BABY MAMA | pjm

XXV

ACT V | SCENE XXV

❝BALLERINA❞

SOFT MUSIC PLAYED as jangmi stretched, preparing for her dance class. it was an afternoon class and since she wouldn't be able to pick rosalie up from school, she'd asked jimin to do so.

four days. the two hadn't spoken in four days since rosalie's birthday - not that they spoke normally anyway. but she'd called him that morning asking if he'd be able to fetch the girl from school. as soon as he'd said yes, she'd ended the call with a quick thanks, saying that brigitte would be home.

she smiled as the song played, remembering how she used to love dancing to it when she was younger. checking the wall clock, and seeing that her class wouldn't begin for another fifteen minutes, she decided to try one of her old dance routines.

focused as she used to be when she danced, she did a double pirouette. she remembered every move like she'd done it only yesterday. once the dance ended, she stared at herself in the large mirror that covered the expanse of one wall, pursing her lips as she remembered how she was going to get into a dance company with that routine.

she expelled air out her lungs. there was no need to dwell on that any more. that was no longer who she was. she was a ballet teacher now. not a ballerina.

• • •

jimin placed rosalie on the floor carefully as soon as brigitte had taken her red satchel and lunch box from him. the small girl ran into the living room where she could hear that the tv was on. brigitte smiled, shaking her head.

"papa!" they heard her call for him, excitement in her voice. "yes, princess." he answered, stepping through the small corridor and into the living room to see the little brunette seated on her usual cushion on the floor, legs tugged underneath her, eyes trained on the tv.

she glanced back upon hearing his footsteps, toothy grin splitting her small face. he crouched next to her, eyes turning into crescents as he beamed down at her. "you called, my princess?" he whispered, eyes drifting momentarily to the necklace that hung from her neck, tucked into her blue playsuit. jangmi hadn't taken it off her.

she placed her hands on either side of his face and turned his head in the direction of the tv. his eyes fell on a performance of the nutcracker. "a dancing princess." she remarked, letting her hands fall away from his face when the camera focused on the prima ballerina. "yes," he said softly, watching how the woman moved with grace.

"just like mummy." rosalie added, eyes staring intently at the ballerina. jimin paused at her words. somehow, he'd forgotten that tidbit of information. jangmi was once a ballet dancer. and she used to be pretty damn amazing at it.

"yes, mummy is a dancing princess." brigitte piped from where she stood at the archway. "but now, you need to take a bath and change, hmm?" she smiled over at the child who was already pouting. "but i want to watch the dancing princess." she folded her arms over her chest.

jimin unfolded himself and smiled down at his daughter. brigitte sighed heavily. "if you come have your bath, i'll make cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow." she offered. rosalie jumped off the cushion so fast, the two adults were taken aback. she ran to the woman. "really?" she looked up at her.

"really." brigitte chuckled. "okay!" rosalie began to hurry to her room but stopped and turned around. she ran to jimin who crouched down again. she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "i love you, papa." she whispered. "papa loves you too." he whispered back with a smile.

"take off your shoes and wait for me! don't hurt yourself!" brigitte called after the running child. she turned back to jimin who had once again straightened. "need anything?" she asked when he just stood there.

"um, i was wondering. does jangmi still dance?" he rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand going into his pocket. "no, she's just a dance teacher now." she answered. "why did she stop?" he asked, blurting out the question before he could think twice. she quirked a brow at him. "ballet is not exactly ideal for an expecting mother, is it?"

"and after?" he shoved his second hand into his pocket as well. "she had a caesarean, so her movements were quite restricted for the first few weeks. and after that, she decided that taking care of her daughter was more important than her dancing career." she answered.

jimin's eyes were wide, hand coming up to run through his hair, shock written on his face at the new information he just received. "she had a caesarean?" he rasped out. "what? you didn't know? she couldn't have rosalie the normal way because she might not have survived so..." brigitte made a cutting motion with her hand.

he rubbed his hand over his face, ignoring the familiar twitch in his leg. "how could she not have told me?" his voice was full of disbelief. "maybe she thought you didn't need to know." she shrugged. "look jimin, there's a lot that jangmi went through just to have rosalie. it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for her. i think you should ask her about it."

"tata brigitte!" rosalie called. "i'm coming, mon petit chou!" she called back. her eyes fell on jimin - who looked like he was still reeling - again. "i have to get rosalie cleaned up. you know your way out, right?" her tone was soft. he nodded distractedly. she turned around and towards the bedrooms.

"oh, and jimin?" she glanced back. he looked at her. "don't just broach the topic. she doesn't like to talk about it." she advised before walking off.

jimin stared at nothing in particular as his mind continued to process the words. jangmi could've died whilst having their child. and apparently there was way more that he didn't even know about. he began the short walk to the front door. he couldn't believe that she might have died just to bring rosalie into the world.

this only made him feel guilty. he opened the door, stepping out as the warm sun hit his eyes. even if they were no longer together, he should have been there for her. instead he had been living his life without a thought of her. and now the guilt would be eating at him until he spoke to her about it.

and god, he hated the feeling.

☀☀☀

a little insight into jangmi's life while she was pregnant yanno.
++ i'm sitting in class googling how to kill myself without actually dying.