The Selection

Chapter 15

This story/plot belongs to Kiera Cass

𒊹︎︎︎ᴥ︎︎︎𒊹︎︎︎

Dinner was disappointing. Next week I’d have to tell my maids to leave some room in the dress for me to eat.

  In my room, Anne, Mary, and Lucy waited to help me out of my gown, but I explained that I’d need to stay in it a little bit longer. Anne figured it out first—that Jungkook was coming to see me—because I was always eager to get out of the binding clothes.

  “Would you like us to stay later tonight? It’s no problem,” Mary said just a little too hopefully. After the calamity of Jungkook visiting earlier this week, I decided sending them out as early as possible was the best way to go. Besides, I couldn’t bear to have them watching me until he showed up.

  “No, no. I’m fine. If I have a problem with the dress later, I’ll ring.”

  They reluctantly backed out the door and left me to wait for Jungkook. I didn’t know how long he’d be, and I didn’t want to start a book and have to stop, or sit down at the piano only to hop right back up. I ended up just lounging on the bed, waiting. I let my mind wander. I thought of Marlee and her kindness. I realized that, besides a few small details, I knew very little about her. Still, I trusted that her actions toward me were in no way fake. And then I thought of the girls who were all too fake. I wondered if Jungkook could tell the difference.

  It seemed like Jungkook's experience with women was so great and so small at once. He was gentlemanly enough, but when he got too close, he came undone. It was like he knew how to treat a lady, he just didn’t know how to treat a date.

  It was quite a contrast to Taehyung.

  Taehyung.

  His name, his face, his memory hit me so quickly it was hard to process. Taehyung. What was he doing now? It was getting close to curfew in Busan. He’d still be at work, if he had a job today. Or maybe out with Brenna, or whoever else he’d decided to start spending his time with since we broke up. Part of me ached to know . . . part of me wanted to crumble just thinking about it.

  I looked over to my jar. I picked it up and felt the penny slide around, so lonely.

  “Me, too,” I whispered. “Me, too.”

  Was it stupid of me to keep this? I’d given back everything else, so why save one little penny? Would this be all I had left? A penny in a jar to show my daughter one day, to tell her about my first boyfriend—the one no one knew about?

  I didn’t have time to dwell on my worries. Jungkook's firm knock came only minutes later. I found myself running to the door.

  I drew it open in a big sweep, and Jungkook looked surprised to see me.

  “Where in the world are your maids?” he asked, surveying my room.

  “Gone. I send them off when I come back from dinner.”

  “Every day?”

  “Yes, of course. I can take my clothes off by myself, thank you.”

  Jungkook raised his eyebrows and smiled. I blushed. I hadn’t meant it to come out like that.

“Grab a wrap. It’s chilly out.”

We walked down the hall. I was still a little distracted by my thoughts, and I knew by now that Jungkook wasn’t great with starting conversations. I had looped my hand around his arm almost immediately, though. I was glad that there was a sort of familiarity there.