once upon an us ↞ jenmin

TWENTY-ONE, approaching the elephant.

"I dropped off Seo Ha at child care," Jimin said as he entered Jennie's room, where she was sitting against the wall on her bed, browsing her phone.

Hey eyes lifted to meet his gaze, "Thanks, Chim," before going back to her phone.

"Yah," the man said crossly, sitting at the edge of her bed, "You should be resting, not browsing your phone."

"This is my form of resting," she murmured, still not bothering to look up.

Jimin snorted, "Right."

The brunette rolled her eyes, finally setting her phone down, "I told you I was well enough to work. You didn't let me work."

"That's what you're angry about?" he gaped at her, incredulously.

"No shit," she grumbled.

Jimin just sighed, not wanting to have another redundant arguement,"I actually wanted to ask you a question?"

No response, so he carried on, "Why were you..."

He trailed off, turning his head to catch her eyes in an intense gaze, "-avoiding me before?"

"H-huh?" Jennie blubbered, clearly not expecting the question, "Avoiding you? Me? H-haha I didn't."

When he continued giving her the same dry look despite her nervous laughter, the brunette knew this wouldn't be an easy question to dodge. She cleared her throat, "It wasn't anything, really. Just forget about it."

"Riiiiight," he drawled, propping his elbow on his knees to support his face, "Then I'm sure you won't mind telling me."

"No-no- It's-" she exhaled, "It's really nothing."

"Jennie."

"Jimin."

He sighed, "Just tell me. Whatever it is, I won't let it affect us- I mean, like, our current," he hesitated, trying to find a word to describe their current relationship, but gave up, "-yeah."

"No, it will," the brunette rebutted softly, bringing her legs to her chest as her mind automatically played flashbacks of that call.

Jimin furrowed his eyes rows, he couldn't figure out of the life of him what he had done that might have made her to avoid him like this.

"It's okay. It will have to come out eventually - might as well get it done and over with."

Jennie mulled over that; she did want to have a closure to whatever problem- or situation- she and Jimin were in. They hadn't addressed whatever happened 7 years ago - well, not directly or properly - and right now they both were just conveniently ignoring the huge elephant in the room. Pretending it wasn't there.

Because after 7 years, pretending was what they got good at.

But, if she wanted the both of them to move on, she should start peeling her layers slowly. And it can start with telling him her actual night job.

"Okay," she exhaled lowly, straightening her back and looking at the man beside her, who had been waiting patiently.

"You know I have a night job, right?"

When she saw him nod, she continued, but more softer, "It's not actually a supermarket... cashier job. At night, I... I workforasexhotline," she rushed.

"You whAT?" he spluttered, eyes wide.

"I'm not repeating that."

"N-no, I need to make sure I heard it right-"

She looked at his taken aback, slightly anxious, expression. She could only imagine what thoughts where running through his head: 'Did I actually masturbate about Jennie to Jennie?'

If she weren't so tense herself, she would've laughed.

"You heard it right, Jimin."

It took him a few moments. To register, to process, to realise. But she witnessed the moment of realisation in his eyes the second he understood. She saw his orbs swelled in shock, his features tighten and his jaw clench. The anxiousness in his eyes gave it all away - at that very moment, he knew.

"Shit, don't tell me..." he trailed, in both disbelief and despair. A tense silence reigned as seconds crawled by.

Jimin broke it swearing hard, running his hand roughly through his hair. His adam's apple bobbed nervously as he licked his dry lips repeatedly, struggling to find something to say.

Jennie wrung her hands, looking down at her lap, shaking her leg as she willed herself to not bang Jimin's head and force him to say something.

"I'm sorry."

Her head swung to face the man beside her, "W-what?"

That wasn't what she expected him to start the conversation with. Then again, she had no idea what she expected exactly.

"I- I'm sorry, it's just- I didn't mean to- masturbate in front of you," he said quietly.

"So you're saying you wouldn't be sorry if you masturbated thinking of me in front of someone else?" she retorted, before thinking twice, watching a panicked expression take over his face.

"No, nononono-" he leaned forward earnestly, "No- what I meant was I'm sorry if I made you- I mean, I'm sorry for making you extremely uncomfortable."

His gaze found her brown orbs, "I- I wouldn't want you to think you're just some sexual object to me, though, because you're not. You mean a lot, lot, lot more to me than that."

When the girl didn't reply, he reached for her hand, heart pounding.

"Jen, please," he begged, lacing his fingers through hers. "I really mean it. You really mean a lot - a shitload lot - to me."

She quirked her eyebrow, lips twitching, "A shitload lot?"

"That's all you got from what I said?"

She shrugged.

Jennie honestly didn't know how to feel. She didn't what exactly what was feeling either. She wasn't exactly pleased with the fact he had, well, touched himself while thinking of her, but at the same time, when she heard him over the phone, she sort of liked it. She felt it was hypocritical, in a way, to be angry at him for something she enjoyed.

"I think we should just put it behind us," she said finally.

Jimin's head tilted at that, in confusion, his forehead creasing.

"I don't think," she paused, selecting her words carefully, "I mean, I know you don't see me as some sexual toy or play thing. And I don't really feel like my body was violated or anything like that, so I think it's fine if we just put it behind us, and not bring it up again."

He mulled over her words, "Well, if you're okay with it, we can put it behind us."

He gave a bleak smile, "I'm still sorry for it though-"

Jennie rolled her eyes, giving a light punch, drawling, "It's okayyy."

His smile morphed into a more genuine one, his eyes becoming crescents as a tiny chuckle escaped his mouth.

"I'm just glad it didn't bring us back to square 1," he mumbled softly.

"Yeah," the brunette agreed.

"Well," Jimin started, again, easing away the serious atmosphere into a more vibrant one, "How about we go watch some tv until we have to pick up Seo Ha?"

"Sure," she agreed, smiling, kicking off the blanket covering her legs.

"Netflix and chill?" he suggested. Although the words seemed very innocent, Jennie knew her man very well and knew what he meant by his suggestive eyebrow wiggling.

"Yeah on different couches," she said curtly, getting out of her bed.

Jimin followed her laughing, "Whatever you say."

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