«Πήρε ένα βήμα και δεν ήθελε να κάνει πια, αλλά το έκανε.»

❝She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but she did.❞

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

*Jin stans hold onto your socks!* 😃👍🏻

That night, Ara couldn't sleep. 

She tossed and turned in bed, but something kept her up. It was a quarter past three in the morning, but she still hadn't had the shut of an eye even for a minute. 

Yoongi and the others had told her to take a rest, but that's the last thing she could do even when she tried. Sitting up straight in bed, she ran her hands through her hair, sighing to herself. She groaned and flopped back onto the bed, staring open-eyed at the ceiling above her. She then sprang out of bed and carefully walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. 

Opening one of the shelves, she rummaged through, searching for sleeping pills. "Shoot, I thought I stocked them last month. Ugh, now what?" She walked up to the couch and lay there, staring out the front window. It was pouring heavily outside, and the sky was as dark as coal. The streets and roads were wet and shiny in the rain, and she sighed to herself. 

She missed Jin so much, but she couldn't tell why. He was her soulmate, yes. 

But wasn't it too early to fall in love? 

Or, maybe, she wasn't really in love. Missing someone doesn't have to mean that she loved him. 

Right? 

Maybe she just missed having him around. Or it's probably just a crush. 

Yeah, just a crush. That's the only plausible explanation for this. Wasn't it? 

Her train of thoughts ended when she suddenly sneezed. "W-what the— I'm still inside, how am I sneezing?" She looked around, and all of a sudden, her eyes widened. 

"Jin." 

She rubbed her eyes and massaged her forehead. "Why the fuck are you doing outside in the rain, Jin?" 

She stared out at the rain, wondering what Jin could be doing right now. If she wasn't in the downpour, then he had to be. Why else would she sneeze? And what could he be doing outside in this heavy rain? 

Right then, there was a loud knock on the door. Ara gasped and walked backward, towards the kitchen, as the knocks got louder and more persistent. Grabbing a spatula from the racks, she made her way to the door, cautiously. Holding the spatula behind her back, she slowly opened the door. 

Now, who she saw standing at the door was another surprise. 

"J-Jin?" 

Her eyes welled up as she dropped the spatula and lunged forward to greet Jin with open arms. Even though it took him by shock, a small smile took over his face as he hugged her close. 

"I'm sorry about this unannounced visit. Did I wake you up?" He muttered, and she shook her head, pulling away from his embrace. 

"No, no, of course, not. I-I couldn't sleep anyway," she mumbled, and let him inside the house. "But, Jin..." she paused, looking him up and down, "what exactly are you doing here at this time in the night? What about your mom? When did you leave from Gwacheon, anyway? How'd you get here? Why did you come here instead of going home?" She had so many questions, and she demanded answers. 

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'll answer each and every one of your questions in a few," Jin chuckled, and Ara blushed in embarrassment. She led him to the couch as he sat down. 

"Stay here. I'll go get you some dry towels," Ara said as she raced up the stairs and came back down as fast. Handing them to him, she caught his frown. "What's wrong?" she asked, but he kept quiet. "Jin?" 

He pointed his finger to his head, and then to the towel, and Ara understood what he meant. She chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes. "What are you, five?" She asked as she took the towel from him and started drying his hair for him. A few minutes later, she stopped and ran her hands through his hair to check if it was dry enough. 

That was when she caught his gaze, and the thumping of her beating heart started synchronizing with his. 

Both of them froze on the spot, solely taking in each other's presence and the comfort of the walls and the roof they had around them, sheltering them from the rain and thunderstorms. 

"Will you answer my questions now?" Ara asked, and Jin cleared his throat, breaking their gaze. 

"Uhh, yeah... You might wanna sit down," he said, and Ara nodded as she sat down next to him. "Okay, so... where do I start?" He took a deep breath in. 

"Alright. Uhm, my mom, she apparently lied to me about having long to live. She told me to leave the house so that she can die alone in her house, with no one near." Ara gasped lightly, tears filling her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "And, about you..." he turned to face her as she sat up straight. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ara. I hurt you so much when I left, I know. And I'm sorry—" 

"Jin," she stopped him. "It's okay. It's not a big deal. You had to leave for your mother, and I would have never stopped you. No matter how much it hurts me, I'm nothing more than your soulmate, Jin. Your mother always matters more, as it should, to both you and to me. Okay? Please don't blame yourself cause it's not your fault." 

Ara took Jin's hands in hers, scooting closer to him. "I've missed you. I won't deny that I missed you a lot. But I knew that your mom needed you more than I did. It was just constant headaches and nauseousness, Jin. It's not like I've not been through that before, so I'm fine." 

Jin sighed. "Ara," he tried but was hushed by Ara again. 

"No, Jin, shush. Enough about me. Tell me what you did all the time when you were back home?" She smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. 

"No, nothing much. Most of the time, just tending to my mom and playing Mario when I'm not. Singing sometimes, and oh, I rewatched all of BTS's covers on Youtube, and it was a blast! Guess what, my mom like BTS too! I think she's Jimin biased," he laughed, and Ara chuckled along in amusement. 

"Damn, that is lovely, Jin. What else? Cooked something new?" 

"Oh, nah, not really. The maids are always busy in the kitchen. They never even let me in there, saying that I'd ruin my clothes. Well, what can I say, stuff that's common when you're the son of two rich business parents," he shrugged, and Ara nodded. "Anyways, forget that. What's up with Hobi and Yoongi? I didn't get any news from them yet," he asked, turning to Ara. 

A smile took over her face as she spoke, "They got together, yeah. I think Hobi finally realized his feelings for Yoongi, and they kissed, so now they're Completely bonded." She cheered, and his jaw dropped. 

"No way. That's amazing!" He was stunned. 

"I know, right! They're so cute together," she gushed, and he laughed. 

"So..." he trailed off once the laughter died down. "We're the only one's who's not yet Completely bonded," he mumbled, and Ara bit her lips. 

"Uhh, Jin..." she started, only to get cut off by him. 

"No, no, don't. I understand, and it's fine. I told you that you could take your time, Ara. Don't force yourself to like me—" "Oh, shut up, Jin." 

Ara leaned forward and turned his head to face her and then gently placed her lips on his. It was a short touch of lips, but it sent a shockwave of electricity through both their bodies simultaneously. She pulled away slowly, their faces mere inches away. Jin's eyes were still wide, and Ara's cheeks had flushed. "You don't have to force me to like you when I already do," she mumbled, and that was enough for Jin to take the next initiative. 

He wrapped his arms around Ara's waist and pulled her onto his lap, capturing her lips between his. She relaxed her hands onto Jin's shoulders as their lips simply brushed against each other. She ran her hands through the back of his hair, tugging at them once in a while. Jin's hands stroked her backbone gently, gaining a soft moan from her parted lips. 

He slowly laid her down onto the couch, hovering over her figure. She leaned up and kissed his lips again, this time, his tongue slipping past her lips, their moans and groans filling the room. 

After a few more minutes of making out and some small talk, the two of them fell asleep on the couch, cuddling each other closer than they've ever been before. 

x Chapter Twenty Nine x

[A/N]

You're welcome 😄💜