ACT XI | SCENE LIV

❝TEST RESULTS❞

[five years earlier]
september 2012

THE TAXI ROLLED down the path to jimin's home. she stared at the test results in her hands again. after she began to get nauseous in the mornings and her period was late, she had gotten one of those home pregnancy tests. it had read positive but refusing to believe it as those things were sometimes inaccurate, she'd gone to the hospital. she folded the paper again and stuffed it into her pocket, hiding the words that seemed to glare at her. she was seven weeks pregnant.

it had been forty three hours since she'd found out. and jangmi felt like she was going to lose her mind. she was turning twenty and now she was starting her adult life with a pregnancy. she hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past two days, tossing and turning as the thoughts spun out of control in her head making it difficult to fall asleep. there was a child growing in her and she was scared out of her wits. she wasn't ready for this. her hand went to her belly in attempt to feel for any sign of life inside.

the cab lolled to a stop a good distance away from the large gates. paying the fare, she stepped out and walked towards the estate.

a security guard stepped in front of her when she got close enough. "who are you here to see?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "park jimin." she rubbed her arm to try alleviate her nerves. taking in a deep breath, she added, "my name is han jangmi." the guard eyed her before replying. "wait here." she sighed and nodded. he disappeared inside. she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes taking in the expanse of land that the home occupied.

it felt like forever just standing there, underneath the warm sun, waiting. she glanced at her old leather watch. an entirety of twenty minutes had already passed and she hadn't seen any sign of the security guard who had approached her.

it was five more minutes before he reappeared. "mr park has no wish to see you." he simply stated. a part of her had expected it but it still hurt her like he'd just dropped a ton of bricks on her head. "c-could you tell him it's a matter of urgency, please? i need to see him." she pleaded. taking in her slightly frantic state, the guard nodded with a heavy sigh.

he was gone again. she stared at the front gates until her vision began to blur but he still hadn't returned. what could possibly take so long that he couldn't get a proper reply in five to ten minutes? she saw him again after another half hour, walking towards her slowly. "sorry, miss. the young master said he doesn't want to see or have anything to do with you. he asked me to tell you to leave because he's not taking a step out to see you."

jangmi felt like he had lanced her with his simple words. "he wants me to leave?" she mumbled. somehow, she'd thought he would at least see her. the part of her that was still madly in love with him had hoped the jimin she had given three years of her life would want to see her, even for a brief moment.

"d-did you tell him it was important?" she glanced up at the guard, eyes frantic. he nodded, his gaze apologetic as he stared back at her. "i think you should just leave." he said before turning around and walking away from her. she felt dizzy and nauseous, moving quickly to hold on to the trunk of a nearby tree. she took steadying breaths to stop the lightheadedness. but she couldn't do anything about the nausea and threw up behind the tree. she crinkled her nose in disgust, having nothing to wash out the taste of vomit from her mouth.

she was going to wait. jimin would have to leave the house at one point and he would have to see her whether he liked it or not. she didn't exactly want to be there either. in front of the home of the boy who'd promised to never break her heart but did. and was breaking it all over again.

jangmi lost track of how many hours passed before she heard the gates being opened but the sky was already getting dark. she pushed off the trunk of the tree she was leaning against weakly, hurrying to the side of the road to see who it was. the car slowed as one of the windows in the back rolled down to reveal the face of a woman around the same age her mother would have been were she still alive. the woman - who she recognised as park hyunjoo, jimin's mother - eyed her form with distaste. "who are you?"

"i am han jangmi." the girl bowed respectfully. "why are you loitering about my home?" the woman queried, fingers coming up to brush strands of her styled hair behind her ear. "i'm here to see park jimin, madam." jangmi kept her gaze on her feet, feeling self-conscious in front of the older lady. "ah, you're that...girl my jimin was seeing before." the way she said the word 'girl' like it dirtied her lips made jangmi's brows crease together. "what do you want with him? did he not tell you to get lost?"

"i-i need to speak with him about something important." she wrung her hands. "about what? are you going to cook up some bogus story like you're pregnant for him just to be able to stay in his life?" the question took jangmi by surprise. she opened her mouth but couldn't find a reply. hyunjoo laughed. "you poor little girls and your penchant for attaching yourselves to naïve young boys just for a chance at a better life. don't you think it's pathetic? aren't you ashamed of going after a man who clearly wants nothing to do with you? is your dignity worth that little to you?"

jangmi stared at her, flabbergasted that she would insinuate that she was only after jimin's money and would even use her baby to get it. but she wasn't here to fight or defend herself and she was feeling too exhausted to. she was here to let jimin know they were going to have a child together. it wasn't like she was going to force him to marry her or take care of them. "i just need to talk to him."

"but he doesn't want to talk to you! don't you get it? your plans to use my son as a ladder to improve your social and financial status has failed. give up. it's just disgusting what you're doing right now. if you need money, just ask." hyunjoo's voice rose with irritation. she shifted her gaze inside and away from the younger woman, seemingly searching for something.

"i don't-" jangmi was cut short by a thick wad of cash hitting her in the face. she gasped in shock, watching the banknotes fall around her. "take that and leave my son alone!" the window rolled up and the car zoomed off.

she stood there, dumbstruck and unable to move, mouth agog. park hyunjoo just chucked money in her face and drove off like she was some sort of charity case she needed to get rid of.

it took her a moment to realise she was crying. her knees bucked and she thought she was going to fall. it took all her energy to be able to move back to the tree she'd been resting on. now she had two reasons to hate today. it seemed to bring nothing but misfortune. first, four years ago this same day, her parents had died and now the first boy she ever truly loved just shattered her heart and had his family treat her like garbage.

wiping at the tears that ran down her face, staining her cheeks, she dialed hoseok's number. he picked up on the first ring. "hey, birthday girl! how's adult life so far?" his chirpy voice flowed into her ear. "it's horrible, hobi." she sobbed into the phone. "jangmi, what's wrong? why are you crying?" his voice softened, instantly filled with concern. "he wouldn't see me, hobi. i've been here the whole day and he couldn't even step out to see me." she wailed. "what? i don't understand. where are you?" hoseok queried. "outside his house." she choked back a sob.

"outside whose house? do you see the time? it's not safe. tell me where you are." she could hear the shuffling on his end. "outside jimin's house." she sniffed, trying to stop her incessant tears. he paused for a second. "what are you doing there?" he asked, voice soft. "i needed to tell him something. something really important. but he doesn't even want to see me." her voice cracked from the strain she was putting it through. "i'm on my way, okay? stay safe and out of strangers' sight." he said quietly and she heard the jingle of keys. "okay." she nodded her head even though he couldn't see. "i'll be there soon."

jangmi rubbed her belly as she waited, kicking the won bills that were scattered around her feet away. treated like a common beggar. all because of jimin. it gave her renewed strength.

even as she continued to cry, feeling like her heart had been wrenched from her chest, she felt a strong conviction. "i promise you, baby, that you would never have to endure the same thing your mother did." she sniffled, wiping at her ever flowing tears with one hand. "you will have the best life. and you'll live in comfort and happiness and i'll never let anyone make you feel any less than you are."

her vision was starting to get hazy, black spots dotting her sight. she felt a pang in her stomach and realised she'd only eaten once today. she had not even had a drop of water since she got there. it hadn't even occurred to her all day as she wallowed in her heartbreak. she was supposed to be eating for two, and there she was starved and severely dehydrated. and crying so much had drained her. she just knew. she knew she was going to pass out soon. she just hoped hoseok would get there before she did.

"mimi!" hoseok's voice sounded so far away. her gaze moved up but she couldn't see his running form clearly, just a blur of moving colours. "hobi," she let out weakly. "are you okay?"

she felt his strong arms around her before everything went black.

☀️☀️☀️

and here is the moment jangmi and jimin argued about multiple times. and now you know why it especially hurt her. i thought cimorelli's cover of post malone's i fall apart was perfect for this chapter.