The Unrequited Love

XXII

Hanahaki:
A fictional illness in which a person bearing an unrequited love coughs up flower petals until they die or their feelings are reciprocated.

×××××

I smiled."Bye Yoongi."

[Two days later]

"You're what?"

"Yes, I'm quitting 'ZZZ'," I answered, tidying up my clothes in the cupboard.

"And what about our plan? Getting Jungkook back?"

"None of it is going to work," I said, turning to face him."And besides, I'm going to die anyway."

Jimin was speechless. He just stared as I closed the cupboard and headed back to the kitchen.

"We've worked so hard," he said aloud."He's even beginning to soften."

"Yet he hasn't come back to me," I mumbled.

Jimin was getting impatient now."Y/n it takes time. It takes continuous tries to get results."

Silence engulfed the house. Jimin was starting to worry. All of the planning, convincing me to fake-date him, actually fake dating him, getting Jungkook to soften, all would be in vain. The image of me dying was making him panic, his thoughts revolving in a continuous disarray. Balling his hand into a fist, he made a silent vow. He was not going to let it happen. He was not letting me die.

He came out of the bedroom to find me seated at the table, busily writing something. My nose was as good as buried in the paper, my pen busily working. Jimin quietly came to my side and hovered over me, reading the paper. His looming shadow fell on my paper and I looked up. Jimin took his chance and snatched the paper, quickly balling it up in his fist. It was my resignation letter.

"What was that?" I raised my voice at his childish behavior.

"Why were you doing that?" he said, slowly beginning to unfold the crumpled paper."Why are you resigning? I told you it's working, didn't I?"

And after unfolding, he began tearing the paper to pieces.

"Jimin." I made a grim face."Enough."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm going to die anyway."

"Who are you to decide that? How can you even think of it before trying?" he said, aggressively tossing the shredded pieces to the dustbin, some of them landing out of the bin.

"Infuriating, isn't it? I've been trying to tell you the same thing," I said."And you're not showing even a wee bit of effort to understand it. To cooperate."

He ignored me."You can't think of it without trying."

But I didn't lose my patience this time."Exactly. It's all about trying."

Jimin knew now where this was going. He raised a finger at me."No."

"Listen to me." I tried to get close to him, to calm him down. But he just shrugged my hand away and stormed inside the bedroom. I knew he wanted to be alone and he was going to slam the door at me. So I hurried behind him, before he could fully close the door.