Your heart was heavy in your chest as dinner ended. Your heart was so far down in your stomach that you couldn't even bring yourself to eat dinner, and instead, left the estate to walk along the riverbank to clear out your thoughts.
Namjoon and his fiance's families blended well together, the perfect image of upper class and business sense. His fiancee was graceful and kind, and it made you hate her even more in the pockets where you weren't hating yourself.
If you had came from another family, or if you had the social skills to be anything other than a cook –
No, you couldn't imagine another life for yourself. You loved your parents and your dreams. The issue was that they could never combine with a wealthy business son who cared more for business than love.
You knew you had to let him go even before he announced his engagement.
You couldn't stop the sigh that escaped your chest.
You stood next to the river until your nose and fingers ached from the cold wind, the moon high and cold despite all its light. A small voice tugged in the back of your mind to return back to the estate, but your feet remained rooted to the field next to the river.
There was nothing to go back to.
Suddenly, your shoulders were heavy and warm. You turned your head to find Jimin beside you with a melted smile, the wisps of moonlight picking up the light brown in his eyes.
"Jimin?" you asked, partly checking to understand if you were seeing him correctly.
"I thought you might be down here," he said with a chuckle. "It's the only place you go after curfew."
He suddenly frowned.
"But you need to stop going out alone like this," he added. "You never know what kind of wolves are lurking about."
You rolled your eyes. "The only one out here is you."
"And who said I wasn't a wolf?"
He raised an eyebrow at you pointedly. You only laughed and shook your head.
Jimin turned and looked at the water with you. you were both comfortably silent, not a word between you for some time as the water rushed in your ears.
"I want to run away," you admitted.
"Oh?" Jimin asked, more nonchalantly than you anticipated. "And where would you go?"
"Not to a place. To a different life."
He put his hands in his pockets.
"I'm not mad at my life," you continued. "There are so many good things in it. But I think I'm just tired. My soul is tired. I want to revitalize it somehow."
He laughed through his nose. "Is that why you keep sneaking out?"
You turned to him, surprised. He shook his head at you like you were a child.
"You thought I didn't notice?" he asked. "It's become more and more frequent over the past few months."
You dropped your head, scraping the dirt with the toe of your shoe. Jimin leaned in towards your ear. You could feel him smile as he whispered.
"They'll find you out, you know."
That voice –
You shot your eyes at him, your lips parting in confusion. He looked down at you pridefully, the same familiar glitter in the eyes and cocky smirk you saw a week ago.
"Jimin –?" you asked, again, confirming reality. "Did you –"
"You didn't realize?" he said, turning away to look at the river again. "How offensive. I recognized you right away."
You couldn't process the information.
"It was you?" you asked. "At the ball? But why?"
Your sentences weren't coming out the way you wanted.
"You think you're the only one who dreams of an alternate life?" he asked. "You think it's easy to watch successful businessmen drink their money out of champagne bottles and my only participation is that I served the bottle?"
He sighed, his hands reaching deeper into his pockets as he looked at the ground.
"I didn't know it bothered you so much," you said softly.
He looked up, his eyes on the water. "I can't provide for a wife and family on my wages, Y/N. I'm under a pile of debt that haunts me every night. This was the only job I could get with my education level and family background, and, quite frankly, the only thing I ever liked about this job was you."
A swarm of emotions mixed in your chest: sadness, empathy, and a touch of happiness. Suddenly there was a touch of apprehension and anticipation as his eyes met yours again, the shadows in his eyes darkening.
A comfortable silence fell over you both once more.
"Don't leave me, Y/N," he whispered suddenly.
You swallowed, your breath knocked out of you.
"W-what do you mean?"
He smiled. "You're really going to make me spell it out for you, aren't you?"
His arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you in for a warm embrace. His body heat was far more enveloping than his jacket, and you couldn't help but melt into his chest. You held onto his arms as his arms held onto you.
"If you leave Namjoon, I'm okay with it," he said. "But I won't be okay if you leave me too. Didn't you know how much I like spending time with you?"
Your throat tightened. To have such a dear person enjoy his time with you was a notion as heartwarming as his embrace.
You sighed, a bit of regret in your chest. "You've always been so kind to me, Jimin."
"I can continue to be kind to you. If only you give me the word."
You pulled back to look at him, his eyes heavy but determined. There wasn't a single thing about him that you could speak negatively about when you considered it. He was always a gentleman, and he was hard-working, kind, and optimistic without fail. He wasn't financially or socially successful, but he was successful in many other areas; in categories that both the richest and poorest most often failed to take seriously.
You smiled at him.
"It would be interesting," you said.
His eyes rolled back in thought for a moment. "Come again?"
You smiled wider. "It would be interesting... staying with you."
He looked at you, his own smile widening as his arms tightened around you.
"Is that a yes then?" he asked.
You cocked your head to the side, taking a long look at him before answering.
What did you have to lose? You had already lost everything you had wanted before. Maybe it was time to gain something.
You nodded.
His smile stayed the same, but his eyes glittered brightly right before leaning down to place a gentle kiss against your cheek. You leaned against his chest in embarrassment, his heart beating against your ear.
"Then wherever you go, I go," he whispered. "If you want to run away from your life, then take me with you. We can create whatever life we find satisfying."
"And if it doesn't work between us?"
He, surprisingly, laughed.
"Then we will have lived different lives for a moment, you and me. That would be okay too, wouldn't it?"
You relaxed at the sound of his voice, the words hitting your ear peacefully. Maybe it was crazy... and maybe, he was right.
Just one day.
The stars could fall out of the sky tomorrow.
JIMIN ENDING FINI
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