Serendipity: The Amazing Journey Of A Soulmate

29. Severed bonds

I'm sitting between Namjoon and Yoongi, Jungkook at the end of the table facing Jimin, while in front of us are Tae and Ella.
"I can't believe we're having pancakes for breakfast. It's been a while since we last did that" Taehyung says, cutting a piece of food and placing it on the empty plate in front of Ella. She quickly puts it all in her mouth, moaning in satisfaction while everyone is looking at her wide eyed. "What?" she says with her mouth full of food. "You never eat breakfast" Jin says shocked and Ella grins at him "I'll never say no to pancakes." Well, I guess she has a point. I wouldn't either and I don't think there is a person on this earth who would deny a plate of fresh steamy pancakes. My phone buzzes and I grab it to check who might be contacting me so early in the morning. Jiwoo. With everything that happened last night, I should've known better. There are dozens of missed calls and texts from him, most of them about how sorry he is for being an ass and that we need to talk. My face becomes serious and a frown appears between my brows while I'm staring at the phone. "Everything okay?" Namjoon asks, glancing at me. "Yeah. It's just...Jiwoo" I sigh, my mood changing all of a sudden. "Why is he troubling you still? I would have thought he would stop looking for you after Ella knocked him out last night" Jimin says from across the table. My eyes grow wide at the secret being revealed and all blood drains from my face. I didn't tell Namjoon about this and apparently Jimin didn't know it's a fact that should be kept hidden from him. It's all my fault. I should've have informed him about that, but I was too shaken, too lost in my own thoughts- "What do you mean? What did Ella do last night?" Tae asks confused, while everyone focuses their attention on Jimin. "It's nothing-" Ella starts saying, but she's cut off.
"He went all crazy on Inna, almost hurting her and before I could even do anything Ella was upon him, putting him down" he explains. "Jimin!" Ella shouts at him, observing the terror on my face. She shoves a huge piece of pancake in his mouth, forcing him to  shut up while she laughs awkwardly and hits a choking Jimin on his back. Only then he realizes what he has done and blurts out an "Oh, shit!" but I can't hear what he says further, despite the silence falling at the table. Namjoon has gone completely still beside me and I'm bracing myself for what is going to happen next. I'm not sure I'm even breathing until he speaks again. "When were you going to tell me about this, Inna?" his gaze is piercing me, drilling holes through my head. Oh boy, he is mad! No one at the table dares to say a word, waiting. "I- I was ab-" I start, but I don't get to finish my sentence because he says, voice low and dry "We need to talk" He sits up from his chair, throwing the napkin on the table and leaves the dining room, glancing at me once over his shoulder. An invitation to follow him. Well, shit! I'm in trouble. "I'm sorry, Inna. I didn't know you guys haven't talked about this. I fucked up, didn't I?" Jimin apologises, guilt present in his beautiful eyes. "What is done, is done. Don't worry about it. Please excuse me. I need to tame the beast" I say as I get up and follow Namjoon who's already out of sight. Despite the tense atmosphere at the table, my last comment makes the others burst out in laughter.

***
I find him in his bedroom, with his arms crossed over his chest and bottom resting on the edge of the desk. Why do I feel like a kid being caught doing something bad and I'm about to get scolded? Closing the door, I approach him with silent steps, but stopping a few meters away. "Care to tell me what the hell happened last night, Inna?" He looks at me with those black eyes, so much silent rage behind them. But not directed at me, I realize. Never at me. He is furious on Jiwoo because he is probably imagining something much worse occurred during our fight last night. "Before you freak out, nothing bad happened. He didn't hurt me" I blurt out. "That's not what Jimin said" His voice is calm, intimidating. "He didn't, I mean it!" I reassure him. "He could've have if Ella didn't intervene" I'd like to think nothing like this would've happened if we were the only ones in that hallway. Jiwoo is- was my friend, not an attacker. "We had a fight over the events at my apartment last week. I raised my voice, he raised his voice and he ended up saying something that completely rattled me, opened old wounds." He will never love someone like you. This fucking sentence keeps eating at my brain, so similar to what Jonathan said to me years ago. But I continue "I left backstage, furious at him and I think he realized how much his words hurt me because he ran after me and tried to stop me. But I was not feeling like continuing the conversation with him so I tried to leave again, only this time he became so desperate that he grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me, yelling at me. This is what alarmed Ella and Jimin" I look over his shoulder at the curtains that are partially blocking the rays of sunshine. "Damn it, Inna! Why haven't you told me about this last night? You didn't trust me?" I move my gaze to him and I could swear I saw a glimpse of hurt in his eyes. "Of course I trust you. I just- I thought that you'll probably go and confront him and it will ruin everyone's mood. I didn't want you to get into a brawl with him for me. It's not worth it" I confess. That's the last thing I want, more drama after I finally grasped a bit of happiness and peace. "You're right. I would've sought him and I would've kicked his sorry ass for even daring to speak to you like that, not to mention laying his filthy hands on you. I would've done it, Inna. That and much worse, with no trace of regret" he says, conviction in his eyes. And I believe him. "But," he leaves the desk and crosses the distance between us, stopping in front of me and putting a hand on my cheek. "I would've done it only if you'd asked me. I would never intervene in your matters with your friends without your permission. Never. I'm well aware that you are strong and perfectly able to fight your own battles so I won't be that guy who takes away your choices. I trust you and I'm here to support you every step of the way. I'm your partner. I just wished you would've talked to me about it, that's all." There are no words to explain how I feel in this moment. The trust he has in me, damaged as I am, that I can make it on my own...No one ever had so much faith in me, no man, no friend. Despite his own rage against Jiwoo, he would've suppressed it if I asked him to not interfere. Where did I find you, Namjoon? By what miracle did I come to have you in my life?
"I'm sorry" I murmur. "I wanted to tell you last night in the car, but I was thinking about how we just got together and finally found some happiness and I didn't want to ruin that. For me, that was the only thing that mattered: to keep what we have, unaltered by other's malice."
"Oh, baby. Come here" he says as he wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly. "Thank you, Namjoon." I say against his chest, my voice muffled. "Thank you for believing in me". As reply, he only squeezes me and places a kiss on my head. "I still want to strangle him, you know that, right?" he says, not letting me go. Despite the emotions in my chest, I chuckle. "I thought you were fighting against violence with UNICEF" I mock him. "You smartass!" he mumbles, but I can sense his body shuddering from the laugh he's holding inside.