Requested by: caaarteeer. I'm sorry it took so long. Thanks for the great idea.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Author
"Namjoon, you are such an idiot!"
He raises a finger. "Maybe. But I don't regret what I did." He directs his cunning smile at me as he sits on my kitchen counter.
When I wring out the rag, I sigh and walk back over to him. "Hold still. This may sting." I press the rag to his head.
"Ow!"
"Told you."
He huffs and winces as I press harder. After I retract the rag and drop it back into the bowl filled with warm water, he says, "Jin, I'm sorry. I know it wasn't the most civilized way to handle that situation-"
"A fist fight is never civilized."
He continues, "-but I mean what I said. I don't regret it." He reaches over and covers my wet hand. "I'll do it again if necessary."
"I don't want you to."
"Well, I will." He adjusts his sitting position after being still for too long. "No matter what you say."
I remain silent, knowing better than to argue with his stubborn self. I touch his forehead again with the rag. "You might have a black eye. I should go get some ice." I drop the towel and turn to walk away.
Before I can take a single step, Namjoon catches my wrist. I don't face him again. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I...I don't know what you're-"
"God, Jin, save it." I immediately shut my mouth. "You know what I'm talking about." He pulls and forces me to face him, but it was gentle. "Why? You could have told me what he was doing to you, and I could have gotten you away from him. Yet, you put up with him and let him get away with it." His hands hold my face as he looks me in the eye, and my position has me looking straight back at him. "Please, Jin, tell me."
Pressure builds behind my eyes. "I-I...I don't... know-"
"Yes, you do." One hand swipes my bangs to the side, removing them from over my forehead. "Why?" he asks again, softening his voice.
I had never thought of it before, but I know exactly why I stayed with him through all of the abuse, physical, mental, and emotional. It's ridiculous, and I should have left him after our first three months of dating. That's when it really started.
"Because I was scared."
Silence travels through the air. I bite my lip and squeeze my eyes closed. Cringing, I regret telling him, suddenly embarrassed that I revealed how weak I truly am. I hear the sound of his feet hitting the floor, telling me he isn't sitting on the counter anymore. "Scared of what, exactly?"
"Him. My family. Myself."
"Jin, look at me."
I do so.
He pulls me close and wraps his arms around me. "I get him and your family, but why yourself?"
"Because of how different of a person I'll become." I rest my head on his chest and shut my eyes, listening intently to his heartbeat.
"I think you're an amazing person already, but if you are truly free to be yourself, you'll be perfect."
I fight back tears. "There's no such thing as perfect; you told me that before."
"Then you're as close to perfect as anyone is ever going to get."
Damn him and his smooth compliments. "What if you don't like the new me?" I ask.
