207 BONES

XXI



Chapter 16

✶----✶----✶

The New York flagship store had become Jimin's sanctuary.

The boutique hummed softly with quiet conversations and the rustling of fabrics, its clean lines and warm lighting a reflection of the life he was rebuilding.

Ara, his small gray cat, sprawled lazily in her usual spot by the window, soaking in the late afternoon sunlight.

Jimin smiled faintly as he worked, folding scarves and adjusting a display. The routine comforted him, anchoring him in the present.

The chime of the door pulled him from his thoughts. Without looking up, he called out his usual greeting.

"Welcome in."

The response came a beat later, low and familiar.

"Hey, Jimin. Missed me?"

Jimin froze.

That voice.

Jungkook.

He really wished he could forget that voice—the same voice that haunted him, broke him into someone who needed fixing.

He wished he could forget how low it could drop, how enticing and dangerously attractive it was. It felt wrong, but he couldn't.

It was etched into his ears, buried so deep he couldn't forget—couldn't remove it.

Slowly, he turned.

Jungkook stood just inside the doorway, hands tucked into the pockets of a black coat.

He looked almost the same—sharp eyes, confident stance—but there was something different about him, too. The smirk was there, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

As Jungkook stepped inside, the door chimed softly, but he hesitated at the threshold, like he wasn't sure whether he was welcome or whether he belonged.

His posture was almost too perfect—shoulders squared, head held high—but there was a subtle tightness in his jaw, a flicker in his eyes that betrayed the confidence he tried to project.

His hands, usually so steady, clenched and unclenched in his pockets as if the mere act of standing still took effort.

He looked different—changed, yes—but in a way that left him looking even more fragile than before.

His usual self-assurance was present, but it felt like a mask, thin and cracked.

His gaze never stayed too long on Jimin, shifting away quickly whenever their eyes met, as if afraid of the weight in those moments.

It was as if he'd become someone else—someone who had been broken by their own actions, yet had somehow managed to piece themselves back together.

His face remained neutral, but there was a depth of regret in his eyes, a shadow of the boy who had walked away and left all of this behind.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Jimin's heart was a traitor, beating too fast. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay calm.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was steady. He was proud of that.

Jungkook took a few steps closer, stopping just short of the counter. "I missed you."

Jimin huffed out a short laugh, shaking his head. "After a year, and that's all you have to say?"

Jungkook's smirk faltered, and for a moment, his eyes dropped to the floor, his posture tense with an emotion Jimin couldn't quite place.