"Jimin." I called out in the darkness. Half of me wanted to watch him sleep like this forever. At a distance from me - on the other side of the bed - but close enough so that I don't lose him. The other half of me wanted to wake him, watch the life...
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TAEHYUNG.
Jimin soon fell into a fitful slumber. I just felt so horrible; I wanted to throw up. Never in my life have I ever wanted to deliberately hurt Jimin. Frankly, I was not thinking about him when agreeing to the marriage at the restaurant. If he was in my mind at the time, would I have said no?
Would I have chose his feelings over helping Elise?
With great difficulty, I slowly got up from the floor while carrying him. It was probably ten o'clock at night by now, as the sky was an abyss of darkness, displaying no stars or bright moon. Jimin whimpered quietly in his sleep as I placed him gently down on the bed and wrapped him in a blanket.
My original plan was to go home after telling him, but now I cannot tolerate leaving him. As I watch his sleeping figure on the bed, I realise the extent of how much I upset him. Is that not ridiculous? When he was screaming and crying and choking on his own tears, I still did not realise. But now, seeing him sleeping is what succeeded.
Maybe it was because of how restless he looked, even when consumed by slumber. The tips of Jimin's ash-brown locks were damp with tears, and his eyelids were swollen. He had a red tint on the tip of his nose. I sighed, sitting next to him and caressing his cheek. His skin felt somewhat like treacle; sticky from the dried tears.
I climbed over him carefully and laid down before falling asleep.
⊹ · ✧
"Go." Jimin ordered. I had just served him eggs and toast after forcing him out of bed and putting him on the couch.
"Will you handle yourself okay?" I asked worriedly. Jimin dug himself deeper into the blanket he was wrapped in. Almost like a baby after being swaddled.
"I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself." Jimin replied ironically to my thoughts. I hesitated at the front door before opening it. My eyes trailed back to him and saw that his own were closed.
"See you later, Jiminie." I tried, but he didn't respond. I sighed and walked out before shutting the door behind him. The journey to the elevator felt like years, and my phone had chimed while I was on my way to the car park. I opened it to see it was a text from an unknown number.
Unknown
unknown Hey, is this Taehyung? It's Elise from the restaurant. Anyways, my parents want to meet you today if possible, so just let me know if you are available. Thanks
I furrowed my brows, quickly thinking over my schedule for today. All I had was a meeting around seven o'clock, so I replied with agreement after changing the contact's name.
Elise Chang
elise chang Hey, is this Taehyung? It's Elise from the restaurant. Anyways, my parents want to meet you today if possible, so just let me know if you are available. Thanks
me Hi, Elise. Yeah, I'm free today. Just text me the address and I'll be on my way now.
elise chang Great! It's xxx xxx, xxx. See you later.
I shoved the phone back in my pocket and got into the car. After the GPS was settled, I left Jimin's apartment complex and was on the way to my future in-laws home.
⊹ · ✧
Elise's parents were interesting. Her mother was Korean, while her father was Chinese. Both were in their late-forties and had glasses. Mrs. Chang was a short, round woman with a floral dress on, while her husband on the contrary was a tall, thin man with a orange polo shirt and dark jeans.
"Eomma, Bàba, this is Taehyung." She introduced me. I extended my hand with a smile to shake theirs. They glanced at each other with cheerfulness evident in their eyes.
"It is so lovely to meet you, son." Mrs. Chang gleefully greeted. I chuckled, clasping my hands in front of me.
"Thank you, Mrs. Chang. It's a pleasure to meet you too." She seemed offended suddenly, and I panicked as to what I said wrong.
"Taehyung." Elise's mother crossed her arms. "I insist on you calling me Eomeoni!" I gulped, nodding quickly.
"Yes, eomeoni." I was soon led to their humble dining room, where plants were decorating the shelves, window sills and table. In fact, plants were almost everywhere in the house, which made me assume Elise's parents were quite the gardeners. Food was soon served; dumplings, noodles and stir-fry meat were all sitting before me.
"So, Taehyung, what do you do for work?" Mr. Chang asked me. I swallowed my food politely before responding.
"I work as an artist."
"An artist?" Mr. Chang's eyes broadened in interest. "That's quite creative. You must show us some of your artworks some time!"
"Of course." I smiled. Elise pushed the plate of dumplings towards me.
"Have some." She requested. "My mother made them specially for you." Mrs. Chang smiled preciously as she watched the exchange between Elise and I. She looked at her husband and they seemed to sweetly be communicating with their eyes.
"You know, we are just so happy that Elise has finally found someone." Mrs. Chang brought up. "It truly is the best thing in the world to watch your daughter get married to an amiable young man such as yourself." I noticed the way Elise flinched at the word 'man'. Mrs. Chang smirked, nudging her husband. "It might even be better once we become grandparents, eh?"
I laughed awkwardly, keeping my eyes trained on Elise. She seemed so hurt, yet so used to this. All she did was fiddle with the food on her plate with her chopsticks. "I'm sure it is lovely to watch your child get married." I agreed mindlessly, still focused on her from the corner of my eye. Mrs. Chang nodded enthusiastically.
"Once you have a daughter, you will understand!" Elise stood up, grabbing a couple of the empty plates.
"I'll just go wash these." She quietly said, walking off to the kitchen. Mr. Chang studied her leaving, and once she was out of earshot, he leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
"Taehyung, we must have you aware of something." My fist clenched under the table at how tense the atmosphere of the room became. "Elise has..." He looked at his wife for approval. "Well, she's had some disgraceful...issues...in the past. We are just terrified that she might be attracted to — uh — women."
"I found her kissing her friend in her room one time. They told me it was a game, but I was very mad that they would play a game such as that." Mrs. Chang added. "So please, dear, try to fix her while you can. Show her how lovely it is to be with a husband, and make her forget her sinful tendencies."
"I—" I bit my tongue from retaliating harshly. "I will, eomeoni."
