Jin's Mistake • KSJ

Thirty Two

You woke to the strong smell of coffee and the sweet scent of syrup as Seungho slid a wooden tray with thick golden colored waffles in front of you. He kissed your cheek already leaning in to steal a plump blueberry that was trying to roll off the plate.

"I love Sunday morning." He kissed your lips and you tasted the tang of the fruit.

You sipped the coffee, made exactly the way you preferred before stabbing the waffle and enjoying the crisp and fluffy bite you'd cut away. Seungho watched you with a smile and you fed him your second bite.

"You never plan for your own food when you bring me breakfast in bed." You teased him taking another bite of your own.

"I just put too much on your plate and hope for the best." He teased back and the first shot of guilt hit you hard.

You loved this about your husband, how kind and nurturing he treated you. How seamlessly he slipped into your day and wanted you to feel your best. The acts of service he did to make your life easier were understated but romantic.

"You know it could backfire, I could simply just eat too much and gain weight." You licked a drip of syrup off your finger grinning at him.

"I wouldn't mind more curves on your body, but if you preferred I could get your heart rate going after every meal in bed." His smile was one of the most beautiful you'd seen.

You both finished the food in comfortable silence, and you realized he brought out the same qualities in you. Every morning you set the coffee pot to brew his favorite espresso, you picked up his shirts when he forgot them at the dry cleaners, searched stores for his favorite obscure snacks. This life you'd built was packed full of moments of love and passion and even happiness in the face of the darkness you were both fighting.

"Since it's Sunday and we have the house to ourselves I need to tell you something about last night." You scooted the tray with the sticky plate further down the bed and turned to Seungho.

His face didn't hold any worry or anxiety, and that made you feel worse. He loved and trusted you so much that the declaration you needed to share something with him didn't automatically mean bad news in his head.

"I should have asked you how you were feeling when I got home, I'm sorry Yeobo, I was so tired from dealing with my father I forgot all about the drama with Minjae and Seokjin." His eyes held tenderness but still no concern.

"I walked in on Jin and Ji Hoon, it turns out he's not being paid by my family, but rather by Jin." You'd decided to tell him, you couldn't keep multiple secrets from him, and you definitely weren't going to tell him about the hotel visit.

"Ji Hoon reports to Jin?" Seungho did look upset now, his brow furrowing, like his mind was racing back through all the things Ji Hoon knew.

"Apparently he doesn't report back as much as he should or with the information Jin wants because he felt like he needed to scold him. That doesn't actually matter, the point is Ji Hoon is not telling Jin anything just like he wasn't telling my family anything. Jin was a paycheck and that's it." You'd decided last minute to tell Seungho so this wasn't coming out how you'd have planned it.

"Was a paycheck? Did you or Jin fire him?"

"I told Ji Hoon that I would pay him moving forward. I still trust him Jagi, I know he probably should have told me but I honestly never asked him. I really assumed my family sent him after I flipped out when your father hit me. He's always had our backs, I don't think that is contingent upon where his income is sourced." Were you talking too quickly? You felt like the more you said the worse Seungho was reacting.

"I trust Ji Hoon, he's not the issue. Clearly he felt his job was to protect you, support you, and he believes in what we're trying to accomplish even at the risk of himself. I'm glad you didn't fire him, he's like a brother to me. I'm upset because it means after all this time Kim Seokjin has tried to keep track of you, and that feels disturbing to me." Seungho stood from the bed grabbing the tray too roughly, the clatter of everything shifting loudly making you wince.