✔️ Unconditionally [Book 2] | Jeon Jungkook

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This chapter has a soundtrack
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Jungkook swallowed hard, making sure to keep his smile in place.

She had been strong for him for so long. Since the beginning of that year, she had endured so much that he often wondered how she didn't break under the extreme pressure forced upon her shoulders. Hyun-Ji was, without doubt, the strongest woman he knew but from the slight way her brow drew together and the way her smile didn't reach her eyes he knew that it was his turn to be strong for her.

"Yes," she said. "We have time."

But how could he be strong for her when he didn't feel strong himself?

He'd seen the Ferris wheel in the distance back when they were in the car on that jam-packed city street. It had become too important a figure in his recurring dreams to not notice it standing tall in the distance. It called out to him so loudly that ignoring it was harder than acknowledging it was there.

In his dreams, this place was sacred. It was treasured. The dreamscape image of his past self, the Jungkook from before the accident and the suspected keeper of his memories was nearly broken by its destruction, it was so important to them.

Hyun-Ji said a lot with her silence, something else he'd learned about her. She'd seen the Ferris wheel too. Of that, he was certain. It was impossible to miss and yet she said nothing about it. She hadn't even expressed any interest in it at all, not even when riding it could have sparked romance between them.

She was avoiding it, not because it wasn't special but because it was. She was avoiding it because he couldn't remember why.

When she'd shown him the promise ring what felt like ages ago, the only things he could remember were his emotions around giving it to her and fragments of what they'd said. He couldn't remember his promise. He couldn't remember sliding the ring onto her finger. He couldn't even remember where they were when he gave it to her but one detail he could recall stood out in his mind:

It was the neon lights reflecting like multicolored starbursts in her teary eyes. That, he remembered very well.

They could have been anywhere within the fairgrounds. They could have been riding on a carousel or even standing in the center of the midway and they would have still been surrounded by neon lights. But if that were true, why wouldn't he have dreamt about those places or any other location he could have given the ring to her? Why did only the Ferris wheel appear?

It was here and he could feel it. This was where he'd given the ring to her, along with his promise. He wanted to remember for her. He needed to. He even tried that very second to find the precious memory held so dear to them but he continued to come up empty-handed.

Sitting on a Ferris wheel, no matter how symbolic it was, no matter how much he wanted it to, was not going to change that. It was the reason behind his emotional weakness.

Setting his fragility aside, he held her hand tighter and began the long walk back to their past. If he couldn't be strong for her, he could be vulnerable with her.

She was worth that.

Everyone around them was blissfully unaware of the turning point the pair headed toward as they passed laughing families and snuggling couples. Each step felt like an eternity and just as heavy as when he'd first relearned to walk. His racing heartbeat had drowned out the noise of the crowd and he could barely hear his thoughts over its pounding.