🥀 Love is pain 🥀 ' Junoon ❣️ ' ( ✓ )

60.

Yoongi sat beside Jimin’s bed, his hands cold with fear as he waited for the doctor. The silence of the room was suffocating, broken only by the faint sound of Jimin’s labored breathing. Yoongi’s heart hammered against his chest, his eyes never leaving Jimin’s still form. Each passing second felt like a lifetime.

“Pl… please, Jimin… wake up,” Yoongi whispered, his voice trembling. “I… I need you to wake up. I need to fix this… I can’t… I can’t go on like this.” His voice cracked, and tears blurred his vision. Jimin had collapsed after their argument, the pain and stress of it all becoming too much. And now, his unconscious body lay before Yoongi, vulnerable and fragile, his swollen belly rising and falling with shallow breaths. The weight of guilt crashed over Yoongi like a tidal wave.

As the door creaked open, the doctor entered and checked Jimin, his hands steady, his face calm. “He needs rest,” the doctor finally said, looking at Yoongi with understanding in his eyes. “Give him love. Give him care. That’s what he needs the most now.”

Love and care. Two things Yoongi had failed to give when Jimin needed them most. The doctor’s words echoed in his mind as the door closed behind him.

Yoongi sat on the bed, his fingers lightly tracing the back of Jimin’s hand. It felt cold, lifeless. His own heart ached as he watched Jimin’s belly move with each breath. He couldn’t look away, couldn’t move, terrified that if he did, something worse might happen. The silence was suffocating, filled with Yoongi’s guilt and fear.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Jimin’s eyelids fluttered. His breathing hitched, and slowly, his eyes opened.

“Jimin…” Yoongi breathed, rushing to help him sit up, his movements careful, tender. Jimin winced slightly as he sat upright, his body still aching, but he said nothing. Yoongi handed him a glass of water, which Jimin drank silently, not meeting his gaze. After taking his medicine, Jimin stared down at his lap, the tension between them thick and heavy.

Yoongi sat beside him, his head lowered in shame. He didn’t know what to say. How could he? He had failed Jimin in so many ways, let him suffer alone when he should’ve been by his side.

Then, he saw it—the glistening tears slipping down Jimin’s cheeks, quiet but heart-wrenching. Yoongi’s chest tightened as Jimin wiped them away with trembling hands, but more followed, unstoppable.

“Y… Yoongi,” Jimin’s voice was soft, broken. “I… I need to tell you something. Will you… will you listen?”

Yoongi’s head snapped up, his breath catching in his throat. He nodded, feeling his own helplessness sinking in deeper. Jimin’s suffering was palpable, and Yoongi feared what he was about to hear.

Jimin swallowed hard, his eyes filled with pain as he met Yoongi’s gaze. “I was forced into this,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “That day… when I went to my parents’ house for dinner… they gave me a marriage card. My marriage card. With Jack.”

Yoongi’s heart dropped. The anger that had fueled him for so long now felt misplaced, irrelevant. He didn’t say a word, letting Jimin continue.

“I told them no. I told them I loved you, that I didn’t want to marry anyone else. But they didn’t care. They said I wasn’t mature enough to make my own decisions. And then…” Jimin’s voice broke, and tears spilled down his face. “They threatened me. They said if I refused to marry Jack, they would hurt you. They would kill you. I didn’t know what to do, Yoongi. I was so scared. So… I broke up with you. I said those horrible things to protect you.”

Yoongi’s world seemed to collapse around him. He had hated Jimin for walking away, for the cruel words he had spoken. But now, hearing the truth, Yoongi felt a wave of guilt so heavy it nearly crushed him.

“I told you that I didn’t love you, that Jack was better than you,” Jimin continued, his voice barely audible now. “But it was all a lie. I loved you. I still love you. From the very first day we met… I knew it.”

Jimin’s sobs grew louder, his whole body shaking as the memories poured out. “But after I said all those things, I regretted it. My family… they abandoned me. My brothers called me disgusting, said I was someone who could sell my body for money and status. And you… you hated me too. But I didn’t care. I took it all—your hatred, their insults—just to protect you.”

Yoongi’s heart clenched painfully. He had been blind, so blinded by his own pain that he hadn’t seen Jimin’s suffering.

“On the night of my wedding…” Jimin’s voice dropped to a near whisper, his face contorted in pain. “Jack assaulted me. He… he kissed me forcefully, and you saw it. But I didn’t want it. I never wanted any of it. I loved you, Yoongi. I loved you the whole time.”

Yoongi’s fists clenched at his sides, his entire body shaking with rage. He remembered that night. He had seen it happen, and it had destroyed him. But now, knowing the truth… his heart shattered all over again.

“After the wedding, everything got worse,” Jimin continued, his voice hollow. “My family ignored me. They didn’t care if I was alive or dead. And Jack… Jack abused me every day. He beat me with belts. He slapped me. He forced me to have sex with him, even when I was pregnant. He killed four of my babies, Yoongi. Two abortions, two miscarriages… he kicked me in the stomach.”

Yoongi’s breath caught, his entire body going numb. His mind reeled at the thought of Jimin going through that. His anger toward Jack was white-hot, but his own guilt was even stronger. He had failed to protect Jimin, failed to see the truth.

“I screamed for help, but no one came,” Jimin sobbed, his tears falling like rain. “I lived every day in fear, in pain. The only thing that kept me alive… was listening to your songs. Your voice… it was the only thing that gave me hope.”

Yoongi’s chest ached as he listened, his tears falling freely. Jimin’s suffering was unimaginable, and Yoongi hadn’t been there for him. He hadn’t known, but that didn’t ease the guilt gnawing at his soul.

“And then… when I found out I was pregnant again… with Jack’s baby… I couldn’t stay,” Jimin whispered. “I couldn’t let him kill another innocent life. So I ran. I ran away and came here, hoping you’d be different. But you ignored me. Your silence… it killed me.”

Yoongi could barely breathe, his mind a whirlwind of guilt and regret. He had let Jimin down in so many ways, hurt him more than he ever could have imagined.

“And then… the night you were drunk…” Jimin’s voice cracked, and Yoongi’s heart stopped. “You tried to force yourself on me, Yoongi. You tried to… rape me.”

Yoongi’s world shattered. His breath hitched, his vision blurred as he looked at Jimin, horror filling every inch of his being. He hadn’t known. He had been so lost, so angry, and now… now he realized just how much damage he had caused.

“I’m hurting so much, Yoongi,” Jimin sobbed, his entire body trembling. “My heart, my soul, my body… everything hurts. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”

Yoongi couldn’t take it anymore. He reached for Jimin, pulling him into his arms, holding him as tightly as he could without hurting him. Jimin collapsed against him, burying his face in Yoongi’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably. His small frame shook with the force of his cries, and Yoongi held him, his own tears falling as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Jimin. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know.”

Jimin clung to him, his sobs filling the room, and Yoongi held him tighter, pressing soft kisses to the top of his head, his own heart breaking into pieces.

“I’ll never leave you again,” Yoongi whispered, his voice thick with tears. “I promise, Jimin. I’ll always be here. I’ll never let you go.”

Jimin didn’t respond, but he curled up on Yoongi’s lap, seeking comfort in his arms. His body trembled, exhausted from the weight of his pain, and Yoongi held him close, wishing he could take away all the suffering Jimin had endured.

“I’m here, Jimin,” Yoongi whispered. “I’ll always be here. You’re not alone anymore.”

And as Jimin cried, wrapped in Yoongi’s arms, for the first time in a long time, he felt just a sliver of warmth through the overwhelming cold.

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