"Jae, let's go," Jimin softly called out, his voice tinged with both longing and the need to move on. He had given Jae enough time with Jungkook, but now it was time to leave. The emotional weight of the moment rested heavily on his shoulders.
"Appa, 10 more minutes," Jae pleaded, his small voice tugging at Jimin's heart. Jae's innocent eyes always had the power to make Jimin soft, and this time was no different. With a sigh, Jimin relented.
"Okay, Appa will wait at the front. When you're ready..."
But before Jimin could finish, Jungkook spoke up. "Why not stay with us?" It had been over a year since those familiar words left Jungkook's lips, and Jimin’s heart nearly stopped. How long had he waited to hear Jungkook’s voice again, to feel even the smallest connection between them?
"It's okay," Jimin replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He couldn’t allow himself to stay. The longing he felt was overwhelming, and the wounds from the past still ran deep.
"Don't you miss me?" Jungkook asked, his voice laced with vulnerability. Jimin’s heart screamed "Yes!"—he missed Jungkook more than anything—but he kept his emotions in check. Just as he was about to speak, a woman approached, wrapping her arms around Jungkook in a possessive grip. Jimin’s chest tightened.
"Let's go. I have many things to do. I’ve had enough of spending time here," the woman snapped, her tone sharp and dismissive. Jimin frowned, noticing the sadness in Jungkook’s eyes. There was something unsettling about the interaction, but it wasn't his place to ask.
"You can go if you want," Jungkook said, his voice strained. "I never asked you to come with me. It was your choice."
The tension between Jungkook and the woman was palpable, but Jimin knew it wasn’t his place to get involved. "Jae, let’s go," he called out again, trying to keep the situation from escalating.
Jae looked up, his small face crumpling. "No, Appa. We need to stay. Kookie Appa..." His voice faltered, tears welling in his eyes.
Since Jungkook had left, Jae had stopped asking questions. He never asked where Jungkook had gone, or why he had left. He never even asked to call him. It was as if Jae, in his childlike way, understood the painful separation. But now, seeing his Kookie Appa again, all the emotions he had bottled up started to spill over.
Jungkook crouched down to Jae’s level, his voice gentle. "Hey baby bear, you go first. I’ll come to your house later."
"Promise?" Jae asked, his tear-filled eyes searching Jungkook’s face.
"Promise," Jungkook said, interlocking his pinky with Jae’s. A silent vow was made between the two, a small comfort in a sea of uncertainty.
"Okay," Jae whispered, finally letting go. Jimin took his son’s hand, but as they turned to leave, he didn’t look back. No smile, no final goodbye—just silence as they walked away from Jungkook.
Once Jimin and Jae were out of sight, the tension snapped between Jungkook and the woman. "Can you stop?" Jungkook asked, his voice tight with barely controlled anger.
"What?" she replied, feigning innocence.
"You know what you did," Jungkook growled, his jaw clenched. His anger simmered just beneath the surface as he looked at the woman he was supposed to marry, his eyes filled with frustration.
She scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "I did you a favor. I made him leave. Isn’t that what you wanted?"
Jungkook’s face darkened. "No. I never wanted him to leave."
The woman let out a bitter laugh. She knew who Jimin was in Jungkook’s life. Despite everything, Jungkook still carried a small photo in his wallet—a snapshot of him, Jimin, and little Jae.
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"You should throw your shit memory away," Hana hissed, her words sharp like knives, each one meant to cut deep.
"Enough," Jungkook's voice was strained, a plea barely masking the anger bubbling inside him.
"He doesn't even want to talk to you," Hana continued, unrelenting, her eyes narrowing as she watched Jungkook's jaw tighten.
"Enough, Hana," Jungkook repeated, but this time there was a hint of desperation in his voice, as if he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to stop her.
"He's happy without you," she spat, driving the knife in further. She knew exactly where to hit, which words would hurt the most.
"I said enough!" Jungkook's voice rose, louder than before. His patience was fraying, and his fists clenched at his sides, shaking slightly. For a moment, the air between them was thick with tension, both of them standing on the edge of an emotional cliff.
Hana flinched, taken aback by the outburst. Her hands curled into fists, her knuckles turning white as her anger simmered beneath the surface. The truth was, Hana had always felt insecure about her place in Jungkook’s life. She was the woman his family had chosen for him, forced upon him after they discovered his love for Jimin—a man.
Hana had agreed to the marriage, not because she wanted to help the family save face, but because she had loved Jungkook ever since they were teenagers. Their families were business partners, and she had grown up around him, always holding a quiet hope that one day, Jungkook would love her back. But even as she stood by his side, she could feel the distance, the coldness that came from knowing his heart belonged to someone else.
"Don’t you ever raise your voice to me again," Hana warned, her voice low and dangerous. Her eyes locked onto his, filled with a mix of hurt and fury. She leaned in close to Jungkook, her breath warm against his ear as she whispered words meant to pierce through the last of his defenses. "You know what your family would do if they found out you moved here to meet him. Your lover."
Jungkook's face paled. He knew exactly what she meant. His family had already done so much to control his life, pushing him into this arranged marriage, forbidding him from seeing Jimin. If they knew he had come here, they wouldn’t just be angry—they would ruin everything he had left. His career, his reputation, maybe even take away the few freedoms he still had.
Hana wasn’t finished. She pressed even closer, her voice dripping with venom. "He never loved you."
Jungkook’s breath caught in his throat. He turned his face away, his eyes burning with unshed tears. Those words—he had feared them for so long, a voice in the back of his mind that whispered doubts when he was at his weakest. And now, hearing them from Hana, they cut deeper than he could have imagined.
But despite everything, he couldn’t bring himself to believe her. Not entirely. He still remembered the way Jimin used to look at him, the warmth in his smile, the soft moments they had shared when it was just the two of them, hidden away from the world. Hana might try to rewrite his memories, but she couldn’t erase them completely.
