The Flower of the Dark | k.th

.Nine.

(Much anger. Spook.)

JIMIN'S POV
I can't...I'm sorry...I can't...

My hands can't stop shaking like my inability to stop feeling the crappy way I do. I can't stop thinking about the way I made her look at me like I was some kind of stranger, and the way I made her feel. She was screaming at me. I never dreamed of something like that happening.

My lips continue to quaver uncontrollably as I stand frozen in the middle of the noodle shop that wasn't worth 8 bottles of beer. People stare and I can't feel them at all. I feel like I'm the only one in this shop, even though people are trying to catch my attention for me to leave.

I'm a nuisance now, aren't I?

"Sir." A hand, which is on my shoulder,  shakes me for the thousandth time. The man's voice is somewhat hesitant but I can tell he's trying to keep his cool. "Sir.."

This man's obnoxious voice echoes in my head. It's ticking me off, so I give him a glance. Successfully giving him the message, he backs off slowly and my heart drops a bit, seeing as I'm scarier than I thought.

I begin walking to leave the shop, nearly forgetting to pay until the owner comes through the door.

"Nuh-uh!" he blocks the doorway, putting his buff arms on his hips covered by a dirty white apron. "You think just because your friend and her boyfriend left without paying, you can do the same?"

BOYFRIEND...

I clench my jaw and fists. Thinking of the person with Jieun as a boyfriend seems possible, but I hate facing the reality. How could she have a boyfriend without telling me? My face relaxes slowly as the assumption builds up in my mind. Did she know I always liked her? Was I that obvious?

"Excuse me! Hello?" the owner calls loudly for me. "You're not leaving till you pay."

I want to roll my eyes and throw shade, but the way my mind is working now doesn't allow me to. I pay like I was told, and while Jieun remains in my thoughts, I pay for her meal too. I walk out of the shop with the customers' eyes watching me cautiously like I might explode at any moment; as if I'm bipolar because I showed upset and left somewhat shocked.

My mind runs crazy, thinking that my precious, innocent flower girl may be in danger. It makes my stomach ache and my blood boil. No one but me should be able to touch Jieun. No one should be able to harm her! I need to protect her!

"Yes.." I say to myself as I walk slowly, feeling the cool wind fly through my disheveled orange hair I dyed to impress Jieun once.

The look on his face when I had expressed how I felt to Jieun made it seem believable. She couldn't see what I could with her back facing him. That fool smirked like he was enjoying the whole thing, and didn't step in to help his 'girlfriend'. What kind of boyfriend isn't a knight in shining armor to his beloved?

One that doesn't care for her...

A part of me is aching to let go of this ridiculous assumption, feeling as I'm thinking of everything all at once and it doesn't make sense, but the thought of Jieun getting hurt is greater. After how she's made me feel for the past 2 years, it's time for me to repay her with the same happiness.

I can almost remember everything exactly as it happened when I first met Jieun. The day I entered the flower shop, it was Valentines Day. The week before that, my ex-girlfriend dumped me because she said I was too clingy and needed space just until she finished college. She told me I needed to focus on my career too, and what I wanted to do besides being at her apartment 24/7, waiting till she got home so I could cuddle with her as we slept. I have to be honest, I do miss those times when I pulled her close to me and got to smell her sent as I slowly drifted off, knowing that someone I loved deeply was with me and showing the same affection. But I know that once I win Jieun, I'll get to be close to her and relive that moment, except this time with someone much better than my ex.