ACT XVIII | SCENE LXXXVIII

❝HEART❞

JANGMI BLINKED, STARING at jimin, a small frown on her face. she glanced back at the small wall clock in the hallway. "is everything alright?" she reached out and pulled him in. "i came over to your place earlier to pick rosalie up but i only met taehyung and jin. said you went to see your dad?" she shut the door.

he did not reply, so she turned to face him, worried look on her face. his gaze on hers was intense, making her feel somewhat self-conscious. "jimin?" she called softly, head tilting to the side. "how are we supposed to talk when you won't say anything?" she pulled her night robe tighter around her.

it was silent, neither party speaking, only staring, eyes conveying messages that they could not decipher. she sighed, lips parting to speak again.

"i'm sorry." jimin blurted. her brows dipped together in confusion. "what? is it about leaving rosalie with your friends? because that's fine by me, she loves them." she rubbed her arm, aware that they hadn't moved from the foyer.

he shook his head frantically. "no, not about that." he answered breathily. her frown became more prominent. "what did you do? why are you apologising?" her eyes narrowed, suspicion lacing her voice. her arms folded over her chest, causing creases to form on her nightwear. he ran his hand through his hair, his confusion and frustration highlighted in the countenance he held.

"jangmi, i'm sorry for everything that i put you through five years ago." he began. her left brow shot up. "um, i thought we went through this already." her voice was low. he shook his head again, hair flopping around. "no, you don't understand." he took a single step closer. "we talked but i never actually apologised for hurting you the way that i did. i explained why i did it but i didn't tell you i was sorry for doing it." he gestured, his hands moving around as he spoke. "jimin, i forgave you. it's alright." she assured him.

"but i haven't forgiven myself for putting you through hell and not trying harder to find you, to fight for us. and i guess that's why i've been mad all these years. i thought i was mad at you for leaving but the truth is, i've been mad at myself for letting you go, for putting you through so much when you didn't deserve it, when you trusted me with your heart. i mean i... i pushed all these thoughts to the darkest recesses of my mind and let them rot there, pretending they were nonexistent but... but..."

his gaze which had moved from his hands to his feet to the floor finally landed on her. "all this time, i've bottled up my emotions, kept them hidden. now it's like a bottle of shaken soda. if i keep letting it build up, someday, i'm going to explode. and i don't want that so i want to let it out slowly."

"jimin—" she began, a look of concern passing over her features. "please, let me finish before i lose the courage i've built up for this." he pleaded, sounding incredibly out of breath. she went quiet, nodding once, eyes searching his.

"these years have gone past, and i haven't once dated. i mean yeah, i went for a couple of arranged meetings my mother set up but i never followed through. my number one excuse for my lack of interest was that i was too busy for such frivolities as love. but that was a lie i told myself and everyone around me to hide the fact that my subconscious, my heart never strayed from the path it'd created. the path that led to you."

he took a few more steps until he was standing right in front of her. close enough to see the slight tremble of her lips and the glossing over of golden brown eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. bravely, he reached for her forearms, untangling them. he took her hands in his, running his thumbs over the back of them, both their eyes watching his action. his moved up to her face, taking in every inch of it. the face he'd never forgotten.

"it's something i've always known but just as vehemently denied. my pride didn't let me accept it. you said it yourself, i'm the most hard-headed person you know." he let out a breathy nervous chuckle. "i guess my heart is kind of the same way. it made its decision and there was no convincing it otherwise. it knew what it wanted and wanted only that."

he lifted one of their intertwined hands, laid it on his chest. "when i wanted to keep you with me forever, i ended up pushing you away in the cruelest way possible. it's probably my biggest regret because it not only cost me the first few years of our daughter's life, it cost me you." he moved their hands so that they lay over his heart. he flattened her hand, placing his over it. "for the last eight years of my life, this–" he tapped over her hand, referring to his heart, "–has only ever beat for one person. i love you, jangmi. i'm in love with you."

his gaze shifted from their hands to her eyes to find her already staring at him. her lips parted but no sound came out. "i completely understand if you don't feel the same way about me. i don't deserve your love, not after the way i've treated you. but the way i feel about you, i don't think that's ever going to change."

slowly, jangmi moved her hand away, letting it fall back to her side. her expression was unreadable and despite what he'd told her, jimin was frightened. he was scared that she was going to reject him. and that began to seem more and more probable as seconds turned into minutes that felt like hours to him.

"jimin," her voice was barely above a whisper. "jimin," she repeated. she could barely hear herself speak over the loud thumping of her heart. she turned away from him, fisting a hand over her chest as though it would somehow slow her racing heart.

"when i left for france, i was pretty sure i hated you. well not really because i knew that i still loved you at the time. but i began to understand it as me loving the memory of you and hating the person who had unflinchingly rent my heart to shreds. but years went by, and i never thought i'd feel anything for you besides a numbness. then you waltzed back into my life with your stupid striped turtleneck and shiny black shoes and i was just so angry. but then we became friends and everything was grand. it was just like old times. it was too much like old times. i don't know how but i got caught up in that and..." taking a deep breath, she wrapped her arms around her middle in a protective gesture.

against his better judgment, jimin invaded her space. his warm hands wrapped around her shoulders, leaning down. he hoped he wasn't jumping into conclusions and what she was finding so hard to say was what he thought.

slowly, he spun her around to face him. his hand gingerly moved up, cupping her cheek, thumb brushing against the flushed skin. he hesitantly leaned down, watching her face for any sign of resistance. her big eyes had gotten bigger, lips parted as she inhaled heavily through them. his gaze lingered on the pink flesh for a moment before his eyes moved up again.

"i–" her voice came out breathy and low. "i know." he cut her off. "you don't have to say it if it's too hard." he brushed strands of her hair back. his breath tickled her face, mingling with hers as he leaned in even closer. her eyes fluttered shut and jimin's chest felt like it had grown twice its size.

he closed the distance between them, lips meeting hers in the softest of kisses. it felt like a million fireworks had gone off below their skins, tingles dancing along their nerve paths, their lips, their hearts.

to jimin, it felt like coming home. he was the prodigal son who'd finally found his way after being lost for far too long. in that moment, nothing else mattered but jangmi's lips moving against his. he felt like he was taking a trip down memory lane, remembering how her lips tasted, how they fit so perfectly with his like they were made for each other. because they were made for each other.

to jangmi, it was forgiveness and growth. it was the rebirth of love that has prematurely been burnt out. her fingers delved into his hair the way they used to. soft, smooth, sleek. the way she remembered. and she thought her heart might burst. she was taking a big risk, putting her heart into the hands of the man who had once broken it. but it was a risk she was willing to take.

their lips parted, breaths heavy and panting, foreheads resting against each other. jimin couldn't help the huge grin on his face. as a breathless chuckle escaped, his thumb drew circles on her cheeks. "god, i love you damn much."

☀️☀️☀️

it finally happened folks! took them long enough haha. ah i hope it wasn't too cheesy oof. and y'all it's jangmi's birthday in real time! 0909! so happy birthday jangmi! hope you liked your kiss with jimin lmao. btw y'all need to read silk sheets by my home girl CallMeSugadaddy