rate.u | pjm ✔

forty-five.

kai was quick to lead the two towards sinai's father. it had taken both men to work together in order to take him back to her parents' place, especially to drag him inside as the man was hardly responsive.

sinai tried not to let her nervousness show, but having both her boyfriend and her ex in the same place called for trouble. and judging by how awful the night already was, she didn't want it to turn even more sour.

opening the front door, sinai sighed as she walked inside. motioning for the boys to lay her father on the couch, she went into her parents' bedroom to find a blanket. not only did she find that, but also her mother passed out on the bed with an empty bottle of whisky on her side.

walking back into the living room, she laid the blanket on top of her father, failing to notice the stare war going on between the two boys.

jimin hated this; he hated not being able to be the one to help her, and he hated it even more because it had been her ex who had found her father. he hated that he knew who her father was, and the possibility of him having met him while jimin wasn't able to. how serious had sinai been with this guy?

motioning with her head towards the door, she walked outside with the two men and closed the door behind her. taking a deep breath, sinai eyed them both.

"i think they'll be okay for tonight," she ran her shaky hand through her locks. "thank you, both of you."

"don't thank me," they replied in unison. sinai swallowed hard as the two men glared at each other.

"i-i," sinai looked over her shoulder to the door which lead to her parents' apartment. "i think it's best that i stay here and take care of them, and you both should get going, it's late."

"i can stay with you," jimin quickly offered, taking her hand in his. sinai smiled weakly, shaking her head.

"you have a lot to do in the morning for sure, and you need some rest. i promise i'll be fine by myself," she spoke, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at kai.

the gaze was returned by the man, who clenched his jaw as he saw the way sinai acted around jimin. she looked at the male with doe eyes, the same way she used to look at him. as if he was the whole universe to her. kai used to be that universe, and although he had been the one screwing up what they had, he would be lying if he said he didn't miss feeling loved like that.

"yeah i'll get going," kai spoke, running his hand through his dark locks. "i'll call you tomorrow to check up on you."

sinai's heart stopped as she saw the way jimin eyed the other male. he was furious, almost insulted that her ex thought that he could just waltz back into her life, as if jimin wasn't even there.

meaning to smooth things over, sinai simply shook her head. "you don't have to."

"i want to," he showed her his sweetest smile, one that used to make her knees go weak. strangely, it didn't seem to have an effect on her anymore.

after kai had cheated on her, she had broken things off and left with a broken heart. it had taken her weeks to heal, to be able to even hear his name and not burst out crying. she wasn't the type of girl to go down easily, and yet their breakup had completely messed her up. it was perhaps the fact that she felt unwanted and unworthy.

but now, looking at him after the over four months that she hadn't seen him, she didn't wince anymore. she didn't feel sad, or any of the other bad things he had made her feel. and as a reassuring arm snaked around her waist, she understood why.

because she had her own guardian angel now.

lifting her head slightly, she looked up at jimin's tight expression. putting her hand on his chest, she leaned her face against his shoulder and shook her head towards the other male.

"kai, you really don't have to. thank you so much for what you did today, but it doesn't erase what happened and it doesn't mean we're going to be in each other's lives again," she sighed, holding on to jimin more. "now please, don't call me."

kai stared at her for a few seconds, unsure of what to reply. when they had broken up, he had seen how devastated she was. he understood that he had broken her heart, and although he did feel bad at the time, it was also somewhat reassuring to feel so wanted by her.

but now, he saw someone completely different in front of him. she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, to stand up to him. she used to be quiet, do as she was told, and now she was fierce, challenging. kai tilted his head slightly, fighting his own thoughts. she was enticing now.

"alright," he lifted his hands up in surrender. "i'll be going now. hope everything gets better," he spoke, adding a wink at the end. "it was nice to meet you, jimin."

his words were spoken with such venom that sinai could feel jimin tensing up against her. running her hand up his arm, she placed a quick peck to his cheek as kai walked down the stairs and disappeared from their view.

"seriously, how did you date an asshole like that?" jimin spoke through clenched teeth.

"he wasn't always like that," she sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "he used to be sweet, and charming, and caring--"

"i don't need to hear it," jimin interrupted her, feeling anger still bubbling inside of him.

he had so many questions. he knew the girl had just turned her ex down, and yet he couldn't help but notice the way she looked at him when she first saw him at the club. the way her eyes sparkled for a second, as if she was happy to see him. and then there was the picture.

"jimin," she sighed, gripping his chin with her hand and turning his head slightly so she could look at him. "you know i don't want anything to do with him, right? you don't have to be jealous."

"i'm not jealous," he scoffed. "i just think it's odd you still have that picture as his contact picture."

as he spoke the words, sinai remembered she had never changed the picture. wincing, she reached out for jimin once again. "i promise there's a good reason for that..."

"yeah?" he shook his head, looking at her. "do you still feel anything for him?"

"what jimin? no of course not--"

"i know you, sinai," he breathed out, hands now stuffed in his front pockets. "i know how guarded you are. and yet, with him, he seems to know every single thing about you that you don't want me to know. he knows your parents, he knows how to act around them, he knows how to help you... he knows so much more than me, and all because you chose to let him in and not me."

"that's not true," sinai shook her head. "we have just known each other for a long, long time. ever since i moved to korea, actually. which is why he knows my parents, because they were functional back then."

"yeah?" jimin laughed humorlessly. "because he seems to know a lot more than just about their functional stage."

sinai arched her eyebrows. jimin was walking into sensitive territory, and if he was about to accuse her of anything, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear it.

"look jimin, it's late," she held the doorknob in her hand. "maybe we should talk about this some other day."

eyeing her one last time, jimin slumped his shoulders. "whatever."

he didn't give her time to say goodbye. he didn't look at her with those encouraging, beautiful eyes and told her to have a good night. he didn't even insist on staying.

he simply walked down the stairs and outside of the apartment building, leaving sinai with a tight heart and a sob in her throat.

***
author's note

channeling@ jason derulo: drama ma ma

im so excited because honey's first chapter is coming this friday YAY so watch out for that (also blackpink's comeback :') )

anyway tysm for reading rate.u. its been an amazing story to write and i feel like its about to come to an end soon, possibly in around ten chapters or so.

ily all, stay hydrated and love yourselves x