XLVI

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ACT X | SCENE XLVI

DANCING PRINCESSES


THE BELL JINGLED as jangmi walked in hand in hand with rosalie. jimin's head shot up at the sound, getting on his feet as he spotted them, waving his right hand to get their attention. jangmi was the first to see him, whispering to their daughter and pointing in his direction.

where rosalie's face brightened like the sun, jangmi's expression was cold as a biting winter. it was the same way she had looked at him when they first reconnected. she let go of rosalie's hand to allow the grinning girl run toward him. crouching down, he opened his arms in waiting, a smile plastered on his face. he hadn't seen her for an entire week, not after that sunday he'd come over to find a very comfortable looking hoseok at their house, hair damp like he'd just stepped out the shower.

he grunted as the four-year-old threw herself against him, closing his arms around her and lifting her up slowly. "did you miss papa?" he asked as she smiled into the crook of his neck. "yes," she nodded, leaning back to look at his face. "papa missed you more." he whispered as small hands landed on his cheeks, squishing them with a giggle. jangmi had stopped in front of them by now, gaze flicking momentarily in his direction before sitting at the table without uttering a word.

taking in a deep breath, jimin carefully placed their daughter on a chair before sitting down himself. "so princess, what flavour of ice cream do you want?" he smiled sweetly at her. "chocolate and strawberry with gummy bears and sprinkles." she replied. "that's pretty specific." he observed. "the first time mummy buyed me ice cream, she buyed me that type." the little girl informed. "it's her favourite." jangmi supplied quietly. "what about you? what flavour would you like?" he asked, eyeing her seemingly distracted form. "mint chocolate chip." she replied, not looking at him. "okay," he got on his feet. "papa will be right back."

he walked over to the counter, making an order, eyes glancing back at the two. jangmi was smiling now, tucking stray strands of hair out of rosalie's face and behind her ears. he watched them chat animatedly, finding himself curious about what they were so avidly discussing. "here you go, sir." the boy behind the counter called his attention back to him. three cups of ice cream had been placed on a tray, waiting for him to collect them. "thank you." he mumbled, picking up the tray and returning to the table.

he slid the tray onto the table, placing their cups in front of them before sitting down and digging into his vanilla ice cream. "so what have you been up to, princess?" he turned to the girl who was awkwardly stuffing chocolate and strawberry ice cream into her mouth. he waited for her to swallow. "we went to the plane house." she told him. "plane house?" his brows moved higher on his face.

"mhm, uncle hobi is flying today." she scooped more ice cream, struggling to get a yellow gummy bear into the spoon, tongue sticking out at the focus it seemed to require. jimin's eyes shifted to jangmi who was staring down at her ice cream in thought. "so he's travelled." his voice pulled her out of her reverie. "hmm?" she hummed, softly stabbing at her ice cream as she glanced at him.

"rosalie tells me hoseok's travelled." he watched her carefully. she seemed somewhat distracted, making him wonder if she was missing the man in question. "yeah." she answered, spooning the cold confection into her mouth, her eyes just as cold. she scraped a hand through her hair. "are you okay?" he asked, looking at her again. "i'm fine. just peachy." her tone said otherwise.

"mummy is excited because she's teaching dancing princesses and they're going to dance in front of everyone." rosalie opened her arms wide, lifting them up, her eyes glinting with pride. "really?" jimin's eyes widened. "yeah, the school's having a dance recital next week." jangmi replied, scooping ice cream into her spoon and in her mouth.

"papa, will you come?" rosalie spooned a green gummy bear, waiting for her father's reply before eating it. "if your mummy doesn't mind, sure." he sniffed, and two pairs of chocolate brown eyes were staring at jangmi. she glanced between them, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. "i'm not stopping you." even as she smiled at him, her eyes were cold. it sent shivers down jimin's spine.

"yay!" rosalie bounced on her seat, making her mother look at her and like magic her smile became warm. she ruffled the girl's hair affectionately, resting the side of her face on the open palm of her other hand. "rosie, your papa is taking you out today." she informed, tone soft and warm. rosalie, who was stuffing ice cream and a gummy bear into her mouth, widened her doe eyes. "we're going to have fun?" she queried. "mhm," jimin hummed out, tapping his fingers against his cheek, lips curling up in a small smile.

"mummy, are you coming?" the girl turned to face her mother again. she shook her head slowly, lips pressing together. "sorry, baby, mummy is going home to have fun with blanche so she doesn't feel lonely." she replied, adding the bit about blanche so her daughter wouldn't attempt to convince otherwise. rosalie's mouth formed an 'o' as she nodded in understanding.

after that, the trio ate their ice creams in silence which was only punctuated by short conversations between either parent and the child. jimin kept shooting jangmi furtive looks the whole time, contemplating how best to apologise for the other day.

when they were outside again, in front of jimin's car, jangmi kissed rosalie goodbye after her father had harnessed her into the car seat. "have fun with papa, okay?" she whispered, waiting for the girl's nod before straightening. she crooked her fingers in a wave before shutting the door. "jangmi," jimin called before she could walk away from them. she spun around to face him, expression blank.

he watched her cross her arms over her chest, head tilting to the left. her stance intimidated him a little. he pursed his lips, audibly inhaling and exhaling. "about yesterday..." he began, still trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "what about yesterday?" her left brow lifted, face finally showing how irritated she was by his angry words. "i wanted to apologise."

she looked slightly surprised by his words but she kept mute, indicating that he could continue. "i realise that i'd been really rude and assumptive with my claims. and i won't bother trying to give reasons because they'll just come off as excuses. so i'm just going to say i'm really sorry and i know i was wrong." he swiped his hair up, away from his face with his hand before rubbing the tip of his nose with his index finger, waiting for a reply.

she stood there for a minute, simply staring at him, an unreadable look on her face. her chest heaved as she took in a deep breath. her eyes shifted away from his to the girl that sat in the backseat of his car, singing and playing with the hem of her top. "it's fine. i guess i kind of understand. just try to be less annoying." she slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans, shifting her weight to one foot, hip jutting out.

a breathy chuckle left his lips, a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes. the corner of his mouth twitched upwards as she glanced at rosalie again. "don't give her too much sweets okay?" she told him the same time he asked, "would you like to join us?" she looked at him, brows dipping together in confusion. she blinked, long lashes brushing against high cheekbones. "what?" the word came out on a whisper.

"would you like to join us?" he repeated, fingers toying with the rings on his left hand, sliding the jewellery up and down. her left brow raised at the action, letting her curiosity show. she recognised it as something he sometimes did when nervous or bored. it was more often the former than not. the last time she'd seen him twist the rings on his fingers was the night after the dinner, when he apologised for his mother's behaviour. "i actually should be getting home to blanche. she gets really antsy and starts scratching everything in sight when left alone for too long."

"oh, okay." his lips pressed together as his eyes looked everywhere but her. "have fun." she pulled one hand out of her pocket, raising it in a short wave. "yeah." he nodded. she knocked on the window of the car, blowing a kiss at rosalie when she glanced up. the girl gave her a cheeky smile in reply, blowing her a kiss as well.

"bye, jimin." she turned back to the man, standing next to her. "bye, jangmi." he responded with a smile. he watched her walk to her car, waiting for her to get in before slipping into his own car and driving off.

☀☀☀

sneak peek:

rosalie splayed her fingers over her father's chest, feeling the imprint of the necklace he always wore underneath his shirt. he tore his gaze away from jangmi to look at her.

"mummy likes the flowers." she whispered in his ear. jimin's eyes bounced back to the brunette, noting the way she held the bouquet to her chest. his lips parted in a pleased grin. "yes, she does."

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