Love Under Pretenses | Winrina

27.

To be honest, I don’t know where I should take Jimin to help her calm down, where she could finally breathe and let go of whatever’s weighing her down.

From the moment she called me earlier and I heard her trembling voice, sobbing uncontrollably, my heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. All I wanted was to rush to her, to wrap her in my arms and hold her tight, comforting her from whatever pain she was going through.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her break down like this.

Usually, Jimin keeps everything bottled up inside, as if she’s always in control, as if nothing can break her. But now, it seems like she couldn’t take it anymore, and everything she had been holding in finally exploded.

I kept driving, almost an hour had passed, and I kept glancing at Jimin, wondering if she’d ask where we were going or why I hadn’t stopped yet. But she didn’t. She just stared blankly out the window, still quietly sobbing, lost in her own thoughts.

Her mind seemed miles away, buried deep beneath the weight of her emotions.

Finally, we arrived at a place I hadn’t been to in years—a small, old playground that seemed abandoned but still usable.

The swings were rusted, the slide chipped, but it was quiet, untouched by time in a way that felt peaceful. The last time I was here was before I graduated middle school.

This place used to be my escape whenever things felt too heavy, whenever I needed space to breathe. I hadn’t been back since we moved when I started college, but it still held the same calm it did back then.

I remember, I came here once as a 5 year old little girl, late at night. I had snuck out of the house after my parents scolded me for failing three subjects of my exams at school. In my frustration, I ran away and found myself here, hoping the swings and slide would somehow take away my sadness.

That night, I wasn’t alone. I remember seeing a little girl standing in the middle of the playground. She just stood there, unsure of what to do, lost like I was.

FLASHBACK...

“Are you going to play too?” I asked the girl excitedly, thinking I’d finally have someone to play with here in the playground. But my smile quickly turned into a pout when she just gave me a cold glare.

“You don’t want to play with me, do you? Fine, whatever!” I snapped at her, pretending I didn’t care.

I stomped over to the swing and started to swing myself back and forth, pretending to have fun on my own. But deep down, I really wanted her to join me.

I kept swinging, laughing to myself as I enjoyed the sensation, when I noticed her watching me the entire time, as if curious about what it felt like to be on the swing.

“Do you want to try?” I asked her suddenly, catching her off guard.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying yes, you know. It’s obvious you want to,” I teased, giving her a smirk. She just raised an eyebrow at me.

“No, I don’t!” she shot back defiantly.

“Yes, you do! You’ve been staring at me for a while now.”

“So what? Is that a crime?”

“No, but it’s kinda obvious you’re jealous!” I said with a mischievous grin.

Our little argument continued, but after a few seconds, I saw her glance at me again, still curious. I sighed deeply, got off my swing, and walked over to her.