Intertwined: Two fates

60 - Three magical words

Under Jungkook's mesmerized stare, Jimin's face turned even redder, his lips parted without a word.

Back then, the situation had been too chaotic and Jimin's attention was entirely focused on how to stabilize Jungkook's berserk state. He could not even think straight anymore. He had blurted out those three sacred words in the heat of the moment when his consciousness was fading away. Under the sharp and unrelenting torment, he really thought he was going to die soon and could not help but confess the love he had been hiding for years...

Who knew that... who knew that in a few hours, they would lie side by side like this?! He never even expected that Jungkook would remember it!

It would be better if Jungkook had retained his memory because Jimin was certain that the Alpha would not bring it up for fear of embarrassing him. That was just how thoughtful and considerate he was. Unfortunately now... it was not the case!

Now, he was acting just like any ordinary Alpha who had just gotten a confession from his omega and feared that he had heard wrong. His hopeful, nervous yet slightly apprehensive look was going to make Jimin shrivel up and wither away from sheer embarrassment. How was he supposed to brush it off when Jungkook was staring at him with such an adorable look on his face?!

"I..." Jimin lowered his eyelids and fiddled with the pure white blanket with his fingers, his gaze darting everywhere but Jungkook. His voice was smaller than a mosquito buzz as he admitted, "I did..."

"Oh..." the soft exclamation sounded like it was punched out of Jungkook's chest, utterly breathless. Just as Jimin was going to shift the topic, he heard Jungkook murmur under his breath, "Me too... I like you. I love you so, so much..."

Jimin's eyes snapped to him in shock. When he saw the serious yet bashful look on Jungkook's face, it was as if someone had gutted him with a knife and a layer of moisture gathered on the corner of his eyes.

For these past few weeks, they had been in a courting period and Jungkook had always tried to fulfill his wishes and take care of him as much as possible. He knew that this was the Alpha's way to show his affection. Jungkook was already more than thirty years old; he had long gone past the age of being showy and emotional. For him, 'love' was no longer a word that ought to be uttered out loud, but be proven through action instead.

Jimin could see it clearly... from his tender gaze, his affectionate smile, his gentle touches and worshipful caresses... he could sense how much Jungkook treasured and cherished him.

He also thought that it was already enough. As long as he could monopolize Jungkook to himself, he did not need to hear those romantic and cheesy lines couples often mentioned to each other.

But oh boy, how wrong he was...

It was not until Jungkook said those words that Jimin realized how much he wanted it. How much he wanted to hear Jungkook's feelings be put into words. It was simply magical how those three words fell into his ears like Heaven's most enchanting symphony. He could feel the dark and empty part of him- the part that was mangled with bloody wounds and rotten flesh- start to heal and warm up at a miraculous speed.

Gods, his greed really knew no bounds, did it? To think that once, he was already immensely satisfied with this person's gaze on him...

Seeing that Jimin's eyes suddenly turned red as if he was going to burst into tears, Jungkook's heartbeat spiked in utter panic and was swiftly followed by the loud beeping of the monitor. Alas, all of his attention was solely focused on the teary-eyed omega in front of him. He sat up and his hands hovered over Jimin, wanting to touch but did not dare to.

"W-What happened? Have I said something wrong? Why are you crying?!"

"No..." Jimin's words were choked as he desperately tried to hold back his tears. He had never cried like this before- not in the past few years since Jungkook's disappearance. Damn it Jimin, since when did you become such a crybaby? "I-It's not your fault. I was just―"