ACATALEPSY I BTS AU

CHAPTER 11 - Whiskey and wounds

Jimin walked back into his apartment, all cheerful—until he spotted his father sitting at the lounge table in the living room, sipping a glass of whiskey. 

"Shit," Jimin muttered under his breath, swallowing nervously. 

"Where the hell have you been the whole day?" his father demanded, slamming the whiskey glass onto the marble floor, shattering it into pieces. Jimin froze, trying not to flinch. 

"Are you gonna answer me or not? Do you realize Suzy's been complaining about your behavior? She expects an apology—immediately.."

"Father, please, just hear me out... I don't want anything to do with S—" 

"Stop this stubbornness. We cannot lose this opportunity with the Bae family. This marriage is critical for our business." 

"But Dad—" 

"Enough! I didn't raise you to behave like this. Why are you ruining our family's honor?" 

"Because Suzy only wants our money!" Jimin snapped, finally fed up. 

His father's hand flew across Jimin's face, the slap echoing in the room. "How dare you... Everything is already settled." 

Jimin glared shocked. 

"I already love someone else. I'm not marrying Suzy!" He stormed out, slamming the door behind him, leaving his father speechless. Something had changed in his son...

**At Jin's condo...** 

"Make yourself comfortable," Jin said, handing you a towel. "Bathroom's upstairs, fourth door on the right." 

As you headed up, Jin washed his hands in the kitchen, prepping for dinner. Suddenly, he heard your phone buzzing from your jacket. It didn't stop, so he pulled it out and the name on the screen made his stomach churn: *Tae*. 

Curiosity piqued, he unlocked your phone—he'd seen your passcode enough times at work. He checked the call history and just as he suspected, Tae had been trying to reach you. 

 **Back to you...** 

After finishing you business. *This place is huge...* you thought, marveling at the house. You wandered into a room with a baby photo on a nightstand. It was Jin, smiling with his mom. 

A cherry chapstick lay next to it—the same kind you lost at work. *"Weird...do we have the same taste?"*

You brushed off the thought and headed downstairs. You found Jin drying the bench near the entrance. "Oh my god, I soaked your couch! I'm so sorry!" 

"Don't worry about it," Jin smiled

"Take a seat in the kitchen. I'll be right back, and we'll start cooking." 

**Jimin, elsewhere...** 

Jimin sat in his car outside your apartment, waiting. Two hours had passed, and there was no sign of you. 

"Where are you?" he sighed, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel. Exhausted, he decided to drive somewhere else to vent his frustrations...

**Back at Jin's...** 

"Jin, everything was amazing. You are really a great chef, but I really have to go," you said after checking the time. 

"You sure you don't want more wine?"

"You're sweet, but I have to pick up my brother. He's been at his friend's place for too long."

Jin really didn't want the night to end, but he relented.

"Want me to call you a taxi?" 

"No thanks, I'll be fine. The rain's stopped." 

Jin handed you your jacket. 

"Alright...see you at work. Tonight was perfect," you smiled before rushing out. 

Jin sipped the last of his wine, smiling to himself, even though a part of him was sad as he wished he could have spent more time with you. As his eyes wandered around the room, lost in thought, they landed on something that made him pause—the reason for your outing: the 'birthday gift' for his mom. 

It was still lying on the kitchen island, unwrapped. He let out a soft chuckle at the thought that the two of you had gotten so caught up in the day that you'd completely forgotten to wrap it at the end. But it didn't matter. 

Today had been great, and he was proud of the closeness you both had reached. There had been a moment during dinner where the line between boss and worker felt blurred, almost nonexistent. You had been comfortable enough to open up, sharing so much about yourself, and he couldn't help but feel that, in that moment, you saw him more as a friend than anything else. 

Finishing his wine, Jin walked over to the kitchen counter, picking up the gift again and examining it. He decided he would still give it to his mom, but not as a birthday present—after all, her birthday had already passed. He smiled to himself, thinking how he would tell her it was his 'girlfriend's' pick. The very thought of you two dating made Jin blush, even more than the wine had already flushed his cheeks. 

**At that exact moment...**

Jimin stumbled out of a bar, having just downed his fourteenth B-52 shot. Gloomy, drunk, and upset, he tried calling his best friend Tae, but got no answer. 

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and started 'walking' home—until he realized he could barely walk in a straight line. He ended up at a small park by the river, surrounded by young couples making out. 

The sight made his heart ache. "Y/N... where are you? Why aren't you mine?" he mumbled, loud enough to scare a nearby couple. Seeing them made him jealous. He craved that freedom—freedom to love, to be himself, without the weight of his father's demands or society's expectations crushing him.

"Why is my father forcing me to marry someone I don't love? Why won't he just listen to me?" Jimin's voice cracked as tears began to flow uncontrollably. He staggered away from the park, eventually finding himself on a bridge overlooking the river. 

Halfway across, he stopped and looked down at the moon's reflection in the water, watching as his tears rippled into the stream. 

"How beautiful you are... I wonder if I'll be reborn as one of you?" he whispered, watching the tiny fish swim beneath the surface, his heart heavy with despair.