ACT I | SCENE V

❝GATES❞

JANGMI HAD ALWAYS been a confident woman. right from when she was young she had always had a self assurance that seemed to be unshakable. she trusted in her own abilities. and was independent because of it. whatever she set her mind to, she could most definitely do. which was why she was able to manage basically on her own when her parents died when she turned sixteen.

and why she decided she could have a child all on her own when jimin refused to see her after she discovered she was pregnant. if jangmi was being honest, she was scared out of her mind at first. there was a whole other person growing inside her and she would have to be responsible for one other person and not just herself.

but as usual, she trusted that she could do it with a little help. and she left korea and moved to france where her distant great aunt, nayeon boudoin, owned a vineyard she'd inherited from her late husband. jangmi was grateful for her. thanks to the woman, she was able to survive. and so she let her name her daughter rosalie.

as she looked back at jimin now, jangmi wasn't confident that she would not lose her cool. jimin tended to get on nerves to get what he wanted. a quality jangmi had never cared for. "so she's mine." jimin stared at her. his heel tapped against the carpeted floor repeatedly as his fingers drummed against his knee. something he did whenever he got surprised.

jangmi massaged her forehead. "are you really still asking that? yes, she's yours! do you want me to spell it out for you?" she barely kept herself from throwing a fit and yelling. jimin got on his feet and began to pace around. "why didn't you tell me? you disappeared with our daughter without a word!" he suddenly yelled. jangmi's head tilted to the side, an incredulous look colouring her pretty face. "point of correction, jimin, my daughter. you didn't want to see me so i left with my child growing in me."

"didn't you think i deserved to know?" jimin stopped to look at her. "you didn't want to see me!" she jumped off the couch. "so i left! don't you dare accuse me of keeping you away from her!"

"did you even try? all because of words i said when i was angry, you decided to leave to god knows where!" jimin yelled. jangmi's hands went in her hair, ruffling it in frustration. she let out a scream. "shut up, jimin! you and i know you meant those words. i didn't try? i didn't try?!"

"yes! you know how much i hate being taken by surprise." he replied. "oh, my god! oh my god!" she took a deep breath as she paced back and forth. "are you trying to make this about you? are you trying to blame me? i didn't ask you to come looking for me." she looked at him. "so you would never have told me about her if i didn't show up?" he paused mid step to stare at her. "maybe. i don't know. you turned me back the first time. i wasn't eager to try again." she answered honestly. "what do you mean turned you back?" confusion was written all over his face.

"don't act dumb with me, jimin." she folded her arms over her chest. "how could i turn you back when you never even came to me?" he questioned. "is this what you're doing now? pretending you didn't send me away at the gates?"

"jangmi, what are you talking about?" jimin sounded genuinely confused. "i came to your house to see you when i found out. i never even got past the gates. the security told me you didn't want to see me! when i insisted, your mother happened to be leaving and she told me you wanted nothing to do with me and i should stop being a social climber. she even tossed money in my face like i was some worthless peon."

jangmi fell back into the couch. jimin could tell that she was crying. "so, tell me, why would i stay? why would i try again? so that i can be humiliated by you and your family?!" she wiped at her face aggressively and fixed him with a cold glare. he ran his fingers through his hair and sat back down. "jangmi, i swear to god, i didn't know about this." his leg was twitching again. "no one ever told me you came to see me. i-"

"would you have seen me though?" she cut him short. "what?" his brows furrowed. "of course!" he answered immediately. "no, jimin. you wouldn't have. because you couldn't have known why i was there. and we both know how headstrong you are."

"can..." jimin let out an exasperated sigh. "can we please talk about this later?" his hand swept through his hair again. "can we just talk about the child for now? um, what's her name?"

"rosalie."

"english?" he asked with surprise. "french." she corrected. "is that where you were?" he paused. "i thought we were talking about rosalie." came the dry response. "sorry. does she have a korean name?"

"han gijeog."

☀☀☀

y'all go go is a jam ok bye