We kissed passionately for a little while until Jimin’s stomach growled.

“Is it lunch time already?” I broke away from him, surprised. “, I forgot we were supposed to be working.”

Jimin turned my head back to him and urgently pressed his lips against mine.

“Jimin, what do you want to eat for lunch?”

“You.” Jimin growled. “Stop talking. I’m doing some good work here.”

“I’m hungry.” I whined.

Jimin sighed and reluctantly let go of me. He reached down and interlaced his fingers with mine. I brushed bits of bark out of my hair as he led me down the path towards the restaurant.

We walked in silence for a few moments. I kept stealing glances at him, trying to read his mood.

“Stop staring at me.” Jimin muttered. “I’m not going to yell at you again.”

I blushed, embarrassed to have been caught. “Well, forgive me for being worried. Jimin, you can’t act like that just because you’re jealous.” I said quietly.

“I know.” He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I know, baby. I really don’t know what came over me.”

“It freaked me out a little bit, to be honest. That’s not your personality at all.” I squeezed his hand tightly for a moment.

“You were yelling at me, too.” Jimin grumbled. He looked down and puffed some air out of his cheeks. I poked his cheek and he looked over at me with a rueful smile. “It’s just…I thought everything would be okay when we got back together. I didn’t think I would feel insecure anymore.”

“Dummy.” I flicked his forehead. “I kept telling you it wouldn’t change anything. Just because we’re back together now doesn’t mean our problems have disappeared. We still have some hard to work through, but the difference is that now we’re actually working through it.”

“I’m sorry for saying all of those things to you.” Jimin said quietly. “I know you would never cheat on me. I’m sorry for saying ‘ you’ to you as well.” He ducked his head down and avoided my eyes.

“Good. It’s about damn time you started talking some common sense.” I groused. “You need to start trusting me. And thank you for apologizing.” I added softly, glancing over at him. He met my eyes and smiled back at me timidly.

“You need to start listening to me.” Jimin murmured, squeezing my hand. I shot him a look. “I’m just saying. Young Jae is not here to be your friend. That boy wants you.”

“So what? The point is that I don’t want him. I want you. God knows why.” I added under my breath. Jimin pinched me.

“I heard that.” Jimin glared at me as I giggled. “It’s still going to bother me, baby. I just can’t let it go. I’m really uncomfortable with you hanging out with this sleazy bastard who is trying to steal you away from me.”

“I know.” I told him softly. “That’s why I’m not going to hang out with him today. We’re not going to be friends.”

“Really?” Jimin’s face lit up as he turned to smile at me. “You would do that for me, baby?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t feel good about it, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jimin drew my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you, baby.” He murmured against my fingers. “That means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, so you better get a ing grip on your jealousy.” I warned him. “I’m not putting up with that for the rest of my life.”

“You gonna keep me around that long?” Jimin asked, kissing my hand again.

“We’ll see.” I shrugged.

We had reached the back door of the restaurant. I let go of Jimin’s hand and wound my arms around his neck.

“I love you.” I whispered before I kissed him. “Okay?”

“Okay.” He whispered back.

We stepped into the restaurant holding hands. Even after so long, the feel of Jimin’s warm hand in mine still caused my heart to beat unsteadily. Every little touch still sent shivers down my spine. Every morning that I woke up next to him still felt like a blessing to me. Breaking up had been horrible, but it had reminded me of just how much I loved the man standing beside me.

Jimin and I had a quick lunch in the kitchen. His mom let him bring in a couple of chairs from the dining area and a few dishes from the main kitchen. We didn’t talk much. Both of us felt a little tense from the recent argument. I felt like we had ended it well, but I couldn’t act like it hadn’t happened. Jimin kept putting food on my plate, fretting over my appetite. I felt his love in the way he kept peeking over at me, in the way our knees brushed occasionally, in his sweet tone of voice. We weren’t okay yet, but we would be.

“Come on, you two.” Mrs. Park called from the doorway of the kitchen. “The lunch rush is here.”

“Yes, Mom.” Jimin immediately stood and began clearing the plates. I moved to help him, but he just smiled. “Take a rest, baby. I’ve got this.”

He skillfully carried all of the leftover food back to the main kitchen, winking at me as he left. He looked like a charming waiter. One of the perks of being a restaurant owner’s son, I guessed.

Young Jae came into the kitchen as Jimin left. They passed each other, but Jimin just nodded politely and continued on. I smiled proudly to myself.

“Hey.” Young Jae said. I glanced up and smiled at him. He sat down across from me and took my hand.

I gently removed it from his grasp. “I have something to tell you.” I said softly.

Apprehension flickered across his face. “Whatever it is, I probably don’t want to hear it.”

“I don’t think we can be friends.” I told him gently. “I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

Young Jae sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Man, I don’t even get a chance to be your friend? You’re just cutting me off like that?”

“I’m sorry.” I said quietly. “I didn’t want it to end like this. But Jimin’s not comfortable with it and I don’t want to make him unhappy.”

Young Jae studied me quietly for a moment. “He’s a little too possessive of you. I don’t like it.”

I shrugged. “Well, I understand how he feels. He considers you to be my ex and he doesn’t think exes can be friends. It’s as simple as that.”

Young Jae fiddled with his earring. “How am I your ex? We went on one date. I didn’t even get to make out with you or anything. I’m disappointed.”

“You’re disappointed?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation anymore. I wished Jimin would come back.

“Yeah, I’m very disappointed.” Young Jae looked at me accusingly. “You have to take responsibility for it.”

“I’m not taking responsibility for anything.” I snapped. “Your feelings are your problem.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could be this harsh.” Young Jae muttered.

“I’m just saying, Young Jae. I think I’ve been pretty clear with you about this whole thing.”

“Well, I’m still disappointed.” He grumbled. “I’m allowed to be disappointed.”

“I’m sorry.” I said gently. I patted his hand. He quickly took advantage of the opportunity to lace his fingers with mine.

“Can’t you just give me another chance?” Young Jae pleaded.

“No.” I said softly, withdrawing my hand. “I love Jimin. He’s the only one I want to be with.”

Young Jae looked down dejectedly. “Okay.” He murmured. “I understand. Good luck.”

He stood and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead.

“I like you.” He whispered. “I’ve liked you for a long time. I just thought you should know.”

“Thank you.” I told him. Young Jae pecked my forehead once more and pulled me up and into his arms for a hug.

“Sorry.” He mumbled. “I just wanted to hug you one more time.”

“It’s okay.” I patted his back.

“I’m not really okay with it.” Jimin muttered from the doorway.

Young Jae quickly let go of me and ducked out of the kitchen, eager to avoid making a scene. He shot me one last wistful glance before he disappeared.

I turned to Jimin. “I was just saying goodbye to him.”

Jimin took a deep breath. “I know.” He said, clearly making an effort to stay calm. I put my hand on his arm. He tensed underneath my touch.

“Jimin, that’s all it was. Just a goodbye hug.”

“And a kiss on the forehead.” Jimin reminded me bitterly. “Why do you let him touch you like that?”

“Because it doesn’t mean anything to me.” I said, hugging him. “This does.”

I kissed his neck. “This does.”

I kissed his cheek. “And this.”

I kissed his lips. “This means something to me.” I whispered. “Everything else means nothing.”

“I still don’t like it.” Jimin grumbled. “But I’ll take your word for it. And I’d appreciate it if it didn’t happen again.”

“It won’t.” I promised him. He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me.

“You’re handling this very well.” I commented.

“Not on the inside.” Jimin griped.

I poked his cheek. “I only love you, you big dummy.”

“Don’t call me a dummy.” Jimin murmured. “I’m trying my hardest right now. But I’m very tempted to hurt Young Jae. Maybe rip his lips off or something so he can’t kiss you again.”

“Gross.” I giggled. “You know, Jimin…I, uh, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to kiss me. Maybe take me into the broom closet. Maybe, uh, make out with me a little bit. Or a lot. If you want.”

Jimin chuckled. “I do want to. But I came here to tell you that it’s the lunch rush and my mom is starting to get crabby. She told me to tell you that she’s paying you to work, not to flirt.”

I pouted. “Not even for a little bit?”

“Nope.” Jimin left a tiny kiss on my nose.

Disappointed, I let go of Jimin and headed towards the sink. I felt a tug on my arm and before I knew it, Jimin had pulled me back into his embrace. He kissed me fervently, pulling me close with one hand and tangling the other in my hair.

“Consolation prize.” He whispered as he pulled away.

“Wait, I need just a bit more.” I drew his face back to mine and hungrily met his lips.

After a minute, he broke away and rested his forehead against mine. He’d been doing that ever since our first kiss. I smiled as the memory came flooding back.

“You’re such a good kisser.” I breathed, leaning in for one more quick peck.

“Better than Young Jae?” Jimin asked, just a little hint of resentment in his tone.

“There’s no comparison.” I told him, kissing away his slight frown. “You’re the best kisser out of all the guys I’ve dated.”

“What a compliment.” Jimin smirked. “I know you’ve dated a lot of guys.”

“Yeah, I have.” I agreed. “You’re really lucky to have snagged a girl like me, you know?” I kissed his cheek softly.

Jimin turned his head and kissed me on the lips. “I know. The luckiest.”