Jimin couldn't concentrate on where he was going; his mind was overloaded and the tears in his eyes had obstructed his vision, so he found himself apologizing many times after having bumped into several people. They would all give him strange stares as his appearance was a complete mess but he just kept his head down and walked away with quick pace. He finally made it to the terrace to get some fresh air, sighing in relief when he saw that no one was there after he scanned his surroundings. He approached a railed area, leaning his arms against the railing as he stared out at the scenery before him.    

 Once he had released a couple of breaths he felt his heart sink as the memory of how he acted towards his mother came rushing back. "W-why did I act like that? She's still my eomma and I l-left her alone to c-cry..." he lowered his head in shame, the lump in his throat making it hard for him to swallow. "She sacrificed father to a demon? I-I can see ghosts? S-she's going to die for me?" The last question he verbalized was what made him crouch down with his hands grasping his hair tightly and his head digging onto his knees. His body was shaking both from the cold since his jacket was not thick enough and from the intensity of his wailing.    

 He had always exuded a positive image so that others could find their comfort in him if they ever needed it. He didn't want to be a burden to others; everyone always mentioned he was a bit of a freak for being overly friendly, nice, and positive but he didn't mind. He was human so there were times where he was stressed and emotions would get the better of him but he would express them privately in the comfort of his own home. He knew it wasn't a good idea to bottle up his feelings and deal with them alone but he couldn't help it. Even his own girlfriend hadn't seen him upset much and it was one of the things she didn't like about him.    

Seulgi would get upset for his lack of trust in her but it wasn't because he didn't trust her. He just couldn't bring himself to do it after having lived that way for so long. After his father died he had to grow up at such a young age and help his mother out as she became his priority. He didn't have a normal childhood and lived his life to please others. He had yet to learn how it felt like to be a normal person that could be selfish and express himself without having to think of anyone else. He remained crouched until his phone began to vibrate in the pocket of his jeans.    

Like always, he set his own feelings aside and pulled out his phone in case someone had an emergency and needed to depend on him. He wiped at the tears that were still silently coming down and attempted to control his hiccups that came from crying so hard. He pointed his cracked phone screen towards his face and bit his lip when he laid his eyes on the contact that read, "Seulgi Bear 🐻❤️." Once upon a time, he would have been extremely overjoyed over being able to speak with his girlfriend, but they had been having issues lately that he couldn't blame on anyone else but himself.    

He calmed himself before answering the call, awaiting in silence before he heard her speak. "Jimin..." she began, "finally you picked up. I've been calling you for such a long time and sent you countless of messages but you never answered. I was worried, is everything okay?" His eyes widened at her beginning statement and he immediately checked his phone only to find fifteen missed calls and thirty messages. Not all of them were from her but it just proved how out of it he was to have completely ignored his phone prior to this moment.    

"Jimin? Are you there? Is everything okay?" Seulgi's panicked voice snapped him out of his prior shock and he quickly let out a soft exhale before speaking into the phone with a shaky voice. "I-I'm sorry, Seul. I didn't mean to ignore you. I-it's just something happened with eomma and I wasn't in my right mind." Seulgi instantly noticed the change of his voice compared to the usual cheery tone of his. "Where are you, Jimin? I'm going to meet you. I want to see you right now." She demanded although she tried to keep her voice soft so he wouldn't think she was angry. "You don't have to come all the way here, Seul. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Jimin actually felt like being comforted for once but pushed the feeling away just as fast as he had felt it. "Shut up, you jerk. This time I can tell that something is really wrong. You can't keep this up forever. Where are you?" she asked him once again and Jimin couldn't help but smile at least a little at her determination that reminded him of someone else he had been keeping in the back of his mind.   

"I'm at the hospital eomma is staying at – currently at the terrace..." he paused, releasing another sigh and continuing talking into the phone, "thank you and I'm sorry, for everything." He finished his words, ending the call when he was met with absolute silence from the other line. He set his cracked phone to the side and planted himself on the floor with his back against the cold half wall below the railing. He hugged himself to keep warm and brought his knees up. He knew that he wasn't on the best terms with Seulgi at the moment but he was glad she was still willing to care for him despite the lack of attention he had been giving her as she had previously stated. He sighed and waited silently for his girlfriend to come and find him.    

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"I-I need to go home!" Chaeyoung yelled, making Jin and Jungkook jump at her sudden outburst. "Chaeyoung, calm down. You need to take it easy as your body is currently recovering. You will be released tomorrow morning so stop with the tantrums." Jin said sternly, reaching out to touch her but she slapped his hand away from her. "Get out! Both of you, leave me alone!" She turned to her side, back facing them as they stood there in shock. Jungkook glanced at a saddened Jin and he clenched his fists at his side. "Cut this attitude of yours, Chaeyoung! I don't know what that lady said to you but you shouldn't take your emotions out on us. Especially Jin hyung who has been nothing but nice and supportive towards you. If you want to be a brat then go ahead. You don't want us here? Fine. We're leaving." Jungkook turned away from Chaeyoung, feeling guilty over his harsh words when he heard her muffled sobs but remained at the door as he waited for Jin. Jin sighed and placed a gentle hand on Chaeyoung's arm, which caused her to flinch in surprise. "You must have heard something horrible to make you lash out. Don't worry, take your time. We'll be outside if you need us. We'll give you some space for now." He said softly before walking out the door with Jungkook following behind.    

Chaeyoung shut her eyes tightly and roughly bit her bottom lip to muffle the sounds of her sobs. Her whole body was trembling from her cries and she felt lightheaded from all the tears coming out of her. She felt horrible about treating Jin and Jungkook the way she had but she didn't have the strength to get up and apologize profusely to them at the moment. She had just found out that her parents had given her to a demon for who knows what. The little memory of her childhood blinded her with a sense of disbelief but after realizing how she grew up after her parents literally turned their back on her, she knew it wasn't that hard to believe at all. If they were planning to throw her away then sacrificing her wouldn't be unbelievable if they got something good out of it.    

She rolled her body to stare up at the ceiling, "I-I'm going to die...there's no stopping it. The woman said I had the mark of death on me...ha." she began to laugh and shed tears simultaneously, finding it hard to comprehend what she could have possibly done in her past life to deserve this. "W-wow...how will I tell the guys? J-Jungkook died for no reason. Jin oppa lost his brother for no reason. Jimin...Jimin is going to lose his life for no reason if he continues to be involved. Everything is meaningless now. No matter what I do to fight back – I­-I've been marked and I can't escape this. I'm going to die eventually. I have no hope...the demon will never stop until the deal is complete. It will torture me until it finally decides to claim my life. It gives me moments of tranquility where it disappears for long periods of time but then comes back to almost kill me and disappears again. The darkness always follows..."    

She sat up with a groan of pain and glared around the room, unable to see or feel anything but having found a new sense of courage. "Yah, demon friend! If you want me then come and get me! I'm defenseless at the moment so why not kill me now?!" she yelled, causing the two guys outside her room to widen their eyes and immediately come into her room. "Kill me already! I have no hope! Stop with these games and take me!" she screamed, choking into sobs when she felt Jin's arms taking her into a warm and much needed embrace. "Park Chaeyoung! Are you crazy?! Why the hell are you provoking it?!" Jungkook yelled at her, his face showing nothing but rage at Chaeyoung's foolish behavior. "I-I'm dead...I'm dead. There's no hope, guys!" Jin held her tighter in response and Jungkook released a sigh of frustration as he ruffled his hair. "What are we going to do with you, Chae?" he asked to no one in particular. Chaeyoung just clutched Jin's coat with her small hands as she cried into his chest.    

 After having substantially calmed down she moved away from Jin, holding onto his hands softly. "I-I'm so sorry for smacking your hand, oppa. You're too good for me. I don't deserve someone as nice as you in my life. I'm extremely grateful for you. I just wanted you to know that. I'm sorry." She mustered all the courage she could to look at Jin in the eyes despite how ashamed she felt. Jin just shook his head and chuckled, pulling Chaeyoung into another hug again. "You are such a cutie, Chaeyoung! This is why you are my favorite kid!" He said, earning a scoff of disgust from Jungkook. 

"Honestly it's okay for you to lash out considering what you are going through. I'm sure whatever you heard must not have been pleasant." Jin pulled her away slightly, his tone returning serious once again. Chaeyoung sniffled, her lip quivering as she was preparing to release more tears but she held them in. "I-I seriously don't know what to do anymore. L-let's go to the terrace, please? This room feels too stuffy for me now. I feel like it's hard to breathe and I would feel much better crying outside where people other than you will hear."     

Jin and Jungkook looked at each other before they just nodded and helped her off the bed. Jin shook off his coat and handed it to Chaeyoung who accepted it with a small smile. She put the coat on slowly and leaned into Jin's shoulder for support as they walked out of her room. Once out the door, they were greeted with the wide eyes of people that had overheard Chaeyoung's screaming dedicated to a demon. Their eyes averted as soon as they made contact with them and Chaeyoung felt completely embarrassed over having yelled out so loudly but continued walking towards the terrace regardless. They soon spotted the security by the door and Chaeyoung practically dragged Jin who had been supporting her since they left her room. "Chaeyoung slow down or you'll kill Jin hyung's face by making him fall face first on the ground. You know that's all he has, right?" Jungkook said jokingly which earned him a side glare from both Jin and Chaeyoung. "I'll slow down my pace. I just hate being here any longer." Jin chuckled and grabbed her hand, getting her to the door faster. They bowed to the security guards and headed outside. Chaeyoung sighed in content when the fresh cold air hit her warm face.     

She dragged Jin as she looked around in silence, finally heading towards the railed area where two people she hadn't noticed were currently located. Jin paused, holding onto Chaeyoung's hand tightly when he noticed two familiar people standing closely together. Chaeyoung looked up at Jin with a questioning glance but then faced forward to see what he had stopped for. There she saw Jimin being tightly held in Seulgi's arms as he cried with a pain that Chaeyoung couldn't believe he could possess. He was clutching her back tightly and Chaeyoung suddenly felt her heart tense and a lump in her throat form as she stared at the two. Jungkook turned from Jimin and Seulgi to Jin and Chaeyoung with a frown visible on his face when Jin tried to pull her away from the scene but she stubbornly refused.   

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Jimin hadn't broken down in front of Seulgi before but as soon as he saw how worried she was with her arms ready to take him in, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He allowed himself to breakdown in front of her, clinging onto her small frame with all his strength, feeling comforted by the warmth her body provided and the feeling of one hand patting his back while the other patted his head. "You can cry all you want, Jimin. While you are with me you don't have to feel like you have to be strong. I will protect you when you need me to. I'll be there no matter what because I love you so very much, Jimin." I will protect you...Jimin stopped crying once he heard those words and he felt his heart beat faster when Chaeyoung's image of her protecting him during the library accident appeared in his mind. He bit his lip and shook his head as he tried to shake the image away but unlike the image in his mind, the feeling in his heart wouldn't disappear. He pulled away from Seulgi, cupping her face in his hands as he gazed into her eyes that looked into his with so much affection but a hint of sadness and he felt guilty for having thought of another girl.    

Enough is enough heart. Seulgi. Seulgi. Seulgi. Please get that straight. Stop confusing me further. I have to make up my mind and this is it. I love Seulgi. I have to prove to her that I still love her. With that in mind, Jimin pulled Seulgi closer and kissed her deeply, making her gasp in shock. Chaeyoung who had been watching the whole thing stepped back in that moment, feeling her chest tighten and her eyes start to burn. Stupid, Chaeng...why are you so upset? She thought but despite the pain she forced herself to watch. She felt like she needed to see the scene to get something within herself over with. Jin turned away, unable to watch Chaeyoung's pained expression that she seemed to be unaware of. Jungkook couldn't take it anymore and moved to stand in front of her, blocking away the couple's intimate moment from her view.

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"What you are feeling right now is not pain towards him, Chae. Don't be confused. It is pain you were already previously feeling that is coming at another moment. Don't think too much into it. We should go inside. By the looks of your red nose and your trembling body I am guessing it is too cold for you out here." He felt kind of guilty for denying her the realization of her own feelings towards Jimin but it was what he believed to be best. This is the best way, Chaeyoung. I'll protect you from Jimin who is too unsure of his emotions. I'll keep you safe. Chaeyoung slowly nodded, letting go of Jin's hand and began walking backwards until she ended up tripping and falling to the ground. "Chaeyoung!" Jin and Jungkook shouted, both instantly crouching to help her up.    

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Jimin was trying to put his whole self into the kiss but he felt like Seulgi was restraining herself when she responded. She was guarded and didn't press him closer to her, instead putting her hands on his chest to keep a certain distance between them. Nonetheless, she was still responding so Jimin thought that maybe he was not trying hard enough so attempted to make it more passionate. However, before he got the chance to do so a loud thump and a familiar name being called caught his attention, instantly making him break the kiss and turn towards the direction of the sounds. 

His eyes widened when he saw Chaeyoung on the floor in tears with Jin attempting to get her to stand up. His body twitched with the urge to run to help her but Seulgi's shaking hand that was now grasping his jacket prevented him from doing so. He turned to look at Seulgi but she was just looking at Chaeyoung with sad eyes. Jimin turned back to Chaeyoung, breath caught in his throat when he saw her staring straight at him. They stared at each other for what felt like forever, which in reality was less than a second as Chaeyoung quickly averted her eyes. She stood up, clinging onto Jin who wrapped an arm around her and hurriedly pulled her out of the terrace.

Jimin stood there in shock, his heart pounding mercilessly in his chest as worries for her flooded his system. He suddenly felt a cold hand touch his cheek gently that brought him back to reality. He came into eye contact with Seulgi who stared at him in silence with a sad smile and pained eyes that burned with a small hint of resolution. "Listen to what I have to say for a few minutes, okay?" Jimin raised an eyebrow in confusion but gave her his full attention. "I love you so very much and I know that we have spent many years together. I even thought we would get married at one point." she sadly chuckled, her voice getting more unstable as she spoke. Jimin reached for her hands but she shook her head and moved a step away from him, giving them more space. "I know you better than you know yourself, Park Jimin. I thought long and hard while you were too busy with work and school about what I wanted to do. I knew I couldn't keep going like this anymore and that I couldn't force you to be with me any longer. It's not like I am physically holding you down but our relationship is." Jimin once again tried to approach her but she stepped back once again. 

"I wish I could have told you this another time but hearing your voice over the phone and the fact that we were going to meet gave me the opportunity to say this while I still had the guts. Your natural reactions to her also made things much more c-clearer for m-me." She began to break down, placing a hand in front of her when Jimin walked forward. She shook her head and looked at him with a smile although tears were falling from her eyes. "I meant what I said about loving you and it will take me a long time to stop but I'll pull through. I also meant what I said about being there for you and protecting you whenever you need me. However, I will be doing all those things as a f-friend from now on..."

Jimin's heart dropped with the mention of the word "friend" and he knew automatically where this conversation was going. "S-Seul, no...please don't do this." he muttered but Seulgi shook her head once again. "I have to do this for the both of us, Jimin. Enough is enough and I have to stop this while I can. It won't be healthy if we continue our relationship if the affection is no longer mutual. I can't do that to you. That is why..." she took a deep breath, looking at Jimin straight in the eyes with such determination that it left him unsure of what to feel. "T-that is why I have to break up with you. T-this is it for u-us, Jimin." With those words she finally got closer to him, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly before pulling away with a smile adorning her face. Jimin touched his cheek, feeling like he had lost the last bit of normality in his life.

"S-Seulgi, I-I love you." Jimin whispered but Seulgi chuckled at his words. "What you feel for me isn't love anymore. It's called comfort. You feel comfortable with me because you are used to me. You are afraid of change and what it can do in your life. Don't be afraid to chase after what you want, Jimin. I can't hate her as she is innocent of your affections for her but I ask only one thing from you–please don't forget me. We may not be a couple anymore, but I will still exist so don't forget about me. Take care of her. I can tell you like her very much." She pulled him into a hug, laughing when Jimin limply stood there. "This is the part where you hug me tight before I leave the ex-love of my life to pursue a different life path, Chim." she whispered sarcastically, earning a quick strong hug from Jimin who was still processing everything in his mind. After a couple of minutes, Seulgi pulled away, sighing in content with herself and leaving him with a final phrase of "goodbye, Jimin." 

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Seulgi rushed out, covering her mouth with her left hand to prevent Jimin from hearing her cry more. She wanted to leave him with an impression that she would be alright, and she would be, but at the moment she felt like she had lost her purpose in life. You depended on him too much, Seulgi. It's time to live your life for yourself and not for anyone else. With that motivation in mind she raised her head up high only to find Chaeyoung who was sitting by herself by some seats. She was curled up on a seat with her head on her knees as she stared out blankly with swollen eyes. Seulgi approached the girl, tapping her head lightly with her hand. Chaeyoung raised her head up only to pale visibly as if she had seen a ghost of some kind. Seulgi couldn't help but let out a snort at the younger girl, sitting beside her suddenly. "Are you okay, Chaeyoung-ah? You are almost out of the hospital, right?" She started off with a simple conversation before saying what she really wanted to say.

Chaeyoung who was still in shock took a few seconds to realize Seulgi's questions before finally stuttering an answer. "I-I'm fine, unni! J-just didn't feel like being in my room since it feels too stuffy in there and i-it's too cold to be out on the terrace. I'll be discharged tomorrow morning hopefully." Her voice was quiet and she avoided looking at the older girl, which made Seulgi chuckle. "I'm glad to hear you'll be discharged soon. Nothing is better than the feeling of being free from captivity." Chaeyoung just nodded at her words, both staying silent for a couple of minutes before Seulgi spoke up again as she stood from her seat. "There's a lonely boy who needs some attention, I hope you can comfort him. He is in need of it right now. Please do me the favor as I can't comfort someone who is hurt because of me. I think you could heal him up right away, Chaeyoung-ah. Don't be afraid to take care of him." Seulgi patted Chaeyoung's head who was looking at her with utter confusion at the moment.

Seulgi grabbed Chaeyoung's hand and gently pulled her to her feet where she led her to the terrace entry. Chaeyoung was mentally protesting the idea of moving but her body was not putting up a fight against the older girl. With questioning glances coming from the security guards at the door, Seulgi moved past them as she pushed Chaeyoung past the door and dragged her to where a stunned Jimin still stood. Jimin turned just in time towards the sound of footsteps only to catch a flying Chaeyoung coming his way. He wrapped his arms around her small body who just pressed against him as still as a board. Jimin looked up again, seeing Seulgi coolly waving back at them as she walked away. "Fighting!" she yelled before scramming out of the terrace, leaving both Jimin and Chaeyoung with eyes as wide as a deer in the headlights.    

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Hello everyone! 

Chaeng's birthday is coming up so I decided to update!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter that contained the long awaited breakup! 

Seulgi is real cool, isn't she?

I'll see you real soon!