“You know, I think you’re making this too easy for Jimin.” Mr. Park said to me over dinner.

Jimin and I turned our heads to look at him. I flushed, embarrassed. Jimin was literally holding my jaw, about to feed me a piece of barbeque.

Mrs. Park snickered behind her hand. Jimin finished feeding me the food, then turned to his dad and said,

“No, Dad, this is just a part of her master plan. I’m acting like her boyfriend without the security of actually being her boyfriend. She gets to make all of the decisions.”

I nearly choked on my food. Everyone looked at me with concern. “Here, have some water.” Jimin put a glass to my lips. I glared at him over the rim. How many times was he going to embarrass me in one day?

“I think that’s a good plan.” Mr. Park’s eyes sparkled in amusement. He smiled at me. “It’s something Jimin definitely deserves.”

“I don’t really have a plan.” I said. “But I agree with you that Jimin deserves one like that.”

Jimin scowled. “It’s not like I was the only factor in our breakup.” He muttered petulantly.

“Hush.” Mrs. Park scolded. “I’d rather have her for a daughter-in-law than you for a son. And you went and ruined it all.”

“Mom, how can you say something like that to your own son?” Jimin complained. He prepared another bite and turned to me, holding it out. “Here, eat this.”

I opened my mouth automatically. Jimin’s parents looked on, smiling. I felt like we were already a married couple or something.  

“So when will you decide if you’re getting back together or not?” Mr. Park asked me. I finished eating my food and answered.

“I don’t have a plan. Honestly, things have just been happening. This morning he had no chance at all, and now I’m eating dinner with all of you.”

“She can’t stay away from me.” Jimin smirked. He held my hand under the table. I glanced at him, but he just smiled back at me happily.

“Well, what do you two say to a bottle of wine?” Mrs. Park offered pleasantly.

“Mmm, sure.” I murmured. How was I supposed to say no?

Jimin’s mom pulled out a bottle of red wine and poured me a glass full to the brim. Jimin stared at his mom with wide eyes. She poured the same amount for him, but poured only a little for her and Jimin’s dad.

“Mom, why did you pour us so much?” Jimin asked, looking at me with a worried expression. Oh please. I could handle one glass of wine.

Mrs. Park just waved her hand at him dismissively. “You two are young; you can drink this much.”

Jimin reached over and took a large sip out of my glass. Everyone turned to look at him.

“I don’t want her to get drunk.” He muttered. “She’s a hassle.”

“Excuse me! I am never a hassle.” I exclaimed indignantly. Jimin smirked at me.

“Half the time you don’t even remember what you’ve done. And the other half, you’re all over me. ‘Jimin, I love you. Jimin, you’re so cute. Jimin, just let me kiss you.’”

I yanked my hand out of his. Mr. and Mrs. Park laughed loudly while I blushed, mortified.

“I hate you so much right now.” I muttered for only him to hear.

“I know you don’t.” Jimin whispered back. He took my hand again, this time interlacing his fingers with mine. “Eat more if you’re going to drink.”

“I can’t eat if you’re holding my hand.” I murmured. Mrs. Park’s ears perked up.

“You two are holding hands under the table? My, how lovey-dovey.” She smiled at us.

I felt my face getting hot yet again. Getting through this dinner with my dignity intact had become an arduous task.

Jimin decided to add fuel to the fire. “You don’t need to use your chopsticks. I’ll just continue feeding you.” He smiled at me and held out a piece of beef.

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth. I really loved beef, to be honest. I probably would have done a lot more to eat that barbeque.

I spent the rest of dinner moodily sipping my wine and being fed by Jimin. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t stop holding hands with him. Probably because I was still in love with him and lacked self-control, dammit.

Mrs. Park kept refilling my wine glass, even after Jimin pleaded with her to stop.

“Mom, you don’t know what she’s like. She’s so cute, for real, but it’s not something that I think you should witness.” He tried to take the bottle of wine from her, but she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t be like that, Jimin. It’s good for a man to take care of his woman.” Mr. Park advised.

“I don’t need to be taken care of.” I disagreed. “If anything, I need to be protected from this one.” I gestured to Jimin.

He ruffled my hair affectionately. “You love me.”

“Yeah, I do.” I sighed sadly. “That’s why I need to be protected from you.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment, digesting my words.

“Okay, I think it’s time for you to go home.” Jimin decided abruptly. “You’ve definitely had enough to drink.” He shot a look at his mom. She just smiled back at him innocently.

“No, no, I’m fine.” I said to him, giggling. “I don’t need to go home yet.”

“Since she’s already like this, why doesn’t she stay the night?” Mrs. Park offered cheerfully. Mr. Park snickered. He was probably used to his wife’s scheming.

“Mom, I don’t really think that’s a good idea.” Jimin said slowly.

“Why not?” His mom demanded. “She can sleep in your room and you can sleep on the couch. It’s not a problem.”

“Not for you.” Jimin muttered under his breath. He let go of my hand and stood up. “Alright!” He held out his hands for me to grab. I stared at him for a moment, confused. He sighed and gently helped me to my feet. “I’ll go prepare the bath.”

As we were leaving, I heard Mr. Park speaking to Mrs. Park.

“They really do love each other, huh?”

“Yes, they do. She’s just too stubborn.”

“She reminds me of you.”

“I know; that’s why I love her so much.”

“You know it’s not a good idea for her to sleep over like that. You know what Jimin’s like.”

“I also know what she’s like. Don’t interrupt them and let me get a grandchild in this lifetime.”

Jimin slung his arm around my waist and guided me upstairs.

“Jimin, I’m really fine.” I protested. “I’m just a little tipsy. Okay, maybe just regularly tipsy.”

“I know.” He replied. “I just want to hold you.”

“Jimin, you’re making this really hard for me.” I said quietly. He ignored me, but I felt his fingers tighten a little around my waist.

We had reached the top of the stairs. Jimin took my hand and led me into the bathroom. He threw me a towel. “Are you sober enough to take a bath without drowning?”

“I’m really fine!” I insisted. “I just can’t refuse your mom’s invitation.”

“Don’t pretend. Your face is glowing.” Jimin put a cool hand to my cheek. “You had like four or five glasses of wine. What was my mom thinking?”

“You know your mom wants us back together.” I muttered. “But I think you fed me enough so that I didn’t get drunk as easily as I usually do. And you kept drinking from my wine glass when no one was looking. Honestly, I’m not even drunk, Jimin.”

Jimin pressed his lips against my forehead to check my temperature. “You’re awfully hot. Are you sure you don’t have a fever or something?”

I swatted his hand away. “I’m fine. Stop touching me. I can’t handle it.”

Jimin studied me for a moment. “Yeah, I think you’re fine. Maybe a little tipsy, but definitely not drunk. You wouldn’t mind me touching you if you were drunk.”

“Shut up!” I snapped. Jimin grinned and patted my head.

“Take a bath and relax. Come into my room afterwards and I’ll prepare some pajamas for you.”

Jimin went over to the tub and turned the water on for me. He checked the temperature carefully and that small action tugged on my heartstrings. He still cared about me; I could see that quite plainly.

Jimin sat on the edge of the bathtub while waiting for it to fill up. He rested his head in his hands and watched me.

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. Jimin just smiled at me.

“Nothing. I’m just thinking about how my mom is so obvious. She caught us making out today and still fills you with wine and forces you to sleep over.”

I joined him on the edge of the tub. “Yeah, seriously.” I agreed. “She needs to calm down and let me take my time. I’m pretty sure I was crying in her arms about you this afternoon.”

“She probably wants a grandchild or something.” Jimin chuckled. “Or she really does love you more than me.”

“Probably both, to be honest.” I laughed. Jimin nudged me playfully. “No, but really, I think your mom just wants to see you happy.”

“Yeah, and for some strange reason, she’s always thought a mean girl like you would do the trick.” Jimin joked. I elbowed him in retaliation, but underestimated my strength and sent him flying into the bathtub.

Jimin sat there for a moment, soaking wet, before glaring at me through his wet bangs. “Do you wanna die?” He hissed.

“Um…not particularly.” I said, getting up and backing away slowly, my hands up in the air. “It was an accident, I swear.”

Jimin slowly climbed out of the bath, dripping wet and glowering. He came steadily closer to me and I cowered in the corner in fear.

“Please don’t hurt me.” I pleaded in a terrified whisper. Jimin peeled off his wet shirt and threw it on the ground. “Jimin, I’m going to scream and your parents are going to beat you.”

Jimin suddenly grinned, an evil grin, and scooped me up into his arms.

“Jimin!” I whisper-shrieked, unwilling to have his parents come running and witness this scene. “Put me the down!”

“Okay.” Jimin sat me down on the edge of the tub. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was all over. Suddenly, Jimin pushed me and I began to fall into the tub. I grabbed onto his pants, trying desperately to save myself.

My attempt to stay upright ultimately failed and I found myself soaking wet in the tub with a shirtless Jimin on top of me.

“Ow.” I muttered, rubbing my head. Jimin lifted himself off of me slightly.

“Did you get hurt?” He asked, examining my head with his eyes.

“No, I’m fine. No thanks to you, you big jerk.” I tried to push him away, but he was too slippery.

Jimin laughed and held my hand to his chest. I could feel his heart pounding. I looked up at him, a little surprised by the contact. His face was inches from mine and when he caught me staring at him, he looked away shyly.

“Jimin.” I whispered. He peeked up at me, still a bit shy. Damn, he was so cute. “Jimin, why do you love me?”

Jimin looked as surprised as I felt. Had those words really left my mouth? He sat up and pulled me with him. I fell into his lap and some water splashed over the side of the tub. I moved to go wipe it up, but Jimin grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

“Pay attention to the answer if you’re going to ask me a question like that.” He scolded. I sat back down in his lap dutifully. Although it was uncomfortable to sit in the bath with wet clothes, being in Jimin’s arms again made up for that.

He turned me around to face him. “It's been a long time since you asked me this question.”

“It's been a long time since you've told me you love me.” I pointed out softly. 

Jimin let out a long sigh through his nose. “How can I even think of why I love you? Okay…um, I love the way you giggle when you’re drunk. I love how you used to steal my clothes and how easy it is to get you to do anything if I tickle you. I love your brown eyes and your lips and what it feels like to kiss you. I love that you can’t cook and how you never wanna go to sleep and the way you say my name. I love how you never say what you mean.”

“I always say what I mean.” I grumbled half-heartedly. Inside, I could feel my heart melting against my better judgment. I didn’t stand a chance against this boy.

Jimin laughed softly. He brushed my wet hair out of my eyes. “No, you really don’t. You tell me to off all the time, but you still let me kiss you. Young Jae kissed you once when you didn’t want him to and suddenly you guys aren’t even on speaking terms.” He grinned impishly at my expression, then continued. “I love that you get along with my parents so well. I really love that my mom picked you out for me. She was so right.” He smiled at me sweetly. “I love your short hair and your baggy sweatpants and the way you talk in your sleep. I love how y you look in my boxers and the way you’re so mean to me. I love what you look like when I wake up in the morning and see you sleeping next to me. I love the way you hum when you’re washing dishes and how you cried over that little kitten I gave you. And I love how sentimental you actually turned out to be.”

“What do you mean?” I murmured, losing myself in his warm brown eyes. “I’m not sentimental.”

“Then why do you want to sleep in my clothes when you’re drunk? Why do you love and hate when everything smells like me? You act all tough, but you’re really a huge softie. And…” Jimin reached down and pulled my necklace out of my wet shirt. The engagement ring sparkled in his hand. “If you’re not sentimental, then what’s this?”

I snatched it from him. “How do you know about this?” I demanded, blushing.

Jimin smiled at my shy reaction. “When you were drunk last night I helped you put a shirt on. I didn’t see anything but the chain then, because I wasn’t looking. But when you fell asleep, curiosity got the better of me and I had to take a peek. I was worried that it was something Young Jae had given to you.”

We were silent for a moment. Jimin took the ring from my grasp and stared at it for a while, turning it over in his hands.

“Why are you wearing my engagement ring around your neck?” He asked me softly. “I thought you would have thrown it away.”

“How could I throw something like this away?” I whispered. Jimin looked up into my eyes with a cautiously hopeful expression. “I kept it because I still loved you. I was going to stop wearing it after I got over you.”

Jimin looked down at the ring again. “I hope you never stop wearing it.” He said quietly. “One of these days, I’d like to put it on your finger.”

Impulsively, I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Jimin started in surprise, but quickly kissed me back fervently. I slipped my tongue in his mouth and he let out a moan. He put his hands around my waist and pulled me close to him until our bodies were pressed against each other.

We kissed for a long time. The bathwater grew cold and Jimin broke away when I started to shiver. He wrapped his strong arms around me and held me close to him.

“What have we been doing in this tub for so long? You’ll catch a cold.” He kissed my hair.

“I d-don’t c-c-care.” I mumbled, my teeth chattering. Jimin laughed and gently pushed me away from him. He climbed out of the tub, then reached down and scooped me up in his arms.

“Jimin, put me down.” I whined, still shivering. He ignored me and carried me off to his bedroom. His parents were being suspiciously quiet. They only had one bathroom, after all.

Jimin gently set me down on his floor and squatted next to me. He lifted my shirt over my arms despite my protests. “Jimin, I can dress myself.”

“It’s okay, baby. Just let me do this for you.” He patted my head and reached down to my pants.

“You just want to see me .” I grumbled, slapping his hand away. Jimin grinned mischievously.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind.” He snickered. How cheeky.

“Just go get me a towel, please. I can take care of the rest myself.”

Jimin obediently set off for the bathroom. I looked down at the engagement ring dangling from my neck. I unclasped the necklace and slid the ring off the chain. So Jimin still wants to marry me, huh? I thought as I slipped the ring onto my finger. I held my hand out and examined it.

“Don’t tease me like that.” Jimin whispered huskily from the doorway. “Damn it, that’s an unfair move.”

I quickly slipped the ring off of my finger and threaded the chain back through it. Jimin threw the towel next to me and sat down to help me clasp it around my neck once again.

I could hear Jimin’s breathing accelerate as he bent down to kiss my shoulder. “You’re turning into such a player.” He accused me softly.

“I didn’t mean for you to see.” I replied. “I just was thinking about it and did it impulsively.”

“You’re pretty impulsive tonight.” Jimin commented, unhooking my bra.

“Excuse me!” I exclaimed, covering myself with my arms. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Jimin pulled me into his lap and ed my jeans. “You can’t stay in these wet clothes.” He murmured as he fumbled with the zipper.

“Jimin, the door is still open!” I hissed, elbowing him.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Jimin stood me up and pulled my jeans off before I could stop him. “My parents are already asleep.”

“Stop undressing me!” I demanded, aiming a kick towards his chest. I missed and he giggled.

“You can undress me too, if you want.” Jimin reached up to pull off my underwear, but I held on to them tightly.

“I don’t want to! This is harassment, you know.” I held my hand out to him without turning around. “Pass me the towel or you’re dead. I’ll scream and your parents will come running.”

Jimin immediately handed me the towel. “Since when did you turn into such a scumbag?” I sneered as I wrapped the towel securely around myself.

“I’ve always been like this, baby. You know that.” Jimin stood up and ed his jeans.

“Yeah, but that was when we were dating. And we are not now, if you don’t remember, so stop ing taking your jeans off in front of me.” I covered my face with my hands.

Jimin ignored me and fumbled to get out of his jeans. “This is my bedroom. I’m just trying to get some pajamas on.”

“You’re still wet.” I pointed out. He glanced at me for a moment and ran a hand through his wet hair.

“You’ve got the only towel.” He shrugged and shook his head in an effort to dry his hair.

“You look like a dog.” I giggled. Jimin scowled at me. “And I find it hard to believe that your mom only keeps one towel in the house.”

“Babe, she planned this. You’re seriously underestimating my mom’s scheming skills. Do you think we would have ended up together if she hadn’t been texting me pictures of you and nagging me to ask you out?” Jimin rummaged through his dresser. “Here.” He tossed a sweatshirt and a pair of boxers at me.

I picked up the sweatshirt up and surveyed it. The sleeves were ratty and the hood had lost its strings. I had a hard time imagining Jimin wearing something like this. “How old is this thing?”

Jimin shrugged. “High school? Middle school? I’ve had it forever.”

“Cuteeee.” I sniffed it gingerly. Jimin rolled his eyes at me. “What…I just wanted to see if it still smelled like you.”

“Maybe like fourteen year old me.” Jimin came over and tugged at my towel. “Hurry up and get dressed so I can dry off.”

“Turn around.” I ordered. Jimin obeyed, but still stood close to me. “This is too intimate.” I complained.

“This is nothing, baby. I already know what you look like . Just let it go.” Jimin sighed impatiently.

“You’re so ing rude.” I muttered. I quickly dressed, all the while feeling very aware of Jimin’s close proximity.

I tossed the towel over Jimin’s head and quickly made my escape to the bed. He rubbed his hair with it vigorously. “It feels kind of dirty to dry my hair with a towel that was just wrapped around your body.”

I glared at him from my position on the bed. “Can you just ing stop being so greasy for like one second? Are you even capable of having a normal conversation like a decent human being?”

“No.” Jimin replied flippantly. He stripped off his boxers without any warning.

“Jimin! What the !” I shrieked, then instantly covered my mouth, nervous that I woke Jimin’s parents.

Jimin wrapped the towel around himself and shot me a warning look. “You better be quiet or I’ll come over there and make you.”

“I’d like to see you try.” I retorted. Jimin smirked and leapt onto the bed. He crawled over to me with a lascivious look in his eye. “I didn’t really mean that.” I backtracked quickly. “Jimin, stay away from me!” I held up my hands for protection.

Jimin easily batted them aside and straddled me. He brushed my hair away from my face and left a sweet kiss on my forehead.

“Can’t you at least put on pants?” I complained.

“In a minute. I’m all covered, so relax.” He answered. “I just wanna kiss you for a second.”

“Haven’t you kissed me enough today?” I sighed, irritated.

“I could never kiss you enough.” Jimin whispered roughly. He leaned in and kissed me deeply. After a minute, his hands strayed to the hem of my sweatshirt.

I broke away and glared at him warningly. “Don’t play dirty. You know I’m not wearing anything else underneath this.”

Jimin smirked at me. “That’s kind of the point, babe.” He attempted to reach under my shirt again, but I flicked his forehead. “Ouch!” He frowned at me reproachfully.

“Put some clothes on and calm down. I’m not sleeping with you in your parents’ house.”

“We don’t have to go that far.” Jimin whined. I pushed him away.

“We’re not going anywhere at all.” I stated decisively. “Back the up. I mean it.”

Jimin sighed and rolled off of me onto the floor. I snorted. “No need to be so dramatic.”

“You don’t understand.” He complained, his voice muffled by the carpet.

“Just put some clothes on and I’ll let you cuddle with me.” I said nonchalantly, absentmindedly scrolling through my phone.

Jimin immediately perked up. “That sounds fair.”

I regretted my decision three minutes later when Jimin snuggled up next to me. Apparently by clothes, Jimin meant boxers. My y ex-boyfriend was literally snuggling with me in just his boxers. This kid. Seriously, he was using every dirty trick in the book.

“Your parents are gonna be mad at you when they find you in my bed in the morning.” I warned him.

“My mom will probably beat me if she catches me sleeping on the couch.” Jimin replied, my hair softly. I ignored him and continued to play on my phone.

“I love you.” He whispered and kissed my arm.

“I love you, too.” I replied automatically. . , , . Slowly, I turned to look at Jimin’s reaction.

“Um…I…um, I didn’t mean-” I began. Jimin quickly covered my mouth with his hand.

“Shh.” He said. “Just let me soak in this moment.”

I fell silent. Jimin laced his fingers through mine and sighed happily.

“I’ve missed this so much.” He whispered.

I put my phone down on the bedside table and laid down next to Jimin. “Why did you break up with me?” I asked bluntly. “And why are you trying to get back together with me now?”

“I don’t know.” Jimin whispered. He refused to meet my gaze and focused on the ceiling.

“Why did you leave me if you love me so much?” I persisted.

Jimin didn’t answer me for a long time. I peeked at him to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep.

“I…was scared. I don’t know what else to tell you. We’ve talked about it so many times before. The answer’s not going to change. I was afraid of losing you one day…so I guess I just left first.” Jimin’s voice echoed in the quiet stillness.

“Why did you come back?” I turned so that I was on my back. Jimin and I both stared at the ceiling. Even though we were holding hands, I felt miles away from him.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here.” He admitted. “You knew that.”

“I mean, why did you come back to me? Why do you want to be with me again?”

“I miss you.” Jimin whispered. He rolled over and snuggled into my side. He tucked his chin on my shoulder and kissed my cheek. “I don’t want to live without you.”

“But I haven’t changed, Jimin. I’m still going to treat you the same. I’m still going to push you off of me when you’re trying to sleep with me, I’m still not going to suddenly say I love you all of the time, and if you try and leave me, I’m not going to stop you this time.”

“I’m not going to leave you again.” Jimin assured me softly.

“Yeah, but what’s changed? I haven’t, Jimin. I’m not going to. You’re going to leave me again, but I can’t change.” I started to cry softly. “I want to change. I want to be the sweet girlfriend you want, but that’s just not me. I can’t be who you want me to be.”

Jimin let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me. I huddled in his arms and cried into his chest.

“I love that you’re here.” I continued, hiccupping with tears. “I don’t even know what’s happening between us, but it feels so familiar and so lovely. But damn it, Jimin, it also hurts so much. Because nothing’s changed; you still left me no matter how much we pretend that it didn’t happen.”

“I’ve changed.” Jimin disagreed quietly. “I’m not going to leave again. I don’t want a sweet girlfriend. I just want you, baby. I really just want you back in my life. You don’t need to change a thing about yourself.”

“I don’t believe you.” I whispered. He my hair and kissed my forehead.

“I’m willing to wait until you do. I’m going to stick around forever. You won’t be able to get rid of me.” Jimin murmured.

“You promise?” I sniffled. Jimin lifted me up so that we were eye level. He stared into my eyes with a tender and serious expression. He rested his forehead against mine and I forgot how to breathe.

“I promise.”