The Sky Ablaze | Park Jimin

Chapter 16

Eunjin

She'd been watching the skylights while laying on the floor until the sky darkened completely. The stars were out, and she looked for every constellation she knew.

She'd chosen a room that was far away from Jimin. She would have opted for sitting in a chair, but the sheets covering all of the furniture were layered in a thick dust. She'd already sneezed enough up here, and she had no interest in sneezing anymore.

She did have the desire to seek him out and ask why this floor was no longer used. There were apartments, old washrooms, a throne room, a dining hall... And it was so pretty. She never realized the palace had a glass roof.

She'd been lying down too long. Her back was stiff, and her shoulder was killing her. She got to her feet and looked around. It was dark, but the moon was full which made everything a soft white glow.

She wandered the halls in search of... something. She wasn't sure what, but she did find the throne room and Jimin who was sitting on the old throne.

He looked like he was born for it, which he was. She'd never imagined what it would like though.

"Practicing?" She asked.

"So we're talking now?"

She sighed. "Jimin, your attitude is annoying."

He stood and walked down the steps to her. "My attitude?" He asked. "Everyone I considered a friend turned on me. You bat your pretty lashes, and they decide everything that you do is not your fault. I'm blamed for everything."

"Jimin, please just stop."

"Stop what? Telling you the truth?"

She'd felt guilty the entire day. Telling Yoongi she wasn't making him share. Hearing Hyerin talk about trysts in the stairwell. Watching Hyerin get shot... so much guilt weighed on her, but she didn't want to take any of it back. She was confused, and that pissed her off.

"Yes," she said. "Stop telling me the truth."

"Then you've had no part in any of this," he said. "You're an innocent bystander."

She frowned. "We always fight."

He laughed. "And you also have nothing to do with that."

She ground her teeth and thought about punching him. It would have been so easy to knock the smug look off his face, but she was sore and tired.

She turned away from him but stopped when he said, "If we survive this war, I'm sending you and Yoongi to the countryside."

She spun back around. "Will that solve all of our problems? Sending us away?"

"If I no longer have to look at you, then yes. I could learn to love my wife. I'd be comfortable with her. I wouldn't have to look around a crowded room of people just to see if you were there! And I wouldn't have to deal with Yoongi. You could be free to love him and have children with him and whatever else it is the two of you do when no one else is around."

It made her sad. "Jimin, I do not think it would change anything for us. Not now." It came out much more broken than she wanted it to.

"It has to. I cannot look at you with him. I cannot be with Hyerin when you are just feet away from me."

This wasn't what she wanted. "Don't send me away."

"Then what do you want from me!" His voice echoed across the empty room. "We will both just suffer!"

She stepped back. "What was that talk of bliss? Now you speak of suffering and sending me away."

"Eunjin, I cannot... Everyone knows. They know I love you, and I'm honestly surprised Jungkook let us run off like this." He also stepped back from her. "I cannot bear it."