✨A/N: I just want to say thank you to every single one of you lovely marshmallows, who have stuck with me since the 1st chapter. I really, really, really appreciate all the love that I've gotten over the course of this year. All the comments, upvotes, and subscriptions. It means a whole lot, and I would love to spread this story around even more. I didn't think I would be able to finish this off on this date, but Mr.Shallow ends where it started. That's right, today is the anniversary of Mr. Shallow. But enough with all this stuff, I know you wanna get to the story already, so here I give to you, the final chapter.
Once you step foot outside, everyone gathered around you and gave you a group hug filled with their sentiments. The tight and meaningful embrace lasted for about a minute until every last teardrop was drained from your sockets.
"Have you calmed down a bit now?" Jungkook asked, to which he felt a nod against his chest.
"Jiyeong, we're so sorry," Jimin sniffed, wiping a fallen tear from his face.
You only nodded to his words. Your throat felt too sore for you to talk. When you pulled away from Jungkook, you were all sniffles and hiccups. Your eyes were more red and puffy, and still, it felt as if there was another wave of tears coming on.
"Jimin," Minji turned to him, "I'm going to go with Jiyeong back to her house and keep her company."
"No," Jungkook spoke up. "I'm going to stay by her side instead. You two can go on and do whatever it was that you had planned."
Jimin and Minji both looked at each other before turning back to Jungkook. "You sure?" Minji asked.
"Yeah," he rested his arms along your shoulders and pulled you against his chest once again. "Come on, Jiyeong. I'll take you back to my house." And with a single nod, Jungkook and you walked towards the curb to see if you could catch a taxi to his house.
Meanwhile, Taehyung sat on his couch in awe. It was over. It really was over. Everything between him and you was no longer. A heartache like this was indescribable. Taehyung's heart ached more than the first time the two of you broke up. It ached even more because he knew there was no apologizing and turning things around like he once did. He knew that there was no way to gain your forgiveness for the umpteenth time. It just wasn't going to happen.
After a couple minutes of just sitting there, trying to pick up any reaming pieces of his shattered heart, Taehyung picked himself up, grabbed his keys and left his empty home. 'I need to go for a walk.'
And so he did. The gloomy college student trudged down the sidewalk, crossing streets aimlessly. His head hung low and his hands were planted deep in his pockets. "Jiyeong..." he called for you, just as his heart told him to. "Jiyeong..." Tears welled up in his sockets, shortly before they fell. Even with its scattered pieces, Taehyung's heart continued to yearn for you. The cries from his inside his chest were so loud, that he couldn't even hear the honking horns coming in from his left.
Just as you had settled down on Jungkook's couch, his phone started ringing. But you weren't interested, not until you heard him ask, "How the hell did he get hit by a car?"
"Jungkook?" you looked over towards the kitchen. "What's going on?"
Jungkook glanced over in your direction, hesitating on whether or not he should tell you what was going on. "That piece of shit and Jimin hyung are on their way to the hospital. He got hit by a car."
"Wha--" You didn't even know where to begin. Or what questions to fire off first.
"Hyung, I'll talk to you later." With a hum, Jungkook hung up the phone and turned to you. "Jimin hyung told me the name of the hospital that they're going to. Do you want to go?"
You didn't have time to think about your own questions, but one was suddenly thrown at you. Concern and worry were the first to settle atop of your broken heart, but you held yourself back because of what just happened.
"I--"
"You don't have to say it," Jungkook pushed himself away from the counter and made his way over to you. "We'll stay here." The young male plopped himself down beside you and brought you in close. He kissed the top of your head and rubbed your shoulder to try and soothe you.
A couple days had passed and Taehyung was still in the hospital. The others told you that he escaped death with a slight concussion, and a broken arm and leg each. They were also told by the doctor that his leg and arm would heal in over a month's time. As for his concussion, about a week or so.
Nonetheless, it was good to know that nothing more harmful happened to him. But the day after you found out about his condition, you received a not-so-great call from your mother.
May passed right on by, so that June could roll right on in. Summer break was in a couple of days, and Taehyung was still in the hospital and you had yet to see him. Everyone told you that he was doing well, which kept you at ease; but it was also an excuse so that you wouldn't have to see him.
"Jiyeong, can I come over today?" Minji asked. "We can have some girl time."
"Um, well, things aren't going to look the same."
"What do you mean?" she blinked.
"Guys," you looked to your table of friends, "I--I have something I need to tell you," you fiddled with your fingers in discomfort and hesitation. "I'm leaving."
Jungkook looked you up and down in confusion. "Leaving where?" Any plans that you had going on weren't breathed to him in the least, so he really wanted to know. "Are you going on a private vacation or something?" he continued to question.
"No," you shook your head. "I'm going out of Seoul."
"What?!" They all exclaimed. But if anyone was the most surprised by this news, it was Jeon Jungkook.
"Wait, so you're like moving away from Seoul? From college? From us?" Hoseok didn't like this at all.
All you could do was nod while your lips formed a thin line.
"Jiyeong," you looked up to find Jungkook with creased brows, "don't tell me that you're moving away because of that bastard."
"No, it's not--"
"Then why?!" he lashed out.
"Jungkook, calm down," Namjoon told him.
Jungkook turned his head towards him, "don't tell me to calm down!" He then looked back to you. "I'm not going to calm down until I get a proper answer from you." His fists were balled up into a tight fist. "Why are you leaving?" he growled.
"I can't afford to stay here anymore," you cast your gaze down towards the ground. "My mom called me about 2 or 3 weeks ago and said that her and my dad couldn't keep up with paying for my house and their house at the same time anymore. It was starting to become too much for them to deal with, so before it did, she thought it was best if I came back home.
Jungkook was speechless. All of them were. All they could do was stare at you in complete awe.
"So you're going to leave me again?" his tone became softer. "What about college? What about all your new friends?"
"I'm going to have to leave all of it behind and transfer."
"But you just got here," Jin pouted.
"I know, I know, but...There's nothing I can do." Without saying a single word more, Jungkook lifted his legs out of the table and walked away from the table. "Kookie!" you called for him. Since he didn't look like he was going to stop, you took up all your things and went after him. "Jeon Jungkook!" you shouted. You ran up to him and finally caught him by his bag at last. "Why did you leave like that?" When you turned him around, Jungkook had his hand up to his eyes, not allowing you to see his whole face.
"Are you crying?" you pouted.
"I don't want you to go," he said, his hand still his face. "It feels like you just got here and now you're already leaving me again."
"Kookie," you took him by the wrist and pulled his hand away from his face. You could see the previously hidden tears already welled up in his sockets.
"Why don't you just move in with me? That way you don't have to leave everything behind. We can see each other every day, no worries."
"Jungkook, you know I can't do that."
"Why not? If you're worried about being a burden to me, then don't. You know I always enjoy your company.
"I might not be a burden to you," you reached up and wiped his tears away, "but what about our friendship? I don't want to mess up what we have. And knowing you, you wouldn't mind if that happened."
"But, what if I never see you again?" His tears looked like they were ready to spill at any given second.
"That's not going to happen. We can still see each other whenever we want. It might not be as frequent as this year, or when were kids, but still... I'll make sure we make time for each other. Whenever you want. Besides, we still have some time before my flight date."
With a couple more sniffles, Jungkook rubbed his eyes and asked, "do you need help with your stuff?"
You smiled and replied, "yes, thanks."
The next few days went by like nothing. And during those days, the guys and Minji would come over to your house, whenever they had time, and help you pack up your things little by little. With each day that came and left, you enjoyed it to the fullest.
Finally, it was the day before your flight and Jungkook was over at your house just hanging out with you. At this point, you still hadn't seen Taehyung. You were thinking about just leaving without saying anything at all--since there wasn't any need for you to--but part of you just told you to go see him in person to see how he was doing. Just one last time.
"Jungkoook," you turned to him. "I'm going to go to the hospital today."
"Wh--" Before he could even finish his question, Jungkook already knew the reason why. Alright. Let's go."
"Are you sure you want to come along?"
"Of course I am. I don't want you to go there by yourself. Come on." Jungkook unfolded his legs from the couch and took to his feet.
Once the two of you arrived at the hospital, you asked for Taehyung's room number and went up to see him. Jungkook said he would stay outside the room since he still wasn't in the mood to see him.
"Taehyung?" you pushed open the door, and the first thing you saw was him laying on the bed with his foot and hand elevated with casts wrapped around them. You couldn't believe what you were seeing. And being that you were in awe, you didn't take one step inside the room.
As he slowly turned his towards the soft voice, Taehyung's eyes slowly grew. "Jiyeong? You're here..."
His voice was low, but it was enough to snap you right out of your little trance. "Yeah. Sorry I'm late," you averted your eyes.
"It's okay. I'm glad you're here now." Then Taehyung noticed that you weren't making any advancements. "Are you going to stand there the whole time? You're not going to come closer?"
"Oh..." you slipped through the door and walked up to his bed. "How're you feeling?"
"A lot better. The doctor says I should be ready to leave in a day or two."
You nodded, "that's good news. Um, how did you get into the accident?"
"I went for a walk and wasn't looking where I was going when I was crossing the street. Jimin said he was walking back from Minji's house because she didn't feel like going through with their plans, and found me laying there with blood coming from my head.
Your lips start quivering. "How could you not be paying attention to where you were going?"
Of course, this was your fault. Why else would he just randomly go for a walk."
"I hope you're not thinking this is your fault. If anyone is to blame, it's me for not looking where I was going." But of course, you weren't okay with that. A silence then dawned over the entire room until the both of you tried to speak.
"Jiyeong--"
"Taehyung--"
"You go first," he said.
You took a deep breath, and started, "Taehyung," you hesitated. "I'm leaving. Tomorrow."
"Leaving? Where are you going?" he asked. He looked just as confused as everyone else when you first tried to explain to them.
"I'm leaving Seoul."
"As soon as the words left your lips, Taehyung seemed to turn to stone. No words could've been uttered from his quivering lips. "You're leaving Seoul? Are you leaving because of me?" he was starting to become even more worried.
"Does it matter?"
"It does!" he shouted. " Don't you need to finish the rest of your years? Where are you going to find a college to accept you?"
"I already got accepted to one."
"Are you kidding me?" he scoffed. Aish! I can't believe this is actually happening right now.Please, Jiyeong, tell me that this is all a joke."
"This is just about all I came to say today. Goodbye, Kim Taehyung. Maybe we'll see each other again," you shrugged and turned your back on him, "maybe not."
"Jiyeong!" Taehyung shifted his body to try and get out of the bed, but the casts were of no help and ceased his movements. "Please, don't go!" But it was too late. The love of his life had walked out the door, never to return again.
The following day, was moving day. Everyone, except for Taehyung, was at the airport to see you off to your flight.
"Jiyeong, we'll definitely meet again, okay?" Jimin said.
"Of course," you nodded.
"I'm going to miss you," Minji practically jumped on you, making you stumble back a bit. There were tears pricked at her eyes, as she sniffled.
Jungkook was just standing by the boys, not saying a word. The cap that sat on his head, helped to shield his teary eyes from your vision.
"Jungkookie," you walked up to him. "Don't be sad," you placed your hand to his cheek. "It'll only be a couple of hours away. Just like I said, we can still talk and meet whenever you want." You only heard Jungkook take a big sniff.
"Stop. You're gonna make me cry, too." And you could actually feel the tears coming up a little. Just then, you had a pair of arms snaking around your waist, pulling you towards their owner.
"I just wish, that I was the one who you had given your heart to. I would never treat you like he did."
"I know. " You wrapped your arms around his neck, while he brought his face down to the creak of your neck. "You've got the sweetest heart I know. And you shouldn't love a fool like me who doesn't accept it."
"I wish there was something more I could've done..."
You could feel his teardrops drip onto and slid down your neck and collarbone. The tighter he squeezed, the more painful his heartache became. Just hearing his confession just got you all choked up as well.
"Stop," you plead before tears of your own came falling down. "You're making me cry," you whined. Jungkook then pulled back and caressed your cheeks as if he were handling glass. "Kookie?" you looked at him.
"I love you," he confessed, as he knocked his forehead against yours. Jungkook's lips were just a few centimeters away from yours, and it took all of his self-control not to take your lips right there and then. His heartbeat was all over the place, but at least he had more confidence to tell you this to your face.
"Kookie, you can't..." you looked down towards the ground. "You have to let me go now. You need to find someone better than me. Someone who can return your feelings x10 stronger than I ever could."
"But..." Seeing the look in your eyes, Jungkook had no choice but to comply. "Okay." His heart broke and yearned for you, but despite this, he had to listen to you and his thoughts. 'But I don't want to.'
"Good."
"Make sure that you face time me every night, understand? If you ever miss one night, you'll hear it from me. And make sure you don't walk out at night. It's too dangerous for pretty girls to be out late. And--and..." Jungkook was fishing for more to say, but he realized it was okay when he felt lips softly peck at his cheek.
"I'll call you later," you mustered up a smile.
"Group hug," Namjoon called. That said, everyone huddled in for a tight and warm hug.
When you pulled away from the hug, you scanned each one of their faces. "I'm going to miss all of you." You were smiling but there were tears threatening to fall.
**Flight xxxx**
"That's me. Bye everyone," you waved. And with your carry-on, you turned your back on your friends and head off to your flight.
✨A/N: Well everyone, that's the e--PSYCH!😂 Y'ALL REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO PUT AN END TO THIS WITHOUT GIVING YOU A PROPER ENDING?!😱 "Mr. Shallow 2" IS OUT RIGHT NOW! 👌