Wick | 민윤기

Twenty-five

1 March 2017

Yoongi woke up that morning to the sound of Victoria throwing up in the bathroom. He opened his eyes groggily, concern settling in his chest as he pushed past his sleepy state to get out of bed and rush to the room. The door was closed, but he pushed it open to see her sitting on the floor, one arm resting on the toilet seat and holding her head up where it hovered over the bowl. Her lips were glossy and slightly parted, eyes closed as she took in shaky breaths.

"Love, what's wrong?" he asked and kneeled beside her, moving some hair out of her face with his brows furrowed.

Victoria opened her eyes to look at him and pressed her lips together, lifting her head a bit. "Happy birthday, ba—" She was cut off with another violent bout of vomiting and moved her head over the toilet bowl.

Yoongi held her hair and sat on the edge of the tub, rubbing soothing circles on her back. They sat that way for a few minutes until she grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth. "Okay, I think it's over."

"Do you know what happened?" His voice was gentle as she rested against the tub—between his legs.

She shook her head and twined her fingers with his. "Let's just forget about this, okay? Today is all about you."

Yoongi wasn't particularly in favor of being pampered at the moment, so he only smirked. "Maybe you're pregnant."

He laughed, but she only tilted her head up to look at him with worried eyes. The smile faded from his face as he realized that it wasn't impossible. They only stared at each other for a few moments before she swallowed hard. "Should we get a test?"

-

About an hour later, they had gone to a drug store down the street and purchased a pregnancy test. The couple sat on the bed, their hands intertwined while Victoria held the test in one hand. They had only waited for about thirty seconds, but Yoongi was impatient. A mixture of fear and excitement swarmed inside of him.

"Did you do it right?" he asked, leaning over to try and peek at the test.

Victoria held it further away, a small laugh leaving her. "Is there a wrong way to pee on a stick?"

Yoongi only smiled back and rested his head on her shoulder. With his free hand, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned up to press a soft kiss to her lips. "Whatever happens—I love you."

"I know," she said with a gentle smile and kissed his nose lightly. "I love you, too."

She took a deep breath and turned her head toward the test while Yoongi sat up straight. She could feel his palm begin to sweat, but she only squeezed his hand. She lifted the test so they could see.

The breath Yoongi had been holding let out slowly in the form of a sigh. Victoria blinked slowly and let her hand drop. She bit her lip in embarrassment and set the white stick on the comforter.

"It's negative," she murmured, disappointment clear in her voice.

Yoongi rubbed circles on her skin with his thumb. "Baby..."

But then she shook her head and forced a small laugh. "It's okay." She continued to shake her head as she spoke, a small smile on her face though tears pricked at her eyes. "It's not the right time for a baby. Plus, we've been together for, what...three? Four months? It's too soon to even be thinking about something like this. Way too soon."

"Well, we did move here together," he admitted quietly. She turned her head to look at him but his eyes were glued to the floor. "You followed me here knowing the danger. You put your trust in me even though we both know I'm just a loser."

Victoria placed her hand on her cheek to turn his face toward her. "Baby, no—"

"You shouldn't be here, Victoria." He turned his head to look her straight in the eye, trying to ignore the hurt expression on her face. "You're destined for so much more. You deserve a nice quiet life and a husband who can give you normal. You deserve a good marriage and kids and not to be running because of me."

She recoiled, her hand squeezing his painfully tight. "What...what are you saying?"
"You have to go back to Korea."

"What? No!" she protested hotly, brows furrowing.

Yoongi took his hand away from hers so he could place both of his on her face. "Victoria, you know how I feel about you and it's because of that that I can't let you sacrifice so much for me."

"Yoongi, you're all I have. If I go back to Korea...Where can I even go? My shop burned down and that's where I lived. I only have a few million won which isn't even enough for key money." She sighed as his hands fell away from her face and he looked away. "I can't get a house or an apartment. But most importantly I wouldn't have you and I can't stand that thought."

Victoria scooted closer to him and rested her face in his neck, cradling his cheek with her hand. "Victoria..." He held onto her for a moment, letting her place kisses on his neck.

She trailed a finger down his clothed chest, running her tongue over the shell of his ear. "Let me take care of you, baby." Her hand trailed all the way down to his pants where she grabbed his hardening crotch.

And that's when Yoongi lost it.

He pushed her off and stood up, bringing both hands up to his head. "No, Victoria, you can't just seduce me and make all of this go away!" She sat there quietly, watching him sadly. "You're still in danger! Why can't you just let me drown on my own?" His anger just kept growing. It was like the time he punched Jungkook. His problems just angered him so much. All he wanted was to protect Victoria and live happily but he was too weak. "Are you that stupid?" he shouted.

Victoria flinched as if he had hit her. Of course, he didn't, but it certainly felt like it. She pressed her lips together, a few salty tears rolling down her cheeks, before standing. She looked right at him and could see the immediate regret on his face. He didn't mean what he said. Even so, he made no attempt to assuage the situation.

They only stared at each other until she opened her mouth to speak. However, nothing would come out. She didn't even know what to say to his insult, nor to his stoic face or the tears that spilled from his eyes as he silently cried.

So she did what she thought was best. She walked past him and to the door. Without glancing back, she placed her hand on the knob, twisted, pulled, and walked out of the room.