Stirring The Soul

Chapter 54

You know you're being cruel, but it's for his own good. You say whatever you can think of to make him leave, even if means hurting his feelings. This way, he will end up hating you, hopefully, forget about you and move on. Just the thought of that happening pains you, but it has to be done. However, instead of him reacting as hoped, he hugs you tightly and holds onto you, saying nothing. Him holding you like this causes you to sob uncontrollably into his chest, thus betraying your true emotions. After a few minutes, he pulls away, holding you at arm's length. "Noona, are you feeling ok now?" You nod your head, looking down at his feet. He lifts your chin up and says, "I know you didn't mean what you just said and you only said it to make me leave."

Your eyes are still glistening and you can't bring yourself to say anything. The surprise of seeing Jungkook now, when you'd mentally prepared yourself to not see him for a long time, has shaken you to the core. You simply look at him blankly.

"Noona, why did you cut all ties with me like that? You didn't even check my messages. I'm not gonna ask if you know how devastated I was because I know you must have been suffering too. Do you know I was more worried about you than myself?"

"What?" you finally say.

"I'm the one who pursued you, the one who declared my love first, the one who told you to trust me. You already suffered with Mark and I was selfish, just wanting you for myself. I didn't think about where it might all lead. I'm just an immature idiot," he says, sadly.

"No, how can you say that JK? You were, are, the best thing to happen to me. Do you think I've regretted what we did? No. I have to take responsibility too. I naively and selfishly carried on, not thinking how my actions would hurt you, hurt your career, hurt what you worked hard for." You sigh apologetically

He shakes his head and says, "I don't think blaming ourselves is helping anyone. We met, we fell in love. Let's accept it for what it was? I didn't come here to bring back painful emotions, Noona, but how could I go back home and go on tour without seeing you? We both needed the space to heal, but I just couldn't bring myself to go without at least saying goodbye."

"Do you have to leave now, JK?" you ask. He shakes his head. You've gotten over the shock of seeing him and are starting to think more clearly. "Shall we go for a coffee?" you suggest. He nods his head. You grab the bag you brought with you and walk out the building. You know a discreet route out the building which leads straight to a small shop nearby that deceptively looks like a plant shop, but in fact, also has an artisan cafe in its basement which few people know about. You wave to the owner when you go in, who says, "two of the usual?" and you nod, walking downstairs to your usual table. You settle into your seats comfortably and ask Jungkook how he's been since going back home.

"I had to attend planning meetings the first day back but I couldn't even talk to anyone for the first couple of days. Hyungs knew to leave me alone and give me space. By the way, Namjoon hyung told me about the offer he made you. Aren't you going to take it? I'm not asking hoping that you'll come to Seoul and then we'd have a chance together, but for you. It would be an amazing opportunity, you'd get to do your dream job!"

Before you can answer, you are brought to large mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows on the side. "Thank you Uncle Luigi," you say as the owner smiles and leaves. "He's the one who taught me how to make hot chocolate. So really he's to blame for bringing us together." you joke.

"Nah, you fell for me the day I made my spicy noodles," he counters. You both laugh, pretending for a moment everything us as it was.

"So, what did you tell Namjoon hyung?" he reminds you.

You reply, "He actually called me when you guys were there and said PD Bang loved my previous work and really wanted me to join the team to help take your music in a new direction. He also mentioned TXT, saying they were a great upcoming band, and I could be their main songwriter and composer. He offered me a very enticing salary package."