your fan! I continued to follow your career, no matter the path you’ve taken. I hope I can buy a ticket to your next concert!" she told her.

She smiled at her. It was nice to know that someone – anyone – was following her since such a long time. It made her feel so special. Unique.

Can I have your autograph or a photograph, please?" Hannah asked to Jimin.

"Hello, Hannah. Nice to meet you. Thank you for supporting me. Yes, of course. We take a photograph and I give you an autograph," Jimin answered Hannah. “I hope we can meet again at one of my next concerts,” she told her.

She wrote an autograph on her napkin, and they took a picture with her cell phone. She smiled at them with further smile that was very wide and bright, after which, when she was finally alone, she sat down again to at least try to consume the cappuccino she had just bought.

However, her own eyes shifted to her figure. The stranger's. They looked at each other briefly. It didn’t matter how long it lasted, because it had a certain amount of intensity.

She was convinced that she would be able to relax with the cappuccino in this café, but apparently it was impossible. The fans, her smile, and her. Just her. The stranger. They didn't know each other at all, yet it almost seemed to her that it was necessary to get to know each other. She reminded herself that she no longer believed in love. It had already burned her, and she didn't want to get burned again. Love. What love was?

“Kim Minjeong,” Minjeong introduced herself to Jimin. “Isn’t it tiring, is it? I don’t think I’d be able to deal with it,” she told her.

She turned to her, so as to give her the consideration she deserved to have, and she smiled at her. She was pleased that it was the stranger who took the initiative.

“Yoo Jimin," Jimin introduced herself to Minjeong as well. "Yes and no. It's certainly tiring, but it's still nice. They support me, they protect me, they comfort me. I'm used to it," she replied to her.

She held out her hand to her, waiting for her to shake it in expectance. She wondered how it might feel, their respective hands coming in contact with each other. It felt nice. This was how it felt. Nice.

"Nice to meet you," Jimin said to Minjeong.

“Nice to you meet you, too,” Minjeong replied to Jimin.

She realized that they were no longer strangers to each other. There was Jimin and there was Minjeong. She wondered what all of this could lead to.

"Do you want to sit with me?" Jimin asked Minjeong.

A part of her really wanted to get to know her while the other part of her really wanted to reject her. Mnjeong sat down in front of Jimin. When they found themselves closer to each other, Jimin had a chance to take a better look at Minjeong. She didn’t stare at her, but she looked at her. It felt different in some way.

“Tell me about yourself,” Minjeong suggested to Jimin.

"I trained for many years, then I was about to debut around sixteen years old. I began my career as an idol in a girlgroup in Korea, my native county, after which I detached from the group and became a soloist, so I came to the United States to continue my career as a singer and dancer. I want to be a well-rounded idol and artist, but I want to go on my way. I'm often on a business trip. I travel all the time. I always have my suitcase ready," Jimin explained to Minjeong.

She perhaps let too much detail leak out into the conversation. However, she was much more likely to talk about her work than about herself. It was a much easier topic to talk about for her.

"Tell me about yourself, too" Jimin encouraged Minjeong.

"We’re not so different. We dedicated our lives to our passions. I discovered that my main passion was art since when I was a child, so I’ve been living out my life for it. I moved from Korea to United States as soon as I got accepted to a private art school. I studied for many years until I reached the graduation. I’m a painter. I paint mostly landscapes, nudes and portraits, that I also try to sell during art exhibitions,