Don't Forget | ✔

Twenty Three

"Dad told me you were on a business trip. How was it?" Arya tried to make a conversation as they both walked in the silence of the backyard.

"Signed a deal with a few companies. I had to cut it short to come here."

"I'm sorry." Arya whispered.

"Don't be." Taehyung whispered back, instantly. "Even if I was there, my mind would run all over here."

He turned to look at Arya. She was staring straight ahead. Breeze swept her long hair back, giving him an unrestricted view of her face.

His heart urged chasing after her when she left, but his conscience told him she was better off without him. Now, he was reconsidering his decisions. If he had followed his heart, maybe, just maybe, her mother would have been still alive and she wouldn't be so broken.

"I'm not sure if it's the right time to discuss with you," Taehyung began, "I'm afraid I might put you in danger if I waited any longer."

Arya frowned.

"Your mom's death...it may not be an accident."

"What do you mean?"

"I had my private detective look into it. According to reports, no truck was allowed into that area for the past three years. The truck that hit your mother, it was nowhere found in the registration records."

Arya opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

"Did she have disputes with anyone?"

"Not as far as I know. She was a kind woman. Why would anybody want to kill her?" Her breathing got shallow. Taehyung hurriedly moved closed to her and rubbed her arms.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. We don't know it for sure. It's just a conclusion. There are still many facts that need to be checked."

Arya shook her head, wiping her tears away.

"What if she was really murdered?"

His hand travelled up to her cheek before he began caressing her soft skin. She looked broken. Her eyes were dull, skin looked pale. Taehyung had never seen her that way. Her strong facade was fading and Taehyung felt helpless.

"If that's the case, We'll find out whoever is behind it. Until then, you need to be safe."

Arya went quiet as she looked down at her hands. Why was everything crashing on her? Just how hard was it for her to be happy for a short period?

Taehyung could feel her distress. As he moved closer to her, he wrapped his hand around her shoulder for comfort. It was the least he could do. Arya leaned into his arms.

"Thanks for telling me, Taehyung." She whispered, before leaning into his warmth. Minutes later, her body went heavy. Taehyung looked down and saw her fast asleep. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and sighed.

Once her stranger, then her friend, then her husband before he broke it all and brought them back to square one. He didn't know where he stood in her life. One thing was for sure. A friend was all he could be to her for he had a fiance and a child waiting for him to come back home.

__________

"Jimin, you don't have to stay with me, here. I'll be fine on my own." Arya reasoned with Jimin who insisted on staying.

"I don't trust you." He said folding his hands, sitting on the couch. Arya flopped beside him.

"I'm not a kid and, you have an art exhibition next week. You shouldn't miss it." Jimin seemed to contemplating and sighed.

"When are you planning on coming back?"

"I don't know. I want to stay here. I might take a break from work for a while."

"I'm still worried, Arya."

"There's absolutely no need to. If I need anything, dad is here. You have seen him. He treats me like his own daughter. I'll be fine."

His straight lips slowly curved into a smirk.

"Now I get it. You want to stay here so you can get on it with Taehyung." Arya rolled her eyes as her shoulders slumped.

"Don't deny it. You fell asleep in his arms last night and he carried you to your room. How romantic is that!"

Arya sighed at his dramatic antics.

"We didn't even talk properly last night." She exasperated, remembering what he said. She would keep that information for herself. She didn't want to worry Jimin even more.

"Maybe you should reconsidering your feelings. Eight months have passed. You have seen him again. What does your heart say?"

What did her heart say? She hated how it felt refreshing to see him again, like she was looking forward to it subconsciously. Everything was tangled, and she didn't have the energy to detangle them. She would let fate take its course. Wherever it would lead, that was where she was meant to be.

Jimin left two days later after much persuasion from Arya. She sent him him off at the airport on the way back home, she stopped by to buy Christmas decorations. Her mother wanted to do it with her. She would do it alone.

When Arya went back home, it was dark. She paid the taxi fare and unlocked the front door. Dropping everything in the living room, she went upstairs to where her mother's room was. That was where she had been sleeping. The sheets smelled like her mother's perfume. It brought her comfort.

Arya flinched out of her sleep when she heard glass shattering in the middle of the night. She looked around to find the window of her mother's room was broken. Near it, on the floor, was a crumpled paper.

Arya cautiously picked it with shaky hands. She peeked outside window and found the streets completely empty.

The paper was wrapped around a rock. It held a message.

How do you like my present?