𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗒 𝗌𝗂𝗑

Chapter 37: Jungkook's Gift

Hana sits alone at the desk in the university library, trying to focus on the book of Dutch Masters in front of her and the images of Vermeer's work. She's tried hard most of the day to not think about Taehyung. It was easier when she was with her children. They are so warm and open that they fill all the needs, and cover all the sadness with their innocence and joy. But, as she got on the bus to take the long ride to the campus on the other side of town, she had far too much time to think. She knew he had called, she knew he had texted. She didn't want to know what he would try to say to explain away the fact that she was just temporary, a distraction from his life and his already set path.

Now she sits, hanging her head in shame, still feeling foolish for thinking someone in his position would really be interested in her. Deep down, her insecurities had always made her question why anyone she dated was with her; what the real reasons were behind any attention she received. If a man praised her appearance, she questioned her own intelligence, but if he told her he thought she was smart, she wondered if she was pretty enough. A vicious cycle that had plagued her since turning 12. Her Grandfather had always told her she was perfect, but she knew that he had to say that because he loved her.

She hadn't found anyone she allowed herself to feel really vulnerable with, until Taehyung. She didn't want to let him in and believe him, but in the end, after only a few short days basking in the glow of him, she did believe him. She had confessed the depth of her feelings in one reflexive moment of ecstasy, and now she will pay the price in shame and remorse. The thought of it makes the tears flow freely down her cheeks and she tries to wipe them away casually to not draw the attention of the students at the tables around her. She pushes the thoughts down, deeper, to hide them, and takes a deep breath. She must focus on this course. It's the last step in her degree. She will graduate at the end of the term, and then maybe, she will go back.

Now, it feels awful to think of leaving her little school and the children, and she has come to think of Seoul as home. What would she even have to go back to in Seattle? Everything was mapped out in her life up to this point, either by her own goals, or her desire to fulfill her promise, but nothing was planned for after she reached this point. Maybe she was expecting something to come along and show her the path. Up until she met Taehyung, she hadn't even considered what she would do after graduation, but over the weekend, she let herself imagine living here permanently, and raising a family of her own. The sky is dark outside, but she knows she has several more hours of study before she has to go back home; back to her little student apartment, and lay her head on a pillow where his head once was. She drops her head onto her hands on the book in front of her, heavy with the weight of the revelation that she had willingly allowed herself to make such a tragic mistake.

***

Taehyung sits in his car outside her apartment building, looking up to see all the lights are off. He knows she hasn't come home. He knows she is likely still at the university, but he has no where else to go to find her. After his meeting with Mrs. Lee, he is more determined than ever to see her and explain it to her. She has to understand the mistake. He knows she could not have told him she loved him, and then refuse to hear his explanation. He puts on an Etta James album and listens to the songs, thinking of dancing with her in the living room of her little apartment with the beautiful handmade curtains and treasures of art books. He smiles thinking about how soft her skin is and how her eyes glistened with tears in their first moments lying together. The phone in his pocket vibrates and the screen on the dash lights up with an alert 'Jungkook calling'. He grimaces unsure what the maknae will have to say, not sure if he wants to hear it, but he answers.

"Jungkook, what's up?" He looks around the quiet street outside his tinted windows as he speaks.

"Taehyungie are you in the car?" he asks.

"Yes, but I'm parked,"

"Are you alone?" He frowns again at the screen displaying Jungkook's name.

"Yes, why? Did Jimin call you?" Jimin was the only person Taehyung had called today after he spoke with Mrs. Lee. He told him what had happened, the mistake made by Mrs. Choi and how Hana had left and was not responding to his calls or texts.

"Yes, he called after he spoke with you." Taehyung shakes his head.

"I am not in the mood for a lecture right now. I don't want to hear 'I told you so."

"No hyung, I don't want to say that. I wanted to tell you that I really liked Hana, and I really do believe she's the girl for you." Taehyung's eyes get wide. He stares hard at Jungkook's name on the screen, wishing he could be speaking to him in person.

"What made you change your mind?"

"Meeting her...and, seeing you together. I've never seen you that way, and I believe you now. I know it's real. We all do. I just wanted to tell you that, I support you."

"Thank you Kookie, but I'm sure Jimin told you that she hasn't spoken to me since Mrs. Choi convinced her I had a fiancée. I don't know what to do. I'm sat outside her apartment now waiting for her to come home from her class." He looks up at her front door again, and the apartment, still dark.

"You can't go to the university?"

"I wouldn't know where her classes are."

"Does she study anywhere nearby?" Taehyung thinks for a moment.

"She told me on our first date that she studies at the library, or at this cafe she took me to called Twosome. She said she was a regular there."

"Then try those places. You can try the cafe and if she's not there, try to the library." He smiles, thinking of the plan as it's unveiled to him.

"Jungkook, you are right! One of the staff at the cafe gave me a gift with a nice note, I bet he would help me find her." He puts the car in drive, and pulls out onto the road back toward A Twosome Place cafe, his energy and his hope restored. "Thank you Kookie, I am on my way."