Soulmate

Fifty Five: Ophelia

San Francisco, California
March 9, 2020

"Nanna?" She's awake today. Not sitting up, but the nurses have her slightly elevated on pillows. She stares blankly at the many flowers slowly dying on her windowsill, but she smiles when she hears my voice. When she sees me.

"Ophelia," she whispers. She's out of breath, but she still manages to fein some strength for me. It makes me smile.

I grip her hand tightly. "I've missed you," I tell her. "This is the first time I've seen you awake since I got back from Korea."

"Yes, was it wonderful?" Nanna asks wistfully. "I would've given anything to see them, even for just a second. Did Jin know you?"

I smile again and look down at the sheets. Nanna chuckles at my reaction. "You actually have some visitors today, Nanna," I whisper. It couldn't have been a more perfect day for her to be awake. It feels like divine intervention.

Her face wrinkles in confusion. "Who?" Her voice shakes as she asks me.

"It's a surprise."

She puts her hand to her chest, her face still confused and a little worried. "Do I know them?"

I nod enthusiastically. "You know them very well. As soon as you seem them, you'll remember."

Nanna lets out a determined breath of air. "Okay."

I smile at her one more time and wave to Seokjin who peaks through the door. They all file in one after the other, Rose and Ara first, then Jimin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Taehyung, Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jungkook after. Jimin sheepishly peeks his head around the curtain before he walks around the room to stand on the other side of Nanna's bed. My grandma gasps, probably the most air she's taken into her lungs since she got sick. Jimin smiles at her reaction and offers his hand to her and she takes it without any hesitation. All seven pairs of eyes wander around the room to settle on the few posters we hung around the room for her. Jimin's eyes settle on the picket fan he signed that we taped above Nanna's bed.

"Jimin?" Nanna whispers. "Is that really you this time? Am I dreaming?"

"Hi Nanna," Jimin says softly, flashing her his dazzling smile.

"Oh my," she says shakily. She lifts her hand to her chest touch the necklace that reads 'JIMIN' in the metal. "I might faint."

I tell them what she said and their light laughs trill through the room.

"They're all here?" She asks me. When I tell her yes, she blinks as her eyes commit all of them to her fading memory.

"It's nice to meet you finally," Yoongi tells her. "Since 2013."

She nods and I catch a tiny tear threatening to leave her eye. "Since 2013." She sniffles; I hand her a tissue and she presses it to her mouth. "You helped get me through my son's death. And raising Ophelia."

Jimin squeezes her hand gently seeing her emotional. Namjoon clears his throat and mumbles a quiet translation. I appreciate him, I'm not sure I could even open my mouth without choking on the words.

"You are amazing boys," she whispers as her dangerous tears finally drop. "You saved us both. Thank you."

Her words push me over the edge and suddenly I'm crying. Seokjin reaches out to me and squeezes my shoulder for support. I never would've told him anything like that. They did  save me. They gave me something to hope for, something to love in the darkness of my father's absence. Seokjin gave me a life to look forward to, my only light. I look at him and I know I don't have to say anything. He already knows. He loves me for it all.

"You are the reason," Jimin tells her genuinely. "You keep us going."

"We don't meet many fans from our debut days," Namjoon says, his voice thick with emotion. I peek at him as he wipes a falling tear. He sniffles softly. "Thank you."

The room falls silent. I take a moment to take a few breaths and calm myself before I reach for Seokjin and pull him closer.

"He's here, Ophelia," she says when she sees his hand on my shoulder. I can't do anything but nod in response. She wiggles her fingers for him to take her hand and he does without hesitation. "You have to take care of my little girl. You have to take care of her for me. And her father."

I barely hear Seokjin promise her that he will. My head drops and I cover my face with my hand to try and hide, try and pretend that our new beginning doesn't mean and ending is coming. I try and push fate away for a moment longer. I want to have her with me forever. I want them both.

"And you," Nanna says to me, pulling my hand away from my face. "Don't let this old woman hold you back anymore. Go live your life. Go experience the love the universe made for you before you were even born. My life is over. But yours is just beginning. So don't let me hold you here anymore, okay?"

I choke out and 'Okay' and stand up to give her a tight hug. She touches my hair lovingly, just like she did when I had nightmares as a child, the same way she did to calm me to sleep after my father died. Each of the boys takes a turn to hold Nanna's hand and let her see their faces—her own personal fansign event.

"I'm tired, Ophelia," she says softly after meeting all of them. "I think I need to take a nap." Her eyes are already starting to close and she's practically starting to snore already. I laugh a little at that.

"No problem, Nanna," I sniffle, wiping the last few tears with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

"Jimin," she says firmly, even in her sleepy state. He eagerly leans forward to listen to hear what she says. "You are the most perfect boy to ever walk the earth."

He laughs, wiping his cheeks and sniffling. "Thank you."

The next second, she's starting to snore. I ring for her nurse and we all file out into the hallway to allow the tall woman coming down the hall inside to do her job. Before she enters, I catch her by the arm.

"Do you know if she's going to...?" I can't even finish the sentence.

The nurse pats my hand gently. "We don't know. We're doing all we can. She needs rest, but we're taking it day by day. It's all we can do in these difficult times."

I nod. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," she says with a smile before she enters the darkened room.

.

Nanna passed away a week later peacefully in her sleep.

—

did you miss me? i missed you 💕

not me crying while writing this :,) i'll always love nanna. I i hope this chapter is even half of what you all wanted, i also wanted the members to meet her. everything needed to come full circle.

there are some answers as to why i've been on hiatus for so long on my profile under my announcements. thank you all for being so patient with me and still loving and supporting me during my long af break. and thank you SO SO SO much for 400,000 reads on this book. i truly can't believe it. even when i'm not updating for over a year there are still people who care enough about my writing. it makes what i do so so rewarding 💕

love always, cay 💕

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