Jimin suddenly burst into the apartment the next evening with a furious look on his face. I was calmly playing The Sims on an ancient laptop that I kept for this sole purpose. I couldn’t let go of the families I had created years ago. I’d been sitting there for hours, engrossed in my game. A day without Haru and Jimin was a rare one indeed, and I usually spent them on the couch in my sweatpants, playing The Sims.

Needless to say, I turned my attention back to my game as Jimin huffed and puffed and generally acted very put out.

“You!” He cried. “You freak! You got me into a scandal!”

An accusing finger was shoved in my face as Jimin stood across from me, utterly furious.

“I think you’re confusing me with someone else. We’re married. A scandal would have to involve someone else.” I replied absentmindedly, preoccupied with trying to manage a family of six children and two parents. Someone had just peed themselves and the mom had left the screaming baby on the floor while there was a fire in the kitchen. This hectic situation required my full attention. “Unless you actually are cheating on me, but that would just be you getting yourself involved in a scandal. I’m completely innocent of whatever you are accusing me of.”

Jimin unplugged the power cord from my laptop and it immediately shut off, the battery having gone ages ago. I gaped at the black screen in front of me before flicking my gaze up to Jimin.

“You bastard!” I hissed. “I hadn’t saved that!”

He tore off his shirt and pointed to his abs. I stared at them blankly for a long moment before he spoke.

“Look…at…all…these…ing HICKEYS!” Jimin shouted, getting redder with each word.

“I…don’t remember doing that.” I flushed, looking away. “Must have been somebody else. Maybe your other wife.”

“I don’t have another wife.” Jimin spat. “But maybe I should get one that would understand that when I say no hickeys, I say it for a ing reason. You do realize that I’m an idol, right? That I do performances that require me to lift up my shirt and show off these abs? You think I like working out so much? You think I like being on a strict diet? These abs are for my fans. These abs aren’t for you, sweetie. So you can’t leave your ing marks all over them. You know that!”

“Oh, you pulled the ‘sweetie’ out.” I snickered. “I’m in trouble.”

Jimin glared at me before whipping out his phone and typing madly. He shoved it in my face and I took it from him, fairly amused. Until I saw the image on the screen and the comments beneath it.

It was a picture of Jimin dancing on stage, pulling his shirt up with a semi-seductive look on his face. It was his stage look, not the one he used on me. I’d seen this kind of picture a million times. I liked to browse through his fansites sometimes to see the kind of pictures they took. Jimin wanted to make a scrapbook of all his BTS stuff, so I looked around for especially nice pictures to add to it. I’d picked a couple of pictures like this because it was Jimin’s signature move, ever since No More Dream came out.

However, this picture was different.

Dozens of hickeys were etched onto Jimin’s skin, purple and blue and evident to the eye.

The picture had only been posted an hour ago, but it already had thousands of likes. I cringed at the crudity of some of the comments. Others were so ually explicit and inappropriate that I found myself tugging Jimin down onto the couch next to me and holding his hand as I read further. Still, others were enraged at the idea that my husband could possibly be engaging in any sort of ual activity with me, his wife.

“Oops.” I squeaked.

“Yeah, oops.” Jimin rolled his eyes and took his phone back.

“Don’t read those!” I cried, snatching it back from him. “They’re too impure for your innocent eyes.”

“Oh, I’ve read worse.” He replied nonchalantly, taking it from me again. “Comments like that are pretty common. You knew that.”

“Fine, but knowing it and actually reading them are two very different things.” I murmured, leaning against him, my head on his shoulder. “Are you in trouble?”

“Eh…we’ll see. The real problem was the makeup. No amount of setting spray can keep concealer on when I’m sweating and Kookie decides to dump a gallon of water over me. Little brat. He knows how uncomfortable it is to dance in tight, wet leather pants!”

I blinked, imagining that visual, before looking down at Jimin’s bare stomach. The hickeys were definitely very apparent.

“Those weren’t that bad yesterday. Or this morning.”

“Maybe they needed a little while to sink in.” Jimin said sarcastically. “Damn, girl, can’t you keep it in your pants? I know you’re hot for my bod and all, but you can’t eat these chocolate abs.”

“I’m pregnant!” I snapped. “I can’t ing control my hormones.”

“Ha!” He scoffed. “You go on endless rants about teenage boys using the same excuse and how it’s bull! I’m calling you on it. Bull, baby! Bull!”

“That’s when they’re trying to people! This was consensual!” I gestured to the hickeys. “You were ing into it yesterday, let me remind you.”

Jimin ignored me and continued scrolling through his phone.

“Oh, here’s a nice comment. ‘Glad to see you’re getting some, oppa.’” He giggled. “At least I have one supportive fan. Oh, here’s one about you.”

“What does it say?” I asked, leaning closer. He pushed my face away and I tried to bite his finger.

“Ah, you freak! Do you have a biting or something? I feel like that’s something I should know about.”

“What does it say?” I whined, pushing his arm.

“It’s rude. I won’t let you see it.” Jimin said dismissively.

“Why are you always trying to protect me from rude people?”

“I’m not trying to protect you. I’m trying to protect the rude people from you and your sassy wrath.” Jimin ruffled my hair.

“What does it say?!” I demanded, trying to wrest the phone from his grasp.

His phone started to buzz. He put up a hand and blocked me from stealing it so he could answer.

“Hello? Ah, okay. Right, I don’t think it’s a big deal either.” Jimin took a glance at me. I made a silly face and he cracked a smile. “So you don’t think it’s a real scandal? Oh, really?” His eyebrows arched. “Well, I’ll certainly keep that in mind. I mean, it’s not like you can really be careful in that sort of situation. I understand, but I’m also a married man. Maybe we should just purchase some better quality setting spray and this kind of thing wouldn’t happen again. No, no. Alright. Thank you for your hard work. Good night.”

He hung up the phone and started to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“My popularity rose because of this.” He tapped the picture, which now had another five hundred likes. “Fans seem to like this kind of sensual image. My manager told me not to do it again, though. And also that maybe we should be a bit more discreet.”

“I won’t be.” I told him. “Hickeys are our thing.”

“They are our thing. Besides, it was just hickeys last night. It’s not like anything else even happened. People getting all worked up over nothing.” Jimin sounded a trifle disappointed.

I looked down at my hands, feeling conflicted. We hadn’t had since we’d decided to make it work between us. We’d tried, but I’d always stopped him, saying I wasn’t quite ready yet. Jimin understood, but I knew it hurt him each time I chose to curl up in my blanket instead of in his arms.

“Are we good?” Jimin asked quietly. “You and me, are we okay?”

JIMIN’S POV

My words hung heavy in the air as my wife rubbed her tired eyes. It was New Year’s Eve, but she was in the oldest, rattiest pair of sweatpants ever to exist and her hair was greasy. Yesterday’s makeup clumped around the edges of her eye, but I’d always liked that smudged eyeliner look of hers.

“Do you remember when Gemma confessed to you?” She asked suddenly.

“Uh, yeah. Vaguely.” I replied warily, unsure f where this conversation was headed.

“You remember how I wouldn’t sleep with you after that because I felt like you were being shady and maybe you were in love with her, too?”

“Yes.” I answered coldly. I’d been hurt by that accusation and I didn’t appreciate the reminder of that point in our relationship.

“I told you I didn’t trust you, I remember that very clearly because we got in a fight over it and I spent most of the time crying until you came over my apartment one day. I remember you looked so sweet and so sad and I just loved you so much. And I cried because I loved you and I wanted to trust you, but it was hard for me. It was hard because you are the first person I have ever really sincerely loved this way and I didn’t want you to leave me. I have never felt good enough for you, Jimin.” She confessed. “I talk a lot of , but I honestly believe that you are too good for me. I don’t think about it all the time and I love being married to you and being with you, but whenever I feel our relationship threatened by a fight or some sort of situation like this, I always wonder if you’re going to leave me.”

Her chin trembled as she struggled not to cry. She took a deep, shaky breath and I longed to hold her, but I didn’t want to interrupt.

“I’ve always felt that happiness is a fragile thing.” She continued in a subdued voice. “That it needs to be appreciated and protected. You and Haru are my happiness, Jimin, and it’s terrifying to have your happiness rest in the hands of another person. You’d think that I wouldn’t still have a hard time with this after almost four years of marriage, but it is hard. It’s not hard in our everyday life, when I feel safe and secure and loved, but it’s hard when like this happens.” Her eyes filled with tears. “God, Jimin, I just love you so much. I don’t even know what I would do without you.”

“I’m here. You don’t have to be without me.” I said softly, resting my hand on her thigh. “I’ll always be here for you.”

She sniffled and curled up in my lap, resting her head against my chest. My skin was soon wet with her tears and snot, but I didn’t mind. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, anyway.

“I have always been afraid of losing you.” She said, barely choking out the words as her tears overpowered her. “Always, always.”

I remembered. Even back in the days when we’d first started dating, she’d cling to me when she was sleepy or drunk or sad, pleading with me not to go, not to leave her.

And then I had.

“I’m sorry, Jimin.” She whispered. “I’m sorry I’m like this. I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”

I had often wondered how much I had contributed to my wife’s trust issues by breaking up with her and moving out of our apartment before we had married. How much of a toll had it taken on her self-confidence?

Would she ever be able to let it go?

I mumbled her name into her hair as I wrapped my arms around her.

“I’m not dealing with you.” I murmured. “I love you. Hmm? I love you so much. Look at me.”

She let go of me so she could lean back and see my face. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed each cheek.

“Love yourself.” I rested my forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. “Give yourself some grace.”

“Sorry, I’m hormonal.” She mumbled, clinging to me. “I love you. I love you, love you.”

“I love you, too. Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” I rubbed her back. “Do you still wanna go out tonight?”

“Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah, let me just take a shower.” She sat back and wiped her eyes.

“We don’t have to.” I said gently. “We can just stay in and eat some of that leftover chili.”

“But you wanted to go out and party. Right? Weren’t we gonna go to that bar and have fun?”

“The most fun thing I can think of is me getting a little drunk on this couch and you lying next to me, though preferably not in those sweatpants. And then we can go stand on the balcony and watch the fireworks. You wanna do that?”

“Do you wanna do that?”

“I wanna do that.”

“Then let’s do it.” I smiled, satisfied.

“What should I wear if you don’t want these sweatpants?” She asked, laying back on the couch.

“Preferably nothing.” I grinned and hooked my fingers into the waistband of her pants. I tugged them down with a teasing grin on my face. “I think you look the best .”

“I don’t feel attractive today.” She batted my hands away and pulled her pants back on.

“Why? Because your hair is greasy? Because you’ve got these sweatpants on?”

“I love these sweatpants.” She said defensively. “I’ve had these since college.”

“I can tell.” I plucked at them with just a hint of disdain.

“Like you don’t have clothes that I hate.” She sat up and crossed her arms.

“Oh? What do you hate?”

“That sports shirt you keep from middle school. It doesn’t even fit you anymore. You’re too buff.”

“I love that shirt. So much. And it does fit me.”

“It’s tight.”

“That’s what you like about it.” I winked at her.

She went into the bedroom and came back out holding a dress with sequins on it.

“You know, I used to love New Year’s Eve when I was single.”

“Did ya?”

“Yeah. I used to go out and party with my friends. It was so fun. We’d get all dressed up while listening to Beyonce and all of us would end up trashed by the end of the night. Ji Eun and I used to compete over how many boys we could kiss before midnight. She always won, because I would only kiss pretty boys and there were never any around.”

“Only pretty boys? Don’t you think that’s a little shallow?”

“So like a man.” She shook her head at me. “Listen, I married for love, not looks. If I’m just kissing somebody, I’d like to be attracted to them or it’s pointless. Kissing isn’t even worth it if you don’t find the person attractive. Or if they’re a bad kisser. You know?”

“Yeah, I know. Honestly, what kind of guys do you go for? Is it really the tall, buff, good-looking guys?”

“Um, I suppose so. I really just care about faces. If a guy’s not buff, but he has a pretty face, that’s fine. Tall without a pretty face? Nah. Fit without a pretty face? Nope. Out of shape with a pretty face? Definitely. I go for faces, not for bodies.”

“Why’d you go for me and not Jin?”

She smirked at me. “Jin didn’t ask.”

“Well, too bad for you. You can’t kiss a pretty boy tonight. I’ve got a nice body, though.”

“You’re beautiful. Most beautiful boy I’ve ever kissed.”

“Well, you’ve never kissed Jin.”

“Or have I?” She giggled evilly, stepping out of her sweatpants and shirt. She pulled the dress over her head and zipped it from the back. She gave a little twirl and smiled at me. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous.” I said dismissively. “Now, tell me, have you kissed Jin?”

“Nope.” She said lightly. “And I don’t want to. You big jealous fool.”

I laughed and beckoned her to come closer. “Get over here and kiss me.”

She came over and sat in my lap. I caressed her sides, my fingers catching on the sequins. She dimpled at me.

“I love you. I love you.” She whispered, kissing my cheeks, my nose, my eyelashes. I didn’t like getting my eyelashes kissed, but my wife liked to kiss them, so I never told her.

“That tickles.” I murmured, threading my fingers through her hair.

“Ooh, ooh, I have an idea.” She said suddenly, bouncing on my lap.

“What is it?” I asked, amused. “You big cutie.”

“Let’s not kiss until midnight.”

“What! I don’t like that idea. I wanted to kiss you all night.”

“You can. Just not on the mouth.” She grinned at me.

“Alright, alright.” I nodded, considering. “I can with that.”

She raised her eyebrows, smirking. “Can you with me?”

“Depends on what kind of ing we’re doing.”

“Oh, you know.” She whispered, lips up against my ear as she traced a finger down my neck. “The ual kind.”

“So, anywhere except the mouth?” I murmured, laying her out on the couch.

Her cell phone started to ring, a familiar jangle of notes that signified Ji Eun calling. I moved to answer it.

“Nooo.” She whined, grabbing my hair and pulling me down on top of her.

“It could be about Haru.” I pointed out, dragging my lips down her neck before rolling off the couch.

I grabbed her phone and tossed it to her.

“What?” She answered very crabbily. “I was kissing my husband, that’s why. Oh. Oh, god. I’m so sorry. No, she’s never done that before. I mean,” she glanced at me, “she’s had a rough week. She doesn’t like when we’re not altogether. Do you want us to come get her?”

I sat down next to her as she sat up and laid her hand on my thigh.

“No, no, it won’t ruin our night. I don’t wanna ruin your night. Why don’t you guys come over? Yeah, you and Tae. Is Namjoon there? Have him come, too. Oh, he’s got a girl coming. Okay. I mean, she’s welcome, if you’re comfortable with that. Alright, jeez, don’t get your in a bunch. It’s not my fault you’re in a love triangle, it’s yours. Yeah. Yeah, okay. Come on over. Yes, sleep here, it’s too dangerous to drive tonight.”

She hung up the phone and turned to me with a sigh. “Haru bit Namjoon.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Our daughter is a biter.”

“Well, were his fingers in his mouth? Was he taunting her or something? Were they playing?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. Ji Eun just wanted to tell me and what we usually did about it.”

“What did they do about it?”

“Ji Eun said Tae took care of it. Which is good, because he’s so gentle.” She sighed and leaned against me.

“When are they coming over?”

“Oh, about an hour.” She took my hand and played with my fingers.

“Alright. Let’s shower, then. I’m sweaty and you’re just kind of gross. Let’s shower and get ready for the night. I’ll make some appetizers and we’ll make a night of it. I’ll get some champagne. You wanna wear that dress? I’ll text Ji Eun and tell everyone to get fancy.”

“Yeah, yeah! Haru can wear that dress Jin gave her. Should we invite him over?”

“He’s got plans tonight. Taking out Anjali.”

“I want them to fall in love.” She mused, tapping her chin. “And I want to babysit Jin’s gorgeous baby.”

“Go take a shower.” I pulled her up off the couch and pushed her into the bathroom, slamming the door closed.

I was in the midst of making asparagus wrapped in bacon when my wife screamed. I dropped the plate and it shattered, spilling hot bacon grease on my toe.

“.” I hissed, jumping up and down in pain and succeeding in stepping on at least three pieces of broken plate. I ignored this and dashed off to the bathroom, where my wife’s screams continued.

What the hell could be happening? We lived on the top floor of the building, so I doubted that anyone could have scaled the wall to climb into our teeny bathroom window. Had she fallen? Was there a ghost or something?

I threw open the door and tore aside the shower curtain to find my wife, and paralyzed in fear, staring up at a rather hairy spider.

“Kill it.” She whispered hoarsely. “ing kill it or I’m gonna die.”

“, baby! I stepped on broken plate to get to you and it’s a spider?” I climbed in with her and watched my blood rinse off my foot and spiral down the drain. My shirt clung to me as I reached up and batted at the spider. I missed and it fell on her chest, where it scrawled away slowly, laden down by the water.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” She chanted in a high-pitched voice. “Oh my god. Oh my god, Jimin. Jimin, Jimin, Jimin.”

“I got it, I got it.” I swiped at it and it smeared across her chest, blood spattering. “Oh. Uh, oops.”

“Oh my god. Holy , holy , where is the ing soap?! JIMIN! YOU IDIOT !” She couldn’t stop staring at the rather smushed corpse on her chest.

“I got it! I got it!” I lathered up the loofah and started to clean her chest, internally fighting against my arousal. “Mother, do you have to be right now?”

“Are you seriously right now?!” She cried, spitting venom. “You! You , you just killed a spider on my chest and you want to have with me right now?”

“Oh my god, it’s seriously all I can think about.” I groaned. “I’m ing bleeding from my foot and you are smeared with dead insect guts, but you’re just so and like, your s are right there.”

“Oh, like you’ve never seen them before.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she pushed me away and snatched the loofah from my hands. “You just killed a spider on me, Jimin. You’re not getting any.”

“I know. I’ll probably be killed once you recover from your fright. But seriously, baby, either we need to do something or I’m gonna need the bathroom to myself for a little while.”

“DADDY! MAMA! I HOME!”

HER POV

Jimin cursed when we heard Haru’s voice. He looked really hot, his white t-shirt and wet jeans clinging to him, dark hair slicked to his face.

“I don’t even give a .” He mumbled, pushing me up against the wall. I closed my eyes as his lips made contact with mine. We kissed for a moment before he pulled away to look me in the eye. “We’re doing something and we’re doing it now. You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” I said softly, my lips.

“Good, now be quiet.” Jimin ordered in a low voice, mouth brushing the side of my neck.

“Sunshine? You home?” Ji Eun’s voice echoed through the apartment. “We brought some champagne.”

“Oh, .” I whispered, grasping onto Jimin’s shoulders.

“Shh, shh.” He murmured, pulling me closer. “Don’t say a word.”

“Oh, . Tae, look. There’s a trail of blood to the bathroom. Do you think they’re okay?”

The doorknob rattled and Jimin swore.

“Um, I’m taking a shower!” I called, voice breaking as Jimin kissed down to my thighs.

“Are you okay? Who’s bleeding?” Taehyung’s voice asked from the other side of the door.

“Jimin. He’s good.”

“Yeah, I’m so good.” Jimin murmured against my skin. “So ing good.”

“Is he in there with you?” Taehyung asked.

“Yup.” I squeaked, pushing Jimin’s face away. He grabbed my wrists in one hand and stopped me from doing it again.

“Ah. Okay, then.” Tae sounded a little awkward. “We’ll, um…we forgot something. We’ll be back. Is ten minutes good?”

“No, no. I’m almost done showering.” I replied, trying desperately to regulate my voice as Jimin kissed my stomach, hands wandering my body.

“We’re fine, Tae.” Jimin called, sounding perfectly normal. The bastard. “I’m just cleaning up my foot. Don’t be dirty.”

“Ah, okay.” Taehyung sounded relieved. I heard his footsteps recede as Jimin looked up at me with a devilish smirk.

“ you.” I hissed, yanking on a lock of his hair.

“Bet you wish you could.” He replied with a wink. “We’ll continue this tonight.”

I stared at him, mouth hanging open. “You’re not gonna finish?”

He stood and smiled at me before he turned the water to an icy cold blast. I hissed and jumped back from the spray.

“Nah, baby. I’m good. Are you good?” He asked, so smug.

“I’m carrying your child.” I reminded him. “I deserve more than this.”

Jimin leaned in close, so close that I backed up and hit the wall. His lips grazed my ear as he whispered to me.

“I’m gonna make you beg for it.”

I pushed him away and he stumbled backwards, laughing.

“I’d rather die.” I spat, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

“Suit yourself.” Jimin sang, happily taking off his clothes. “Love you, baby girl.”

“ you.” I sang back, wrapping myself up.

“You will. Mark my words, you’re gonna be crawling back into my arms later tonight. Mmhmm, you never could last long.”

“Oh my god.” I muttered.

Jimin grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer for a kiss.

“Love you.” He whispered. “Sorry for killing a spider on you.”

“Love you.” I whispered back. “Sorry about your foot.”

Gently, he unwrapped my towel and pulled me back into the shower with him. He kissed me while turning the water back to hot and closing the shower curtain.