At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Professor Bak certainly wasn't one to frequent night clubs or just have any kind of fun.
Damn, I'm just now realizing how boring he is.
"Diane," he said and despite the dim lights, I could still see the scowl painted on his youthful face.
"Yes?" I asked sheepishly, still too taken aback to contemplate what he was even doing here.
"What are you doing here?" he was the first to ask me that question, leaving me confused.
"I'm... having fun I guess?" I was perplexed by his question. Wasn't it obvious what I was doing all dressed up in a club with a drink in my hand?
"Yes, I can see that." He regarded the cocktail glass next to me with disdain.
Um, okay?
"Great." I simpered, wanting nothing else except for this moment to end.
"You weren't returning any of my calls," he went on, not picking up on how uncomfortable I was by this situation. Okay, I admit it was my fault that I ditched him like that the other night, but at least I sent a half-assed decent apology text to him, didn't I?
God, I'm handing this so gracefully.
"Sorry, I was busy... with work and stuff." I admitted. Truth be told, I had noticed a couple of missed calls from him, but last night and today combined were so overwhelmingly hectic that I kinda just forgot about it.
Hyungsik scoffed a sneer which I didn't particularly appreciate. "Yeah. Busy."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I questioned, my eyes widened at the hostility of his stare.
"It means that I know what you busy yourself with most of the time." He replied.
"Hey!" Quinn, who up until now had participated in the scene solely through a silent glare, interjected angrily. "What kind of slut-shaming remark exactly are you implying, buddy?"
"Buddy?" Hyungsik raised his brows in mock amusement. "That's Professor Bak for you, Ms. Highmore, or you can kiss your Microbiology grade goodbye."
"This is enough," I put one arm in front of Quinn in an attempt to keep her rage at bay. I looked back at Hyungsik who wore a glint of spite in his eyes. "I think it would be best if you leave."
"Sending me away like one of your boy toys." He sneered, looming forward. "You have no idea who you're messing with."
My eyebrows shot sky high at the threatening tone of his voice. Oh my god, who is this person standing before me now? This is nothing like the kind, gentle man with a soft boyish charm I used to know Hyungsik as. What exactly does he expect me to do now? Bow down and apologize to him for not picking up my phone?
"Is something the matter?"
The husky baritone caught my attention, causing my gaze to drift somewhere over Hyungsik's shoulder. My heart ricocheted off of my chest as I noticed Jimin approaching us calmly at his own leisure. Behind him was strolling a brown-haired boy with a coy smile playing on his lips.
Hyungsik's eyes enlarged so much they practically resembled pancakes.
"I fucking knew it." He grumbled bitterly, nose scrunched in a disgusted grimace.
"Knew what?" Jimin observed him with amusement, whereas I started going through ways of lighting myself on fire in my mind.
Hyungsik paid him no mind, completely ignoring him as he turned to me, "You're sleeping with him, aren't you?"
"Oh, hell no!" Quinn snapped, ready to throw hands. "You don't get to talk that way to her!"
I raised my forefinger, signaling her to stop talking. I didn't need someone to advocate for me, although I appreciated her enthusiasm. However I was perfectly capable of giving Hyungsik a piece of my mind and putting him in his place.
"Are you jealous?" was all I said, a wide grin occupying my lips.
This seemingly made him angrier than anything else, just like I knew it would.
Oops, sue me. I love to play with fire.
"I had a feeling this would happen," he hissed. "I fucking saw it coming. From the second I saw you here. The dress, the shoes... you can't afford to visit an establishment like this, Diane. It was just a matter of time before you found another brainless, foolish and reckless multimillionaire boyfriend to have wrapped around your pinky!"
"Excuse you," Jimin interrupted, not the least bit offended and keeping his demeanor calm. "I am most definitely not brainless, thank you very much. However, you got the multimillionaire part right." He smirked.
At this point, Hyungsik was practically fuming. He directed his dagger-yielding stare to Jimin.
"And you," he puffed his chest slightly, taking a step forward. "I guess you're too blind to see her for what she truly is."
Jimin regarded him cooly. "What I'm seeing is a butt-hurt whimpering manchild who is salty that the girl he's whipped for isn't as into him as he is, so he's resorting to insulting and shaming her for being beautiful and catching the attention of other men. It ain't her fault you don't know how to keep her."
Holy crap, I think my heart just did a thing.
"And to do that on her birthday," Jimin tsked, pursing his lips in disapproval. "What a shame."
"It's never cool to ruin someone's birthday, man," Jimin's friend added with a devilish smirk. He seemed to be amused by the whole confrontation.
Hyungsik huffed, his jaw twitching. "Whatever. I just hope you know what you're getting into."
"Last time I checked I was a full-grown ass adult who doesn't need guidance from strangers."
"She will disappoint you. Mark my words."
"You know this how?" Jimin scoffed. "Are you psychic or something?"
"The best predictor of future patterns are past patterns," Hyungsik grumbled. "And I've been watching the same behavioral patterns play out for a year now. Diane is the type of person who never takes people's feelings into account and flees situations she deems uncomfortable. She is selfish and irresponsible. Really, what do you expect from a girl who sleeps with her college professor?"
*SLAP*
The sound that followed cracked through the air like a gunshot even amidst the loud music. Hyungsik's face reeled back with the force of the blow as his hand shielded his struck cheek.
"QUINN!" I screeched, looking over with wide eyes at my enraged best friend. Chin trembling and nostrils flaring, she was a picture of animalistic wrath. Even Jimin and his friend seemed taken aback by what had just occurred, and I had the feeling they weren't the type of people that would get surprised easily.
"I am SO tired of your cruel, hateful and judgmental attitude!" she accused, still panting from her fit of reckless violence. "You do not get to waltz in here and ruin my best friend's birthday, who by the way, has had it so rough in her life that if I tell you all about it, it will make your head spin!"
"Quinn, stop!" I raised my voice in a vain attempt to cool her down.
"I admit that was nasty." Jimin's friend commented.
"You know absolutely nothing about her!" Quinn thundered, gesturing with her arms angrily.
Face hardened, Jimin stepped in front of me and put a hand on Hyungsik's chest.
"It's time to go, buddy. You're upsetting the girls."
Hyungsik spluttered something incomprehensible in between shaky breaths as his angry stare jumped from me to Jimin and back to me again. Oddly enough, I harbored no hard feelings towards him and I acknowledged that all of that was probably coming from a place of heartache. However, that gave him no right to be so cruel.
"Seriously though, you should go," Jimin's friend said with a serious expression, glancing over to Quinn who looked like she was about to karate chop Hyungsik's head off. "Before you upset us, too."
Hyungsik's rigid stare crumbled for a second as he looked at me. In that moment, I saw the hurt behind the anger and it was enough to make me feel sorry for him. Quinn's strike had left a red mark on his face from the impact. His brows curled slightly upwards as his eyes became glossy and watery. He sniffed loudly, shifting his face to the floor and within a flash, he spun on his heel and walked away in angry stomps.
"It was about time," Jimin's friend sighed. "Homeboy can't take a hint."
Once his gaze had traced Hyungsik's retreating form to the door, Jimin turned around slowly, his hands shoved in his pockets.
"You didn't have to do that," I mumbled, searching my mind for ways to show my gratitude without being too awkward.
"I know. But I wanted to." He uttered with the enthusiasm of a store mannequin.
"We couldn't just stare while some asshole was ruining your evening," his friend shrugged.
"Are you kidding?" I snorted in the form of a laugh, rather unladylike. "Jackie Chan over here would have handled it perfectly fine." I pointed at Quinn who was rubbing her palm.
"Damn, I really gave it my all." She groaned.
"You sure did, baby girl," Jimin's friend commented shamelessly as he made himself comfortable on one of the bar stools. He leaned over the bar counter and flashed us his pair of fabulous pearly whites. "Now tell me, what are you girls drinking?"
***
"I have to say, I'm impressed." Jimin admitted as he poised himself properly on the bar stool, drawing circles on his glass of whiskey with his thumb.
I removed my gaze from the dance floor where Quinn and Jungkook were dancing wildly as if someone had injected pure adrenaline in their veins.
"Hm?" I asked absently, refocusing on Jimin as I brought my glass to my lips.
"I'm impressed," he repeated calmly. "Not every girl has the guts to bone their college professor. It takes some serious balls to do that."
I choked on my drink so hard it practically went up in my nostrils.
"It was never as serious as he pretends it was," I clarified once I stopped coughing.
"How did it even happen?"
"To be honest, I can't exactly remember," I said, trying to recollect the details of how I met Hyungsik. "He pursued me very insistently."
"Then it was him who was the instigator."
"Yes, he started it. But I was the one who decided to continue it, so we're both at fault here." I said. By no chance did I mean to throw the whole responsibility on Hyungsik. Yes, he initiated our relationship but I didn't stop him.
"Hey, no judgement here," Jimin raised his hands next to his face. "I'm the last person who would judge you for doing whatever the hell you want. In fact, I admire that."
"You do?" my brows raised as confusion washed over my face.
"I would never hold anything anyone ever does in order to be happy against them. I mean if what you're doing isn't hurting other people it's none of my business."
"Yeah, my thing with Hyungsik was never about happiness. At first I found him interesting... he's handsome, intelligent, mature... it drew me in. I think I was just infatuated, but like any infatuation it didn't last very long." I confessed.
"Sounds to me you weren't passionate enough about the whole ordeal." He said.
"I rarely stumble upon people who are capable of keeping my interest." I told him daringly. "But really, I appreciate you standing up for me before. You shouldn't have."
"It was my pleasure, Diane," he took a slow sip of the golden liquid swirling in his glass, while keeping his gaze on me.
"Another thing I appreciate is the lack of judgment. I mean, had it been another man in your place I doubt he would be as cool about it as you."
"About what?"
"About the things Hyungsik said about me." A dull ache tugged at my heart as I recollected what Hyungsik had said about me. Amidst all the chaos I hadn't paid mind to it, but now that I was thinking clearly it was starting to bother me. Was I really this terrible, selfish person he was claiming I was? I had never been truly serious about anything in my life so I supposed he probably had a point. I was a runner. An avoider. Perhaps he was right?
"As I already said, I never judge," Jimin firmed. "I don't give a damn about what other people say about someone. I make up my own opinion based on what I've seen from that person. Judging based on little glimpses of their character you've seen is quite frankly juvenile and superficial."
"That's something you don't hear every day." I remarked.
Jimin sighed, his gaze gravitating to the floor. There was a haziness to his eyes now, something unreadable swirling in them.
"I once had this person in my life," he confessed. "I felt for her very strongly, but she could never look past my reputation and the image I had inadvertently created for myself. Even though she didn't always verbalize it, I could see that she was constantly judging me for my ways, my behavior, my past and my mistakes. I doubt she ever believed I could change and be a different person. But I did, I did want to change for her. However in her eyes, I was irredeemable. For quite some time, I hadn't realized how much this had hurt and stigmatized me. It took a lot of time for me to comprehend that no matter how much I tried to prove myself or my feelings to her, she would never accept me for who I was. I think she never trusted me."
My face creased in sympathy as I listened to him, immersed in his story.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. I imagine things never worked out with her?"
"No, they never did," he confirmed. "Of course. Now that I think about it in retrospect, I'm kind of glad they didn't. I couldn't live my life while constantly trying to live up to someone's expectations for me or constantly fighting to earn their trust. That would be exhausting not only for me, but for both parties. I think it was for the best that things fell apart. Some people aren't meant to be together. I'm over it now."
"Good for you for moving past that." I nodded slowly. I was hypnotized, hearing him speak so genuinely for the first time, no pretences and no mockery.
"She's actually with my best friend now." He said next. "It's... a really, really long story."
"Oh," I hummed. "That's a bummer, I guess. I suppose you two aren't friends anymore? Cause that would be weird." I chuckled.
"Actually, we are." Jimin stated earnestly.
"Oh. Oh," I gasped quietly. "Then I suppose you and her don't see each other? Cause that would definitely be weird." I snorted a laugh.
"As a matter of fact, we see each other all the time."
"Oh. Oh. Oh. But then I guess... the three of you don't hang out together probably? Cause, yeah, that would be hella weird."
"Actually..." Jimin pursed his lips. "We hang out almost every day."
I covered my forehead with my palm to conceal my cringing.
"They also have a baby." he went on, unfazed. "I babysit from time to time."
I gulped. "Hahahaha... now nice. That's not weird, like, at all, nope, not weird."
"I'm the godfather!" he declared with a small smile and a twinkle in his eyes that formed crescent moons.
HOLY CRAP, THAT IS SO FUCKING WEIRD!, I screamed internally.
"How... cute." I deadpanned.
Remember Di, no judgement, no judgment, no judgement.
"You're really cool with that?" Jimin gave me an incredulous look, searching my eyes that were now as large as the fricking Moon.
"Of course." I said in a high-pitched voice. "I mean... it's none of my business and as long as you're comfortable with this situation."
"I truly am," Jimin said. "And if anything, the arrival of this little bundle of happiness in this world just made everything right. It sounds cliché, but it was like an instant fix. All three of us immediately understood why things happened the way they did. He's magic. His name is Taeyang." He spoke proudly and lovingly, the sight of Jimin looking so happy making my heart melt like an icicle under the spring sun.
"I'm sure he's wonderful."
"He is," he hummed. "Damn Diane, you are surprising me. You are probably the most chill woman I've ever met. No judgement whatsoever in your stare." He admitted.
"Well you know, that's just how I am. I'm a free spirit, eccentric, not bound down by societal norms." I chuckled awkwardly. Fuck I'm so nervous I'm rambling!
"Wanna do something else that is eccentric and also exciting?" Jimin offered me a mischievous smirk, leaning over to place a hand on my thigh.
My breath hitched in my throat. "What?"
"Wanna go fuck in the bathroom?"
author's note:
who else can't wait for next chapter? raise your hand 🙋♀️