Breaking the Heavy Silence
───────────────────────────────────

"There's nothing worth knowing about me. I'm really just a nobody. I study and that's it," Ara said. Jimin looked at the headline and then back at her, trying to figure out if the marriage was true. If so, then there was a lot worth knowing about her. Someone isn't just born with millions of dollars surrounding them and then suddenly wound up broke working as a maid. The Byun Corporation was still standing strong, but out of the two remaining Byun family members, only one of them remained powerful.

"But you're Mr. Byun's sister," Jimin said. "He's very well known. He's very wealthy too. Yet, you worked at a cafe in order to pay for your tuition. I'm sorry for not minding my business. I was just interested in him when I met him, so I searched him up online. You both live very different lives, and that's why I was curious."

Ara nodded and said, "Well, I made some mistakes a few years back. It resulted in me losing all the inheritance I received from my mother's side when she passed away. You see, my parents divorced when we were younger. My father was wealthy. When he died, he divided the inheritance between Baekhyun and I, but I lost a lot because of my stupid mistake, and in a world like this, money is very easy to lose."

Jimin saw the pain and struggle behind her eyes. He admired her ability to continue striving forward, even under such circumstances. He never had to go through that. Everything in his life was just so perfect. Even after losing his parents, he never had to struggle like Ara did. He still wondered so much more about her, but he kept quiet in order to not make her uncomfortable. All he did was nod as she continued to clean. He ignored her presence and continued to do his daily activities like always. There was only one person who didn't enjoy Ara's presence, and it was Eunha. She didn't have to say anything, but Ara knew Eunha hated her. There was no reason to, but she hated her guts so badly.

That same day, Eunha left for a few hours and came back as Ara was about to leave work. Both made eye contact, but remained silent. Jimin smiled brightly and pecked his girlfriend's cheek. That was when Ara remembered the recording. Since Eunha was present, there was nothing Ara could do at that moment, so she left the house. She went home and saw Jungkook there, having a conversation with Minji. Jungkook had told Minji about the video and they both wanted to see it desperately. Minji knew Eunha was promiscuous, but she could never gather proof. She wanted her brother to leave her, but he wouldn't do so for any reason.

That was the reason Minji introduced Ara to him after many years of friendship. Minji had seen things at Jimin's house that weren't his, which Eunha disregarded and said they were gifts for him. She had introduced Ara to her brother with the excuse of the job so that Ara could witness the affair herself. Without having told her anything, Ara did exactly what Minji wanted and expected her to do—get the proof she needed for so long.

"I can't believe—no, of course I can. It's Eunha." Minji let out a small chuckle as Jungkook watched without words. Both couldn't believe that there was actual proof this time.

"Call Jimin," he said. "If he sees this, he'll finally end this marriage."

+

"Eunha, sweetheart, my sister called me," Jimin said. "She wants to see me. I'll be back later, okay?"

Eunha nodded in response without looking up from her phone as she ended up whispering under her breath, "That fucking freak."

"Hmm?" Jimin hummed hearing something, but Eunha shook her head, stating she said nothing. She smiled, and he smiled back at her. The effect she had on him was too much—and yet, it was an arranged marriage with a one-sided love.

At Minji's house, Ara hid near her room. She wanted to see the scene, but she didn't want Jimin to see her. Meanwhile, as he was on his way, she took a long and warm bath. When Jimin arrived, Jungkook made his way home as Minji explained the situation.

"Jimin, I went to your house today while you were gone. I went to visit Ara, but I saw something I shouldn't have seen," she said. Minji picked up her phone and handed it to Jimin with the video open. He hesitantly took the phone and watched. It was surely something he did not want to see. Something he had refused to acknowledge before. It was now being presented in front of his eyes as actual proof.

"That is—" he said, not able to finish his sentence. As he watched, his eyes burned. He watched every single part of it until it became too much for him. It was too painful. He had to endure it. That was what he thought. He had to endure not just watching the video, but being engaged to Eunha. He had to endure it. After all, it was an arranged marriage. A marriage that Eunha had orchestrated.

"Minji," he said. "Coincidentally, this morning I had a security camera installed outside my house. I was so fixated on it so I watched it for hours. I never saw you walk in. You didn't film this video today. The only people at my house today—other than the ones who installed the camera—were Jungkook, Eunha, Ara and I. Seeing that Mr. Byun is in the video, this must've been when I saw him leaving my house yesterday. I can already suspect who took it."

She stayed quiet. Minji didn't want Ara in trouble and that was why she kept it a secret, but there were no secrets between her and her own brother. She was stuck. She didn't know if it was her place or not to tell him the truth. Ara really needed the job, and she didn't know how Jimin was going to react after all those times that he got upset when someone confronted him about Eunha. Ara was afraid of losing her job, and Minji knew that.

"I did it." A sudden voice came from the corner of the house. Both Jimin and Minji turned at once as they saw Ara there. Jimin stood up and walked over to Ara as she shook in fear. She repeatedly thought she shouldn't have taken the video. She even expected him to fire her because she invaded their privacy. Now that she wasn't an elite herself, losing a job terrified her. Ara thought too much.

"I was at work that day and Eunha suddenly walked in," Ara said. "She was kissing another man, and I got scared. I recorded it because I thought you should know. That's your house, after all. I called Baekhyun when I realized it was him and told him to leave because Eunha was engaged, and so he did. I was worried about my brother. Then we saw you outside with Jungkook. We were going to tell you that day at the bar, but it just wasn't possible."

Jimin stepped closer and the only words he said were, "Thank you. Thank you for taking it."

+

"Eunha, we need to talk," Jimin said as he walked by the living room of his humble but expensive home. The house that he had paid for his girlfriend to live in for almost a year already. Not even live in but visit because most of the time she wasn't home. It was barely her house, and Jimin finally understood why. It all made sense. All the times she never came home. All the 'meetings' she had to attend daily, even when the night had settled. It all made sense now.

Eunha wasn't worried about his 'talk'. She had other plans. Maybe a guy today, another guy tomorrow. What she knew was that she wouldn't be sleeping at home that day.

"It has to be later, honey. Today I'm going to a friend's house—oh, and don't wait for me! I'll be back tomorrow morning," she said with her purse in her hand as she applied her lipstick. Jimin stayed quiet. He wasn't the type to get mad and confront someone that easily—mostly with a demolished heart. He wanted to avoid it and act like nothing happened, but he couldn't live going through that pain. All he did was walk to his balcony and smoke. He stayed thinking about the whole situation and concluded that it was better to wait. He couldn't confront her now. It wasn't the moment. He knew he had to wait.

Eunha, on the other hand, made her way over to a man's house. He was waiting for her outside as she parked the car in his garage. She got out of the car and made her way to the man, who looked very delighted to see her. He kissed her cheek, but she was indifferent.

+

"Come on, babe! I'm almost leaving without you!" Minji yelled across the room as Ara was still half asleep doing her daily routine.

"I'm going, bitch," she replied as she rubbed her eyes. She walked to the kitchen and opened the water faucet just to throw some water on her face.

"You sound like Yoongi." Minji chuckled as Ara raised an eyebrow, not knowing who she was referring to. "Don't worry about him. Let's go. Time to work!"

When they arrived at Jimin's house, Minji stayed talking to him as Ara started cleaning the rooms upstairs. As expected, Jimin was awake early in the morning. He didn't have to work that day and his girlfriend had told him she wasn't going home because she was staying over at her friend's house for a little longer.

"What are you going to do with the wedding, Jimin?" Minji asked. Her brother walked over to the couch and sat down as she followed him.

"I have no idea," he said. "My mind is such a mess. I can't figure out what exactly to do. I'm trapped with her."

Minji was worried about him. She couldn't stand seeing him that way. He didn't know who to trust, and he was heartbroken by the woman he loved so much. All the times that his friends and his sister had told him a negative statement about Eunha came to his mind. It was overwhelming to him. Extremely.

"I have an idea," she said. "What if you called Baekhyun? Ara told me you both met and went to drink. He's a lawyer, you know. He could help you out. Ask him what to do."

Jimin looked at her and thought it wasn't a bad idea. Maybe there was a way out of the complicated situation he was in. Maybe Baekhyun resented Eunha as much as he did. Perhaps he could be of great help.

Once Minji left, Jimin stayed working in the living room as Ara made her way downstairs. She didn't see Eunha anywhere in the house and when she asked Jimin all he said was, 'she's at a friend's house'.

"She's definitely not at a friend's house," Ara mumbled. Jimin looked down when he heard her words and Ara noticed. "Sorry for sounding disrespectful about the situation, but after seeing that scene in the video, it makes it unbelievable."

He felt the same way.

As Ara cleaned, she noticed the house wasn't as messy as usual. She thought it was because Eunha wasn't home. Jimin sat on the sofa in the living room as Ara cleaned the table in front of him. She was kneeling down on the floor as she bent over to clean the table. There was a small coffee stain there, and it took a while for her to clean it off. Jimin watched everything. He might have been on his phone when Ara looked his way, but he was observing everything she did. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he didn't trust her cleaning skills, but he just watched. A few knocks on the door suddenly interrupted his train of thoughts. As Ara opened it, her lips turned into an immediate smile as she saw Jungkook there.

"I see this pretty lady still works here." He winked at Ara and smiled like a true playboy. Ara chuckled and made way for him to walk inside as Jimin looked carefully at what was happening. He processed the wink and the chuckle as he looked confused, but mostly at himself. He wondered why he was so intrigued by Ara's actions when they shouldn't bother him. Then he remembered his fiancée and the fact that he was going to get married soon. Then he remembered the video.

"Fuck," he cursed to himself. "I'm about to get married."

He watched Jungkook carefully. He was the ladies' man. Jimin was engaged to Eunha, but Jungkook could win Ara's heart at any moment.

"Jungkook. Do you like Ara?" Jimin asked, right in front of both mentioned names. Ara cringed at those words and denied them for Jungkook immediately. He chuckled at her and agreed with what she said. They were good friends. She thought he was a very attractive man, but that was it. She had not talked to him much to figure out if she felt anything for him. He thought the same. They just had a nice and friendly bond. A bond people could mistake for something else because, according to society, women and men can never be just friends.

The whole day as Ara cleaned around the house, Jimin and Jungkook were always around discussing their next meeting with the 'others'. Whether it was going to be at Jungkook's house, at Jimin's, or at some other dude's house. There were multiple options, but they just wanted to reunite really badly because it had been a while. Ara just shrugged it off and focused on her work, not caring about who the 'others' were.

As Ara cleaned the living room, Jungkook finally felt like it was his time to leave and stood up. He called Ara's name and said, "Let's just say if Jimin throws you out, you could become my maid. What do you say?"

"Why so desperate? Are you collecting Byuns?" Ara asked as she chuckled, knowing Jungkook had met most of the Byun family members at different times in his life. It was purely coincidental, but Byuns always surrounded him, whether it was because of work or because of his personal life.

"I'm a fan of the Byun family," Jungkook replied as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Business, writing, cleaning, you name it. The Byun family can do anything, and I really admire that."

Ara just smiled and rolled her eyes. His ability to joke around really enchanted her in a way. In Jungkook's mind, he wasn't joking, but neither was Jimin when he promised himself to cancel his wedding soon. It was going to be the last time that he would so blindly fall in love with someone and the last time he would act so foolish for a woman like Eunha.

───────────────────────────────────
• 2550 •