Maid's Night || Vmin ff ✔

Chapter 26

Taehyung suddenly turned and looked at the servant girl. The servant girl bowed her head as soon as her gaze met his. The sight reminded him of Jimin again. When Jimin made eye contact, she stared blankly at him, and then she was surprised a beat later and bowed her head. But later, she didn't avoid his eyes.

He didn't hate it.

He didn't hate the moment when those eyes were staring at him.

When Taehyung arrived in front of the bathroom, another maid was there to attend to his bath.

"You don't need to wait."

Originally, he didn't often ask his servants to assist him. Even when he did, he never let them see his body. He didn't think it was necessary for him to show his scars to his servants. He wasn't ashamed of his scars, but he wasn't proud of them either. They were just marks of survival.

When he got into the tub, the temperature of the water seemed to take away his fatigue. He leaned back lazily. As he slowly closed his eyes, a bright voice flashed through his head again.

"Oh, this, this isn't a fall, I'm going to get closer!"

Recalling Jimin's ridiculous excuse, Taehyung burst into laughter without realizing it. Anyway, Jimin was good at mumbling and spitting out strange words when she was in a tight spot.

The hand that carefully washed his body. The eyes that were in a panic. And then she tripped and fell into his arms...

"Time is slow."

Taehyung recited lowly in an inaudible voice as he thought of Jimin.

* * * *

It was a dense forest path. The wind ruffled her hair as she took off the cloak. The feeling of her hair being gently wrapped around her face was very nice.

But eventually, she put the cloak over her head again. She had to be vigilant in case someone was following her.

Her footsteps were not easy, but they were still diligent. She didn't know exactly how much time she had.

A short distance past the forest road, Jimin saw a quiet village. It was a place where everyone knew each other.

Jimin scattered her mother's remains in the deep forest of this village.

Jimin stood in front of the door of a house and knocked on it. After a while, she heard a gentle voice.

"Who are you?"

Jimin, seeing a familiar face, gently pulled down her cloak.

"Aunt Julia! It's me. Jimin."

"Jimin? Your hair...."

When her aunt was startled, Jimin felt embarrassed and fiddled with the back of her neck. Julia, who was watching Jimin with a curious look on her face, came to her senses and let Jimin in.

As soon as they were inside the house, a warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped Jimin's body. The warmth that wasn't easily felt in a big, glamorous castle.

"Did you get another vacation? Why is your hair like that? Why did you wear your cloak like that?"

The unordered questions popped up in a random fashion.

"No, no, no. Let's eat first."

Julia forced Jimin to sit in a chair at the table, but Jimin smiled and shook her head.

"No need for food. I stopped by to see you face to face. Maybe we won't be able to see each other for a long time."

"Why don't we go get something to eat and talk later?"

In an instant, a delicious-looking course of meals began to form. In addition to a soft stew with peas and bread, along with homemade meats.

It was a fragrant, warm scent that stimulated the sense of smell. Something about its warmth made Jimin emotional.

When she scooped up the stew, and as she put the warm soup into her mouth, she felt like crying.

Jimin couldn't eat it and just held the spoon.

"What's wrong?"

Jimin hesitated and responded to Julia's soothing, gentle voice .

"Umm...I ran away from my workplace."

"Why? Did they bully you? Did they do something terrible to you?"

"No. They didn't do anything bad to me, but I can't stay there anymore. I don't know when it'll be, but they'll probably start looking for me. I'm going to run away before then."

Jimin didn't know when she would be able to come back here again.

Julia looked at Jimin for a moment, and said gently.

"Let's eat first and stay the night."

Jimin wanted to get out of here quickly because she thought she'd be a nuisance if she stayed too long.

"No, they might find me here soon. I have to get far away. If I stay long, they might do some damage."

"No, stay."

Julia's warm eyes looked at Jimin. Jimin smiled silently. She felt for a moment that she wanted to settle down with this warmth and when her heart was still soft.

Julia asked in a gentle voice.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to cross the ocean and go somewhere new. If I go far from here, they won't be able to find me. When it gets a little quieter, I'll come back to the village and settle down if I like."

"I see. It would be better if you came to the village later. I'm here, and this is where you used to live."

Jimin nodded and added in a cheerful voice.

"I don't want to be caught. Fugitive slaves will be decapitated if caught."

"Ah, Jimin."

Julia pulled Jimin into her arms. Jimin buried her face in her broad arms like a baby.

"I'm fine. I have my little stars to protect me."

Jimin glanced up at the stars shining outside the window.