«FINALE»
One year after . . .
It was Jungkook’s birthday. The celebration was held in a beach resort with Jungkook’s parents and friends, along with Chaeyoung’s family. It was the first time that both of their families met each other.
Chaeyoung planned the whole event, a barbecue party by the beach. But she had gone missing for a few hours already and only Lisa knew of her whereabouts. Everyone was starting to worry because they had to start the party without Chaeyoung.
“Good evening!” Lisa spoke on the microphone, calling everyone’s attention. She gulped a lump in her throat before starting to explain, “Everyone, please don’t worry about Chaeyoung. That woman loves our birthday boy so much that she wanted this party to be perfect.”
That statement earned a series of applause and teasing cheers from the audience, mostly from Jungkook’s friends. Everyone’s eyes were all focused on him, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
Lisa chuckled as she continued. “As I was saying, Chaeyoung is just occupied with something for our birthday boy here. So please don’t worry about her. She’ll be here any minute now. And enjoy the party!” Lisa cheered before getting down from the mini podium.
But Jungkook was furtively eyeing Lisa the whole time the party was going on. He was observing her every movement. He did not fully believe her when she tried to assure everyone not to worry. He clearly saw the worry reflected in her eyes when she checked her phone from time to time, looking like she was expecting someone to contact her. Plus, she had been avoiding him the whole time and refused to meet his gaze despite the amount of stares he was giving her way.
However, more than an hour already passed yet Chaeyoung had not been back.
In full determination, Jungkook walked towards Lisa with heavy steps. He wanted to know what was actually going on. He was getting really worried because he couldn’t even contact Chaeyoung, her phone was turned off. He almost reached Lisa when he caught Chaeyoung’s figure not too far from him.
Jungkook was relieved the moment he saw Chaeyoung. She looked gorgeous in a floral print halter neck crop top with matching maxi skirt. Her hair was kept in a messy bun with a few strands of hair framing her face. She was wearing a timid smile as she met Jungkook’s gaze.
At this point, he was supposed to run towards her and bring her in his tight embrace. But seeing the man standing right beside her stopped him from doing all that, Kim Taehyung.
Taehyung’s left arm was wrapped around Chaeyoung, his hand resting on her bare waist. While Chaeyoung’s right arm was placed around Taehyung’s shoulders. This sight infuriated Jungkook.
Jungkook did not know what to think of the situation. Guilt was written all over Chaeyoung’s face as she stood a few meters from him. She was biting her lower lip in anxiety. She was not even taking a step away from Taehyung and towards Jungkook, seemingly proving to Jungkook that Chaeyoung was afraid to go near him because of guilt.
What is it this time?
Jungkook gave Chaeyoung and Taehyung one last anguish look before turning his back on them and running away from everyone.
“Jungkook, wait!”
Jungkook heard Chaeyoung’s faint cry before he had gone far. But he ignored it and hurried away, not wanting to stay in that place any longer. He was expecting Chaeyoung to run after him so his disappointment only heightened seeing no Chaeyoung behind him.
On the other hand, Chaeyoung fell down on her knees when she pushed Taehyung away in an attempt to go after Jungkook. Everyone was shocked to witness what was happening before them as they all stood rooted on their spots. Only Taehyung was quick to help Chaeyoung up.
“Lisa!” Taehyung called.
Lisa was brought back to her senses and dashed towards Taehyung and Chaeyoung. Then Taehyung quickly pushed Chaeyoung towards Lisa and ran away, going after Jungkook.
Bambam and Yugyeom were on his tail. They were still confused on what was going on but they had to make sure that Jungkook and Taehyung won’t get in trouble.
“Hey!” Taehyung called after Jungkook.
Jungkook immediately stopped in his tracks and turned towards Taehyung. He blew off a heavy breath as he faced the man behind him. Bambam and Yugyeom stood not too far from them, anxious on what was about to happen.
“Jungkook.” Taehyung started to say before he was interrupted.
“What are you doing here?” Jungkook barked, clenching his fist in anger.
Taehyung eyed Jungkook’s fist and took a step backward. He raised both hands in surrender.
“Please, Jungkook. Hear out Chaeyoung first.” He pleaded.
“Why are you the one asking me that? Can’t she ask me herself? Are you her spokesperson now?” He asked, spitting every word due to his boiling anger.
“Aist!” Taehyung ruffled his hair in frustration and looked behind them.
A couple of meters from them, the men saw Chaeyoung walking painfully slow towards them while Lisa was supporting her. The two were in the same position with Taehyung and Chaeyoung earlier. Lisa’s left arm was supporting Chaeyoung by the waist while Chaeyoung’s right arm was resting around Lisa’s shoulders. Then they all noticed that instead of a pair of gladiator sandals on both of Chaeyoung’s feet, her right foot was wrapped with a bandage.
A few hours earlier . . .
Chaeyoung went back home after realizing that she left her most important gift for Jungkook that night. It was a kind of gift that would not change in quality even if she could not give it right away. But it was the kind of gift that she especially prepared for that night. So she begged Lisa to cover for her while she was away.
When she reached home, she hurriedly went up to her room and looked for the gift. Her schedule was hectic days prior to that day because of the preparations she made for Jungkook’s special day. And due to that, she did not realize that she completely forgotten packing her gift. She was getting anxious as she couldn’t seem to remember where she last kept the gift. She was in the verge of crying until she found it under her pillow. She beamed in relief and secured it inside her small round rattan bag. Then she rushed back outside.
She was in too much hurry that she carelessly ran down the stairs. Then she took a wrong step and accidentally twisted her ankle. She a fell down a few flights of stairs and her butt painfully landed on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She cried in pain, her hands automatically reaching out to her hurt ankle. She let herself cry for a while before she wiped her tears away and tried getting up on her own. But she immediately fell back down when a surge of pain ran through her right foot after putting pressure on it.
She crawled to the stairs, careful not to hit her right foot in any way. She sat down on the last step and leaned her body on the balustrade while thinking of a way to get back to the resort in time for the party. No matter how much she thought about it, she knew that she could not afford to tell anyone about her situation, especially Jungkook. They would only worry about her, ruin everyone’s mood and delay the party. And she did not want that because she wouldn’t allow her efforts to be in vain. She perfectly timed everything.
After a few minutes of pondering, she stared at her phone for a minute before she hesitantly pressed the call button.
“Tae.” Chaeyoung softly answered after hearing Taehyung’s surprised, “Chaeyoung?”
“Um. . .” She began to say, not knowing how to ask him outright.
“Chae, what is it?” He asked, urging her to speak up.
“I’m really sorry to bother you but I need to ask this favor from you.” She softly answered, feeling embarrassed of even asking Taehyung.
“Whatever that is, I’ll make sure to do what I can. Go ahead Chae, tell me.” Taehyung answered calmly.
“Are you sure? Aren’t you still at work at this time?” She asked, thinking twice about dragging Taehyung into her mess.
“Well, I am. But like I said, I’ll do what I can.”
She cleared her throat before speaking up nervously, “I’m at home right now but I shouldn’t be here. I’m supposed to be in a beach resort that would take about two hours travel time. So . . . uh, can you bring me there . . . right now?”
“Oh!” Taehyung said.
A bout of silence followed afterwards, making Chaeyoung wonder if Taehyung was hesitating to agree to her request.
“But if you’re busy . . .” She started to say to fill the silence before Taehyung interjected.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Taehyung said on the other end of the line before ending the call.
Chaeyoung was left speechless as she stared at her phone. She was surprised that Taehyung readily agreed without questioning her about her odd and sudden request.
And true to his word, Taehyung came fifteen minutes after.
When Taehyung came to Chaeyoung’s house, he was a bit alarmed after seeing the wide-opened gate and front door. He hurried inside and was shocked upon seeing Chaeyoung’s worrying form. She was slouching as she sat on the last step of the stairs with her head leaning on the balustrades. Her eyes were tightly closed while her arms were hanging weakly on her side and both of her legs were spread widely in front of her.
“Chaeyoung!” He called, crouching in front of her.
She slowly opened her eyes as she whispered, “Tae, you actually came.”
“Of course, I did. Now tell me what happened.” He quickly answered with concern thick in his voice.
“I fell down the stairs, took a wrong step and my right ankle hurts . . . so bad.” She cried.
“Oh no! Why? Were you in a hurry? Aist! Park Chaeyoung, you should have been more careful.” He scolded her while picking her up in his arms. “I’ll bring you to the nearest hospital.”
“Wait.” She grabbed Taehyung’s shirt as she frantically explained. “Tae, that’s not why I asked you to come, I wanted you to bring me to the beach resort that I told you about. You see, I really needed to get there as soon as I can. I cannot afford any more delays. So please, Tae. Drive me there, please?”
Taehyung was frowning as he listened to Chaeyoung’s begging.
“I’m bringing you there.”
She squealed in delight only for her happiness to be short-lived.
“But not before we get your foot treated.” He firmly stated.
“Taehyung . . .” She whined.
“I don’t know what’s happening and why it’s so important for you to reach that resort the soonest you can but I’m giving you no choice, missy. It’s either you follow what I say or you follow what I say.”
“Ugh! Like you said, you’re giving no choice but to follow you.” She grunted while glaring directly at his face.
“Now, open the door.” He asked as he stood in front of his car.
Chaeyoung pulled her right hand outward and reached out behind Taehyung. She grabbed his car key from his back pocket, unlocked the car and opened the door to the front passenger seat widely. Then Taehyung cautiously put Chaeyoung down on the seat before getting back inside the house and locking the front door and gate.
“The hospital might take long.” She wearily murmured right when Taehyung got inside the car. “Just bring me to a nearby clinic. Please, Tae. It’s really important that I get to the resort fast.”
He sighed before he grabbed his phone and searched for a nearby clinic. Then he put the clinic’s address on GPS and started driving away from the house.
“Thanks.” Chaeyoung whispered.
A few minutes after, they reached the clinic. Chaeyoung got her foot treated but the clinic was not able to provide any crutches for her. She was advised to rest her injured foot and refrain from putting too much pressure on it to make sure that it would heal faster. But Chaeyoung was adamant in getting to the beach resort so she had to rely in Taehyung’s support in walking.
After what happened last time during that rainy night, Taehyung and Chaeyoung still remained friends. But they did not spend as much time together like before. It wasn’t to his liking but he completely understood it. Also, he believed that it was for everyone’s best interest because his heart remained beating for Chaeyoung even after all this time. He hoped that by putting a distance between the two of them, he would be able to move on from her.
However, it did not prove to be so. That is why Taehyung was thrilled to receive her call earlier. It’s been awhile since they last talked or seen each other so he did not mind whatever her reason was for calling him. However, he could not deny his disappointment after learning that they were heading for Jungkook’s birthday party.
“Tae . . .” Chaeyoung softly called.
“Chaeyoung, like I told you when you called, I’ll do what I can. And I’m doing what I can right now. So stop apologizing already.” Taehyung awkwardly chuckled as he continued. “Anyway, I’m doing this because we are friends and that’s what friends do. I’m willing to lend a hand because that’s how much I love you . . . as a friend.” He grinned, sporting a big smile on his face. But the joy that he wanted to show was noticeably missing on his dejected eyes.
She smiled sincerely as she replied, “I love you too, you know . . .”
“As a friend.” They both said at the same time.
“Don’t worry about me Chae, that’s more than enough for me.” Taehyung added as he grabbed Chaeyoung’s hand.
In return, she gave his hand a small comforting squeeze.
Back to the present . . .
“Chaeyoung!” Jungkook screamed and ran towards Chaeyoung. He quickly pulled her from Lisa’s hold and wrapped his arms around her. “What happened?”
Chaeyoung hit Jungkook’s chest as she cried.
“Now you want to know what happened, huh?”
She forcefully pushed him away, causing her to fall down when she lost balance.
“Chae!” Jungkook shrieked while squatting down in front of her.
“Until when are you going to keep on doubting me?” She sobbed, feeling frustrated at this kind of cycle where Jungkook doubted her the moment he saw her with Taehyung.
He sat on her left side and hugged her from the side, burying her face on his chest.
“It’s not like that. Chae, I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I was just really worried about you that when you came back with Taehyung and stood beside him with your bodies pressed against each other, I was instantly angered.” He kissed the top of her head. “I was jealous and it’s entirely my fault that I did not wait to hear you explain. I’m really sorry, my love.”
He cupper her face in both hands, tilted it upwards toward his face and gently brushed his thumbs on her cheeks, wiping her tears away.
“I’m sorry.” He sincerely said while staring straight into her eyes.
She sobbed and lightly shoved him away.
“I hate you! I hate you! I really hate you.” She cried while repeatedly hitting his chest with her clenched fists.
He chuckled. “No, you don’t mean that.”
She sniffed her remaining tears, “Of course, I don’t. I love you, Jeon Jungkook. Damn it! Why is it so hard for you to believe that?”
He giggled at her blunt confession.
“I do. I believe that. And I love you too, Park Chaeyoung.” He answered before sealing their ‘I-love-you’s’ with a passionate kiss.
Finally, she returned his hug after their breathtaking kiss.
“I love you so much to the point that I even wanted to marry you, you know.” She mumbled with her face pressed against his chest.
He laughed, “I know. I do too, I feel the same.”
“No, you don’t know.” She pulled away from the hug and looked at him while frowning.
“You did not know that I went home because I left your gift at home, the thing that would have made this night very special for both us. You did not know that I fell down the stairs as I was rushing back here and injured my right foot. You did not know how shameless I felt when I had to ask for Taehyung’s help, my ex-boyfriend, out of all people. And you did not know that my ex-boyfriend, whom you are so jealous of, brought me here to you not knowing of my plans to do this the moment I see you.”
She grabbed a small black velvet box from her bag and opened it, revealing a 7mm platinum band embedded with five diamonds aligned in the middle. Then she grabbed his left hand and looked at him directly in the eyes as she spoke.
“Jeon Jungkook, my love . . . can you please stop getting jealous with another man? I want to spend the rest of my life with no other man aside from you. So please . . . tell me you’re going to marry me and kiss me already.”
In no time, Jungkook captured Chaeyoung’s lips. It was a short deep kiss, far from what Chaeyoung was expecting as a reward for her proposal.
“Hey!” She whined when Jungkook pulled apart from the kiss.
“Park Chaeyoung!” He retorted. “How could you do this to me?”
“Do what?” She asked with a look of utter confusion on her face.
Jungkook reached inside his pocket and showed her a blue velvet box. He picked the princess cut diamond ring in it before saying, “This is also why I got mad earlier. I was too anxious in thinking about how my proposal will go and your absence on top of it. Then only to see you with . . .”
Chaeyoung covered his mouth to stop him from talking any further. “Let’s talk about that later. Now tell me, what’s the ring for?”
He rolled his eyes at her and said, “I tried my best in preparing this so you better watch it even though you’ve already proposed to me. Take this as my answer to your proposal.”
She eagerly nodded her head in agreement as she watched him play a video on his phone. In an instant, she was absorbed in it the moment it started playing.
The short clip covered the timeline of Jungkook and Chaeyoung’s relationship, from the very first messages that they sent each other, their pencil sketch on their first date and his pictures and random videos of her, most of which are candid or stolen. Then at the last part of it was his short video message to her.
“Love . . . from the very first time my eyes landed on you, I knew you’d be more than just my little crush. We might have met In Between Heartbreaks but we healed each other through that. So . . . to the woman who started as my crush, became my girlfriend and eventually the woman I wanted to spend my eternity with . . . Park Chaeyoung, will you marry me?”
Then the video ended to a black screen.
Chaeyoung stared back at Jungkook, unblinking, before it fully dawned on her what just happened.
“Oh my gosh!” She squealed. “You are proposing to me.”
“Of course, I am.” He grinned before his smile was quickly replaced by a frown. “Haven’t I told you before that I will prepare for this and do the proposing? But you beat me to it. Argh! Love, you couldn’t have waited for me, could you?”
“I could. But I’ve had enough of you getting jealous at every man who came near me, especially Taehyung. So I figured marrying you was the best way to stop it.” She smugly answered.
“Uh . . . I doubt that. But anyway . . . let’s get married.” He cheered.
She giggled in response as she placed her arms around his neck and pulled him against her before giving both of them their well-deserved kiss. Then they exchanged their rings afterwards, acting as a practice to the actual ceremony.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sooo, that's it. Adios to this story!
To everyone who read this story, to your votes and comments . . . Thank you! 😘
I would have wanted to write more but I don't want this to be too dragging. Though I'm thinking to add bonus chapter/s? I really don't know. I'll try 😁
If you can tell me what you thought about this ending, I'd love to know.
AND once more, thank you everyone!
💙