In Another Life | PJM ✓

E P I L O G U E

A week has passed.

A week since Jimin read Ayla's notebook and watched her video on the flash drive. A week since Jimin's heart has been scattered around the floor, left alone and no effort to collect the pieces to put them back together again. Because, honestly, what was the point?

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me, Jimin."

Jimin forces a small smile on his face, even if all he wants to do is to be left alone to grieve for his loss.

"I just wanted to finally tell you the reason why I had to break up with you."

And that's exactly what Hyerin does for the next thirty minutes in the quiet living room of Jimin and Taehyung's shared apartment. She tells him about her father's request to her father's illness and her obligation to grant him his dying wish, and finally, to her conversation with Ayla where both spoke the truth to the other.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Jimin asks, his voice breaking. "I would've understood. Knowing would've been better than to be left in the dark for so long, wondering where it is that went wrong. Wondering what I did wrong."

Hyerin wipes a tear that rolls down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Jimin. You admired my father so much that I knew it would've broken your heart if you found out the truth. I'm so sorry."

Jimin remains quiet for a minute, staring at the wall behind Hyerin, before he heaves out a deep sigh and flickers his eyes towards hers. "Thank you for telling me," he mumbles.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you."

Jimin's brows furrow. "What is it?"

Hyerin bites her lips in nervousness, her gaze unwavering from Jimin's. "I. . . I still love you and I don't think I've ever stopped, but I just—"

"Hyerin—"

"No, let me finish." She stares at him, determined. "I still love you, but I know you no longer feel the same way about me. I can't deny that you still care for me, but it's not the way that I want you to feel towards me. I've come to terms with it, I've accepted it, but I just wanted to let you know so that I can move on, too. It will be hard because you're not difficult to love and you're too good of a person to move on from, but that's my first step. To tell you how I still feel."

Jimin lowers his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry."

Hyerin laughs, though it sounds heartbroken. "No, please don't apologize for your feelings. The first time I heard about the two of you, I couldn't believe it. But then I saw you with her and it just clicked. And I'm not talking about the earlier days where you fooled yourself into thinking you were doing all that to get me back. I'm flattered, but I wish you could've seen the two of you from another perspective."

Jimin's eyes flickers up to hers in an instant. "See what?"

"See how she cares for you as much as you do for her, Jimin-ah. When I asked to meet her that one day, she was telling me how you were doing all these things because you loved me and that I'm the one you should be with. Before we parted that day, she said to me how happy she was for me, for us, but there was something in her eyes telling me the opposite. She also told me one more thing— that she was terminally ill, which she assured me that you would know before she left completely."

"I know," Jimin somberly nods his head. "She gave me a notebook telling me her entire truth. But she. . . she disappeared before I could talk to her and tell her my truth."

Hyerin offers him a small smile. "Then, you should know the reason why I'm pushing you to go to her and tell her before it's too late. Ayla left not because she didn't love you back, but because she only has a few weeks left to live and she'd rather have that time to allow you to 'get me back' instead of holding onto her who will only leave you in the end. Find her and stop making yourself believe it's too late because it's better for you to have tried than to give up without making an effort."