the dinner went unexpectedly good, with the elders and especially jungkook who has already bonded a lot with seokjin and yoongi despite it being his first time meeting the eldest. jiah enjoyed seeing them talking like they have been friends for ages and the seven years age gap felt like nothing. jungkook was the trickster, funky young boy and seokjin could be his mate if they hungout one more time together. 

yoongi had offered to walk jiah home, however jungkook quickly assured him that he would drop her off safely in his motorcycle, while namjoon bid goodbyes and headed home, driving seokjin with him since his house was on the way. the dinner was primarily to catch up and have the normal routine hangouts back, although yoongi decided to take the opportunity to drop one of the biggest news of his life.

he was getting engaged next year to this girl his parents found for him, and set him up on a blind date with. the whole week while jiah was stuck with taehyung, yoongi was being the part of the play his parents had set up for him, so he could meet this girl and fall in love with her. they had two dates, the second one being too casual as they just went out to grab a coffee and talk about their interests, but the first one was a big deal.

yoongi cringed telling jiah and the other three the details of his supposedly date, how he wore semi formal clothes and was instructed strictly by his mother to not be rude to the girl, which ended up in him keeping his mouth shut for half of the time. however, he admitted it wasn't so bad because listening to the girl was actually quite enjoyable. that was something jungkook quickly agreed with and nudged jiah, as if letting her know that he loves to listen to her talk as well.

jiah couldn't be happier for yoongi. he is almost her brother, just not by blood, and seeing him finding a nice girl, a compatible life partner feels good in itself. she hugged yoongi as soon as he accepted that he was, in fact, interested in that girl and wouldn't mind another date. it might look like it's not a big deal, but jiah knows what kind of person min yoongi is and has always been. through the years, with his seemingly cold personality and savage nature has often intimidated people, making it hard for them to approach him.

his only relationship that she can remember was when she had started middle school and he was in college. he had a girlfriend back then, who lasted for more or less a year and then they broke up for unknown reasons. after that yoongi never really got involved in relationships, not that jiah knows of any. flings? maybe. but that's also something out of jiah's knowledge. so, after almost ten years, today is the day that she head him talking liking a girl. mind that he has only met her twice. love at first much.

jiah smiles at her thoughts, not realising when jungkook pulls in front of her apartment complex and taps her knee, get her attention back on him. she hops off quickly, glancing forward at her son, who has fallen asleep during the short drive and jungkook supports his tiny body with one hand, so he won't slip. "thanks for today. it was fun with you." jiah smiles at jungkook, carrying her son in her arms and faces jungkook properly. "and i'm sorry if i said something stupid or made you uncomfortable. i can be a little out of my head sometimes..." she smiles sheepishly like a nervous child, fondling with the handle of his motorcycle.

"i don't mind you being out of your head as long as we can work it out. just know that i'm always here for you, whenever you want someone to talk, or listen to you, or hug you, anything." he smiles, "you're precious."

"you've been saying a lot of sweet things, jungkook."

"because you deserve it, baby."

"hm, you think so?" she grins, stepping closer to him, holding her toddler and leans near his face, "take your helmet off." jungkook does as she says, too eager for he expects a kiss, tilting his head and closes his eyes, almost jumping internally in happiness to be able to kiss his crush for almost seven months.

jiah giggles, pecking his cheek and steps back, leaving him frowning as he quickly opens his eyes, staring at her with betrayal evident in his expression. "that's cheating! come back here!" he looks at her, mentally groaning as jiah sticks her tongue out at him, waving her hand before disappearing inside the building.

she peeks back once, seeing him ruffling his hair and shake his head, a similar smile playing on his lips like jiah's, making her all giddy and happy, entering the elevator after she makes sure jungkook doesn't wait anymore in the cold night. she presses the button to her floor, hugging her son, smiling in his shoulder, she inhales deeply and leans back against the wall. her head rewinds the day in her head, picturing all of those moments where she laughed with jungkook, and the way he would to talk to jihun or play with him like he was indeed his best buddy.

jungkook truly makes her forget all of her worries and makes jiah's life look like a fairytale just by being in it even if it was for a few hours. the time that she spent with him, she didn't have to worry about taehyung, about finding a job, about not being enough, or many other destructive behavioural thoughts that became a part of jiah's daily routine without her noticing. but that doesn't mean she can keep ignoring these things. jungkook appeared as a hope when she wanted to die, and being with him, she feels like maybe life isn't as bad as taehyung made it look like.

she was living with her son before jungkook came into picture, and that was a beautiful time too. she wouldn't want to change anything from past, except for her mother disowning her in anger and father watching silently with pained eyes when she walked out of the door for the final time. other than that, she handled everything pretty bravely, even the delivery that hurted like hell and made her want to not give birth at all. but at that time too, the doctors and nurse's voices telling her to stay up and keep pushing for her child, she went through it too, realising instantly that if she gave up, she wouldn't be able to live peacefully ever again.

jihun is truly a blessing, and she'd like to convince her parents about this fact again if they give her one last chance.

sighing deeply, she glances down at her son, a smile automatically stretching her lips, seeing jihun suckling on his thumb slowly in his sleep. the elevator dings and jiah steps out, shifting jihun to one arm, having a little difficulty for it is now that she notices how much he has grown up both in height and weight. although he's still tiny and stumble running sometimes, but still jiah didn't realise that he's not an infant anymore, almost toilet trained and has started speaking a lot more than a few months ago. he can understand some complex commands as well and is now learning some of the alphabets, numbers and colors.

she groans lightly, fishing out the keys from her handbag with some difficulty as her other arm keeps securely holding her sleeping son. he moves a little, whimpering in his sleep, making jiah gasp as she drops her bag and the keys. she pats jihun's back first, kissing subconsciously on the side of his head, "it's okay." she hums softly, waiting like that for a moment before crouching down to pick up her purse, which is when a pair of footsteps stop right in front of her. before she looks up with the confusion evident on her face, the person themself crouch down and get all of her things inside the bag, handing it to her.

"jimin?" she lets out, getting a small smile from him as he helps her up. "what are you doing here?"

"i wanted to talk to you about something really important."

"i'm not coming to the company again if that's what you have to say." she sighs, taking her bag from his hand and walks past him towards her apartment.

"actually, no. i respect that decision." he says, following after and stops beside her while she inserts the key in the hole, unlocking the door and opens it. jimin stays at the door, refraining himself from entering even though he has been here a couple times, although each time it was any pleasant memory.

"do you seriously wanna talk right now? at—" she pauses to look back at the wall clock, "-ten o'clock at night?"

"i know, i know. it's pretty late, but please i just drove back from busan." he sighs, scratching his nape. jiah stares at him cautiously, trying to find the cheat in his eyes, but doesn't see anything other than a tired man.

maybe he's not lying. if he came back from the company he would've been dressed differently than his current attire; a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt and washed blue jeans that are fit him perfectly at the right places. rolling her eyes at herself and jimin's audacity, she shakes her head, turning back to look at jihun whom she just laid on the couch for now, before stepping outside in the hallway and closes the door behind her.

her arms cross on her chest, head tilting up as she waits for jimin to start speaking. he starts with a smile, "thanks, i was nervous approaching you." he says, "i know i've done a few things that i shouldn't have. i regret it. maybe i was being too egoistic and immature about the whole thing— about us."

"there was no us." jiah corrects him, making him sigh softly.

"well, there could be..." he still tries, "when i left the company for you, jiah, a lot of things happened and believe me or not, that the was the time i realised how much i needed you for my mere functioning. my company faced huge losses, but i didn't care— and that's new. i've always been the one to put work before anything, but when it comes to you. somehow, i just feel like nothing deserves my attention more than you. a lot of people noticed my absence. of course. and they kept making their own theories, the most common one being that park jimin is mad in love with his previous secretory." jimin says, letting out a soft chuckle, even though jiah keeps a neutral face, more invested in listening to him.

"i wouldn't deny. park jimin is, in fact, mad in love with his previous secretory," he confirms, staring in jiah's eyes. "my dad noticed it too and he kept asking me if there was anything bothering me that i couldn't focus on our company. i kept ignoring those questions, until they— mom and dad confronted me about it in person, and asked if those rumours were true. dad didn't really say anything but mom was kind of happy that i might've found the woman i love."

jiah frowns at him, shaking her head, "i don't understand this. why are you telling me all that out of nowhere?"

"because," he bites his lower lip, pushing his hair back. "i might've agreed with them..."

"what?" she squints. "agreed that you are in love with your previous— that means, me ?"

"it's not a lie." he emphasizes.

"but you can't just say that!" jiah gasps, "oh my god park jimin! you agreed that—you're in love with me, to your parents?!"

"yeah, and now they wanna meet you." he smiles nervously, getting a glare from him.

"no! i don't care what you said or did back at your home, but i did not sign up for it. i'm no longer with you and we're not even friends. so please, don't expect me to go with you and—"

"please, jiah. i had no other option than to tell them. and it's not like i lied... also, i had no idea they'd wanna meet you."

"what you did is wrong. you cannot just go around telling people that you—" she pauses, head turning to the door and she holds up her hand in front of jimin's face, stopping him from speaking as she's focused on something else. "i thought i heard jihun." she mumbles, sighing and shakes her head, facing jimin again, "yeah, where was i?"

"oh uh, i did wrong and i can't go around telling people—"

"—that you love me. yeah." she huffs, "park jimin, you need to really start thinking before you open your mouth."

"i'm sorry. i know i messed up again, and i need your help. it might be a lot to ask, but can you please find some time this weekend and go to busan with me?"

"what?" jiah stares at hin with wide eyes, not believing what he just asked her. "you don't wanna take me home, jimin. we're not even a couple! you told them about you being in love with me, but what about me? why do i not have a say in this? i'm clearly not into you and i think you should understand that."

"as much as it hurts me, i am trying to understand you, jiah. trust me on that. i feel bad that i have to bring you in my family mess, but i really cannot see my mother upset. that's the reason i couldn't deny her the moment she started imagining me and my potential girlfriend." he sighs, "please, just help me out this once, i swear on god, i won't bother you after this."

jiah massages her temples, hating that jimin had to look so soft right now. he looks exhausted, probably due to driving himself from another city and being stressed about the whole situation he has gotten himself into. despite her own messed up life, jiah feels bad to see him this way, for she too knows he must've gone through a lot. he is not any normal person, he's park jimin with a hundred thousand responsibilities on his shoulders and she has already made him leave his position as the ceo of their company. only if she could feel a little less guilty about it.

even though jungkook told her that he deserved it after practically trying to bribe her and lure her back under him with some money, anger didn't keep jiah blinded for more than a few minutes and she understood why namjoon so worried as soon as he came to know what had happened. jungkook too told her that namjoon had been working like there's no tomorrow ever since jimin left his position, because he was the only one whom jimin trusted so much with the company.

seeing so many people, including namjoon, struggling because of jimin's absence did make jiah feel a tad bit sad about what she asked jimin to do in anger. and he agreed like a lovesick man. heaving out a deep sigh, she looks at him again, "what about my son? did you tell your parents that i have a child? i'm sure they'll hate me after that and then we're both fine."

"i didn't tell them about jihun yet." he shakes his head, "that's why i'm saying, jiah. please go with me this saturday and pretend to be my girlfriend. after that i'll call them a few days later and tell them that we broke up. it wouldn't be so hard."

"for you. i'm the one who will have to leave their child here alone." she glares at him. "and who said i agreed to go with you? why would i even help you after everything that you've done?"

"i get that. i'm sorry for all of the times i hurt you. i never meant to." he promises. "i'm only doing this for my mother, jiah. i'm her only son and i kinda understand that she wants me to be happy. i guess, you can understand that, right? you're a mother too, afterall."

jiah falls silent, repeating his words in her head which do make some sense, but she keeps denying them, not wanting to go with him anywhere, especially not his home in busan. yes, she does know how much one's parents can mean to them, and no matter how strong of a person one might be, they'd most likely lose against their family, because it's easier to fight the world than to fight their loved ones. she understands it too well.

"just one dinner, jiah. and if you want, we can keep it professional between us. i won't try anything, i swear." he pronounces with a serious face.

"professional? how?" jiah arches up a brow.

"you used to work me earlier, and i paid you. we can do that again if you want. that way we'll know that we—"

"you'll pay me to be your fake girlfriend in front of your family?"

"uhm, yeah." he scratches his nape, "but only if you want it that way."

"this is not some trick, is it? i can't bring myself to believe you." jiah shakes her head, earning a sad smile from jimin.

"that's my fault too. we used to be close and then i pulled some awful shit to end up like this. i don't blame you. it's me." he shrugs, "i can't go back and change what happened, but i can assure you that i'll be a better person for you and hopefully, gain your trust again."

"there's no need to do all that. i'm not interested anymore." she says, pushing her hair back and steps near the door of her apartment, opening it, "alright, i'll think about your problem and the offer. only because you said your mom wants to see you happy. don't get your hopes too high, or else i won't go anywhere with you."

"okay." jimin nods quickly with a smile, "thank you for listening to me. and i'm sorry again, for causing you trouble. uh please just text me or call me, whatever and let me know what you've decided. it's this saturday."

"this saturday— the day after!"

jimin smiles nervously, nodding his head, and jiah steps forward again, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket, "you're an asshole, park jimin." she grits out in frustration, although jimin stares with newfound interest, tilting his head as his eyes lower themselves to glance at her hands clasping his jacket and then to her face that looks so hot when she's mad. "i'm not going anywhere. get some other girl to play your girlfriend."

"what?!" his eyes widen at that, shaking his head instantly, "no! it's you who has to do that, jiah. come on. i'm sorry for coming up this late. i seriously had no choice. i came here to you after trying everything that could possibly work, but it didn't. you're my last hope."

"why can't you just talk to your parents? it's people like you because of whom parents get to generalize all the children in the world!"

"i don't know what you're talking about. let's just stay on my problem right now, okay? so, what do you say?"

"no." she scoffs, letting go of him.

"please?" he asks softly, virtually pleading her with his beautiful eyes, and jiah looks away. "just one dinner, jiah? we've done more than that before. why are you hesitating now?"

"because it's different now. i don't like you anymore." she squints at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"alright, what do you want me to do then? to make you feel a bit better about this, hm?"

"get me a really nice and caring and understanding and reliable babysitter." she orders, leaving jimin staring at her quietly for a moment, then breaks into a smile, nodding his head.

"of course. i'll get someone. you don't have to worry about that." he says, heaving out a breath of releif. "thank you so much, jiah. you have no idea how much this means to me."

"whatever." she hums, "don't think i'm doing this for free or that you bought me with a handful of money."

"never. i understand we all have our struggles. so do you. me or literally anyone else has no right to judge you for it."

"yeah," she nods slowly, liking these words as they come out of his mouth. yet she keeps herself from saying anything that might flatter jimin too much, and steps back again inside the line that marks her apartment. "go home now."

"uh- yes, of course. see you soon." he blurts and turns around quickly, walking towards the elevator.

jiah sighs deeply, closing the door with her back as she leans against it, groaning in frustration about this new problem now. she ties her hair into a bun, carrying jihun to her room and quickly takes off his clothes,.leaving him in a fresh diaper for the night so he wouldn't wake her up feeling wet and cranky until morning, then lays him in the crib before throwing her own clothes somewhere around the room and enters the bathroom for a nice warm shower, which is the only thing that could relax her right now.

"fuck you, park jimin." she hisses, scrubbing her arms and accidentally scratches the skin with a long nail, wincing at the roughness of her own hands.

_______________

a/n:- happy new year everyone! i hope you enjoy 2024, and here's jimin in this particular fit to bless you (ref. the look i described up above in today's chapter 😌)