2 Years Later

 

            He had no real clue as to why he and Seulgi were invited to the grand opening of the newest hotel in Daegu. Well, he didn’t know why he was invited. Seulgi was not as surprised and she had yet to tell him why it wasn’t surprising. The moment she got the invite she just simply went: “Oh,” and nothing more. He pouted in her direction as she greeted someone she knew—leaving his side. It was someone she worked with, having gone into graphic design with her background in art.

How was it that two years had passed since he last saw Taehyung and Joy? Since he last spoke with them? The wedding was bright in his memories—the last full memory he had of them and how happy he was to see them at their most blissful state.

No one contacted him. No one told him what happened with Yoongi and Wendy. Did Taehyung save them? Even though Jimin worked in Taehyung’s father’s business as one of the lawyers, nothing made it back to him. In fact, he rarely saw Mr. Kim and neither had his parents seen the Kim’s. It was odd for him to know he would see more of Taemin and Kai, than his own best friend. He missed him. He missed Taehyung and part of him feared the worst. The lack of news from Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, and Hoseok was enough for him to know that something was wrong.

Had Taehyung died?

If so, what of Joy?

No one had to tell him. It was as a sixth sense for him to know something had happened to his best friend. To his soulmate. He never said it aloud. He kept it bottled up because if he said it, it must mean it’s true. He did not want it to be true. He did not want for his thoughts to be right and to know that yes, Taehyung was in fact dead and that was why there was no news of him. All the while, Joy was most likely with Sehun and the child that was hers and Taehyung’s, passed off as hers and Sehun’s. He hated how no one had to tell him he was wrong—because he was probably right.

His thoughts would keep him awake at night. His only saving grace was Seulgi. She kept him grounded and he knew Jungkook was as lost as him. Only now, Jungkook didn’t have anyone. How long ago had he and Yeri broken up?

Jimin never knew details. He only knew that one day he got a call from Jungkook. He was drunk, crying on the phone and calling out for “Yerim” to come back to him. She had broken the relationship up. Having ended things and the last blow to Jungkook was watching her move out of his apartment. It was not a pretty sight. Jimin had been there, watching Jungkook get down on his knees and hold Yerim by the waist, asking for a second chance because there was no one he could ever love or want anyone else like he wanted Yerim. In a small glimpse, he could see that the breakup was hurting her too—she still left Jungkook a mess.

Speaking of Jungkook, he was surprised to see his friend walking in. Jungkook looked as uncomfortable as he did, in the tux. For the grand opening, a lot of rich faces surrounded them. They were mere humble workers. Jungkook having one year of work experience under his belt, no real name yet. The people at the grand opening were politicians and celebrities. They were big names in the business world. It was no surprise to see Byun Baekhyun or Lee Taemin as some of the guest. They acknowledged his presence while he merely gave a tight-lipped smile. How was it that they were still part of their world and yet not in it at all? The owner of the hotel was unknown to him. Someone new and with a lot of influence to be able to develop a hotel in undeveloped land in Daegu.

Jimin waved Jungkook down, noting how his right hand was gloved.

After Yeri, Jungkook went down a dark hole. As far as he knew. Mark and Jaehyun helped keep him afloat. Yeri probably didn’t know much. She did transfer to England to finish up her degree after the breakup. He wondered if that played a role and Jungkook never knew. Either way, Jungkook took comfort in tattoos and drinking every night. He picked up the habit of smoking and if it weren’t for Mark, he would have done some illegal drugs. How did Jungkook graduate? Most the time, he saw him drunk at a bar and smoking his life away—at least for three months.

“Hey, you’re here too?” Jungkook asked once he stood in front of him.

“Yep. Got an invitation and all.”

“Huh?” Jungkook ran a hand through his hair. It had grown and if anyone were to ask Jimin, Jimin would say that his friend needed a haircut. The females who noticed Jungkook did not seem to agree. If anything, the aura of a bad boy that Jungkook had only added to his charm. “It’s weird being back here. Last we were in Daegu, we—” he stopped, shaking his head “—never mind. The oddest thing happened, Min. Yesterday, I came down a day early and was grabbing breakfast with Jaehyun when I swear, I saw Joy. If not, she looked just like her! Her hair was longer, she was wearing this sundress with a large hat, and looked so proper. People bowed as she entered. She wasn’t smiling and didn’t look to want to smile, which is not like Joy at all and ... holy why is she here?”

Jungkook was speaking, eyes going around the hall as he spoke. His words had triggered a memory for him. When Jungkook was drunk, he also thought he saw Joy once. She was outside the club, wearing a business suit and entering a car. They had made eye contact, but she didn’t acknowledge him. He put that to be him missing his friend and nothing more. A mere illusion of seeing a face he longed to see.

His friend’s outburst though, was due to none other than Yeri having walked in. She was wearing an over the shoulder, navy blue cocktail dress. Her hair was longer, way longer than he recalled. She wore it straight, with it parted down the middle. It was sleeked back at the front, showcasing her Dior earrings. She wore a smile on her face, and he heard Jungkook curse under his breath.

“,” he turned his back to Yeri who had spotted Jimin, “why the hell does she look so damn good?”

Jungkook was panicking right when Seulgi came back to his side, wrapping her arm around his. “What’s wrong with Kook?”

Before he could answer, the question answered itself as Yeri stood in front of them. “Jimin, Seulgi, long time no see. I haven’t seen you guys in months! How are yo—oh, Jungkook.”

Jungkook had slightly turned, bowing awkwardly towards Yeri who blushed at the sight of her ex-boyfriend.

⇤〜⑉⑅﹎⑅⑉〜⇥  

If you were to ask Yerim what the one thing was she regretted the most, it would be breaking up with Jungkook.

In her mind, it made sense. She had gotten a scholarship opportunity to finish her schooling up in London and work with one of the biggest scientific research companies in Europe. She couldn’t pass it up, but Jungkook was there. She had been in a comfortable one year and few months, relationship with him. Every day she fell more and more in love. However, they were young. That thought always entered her mind. Mark was a staple in their life now. He was their friend and he fully supported her. She had turned to him for answers, and he called her an idiot. She wasn’t too young. She was afraid. As Mark had said, “When you find the one, you just know. No matter the age. You found yours, Yeri. The thing is, do you believe you found it?”

She hadn’t.

She allowed thoughts to fester inside of her. What if she was holding Jungkook back? Those thoughts were always there. She thought of her future and if Jungkook was the one, he would wait for her. She had decided to talk to him about it at Jaehyun’s birthday party. Although, she never showed up. Jungkook came home to find her on the couch, tears in her eyes, and asking to breakup.

Yerim had walked into the club, spotting her boyfriend right away and witnessing how a tall, gorgeous, and unknown woman wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. She didn’t stick around. The sight hurt her enough, even though she knew that Jungkook had most likely pushed the female off him right away. That incident made her feel that they were too young. She needed to grow more. She needed to expand her wings and fly. She was smart and most of her university years, she depended on him. She was dragging him down, lowering his potential by being a burden. If Jungkook was the one, they would work out somehow. Only, she never told him why she broke up or that she was leaving. He probably hated her and seeing him again, looking as good as he always did, made her knees buckle. Was that a tattoo she spotted?

“I need to use the restrooms really quickly. I’ll be back.”

Her excuse was lame.

She just couldn’t stand the fact of seeing him in front of her and looking so good. She wanted nothing more than to grab him from around the neck and kiss him. She went on dates—no one could compare to Jungkook. She thought she could move on, she hadn’t. Yerim was still helplessly in love with him and breaking up had been the stupidest things she could have ever done. She thought she did it for him and for herself. Instead, she gave herself pain and loneliness throughout her experience in Europe.

Yerim walked past people, holding her tears because she was sure Jungkook probably had a gorgeous girlfriend somewhere around this grand opening. Who was she to compare? Still the same old, Yerim. The short girl with such subtle curves—her thoughts halted in the process of walking towards the restrooms.

Her arm had been yanked back and she stumbled, barely seeing how Jungkook chased her down before he crashed his lips on hers. She froze in her stance for a couple seconds before kissing him back with the same amount of passion he was giving.

She was not the only one holding in the want to kiss him.

From the moment she talked, Jungkook wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Take her into one of the rooms and ravish her. Kim Yerim looked as tempting and beautiful as she always did. She was more mature, had this sophisticated air around her. She was poised and he wanted to see her wither beneath him as she used to. Her cleavage poking out did him no good. When she excused herself; he followed. He let her go once, he wasn’t going to again. Not when Mark’s words entered his mind

“If you were going to break up, what was the point of canceling my engagement to her? I backed down seeing how in love you two were and now she’s gone abroad? Idiots.”

Yerim pulled back from the kiss, needing to catch her breath as sh