The Price of Love

Chapter 29: Jealousy

Jin

I knew I shouldn't get upset. I had no right to be upset. But I was. I had been on my way to see a professor when I spotted Bella and Namjoon sitting on the bench. I should've continued on my way, but Bella was like a magnet, drawing me in against my will. I thought I could ask Namjoon to give me a moment alone with her.

But then she kissed him.

And that would have been okay, I guess, but she caressed his cheek, and I saw his reaction. I knew that he was going to kiss her back, and I felt the fires of jealousy consume me.

"Well, isn't this nice?" I said sarcastically as I glared at Namjoon. He slid away from Bella guiltily.

"S-Seokjin. Hey," he mumbled.

I took a few calming breaths then looked at Bella. "I wanted to speak to you, but...I see that you're busy."

Namjoon shook his head. "Hey, bro, it's not what you think. We were only talking."

"Of course. Only talking," I countered.

"We were talking out in the open," Bella said, "not behind closed bedroom doors."

"Darling," I said with a placating tone in my voice.

"You said we had to act as if we had broken up. You told me to stay away from you, remember? You really have no reason to act as if you're offended, so stop being ridiculous, Jin. You're afraid people will think I'm moving too fast? They could've suffered whiplash to see how fast you moved on to your new love. "

"She's not my new--damn it, Bella!" I growled. "Why can't you give the benefit of the doubt? I have told you that nothing happened between Fiona and me. I know we have to pretend we're not together, but this didn't mean you were at liberty to make out with my friends."

"Whoa, whoa," Namjoon held out a hand. "Bro, it was nothing like that. You need to calm down before you make a scene."

"You don't get to dictate how I react, Namjoon," I snapped. "Why the hell did you think I'd be fine with this little display of affection?"

Before Namjoon could answer, Bella shot to her feet. "Jin, you said we had to act as if we had broken up so that you could have time to figure out what to do. If you want me to trust you while you are engaged to Fiona, then you'll have to trust me, too. You have to trust that I'm not going to do anything wrong, okay? I need to look as if I have moved on from you."

"By kissing my best friend? Really? So you want me to believe that this little scene was you acting as if you've moved on," I retorted, my chin jutting out.

She stayed silent for a minute then narrowed her eyes. "No. This...is me acting as if I'm moving on." She grabbed Namjoon's jacket collar with one hand and pulled him to his feet. Before he could react, she planted a kiss on his lips. I saw her tongue work its way into Namjoon's mouth, and he certainly did not object or move away. Of course, that made me furious. When she finally released her grip on his coat, he took a breath and fell back onto the bench.

Bella glared at me. "Where's your trust in me, Jin?" She turned to Namjoon. "I will see you later when it's not so...crowded." She stomped away without another word.

"Shit, bro, I was not expecting that," he said, wiping his lips with his thumb. "I'm sorry."

I dropped down on the bench next to him. "No, it's cool. Not your fault," I exhaled. "You might want to bring that tent down, though. People might get the wrong impression about us," I said without looking at him.

Namjoon's eyes widened, and he looked down at his lap in alarm. He shifted in his seat, pulling his jacket to cover the bulge in his pants.

"Shit," he said again, his face getting red. "Fuck! I'm...really, really sorry." His embarrassment was making me feel embarrassed.

I waved my hand in the air dismissively. "Forget it. I understand, believe me. I actually would've been more surprised if you'd had no reaction. She sometimes doesn't realize her own power. It's no surprise how completely whipped I am for her." I sighed. "But more than just the physical aspect, I love her. I love everything about her. She is so clearly my other half. I can't live without her. I can't."

"You know you can still cancel your wedding and go back to Bella," Namjoon said. "I don't get it. Why don't you? Since when has your father's money meant that much to you? Bro, I know you've got your own investments up the wazoo. I'm sure you have enough money to get by."

I threw my head back. How could I explain the real reason I was doing this? Of course I wanted to be happy with Bella, but not at the expense of her parents' lives. I couldn't risk telling anyone what was really going on because I didn't want them to do anything misguided. I had to find another way to cancel the wedding, a way that would bypass my father's threats to destroy Bella's parents. And it had to be a good reason so that Mr. Gettis would not destroy me. Most people believed his casinos were funded by extremely shady characters. Gettis had a very long and sinister reach. I feared not so much for myself but for Bella.

I just shook my head. I knew that if I told Namjoon, he would immediately start putting plans into action. Even together we were no match for my father or Gettis. "No, no. I'll figure something out," I said simply, getting to my feet. "And, Joon, hopefully you won't do anything...with Bella."

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You're not really broken up and all that." He paused, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "But what if she does something?"

"Namjoon," I said warningly, feeling the jealousy worming its way back into my brain.

He laughed. "I'm just joking with you, bro." Then he sobered up. "You really need to get your shit together, Seokjin, and you need to stop hurting her. I mean it."

I shook my head again and walked away, not really sure of anything anymore.