Safe With You | Yoonmin

Chapter 20: Regret and Remembrance

| Yoongi |

WOOD SHAVINGS FLOATED DOWN TO the floor at Yoongi's feet, adding to the soft carpet of chips and sawdust forming under the workbench.

His grip on the sharp chisel was firm, each strike of the mallet careful and precise as he drove the chisel blade deeper into the cherrywood. It was mesmerizing how the thin shavings curled up under the narrow blade, piling up until he brushed them away to join countless others on the floor.

The piece before Yoongi was one of the final components of a cherrywood cabinet. The shelves, doors, and base were complete. Now he was focused solely on carving the delicate joinery slats which would allow the cabinet to fit together, like the pieces of a puzzle. It required extreme attention to detail and a steady hand to get it right.

From nearby came the sound of a saw blade scraping across timber. Jung Ho-jin, the middle aged alpha who owned this shop, was hard at work cutting new planks for next season's rice chests.

The sounds of the saw cutting and Yoongi's mallet tapping formed a familiar song as they worked.

It was only mid-morning, but the sun was shining brightly outside and the breeze that drifted in through the open doors and windows was warm. A bead of sweat rolled down Yoongi's forehead and he realized how hot and stuffy the shop felt.

Laying his tools aside for a moment, Yoongi removed his outer robe and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic. As he sat back down next to the bench, two young beta females wandered into the shop-front, one carrying a basket of vegetables that looked fresh from the market, the other empty-handed but with a noticeable coin purse tied to the sash at her waist.

Ho-jin immediately stood, dusting the sawdust off his clothes as he went to greet the customers. He showed them the many completed pieces that lined the front of the shop, which the girls ooed and awed over.

Yoongi tuned out their conversation completely until he heard the words "rogue omega" and "betrothal." His hands faltered just as he struck the chisel again. The blade rebounded off of the wood, nicking his thigh.

"Damn," He bit out, laying the tools aside again and pressing his hand over the cut. The sting didn't even register because the words hurt far more.

"--that an alpha so promising is being forced to mate a rogue-born! Can you believe it?" one of the girls gossiped in a loud whisper.

"It's so unfair," complained her companion. "Every un-mated beta has had their eyes on Kim Namjoon since he came of age. Who are we supposed to dream about now?"

"Well," the other giggled, "They aren't mated yet. There's plenty of time for the match to go awry."

More whispers and giggles filtered through the shop as Yoongi stared numbly at the cut.

Jimin was betrothed to be mated?

He still hadn't seen the omega since that fateful morning when the younger had come to his home, bringing gifts and asking Yoongi for...damn, he still wasn't sure if the sweet, innocent omega had realized exactly what he was asking or how deeply his request had cut into Yoongi's heart.

Jimin had looked so lost and ashamed when Yoongi's refusal had sent him running. The hurt in Jimin's eyes haunted the alpha in his dreams. It had prevented him from going to the pottery shop for days, and now... Jimin was suddenly betrothed?

He recognized the name of Kim Namjoon. Both Taehyung and Seokjin spoke of their middle brother often. But Yoongi had never met the man. He knew of course that Namjoon had been instrumental in his rescue all those months ago, but the noble's son had been stationed at the border ever since storm season. Their paths had never crossed.