Their volunteer work in the art section didn't end on Thursday, they also had to arrange the place and organize it for the exhibition on Monday. The walls were all done and the workers were moving in some artistic statues and even some furniture.

The place was neat but it lacked the special touches of what the students saw as art. The principle wanted the students to express themselves with the way they fill the whole section with what inspires them and he needed them to prove that art does exist in their young fresh hearts.

-

Shion has never worked this much in one day, she barely even moves from her bed whenever she reaches home, but it got her thinking that maybe, just maybe, Jimin is the reason behind her willingness to move and spend time working with others.

He gave her the energy to go and try something new, something they both can experience together. She never would've done this if it wasn't for Jimin being a vitamin pill and a cheerful virus.

He never failed to let a smile spread on her face, and the sound of her laughter repeats in his head like the harmony of instruments being played in one song.

He admired her hand movements whenever she lost herself in her busy mind, counting the times he wished he was a vein of thoughts in her head.

If only he could explain to her what his eyes loved about her the most, and what drove his mentality to another world without a ticket or a certain destination, he would.

She may not get his messy puzzle or his scattered dominoes, but he would still try and rebuild his complicated toys for her to understand that her existence was a special bonus he was dying to win.

---

The second day of the volunteer work started by helping the workers move some boxes, and unbox the ones with the decorating items and art supplies. They began placing the materials in the right rooms just as planned, and others were filling the hallways with the students' paintings from the old section.

The exhibition room had a few students drawing on its walls what seemed to look suitable for its concept. Shion was already painting what she had sketched on a minty green wall.

'So, what is this masterpiece?'.

Jimin stood beside her and watched her color the tiny parts carefully, all of her senses were used to skillfully complete her art.

'You'll find out once I'm done'.

Her eyes were wide open and focused on every small detail. Her hand didn't dare to slide the brush in a wrong direction, her swift moves looked carefree yet dexterous.

It was so entertaining to see this side of her, a side he can never get bored of exploring, a side that has an outrageous feel, but a delicate flavor.

From her facial expressions down to her feet position, he knew it was something hidden for awhile, a precious luminary that needed to glow with sparkles of youth.

'Can I help?'. She slowed her movements upon hearing her teacher's question.

'No. It's enough that you're currently watching me do my work'.

She tried sounding rude although she had a hidden small smile on her face. Jimin smirked as he saw her fake attitude being displayed in a sassy way right before him.

'You know, I won't ruin your work just like I did with your face'.

Shion can literally hear his annoying tone being close to her ears, she looked at him from the corner of her eyes and he was facing her with that stupid face of his.

'Well, you can't trust a monkey, they said'. She continued painting as she heard him chuckle from her sarcasm.

'It seems like you're not over yesterday'.

She stopped for awhile to look at him, ready to throw more rude words at him until she felt the back of his index finger brushing slowly on her cheek. She looked away when he wanted to connect their eyes into a long stare, feeling shy all of a sudden.

'I'm glad nothing happened to your skin. Otherwise, I'd feel guilty'.

His honesty was obvious from his gracious tone. She instantly faced the wall and continued painting once she felt he was trying to be intimate with her.

'I'll be going now. Text me as soon as you finish'. He walked away before she could even ask him to stay with her.

From the way his legs moved, it looked like he was forcing himself to keep on going without turning back.

'He didn't sound alright when he said that. Maybe he wanted to discuss something but I guess he didn't want to disturb me'.

She thought to herself. It's been more than a week when she first started to notice an odd behavior coming from him. A behavior where he couldn't tell her what was on his mind.

He would look at her for a few seconds, trying to deliver what he wanted to shout out loud by his pleading eyes.

'I hope it's nothing serious though, I wouldn't want him to feel upset because of me'.

Even when Shion acted cold or mean towards him, she never intended to actually mean her heartless words.

---

Jimin's mood had flipped into a troublesome status, he didn't know what caused it to suddenly change. He felt uncomfortable, something was bothering him and he tried to figure out what was behind all of this nuisance but he couldn't.

His emotions were battling each other every time he was close to getting what he needed. He thought this might only be temporary but it lasted more than a week, and will probably stay even longer.

He bought a bottle of water from a vending machine next to the chair he settled himself on. The liquid slowly cool him down and made him lay back and close his eyes for a moment.

There weren't any sounds, the corridor was silent and empty. People were already leaving since almost everything is done, and the evening is getting darker by the minutes.

He breathed his exhaustion away while he thought of Shion, the girl got him crazy for the past few weeks by doing nothing. Every time she's around him, he just wants to hold on to her presence even when he has to let her go. He was afraid he might lose her whenever he hears her say goodbye. This word was like a needle piercing his ears as it made its way into his mind.

'You're more annoying than I am, Shion. If only you could feel what I always feel, you'd understand'. He threw the empty bottle before disappearing in a random corridor.

---

'Finally, I'm done'. After standing for more than an hour, painting with her right hand while the other was holding the paint pallette, Shion examined her work and couldn't find a single mistake.

'It's perfect!'. She exclaimed with enthusiasm, letting her voice echo in the wide room. She turned around and realized that she was all alone, nobody was there to witness her flawless art.

'Well, tomorrow people will be attending the exhibition so no need to be sad'. She talked to herself as she tried to convince the disappointed side of her that her fatigue didn't go in vain.

She ran her fingers on the wall to admire the feeling of dry paint rubbing against them. A proud smile was unconsciously ripping her face from satisfaction, it felt really good to be able to complete something that resembled her childhood hobby.

'So, it's a baby falcon?'. Her head snapped to the side when the unforgettable voice rang like a bell in the room.

'Oh, you're back'. Shion murmured.

'Yeah. You did a great job, it looks professional'. He took his time scanning his student's talent on the wall, admitting to himself that her hands can turn something plain into a realistic game of magic.

'Where did you go?'. She asked, not caring about his opinion.

'Nowhere to be exact. Just walking around the building'. He was still analyzing the little bird, regretting that he didn't stay to watch her apply every color on the wall.

Shion kept quiet, spacing out as she thought about his odd behaviour before leaving her. Should she ask him if something is wrong with him? Or should she just wait until he brings it up?

Jimin turned to face her only to notice her blank expression, He knew she was drown in her own thoughts or even daydreaming again. His finger poked her cheek a few times until she shook her head, innocently staring at her teacher.

'Is everything alright? You seem kinda troubled'. He rested his hand on her shoulder.

'No. It's nothing'. She sounded unsure. Jimin felt concerned about her condition, he saw how her eyes were trying to hide something, but he figured she'd tell him later on.

'Okay then, can I take you somewhere?'. Jimin held her hand and gave her a smile for her to accept. Shion looked at her hand being wrapped around Jimin's gentle one, it was really comforting. She nodded and soon, they were walking in the empty corridor.

-

They entered their small red room from yesterday, and their work was done by someone else. 'I brought you here thinking that you might want to do a painting on these walls'. He stated.

Shion thought about the other animals she could paint, the idea seemed fun enough to make her nod happily. 'Stay here for a minute, I'll go get the paints from the storage near by'. He left her while she continued drawing her painting plan including cute animals in her head.

-

Shion checked her watch and frowned, it has been 5 minutes since he went to the storage. 'Maybe something wrong happened'. She was worried about him, especially since the building was nearly empty, only a few students were still working in some rooms.

She searched for the storage until she finally saw an open door to a room with a faint light. She approached what seemed like the storage, and there were only 3 steps til she reach the handle of the door when a sudden blackout froze her in place.

The corridor was dark but she could still see her surroundings by the lights outside as they enter from the windows. She was horrified, her mind started imagining frightening monsters and hideous zombies as they try to eat her alive. Her body shivered from the thought of being caught by an abnormal human, and not being able to escape or scream for help.

a loud phoneme from behind was enough to make her jump in her place, and her head slowly turned to see if something was preying on her. A hand grabbed her thin wrist tightly and pulled her in the storage, then shut the door with their weight.

-

Shion instantly gasped loudly and closed her eyes once her body collided on the person's firm form. She felt strong arms wrapped around her waist protectively, melting her small frame on the other's safe shield. Her breathing was heavy and shaky, which made her inhale the familiar intoxicating scent of a smoky alcoholic perfume.

Her hands were slightly trembling against the male's stiff chest. Her nails were lightly scraping on the fabric, trying to calm down while she heard every breath that left their lungs with intense heat.

'Don't be afraid, Shion. You're safe with me'.

His husky voice caused her eyes to immediately open as he whispered with a hot breath, crawling from her ear down to the nape of her neck.

She somehow curled her hands into loose fists when she was sure of the anonymous holding her in his arms. A red blush was coloring her cheeks, she couldn't believe they were alone in a dark room. Her mind could only think about the results of being too physically close to each other, literally sharing the same oxygen.

'J-Jimin'.His name became hard for her to pronounce, stammering on the first letter was a clue that fear was quickly replaced by tensity.

She heard him sign with a hint of weariness, it sounded like he was tired or annoyed by something to the point where he was fed up of it. She wanted to see his expression to identify what was he truly feeling, it couldn't just hide behind sighs and unspoken words.

Shion tried to reinsert the space between them by weakly pushing herself off with hesitant clenched hands. But unfortunately, her plan failed before even taking a step back.

Jimin tighten her arms around her waist once he felt her pressure on him slowly decreasing, then slid one of them up to her back to bring their chests closer, if that was possible.

'If you pull away from me, you'll regret it later'.

He muttered a warning in a dark tone, making her gulp hard as she realized she'd be trapped in his metal cage, until he released her from his strong grip.

After a minute of silence, Shion found herself resting her head on his chest, closed eyes and opened ears were only paying attention to what seemed to control her.

The warmth his body produced stole Shion's mind away from reality. It was like a drug, it numbed her body in ways a drug can never relate to. She felt like water was surrounding her, drowning her deeper into the sea of cordiality.

His heartbeats were a calmative melody from a music box, it took her soul into another dimension with the sedative pulsing rhythm that echoes in vacancy.

How did she even think of backing off? In that moment, she wanted to stay in her new sanctuary. A place where nothing could scratch her heart, nothing could mark her body with scars, and no one could tear her apart with traumatic wounds.

But there was a certain matter she had to take care of, an important one which she couldn't afford to miss. Everything else could wait, because hearing what she wanted to hear was much more valuable.

-

'C-Can you tell me what's wrong with you, Jimin? I need to know'. Shion finally broke the silence, feeling a little impatient as Jimin didn't response at first. His arms loosen around her and soon after, she took the chance to look at him face to face, bodies parting away with no force.

'Why?'. He questioned her in a low voice. His eyes were sad and cold, she can taste his sorrow from the bottom of his dark orbs, he didn't look fine at all.

'Because you're making it hard for me to be around you while you hide something that should be said already'.

Her voice cracked a bit in the last two words. It wasn't powerful enough to prove her point, but she knew he somehow understood it by only looking at her desperate expression.

'One day, you'll know without hearing me say it'.

He forced a smile to creep on his face to assure her that she'd be able to read his emotions, instead of listening to them being played by his mouth.

-

The electricity returned back to the building, and the lights were on and darkness vanished in a blink of an eye. Jimin dropped his arms from around her body, and watched Shion while she tried to back off without being too awkward about it. He laughed as she acted so confused with what to do next, despite her pinky blushing cheeks that she hoped he ignored.

'Stop acting so adorable'. He pinched her cheeks when he couldn't handle her cuteness.

'Y-Yah! It hurts'. She hit his arms as she pretended to be angry, but it only amused Jimin even more.

'Let's leave this place before you lose your way back home'. They both got out of the storage, then left the building before the day ended.

---

!! Jimin didn't say what was in his mind

ㅠ_ㅠ NAAANNNII WWWAAEE?!?!

To be honest, the chapter wasn't suppose to end that way but I thought I should just keep some ideas for the next chapter.

I might not be able to update next week, but maaayybbee the week after, and then I'll disappear for awhile cuz you know, F.I.N.A.L.S 

Though I really hope I can update the 10th chapter cuz it's kinda related to 8 & 9 but what can I do? I'd be lucky if my dad didn't take my phone away from me lol.

PLUS, thank you for subscribing and commenting and actually reading the chapters like I REALLY REALLY appreciate it ♡♡♡

\@_@/

N.T.K ~♢