Wife Me Up

9

It was a little after 3 when Jimin called and i slipped into the sneakers i kept by the door. I stepped into the warm afternoon air to wait for the familiar silver cobalt to pull up, bouncing back and forth on the balls of my feet. In roughly ten minutes he was pulling up, walking around the car to open my door and pull me against his chest for a warm hug.

"Hey y/n, i feel like i haven't seen you allllll weekend." He sighed.

I giggled, the buttons on his denim jacket dug into my cheek, but i just hugged him tighter. "That's cuz you haven't."

"Wanna go on a hike?"

"That sounds perfect."

His fluffy blonde hair was messy from work and his slender fingers gripped the steering wheel as he navigated the streets with a frown of concentration. I kept my feet tucked back as close to my seat as i could, his black camera bag and other supplies crowded the space in front.

"How was work?" I asked, silently hoping to save the heavy topic of my marriage for later.

"It was fine, there were a few photos that I think should've turned out better, but for a Sunday shoot it went well." He reached a hand over to rest on my leg, squeezing once lightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, if you want you can toss those in the back." He nodded at the floor and moved his arm to allow the room.

After carefully tucking his work stuff into the backseat, I took his hand and held it in my lap. "What was today's shoot for?"

"Taehyung's fall line, the other shoot didn't get in all the pieces so we needed this last minute."

"I'm excited to see them."

"Tae'll be happy to hear that, Hobi said he's mad stressed about the reception."

"That's normal."

They got out of the car and Jimin slung his camera strap over his arm, reaching out to grasp at my hand. "Shall we?" He nodded towards the park entrance.

I grinned up at him, still fighting away my nerves. "We shall."

We walked in a comfortable silence, picking our way through the paths studded with rocks, logs, and brush. The quiet hush of the leaves and the scuff of our sneakers on the dirt settle a calm bubble of peacefulness around us. He stopped to take a few shots of the trees, he'd always marveled at the tangles of the leaves and branches, and looking at those photos made me love it too. Especially the light. The way the rays of sun filtered through the greens in soft, warm tones felt almost surreal. Looking up made me feel incredibly small, like a fairy on her way up to the clouds.

At the crest of a particularly steep hill, I called for a rest.

"Stahp," I groaned, I dropped to my knees, leaning back to sit on my butt.

"C'mon we need to build up your stamina, Y/n." Jimin joked, plopping down next to you.

He put his arms out for me and i leaned into him, letting him pull my head over to rest on his thigh. His fingers combed through my hair, gently scratching over my scalp with his blunt nails. He'd always been really good with calming me down this way.

"Are you ready to talk now?" he whispered.

My eyes fluttered open at that, knowing I couldn't push it off for much longer.

"My parents set up a marriage contract for me." I admitted.

I heard Jimin's sharp intake of breath and plowed on before i could be interrupted. "I met with them last night, that's what they called me for. The other family was on their way when I got there. But I met up with their son, kinda by accident. I was leaving and he asked to get in the car."

"And you let him in? Y/n that's dangerous!"

"I knoooow," i groaned. "i dont know why i let him. But we got ice cream, cuz he said he needed to talk to me. He asked me to marry him for the show of it. For his parents' sake. He's gay. He wants to just live together for a few years and then make a big deal over a divorce. But in that time, we'd just be roomates and he could date and i could date."

"That sounds pretty suspicious."

"In what way?"

"What if he's not gay? What if it's just a big lie to get you in a vulnerable place?" Jimin frowned.

"For one he didn't mean to tell me he was gay. I was yelling at him and i said i had a boyfriend. And then he said he did too and we were both frustrated." my fingers found the frayed strings in the rip of his jeans and tugged at them absently.

"Any other reasons?"

"Well, he was my neighbor when i was really little. Apparently we were best friends. I don't remember a whole lot from that far back, but still." i mumbled, "It's the familiarity."

"And you're thinking about it?" Jimin wondered, "Like you're seriously thinking about marrying him because he's gay?"

"Please, this is beneficial for me too. My parents will stop pressuring me to get married, they won't have anything to yell about, and we can still be together."

"But legally you'll be with someone else."

"Marriage is just a label for our parents. It isn't a reflection of our feelings." I felt like he was trying to pick a fight and that was frustrating.

"I just don't like the idea. I know you know what you're doing, but i don't like it. Who even is this guy."

My phone buzzed in my pocket and i sat up to fish it out, Minhyuk.

"His name is Minhyuk," I sighed, "Hello?"

"Hey, if you talked to your boyfriend already, I thought it might be nice to meet up. It might be easier to explain to my boyfriend that way. But not if it's inconvenient or anything."

"I think we have some more talking to do for now, but once we get ourselves sorted definitely." I promised, feeling Jimin's hand on my shoulder.

Minhyuk excused himself and hung up.

"I just don't know how you want me to feel about this Y/n."