One Step Closer [Social Media AU]

One Step Closer - 114💕

Prepare your popcorn. Here's the scene you were waiting eagerly for. Enjoy the 7k+ chapter! 

525.

Hye-Jin walked into the familiar restaurant with her head held high. Her white pencil skirt and blazer made it appear as if she was here for a business meeting. But it was her casual look. No matter where she went, Hye-Jin always looked sophisticated and dressed to the nines. It was one of the early lessons she received as a teenager when she was being introduced to this society's lifestyle.

"Always dress for the occasion," her coach would say. "Oftentimes our appearance is what decides how others would treat us. So always dress to look the part no matter what your mood is."

And the second lesson was to hide one's vulnerability. It was important to hide one's weakness and make themselves appear stronger or impassive. Because the others always tried to look for a weakness and prey on it.

That was why when she met Jungkook, she thought he needed more polishing. He was too naive in her eyes as he was. While it was a good personality trait in some ways, in a cut throat world such as hers, he would be mauled mercilessly in a matter of minutes.

There was still ample time left for Jimin to arrive, but she reserved it earlier so she could formulate her thoughts and hopefully hurt her emotions. Jimin was a gentleman no doubt. He was always soft spoken to her and never raised his voice on any occasion even if he didn't agree with her. But when emotions were involved, anything could happen and she was way too hurt to act cool.

It wasn't a pleasant place to be. Growing up, Hye-Jin always had whatever she wanted in life. Even if their marriage was arranged by their parents, she found love and was considered to be blessed to have mated a loyal husband. Jaehyun respected her and their marriage. He was a dutiful husband and an even better father.

While Hye-Jin couldn't have asked for more in her life, she sometimes felt lacking as a mother. Sending Jimin off to the boarding school wasn't easy. She missed him dearly but it was the custom of their families to send their children away for studies. The goal was to raise them as independent as possible and make them responsible for their own lives. It was also a matter of honor and pride among the elite families.

Hye-Jin believed it was when the gap between her and Jimin began to widen. Her son was slowly drifting away from her and there was nothing she could do about it. When he sought after her mate, she thought it was only natural for the boys to go to their father for most of the things.

However, soon, she began to feel left out in most of the things. Jimin came over for dinner almost every weekend after he moved out of their family home. He went to visit her often and always answered her calls. Jimin was a responsible son, but her only worry was that he wasn't a responsible mate material.

No. She never understood why her son chose the path he did. Her husband's face would crumble with concern whenever she talked about it and he would tell her that Jimin will find his way back. It was only a matter of time.

But it had been a decade. Hye-Jin had almost grown numb, but it still hurt to see him with a different omega every week-opposite of how his father was. So she naturally began to blame herself for his upbringing. Maybe she should have educated him better and taught him about relationships and commitments.

She tried to indirectly set him up for blind dates with omegas from her circle, but nothing worked. Jimin outright refused saying he wasn't interested or told her that he was with someone.

When she went to Jaehyun, it was as a last resort. The gossip stopped and Jimin broke up with the model he was seeing. When she didn't see any news about him for weeks, she dared to take some comfort and hoped that her mate's talk had worked on him.