Lost and Found (Jirose)

Heart to Heart

She hadn't told him about Jungkook yet.

Not because she didn't trust him. Rather, she was afraid Jimin would be hurt that she was still thinking of someone else when she was with him.

She also didn't want him to think he was a rebound, because that definitely wasn't the case.

Jimin had been nothing but a sweetheart to her and the people she cared for. He made her smile with the most random yet thoughtful gestures.

Like the way he always added a generous dollop of whipped cream to Chaeyoung's order, because he noticed she had a bit of a sweet tooth. He once jokingly added some to her Caesar salad as well and because Lisa liked it so much when she tasted it, Jimin kept adding it to her plate whenever Lisa ordered too. Jin laughed when he found out and said he should add Whipped Cream Salad to the menu.

Or how Jimin once apologised to Chaeyoung for staying behind late on his shift because he was helping Seokjin with some troublesome plumbing. He had asked her to call him when she arrived home safely since he couldn't walk her back, making her heart hammer harder than usual.

Or the way he knew Lisa liked her cinnamon roll extra sugary, so he slipped them packets of sugar whilst passing their table.

Or how he generously gave his umbrella to Jennie once when he met her sheltering from a sudden downpour on her way to work. Jennie was about to refuse but he pushed it into her hands and dashed to the cafe in the pouring rain. 

Or how he helped Hoseok find more guests by befriending the customers and having them spread the word around. He also took the initiative to hang some cheap home-made posters around town, advertising lodgings. Hoseok was befuddled but pleasantly surprised as the number of guests increased.

Once, Jimin gallantly entered a store to buy Chaeyoung her menstrual pads, braving the snickering onlookers. She waited for him in a public toilet, cursing her uterus which had decided to start shedding heavily out of nowhere and she was caught without the darn things in her purse. She felt mortified to ask Jimin but this was an emergency, and he insisted on going. Chaeyoung felt like kissing him when he returned with an orange pack in his hands and a triumphant smile on his face.

Or another time, when he learned that she used to collect LP's a few years back. He took her to an LP record shop she didn't know existed in the next town over and they spent a blissful afternoon just chilling and playing the vinyl records. 

So yes, he had come to mean a lot to her in these last few months.

And when he asked her out, she resisted the urge to squeal in his face because Park Jimin had actually confessed to her, meaning he felt the same way she did. She felt like some flustered schoolgirl.

Yet, after all this time,she hesitated to tell him about a small but painful part of her past that she wished had never happened. 

She confided in Jennie before she went out on her first date. They met at Jin's café on the day.

Jennie was ecstatic that her friend was finally moving on and even tried to give her tips on how to act, which the younger girl politely brushed aside. She didn't need to act differently to impress Jimin.

"But Chaeyoung-ah...be careful," Jennie added, nibbling on her bottom lip, "we don't know anything about his past. He could already have a girlfriend and what if she'll come looking for him? Or maybe he's gay and doesn't remember yet...or he's a wanted criminal...or he could turn out to be some monster...like him..."

Jennie was right. It haunted Chaeyoung that one day, something would take Jimin away from her. Or worse, he'd turn out to be a violent, sadistic brute.