Forever Young 영원히 젊은 Park Jimin

Chapter 43: (BTS Cam) The Breakup

"Thank you Gale-ah, I look forward to being your leading man."

That line played over and over in Jimin's head as he made his way to BLACKPINK's dorm. He couldn't get the sound of Nam Joohyuk's voice out of his head, as well as the cheers of the crowd who wanted his girlfriend to be with another man. His mind kept replaying the sight of Joohyuk leaning in to kiss Gale, which was the last thing he saw before he left the fan meeting.

He wanted to run up there and punch Joohyuk in the face, but he couldn't. He wanted to kiss Gale in front of the crowd so that everyone would know that they belonged to each other, but he couldn't. Instead he had to stand there and watch while hundreds of people encouraged someone who was not him to kiss his girlfriend.

He went to the event because he wanted to apologize to Gale. When they fought, he immediately regretted his actions. He regretted not running after her when she walked out, and he was ashamed that he acted so childishly towards the woman he loved. That shame prevented him from answering her calls and replying to her texts. He finally got the courage to face her after a while, but things didn't go according to plan.

He knew he needed to talk to Gale.

When he arrived in front of their dorm building, he sent her a text. A few minutes later, she came out to meet him. Jimin's heart broke at the sight of her tear-stained cheeks.

'I caused that. Me.' He thought ruefully. 'Seems like I've been making her cry a lot these days.'

I've been making her unhappy.

Gale ran up to him and threw her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Jimin embraced her, breathing in her scent as he soothingly stroked her hair to calm her down.

"It's not your fault." He said, pulling away from her. As Jimin stared into her eyes, all he could see was the hurt he had been causing her.

He knew what he had to do, but he couldn't do it, not when she was looking at him with those big, brown eyes that he loved so much.

So Jimin took one last look at her, memorizing her features before they morphed into an expression of hate towards him. He took a deep breath and released his hold on her, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked away.

"I-I can't be with you anymore." He whispered. Gale's eyes widened in surprise.

"W-what?"

"I can't be your boyfriend anymore."

Gale couldn't believe what she was hearing. It had to be a joke, right? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that Jimin was planning their future together? She reached out to hold his hand but Jimin avoided her touch. When he wouldn't even meet her gaze, she realized that he was serious.

"Why not?" Gale asked. Jimin tried to look for the words he needed to give her a reason, but he made the mistake of glancing at her, and the hurt look on her face made his chest ache, making his brain unable to come up with an answer.

"I-I can't explain."

"Don't you think I at least deserve one?" She demanded. "Park Jimin, look at me and give me an answer!"

"I can't stand seeing you with Nam Joohyuk." He said weakly. A look of understanding appeared on Gale's face. She put her hand on Jimin's cheek. This time, he let her. He melted at her touch, but he knew that he needed to keep his resolve so he gently removed her hand.

"Is that it? You're breaking up with me because you're jealous of him? How many times have I told you that you have nothing to worry about?"

"It's not just that!" Jimin burst. "Gale-ah, no one but us wants this relationship. The fans are against us. Our companies don't even know about us. We're the only ones who are fighting for this."