Huh.. So much for avoiding them. Why do I feel that history is going to repeat itself despite all my effort?
I've done everything differently, why does my path still cross with Jimin & his friends?
I sigh as I put down my phone & close my eyes.
Maybe it's the small choices that make a difference. Nami won't believe it if I tell her that Taehyung will hurt her in the future. She'll just think that I'm crazy, so I should take a subtler route. As for Jimin, I can just ignore him whenever we meet.
"Y/n ah! Are you awake?" My mom knocks on my door & asks.
"네 (yes)!"
At least, this time I'll make sure that eomma lives a long life.

"Woah, you've cooked up a feast this morning. 고마워요 (thank you) for always working so hard for us." I exclaim as I give mom a hug.
"Feast? It's just soup & egg like usual." She doesn't react that strongly now because she's already used to my overly affectionate behavior now.
"How's your leg btw? Does it still hurt?" She lowers her gaze at my ankle.
"It does. But I'm sure it'll get better if you blow on it." I snuggle closer to her & pout.
"Aigoo.. Stop saying nonsense & eat your breakfast. I need to get the trash out." She knocks my head lightly with her fist & grabs the heavy garbage bag.
"Let me help you." I readily offer.
"Just sit down. I can do it on my own."
"I want to help you eomma. Let's go." I grab one side of the bag & limp my way out of the house with her.
We put the bag at its designated place & suddenly she stops.
"Y/n ah, wait here." She whispers.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"There's a weird guy lurking behind the utility pole. See? I'm gonna ask him what he's doing here." She grabs a broken broom from the floor & storms towards the suspicious man.
"Eomma! Wait!" I frantically follow her but my hurt ankle causes me to walk much slower.
"What are you doing here?! Why are you peeking at our house?!" Her loud yell breaks the serene silence of our quiet neighborhood.
"Eomma, who is it?" I arrive beside her & my eyes instantly widen when I see who she's shouting at. The man is wearing a black cap low over his head & a mask. But that gesture, that scent, those eyes.
Park Jimin.

Jimin POV
"Tell me why are you acting so suspiciously so early in the morning?" Eommoni raises her broom, looking like she's about to beat me.
Shit, I shouldn't have come here. I think to myself as I lower my face & cover my head.
"E-Eomma, wait! I know him!" Y/n exclaims & stops her before she really hits me.
"You do? He's your friend?" Eommoni turns to her & lowers the broom.
"Y-Yes, he's my friend from school."
My head perks up at Y/n's words.
She recognizes me?
"Ommo. Why didn't you say so earlier? Please forgive me, I thought you were some weird guy." Eommoni throws the broom right away & apologizes.
"I-It's ok eommoni." I straighten myself & take off my mask.
I glance at Y/n. She has an unreadable expression spread across her face, but one thing is for sure, she doesn't want me here.
"I'm sorry for bothering you so early in the morning. I better get going now." I bow at eommoni, not daring to look her in the eyes.
"What brings you here, son?" She holds my arm & asks.
A lump forms in my throat the moment the word son left her lips. My eyes shoot up at her gentle eyes & it takes all my might not to cry.
보고싶어요 엄머니. 그리고 미안해.
(I miss you eommoni. And I'm sorry.)
"Eomma, let's just go." Y/n says as she pulls her mom's hand, but she doesn't budge & keeps staring at me.
"What's that in your hand?" Eommoni glimpses at the bag I'm carrying.
"Oh. This. I heard Y/n got hurt, so I brought something for her. Here you go." I sheepishly hand the bag to her.
"Ah, thank you very much for your thoughtfulness. Do you want to come in?" She offers, while Y/n only stands there frozen like a statue.
"It's ok, eommoni. I need to get going. Have a nice day." I bow at her & quickly take off without turning back.
Thank you eommoni. For giving me a chance to see you once again & apologize.

Y/n POV
"Who is that boy? Is he really your friend from school." Mom turns around & asks me.
"Yes. Why did you ask him to come in? Luckily, he had some sense & didn't agree." I click my tongue in disproval.
"Ya, how can you say that? It was very kind of him to bring you something knowing that you hurt yourself. And.. he looks kind of pitiful.." She trails off.
"Pitiful? Why is he pitiful? He's living the life he's been wishing for forever." I scoff as I head back towards the house.
"I don't know. There's just so much sorrow & regret in his eyes. How can such a young man have such melancholic eyes?"
I stop in my track, recalling his words from last night.
"I'd tried my best, but it still wasn't enough. I'm not a dog. All I wanted was to be appreciated & treated like human. Was that too much to ask?"
I shake my head trying to get rid of the thought.
"How would I know? I'm not even that close to him. Let's go in, I'm hungry."
I sit heavily down on the dining chair & pick up my chopsticks.
"Why don't you see what's inside?" Mom puts the bag Jimin brought in front of me.
"싫어 (I don't want to)." I stubbornly reply.
"Eishh.. Just open it."
I reluctantly open the bag, take out the container inside, & open it.
It's abalone porridge. My favorite.
He used to buy it for me whenever I felt unwell.
He still remembers.
Warm tears well up in my eyes & I quickly rub them to stop myself from crying.
"Why aren't you eating?" Noticing my silence, mom asks.
"I am. I am.." I sniff as I put a spoonful of porridge into my mouth & feel the warmth spreading throughout my body.

Flashback, fourth year of marriage, Y/n POV
9:27 PM.
That was the time when I got the call that would change my life forever.
I was watching TV, waiting for Jimin to come home. My belly had gotten so big, so it was difficult for me to move. When my phone rang, it took me a while to reach for it.
"Hello eonni?" I leisurely answered, completely clueless about the earth-shattering news that I was about to receive.
"Y/n ah.. Where are you?" My sister asked in between sobs.
"At home. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I instantly panicked.
"Y/n ah, you need to come here quickly. Eomma- Eomma is sick." Her sob broke into a bawl.
My heart dropped to the floor.
"Eonni, please calm down. Eomma is sick? Where are you guys now?"
"Seoul Hospital. You need to come here fast. Her condition is not good."
After she ended the call, I frantically called Jimin but he didn't pick up the first time. I kept trying & finally he picked up.
"I can't talk right now." He whispered.
"Jimin ah, where are you? Eomma is really sick, so I'm going to Seoul Hospital now." I said as I walked heavily to the bedroom to grab my bag.
"You're pregnant! How can you go to the hospital alone? Wait for me, I'll be done in a few minutes. After that, I can pick you up & we can go to the hospital together."
"But-"
"No buts. Just wait for me." He abruptly ended the call.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed.
He still wasn't home & his phone was turned off. I couldn't wait any longer, my anxiety level had reached its peak. So I moved as fast as I could & took a cab to the hospital.
Please let her be ok. Please let her be ok.
I immediately saw my dad & sister once I got to the emergency room, but they were hugging each other & crying.
No. No no, that can't be.
"Eonni, what happened? Where's mom?" I asked pantingly.
"Y/n ah.. Y/n ah.." She pulled me into a hug & cried on my shoulder.
"Answer me eonni!" I yelled in frustration, which stopped her from crying momentarily.
"Eomma- Eomma is gone. She passed away ten minutes ago."
I felt like I was hit by a truck upon hearing her words.
"No. That's impossible. I haven't even seen her yet. Where is she now? The doctor must be able to save her, right? Right?!" I dropped to the floor as a devastated cry escaped my lips.
"Eomma.. Eomma..." I buried my face in my palms, cursing myself for not coming sooner.
Then, when I lifted my face, I saw Jimin running towards us.
"What happened?" He asked as soon as he arrived in front of me.
I felt nothing but hatred towards him at the moment.
If he hadn't told me to wait, I would've at least been able to see eomma for one last time.
I stood up, rejecting his offer to help, & walked away without saying a word.
The wake went by in a blur. I still couldn't accept the fact that my mom was truly gone.
I would never be able to see her smile, hug her, banter with her, eat her home-cooked meals. My heart hurt every single time a piece of memory with her came to mind, which happened very frequently these days.
It had been a week since mom died. I hadn't talked to Jimin at all since that awful day. I couldn't even bring myself to look him in the eyes, because every time I did, I wanted to hit & scream at him.
He, on the other hand, talked a lot more than he had been used to. His mouth wouldn't shut up, blabbing about the weather, world news, his work, his colleagues. Anything but the big elephant in the room. Mom's passing.
I was staring blankly at the TV screen, colorful images flashing in front of my eyes, but none of the scene registered in my brain. My mind was empty, just like my heart. Right then, the door clicked open, disturbing my calming numbness.
"Yeobo, I'm home. Work ended earlier than expected today. Look what I brought you. Your favorite abalone porridge." Jimin smilingly placed the takeout box in front of me & poured the porridge into a bowl.
"Ok, it's ready." He slid the bowl closer to me, signaling me to eat it.
I stared at the bowl, watching the white smoke dancing on the hot porridge before vanishing into thin air. It smelled good, but I didn't feel like eating.
Without saying a word, I rose from my seat & walked to the bedroom.
"Y/n ah, please. You haven't eaten properly for the whole week. Just eat one spoonful, oh?" He grabbed my wrist & stopped me.
I shook his hand off mine & continued walking.
"I'm not hungry." The first three words I said to him the whole week.
"Y/n ah, I know you're grieving, but you need to think about the baby in your belly too." He caught my arm again.
My pent-up fury instantly exploded.
"Grieving?! I'm not grieving, I feel like I'm dying inside every time I think about eomma. You knew how close I was to her, but I couldn't even properly see her one last time before she passed. And it was all because of you! You told me to wait, but you never came! If I had gone by myself earlier, I would've been able to see her!" I screamed at him as angry tears flooded my flushed face.
"I'm sorry but I didn't do it on purpose! I was about to leave but my boss suddenly asked me to do more work & he threatened to fire me if I didn't do it. What was I supposed to do?!" He yelled frustratedly back.
"You could've called! I called you multiple times but you never picked up!"
"My phone died. It's been experiencing error for a while now & I haven't gotten the money to buy a new one."
"Excuse after excuse after excuse. When are you going to stop finding excuses for your incompetence?" I scoffed sarcastically.
He froze upon hearing my mean words. He slowly released his grip & his hand fell limply to his side.
I realized that I'd gone too far, but all I wanted to do was hurt him so that he would feel the same pain as I did & I had succeeded.
"You think I'm not saddened by eommoni's passing? You think I don't blame myself every second for not coming in time to see her one last time? You're not the only one mourning. I'm just trying my best to move on & cheer you up. Is that wrong? Should I just collapse like you do? Will that make you happier?"
He lifted his eyes to meet mine & they were glistening with tears.
That was the first time I had seen him cry & it hurt.
How did we end up like this?
"I'm going to sleep. You can eat the porridge." I stubbornly said & walked away.
Pain stabbed through my heart as I heard his light sob, but I clenched my fist & stifled the tears that were about to fall.
And that was the second irreconcilable crack in my marriage.