once upon an us ↞ jenmin

FOURTEEN, a potential change.

More than a week passed since then.

Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook were quite busy with their business, and so was Chaeyoung. What she did was establish an art school, and it recently started flourishing. She had wanted Jennie to be one of the fashion teachers, but the brunette declined despite multiple protests, not wanting her reputation to be tainted because of her.

She assumed that Jimin had sorted everything out and told the other two about how he was the father of Seo Ha the night he stayed over with them. She knew Jungkook had accepted it and seemed to be okay with the idea of all three of them spending time as a family, but she couldn't read Taehyung's expression at all when he came over.

She had a feeling he was still a bit skeptical, or she could say, fearful, that if Jimin got too close to her, she would do him dirty again.

She wish she could prove to him she changed, but he was faithfully avoiding most interaction with her and she couldn't be bothered to try and talk to him.

Talking with a Taehyung who wouldn't even want to look at you? She snorted, It's better to talk to a wall.

Jennie was also acutely aware she needed to get her own apartment soon.

She was told the three were going to stay for at least a year here to look over their business. And that meant Jungkook would eventually permanently move in to Chaeyoung's flat. And she would be a permanent thirdwheeler.

By eventually she meant the end of this week.

Taehyung had already bought his apartment nearby, and was moving in today it seemed.

Jimin's one was still undergoing renovation but he would probably move in by this week as well.

She sighed, she was no where close to be able to afford her own apartment.

Well, her grip tightened around the wooden spoon she held as she fried the egg for dinner, Jungkook's just gotta bear with me until then. I can't let Seo Ha not have a home.

Jennie quickly distributed the scrambled egg on each of their plates, and yelled from the kitchen.

"Guys! Dinner is ready!"

Seo Ha was the first to come bounding in, looking eagerly to see what was would be going into his stomach.

The rest followed behind. Everyone was present here today, even Taehyung, who had been busy for the past few days overseeing the move in to his new apartment nearby.

Jimin quietly helped her put all the plates on the table, while Chaeyoung and Jungkook entertained Seo Ha.

It had always been like that so far. Neither of them could hold a complete conversation without feeling awkward, and decided to just remain in silence whenever they were together.

It was probably because they didn't know if they could approach each now - was everything resolved between them? Jennie wasn't sure.

Would they ever be able to treat each other as friends? Maybe Jimin could, but she knew she couldn't.

"Jen, what you staring at?" Chaeyoung's voice interrupted her thoughts and she snapped out of her reverie to see that all of them were waiting for her to say Grace with them.

She hastily forced her attention back to them and muttered a "nothing" and then they said Grace together before digging in.

Jennie saw Seo Ha struggling to cut the fish properly up and smiled to herself before helping him.

Jimin watched the sight with a small smile of his own threatening to slip into his expression. The way Seo Ha looked at his mother with adoration and the way she looked at him with pure love was wholesome - he longed to be in the picture with them.

It had only been a week since he went out with Seo Ha, but Jennie looked noticeably weaker since then.

She looked tired.

No, exhausted. To the bones.

Dark circles ringed her eyes and her skin looked paler than last time. Her tank top hung didn't fit her as snugly as he remembered. Her movements were tinged slightly with sluggishness, and she frequently zoned out.

Her skin no longer glowed, and her frame was always took a slightly hunched pose. Her eyes no longer held the spark, and that familiar gleam only popped up once in a while. The corners of her eyes seldom crinkled when she smiled, and she rarely talked, preferring to listen silently or be lost in her thoughts.

"Jimin, the rice is the food, not Jennie" Taehyung's voice cut his thoughts, and a deep shade of pink coated his cheeks once he realised what he said.

He heard the others chuckle as he rolled his eyes and muttered "Shut up."

But it pleased him to see that Jennie was also blushing.

She cleared her throat awkwardly "Well, I'm going to put Seo Ha to bed."

And without waiting for a response, she quickly washed her plate and Seo Ha's before leading him to his bedroom.

Faintly Jimin heard his son ask "Mommy, what did Tae Uncle mean by calling you food?" and stifled a chuckle. Pity he couldn't hear her response.

"Jimin-ah."

He diverted his attention back to the other three adults as his name was called, "Hm?"

"When you are going to ask her out?"

Jimin nearly choked on air, not expecting the question. Moreover, since the question was from Chaeyoung, he was even more surprised. He would've thought she would be protective of Jennie.

"I- uhm- w-well- Okay you see-"

"Don't try covering up," Chaeyoung deadpanned while Jungkook added, "Yeah, hyung, we all see the way you look at her."

"Is that so?" his voice went a key higher as he nervous laughter bubbled in his throat. It quickly died down seeing their serious expressions.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair, a habit he did in any remotely tense situation.

"I don't know guys. I don't even know if I should ask her out. I thought you all wanted me to move on."

"Well that's what we wanted, true," Jungkook admitted "But you clearly suck at doing so."

"Gee, thank you Kook," the older mumbled.

"I think it would do you both good. I'm sure Jennie regretted what she did, and you both are obviously not over each other." Chaeyoung piped up and Jimin's ears perked up.

"She still loves me?"

"I told you he's as blind as a bat." Jungkook muttered to his girlfriend who also looked absolutely done with Jimin.

"She's obviously very much in love with your sorry ass, Jimin," Chaeyoung said exasperatedly.

"But she's not going to be making a move-" Taehyung added while Jungkook eerily continued his sentence, slapping Jimin's back:

"-You have to do it."

"Look, I need time to think about it, alright?"

"Of course, just be quick about it because Jennie has an active admirer who's trying hard to hit her up."

Chaeyoung grinned satisfactorily at his alarmed expression, adding cheerily "No pressure though!"

"Uh, yeah, totally," he sarcastically muttered. His chair made an annoying screeching sound as he stood up.

"I'll think about it."

Jungkook grinned supportively "It's okay, hyung. We will support you in whatever decision you make."

"Yeah," the others chimed in, and Jimin smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you, guys."

Deep down, he already knew what decision he had made.

What he needed to do was to get rid of the fear that stopped him from putting it into action.

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