Mrs. Right

Unwanted Obituary

Jimin POV

"Addy?"

Addy didn't stir. She just kept staring off into nothingness. Her mom looked up at me and shook her head.

"Addy, sweetie? Jimin and I are going to be right back. You wait here."

Her mom grabbed her purse, stood up, and touched me lightly on the arm. I followed her as she guided me down the hall to talk away from Addy.

She stopped a few feet into the hallway so we were far enough not to be heard by others. I pulled my mask down momentarily and whispered to her, "What happened?" I then pulled it back up.

Realizing I was trying to conceal my identity, she led me to the hospital chapel just a few more feet down the hallway and ducked her head inside to see if it was empty. When she saw that it was, she led me inside and we sat in one of the pews. I took off my hood and hat, ran my fingers through my hair, then pulled down my mask.

"A young woman broke into our house last night. She shot Al and then grabbed me. She started shouting all these crazy things about Addy seducing you and ruining you. She said she had warned Addy to stay away from you or she would kill her. Is any of this true? Was Addy's life threatened? Are you two . . . intimate?"

I took a deep breath in and exhaled. "Yes. It's all true."

"So, Addy's accidental poisoning . . ."

"Wasn't an accident." I closed my eyes as I wiped my hands down my face. "Addy was the target, not Namjoon. It was this crazy fan who thought Addy was ruining me. She thought she needed to save me from Addy."

She continued, "And Addy suddenly left the tour and wouldn't go back to work because . . . she was avoiding contact with you, wasn't she? She was doing her best to stay away."

I nodded. "I made her leave. I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to her again."

She looked at me puzzled. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She wondered why I took the risk of visiting yesterday. She began, "So then why--?

"I was stupid. Several weeks had passed. You live in a fairly isolated area and Namjoon kept watch to make sure we weren't followed. I wasn't going to make contact. I just wanted to see her from afar. But then I saw Addy and . . . I couldn't help myself." My eyes began to grow wet. "You see, I'm in love with your daughter." I sniffed and hung my head, covering my eyes with my hand. "Namjoon and I were so careful. I don't understand. I thought for sure we were safe. I never imagined . . ."

Addy's mom placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you were careful, dear. There's no way you could have known that this crazy woman was already here in Colorado the whole time."

"Wait, what?" I sat up, uncovering my eyes.

"She said she had been watching Addy for weeks, following her around as she took trips into town and such. She didn't follow you and Namjoon from Denver. She was already here, waiting, watching."

I was filled with dread as I realized I was to blame. If only I had stayed away, this never would have happened. I clasped my hand over my mouth as I struggled to find the words to apologize for the mess I had made.

"If only I had stayed away," I muttered.

"Now, now. You are not responsible for this. This isn't your fault. She looked into my eyes. I could tell she believed what she was saying, but it brought me no consolation.

Her mom removed her hand from my shoulder and turned her eyes toward the chapel door. "Addy shot and killed the woman. She saved me and her father. She saved herself. But, she's not seeing it that way." Addy's mom turned her attention back to me. "She's riddled with guilt, Jimin. I even heard her call herself a murderer under her breath."

"What? She blames herself?!"

"I tried to tell her that the woman was ill and, although this is awful, she did the right thing because it was in self-defense. She's not believing me. I've requested the hospital send someone from their mental health department down to have a talk with her, but I was told it was going to be a bit of a wait. Why don't you try talking to her? Maybe she will listen to you."

I nodded, and once I was done putting my hat, hood, and mask back on, together we walked to see Addy. I sat down next to her and turned toward her as I took her hand. I decided to speak in Korean, in hopes that it would provide a feeling of safety and confidentiality for Addy. 

"Addy, my angel?" Slowly, she turned her gaze toward me. "Addy, I'm so glad you are safe. Thank you for keeping yourself safe for me."

"I killed her, Jimin. I killed someone. I'm a murderer. How can you stand to look at me?"

"No, baby. No, you aren't. You protected yourself. You protected your mom and dad."

"But she didn't want to hurt my parents. She wouldn't have killed them, not on purpose. She just wanted me."

"You don't know that for sure, Addy."

"She--" Addy paused for several seconds, gathering up the strength to continue. "She got startled by the clock. She turned and looked away. So, I shot her. She never saw it coming, Jimin. I took her by surprise. I took that poor, confused woman by surprise."

"That's okay, baby. You did what you had to do."

"There was blood everywhere, Jimin. Her blood. Everywhere. How could I do that? How could I take a life? I'm a murderer."

"Addy, if I had been there--if I had shot her to save you and your parents, would you think I was a murderer, too?"

She shook her head. "No, because you wouldn't have shot her. That's not you. You would never do that, Jimin."

"Addy, I would have stopped her by any means necessary. I might not have used a gun, but I would have done anything to save you. That includes using lethal force."

Addy continued to shake her head. "No, Jimin. You're a good person. You would never kill anyone."

"What if it was me she wanted to kill? What if it was me, not you? Would you have shot and killed her then? To save me?"

"Yes, but--"

"Addy, what makes you think you aren't a life worth saving? Don't you know that if she had won--if she had killed you--it would be as if she had killed me, too? You saved me, Addy. You saved my life by saving your own life."

"I did?"

"You did, Addy. You saved me. Thank you for saving me, Addy. Thank you so much."

She nodded her head as tears poured out of her. I slipped my mask down and kissed her hand and then leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Thank you, my angel."

Addy's mom had an expression of relief on her face. She didn't know what I had said, but she could tell that it had helped. Addy leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. She fell asleep after only a few minutes. I sat there, holding Addy's hand as she slept.

A person was dead. Her life had tragically ended. Her loved ones would grieve. But all I could think about was how grateful I was that it wasn't Addy's obituary that would have to be written.