Sakura's POV

I was closing up the bookstore a few days later when the bell above the door chimed.

"Oh, sorry. We're closing." I began, turning around. I stopped short when I saw Jin staring at me.

"Hi." He greeted me, waving awkwardly. "Can we talk?"

"I don't really have much to say to you." I said, stacking some books on the counter. 

"Well, I have a lot to say to you." Jin grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. "Sakura, please. Just talk to me."

"About what, Jin?" I yanked my wrist from his grasp and picked up a stack of books. "I need to close up. You're distracting me."

"I'll help you." He offered, taking the stack from my hands. "Let's talk while you put these away."

"Fine." I surrendered. "Those go in the mystery section."

"I know." He patted my head. "I've done this before."

After about ten minutes of cleaning, Jin finally opened his mouth to talk.

"I miss you." He said, so quietly I could barely hear it. "I miss you a lot."

I missed him, too. Every day. Every single night when I cried into my pillow alone. Jimin called me sometimes, but we hadn't gone on any serious dates or anything. He'd talked about one day dropping by the bookstore to pick me up after work, but he hadn't yet.

Both of us fell into silence for a little while. I finished putting away my stack of books and sat down on an armchair, my head in my hands. I heard Jin's footsteps approaching and soon he had squeezed himself in next to me, his thigh against mine, our shoulders pressed together. We used to sit like this sometimes when we were little, hiding from the nanny in the library of Jin's parents' house. 

"I miss us." Jin whispered, taking my hand. He wove our fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze, squeezing my heart along with it. I felt like I could burst into tears at any moment.

"Do you remember when we were young, how we used to play in the library? How you'd pull out books and I'd read them to you and then we'd make up games about the characters?" He turned to look at me. I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn't return his gaze.

"And you'd always pretend that we'd get married?" Jin continued, his voice soft and tender. "And we'd use the pillows on the couches for pretend babies?"

"No." I lied, feeling the tears start to pool in my eyes. "I don't remember."

"Do you remember our first kiss?" Jin whispered, kissing my ear. "When you were fifteen and you were hiding in that hallway in my house, the one that we thought only the two of us knew about? I found you in there and you were crying. Do you remember why you were crying?"

"Because I saw you kissing Melissa Silverman at school." I let out a soft sigh. "And I was in love with you."

"Do you remember what happened next?" He asked, nuzzling my cheek with his nose.

"I'd rather not." I whispered, looking down at my hands.

"I came in and saw you crying." Jin wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me into his lap. My heart started beating rapidly against my chest. I was still so in love with him. "And I sat down next to you and held you, just like this. And you cried into my shirt and told me what an idiot I was."

"You're still an idiot." I closed my eyes as Jin mouthed at my earlobe. "Stop kissing me."

"I asked what I had done this time and you whispered that I kissed a girl who wasn't you." Jin turned my head towards him so we were looking at each other, eye-to-eye. "And then my heart started racing and my palms began to sweat and then you held my face and kissed me. And then you climbed off of my lap and ran away and didn't speak to me for two months."

"Yeah, I didn't." I remembered. "And I started dating that guy Shawn. You dated Melissa Silverman, right?"

"Nope." Jin said quietly. He placed a kiss on the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "I didn't date again until I dated you."

"What? That's not true. You were always bringing girls home." I remembered crying after each new girl showed up on his doorstep, kissing Jin before he'd tug at her hand and lead her upstairs to his bedroom.

"Yeah, just girls. Not girlfriends. I was never serious about any of them." He started to place kisses down my spine. "I was always in love with you."

"Then why were you with all those other girls?" I asked, tilting my head forward as Jin pulled my hair away from my shoulder.

"Because you never wanted this life and I didn't want to hold you back." He replied. "That's why I break up with you. I'm trying to set you free, but I can never seem to let you go."

"You're lying." I whispered, tears falling from my eyes and plopping onto my bare thighs. "You're the one who doesn't want this life. You don't want me, either. You don't love me. Stop kissing me."

"I love you." Jin turned my face and kissed me on the lips. "I love you, Sakura. I always have."

"Jin, please. Let me go. I can't do this anymore." I pleaded with him, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Let's get married." Jin whispered. "I want to marry you."

"You want to marry me?" I repeated in a disbelieving whisper.

"Yeah." Jin turned my head and kissed my lips once more. "I want to spend my whole life with you. Just like we used to pretend, back in my parents' library."

"Jin, I - "

He cut me off. "You don't have to answer right now. But please just give me another  chance. I won't leave you again."

Jin set me down on the chair and stood, brushing my hair gently behind my ear. "I'll see you soon." He whispered before kissing my forehead. 

The door clanged shut behind him and I was left with only my tears to keep me company.