Blaming Black Cat // Min Yoongi

Epilogue - Road Split in Two

Epilogue

    I snuggled deeper into his chest. His manly cologne filled my head and enjoyed the sensation of his hard chest beneath his shirt.

    His arms wrapped around my waist in response. Our torsos touched, and I could feel his body warmth seeping into mine. He bent his head down to whisper in my ear, "Even after all these years, you still give me butterflies."

    A shiver traveled down my body and curled up my toes from his breath. "Stop making me feel old," I smiled up at his kind beautiful face. One that I've studied countless times before. I caressed his cheek. "Do I look old?"

    "You're as beautiful as the day I met you."

    I let out a small laugh. It was still early in the morning, and I didn't want to wake our daughter.

    "Now you're just lying."

    My husband of 5 years shook his head like a wet dog. "No, I'm telling the truth. Cross my heart and hope to die."

    I relented with a pout when I saw his puppy eyes.

    For a few minutes, we swayed to imaginary music. Our steps perfectly in sync from experience. His chest vibrated against my back when he started to hum a familiar tune. A feeling of tranquility settled over me. A smile tugged on my lips. I wanted to take my feelings in that very moment and bottle them up to save forever.

    After a while, he tugged my hand onto the couch in the living room. I laid my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. The streaming sunlight warmed my face, like the man next to me warmed my heart. I could feel his arm muscles tense and shift as he brought out his laptop. For the first time, I didn't scald him for getting out his electronics so early in the morning. Instead, I let the rhythmic sound of his typing lull me into a daydream.

    I played with the silver ring on my fourth finger, twisting it back and forth so that it caught the sunlight. At the same time, my mind wandered away from the present.

    Sometimes I still wonder if I made the right decision. A small part of me wondered if things could have been different. When a road splits in two, don't you wish you could've gone down the other path? Just to see what would happen? Was there more happiness at the end of that road? A twinge of guilt panged in my heart. Not that I regretted my decision, but guilt for letting go of possibility.

    A particularly strong beam of sunlight in my eyes shook me from my thoughts.

    "Honey?"

    "Yes, darling?" He glanced at me from his laptop screen, his glasses slipping down his nose. He scrunched up his nose to push it back up.

    I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come out. So I shut my lips again. My gaze dropped down to the floor. I shouldn't always bring up the past.

    A silence stretched between us.

    "You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" he said gently.

    "Yeah," I gulped. "It's been eight years, Jimin. Eight years."

    Jimin sighed. "You act like he's the one you're married to instead of me."

    My shoulders drooped. "I just want to know how he's doing," I said defensively. "Don't you ever wonder where he is, or what he's doing?"

    Jimin let out a puff of air. He combed his hair back with his fingers. A move that I totally fell in love with when we first started dating.

    "Well, of course. He's my friend too. You're not the only one who hasn't heard from him in eight years. But I have a family now. We have a family now." He motioned upstairs where our three year old daughter was currently sleeping.