• a·pol·o·gize [əˈpäləˌjīz] - express regret for something that one has done wrong •

•

After a day of trying to convince Jimin not to go, Jeongguk and Taehyung finally gave up and slouched down onto Jimin's couch. They had been pacing the room for hours and were sure they would be able to stop him, but Jimin wouldn't even listen to them.

"Okay guys. I'm going," Jimin huffs out, an underlying tone of nervousness lacing itself in. He plays with his fingers as he stands in front of the two other boys.

Jeongguk and Taehyung stand up and each hug Jimin, Jeongguk adds an extra kiss on the head.

"If he does anything, anything. You call us and we'll be there. I swear if he lays a single hand on you Jiminie I might—" Jeongguk pauses and makes punching motions in the air before slamming his fist into his other hand.

"Don't worry. I'll call you if anything happens. Wish me luck!" Jimin pulls on his shoes and waves goodbye to the two boys who had taken their seats back on the couch.

The door closes behind Jimin and the boys take a glance at each other.

"We're gonna spy on him, aren't we?" Taehyung asks.

"Of course. And I already have the disguises," Jeongguk answers, a triumphant grin on his face.

•

Jimin arrives to the small coffee shop, the bells on the door jingle as he pushes it open. He notices Daehyun sitting at a table in the center. Jimin is relieved that they would be in the middle of a bunch of other people. That way, Daehyun couldn't do anything to him.

Daehyun gets up and walks over to Jimin, who swiftly backs up as Daehyun gets within arms reach. He gestures over to the table he was sitting at, as a welcoming gesture to Jimin. Jimin follows.

They sit down at the table, the creaky wooden chairs roughly sliding against the dark wood floors. Daehyun offers to buy Jimin something off the menu but Jimin declines. He didn't want to owe Daehyun anything. He didn't have much of an appetite anyways.

They sat there in silence as Daehyun waited for his order. Occasionally Daehyun would open his mouth but then close it as if he had forgotten what he was going to say.

Jimin looks over Daehyun's features, admiring his strong jaw line and fluffy brown hair. Daehyun's shifting eyes catch the light and Jimin can't help but watch as his eyes become a deep golden color which had drawn him in back in medical school. He could fall for those eyes all over again if he didn't know what kind of person Daehyun was and the secrets those eyes kept hidden.

Jimin finds himself hoping that no one else had fallen victim to Daehyun's traps.

As Jimin continues to observe Daehyun's looks, a slight clatter comes from a table in the back left corner of the cafe.

"Why is he looking at him like that? He should be looking at me like that," Jeongguk grumpily mumbles under his breath as his clenched fist rests on the table.

Taehyung glances over at Jeongguk and giggles at the way Jeongguk's fake mustache was slightly falling off as his frown deepened.

"Jeongguk, calm down buddy. I'm sure he's not intentionally looking at him like that," Taehyung coughs out the last part, a stray hair from his fake beard making its way into his mouth. Taehyung makes spitting noises to get the hair out of his mouth but to no avail.

The waitress watches the back table from afar, laughing at the man who was wiping his tongue with a napkin while an angry mustached man beside him glared at the center of the room.

She shakes her head and focuses on her task of getting the drink to the table in the middle.

Daehyun sighs, not exactly knowing where to start. He opens his mouth and is almost able to get a word out before his drink is set down onto the table. He goes to grab a straw from the middle of the table and Jimin visibly flinches.

Daehyun's eyes cloud with sorrow. He takes a deep breath before finally making a solid statement.

"Jimin. I'm sorry...for everything." Before Daehyun can continue Jimin cuts him off.

"You expect me to forgive you?" Jimin was no longer playing with his hands in nervousness, his fists were clenched as a string of anger knotted its way through him.

"No. That's the last thing I would expect from you. I just wanted to apologize. I know my apology will never be enough to fix what I've done, and I understand that. I just wanted to say I'm sorry..." Daehyun scratches the back of his neck, not sure where to go with the rest of his sentence.

"I don't think I can ever forgive you, Daehyun."

"I know. I really don't expect you to. I've...I've been getting help lately. I've been seeing someone for my anger issues and my possessive nature. I've found ways to keep myself out of that behavior. I decided that I never want to hurt anyone again. I know that decision came much too late. And for that, I'm sorry again. I just wanted to apologize officially, to give both you and me closure. That's all I had to say. You can leave now if you want. Say anything you want. Now is the time to get it off your chest."

"I don't have anything to say to you. I'm glad that you're getting help. At least that saves other people from going through what I had to." Jimin was angry, but he was also relieved. He was relieved that no one else would have to suffer.

Jimin didn't like seeing people get hurt. That's why he became a doctor, to save people from that pain.

Daehyun smiles, not a malicious smile, but a smile caused by the knowledge that Jimin never lost his spark. How he wished he could turn back time and take back what he did.

As Jimin stands up to leave, Daehyun says one last thing, "Thanks for hearing me out. I know it must have been tough. I can never apologize enough for what I've done. I wish you the best, Park Jimin."

"Don't make the same mistake twice. I hope this is the last time we'll see each other, Lee Daehyun. Goodbye." Jimin sharply ends the conversation and turns around towards the cafe door.

Jimin makes it outside, turns the corner and leans his back against the brick wall behind him as his hand rests over his rapidly beating heart. Jimin had never been so scared.

He did it. He faced his worst fear. Jimin only hoped that his nightmares wouldn't return.

Jimin takes a deep breath as his heart settled down before making his way to his car and driving back to his apartment, a heavy weight slightly lifted off of his chest.

•

Jeongguk and Taehyung notice Jimin leaving and wait a few minutes before getting up to leave.

Everyone in the cafe stares at the two boys with long trench coats dragging along the floor and fake beards and mustaches littered with cookie crumbs as they walk out.

Once outside, the two rip off their fake facial hair and look at each other, a sudden urgency in their eyes.

"Quick! Call an uber, we have to get home before Jimin!" Jeongguk yells out while typing rapidly on his phone, completely unaware that Jimin was still leaning against the edge of the building, giggling to himself at the two boys at the edge of the street.

His knights in shining armor.

• • •

I'm so sorry for the wait! I was plagued with writer's block for a few weeks and it was difficult to get this done :((

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one!

I can't thank you enough for all of the support!

Love you💜💜💜