Park Jimin Daring Wife || PJM ✔️ (COMPLETE)

C75

"What is that commotion?" Song Areum wondered to herself. She raised her head from the computer desk. She was finishing the homework Song Yun Gak had assigned to her yesterday.

Through the balcony window, loud chatter could be heard. Out of pure curiosity and the desire to shut the french doors, she clambered off the chair and approached the balcony. She looked down and her eyes brightened at the sight of a luxury car. Was her grandfather coming earlier than planned?

To her disappointment, the door opened and revealed a young boy. He seemed to be four or five years older than her.

She wished it was Choi Soobin. It had been a couple of days since she had last seen her Binnie oppa. Two years ago, he hated the nickname that she gave him, but it finally grew on him and he reluctantly accepted it.

Song Areum could see all of the servants of her household lined up to greet the boy. She wanted to catch a glimpse of his face, but it seemed he was intently distracted by something.

"Welcome honorable guest, Young Master Park!" All of the butlers and maids greeted him in unison, bowing as low as their bodies would allow them.

"What a fancy greeting. He must be important." She said to herself. She wanted to look longer, but then heard the voice of her younger sister.

"ChimChim!"

A pang of pain rushed over Song Areum, causing her knees to wobble. She would’ve fallen to the floor if she did not grab the balcony fence. The name brought a stabbing pain to her heart, forcing her to grasp her chest, gasping for air. The wind blew past her and she shivered. It was getting cold and too noisy for her liking. She hobbled back to her room and tightly shut the door behind her, closing the curtains.

Song Ara ran through the large doors that opened slowly for her. She ran outside, her breath caught in her throat when she saw Park Jimin in person. He...he was a lot better looking than the photos! They did not do him justice. She had never seen someone so handsome. It was enough for her to go weak in her knees. Her heart soared to the skies when he raised his head from the present box in his hands.

The sun was too bright today. Park Jimin hated the light, especially the glaring heat beating down on him. He shielded his eyes. Through his squint, he saw the girl of his dreams.

Dear Areum. She was a short distance away, dressed in the same hat he had gifted her a while back. She kept it? It warmed his heart and made him smile a bit. So it seems she did not forget him after all.


Song Ara felt her heart at the back of her throat, erratically thumping. He was suave, chic, and very mature — it was everything she ever wanted.

Staring at his smooth, slightly-tanned skin that looked softer than silk and his piercing eyes, her heart skipped a beat. What killed her was his loving smile. It was as if cupid shot an arrow at her. She had seen him for less than a minute and was already head-over-heels in love with him.

"Dear Areum, I’ve made you wait long." Park Jimin could not see her face properly, but that hat of hers was the distinctive sign for him. He thought it was strange.

Five years have passed and she was still into frilly, lacy dresses like those? He believed she would prefer something with less decoration, but he did not mind her current style. It reminded him of how she used to dress back then.

He decided to send her another gift tomorrow, this time, with dresses similar to the one she was wearing. In his hand was a handcrafted music box and in the trunk, there were many more gifts to come. They were all dresses, hats, shoes, and pieces of jewelry that girls her age would like, but he deemed it would be better if he brought her more dresses.

Park Jimin motioned for the chauffeur to open the trunk. The man obediently did so and took out the many presents, handing it all off to the servants. He ensured none of them touched the ground. His Young Master would have his head if the young lady dirtied her hands.

"I brought you gifts." Park Jimin warmly said, his smile growing wider when she took a step forward. Was she shy? Or was she showing she had class and etiquette by not running straight towards him when she had the chance to? He wished she forgot about the rules and came to him.

Usually, he despised little girls who stepped out of line and were not mindful of their manners. There were many times he reprimanded spoiled little brats who didn’t know their places. All of them ran off after his scathing glare and equally scornful words. No one could match up to his Dear Areum who would innocently smile even when he gave her the cold-shoulder.

"I didn’t know you were still into lacy dresses and did not buy you any. It’s a mistake. Do not fret, I will bring more tomorrow." Park Jimin watched her stay rooted to the ground from a distance. His lips twitched. He wished she would come closer. He was waiting for her to take the first step.

Song Ara was too busy drooling over his face and appearance to realize she was standing there like a fool. She demurely clutched her dress and glanced down in a very innocent manner.

"That’s alright, a-anything from ChimChim will be deeply treasured by me." She purposely made her voice sweeter than usual, so that it resembled her older sister.

Park Jimin was finding her behavior odd. His Dear Areum never glanced at the ground. She was taught to always look up and jut her chin in the air. He tried to brush it off. It’s been five years, of course, she would change.


"Open the gifts. I hope you like them." Park Jimin took a step closer to her, his hand itching to pat her on the head. He had not done that for a while now.

Song Ara took two steps backward like a frightened bunny. She averted her gaze, her cheeks bursting with redness. She turned towards one of the servants who handed her the first box which so happened to contain jewelry.

When she opened the box, her eyes widened. It was a matching set including a necklace, earrings, bracelets, and so on. The thing that caught her eyes was the set of rings. It was just a simple gift and nothing more. There were many more sets of jewelry down the line of servants, but she was too fixated on the current box in front of her.

Park Jimin saw her silence as displeasure. He grew antsy. "If you do not like pink diamonds, there are also sapphires, pearls, and—"

"No! I like pink diamonds!" Song Ara was so excited, she forgot to change her voice. Her heart was pounding with excitement, her fingers shaking to put the ring on. It was just a ring, but to a naive child like her, she saw it as a promise ring for their future. She could die happy right now.

Nanny Yu-ri said the Park family was one of the richest families in the country. She did not believe it until the older woman showed her hundreds of pictures of beautiful, scenic properties, boats, yachts, helicopters, and private islands. Nanny Yu-ri also told her Park Jimin’s estimated trust fund and the fortune he was rumored to inherit when he turned eighteen. Everything her Nanny showed her belonged to Park Jimin.

Song Ara was brimming with uncontainable happiness. ’My future husband is going to be loaded and he’s more handsome than prince charming!’ She thought to herself.

Park Jimin’s face darkened. She looked greedy.

She did not sound like his Dear Areum.

The facade broke.

Whilst the little girl was distracted by the jewelry in front of her, he stormed over to her. With force, he yanked the chiffon ribbon hat off of her head.

Song Ara’s startled head snapped up, her body flinching. No one had ever roughly handled her like that before.

"Who are you?" The warmth evaporated from his eyes, disappearing into thin air. His face was devoid of a smile and it was frighteningly dark. His lips were curled in disgust. However, that was not what terrified her. It was his eyes.

Beastly, vicious, like they could snap her body in half if she looked at them long enough. She didn’t. She averted her eyes, her shoulders shaking.

"Areum! There you are. Why did you run off without mommy?" Moon Chae-Won came running down the stairs and out onto the pavement of her front entrance. Her smile was forced and it turned nervous when she felt how tense the air was.

Song Ara was shaking and trembling. She wanted to get out of there. Her prince charming’s cruel and menacing stare was boring a hole in her.

Park Jimin ignored the woman that entered the scene. Her words only enraged him further. Did these retards think he was as dumb as them? Calling this imposter "Areum"? The Songs were stupidly bold.

"I asked you a question." He snarled, grabbing Song Ara by the neck. He would not mind squeezing the daylight out of her neck if she lied to him. Breaking it would be child’s’ play.

Song Ara could see her life flash before her eyes. She stared at him, wide-eyed and pale. She tried to talk and explain herself. The constriction against her throat was preventing her from doing so, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Y-young Master Park, what are you doing? You’re hurting our Song Areum!" Moon Chae-Won stepped forward with her hands raised in an attempt to grab her daughter. One cutthroat glare from Park Jimin was enough to freeze her in her path.

Tears flowed from Song Ara’s face. She thought it was her fault. She believed that because she had messed up on her "test," that this was her punishment.

"I’m sorry—!" She cried out in pain when he tossed her onto the ground like she was trash. She scraped her knees, blood flowing from the deep wounds. Sparks of pain traveled throughout her body.

Park Jimin turned to his butler who came over with a hot towel and handkerchief. He wiped his hands as if she was dirty. His aloof face flashed with disgust, staring at the failure before him. "I should have you shot to death for lying to me." He threw the towel at her, causing her to flinch and shrink back in fear, whimpering like a pathetic mole.

Moon Chae-Won paled. "Young Master Park—"

"Did I give you permission to call me that?" His words were a slap to her face. It was a bucket of cold water dumped onto her. No one had ever disrespected her like this. Well, at least, not directly in her face.

"Where is Song Areum?" Park Jimin cut straight to the chase.

When Moon Chae-Won’s troubled face filled with guilt, she dropped her head and looked to the ground. The pavement was very interesting today. She wished she could bury herself in a hole. If she could tell him the truth, she would, but she was placed under strict orders to not let Song Areum come near Park Jimin.

Click.

Moon Chae-Won’s horrified face snapped up at the sound of a gun. She was faced with one of the most terrorizing scenes she witnessed. A gun. A gun was being pointed at her precious Song Ara’s head! Her face was red with anger and she could not do anything about it.

"It seems the Parks have been too lenient upon you fools." Park Jimin unlocked the trigger guard, his eyes glancing towards the top of the house where he saw a body previously. It was gone.


"You have one chance to answer me." Park Jimin positioned the gun, pressing it against Song Ara’s temple. She was frightened, her life flashing before her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She had fainted.

Park Jimin was irritated. He wanted to see the life leave the eyes of the deceitful little wench.

"My baby!" Moon Chae-Won shrieked, taking a bold step forward, then another. She ran to her unconscious daughter, only for her forehead to roughly collide with something. Her head snapped up and she was alarmed to see a wall of men blocking her path.

"What are you doing? Get out of my way!" She screamed, "Don’t you know who I am?! I am the wife of Song Kang-Ho! He will not stand for this!"

The loud commotion reached Song Areum’s thin windows. She slammed her pen down onto the desk, her face flushing with annoyance. What exactly was going on down there?! She could hardly concentrate with all of the noises!

She pushed her swiveling computer chair back and stood to her feet. She walked to one of the windows and yanked the curtains back, revealing the chaos outside.

When Song Areum saw the gun pointed at Song Ara, her heart plummeted to her stomach. Her heart hammered against her chest. She flung herself out of her room, racing down the stairs, her steps thundering against the wood. She ran all the way downstairs and pushed the front door open.

"No, First Miss, you can’t go outside—" The maids and butlers tried to grab her. She dodged all of their hands and broke through the clearing.

"Put that gun down!" Her melodic voice was a knife that sliced the heavy tension. She was huffing and puffing from the intense exercise of running from the fourth floor down.

Park Jimin’s head snapped to her. He could not believe his eyes. She was here. Her face matured a bit and she was slightly taller now. His eyes searched her body for any visible injuries. Her outfit caught his attention. It was a light summer dress whose style was similar to the ones he had anticipated she would wear. So he hadn’t guessed wrong after all. She was no longer into frilly and over-the-top dresses.

"Dear—"

"Are you crazy?! Did you not hear what I said?" Song Areum placed her hand on her hips and stomped her way to the boy. She felt her heart throb when her eyes laid upon him and she could see his features clearer now. If he wasn’t the one threatening the life of her younger sister, she would’ve been knocked out of breath by how unbelievably attractive he was. His eyes were the best part of his features. They were a prominent, obsidian black. It flowed like a river of finely grated ink.

Park Jimin was astonished to see her tone of voice towards him had changed from admiration to indignation. When she was younger, she was never like this. Her speech towards him was not this bold. In these five years, how could she change so much? What happened to the light in her eyes? He heard she was introduced to the elite society a year ago...did it take such a heavy toll on her for her to look like this? She had lost weight — a distressing amount for a growing child her age.

He dropped the gun.


Park Jimin staggered towards her, his thin lips parted a bit.

When he began to approach her, Song Areum took steps backward, then forward after remembering what she came downstairs for. She might’ve disliked the fact that Song Ara stole all of their parents’ attention, but that did not mean she would leave her younger sister to rot on the floor like this.

"Get away from me! Don’t touch me!" She slapped his hand away, the sound echoing through the empty fields.

Everyone was quiet, holding their breath. The servants sniggered inside. The First Miss had just sealed her fate. No one talked back to Young Master Park the way she did. That was because the people that did never lived to tell the tale. For her to disrespect him and touch him without permission, she would surely lose a hand or even worse, her head.

Park Jimin retracted his hand, boggled at her violent reaction. Did she not remember him? "Dear Areum, what are you doing? It’s me, Park Jimin." Even though she had hit him, he was not infuriated at her. He just...couldn’t believe that she would change this much.

"Okay and?" She rolled her eyes. "You think you can scare me with your name? News flash, my name is Song Areum. You don’t scare me."

Park Jimin was shocked by her bratty voice. She had never shown this side to him. Granted, when she was younger, she needed all of his attention and at times, she would whine to get it. But it was never this. She never spoke to him like that. What happened?

"Dear Areum—"

"Stop calling me that!" Song Areum hated the way her head hurt when he called her that. It was strange. One minute her head was pounding and the next, it stopped. She rubbed her chest, attempting to numb the prickling pain that spread there.

In a way of distracting herself, she bent down to check Song Ara’s pulse and let out a sigh of relief upon feeling a very strong one. That meant nothing big happened to her. "And get off our lawn." She could hardly call this place a lawn. Her house was large and the lawn had rows upon rows of grass littered with nicely-trimmed trees and three fountains that were spaced out.

Park Jimin opened his mouth to protest and was roughly interrupted by the sound of his phone going off. He peered down, his face becoming stormy when he saw it was his grandfather.

"We are not done with this discussion." He calmly told her before turning back to his car. He paused and turned around, "You will see me again."

"Over my dead body." She retorted, her eyes glaring daggers into his flawless face.

He stiffened at her words and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Don’t come back here. I don’t want to see you ever again." She snarled at him, hugging Song Ara close whilst kicking the gun away. It landed beside Park Jimin. He didn’t spare it a single glance. He was too busy standing like a statue, frozen with shock at her words.

"You’re despicable." She added the finishing blow, watching as his fingers curled into cramped fists that turned paler than her skin. He was furious.

Park Jimin gritted his teeth and stormed into his car, slamming the door behind him and ordering the chauffeur to drive to the Underworld.

He never came back again.

Strung across the night sky, covering the stars were blankets of rolling grey clouds. A silhouette of the moon could be seen, lighting up the paths of lost wanderers. Distorting the light was the ominous rain pelting onto the cement ground, drenching the city of Seoul. The breeze was damp and wet, howling a whistling tone. Thunder turned the clouds into a white, pearly color.

Park Jimin was undisturbed by the storm roaring outside of the hospital windows. He was lost in a maze of his jumbled thoughts. Staring out the window, the bright flash ominously lit up his face. A shadow curved the outline of his sharp, prominent features.

Park Jimin was stuck in a crossroad of truths and deceptions. To tell her, or not to tell her. She had a right to know the truth, but was she ready for it?

While he was drowning in his thoughts, a woman stirred in the bed. It started with the twitching of her long, pale fingers and then the creasing of her soft brows. Her eyes fluttered, slowly peeling open in confusion. Her chin tilted to the side. She attempted to access her surroundings through a blurry vision.

Song Areum weakly lifted her hand and grasped her neck. She wanted to soothe her dry throat and parched lips. Moving as slow as time, she tried to sit up.

The rustle of her blankets snapped Park Jimin out of his thoughts. It was a rope that yanked him out of the pool of indecisiveness. He whirled around, his eyes widening. Struggling and shaking was the woman haunting his dreams for three consecutive nights. She was finally awake. He wasted no time to cross the distance between them.

"W-what—" She was cut off when he engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug. His strong arms crashed her on his body, slightly lifting her off of the bed.

He buried his head onto her shoulders and held her like she was the only thing that mattered to him. She might as well have been, for her scent was the air that filled his lungs and her laughter was the beat of his heart.

Song Areum could feel his desperation through the hug. Her eyes softened, turning moist when he clenched her. She wanted to give this big teddy bear a giant pat on the back and tell him all was well but she could not move a limb. His arms had an iron grip caging her to him.

Park Jimin only pulled back to lean his head against the side of her head, his eyes squeezed shut.

"You big baby." She weakly said to him. Even after waking up from a four-day coma, she still had the energy to make fun of him. It was her way of showing her affection towards him.


Park Jimin let out a burst of relieved laughter, choked with emotions. "How about you give me a big baby to accompany me?"

"I just woke up and you want kids already?" Song Areum wryly said. She turned her face and kissed the side of his head. "You can let me go now."

"No."

She groaned in pain when he abruptly lowered them onto the bed, squishing her into the plush mattress. "Why not?"

"Because you might disappear if I do."

Her heart melted, like the last droplet of snow which marked the beginning of Spring. She could die happy right here, but she kept that thought to herself. If she joked about death at this moment, she knew she would break his heart to pieces. "Idiot. That will not happen."

"It happened in my nightmare."

Okay, so her heart broke. Just a bit. That was a lie. It shattered. She wanted to clutch her aching heart and give him a hug, reassuring him that she was real. "Well, this is reality. Something like that will never happen."

"You said that in my nightmare too." Park Jimin breathed out, his heart dropping with her words. Was this another dream? Will he wake up soon and discover she was still unresponsive? He braced himself for the pain.

"Well, what did I not say in your nightmares?" She asked him, wriggling in his arms, asking for some sort of release. She let out a tiny sigh when he loosened the hold enough for her to pull her arms out.

One of her hands caressed his powerful, rippling back. His muscles clenched under her gentle fingertips. His heart skipped a beat when she began to rub her hand from the top of his spine to the bottom. The other hand immersed itself into his silky locks of midnight-colored hair. Bit by bit, she was able to soothe the statue in her arms, turning the tense body into a human yet again. Well, as human as this robot could get.

"You didn’t say you would spend all of the money in our bank account." He slyly told her. "You can reassure me first by saying you will finally touch the money I earned for you."


Song Areum laughed. She suppressed the desire to yank his hair. What a crafty husband she had..."Then I must bring myself to tell you and believe me, it hurts me to say this, but this is just another nightmare."

Park Jimin didn’t like her response. He roughly nipped her ears, causing her body to jolt out of surprise. "What’s wrong with spending my money?" He grumbled. She yanked his hair out of retaliation. It didn’t hurt him. Nonetheless, for her sake, he let out a monotoned, "Ow."

She laughed at his boring response to her attack. A robot had more life than him. "Because I didn’t earn it, I don’t want to waste it."

"I earned it for you."

"Is that so, ChimChim?"

Park Jimin’s body tensed at her words. He pulled back, supporting himself with his arms as he hovered over her body. She had a tiny smile on her face, the very one that drove him insane with love.

Song Areum brought her hands behind his neck and in a small voice, she whispered, "I-I saw something when I was asleep." Remembered would be a better term, but she was unsure about the word. She didn’t know if it was a memory of the past or something her delusional brain made up.

"What did you see?" He anxiously asked her, his heart drumming with anticipation. She looped her hands together.

"A little version of me running through a garden with a teacup in hand. The garden was very beautiful and it reminded me of the one I saw in Jennie’s house...which happens to be your previous house as well."

Song Areum saw his eyes flicker with recognition. So it was a memory after all. But how was this possible? For all of her life, her childhood was a blur to her. She could not remember a thing but the resentment her parents had for her.

Whenever she tried to think of the things that happened as a kid, she felt like her conscious was submerged underwater. The voices were distorted and the words were hard to decipher. Faces and appearances were muddled and she could not make out a single person. There were times when she would get a mind-boggling headaches if she tried to think of the past. After a while, she stopped trying.

"And did she fall?" Park Jimin’s voice was placid and mild. It concealed the turmoil inside of his head.

"Yes, she did! How did you know?" Song Areum astonishingly said. "Wait, that’s a dumb question because you were also there... Sitting in a chair, reading a book. I was always bad at running, so I would fall a lot." Her heart sped up. "Y-you were in my memory. A mini version of you helped me get back on my feet and then wiped away my tears, scolding me for crying over something so stupid." She pushed him off of her, sitting up on the bed with his help.

She turned towards him with a torn expression. "How...How is that possible? Why were you in the memories of my childhood? D-did we know each other before our first encounter in the hospital?" She was in a rush to voice her thoughts and tripped over a few words.

Park Jimin knew that this conversation would happen one day. He just never thought it would be so soon. What else did she remember? He cupped her face, his thumb drawing circles upon her soft, creamy cheek. In an impassive voice, he whispered, "Yes, we did."

To say the least, Song Areum was stunned. Her face was frozen with disbelief. She stared at him like he was a stranger, her lips opening and closing. Her brain was messier than strings of tangled yarns. "What...but...how...that’s impossible, h-huh?" Was the only thing she could say after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Park Jimin was glad to see this reaction instead of something filled with violence and screaming. Seeing as she couldn’t form proper sentences to voice her thoughts, he changed the subject. "How much do you remember?"

"Not much." Song Areum curtly replied, her lips pressing together. She averted her gaze. She remembered him up to the part where he told her to meet up in the garden, but he never showed up that day. She was mauled through the lawn by her mother and spent the rest of the day in her room, wondering why her "ChimChim" never showed up.

"You’re lying." Park Jimin reached his hand out and gripped her small chin, forcing her to look at him. She stared at his shoulders with a blank and dull expression. He didn’t like that.

"What else are you not telling me?" His voice was angrier than expected. He didn’t like it when people kept secrets from him. She was his wife now. There shouldn’t be a boundary between them.

Park Jimin sighed inside of his head. He had no right to talk about boundaries when he, himself, was keeping many things from her, beginning with her father and uncle who were rotting in jail.

During her coma, he received word that the "foreign" man seeking to buy Song Areum was none other than Jeong Jin-soo. This only triggered him more and in no less than an hour, a mass search was sent out for the General. It was too dangerous for her to remain in this city and if he could have it his way, he would move her out of it as soon as possible. However, Seoul was large and the surrounding city would take two to three hours by car.

"You left me." Song Areum tore her eyes away from his navy suit. She could see his expression perfectly and realized how haggard he looked. There were bags under his eyes and when she peered closer, she saw the exhaustion buried beneath the bitter displeasure. When was the last time he had a proper sleep?

"You stood me up." Song Areum glared at him, "Even as a child, you had player tendencies." She harshly poked him with her finger, jabbing it at his chest. "Why did you do it? Why did you tell me to come to the garden if you weren’t going to show up!"

Park Jimin winced at her blow. The pokes didn’t hurt him, but her words did. He grabbed her fingers and press a kiss to the delicate flesh. "I didn’t mean to." He muttered, holding both of her hands in case she wanted to attack him. "The Elder summoned me for a supposed ’quick chat’ that would not take longer than five minutes. The next thing I knew, I was stripped of my hidden weapons and tossed onto a plane heading straight overseas."

Song Areum opened her mouth but he squished her cheek together, forcing her mouth to pucker out.


"Let me finish, my love." He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous and hilarious she looked. He breathed in deeply and told her the truth of what happened that day.

He told her about the day he stopped before the doors of his grandfather’s study and was instructed to place all of his concealed weapons onto a tray. It was strange to him, but he figured it was just his paranoid grandfather taking safety measures.

He remembered walking into the study where the windows were all shut. His grandfather was sitting behind a desk with a gas mask on and the next thing Park Jimin knew, gas-filled the room.

He woke up in a foreign land with a letter that revoked all of his rights back into the country. His passport was seized and his bank account had enough money to survive, but never enough to buy a helicopter back into the country. He could not return home until the two years abroad were up.

Song Areum was quiet as she absorbed the information bomb that was dropped on top of her. Two years... She tried to remember what happened in the two years that he was gone. Nothing came to mind and when she tried to think about it more, her head began to ache again.

"I told you the truth. Now, will you tell me what else you remember?" Park Jimin’s voice was alluring and beckoningly sweet. He was very good at convincing her. The sincere look on his face wasn’t helping her in resisting him.

"I was planning on telling you the truth regardless." Song Areum truthfully said. She didn’t break away from his intense stare. He could tell she was not lying.

"I remember the day we met, how much of a meanie you were." Song Areum really wanted to give the young Park Jimin a good kick to the shin. The first day they met was when she was exploring the house and got lost in the maze that led to the garden. When she saw him, the wind was knocked out of her. She had never seen a boy more handsome than the person reading a book under a parasol. If only his behavior matched his face.

Park Jimin awkwardly scratched the back of his head, an apologetic expression on his face. He, too, remembered giving her his most menacing expression because he was experiencing a horrendous day after receiving a thorough scolding from the Elder after incorrectly answering one question on the homework. He didn’t have the patience to deal with a lost bunny, nor did he know how to handle something as naive as her.

"I remember it all until you stood me up. Whatever happened after that, it’s all a blur. Nothing comes up. I know there should be something there." She dropped her head and sighed. "I’ll try harder to remember."

"Don’t!" Park Jimin shouted, panicked that she would push herself. What if she fainted like this again?! He could not risk that.


She jumped at the unanticipatedly loud voice, her head snapping up. She met his frantic expression, the dread, and hysteria in his eyes.

"You can try to, but the second your head hurts, I want you to stop it. Even if the pain is subtle, I still want you to stop. Do you understand?" Park Jimin gripped her shoulders, shaking it when she did not respond to him. She was looking at him like a befuddled little bunny.

"Do you understand?" He exasperated, his shoulders and body tensing up with dismay. She slowly nodded her head.

"I do." Song Areum lifted her hand and with two fingers, she smoothed out the crease lines on his forehead. She grabbed his face, cupping it in her hand and brought his head down so that she could press a light kiss that made his stomach feel odd.

"Now, relax. You’re stressing yourself out." Song Areum gave his cheek a quick peck. He tried to turn his head so that her lips landed elsewhere, but she was faster than him.

"I already knew you were going to do that." She pinched his face, hating how there was only skin for her to grab. Where was the fat? She was jealous.

"It’s better to try than give up on the finish line." He tried to keep her in place so that he could engage her in a lengthy kiss. Too late. She already sat down and was keeping her hands to herself.

"How long was I asleep for?" She asked him, her eyes sweeping over the hospital room. She was surprised to see the dying bouquets on the nightstand beside her. She wanted to grab the white card in each of the bouquets, but a certain block of rock was in her way.

Park Jimin was greedy and he wanted all of her attention on him. He blocked her line of sight and reached his hand out to hug her but she slapped it away. She scooted back and said, "Give me some distance and answer my question. You’ve hugged and touched me for long enough."

He was a disobedient dog who knew how to get under his master’s skin. Right after she finished speaking, he poked her cheek, testing her patience. Her brow ticked. This kid deserves a good pinch.

"You were asleep for four days."

"It was only four days? You were hugging me as if I slept for four decades or something."

"That’s because it felt like four decades." Park Jimin huffed under his breath. His words were air to her ears because she was not paying attention to him. She was lost in her own thoughts.

Song Areum let out a sigh of relief. Four days. That’s not bad—wait a minute! Muera! She was so screwed. Ji Cheong Shin is going to kill her!

Seeing the distress on her face, Park Jimin figured it must have been about Muera or her grandfather. "Don’t worry. If it’s about Muera, I’ve already contacted your new Vice President in advance."

He left out the part where he told Song Yun Gak that she was in the hospital. The ancient turtle stormed to the hospital, demanding for Park Jimin to kneel and beg for forgiveness. All was well when Park Jimin explained why she fainted. The elder thought it was because Park Jimin did not take proper care of her. Then Song Yun Gak left after calling Park Jimin by the wrong name. He also threw in nicknames like "Prick, rascal, punk, bastard," and so forth.

"Oh." Song Areum relaxed, then tensed up. "So what if you told him?!" She groaned, facepalming herself for sleeping so damn long.

She knew Ji Cheong Shin’s character. On the outside, he will smile and politely nod his head at what Park Jimin told him. He might even play it off that he was completely fine with the CEO being absent for four days. Then, when she returns, there will be a long lecture and he will thoroughly pile the work onto her desk.

"I’m so screwed!" She pitifully cried, wiping away her nonexistent tears.

"Yeah, screwed by me soon."

She thought it was a joke, but he sounded too serious. She peeked at him through her hands and saw how solemn his face was. "Now is not the time to joke, Park Jimin!" She huffed. She jumped when he suddenly came closer to her, pushing her onto the bed. Her breath hitched when she saw a flash of passionate fervor in his eyes.

In a low, sultry voice, he whispered, "You think it’s a joke? Wait until I’m done with you tonight."

She shivered at how seductive he sounded. Her body clenched when he began to press open-mouth kisses starting from the back of her ears down to the dip of her neck. His hands began to explore lower and lower until they impatiently pushed her hospital gown up and that was when she came back to Earth.

"Wait!"

He froze, pulling his hands back. "Okay." He reluctantly said in a slightly hoarse voice. Luckily, they stopped there before his buddy got excited. Nevermind. Too late now. Tonight would probably be the 99th cold shower that he had.

"No, it’s not that I’m not ready." She blurted out without warning, her face heating up. Great, just great. She had successfully embarrassed herself again.

He was mindblown at her words and she didn’t give him the chance to respond. "It’s just... I haven’t brushed my teeth for like four days and I haven’t taken a shower."


She babbled on, her nerves taking over. "My breath probably stinks and I reek, but you’re too nice to tell me that. Well, you’re not really nice to other people, which you should work on. Just don’t be too nice to women alright? Especially if they’re prettier than me. But if they’re business partners, that’s another story. Wait, scratch that, I sound too possessive. Okay, maybe you can talk to some beautiful women, but you better not come home with another leash around your neck because I swear, I have a sharp knife ready for you."

Screw my life. She wanted to dig a hole and bury herself into it. Who the hell has a word vomit that damn long? She was pretty sure she had beaten Jennie’s record by now.

’This is fantastic. Way to go, Areum. He probably thinks you’re either delusional or belong in a mental hospital, or maybe even both!’ She said to herself.

Park Jimin opened his mouth, but she cut him off and said, "Just forget everything I said."

"My love—"

"Alright, fine, fine. You can make fun of me for that. But only once okay? I’m sensitive. Well, not really. It’s just I’m so embarrassed, I’ll probably become redder than a potato. No, I mean tomatoes." She spoke so fast, everything might’ve been one word.

"My dear, listen to me—"

"Once is actually too much. Let’s not even talk about it, okay? Wait, is that too controlling? Uhm, then maybe just half a joke? Like a really small one...not too much, though." That’s it. Where’s the nearest open window? She wanted to fling herself out of it right now.

Park Jimin waited for her to say something else. A second later, he broke out into a loud laughter that caused her face to become inflamed.

"It’s not funny!" She cried out, tearing up a bit. Even though her heart skipped a beat and her stomach’s dragon came to life at the sound of his laughter, she still wanted to cry.

When he turned towards her with that knee-wobbling smile, she thought, ’Wow. He might as well have shot me right there because I think my heart stopped. Why is he so handsome?! Damn it! How come he doesn’t have one bad angle to him?’

"Silly girl." He shook his head whilst pulling her into his arms. "You smell perfectly fine. And there is no one else in this world that’s prettier than you, you little fool—"

"Technically, you have to say that since you are my husband." Song Areum wrinkled her nose at him. He chuckled and patted her head.


"Fine, I guess the truth has been exposed."

Song Areum gasped, her eyes as wide as her gaping mouth. This..this...bastard! She didn’t think he would flat out slap her with the truth. "I hope you enjoy the couch from now on!" She kicked him off of her, jamming her leg into his stomach like a kid.

"Aren’t you going to ask who it is?" He was greatly entertained by her violent reactions. It seemed grabbing her hands was not the best idea since she could also use her legs. It took only one leg for him to clamp down on hers, forcing it in place.

"I don’t care." She snapped, crossing her arms. She was angry that he was able to easily subdue her leg. She guessed it was time to hit the gym and try to strength-train.

"Is that pout I see?" He continued to bully her by reaching his hand out to pinch her squishable cheeks. With a loud "Hmph!" she turned her head away from him. A mirthful smile graced his face. He hugged her from behind while resting his chin on her head. He ignored her elbow jabs that felt like pokes.

"The only person who has a chance of rivaling you will be our future daughter." He twirled the ends of her hair, curling it around one of his fingers.

Song Areum stopped struggling and in a quiet voice, she said, "You’re very annoying. You know that right?" Despite her words, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

"Likewise." He hummed in reply, pinching the strands of her hair with two fingers. He didn’t know why, but playing with it gave him some sort of comfort.

Song Areum silently laid there with him. Somehow, their position changed. She was resting her head on his chest whilst his hand was continuously playing with some parts of her hair. She could hear his steady heartbeat and she was very close to falling back asleep. She found it strange how relaxed her body felt when his arms were around her. The safety and comfort he provided were unrivaled to anyone else in this world.

Before Song Areum fell asleep, she raised her head and sat up. One of his arms were slung loosely around her hip.

"What’s wrong?" He asked her, expecting her to fall asleep. He would never admit this, but he wanted to cuddle with her. It has been four days since he had not held her whilst he slept. And those nights were gruesome. He would toss and turn on the separate hospital bed provided by one of the nurses. Without her presence, he felt uneasy. When he finally caught a wink of sleep, he would wake up two or three hours later, drenched in sweat from a damn nightmare.

Her hospital bed was huge enough to fit both of them together with enough room to spare. When she was unconscious, he refused to get into the bed with her. He didn’t want to accidentally touch her in his sleep and mess with the needles or hooks attached to her. There were too many risks.

"I’m going to take a shower first. I feel sticky." Song Areum yawned, which caused him to yawn a bit because of how intently he was staring at her. Yawns are contagious.

"Come back quickly." Park Jimin instructed her when she hopped off the bed without his help.

He pressed the call button for a nurse and a minute later, one walked in. After examining the empty IV drip bag, the nurse took out the needles and placed pressure onto the skin with a cotton ball. Next, she placed on a band-aid and left the room.

"You don’t need to take one?" She curiously asked him while walking to the closet in hopes of finding a towel. It was stocked with fluffy, white ones.

"I took one this morning." He told her which made her disappointingly nod her head. She wanted to see a wet Park Jimin with only a towel hanging dangerously low on his waist and water droplets rolling down the sharp v-line... She rapidly shook her head at the image and ran into the bathroom before he could ask her what’s wrong.