Somewhere in Time || A VKook Saga

[Forty-eight]

There was a soft knock on the door to the study, barely audible but the person inside heard it. "Yes?"

"It's me, Eun-hye."

"Please come in."

Eun-hye pushed the heavy wooden barrier and saw a figure lying half-prone on the chaise, with a book open on his lap, the low lamp beside him accentuating the orange tint on his hair.

"What brings you here?" Jimin asked, pushing up his round-rimmed glasses.

"I brought you some tea." Eun-hye replied as she handed him the cup. "And I've come to apologize for what I did earlier this morning."

"That's okay," Jimin responded with a slight smile escaping his lips. "I would be angry too, if people treat me like a child."

"Still, I shouldn't have said that you're like my father."

"But I kinda am.... your father. Maybe not like Jeon Jung-kook, but I'm still your father. If you consider me as that."

"I know what you mean," Eun-hye sighed. "But I'd be lying if I told you I'm not curious."

"I understand. But if it's answers you want......"

"Alex's planning to talk to my father about it, about the past." Eun-hye interrupted.

"Wh... what?" Jimin looked at his daughter-in-law with surprise. "You.. you can't."

"You know how stubborn he is," Eun-hye said. "Unless I can convince him not to.... which brings me to you."

The middle-aged man glanced at the young woman sitting beside him on the ottoman and realized that the truth would've come out, eventually. He figured it was better for Eun-hye to get Taehyung's and his side of the story, rather than from her father, or worse, from her grandmother. Jimin surmised that Jung-kook had the sensibility not to discuss the past with his own daughter, for the same reason he's kept the truth hidden in memories. But now, perhaps it's time for one more person to share the burden of what happened, even though that she may be upset after hearing it.

"Eun-hye," Jimin spoke in a tone that was almost a whisper. "For what I'm about to tell you, please promise me, don't feel guilty. It is not your fault. And remember, we will always love you no matter what."