The Light of Dead Stars | KSJ

18

"Jin, are you shitting me?" you turn to him with wide eyes. "I may not be able to properly pronounce this store's name but I can at least tell those diamonds are real, and they're expensive," you exclaim, emphasizing the last word.

"I told my Grandmother the same thing!"

"Okay, now you're making me sound ungrateful," you frown.

"Well, I said it kindly," he clarifies. "But she won't budge. She thinks it's necessary for us to have matching diamond bracelets. When she learned that we were heading to Cannes today, she called this store and asked for a few designs to show us."

You look at him worriedly before looking at the 3 options in front of you. Looking at the other pieces of jewelry in this chic store that Jin took you to after your time at the beach, you feel both in awe and like you're going to faint. This is too much, you think, as the gifts from his family keep on coming. Of course, they gave you cash after the wedding, but it seems that all the more meaningful gifts were to come after you two had made it "official."

"It doesn't feel right accepting this," you say, pouting and crossing your arms.

The sales staff seems to have picked up your reaction and she says something, which Jin translates for you.

"Apparently they've been paid for."

"Oh goodness, Jin!" You whine embarrassingly. "We can't... I can't..."

"I know, but it's gonna look worse if we don't accept it. Just wear it when we're seeing them. It's fine, really. And you know I hate saying this but this really isn't much for them," he sighs, only preferring to talk of his family's wealth when it's to ironically make you feel better that whatever they spend for you is just like extra change for them.

"So can you please just choose? I like all 3 designs, but I think you prefer the simplest one," he says, picking the least shiny one of them and closing the clasp around your wrist. "This one's classic and elegant; you can match it with anything."

"Okay, fine," you give in, though the pout doesn't leave your face.

This is the part you'll never get used to and you mentally smack yourself for every time they give you something. In another version of this reality where you and Jin actually love each other, you feel like you'll be more accepting, but being paraded with wealth on a daily basis is something that will always throw you off guard and make you feel undeserving.

You take the one for him and put it around his wrist, too, and you admit, it looks gorgeous on him. Jin has pretty hands and stunning fingers, something you'd noticed that first day in France as he held your hand in the car.

The sales staff asks for a photo that she's been instructed to send to the elder Mrs. Kim; she's apparently a regular here.

"Your Grandmother's really not letting us off the hook, huh?" You laugh this time.

"She probably thought we'd find a way to skirt around their plan," he laughs back. "But thank you for accepting. They badger me a lot for not buying you things because, well, you know my family - they like to show off but it comes from a good place, I promise."

"I know. I'm sorry for being a difficult wife," you shyly smile.

"It's fine, you have your redeeming moments," he says, yelping when you pinch his waist.

"Hey, proper decorum!" He whisper-yells, but the sales staff don't seem to mind, as you're the only ones here and they've been giggling ever since you and Jin started to bicker earlier.

"But anyway, thank you. I'm thinking of making them something before we leave tomorrow. Maybe sweetened rice cake?" You say.

"That takes a while to make," Jin frowns.

"Preparing the glutinous rice is what takes a while. I can just wake up earlier and prepare it then sleep again or something. It's the least I could do, Jin. Really, it's nothing. Plus, I like making that for my family!"

"Yeah? You haven't made it for me yet."

"Well, then now I will. Come, I passed by some stalls earlier where I can buy dried fruits and nuts," you say, pulling his arm towards a certain street.

And that's how you and Jin spend the rest of your time in Cannes - shopping for ingredients, buying him jelly beans to shut him up because he was being really annoying, and laughing all the way to a small restaurant and then heading home.

You lay in bed that night, facing him once again, a smile immediately gracing your lips as he pinches your nose.

"Thanks for driving and being with me today, Jin," you say. "And for not making it weird."

"For not making it weird?" He chuckles. "May I remind you that you once made pancakes for me and Seri after you caught her at our house? Like it was totally normal?"

"It's not like you were hiding or anything, so it's not that bad," you laugh. "Plus, it was always fine with me."

"Yeah, but I still got so traumatized. And so driving you to Cannes wasn't a big deal. I'm not sure if it was the meeting you imagined but I'm glad you got to see him. You seemed really happy, too, like you felt like home with him there."

"I did, huh?" You ask softly, wondering how you look when you're with Namjoon, but Jungkook always said you had a calmness on your face whenever you were with him.

"You did. Sorry if I stayed around a bit; I just wanted to make sure you were safe and stuff. And about your exes, I'm sorry about it, too," he mumbles. "I didn't know if it was right to say it earlier but I... You didn't deserve that, and I'm just glad you had someone to help you pick up your pieces."

"You don't have to apologize," you assure him. "And that's why I was okay with you and me. It's not so much that I have low standards in men, like you pointed out, but it's more like - I know bad when I see it; I've experienced some of the worst. And you're nothing like them, Jin. We may not be a normal married couple but I can sleep well at night knowing I'll be safe, because that's what I feel with you. So thank you."

Jin can only smile. He realizes as each day passes that he values your words more than he expected, and knowing you feel safe with him is all he needs to hear. He pulls the covers over you and pinches your nose again before wishing you goodnight.