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"One of the greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of self and accept the version of you that is expected by everyone else."

-K.L. Toth
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Cassia's POV

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Somehow, Cassia had gotten her feet to work again, check out from the supermarket and carry the bag of groceries back home. She couldn't stop thinking about Jungkook, all the joy from landing the job at the movie theatre long forgotten.

Jin noticed this when she returned. He congratulated her on landing the job, embracing her in a tight hug, yet the smile on Cassia's face didn't reach her eyes.

"What's wrong?" There was no fooling, Jin. He could see right through his best friend.

"It's back home, mum is throwing a fit and Jungkook called, it's all very much just a big mess."

"Ohh" Jin knew about the situation with Cassia's parents, to say the topic was a difficult one was an understatement. Jin had met Jungkook  over Skype a few times before and the two got along exceptionally well. It was like Jin was nothing but their long lost older brother.

"When's he coming over?"

"As soon as mum's okay again. Two to three weeks, possibly. Sometimes it takes longer. Won't be long now 'til he moves in here. He really can't stay there much longer, I see what it's doing to him, Jin. It's like all the light is being sucked out of him. It's like-"

"It's like what happened to you" he finished, eyes fixed on the floor. Jin despised seeing Cassia upset. It always completely ruined his mood as well and the number one cause for her sadness was her family, more specifically her parents.

Speaking of the devil, Cassia's phone started to buzz again.

Cassia immediately checked if it was Jungkook, nope.

"Unknown number"

Jin could immediately tell who it was just by the way her face was getting red and her eyes were narrowing. He carefully grabbed the phone and declined the call before she could do something she'd regret.

"He's not worth it, Cass"

Cassia pinched her nose again, something she'd only do if she was deep in thought or really pissed.

"I know" she huffed out.

Jin made them some tea and sat down with Cassia, calming her down.

Cassia recited the entire phonecall with Jungkook to Jin. Told him about the guilt she felt and the anger, both at herself and at her father. Jin was a great listener and Cassia always felt a lot better after confessing her worries to Jin.

"Jungkook will be here soon enough and then you can both forget about your parents, at least for some time."

"I wish it was that simple" Cassia weakly smiled.

Jin deeply sighed and rapidly shook his head as if to show that he was done with sulking.

"Let's eat now, I bet you're hungry. Just wait until you taste the magic that is my cooking." he proudly exclaimed and pulled Cassia to the already decked table.

Opening the fridge he pulled out a bottle of champagne. "We still have something to celebrate, you landing the job!"

Cassia couldn't hold back the smile forming on her lips. Jin was so extra and she loved it.

The food was delicious and the champagne bottle soon empty, nevertheless they pulled out their books after some time and started studying together as planned. Cassia felt like she owed it to Jin and she also really needed to catch up on some work herself.

The night ended with them falling asleep on the couch to some movie playing in the background. Jin was the closest thing to a home Cassia had ever known. Home wasn't a place for her, it was a person.

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"Do you have any classes today?" Cassia tiredly asked Jin before splashing her face with cold water.

"Uh huh, English Literature at 11" he groaned. It was 10 am.

"Are you not going to get ready then?" Cassia wondered, knowing fully well that her apartment wasn't exactly next door to Jin's college.

"Nah, who am I trying to impress at this point?"

"That's the spirit" she sarcastically said.

"Oh, you shut up, miss 'I've only had one boyfriend so far and that lasted for about a year' " he tried to mock Cassia's voice.

"Shut up, will you? You know I just haven't met someone decent yet. I don't have time for dating"

"You don't have time for anything these days" he groaned. "When was the last time we went out together, no hold up, when was the last time you even hung out with someone other than me?" he laughed and raised his eyebrows.

"Not that long ago.." Cassia replied a little bit unsure now.

"You know overworking yourself constantly really isn't good for your health. Both physical and mental health. You should enjoy yourself more, get out there, let loose for once" Jin was trailing off again, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Okay, doctor Jin. You'll have to take me out some time then" Cassia got annoyed with his constant nagging.

"What about tonight?" He lifted his head off of the couch, sending her a hopeful smile.

"Not tonight, first shift at the theatre" she shook her head.

"Those bastards, you had that interview yesterday! Can everyone just chill for once" Jin groaned.

That made Cassia laugh and Jin scratch his head.
"You know what? I'm going to get a side job too. Lift some of the weight off of your shoulders so you have at least a little bit of free time again"

This wasn't a suggestion, Cassia could hear the determination in Jin's voice and boy, if Jin set his mind to something, you could consider the job done.

After a while the chill he had just been talking about mere minutes ago left Jin as he realized how late he was running.

"Shit, shit, shit! Cassie why didn't you stop my rambling. Shit!" And with that the powerhouse that was Kim Seokjin was gone. All that still reminded Cassia of his presence was the messy couch.

~~~

She spent her morning cleaning the apartment and going to the library to do some more studying before showering and changing into her new uniform.

She walked into the theatre five before 2 pm and was greeted by a half-sleeping, ice blonde guy.

"Yoongi" she read his name tag and quickly noticed that there was another small silver tag laying on the counter similiar to his.

"Oh, for fuck's sake" she cursed.

"Casey" she glared at the tag.

Yoongi seemed to have been woken up by this and he wasn't exactly happy about it. Cassia could almost see the cartoon-like lightning bolts shooting out of his head.

The afternoon continued with Yoongi or "Suga" as he had introduced himself, making all sorts of popcorn and slushies to show her how the machines worked. He printed out tickets with her, showed her all the theatre rooms and the cleaning supplies. Speaking of cleaning that's exactly what Cassia proceeded to do after Suga was done with explaining everything, it was after all just a Tuesday afternoon and not busy at all.

Even though he seemed a little intimidating at first, Cassia soon grew to take a liking to her moody co-worker. He was very honest and Cassia appreciated that about him. When Jin picked her up at 9 pm Yoongi even smiled at her as she said her goodbyes.

"See you on Friday" he called after her.

"See you, Suga!"

Maybe this job wasn't going to be as dreadful as she had expected.

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A/N: Would really love to hear some feedback if you happen to stumble upon this story, also please vooote💕

Lots of love,
Umi

xx