The beautiful omega rushed home with every regret pulling him back by the hand. He was lost, confused, and scared. Just like a pup, Jimin didn't know what to do but to keep running until he reached home where familiarity beamed. Jimin wanted to stay with the king, he wanted to force himself to sit there and try to make this work without being afraid of the alpha, yet, it backfired and Jimin's fears got the best of him.
"Why am I running away?" Jimin asked himself as he finally slowed down at the center of the village. "He is the same man as he was before, right?" The omega questioned his actions and finally looked around in the darkness swarming around him. "He was the King all along... How could I have been so blind? I knew he looked familiar, but why can't I treat him the same?"
Just a few walks away from his house, the omega couldn't push himself forward. He was frozen in place with his thoughts confusing and stressing him over and over again. The boy then glued his hands against his head and let out an exhale in frustration. "I kissed him... I'm engaged and I could have been seen kissing the King! If that isn't something to fear, I don't know what is. My reputation would be nothing but a role of a concubine! I could never marry."
Once Jimin hissed to himself in his head, he then recalled the moment he kissed the king for the first time and his mind wandered off to when they kissed once again at the river. "But... we kissed... a-and I didn't treat him differently during that," Jimin said. The pale boy could recall every moment, every breath they shared and every rhythm to his beating heart. "Maybe I shouldn't push him away, we've always worked through any situation, I need him..."
Right when the omega thought about returning to the king, he suddenly stopped once more and caught onto a stray feeling that struck him like an arrow. Abruptly, Jimin's petite body grew warm to the point where his face lit up. It was a sudden warning that shot through his blood that was enough to alarm his thoughts. This was nothing normal to him.
"I c-can't let Jungkook see me like this. I-I have to go home," Jimin finally whispered to himself out loud. He cautiously looked around before rushing home right after. At that moment, Jimin knew he was feeling something different. His heart raced in a different direction and his face grew red for a brief moment. Yet, he couldn't tell what this foreign feeling meant to him.
As soon as Jimin arrived at the house, his eyes scanned the room once his heart reached a normal rate. The heat of his face dropped right after and his tensed shoulders released at ease. The omega then pressed his hand against the wall and exhaled as he caught onto his breath for a moment.
"W-What... What's happening to me?" Jimin panted and as he pressed his head against the cold, stone, wall, he suddenly heard footsteps up ahead. Right off the bat, Jimin could tell who it was. He caught onto his father's scent and closed his eyes tightly; already knowing what storm lay ahead.
"Father... Please.." Jimin whispered and looked at the ground as his father only crossed his arms at the sight of his son at the entry.
"Where were you?!" Mr. Park shouted in worry but even that too was tainted by anger.
"I was at Taehyung's residence. I-"
"Stop making excuses for yourself, Jimin. Not even your brother could cover for you," the minister argued into a tone as silent as the mice. The father then looked away in disappointment towards the omega. "You are to never leave this house, do you understand me? You are an omega, an engaged omega at that! Do you ever stop and think of what's best for your family? You are so selfish!"
"S-Selfish? Do you even hear yourself? I-"
"No arguing. You listen to me and you keep quiet," with that, Jimin closed his mouth and had to endure his own blood boiling within his own skin. Yet, he just thought it was off how his father seemed less upset than usual. Something felt off in the sound of his father's words. Almost as if he was doing this on purpose.
"Father," Jihyun called out from the entry to the hall and pitied his older brother. But Jimin couldn't hold in his anger and suddenly stormed out of the entrance; dashing to his room. "Jimin, wait!" Called out the younger alpha and by there, he looked towards his father in utter curiosity. "Father, don't you ever get exhausted stressing him out?"
"I know what's best for him and I am only teaching him a lesson," Mr. Park replied and smiled as he recalled Jimin storming off. "Everything has its purpose and everything has its place. One day, he will look back at this and thank me. I want to give him the world but he won't be able to see it if he doesn't let me show him. That's what parents do."
"But Father, Jimin already has his life planned out ahead of him, you've been so controlling since the day he reached double digits. Even if he's an omega, could you at least let him choose his own path to walk on? Put yourself in his shoes for once," testified the young alpha. As Jihyun's words seemed to carry weight with every sound, the father stood in silence and shook his head after. Words like those seemed to hit Mr. Park's mind like rocks being pelted against a solid wall; they made a sound but it had no effect.
"One day when you have children of your own, you will understand. You will understand how it feels to love your children so much to create a perfect life for them to hold onto forever," Mr. Park replied. The two then glanced over to Jimin's door and as a breath escaped Jihyun's mouth, the silence was broken. "Help me seal his room shut, he won't be able to leave until after his heat. No one will get in, and no one will get out."
Right there, Jihyun's eyes widened and the boy quickly understood that his father argued with Jimin on purpose. This was all done so Jimin could reach his heat and have no other choice but to marry soon after. Jimin was a late bloomer when it came to his heat but with this, it was enough to trigger it alone.
Eventually, Jimin was sealed inside his room. Like a caged bird; there was no way the omega could be freed. The boy didn't seem to notice when his brother and father sealed him inside, so he remained unaware of his family's actions. The young omega clung onto a silk blanket as his breathing increased and his face beamed in a cherry red color. Every pant doubled after another, sweat formed over his forehead, and his anger fueled it all.
"I-I don't... I don't need any o-of them! I could run away for all I care. I could run far from them and live a life of my own, I could live... live as I never did before. Live without the silver platter catering my every move... How great would that be?" Jimin whispered to himself as he hugged onto the silk blanket over his bed on the ground.
Just as he closed his eyes, his mind travelled far to where Jungkook remained. Jungkook was the one and only thought he welcomed as he shut out the other confusing words that drew attached to the alpha. Jimin was still confused about the alpha and was still lost, but the thought of Jeon Jungkook left him at ease. Everything they shared up until now became a bliss Jimin wished to keep.
"Oh, Jungkook..." Jimin whispered. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain from within and let out a huff as his body grew hotter by the second. His hanbok concealed his body temperature and left him feeling as if he stood in a river of flames. As the omega couldn't bear the feeling any longer, he was then covered in a wave of lust. He had never felt this way before and as soon as he felt lustful, he knew exactly what this meant.
Jimin pushed himself to get up and reach for Jungkook's paintings, the alpha's scent was written all over it. Jimin held the painting's close to his chest and thought of the alpha. Such a warm feeling rushed through him and his pains were eased for now.
"Jeon Jungkook..." Jimin whispered as he only longed to breathe in the scent of the alpha within the paintings while a tear escaped his eyes. He knew exactly what this was and acknowledged the fact that he will be married off after his heat was over. As much as Jimin tried to avoid it so he could have more time to find love on his own, he couldn't hold back anymore. The stress, frustration, and his confusing mind swarmed around until his heat was triggered. Now, Jimin had to endure it.
"I-I'm sorry... I couldn't be yours..."
At the same time, Jungkook reached his courtyard within his secluded palace and tossed a pebble into a small pond in frustration. He fixed a strand of his hair falling forward as he then glared at his reflection over the pond.
"How could I be so blind? How could I rush this onto him so quickly?! I could have told him from the get-go," Jungkook hissed. The young king beat himself up about telling Jimin and forcing a kiss right after. The king knew it wasn't right but how could he contain his excitement any longer? Jungkook wanted to have his love for Jimin in his hands, he wanted to feel the omega's embrace; his sweet and warm embrace that highlighted his scent even more. But as the waves came crashing onto the shore, it was quick to leave after.
"My swan fears me... If only I could see him one more time tonight! Ah, I don't want to ask too much of him. I just hope I didn't break him," Jungkook spoke to himself and gripped onto the sleeves to his royal hanbok. "I will see him again tomorrow and I will wait until he shows up. Every day I will wait for him at the river... I will be there for him even if he doesn't want me to be there."
The king only gazed into his reflection longer and raised the tip of his fingers to press against his lips in silence. "I will wait for you, my swan... How could I not? I'll be there for you every step of the way," Jungkook continued and slowly sat over the grass in front of the still pond.
Jungkook wanted to hold Jimin longer as he looked back at the moment they locked lips. Regret filled his mind and his thoughts scolded him for forcing himself onto the omega. The king's world was spinning and his heart died down from the race. Now, he could only hope to stay with Jimin longer. There was no way he had plans of neglecting the omega after their short argument. All he could ever hope for was to make Jimin stay in the light with him even with the darkness that still swarmed around them.
Once Jungkook released the tight grip he has against his sleeve, he let out an exhale and closed his eyes. "When I see Jimin again, we will start over again and we will build ourselves up from there. There's no need to rush... no need to worry" Jungkook assured.
Automatically, he sensed Yoongi approaching and silenced his thoughts right after.
"My King, back already?" Yoongi asked and let out a chuckle as his eyes glided along Jungkook's back frame. The king was silent and only nodded his head; avoiding eye contact with the guard right after. "Anyway, how did it go?"
"It was fine..." Jungkook lied and bit onto his bottom lip while his eyes gleamed right after. "It went like a dream..."
Yoongi noted how closed off Jungkook seemed and this only pushed him to ask further questions. "Mhm... how was Jimin? Did he react well to it?" After Yoongi asked those words, Jungkook raised his hand to dry a tear that escaped his eye. Deep down, Jungkook tried to neutralize the feeling of Jimin running off as if it didn't seem to harm him, but it left off more of a painful mark Jungkook could bear.
"I... I..." The king choked on his words while the tip of his nose and the bag underneath his eyes grew red. His lips quivered and his tears forced their way out with every blink. "I bro-broke him..." Jungkook cried and covered his face instantly after. "I regret everything! I forced my way to him and he ra-ran off!"
"What?" Yoongi replied in disbelief. There, he sat next to the king and listened to what the younger boy had to say.
"I told him and then I kissed him... But he didn't want to stay! He said he was confused and it's all my fault..."
"Jungkook, give him time, you'll know how he feels after. Don't rush this, he will come to you when he is ready," Yoongi assured the king and sat by his side.
Jungkook was a very naive and desperate boy just like when he was a prince. Love confused him and when Jimin ran off, he feared losing the one he wanted eternity with. As a desperate king looking for love, he found it and clung onto it. Not expecting to lose Jimin after an argument that was left unfinished. The king felt regret in telling the truth and knew he would be in pain right after, but deep down, he still felt his heart aching for Jimin to the point where he longed to wait for the omega to return to him. It was the least Jungkook could do for his broken heart at the time.