BABY MAMA | pjm

XI

ACT III | SCENE XI

❝GOLD DIGGER❞

THERE WAS A clutter of movements as jangmi hurriedly dropped the flute on the table and picked up a napkin, jimin made a grab for his glass whilst choking back coughs, and hyunjoo dropped her spoon in her plate.

jangmi felt jimin's leg begin to twitch as he downed the glass of water. he had been taken by surprise as well, if his twitching and sudden thirst were any indication. it made her feel better that he hadn't been previously aware; at least it meant that he hadn't planned with his father to ambush her. judging from the looks on their faces, none of them had expected myungsoo to say this. "honey, w-what do you mean?" hyunjoo forced on a smile.

jangmi looked at him as well, waiting for his answer. she had expected anything to happen at this dinner, but not this. she had assumed jimin's father would be talking about damage control not wedding plans. "what is so unclear about my question? they have a child together so shouldn't they get married? i don't want anyone calling my granddaughter an illegitimate child."

jimin's head turned to look at jangmi. she looked shocked and confused. something he could relate to at the moment. he thought his father would be thinking of ways to prevent this from affecting his business and the family's reputation but here he was, putting rosalie first.

"b-but sir, jimin and i broke up a long time ago." jangmi let out. "then unbreak up." myungsoo stated like it was that simple. "father, we haven't been together for five years." he replied. "does that matter? all that's important is that you two get married. there's no need for anything extravagant. you can just go to the court." he fixed his son with a stare that told him the man had mulled over it through the past week and made up his mind.

"if any questions arise as to why you're just getting married when you have a four year old child, we can just say you've been engaged and haven't gotten around to it because of the business. and you weren't completely cut off those five years as jimin occasionally visited."

there it was. the damage control. it may have been unintentional but it was something that had been ingrained into the older man from decades of being a businessman.

"with all due respect, sir, i have no intentions of marrying your son." jangmi's voice was soft but steady. "only to milk him dry." hyunjoo muttered loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

"hyunjoo!"

"mother!"

jimin glanced warily at jangmi whose lips were pressed together in a thin line, hands fisted on her lap. she clearly felt insulted. he might not have loved her anymore but she was still the mother of his child - who had raised the girl all on her own all this time - and she deserved respect.

"hey, rosalie, do you like kitties?" bora whispered, feeling the need to take the girl out of the awkward and tense room. "kitties?" rosalie's brown eyes rounded. "mummy, can i go play with kitties with tata bora?"

"yes, you can, sweetie." the smile jangmi gave her daughter came naturally. "yay!" the girl cheered and turned back to bora, eyes glistening with happiness. grinning, bora took her hand, said a quick "excuse us," and left with her. nobody said a word until the two exited the room. the moment they were gone, myungsoo fixed his wife with a harsh stare. "what was that nonsense, hyunjoo?"

"well, we know this is all part of her plan to get all she can from this family." hyunjoo said nonchalantly. jangmi's jaw clenched and her face went red. her fingers clenched even tighter, nails digging into her palms. "mother, i would appreciate it if you didn't speak about the mother of my child in that manner." the terse statement that left jimin's lips was tense. "hyunjoo..." myungsoo's tone was warning. "what? it's true! she's nothing but a gold digger." hyunjoo said stubbornly. "mother!" jimin yelled the same moment his father screamed, "be quiet!"

jangmi's nostrils were flaring and she all but bit her tongue literally to keep from saying something incredibly rude to the woman. she pressed a strained smile on her face as she stood, unable to withstand any more from the stiff-necked woman. "i'm sorry but i can no longer sit here and have my honour insulted, so i will be taking my leave. thank you for the lovely dinner, sir." she dipped her head in a bow to jimin's father.

turning around briskly, she minced out of the room, hands fisted by her sides. "well done, mother." jimin said bitingly, tossing his napkin on the table angrily. "jimin!" she called after him as he walked away, making to stand up. "let him go." myungsoo grunted out.

"jangmi!" jimin ran after the girl as she weaved her way out of the dining room and through the large hallways. she kept on walking, back stiff as she moved and only stopped when she was in front of the door. "where's your sister? rosalie and i should get going." her voice was detached and distant as her eyes shifted around. and jimin knew it was taking all her self-control not to lose her cool. he admired her ability to keep a stiff upper lip.

"jangmi..." his thumb and middle finger twisted the silver ring on his left index finger around. "jimin, i just want to go home." her gaze finally settled on him. "i'm really sorry about what happened in there."

"please, i do not want to talk about it." she huffed, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose.

the sound of heels clacking against marbled floor could be heard in the distance. she looked behind him, head tilting to the side a bit. she saw bora with rosalie propped up on her hip, the small girl carrying a white ball of fluff in her arms. "mummy! papa! tata bora gived me a kitty!" she beamed, chipped tooth on show. "i hope you don't mind." bora said as they stopped in front of the mother and father. "no, it's fine." jangmi's eyes shifted to her daughter's happy form as she played with the kitten. "thank you, for looking after her, bora." she smiled wanly. bora shot her a sympathetic smile. "i just wanted to help."

"you did. thanks a lot." jangmi replied honestly. "c'mon, rosie, let's go home." she grinned at her daughter. "i'll walk you out." jimin took the girl from his sister. it was silent as they stepped out into the night. the stars filled the sky, sparkling brightly. rosalie gasped, head tilting back to stare at them in fascination.

"jangmi..." jimin started once he strapped rosalie in and kissed her goodnight. "jimin, just drop it for fuck's sake. i really don't want to flip my lid here." she lifted a hand to stop him. he pursed his lips and said nothing. he figured it was best not to say anything at the moment, especially when she got like this. "goodnight, jangmi." he mumbled. "goodnight, jimin." she slid into the car and shut the door.

jimin watched as she backed out and drove towards the black iron gates. it was irrational but he suddenly got scared that he might be seeing them for the last time.

☀☀☀

hey hey i'm back with a new chapter and as a uni graduate aye! so the dinner didn't last very long lol. lucky jangmi brought her own car so she wouldn't have to sit through an awkward ride with jimin...hmm maybe i should have made her go through that, could've been fun. next scene will introduce another character! hint: rosalie's second uncle :) already working on it, might have it done early because i can't wait for him to be in the story. and thank you for 1.2k reads! - ❤ t