INEVITABLE; taehyung [✓]

27;

3rd person

***

1 month earlier

taehyung and jenna waltzed down the sidewalk, their coffees in one hand, their free hands tucked into their jacket pockets. the pair walked in silence down the park walkway, their eyes inspecting their surroundings. luckily for them, they both had a passion for nature, which helped them bond even better than before.

"look," taehyung nudged jenna with his elbow, pointing towards a family of squirrels off to their left. jenna smiled at the adorable scene, her eyes shifting towards taehyung every now and then.

she felt like melting in her spot at the mere sight of his beautiful, yet square-like smile, but quickly pushed the thought into the back of her mind. she pulled herself back to reality, and unfortunately, her reality was not as good as the one in her head. her dream land consisted of only happiness, no sorrow, no mourn, no poverty, just happiness. but, her reality consisted of heartbreak, mental torment, and eating disorders. the only light of her reality was taehyung, and that light was seeming to be pulled away from her as well.

"jenna?"

taehyung's voice snapped her out of her thoughts once more, her eyes averting away from him as she realized she was still staring. she could feel his eyes burning holes into the side of her head, and avoided his eyes at all costs.

"are you okay?"

ah, yes, the dreaded question.

jenna also loved to avoid that specific question, as she never had an answer for it. she couldn't lie to their faces and say she was okay, but she wouldn't want to make somebody worry about her by saying she wasn't. the question itself was a lose-lose, and she didn't have a leg to stand on.

she sighed, shaking her head. "not really."

"why's that?"

"you see, taehyung," jenna took a sip of her coffee, which almost instantly calmed her nerves and reminded her that taehyung was her friend, not a foe that would backstab her and make fun of her for her answers. "i'm dying."

"d-dying?" taehyung nearly choked on his own saliva at her response, his eyes growing round. "did i hear you right?"

"yes, you did." jenna felt ashamed of herself, and her head dropped at taehyung's hectic, and slightly disappointed, tone. "i'm bulimic, taehyung."

"w-why?"

jenna put off taehyung's question, pretending as if she didn't hear him (although he knew she did). so, to grasp her full and undivided attention, he grabbed onto her wrist and tugged her aside, pulling her to a nearby bench. "sit."

"i'm not a do-"

"sit."

jenna raised an eyebrow at taehyung's stern tone, but simply sat down nonetheless. she wasn't in the mood to argue. taehyung took a seat beside her, placing his elbow on the railing between the two and perching his chin atop his palm. jenna stifled a smile at his cuteness, mentally smacking herself at the romantic thoughts that were creeping back out of the cellar.

"explain."

jenna let out a sigh, looking away from the cute, yet slightly obnoxious, boy beside her, her eyes averting to the warm coffee cup in her hand. she tucked the hand taehyung had removed back into her pocket, as her hand was growing cold. the other one was occupied by a warm coffee cup, although, so she didn't feel the need to warm it up as well.

"why do i have to?"

"because i care about you," it took everything in jenna to not kiss the boy right then, and luckily, she kept her cool and stayed in the same position. "now, vent."

"i have body image issues, you see," jenna began, her cheeks already tinting red from embarrassment. she couldn't believe she was finally telling someone the truth about her illness. "and i just... i just wanted to be pretty and slender like other girls."

"i felt self conscious in my own body and i hated it, so, the only thing i knew to do was starve myself. i knew, however, i couldn't live without food, so i thought i found a loophole- which was my bulimia. i would eat a hefty amount of food, then forcibly make myself throw it back up, and i was losing weight and was beginning to believe it was working. but, i didn't realize that it was hurting me, and by the time i knew what i had, it was too late." by the time jenna had finished her story, she was a sobbing mess in taehyung's arms. he was gently caressing the back of her head with his palm, muttering calming 'shh's' in her ear as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"jenna," taehyung sighed, "i'm so, so sorry."

jenna didn't respond to his apology, for she was too busy sobbing to speak.

"you're beautiful just the way you are, jenna, flaws and all. who are we without flaws, anyways? personally, i think you're one of the most beautiful girls i've ever met." as taehyung began to ramble, jenna couldn't help but lift her head up to stare at the latter's magnificently crafted face.

"j-jenna?"

"hm?"

"i think i'm in love with you."

//

jenna let out a chaste sigh, her eyes hooded as she glared up at the number engraved on the hospital door. butterflies fluttered out of the cellar within her stomach, overwhelming her senses with a sensation of nausea that she couldn't put her finger on- but she liked it.

she glanced once at baekhyun, who was twiddling with his thumbs, his eyes locked on his hands. jenna turned back towards the door with a sigh, her hand shaking immensely as she extended it out towards the door.

she gently knocked her knuckles against the wooden door, waiting for the door to open with a heavy heart.

//

plot twist