Heart of Winter [Jikook]

Ch. 17

(Next day - Park Estate)

"Jimin-hyung? What do you remember about what happened on stage?" Jungkook asked, sitting on the edge of Jimin's bed.

"I remember I went into my solo," he started. "I came to the part where I dance right up to the front and reach out to the crowd . . . then suddenly it felt like someone grabbed me. Either my foot or my hand, maybe both. Then I was falling, like a bad dream, but instead of waking up, I kept falling. It was dark and loud. Next thing, I was in the back of the car with you."

As Jungkook had feared, it hadn't been an accident. Reaching for Jimin's hand, he began "Hyung, I have some things to say, some important things to tell you so just wait until I finish."

"You know about the letters, the break-in, and now yesterday . . . but there's something else, the real reason Manager Ma called me. A week before I showed up here, there was a bomb disguised as a bouquet of flowers sent to your dressing room while you were on stage. Ji-young was the closest when it went off. It wasn't an electrical problem or short circuit," Jungkook paused briefly to let the news sink in. "Ji-young told me last night, just before you went down. I took my eyes off you for just that moment, which leads us to-."

"To what?" Jimin interrupted.

"The past week," Jungkook paused to clear his throat, "I've crossed a line, gotten too close, too familiar."

"I'm not sorry. But this new information and considering what happened last night, I've had to ask myself some questions. How can I stay on top of security and safety at this house if I'm practically living in your room? How can I stay one step ahead and look at every angle if I'm right next to you? I looked away last night because I felt safe. I lost sight of what I was doing, and I let my guard down and you got hurt."

Jungkook stood up and began to pace. "I should've known that a 'fan' like him would've snapped at a chance like this. What's worse, I almost didn't tell you about the bomb. Just like everyone else here, I wanted to shield you. As though keeping you in the dark would actually protect you."

Finally, he stopped to look at Jimin, whose gaze he had been avoiding. He was unreadable.

Jimin didn't like to cry. Crying wouldn't make either of them feel any better, at least right now. Though he was still reeling from the literal bomb and Ji-young's injuries, Jimin desperately clung onto a few things. Jungkook just wanted him to be safe. He didn't regret what happened between them. But what now?

"So, until this guy is caught, and we have this all sorted out, I need to be able to do my job. . . from a distance. I have to be able to protect you my way. And importantly? No Choi or any other hangers-on."

Distance, the word rang in Jimin's head. He knew Jungkook was pulling away to guard him but replacing the wall between client and bodyguard or back seat and front seat still hurt. And what would happen after this 'job' was over? Would he leave? Would they both be alone again, a world apart? Before such thoughts consumed him whole, Jimin put on a placid smile.

"Alright."

Jungkook hadn't expected tears. Jimin was a master of not letting things bother him, of keeping insecurities, misunderstandings, and pain inside. But his smile was somehow worse than the tears.

"Alright?" Jungkook

"Your way, Jungkook-ah. I don't have anywhere I need to be until the Grand Bell Awards. Not even in Seoul. On one condition?"

"Yes?"

"Whatever I do, wherever we go, we have to think of Yoon-ah."

Nodding, Jungkook asked, "Have you ever been to Andong?"

Glossary –

1. Andong: City in North Gyeongsang Province, in the middle of the east coast of South Korea. It is mostly agricultural but is also a center for tourism due to its cultural festivities and folk traditions.