ACT IV | SCENE XVIII

❝PAPA❞

JIMIN WONDERED IF he had gotten the wrong house. he leaned back and checked the house number again before looking back at the strange woman. she stood with a hand on her hip, one brow cocked in question. she looked foreign with her copper hair and green eyes.

"i'm sorry, who are you?" he inquired in english, wondering who the woman was and why she was answering the door to jangmi's home. did jangmi move out without letting him know? his leg began to twitch and he drummed his fingers against his thigh.

"i should be asking you that." she answered in fluent korean, surprising him. "i'm looking for han jangmi." he answered. "you still haven't told me who you are." her eyes raked over his body almost sensually before coming back up to meet his.

jimin cleared his throat, feeling instantly uncomfortable at being so openly checked out. he flexed his fingers, rubbing them against the fabric of his trousers and resumed drumming them. "i'm park jimin." he told her, tongue swiping over his bottom lip.

he saw the recognition pass over her face before returning to its impassiveness. "oh, so you're rosalie's father." she spoke in french so the only thing he picked up was his daughter's name. "jangmi's not home." she told him.

"well, can i come in and wait for her?" he looked at her expectantly. she stared him down for a moment before moving aside to let him in. it was only when he was inside that he realised what she was wearing. most of her fair skin was exposed. she wore a spaghetti strapped satin top that dipped low, exposing her cleavage and incredibly short shorts. he shifted his gaze away from her body quickly, feeling his cheeks warm slightly. he hurried to the living room and sat on the couch, pulling his phone out to text namjoon.

she sat on the couch across from him, where jangmi usually sat, crossing one leg over the other. jimin pretended not to see her as he tapped away at his phone. a frown formed on his face at the fact that namjoon found his current situation amusing.

"did you tell jangmi that you'll be coming?" she asked, causing him to look up. "uh, no." he answered and returned his gaze back to his phone. "hmm, okay." she nodded. he felt her eyes boring into him as she sat with her arms folded across her chest. he could tell that she didn't particularly like him. it made him wonder what jangmi had said about him. clearly, none of it could be good. he scowled at his phone where his two friends only thought his discomfort was hilarious.

the sound of the code being entered pulled both their gazes up. giggles followed jangmi yelling, "hey, stop whispering!" jimin got on his feet just as hoseok appeared in the living room with rosalie wrapped around his middle like a koala. "oh, hey." his gaze met jimin's. rosalie turned her face which was buried in his shirt. "papa!" she squealed, sliding off hoseok and pattering towards her father's open arms. jangmi appeared next to hoseok then. "you're here." she stated, voice even. "uh, yeah."

"hoseokie." jimin turned to the other woman at the sound of her voice which had lowered drastically, her tone friendly. "brigitte," hoseok's smile was stiff as he wrapped his fingers around jangmi's wrist.

jimin watched with fascination as the woman sashayed her way to him. he saw the obvious look of amusement on jangmi's face when she snatched her hand away, giving them space. the woman, whom hoseok had referred to as brigitte, wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. jimin lifted a hand over rosalie's eyes when she surprised him by kissing hoseok on the lips. rosalie giggled as she tried to pull his hand down and away from her eyes. jangmi snorted as hoseok moved back, letting an awkward chuckle leave his lips.

"how are you liking korea so far?" he scratched the back of his hair, running to sit next to jangmi. "eh, since mimi has kept me under lock and key, it's been pretty boring." brigitte plopped down next to jimin. "that's because half of seoul's male population would be in trouble if i let you loose."

jimin stared between them, not understanding a word of the rapid french being spoken. "papa doesn't understand." he whispered to rosalie who laughed. "rosalie too. talking too fast." her eyes were crescents as she palmed his cheeks. "i'm a sensual being. is that such a bad thing?" brigitte asked. "kind of." hoseok muttered.

"jimin, is being sensual a bad thing?" she suddenly turned to him. "uh..." he scratched his head, unaware of what he had just been pulled into. "i guess not. depends?" he shrugged. "see?" brigitte gestured to him. jangmi snorted and hoseok shook his head. "people are more conservative here, bri. just letting you know."

"it's not like i'll jump every man i see." brigitte rolled her eyes. they had finally switched to korean and her words shocked jimin who quickly glanced down at his daughter to see if she had picked that up. luckily, she was too busy playing with the silver necklace that had originally been hidden behind his crisp white shirt.

he watched as her little pinky went through the white gold ring that hung from it, looping around it. she seemed captivated by it so he could assume she wouldn't be listening to anything that was being said. he brushed his thumbs over the wisps of brown hair that curled around her hairline. "what do you want papa to give you as a present on your birthday?" he whispered as she continued to play with the ring. her eyes moved up to his then and she beamed, her chipped tooth on display. his lips lifted in natural reaction to her smile. "papa."

"hmm?" he hummed, still waiting for her answer. "papa." she repeated, confusing him. "yes, princess? aren't you going to tell papa what you want?" he nuzzled the girl who still had a hold on the ring that hung from his neck. "papa." she rubbed her thumb over the ruby encrusted into the band. "i want papa."

the words registered in jimin's mind, making him feel like his chest was swelling. his heart felt twice its usual size and he felt warm all over. "done." he grinned wide, poking the one dimple she had on her right cheek. "papa is all yours." he said, voice full of promise. she giggled, tugging slightly on the ring. "you like it?" he asked, noting how she hadn't let go, small chubby fingers rubbing the surface and hooking through it. she bobbed her head in a nod. "i'll get you one just like it." he smiled.

"jimin?" he heard jangmi call as brigitte poked his side. "yeah?" he looked up to see the woman staring intently at him. "you haven't said why you're here." she stated. "ah yeah..." he trailed off. "can we speak in private?" he asked. "sure."

he handed rosalie over to brigitte who let out a dramatic huff as she sat the girl on her lap. "let's get you cleaned up, hmm?" she grinned, playing with the little girl's hair. rosalie nodded and brigitte got up, making her way to the bedroom.

"let's go to the kitchen. i have to get dinner ready, anyway." jangmi pushed off the couch. hoseok leaned further into the couch, making himself comfortable as he pulled his phone out. "i'll be here, double checking everything for the party." he informed jangmi, twirling the phone in his hand. smiling, she nodded at him before walking out the living room with jimin on her heels.

"so, what's it this time?" she asked, pulling out ingredients for carbonara. turning on the tap, she washed her hands. "my dad wants to be at the party."

☀☀☀

i got this finished early. i wanted more jimin x rosalie interaction so yeah. and yes, brigitte is really comfortable with herself haha. i really like writing her character bc she's fun i guess, plus uncomfortable hoseok is amusing tbh. btw i wonder if anyone got a notification for a certain xxxvi. that was totally an accident and maybe some of you were like que?? i like to plan out my stories so i have outlines for chapters even before i write them bc it makes it easier. so i was working on the outline for 36 and accidentally hit publish instead of save and had a mini panic attack before remembering i could unpublish it. aka i already planned what will happen up until xxxvi. hope you like this chapter and prepare for a little heat the next chapter. wait is that too suggestive i-