Leap of Faith: BTS Hyung Line FF

True Confession

"When can I meet him?"
"When it's not so dangerous, Hana."
"Okay. Is he a good kisser?"
"Why do you think I would know that?"
"Well, they adore you. Why wouldn't they kiss you?"

***

Jin stirred a little as the sun peeked through his curtains just the right way to hit his face. He let out a soft sigh before yawning and rolling onto his side.

She was still there.

He half expected her to be gone by the time he woke up, but she was still there, still asleep. Her raven hair twisted and twirled around her face and pillow, making her look like some kind of painting.

As if she could feel him watching her, Winter's obsidian eyes fluttered open. Her pretty lips curled into a smile.

"Good morning," she murmured sleepily, rolling onto her back and stretching her slender arms above her head. Her back arched like a cat's, drawing Jin's attention to the sliver of skin her temporarily lifted tank top revealed.

"Good morning," he cleared his throat, trying to bring his thoughts back to purer places. "Did you sleep well?"

"Of course," she hummed in delight, flipping her body over until she was practically laying on top of him, one leg thrown over his, her hands on his firm chest. "Did you?"

"Yes," he breathed, his cheeks flushing at the sudden close contact. She was a tease, and they all knew it. However, it was hard to complain when they got to touch her as often as they pleased.

His hand flattened against her lower black, sliding under the soft fabric of her tank top to feel along her bare spine with his gentle fingertips. Goosebumps trailed along behind his touch.

She took it upon herself to lean down and kiss him again, a little gentler than she kissed him the night before. Then again, there was no audience this time, no one for her to taunt.

When she pulled back, Jin brushed her long waves back from her face so he could stare directly into her eyes. Her features were so delicate and youthful.

She was quite a few years younger than him, not that it deterred him much. It simply made her more of a forbidden fruit, one which he wanted nothing more than to take a bite of.

"Will you ever fall in love, Winter?" He asked, eyes drifting down to her neck and collarbone, admiring her perfectly empty skin, like the smooth white of an untouched canvas. "Wanting to be touched isn't the same as wanting to be loved."

"I don't know," she answered honestly, nibbling on her bottom lip as she watched his eyes rake over her. "I wouldn't know what it feels like. I've never been in love before. Never planned on it."

"Why?" Jin furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure why such a pretty and kind-hearted woman wouldn't want to fall in love and live happily ever after. She was as much of a princess as anyone in the movies.

"Because it hurts," she rolled away from him, settling back into the mattress on her back. She kept her eyes fixated on the ceiling above her. "I know what it did to my mom. I remember how much it made her cry at night. Why would I want to feel like that?"

"Don't say that," Jin frowned. "It makes me want to show you how good it can feel."

He turned over until he was hovering above her, his elbows propping up his body enough to give her plenty of room to breathe. Jin stared straight down into her dark eyes.

"It doesn't always hurt. It can be amazing."

"I believe it will be for you, Jin oppa," she smiled sweetly, reaching up to comb her fingers through his black bangs. "Your heart is pure, and you're the kind of man every woman wants."

"But not you?"

"Especially me," she giggled in a way that nearly melted him from the inside out, "but it's not fair for me to chase after things I can't have like you or love in general."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't stay forever, Jin oppa." Her eyes darkened a little, that bright smile fading into something kind of forced. "Being here, with all of you, is like a dream. But the thing about dreams is... at some point I'll have to wake up."

"Why do you have to go? Everyone wants you to stay, Winter."

She sighed again, long and deep. Winter shifted until she could pull herself out from under him. Turning her back to him, she slid to hang her legs over the edge of the bed, swinging them back and forth a little anxiously.

"Because when my dad finds me, I'll have to pretend I was never here. He'd cause a scandal just to get me to go back home. I can't let him do that." Her fingers curled to grip the mattress a little harder.

"You can't exactly go back to him either," Jin grimaced, moving a little closer. He already missed her touch.

"I don't plan on it."

"Then what will you do?" He pushed, though he saw her visibly tense at the question. "If you have to leave here, and you have nowhere else to go, what are you supposed to do?"

"Jin, please," she whined, taking a deep, unsteady breath. "Don't ask me questions you don't want the answer to."

"What is it, Winter? What are you thinking of doing?" He was starting to worry more and more the longer she refused to answer his question.

"What I have to do to get away from him," she blurted out, standing up. Winter hugged her upper body and turned back to Jin. "What I always knew I would have to do to get away from him. But I have time, Jin. I still have time, so... don't ruin what time I have left with you."

"You don't mean..." Jin sat back in bewilderment, unsure of what to say or do. "Winter, you're not going to try to... Not again. Right? You wouldn't do that now that you're with us."

"I won't while I'm with you."

"Not at all, Winter," he said in a desperate tone, moving to the edge of the bed. He grabbed her by the arms, pulling her down into his lap and cradling her against his chest. "You can't do that. Ever. Not to us or Hana or yourself."

"He won't stop, Jin," she grabbed onto his shirt to cling to him. "He's never going to stop looking for me. No matter what I have to do, I won't go back with him. I won't be the object of his obession anymore. I can't stand it."

"You're not allowed to leave," Jin told her as an order, though it didn't sound too convincing. "You can never leave us. I won't let you. You have to stay by our sides forever now."

"I can't."

"You can, and you will. I won't give you a choice in the matter. Neither will any of the others. You belong here with us now, Winter. You're our girl.

Winter stayed silent, accepting the warm comfort of his arms which held her so tightly. It didn't matter what he said, and she knew it. When her dad got too close, she had to leave. There was no way to avoid it then, even if she wanted to.

Jin had warned himself from the beginning not to develop any kind of feelings for Winter, not when he knew exactly how she came to be in that hospital where Hoseok met her.

Winter teased and toyed at those around her, but none more so than Death. Her relationship with Death was more intimate and taunting than any other in her life. He was her last resort, her guardian when all else failed, and he waited ever so patiently to embrace her in his fatal arms.

Jin would never let that happen. His arms were the only ones she belonged in. Death would have to wait a hundred years before Jin would let her go.