ACT X | SCENE XLVIII

❝CHAEBOL PROBLEMS❞

JANGMI GIGGLED AS she watched rosalie stuff her mouth with spaghetti. it made her look like a cute squirrel as her plump cheeks became even more pronounced and a strand of spaghetti hung out her mouth. jimin laughed at the sight too, telling her to eat slowly so she didn't choke.

jangmi ran a hand over the side of the girl's face lovingly before returning to her meal. "hey," jimin began, pulling her attention to him. she glanced up at him, still twirling spaghetti around her fork, eyes prompting him to speak. "do you remember jin?" he asked, leaning back against his chair watchfully. her lips pursed in thought, brows dipping together momentarily, then her eyes lit up with recognition. "taehyung's older brother, right?" she asked. "yeah," he smiled. "i met him once."

"he's getting married." jimin informed with a soft smile. jangmi dropped her fork back into the plate with a gasp of surprise. "really? that's great!" she clapped her hands together. "mhm, he asked me to invite you. his wedding's a few weeks after bora's." he told her. surprise flashed across her face. "me?" she pointed at herself. he nodded his head, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from twitching up.

"that's really nice of him." she picked up her fork again. "bora told me she asked you to be a bridesmaid." he forked some spaghetti into his mouth. "yeah, i was so surprised. why me?" she leaned forward in her chair and jimin saw the resemblance in some of the mannerisms between her and rosalie. "she doesn't have many friends. she always has to be careful who she trusts." he sniffled, keeping his gaze on her.

"ah," she mouthed in understanding. "chaebol problems." she remarked quietly, pushing the pasta around in her plate. he noticed her gaze shift to the little girl that was happily chewing on spaghetti. she was worried rosalie might have to live in similar conditions. his girl would live a comfortable, free life. he was going to make sure of it.

• • •

getting a cute sleepy rosalie out of her dress and into her pyjamas, jangmi eyed jimin's form as he leaned against the wall, watching them. pulling the buttercup yellow pyjama top over her head, she brushed the girl's hair back. she placed her in bed carefully, tucking her underneath the covers. he moved closer then, stopping next to her.

he leaned down, planting a kiss on the yawning child's temple. "papa loves you." he whispered, brushing her hairline with his thumb. "i love papa." she replied, looking at him underneath shutting eyelids. "go to bed, my little teddy bear." jangmi kissed her forehead, pulling the covers higher on the little girl's body. "night night, mummy." rosalie hummed out. "night night, rosie." she smiled softly, watching the girl's eyes flutter close.

jimin followed her out, leaving the door ajar as he always saw her do. she turned around to face him at the corridor. "thank you again for coming to the recital. and for the flowers." her voice though soft, was clear in the narrow space. "my pleasure." he responded, hands slipping into the pockets of his slacks.

"i wanted to ask you a favour." he spoke up seconds later. "what kind of favour?" she tucked her hair behind her ears, but the long brown strands kept blowing into her eyes. she looked away from him and reached for a black elastic band in the red bowl where she always left her keys. she turned back to him expectantly, hands brushing her hair back as she pulled it into a ponytail.

jimin's eyes strayed to her hair as he began to reply, observing the way her hands moved over and through the silky tresses. "i was wondering if i could get a couple of pictures of rosalie from those albums to make copies. i have a few pictures of her but i wanted more, preferably from when she was younger for my room and office." her hands came down as she finished tying her hair up. eyes darting away from him towards her bedroom.

her gaze came back to him. "sure, i could do that. but your office? are you sure?" jimin understood her concerns, was surprised she was actually thinking about him. it made his insides warm and his lips curve up. "i can manage myself." he assured her. she scoffed at his response, eyes rolling. "good for you, tiger." she patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "i'll go get the pictures. but they better come back the same way or taehyung is going to have 21st century van gogh hyung as his best friend."

it took a moment for jimin to understand what she meant. when he did, his eyes widened and his hands went to his ears, hiding them protectively and making jangmi laugh when she glanced back at him. he waited outside her room for her. there was shuffling inside before returned with a stack of photos. "here," she held them out, waiting for him to take them before letting go. "thanks, jangmi." he smiled gratefully. "you're welcome." she chirped.

she looked so sweet that he had the sudden urge to kiss her cheek. and so he leaned in and did exactly that. but at that moment, she moved her head to the side. jimin's lips pressed against hers softly, making her eyes widen and his snap open. for a second, they stayed frozen like that and then he pulled away. "i-i...t-that was...i d-didn't..." he began to stammer, too shocked and disoriented to form any coherent sentence.

jangmi's hand came up, fingers brushing against her bottom lip. her eyes were rounded, fixed on him and unblinking. she was frozen whilst he was a jittery mess. it was barely a kiss, considering everything that had happened between them, yet it was a big deal to the two. "uh...i-i'm..." he tried again. he ran his fingers messily through his hair, mussing it up. "i-i'm really sorry, jangmi. i'll just go." he told her before hightailing it out of her home.

she stared after him, the feel of his soft lips lingering on hers.

☀☀☀

first off, i actually don't like this chapter. something feels off about it but i've given up trying to figure out how to fix it.
and secondly, MWAHAHA