jimin slowly opened the drawer on the desk that contained all her keys and immediately noticed one was missing.

"!" she yelled as she ran to the jype building. 

while running she dialed yerin's number but didn't receive an answer. 

she headed straight for the report center, a spot designated just for idols to disclose strange incidents. 

while panting she spoke, "i have the extra key for yerin's apartment but it's missing. i have a feeling a fan stole it."

the receptionist looked up, "do you know where she is right now?"

jimin thought for a moment, "i think she's at bangtan's dormitory. i called her a few minutes ago but she didn't pick up."

"i'll send a couple security guards to check her apartment. has anything else unusual happened?" she asked. 

"actually," jimin said, "this morning, i woke up to find my apartment in chaos. it looked like someone had rummaged through my entire place. the door was broken and a window was shattered in the process."

the clerk's eyes widened, "you should've reported that immediately. oh my, are you okay?"

jimin weakly smiled, "i'm fine."

the employee almost commanded her, "please stay in this building until the security clear yerin's and your apartment. hopefully they'll also make sure she's safe."

jimin nodded and went to the lobby where some of the staff were lounging. 

she lied on a small sofa in the corner of the room and dozed off.

she awoke to someone roughly shaking her shoulder.

"what are you doing here?" ayeon asked. 

"oh," jimin sat up, "i was just reporting some things that happened at yerin's and my apartment."

the older female glanced at the clock, "it's about dinnertime. wanna eat out somewhere?"

"no, the receptionist i talked to told me to stay here until she told me otherwise. sorry, but maybe next time?" jimin apologized.

ayeon waved her hand, "whatever, it's fine,"

she began walking away, "see ya."

"good night," jimin yelled back at her.

nearly half an hour later, the clerk stepped into the lobby, "jimin?"

jimin stood up, "do you need me?"

"follow me for now," the clerk returned to her desk with jimin. 

she sat in her chair and looked up at the idol, "the security have cleared yerin's and your apartment and are currently checking yerin's whereabouts. everything appeared as you said but it'll take a while to repair your apartment. for now you two will have to stay in the trainees' dorm. i hope you're okay with sharing a room as it's quite crowded in there."

jimin winced, "we'll take what we can," and bowed as she took a key from the receptionist. 

the clerk gently smiled, "stay safe and have a good night."

"you too," jimin responded. 

she exited the jype building and rubbed her arms.

the january weather was awfully cold, especially at night.

she was still wearing her school uniform and her short skirt helped little against the strong wind. 

jimin headed back to her apartment complex to retrieve a coat, toiletries, and a few other necessities. 

but when she arrived, the door was already fixed and locked. 

she exhaled and sat against the wall. 

jimin lied there for a while until she couldn't stand the chilly wind anymore.

she slowly walked to the trainees' dorm. 

jimin had heard way too many rumors about what happened in there, especially with the females. 

the entrance to the building was unlocked, surprising jimin. 

nonetheless she allowed herself in and searched for the room number carved into the key. 

eventually she found it on the third floor at the end of a hallway. 

musty, empty, and shabby - they were the first three words that appeared in jimin's mind when she flicked the lights on. 

their dorm consisted of one small room made up of the living room, kitchen, dining area and a separate bathroom. 

she saw that the paint on the walls and ceiling was peeling, leaving small shavings on the ground.

the room was ice-cold and the heater was broken.

while lookinjg around, jimin noticed that the sofa was torn up and stuffing poured from the cuts.

droppings and dead ants decorated the moldy tiles beneath jimin's shoes. 

randomly, an urge to cry swept through her. 

she lightly slapped herself, "no. you can't be weak."

after testing out some of the appliances, she glanced at the time. 

it was almost eleven o'clock and her night shift at the cafe started at midnight.  

jimin buried her face into her hands when she remembered that she'd left her maid uniform in her apartment.   

her manager would be so pissed.    

"i better go out early so i can stop by a store to buy a coat," she muttered to herself while grabbing her wallet, phone and key.

she walked to a nearby convenience store and bought the cheapest winter jacket there.

while putting the coat on, she made her way briskly to the pub.

jimin arrived a few minutes early and cautiously approached her manager. 

she turned to her and immediately noticed, "why aren't you in your work uniform?"

"ahh..." jimin looked down, "i lost it."

her boss took the lie and furrowed her brows, "how the hell did you lose it when you're supposed to keep it in the back of the place?"

"well, i was tired and didn't want to bother changing, so i kept it on and later took it off back at my apartment. when i woke up i forgot where i put it," she winced at the poorly constructed lie. 

"did you even bother looking for it, perhaps?" the manager rubbed her temple, "nevermind, don't answer that. of course you did."

she stared at jimin and sighed, "just wear someone else's for now and properly wash it after."

jimin went behind the counter and began opening each locker one by one, trying to find a female size near hers. 

after a couple attempts, she managed to find a size close enough.

right after she finished changing, her phone vibrated, notifying her that she'd received a text. 

jimin unlocked her phone and read the message.

yerin; do u have the key for our dorm room? i know you're working right now but if u have free time during ur shift can u drop off the key?

jimin; yeah, i'll try to but the bar is pretty crowded tonight.

in the end, her manager kept jimin busy during her entire shift.

when she finished serving the last customer, she changed back into her school uniform and put the borrowed maid outfit into the tavern's washer and dryer. 

it was nearly four am by the time the clothes finally finished drying. 

she bowed to the other part-timers getting ready to close the cafe, "have a good night."

four hours had passed since jimin had texted yerin and hopefully, she got a room at a nearby hotel.

but of course, she was lying in the hallway in front of their room covered with a jacket. 

jimin sighed and shook her friend awake while unlocking the door.

although jimin was tired, whatever yerin had been doing previously completely wiped her out. 

she was still half-asleep and stumbled into the room.

while jimin locked the door, yerin collapsed on the sofa and immediately fell back into slumber.

"hey," jimin was annoyed and shoved yerin, "i need to open the sofa bed so we can both sleep on it."

while grumbling, yerin managed to stand up and watched as jimin rolled the bed to its full queen size. 

"wait," jimin commanded before yerin could lay back down. 

she headed to the small closet and took out the sheets and quilt. 

normally, she wasn't this bossy and motherly but jimin had no idea when the last time the sofa was cleaned and her inner germaphobe came out.

she set her alarm and settled herself underneath the blankets.

even while wearing her tights, she felt as if bugs were crawling all over her legs, and they probably were.

jimin squeezed her eyes shut - almost everything about this situation was awful. 

but at least she could sleep in until nine because she had asc to host tomorrow. 

that left her with a smile as she drifted asleep.

yay, this story is finally off hiatus after almost a year!

it's been a while but i'll try regularly updating while working on my other stories.

feel free to comment thoughts, theories, criticisms, etc.