Reluctant Hearts ✔️

Chapter - 46

☾⋆⁺₊🎧✧ lıllılı.ıllı.ılılıı

playιng: [No yao de ai] - [Penni Tai]

˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･

I chase the love you want, but lose my way,

In shadows where the quiet hearts stray.

I give you all, yet drift apart,

Leaving pieces of me in your guarded heart.

˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊ ˚ ‧₊ .:･˚˚ ‧₊ .:･˚₊ *˚˚₊

Yoongi sits at a lavish table by the window, dressed impeccably in a crisp grey shirt and tailored pants, but his usual calm composure wavers. His eyes glance at his watch, fingers tapping impatiently on the linen napkin in front of him. Would Jimin actually show up? he wonders. He arrived early, unable to wait, his patience wearing thin from the anticipation. He thought leaving everything to fate was the right choice, but now, sitting alone in the restaurant, he's regretting how much time has slipped away.

He thinks back to the first time they met-that night when everything was a mess in his life. His father, with endless demands, had insisted on arranging a marriage even before Yoongi could properly take over the family business. It had been suffocating, and all he wanted was a moment of peace.

And then he saw Jimin.

Yoongi smiles faintly, remembering how refreshing it had been. Jimin hadn't recognized him, hadn't fawned over him like others who knew the power behind his name. He was enchanted, mesmerized by Jimin's authenticity, the way the man held himself without pretense. For once, Yoongi felt seen as just a man, not a title or a name.

That night, their connection had been instant, raw, and unfiltered. It was something Yoongi wanted to hold onto-something he still wants to hold onto. But then Jimin ran. And even though Yoongi expected it after Jimin figured out who he really was, it had only deepened Yoongi's obsession. For once, someone had run from him, not toward him.

That only made Yoongi want to chase.

He sighs, remembering the long months of searching. He found nothing. No "Jimin" on the guest list. No trace. It was a year later when a magazine ad caught his eye-an up-and-coming model named Jimin, posing in a jewelry campaign.

Jimin was a struggling model in the U.S., fighting for his career. If Yoongi had interfered, he would've only been a burden.

So, Yoongi waited. He worked tirelessly, building his own empire, making sure that when fate finally brought them back together, he'd be worthy to stand beside Jimin. He knew and could sense that Jimin was going to be a big name in future, and he wanted to be ready for him.

Lost in thought, Yoongi's reverie is broken when the restaurant manager approaches. "Sir, Mr. Park has arrived," the manager informs him.

Yoongi's breath catches in his throat, nerves suddenly kicking in. He had always been confident-perhaps too confident-but now? Now, he feels a pit of uncertainty. Six years. It's been six long years, and Yoongi's still stuck on him.

Does Jimin even remember that night the same way? Does he feel anything at all, or was Yoongi just one fleeting moment in his memory?

Before he can dwell on it, the doors open, and there he is-Park Jimin.