A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

43: Close at Heart

"I know it isn't my place to give my opinion," Jin began, Mara narrowing her eyes at him, "But I think you two should talk. You've been so distanced, and I know it hurts him too."

Mara tried prying her hand from his grip, but Jin held onto it firmly. He frowned, "You don't have to forgive or forget at this very moment, or even near in the future, but I can tell it's taking a toll on you two. I know you miss Jungkook, and I know he misses you too. A lot, actually. I've never seen him open up to someone like how he did with you. Just let him explain himself," Jin plead, "And if you don't like what you hear then you have every right to cut him off as a friend. You'll have every right to keep yourself closed off to everyone...except me of course, I'm not letting you get away so easily," he teased.

Mara cracked a smile, and he nudged her with his shoulder, "See? I know you want to."

Mara sighed, slightly nodding. Jin pulled her in for an embrace, squeezing her tightly. 

For the entirety of the two weeks after that confrontation, Mara had been extremely moody and sulking. She refused to speak to anyone, ignoring everyone except Jin. He had been the only one who had not know of the agreement between Namjoon and the cult leader—the seraph. The girl couldn't handle the betrayal, and it was eating at her from the inside. Namjoon hadn't been very responsive either, and though she could see regret in his eyes whenever he looked at her, she had yet to hear a verbalized, genuine apology from him, or Hoseok, or anyone else. Jin had tried to apologize for them, but a stubborn Mara refused.

I have every right to be stubborn.

Jungkook had spent those two weeks attempting to get a word out of Mara and even a minute of her company. He was persistent in his chase for her forgiveness, but Mara was just as intent on making him work for it. She remembered the first time he'd tried to approach her, his eyes timid and guilty. He hadn't slept the whole night, not when he volunteered everyday to do night watch. A hesitant Namjoon would allow him to do so, warily glancing between him and Mara as if aware of the troubles between them.

Jungkook had caught her by the stables, the permanent frown etched on her face making him lightly grimace. He approached slowly, as if ashamed to even be near her. She could feel him near her even without looking, but she said nothing, waiting for him to get close enough.

"Mara..." he called out, receiving no response or even a glance of acknowledgment. She remained stoic, brushing the horses and moving on to the next after filling their feeding bowls. He watched her with discouraged doe eyes, pessimistic already in his approach.

"I know you probably hate me," he continued, "But I think we should talk. Like, really talk. I want to explain myself to you and give you all the answers you want."

Mara moved on to the next horse without a hitch, as if he wasn't standing mere feet away from her. Desperate for her attention, Jungkook cut her path off, standing in front of her with his eyes never leaving her face. She didn't look at him, rather looked passed him. She almost met his gaze, but to give in was to make others believe that the severity of the situation could be easily brushed off—and such was not the case, at least not for Mara. She was tired of being a pushover, the "bigger person," she was done with always being forced to take the fall for anything and everything. She couldn't let it slide just because they felt guilty.

"I want to make it up to you. Not because I want to look good, but because I want you to see how much I truly care about you. And I know...I know I massively fucked up our friendship, but I don't think I'll ever find someone like you. I really miss you, and I wish more than anything I could take back what I did. Please let me explain," he begged. Mara took a step around Jungkook, having finished with feeding the horses and moving onto the chickens. Jungkook closed his eyes and sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.