Chance Upon A Tempest

Chapter 39

On Sunday morning, Jimin is already awake and watches you sleep. He studies every part of your face and notices a little scar, right by the tragus of your left ear, and wonders how you acquired that scar. He happily imagines some mishap while learning how to ride a bike or roller skating as a child. Then he remembers the kind of childhood you've had and imagines more sinister ways that you could have sustained that injury. "Did someone wearing a ring hit her, and the said ring barely missed her temple leaving that scar? Was it a result of a bully at school or at one of her foster homes that did something to leave that permanent mark on her beautiful face?" Thinking along this line, Jimin can feel his rage grow and burn into a giant fire ball over all the heinous things you had to endure most of your life.

While he is completely engulfed by these horrible images, he doesn't realize that you are now awake. You see your boyfriend's eyes staring at the middle distance, as they burn with anger and... what else? Perhaps, helplessness? You say quietly, "Baby, are... you... okay? You look... I don't know. Angry? Helpless? What's wrong?"

Snapping out of the worst kind of fantasies, Jimin shakes his head clear of the horror and says, "Kitten, come here. Please, let me hold you. Let me hold my Baby girl."

You make yourself as small as you can and burrow into his embrace. Then you ask again, "Tell me. Did something happen?"

"I'm sorry. It's literally nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing. You had murder in your eyes."

"If I tell you, you are going to think that I'm stupid."

"Not possible. I've seen you in court. You are Goddamn brilliant. Now, tell me."

"I woke up a while ago and I was watching you sleep. I noticed that you have a little scar right there." He gently rubs his thumb over the small but clear scar. "I started wondering what mischief you had gotten yourself into, that resulted in that little scar. I thought of some mishap while learning how to ride a bike, or roller skating. But then I remembered that you were deprived of a kind of childhood that all children should have. And then I started thinking that maybe that scar doesn't come with an adorable story, but something uglier. And the more I thought about the fact that you had to grow up like that, all alone... it just made me angry and helpless. So, looks like you can read me like a book. Kitten, I'm sorry for everything you had to endure. But I promise, from now on, you will want for nothing. I'll make sure you are safe and well cared for. I wish I knew what you had looked like as a child."

"Jimin, you are too good to me and I'm not sure why."

"Why isn't important. It feels like an innate drive. I imagine this is what gravitational pull in space must feel like. Something written in my genetic code. Now that I can be as close to you as I want, I can't tell you how ecstatic I am." He holds you a little tighter and says, "This is where you belong. In my arms, just like this."

He holds you in contented silence for what seems like hours. Then out of nowhere, he breaks the silence and asks, "How did you get that scar anyway?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"While I was at the adolescent group home, there was a girl that just hated my guts. I have no idea why. I never did anything to her. But one afternoon, I was in my room, and she came in, pulled me out of my bed by my ankles and pushed me around. This was a regular occurrence. The last time she pushed me, I happened to hit my head on the wall, next to a window, and the spot that my head landed on, had a little nail head sticking out of the windowsill. When the girl saw the blood, I think she got scared. So, I took the opportunity to beat the living daylights out of her. I put her in the hospital."