DongMin stepped into the elevator holding some files of different scripts in his arms as Jimin had to return to the scene pretty soon. The Ceo of the company had contacted him and explained to him that it would be better for the actor to get back with another filming project since he was supposedly withdrawn from the last one, because of the unexpected car accident that left him with some days of rest.
He waited until the elevator let him free at the floor where your apartment was and proceeded to walk over to your door, only for a file to slip from his hands right before your doorstep and make him realise the small crack the door had, as he leaned to peak it up. A confused expression took over his face upon seeing the door slightly open and the occurrence even made him look around him once he had straightened his posture.
"She is so careless seriously. How does one get out and forget to close the door properly? Even if someone is in the house, still, it's dangerous." He nagged under his breath as he pushed the door open and made his way inside, having guessed that you had forgotten the door on your way to grab food or something while you had left Jimin home. His guess however was far from reality as the one who had forgotten the door was Jin when he had left last night, and the door had remained like that, thankfully no one noticing it but DongMin at that very moment.
He proceeded to make his way to the living room and place the files that were occupying his hands on the table, then he walked towards the bedroom, assuming Jimin was to be in there. In his mind, he was only thinking about the summary of the plots of each script that he had to present to him until one piques his interest and decides to give it a look himself, but those thoughts came to vanish once he slide that door open and instead of finding just Jimin inside, he found you as well.
His arm was around your shoulders as your head was snuggled in his chest, both still sound asleep, looking cuddly and soft and rather intimate in his eyes. His whole body came to freeze upon witnessing the image and his mind remained blank for quite some seconds that he passed there, standing like a statue, until the bitterness started taking the best of him, aching him enough to snap out of his momentary shock, and turn around and exit the room, closing it behind him a bit more aggressively than he would have liked.
He walked away without looking back as he felt like he needed a moment to himself but the sudden sound had actually managed to snap you out of your slumber, leaving you in confusion for a bit, for you didn't even recall where you were or what time was it, but after you left your blurry sight look around for a while, you felt relieved that you were home until your eyes fell on the one who was sleeping beside you on the bed.
"Oh Damn!" You exclaimed as you literally jolted into your place, shaking the bed enough to wake Jimin up too. He left a muffled sound to escape his lips as he was opening his eyes, only to gift you a 'good morning' in a very raspy voice, before he closed his eyes again as if he had seen nothing out of the ordinary.
"Didn't I fall asleep on the couch?... I sure remember laying there.." You talked to yourself, as you tried to recall your actions, only for your words to bring a smile to Jimin's lips.
"You fell off and I carried you in bed." He clarified your confusion and you looked at him blankly for a bit, before actually nodding your head at him, finding it pretty reasonable. You tended to sleep on the floor or literally wherever when you get to be too many days sleepless.
"Anyways, didn't you hear a noise?" You questioned him, as in your mind the sound similar to a door closing was looming in your head but you had seen nothing so far.
"Mh? Aren't you just hearing things?" He opened his eyes again and looked at you while you scratched your head slightly not convinced as you carefully stood up and stepped out of bed, making sure you don't step on his feet in the process.
You walked out of the room while fixing a bit of your messed up hair, a yawn escaping your lips once you stepped out of that door and halted your feet, just to give some time to your body to regain better balance and wake up a bit more. Jimin that was still in bed looked at your figure with a smile as he found himself surprised once again, for you had not reacted in any way he had thought you would. You had not screamed or accused him or anything nor you had even scolded him yet for sleeping beside you without your permission. However, he thought that maybe you were being so nonchalant because you were still too sleepy for your brain to function well. Or maybe you really just didn't think of it as a big deal.
The thought of you being comfortable with that and trusting him so, made him feel oddly pleased, to the point that he inwardly scolded himself, for smiling like this first thing in the morning when he wasn't even a morning person much.
That smile of his didn't last, however, as he saw you looking to the side for a bit before you suddenly took off running away. The way the exit door shut behind you, made him understand that there existed some kind of urgency he didn't know the reason to, for he had yet to notice what you had.
Once you had taken sight of the files on the table, the fact that someone was in your house had snapped inside you and without thinking twice you had rushed outside in hopes that whoever had dared to get in your house, was to be still around for it hadn't been so long since you heard that sound.
Your heart was beating fast as you rushed into the corridor and saw that the elevator was on the parking floor, making you unable to wait for it so you just run down the stairs while a million worrisome thoughts were running in your mind. If someone had found out that Jimin was in your house and had managed to sneak in and take pictures of you like that, everything could go downhill and you definitely could not let that happen.
A deep breath left your lips once you reached the parking lot, having run out of breath, your feet feeling like a piece of ice as you had nothing but your socks on, since you had fallen asleep with them on the couch. After exhaling and inhaling some more air, your eyes started scanning the place for anything, your mind feeling more on edge and awake than ever until you noticed Jimin's van parked a few feet away and DongMin's head popping slightly by the end of the vehicle.
"Oh, it was just him...God, he scared the life out of me...That idiot! How dare he barge into my house!" You mumbled to yourself as you went from a moment of relief to instant anger for he had given you so much anxiety first thing after opening your eyes and had made you run like crazy outside while being visibly such a mess.
You approached him with quick steps, ready to go off at him, but once near enough, you came to realize that he was talking on the phone. Some certain words that left his mouth, bring your steps to an instant halt.
"Yes, I am serious. You told me that if I ever was to change my mind I could come to you. I decided now. I am willing to help you destroy Park Jimin's career." Your eyes grew wide as his words sank in your mind, recalling that one time on the set where you had gone to take a nap on the van and had heard him receive a call from Jimin's rival agency.
"Yes, Yes, I will meet up with you whenever you please, Sir. Yes." The person on the other line informed him that they would contact him again for further notices before they hang up the call and DongMin stared at his phone for a moment, feeling slightly anxious over what he had just done but as he turned around that anxiety was about to be replaced by shock, for he came face to face with you and Jimin that was standing at some feet further away, with his hat and mask on, as those were the things he couldn't leave the house without when he decided to chase after you out of worry from your sudden leave.
"No, No wait. It's not like that. It's a misunderstanding I swear. I wasn't going to betray you." He tried to explain himself but before he could go into any further detail, he found himself collared by your grip, while your eyes stared at him fiercely but with a visible hint of disappointment also.
"Is it so hard for you to be trustworthy for one single human?" You growled at him, slightly pissed off but as Jimin walked to you and placed his hand above yours, you unwillingly let go of him.
"Jimin, I swear, it's really not like that. Give me a chance to explain." He looked at Jimin's cold eyes with a hint of fear in his and slight desperation for this really wasn't what he had thought of that phone call to turn out into. All he had been was a bit shocked by what he had witnessed prior between them but he had not misunderstood. On the contrary, he had seen it as what exactly it was. A moment of you two forming some kind of bond and if he wanted to stop that growth, then he had to take you away from him.
"You have five minutes. If I don't like your explanation, I hope you are prepared for the consequences." Jimin crossed his arms as he gave him the chance his manager and long friend seemed to want, hiding inside his personal turmoil of that moment of sadness and disappointment at the thought and only that someone like DongMin, who had been by his side for so long, would try to betray him.
"I wasn't really gonna help them. They contacted me a few days ago and asked me if I wanted to work for them but obviously, there was no way I would agree. I was hectic and even a bit offended that day by their offer and the way they tried to buy me. You know I would never sell you off, don't you?" DongMin left his eyes to travel from Jimin to you as he spoke, looking visibly desperate for you both to believe him.
"And right now you contacted them because you realized that it was an opportunity for us to find out more about who is after me by pretending like you are on their side. Correct?" Jimin completed what he thought was logical and DongMin reassured his words, for that was exactly what he was trying to do.
"Why didn't you say anything to us about it, if those were your real intentions?" You raised your eyebrow at him, full of doubt towards him, for he will never be someone you will ever trust easily, even if he had proof.
"It's obvious Y/N, it's because the reason he is trying to bring the case to light, isn't because he wants to stop my career from being threatened and I destroyed. He said they called him a couple of days prior, but he thought of this only now. Why? Obviously, he had thought about it before today too but he said nothing most likely because it would be too much work, and he dislikes putting himself in possible danger or trouble. Yet today he changed his mind. Am I correct, my dear manager?" Jimin's eyes portrayed his seriousness as he spoke, cornering DongMin completely while simultaneously letting him understand that, he knows him way too well, to be fooled by him.
"It's not like I didn't want to help you prior to today and you know that. I am your manager and friend. Your career being stable benefits me too." DongMin took in a deep breath as he tried to remain tall before him, knowing that he was judging him at that moment and was weighing his value like a scale that was counting his mistakes and the good things he had ever done for him.
"I believe you." The words that rolled out of Jimin's lips surprised you and DongMin alike, making you both look at each other before you looked at him again, slightly confused.
"What? You are gonna believe him so easily?" You couldn't help but utter, making Jimin turn around and give you a smile before he stepped at DongMin's side and left his arm, rest against his shoulders, pulling him in.
"I know for you he may not be the most trustworthy man. But he has my trust so please, can we leave it at this. I just got out of bed and I am getting cold out here." He pretended to shiver a bit, while DongMin looked at him before he met your eyes, which let him know clearly that his luck won't work the same with you.
"As you wish, it's your business anyways." You shrugged your shoulders and turned to walk away while making a mental note to keep an eye on any possible suspicious moves he was to make, leaving a Jimin behind with a smile that started fading more and more as you stepped further away.
"Jimin, I really wouldn't betray you," DongMin murmured at him once again, feeling the ache of unfairness eating him inside, for the only mistake he had done at this moment was to be a bit impulsive and act emotionally but he really had no intention of harming Jimin in any way.
"I said I believe you...but I would really appreciate it if you were to tell me, what was the thing that gave you the push to be so brave and do this today." Jimin pulled away from him, letting him see a gaze DongMin was familiar with. A gaze that told him that he was not gonna tolerate any reply that was to be unsatisfactory or unfulfilling.
"If we find out who is after your career, then you won't need her around anymore. I just...would like this to be over as soon as possible." He admitted the truth and all he got from Jimin was a light chuckle that pissed him off visibly, but he just gathered his fist at the side of his body and contained himself.
"Do you want her back?" Jimin's sudden question got him by surprise however and made him forget his momentary fury over his seemingly arrogant response.
"What?...No I...I don't have the same feelings I used to have for her. I just-"
"You just don't want to see her with me. Why though? I am really curious to understand, what is it that you feel so threatened about?" Jimin cut off his words, genuinely uttering his wonder for he had thought of him being in a displeasing position since he had learned that you were his ex, but despite everything, he couldn't quite understand, why would he get so bothered at the possibility only, when he himself claims of disliking you.
"I am not threatened...I am just scared...You know, I am aware I hurt her and I lost her, but I am not a bad person. I care for her, I want to see her happy. But the thought of her getting involved with you...-"DongMin found himself hesitating to leave the words that were going in his mind roll out for he knew that they most likely were gonna hurt Jimin.
"Am I really that bad of an option?"
"You are not stable on your emotions. I have been so long by your side and I know. Your love for women passes as fast as a breeze...I just don't want her to get her hopes up with someone as dysfunctional as you." DongMin's expression betrayed the fact that he felt bad while speaking those words to him but he had no idea what kind of feelings he had awakened in Jimin.
"Let me assure you then. You have nothing to worry about. Nothing will ever go on between us so this better be the last time you ever bring something like this up. " He still kept his composure and gave him a reply before he turned around and walked away, in his mind the word dysfunctional swirling round and round, for it had felt like an arrow that ripped right through his heart. Mostly because it was true.
He was dysfunctional way more than DongMin or anyone could ever know. Way more than he himself could know. He was a malfunctioning human being that hurt by the way someone shot down his delusional thoughts of being loved.
Hurting anyone by simply caring for them, was something he never intended to do, but apparently being liked or loved by someone as malfunctioning as him, was scary. It was something people should save themselves from.
No matter how sincere his heart could get, because it comes from someone as messed up as him, it was gonna be unwanted. How ironic, that fact right that moment, made him feel unwanted to his own self.
It made him feel a bit more dead inside.
---To be continued...