ACT IX | SCENE XLIV

❝NEMO❞

ROSALIE PRESSED HER face to the glass, eyes big and round as she stared at the fishes that swam about in the large tank. hoseok chuckled at her marvelled expression. "i will never get over how cute she is." he remarked as she began to trace the movements of a small red and orange fish.

when jangmi didn't respond, hoseok glanced at her. she stood with her arms crossed over her chest, brows dipped together in a slight frown, eyes glazed over, her mind obviously not on their time here. he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "hey, ballerina, you okay?" he smiled softly. "huh?" she snapped her eyes to his face. "you kind of left us on earth for a moment there. something on your mind?"

"uh..." she brushed her hair back with her hand. "it's jimin." she began as they walked behind a fast moving, fascinated rosalie. "what happened?" he asked, walking so close to her that their shoulders brushed. "he was being a douche again." she replied. "was he the one you were talking to when rosie told me you were on the phone before we left?"

she nodded with a sigh. "yeah. he told me he was coming over to take rosie on a day out. and when i told him we were already going out together, he just spazzed and started spewing crap about how i put you ahead of him and how he knows i'm in love with you and doesn't get why his relationship with his daughter has to suffer for it. i swear to god, he's the most irritating human being i've ever met. he just knows how to ruin a person's mood without even trying." she began to rant.

"slow down. in love with me?" hoseok pointed at himself, brows knitting in confusion. "yeah. that's what he said." she answered. "you're not, are you?" his voice dropped even lower. she shot him a look. "i'm just playing." he laughed at her face. "he really said that?" he asked, serious again. she nodded her head. he was about to say something when they heard a squeal.

"mummy, look! i found nemo!" rosalie called, finger pointing eagerly at a small clownfish. jangmi laughed, nodding her head in agreement. "yes, you found nemo." she leaned down and ran a hand over the girl's hair. "oh, he's going away!" the child's eyes widened. "i think he's going to meet his daddy." hoseok whispered, leaning down to look at the fish as it swam away.

rosalie let out a small fascinated laugh before allowing hoseok to take her hand. she reached for jangmi with her other hand. her mother took it so that she skipped between the two adults, eyes drifting from right to left and then above them. she hummed out a song about fishes as they walked, completely enraptured by the place.

"don't be too mad at jimin, mimi. the man becomes an idiot when he's mad. and you should understand his insecurities, unnecessary and baseless as you may find them." hoseok murmured over rosalie's head, glad she was distracted by the colourful fishes surrounding them. "does he have to attack me because of this though? i even tried to be civil and apologise and he just lost his sh...shell." her gaze strayed to the girl between them at her near slip. she was still gazing at the fishes.

hoseok's face didn't hide the amusement he felt. jangmi rolled her eyes, aware he was barely holding back a laugh at the fact that she almost swore in front of rosalie. "it's just really annoying how he makes it seem like i'm not compromising when it feels like that's all i do." she continued. "mimi, understand his sentiment, he lost four years of his girl's life." he started. she sighed, head shaking. "and i am constantly reminded of this every time we have an issue. i'm trying here."

"i'm not blaming you." hoseok raised his free hand in defence. "i'm just saying that despite the circumstances, he probably can't help but feel cheated. it's not your fault, but maybe he feels like you think he's not good enough?" he shrugged, letting her know he was just speculating. "even with you guys trying out this friendship thing again, you and i know you haven't exactly forgiven him for what he did five years ago."

"he hasn't apologised for that." she pointed out. "he wasn't the only one who made mistakes then. you said some pretty unsavoury things too." he reminded. "only because he made me feel like some rag to dispose of." she glanced away at a school of fish, voice soft. he stared at her profile, chest heavy with the weight of her words. he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. "are you ever going to talk to him about it?" he whispered. "i don't want to. i hate thinking about it much less talking about it."

he sighed, knowing how stubborn she was. "are you at least going to tell him about what really happened that day you went to his home?" he asked. he remembered how she had called him, crying and how horrified his initially happy self had been when he'd heard her wailing on the phone. just hearing her cry like that had his heart in his mouth. that was the day he found out she was pregnant. it was from that day he'd done all the things that jimin should have done.

"maybe." she let out softly. "if he ever asks." she tucked her hair behind her ear. he shook his head, gaze moving up in exasperation. how would their friendship work when they refused to address the past? yes, hoseok believed that the past was in the past and should remain as such. but sometimes, you had to look into the past and tie up loose ends to be able to make the present more liveable.

"at the risk of sounding like a broken record, you two need to talk things over." he told her quietly. "i know." she sighed heavily. "we have so much to talk about. i'm just not ready to talk about any of it yet." jangmi admitted, rubbing her palm against the fabric of her jeans. she looked at him and smiled. "but i will." she added. "i promise."

☀☀☀

who would be your face claim for jangmi? like who do you picture when you think about her? because i never really tried to pick someone