Never Give Up

Chapter 16

POV: Jin

Jin was surprised when light steps tapped quickly down the hallway and stopped beside him. "What's for dinner?" A voice that had been haunting his dream for days sounded beside him. He stilled completely. It took him a minute before he felt ready to turn to her. When she'd ran from them, it had taken everything in him to not chase after her. Her obvious pain tore at his heart but he didn't know how to comfort her. He worried that he would see only sadness in her eyes. She was so brave and he didn't want to make this any harder on her. Unfortunately, because her pain was his pain, he couldn't think of any jokes to try and lighten the move.

When he finally felt brave enough to look at her, he was surprised. Her eyes were a little puffy, which was to be expected as she'd been crying. However, her eyes were clear and he saw an accepting peace in her gaze. He took a moment to bask in her peace without thinking too hard about it and smiled. "Well, it's been a long day, so I decided to make some naengmyeon and bulgogi to feel better." She looked at him in confusion. "Naengmyeon is a cold noodle dish that I find really refreshing. We also ordered some fried chicken and sweet potato fries that should be there soon."

"Well, I can't wait to try it all." She was clearly excited. "I love trying new foods. It's been so crazy that I haven't been able to try different restaurants! Do you think we'll have a chance to go out soon? How long will this take?"

He laughed at her adorable attitude and they grinned at each other. "It shouldn't take too long. Are you hungry?"

She nodded like a child. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Set the table?" He pointed her to their dishes and cutlery. Without another word, she was off. I'm so glad she seems to be feeling better! His stress was falling away with her attitude. He was sure that a lot of what she was showing him could be to just make them feel better. However, he was willing to build more positivity from there. He continued to cook as he listened to her hum in the other room.

He didn't know why she was so certain that they weren't her soulmates. For the short amount of time he had known her, he couldn't imagine anyone that would fit better. It didn't have anything to do with her age, body type, or whether or not she was Korean. He was drawn to her. He wanted to talk with her and discover everything about her. After Jimin had released her from his arms, he'd been hard pressed not to come and capture her lips as well.

Because he knew she would ask, he'd really analyzed his feelings over the last day. It really wasn't about the body she was in. She was a little too short for comfort and he was really concerned about how skinny she was. Didn't that prove that it was more about the mind than the body?

When she came in to get the cutlery, he looked at her closely. As she smiled at him, he realized that her smile wasn't as bright as it used to be. "Y/N, are you really okay?"

She looked at him blankly for a moment. "You're so sweet to be concerned, Jin. I know that I probably freaked all of you out yesterday. I'm so sorry. But I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

Jin stared at her for a moment as she focused again on the utensils. She wasn't crying but he realized that there was something really fragile about her right now. "We'll figure out the soulmate thing, Y/N. You don't have to worry."

She didn't look at him, but smiled thinly. "I'm not worried, Jin. I really am okay..." Before he could reply, she walked back into the dining room.

He couldn't believe her words. What felt like her easy acceptance of not being their soulmate hurt even more. Does she not want to be with us? It isn't an easy lifestyle, but we would cherish her so much. As they continued with their different tasks, he wondered if she was masking some depression. Would she feel better if he had her do the thing that always made him feel better? When she returned, he decided to just try. "Y/N, I'm almost done with dinner. Do you want to help me make a dessert?"