Rogue Hearts | PJM ✅

Chp. 44: Actions Speak Louder than Words

Dallia's POV 🌼

Months pass by, and my life has become fairly routine. No drama, no more getting hurt by others. Things have taken an upswing as far as peacefulness goes, and I'm grateful for it. Lily pulls up to the curb, I jump into the passenger's side of her car, and she heads out into traffic. "I'm so excited you asked me to go to the boxing gym with you today. I'm ready for a workout!" I say. Today isn't a lesson, just some time at the gym practicing and hitting the bag.

"I know. It always feels so good to work up a sweat and get moving," Lily agrees as she glides her vehicle around curves and side streets.

"Hey, Lily, I think you just missed our turn," I say when she passes the street we usually take toward the gym.

"I have to run a quick errand first. I hope you don't mind," she replies as she turns us down a road that puts us in the opposite direction of the gym.

"Oh, no. I don't have plans today. That's fine. All I have is time," I smile as we pass by restaurants and buildings.

"Perfect!" Lily replies.

Ten minutes later, we pull up to a road with many cars parked along it, and it takes a little while, but Lily manages to find a parking spot. "My errand is going to take a few moments, so why don't you come with me," she suggests.

"Sure," I slide out of the car and walk with her wondering what kind of errand I'm partaking in as we walk down the road towards a large building that looks new.

Lily clasps my hand as we approach, and I see a small crowd and a podium. It looks like some kind of presentation is about to begin. Lily stops and faces me, clasping both my hands. "Now, Dallia. I need you to really hear what I'm about to say," Lily begins, and suddenly my stomach tightens because I don't know what is happening.

"One. Nobody knows I was bringing you here. I decided to do this all on my own. This is not part of some secret plan. Do you understand?" Lily asks.

I nod at her, slowly trying to digest her words.

"Two, because nobody knows I brought you here, I want to kind of hide to the side, so we aren't noticeable. Okay?" she continues, and I nod my compliance in awe, wondering what is happening.

Some people are sitting in metal folding chairs, and Lily leads us to the side and a bit set back from the group. "I really felt strongly you needed to see this," she whispers.

A woman comes up to the podium and starts speaking, "I want to welcome you all here today for the ribbon cutting for our fantastic new center!" the woman says, and the small crowd claps. "It is so easy in our society to get caught up in stereotypes or to judge people with differing abilities. That's why today I'd like to thank our benefactor Park Jimin and have him come up and say a few words."

My heart drops, and I want to run away, but my feet stay planted. "He didn't want anyone to know he did this. He kept saying he didn't want you to think it was another empty grand gesture, Dallia, but I couldn't keep this secret anymore. You need to know this," Lily whispers as she strokes her thumb over my knuckles to calm my nerves.

"What is happening?" I stutter.

"Just listen," Lily answers.

"Thank you so much for coming today. We are opening a center for our friends with differing abilities. I have some wonderful friends that have opened my eyes to this amazing community and told me how hard it can be to find jobs and activities they can join. So, today we are here to cut the ribbon for the Kang Friendship Center..."

"Did...did he say "Kang"....like my last name?" I choke out.

"Yes," Lily whispers, and I look to see tears rimming her eyes.

"Here, our friends will have the opportunity to work and earn an income, sell their wares, and participate in social events and classes," Jimin says, his voice sounding a little nervous, and my heart races in awe of every word he utters.

The woman who spoke first then unveils a large poster board on an easel that shows a floor plan, and Jimin continues, "I'd like to introduce you to my friend Binna who is going to tell you more about our center."

My jaw drops when I notice my mother ushering Binna to the side of the podium, and Jimin takes her hand and brings her to the microphone. "What the...." I whisper in surprise. "Nobody told me."

"Jimin did this all for you," Lily whispers. "I mean, he did it for Binna and her friends too, but he wanted to do it for you without any fanfare. I'm the one who called someone from the press, so word will get out there and help fund it. He didn't even want that. He insisted nobody tell you until it after it was built and running because he didn't want you to think it was a gimmick or something he was doing to make him look good. He said he wanted to show you he loves you, and this was the only way he knew how....so your family agreed not to tell you."

"Oh my..." the tears pour down my face.

"Hi!" Binna shouts into the microphone, and everyone chuckles for a moment. Jimin whispers in Binna's ear, and she continues a little quieter this time. "So, Jimin built us a new kitchen, and we can make cupcakes and cookies and all kinds of things and sell them to you!" she says proudly. "We also have people who make arts and crafts, and they will sell them in our fancy new gift shop. It even has BTS merchandise for sale inside! It is awesome!"

Jimin steps forward, "Thanks for sharing with everyone, Binna." My mom takes Binna's hand and leads her back to take a seat. "So Binna and our community friends will have wonderful items to sell you in our cafe and gift shop. 100% of the proceeds will go to help provide income for my friends and maintain the building. We will also have art and music classes available and my friends are busy planning all kinds of wonderful events. It is important that we remember that everyone deserves equity and a sense of inclusion in life. Everyone deserves a chance to share their gifts, and I hope the Kang Friendship Center will be a catalyst for this kind of change for a long time to come. Now we will cut the ribbon and invite you to tour our new center!"

Jimin steps away, and he and the woman stop for pictures and cut a large red ribbon. Afterward while he is posing for pictures, Jimin's eye wanders over the crowd, and I freeze in place when he catches my eye. He looks panicked, and then I notice Lily cover her hand over her heart and bow in apology. I can see he is in shock that we are here, and then his eye wanders over to me, and through my tears, I bow my head and nod at him over and over, letting him know how grateful I am.

"Thank you," I mouth silently, and he bows and puts up his hands, pressing his palms together gratefully, and mouths back, "your welcome."  As he bows, I notice his shirt sleeves ride up, and there it is, he's wearing both silver bracelets around his wrist, and I tremble all over.

"Come along; we have a boxing gym to get to. This is enough for both of you today," Lily declares, and she begins to lead me away. As we get to the edge of the sidewalk, I look back only to see Jimin staring at me, and then we both nod one more time before we are out of sight.

Before we get in the car, I grab Lily and give her a long hug, the tears falling from my eyes. "Thank you, thank you for bringing me here."

"Don't thank me. Jimin did all of this. Binna told him she was losing her job, and he just went into action determined to fix it, but he did it all for you," Lily explains.

"How...how did he know?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"He never stopped seeing Binna. He said he promised to always look out for her. Just like he made Tae and Hobi promise they would watch over you and make sure you took care of yourself and kept eating," Lily says while wiping away the tears from my cheeks.

"That's why they kept insisting on having lunch with me..." I say, stunned.

"Yes and no. Yes, Jimin insisted, but they would have looked after you regardless. Jimin loves you, Dallia."

"I...I..." I stutter, trying to form a coherent sentence.

"You told him you longed for the grand gesture, but not one that was empty, didn't you?" Lily asks softly. "You were looking for his actions to match his words. I think he's shown you he cares..."

Lily's words burrow into my heart as we climb into her car.

He named the center after me ....