My legs somehow managed to carry me out of the hospital as I pushed the heavy door wearily. I had begged the doctors to dismiss me early in the morning – hospitals made me feel way worse than I already was.

After they debated whether or not there would be any risks if I left, they agreed to let me go and call me later during the day if there were some abnormalities in my test results.

"Y/N!" someone rushed towards me and before I could even raise my gaze in that same direction, I knew who it was by the elegant scent of expensive cologne penetrating my nostrils.

"Jimin?" I frowned, too tired to be shocked.

"I came as soon as I found out," he straightened out his shirt, cheeks tinted with a rosy hue as if he had been running. "What happened? Why were you at the hospital?"

"I was feeling unwell last night," I explained dryly. "I collapsed. But I'm all good now. Victoria drove me here and stayed with me all night."

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked, throwing me off guard.

"I thought we weren't on speaking terms," I replied. "And frankly, I didn't even think of that."

"Wow," his shoulders drooped. "I'm so sorry. I feel like a total asshole. I shouldn't have passed you by like that the other day."

"No, Jimin, it's okay really," I raised my hand next to my face to make him stop talking. "You don't owe me anything. It's your choice whether you want to speak to me or not, and I respect that."

"It wasn't that I didn't want to speak to you," he admitted. "After our last conversation, I felt hurt and angry. I did not know how to deal with these emotions, so I kinda shut them out. When I saw you at work, I had absolutely no idea how to react, so I just passed you by. Which was a really shitty thing of me to do, especially if it made you feel as if you couldn't rely on me and call me in a time of need. I'm sorry."

My chin twitched at his heart-felt confession, and I started fidgeting with the button of my jacket.

"No worries." I brushed it off.

"But why did Victoria of all people take you to the hospital? Where was Taehyung?" Jimin asked. "You know, with you two living together now and all... I figured he'd be the person next to you in that hospital."

"Taehyung and I broke up." I uttered, mustering everything I had to make my voice sound steady.

"Oh," Jimin said softly. For a moment, he simply stared at me, his expression practically unreadable. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yes, actually I'm on my way to his place to grab my stuff," I explained. "I was just about to call an Uber."

"Let me take you," he offered. "My car is right over there."

"Oh, I really don't think that's a good idea..." my voice trailed off as I stopped mid-sentence.

"I insist, let me help."

"Okay, but-" I stammered.

But what? I had explicitly told Taehyung to make sure he wasn't there when I came, and if he had even an ounce of respect for me, he'd fulfill my request.

However, even if he wouldn't, what's the matter if he saw me there with Jimin? We broke up. Things ended between us. He can't get possessive over something that doesn't belong to him anymore.

Moreover, this would be a very tiny price to pay for all the pain he had caused me.

"Yeah, sure." I said eventually and Jimin gestured for me to follow him to his Porsche.

The ride to Taehyung's place went by in silence as I focused mainly on staring out the window. I didn't know what to talk about with Jimin, and honestly I was still taken aback by yet another act of kindness he had showed me.

Regardless, things were too awkward for me to behave like a normal person in his presence, and my head was still in a daze from spending a night in the hospital.

Once we were standing in front of the door, I unlocked it without hesitation.

Luckily, Taehyung wasn't there, so that was okay I guess.

Jimin took a seat on the cream white couch in the spacious living room as I made my way to the bedroom to collect my clothes from my drawer. Once I was done, I grabbed my toiletries from the bathroom, as well as some books from the night stand.

"All done." I announced when I returned to the living room.

Jimin was reading something on his phone and raised his gaze to meet mine, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Are we good to go?" he asked.

I gave a curt nod, my arms wrapped around the bag I had put my stuff in. Truthfully I just really wanted to get away from this place already. The sooner I leave, the better.

"So what's next?" Jimin asked when we were back in the Porsche. He put the key in ignition, but didn't start the engine yet.

"Huh?"

"I mean what's next with you. What are your plans?"

"Well..." I drew a long breath in. "I hadn't thought about it yet, but now that you've mentioned it, I think I'm going to quit my job."

"What?" he was abashed. "Why?"

"I just don't think me being around Taehyung right now is beneficial for either of us. And I want to distance myself from all that mess and chaos... it's bad for my health."

"Well, it's your decision," Jimin agreed after a small pause. "And I guess you may be right. You should do whatever makes you feel better."

"I was too exhausted anyway. Maybe I have to make a drastic career change, rethink what I want to do with my life," I said slowly. "I think I'm gonna move out of my place, too. I don't like it anymore." I confessed, which was something I had been thinking about for a while now. Might as well continue making changes while I'm at it.

Also, I did not want to live in a place where everything would remind me of Taehyung.

So yeah, it was mostly because of that.

"If you need any help finding another place, I have a friend who works in real estate," Jimin said with a faint smile. "I figure he could find you something nice at a reasonable price."

"Thank you," I pivoted my head to look over at him. "But I'm a big girl, I'm going to be alright."

"By the way, Tiffany isn't pregnant. I figured you'd want to know that." He uttered.

"What?" I placed a hand over my hand in shock. "How do you know?"

"I bribed her physician to tell me," he said with a grin. "She faked her pregnancy to get to us."

"That's so twisted." I commented.

"Told you the baby wasn't mine." Jimin smirked.

"Well, that's good to know at least." I gave a small laugh.

Jimin released a long sigh, his gaze dropping to his lap where he fidgeted with his fingers. I decided I would overlook the anxious gesture, I really did not want to overthink everything again. My mind felt like it needed to recover and thinking too much right now would just bring more damage to my fragile state.

Yet, there was still something very bothersome in the silence between us. Something unspoken.

"Y/N..." he started hesitantly. "I know you just broke up with Taehyung... and I know you probably don't want to hear something like this right now, but I feel like I need to say it. You know, because I'm going to regret later on if I don't."

"Jimin." I said in a strained voice, fearing what he'd say next.

"No, just listen to me," he pled, talking quickly as if he feared he'd change his mind. "I'm going to say something really poetic right now, something I wouldn't say to anyone else. This is a confession I should have made long ago. You've been mistreated for so long. You didn't deserve this. You're... the best woman I know." he brushed his hesitant fingers over mine.

"Don't, Jimin," I barely forced out the words. "This is not what you want."

"Please let me finish," he looked down on me, breathing shallow. "It hurts to hear you assume that this isn't what I want, because it reminds me of how low you think of me. As if I'm incapable of something meaningful."

"That's not true!"

"I know myself, Y/N, and you know me well enough too. I'm a dick. The sole fact that I'm sitting here with you and telling you this right now, after you've just ended a very traumatic relationship proves it. I know it's inappropriate. And I know I shouldn't do it. I should give you space. But I, like the selfish, tactless and manipulative person I am... want you."

"Jimin..."

"You're the first person who has ever made me feel like it's worth it to try and be better. I want to be better for you. I know I can treat you better. I can make you happy."

"Oh my god," I said in a breathy voice. "Jimin, this is... thank you for this. It's beautifully said, but..." I paused, trying to catch my train of thought. "I appreciate that, I really do, but I'm just not in the right headspace to do this right now. I'm sorry. I'm not at a point in my life where I want another relationship. It might be this way for a while, I don't know for how long."

"I can wait." He said. "For you."

"No," I shook my head with a soft smile. "No, you shouldn't wait. You should go ahead and live your life. You have so much love to give, Park Jimin, and the woman who sees your true self, who sees past this exterior you've put up, will be one lucky woman because she's going to love you the way you should be loved. The way I can't love you right now." Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes and I turned my eyes away for a moment.

"You saw past it." He breathed out. "You're the only one who did."

"I did," I agreed, letting out a soft whimper. "But I'm not going to be the only one, I promise you. I'm not the one for you, Jimin... we both know it."

Unexpectedly, he grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers. He looked up at me, eyebrows dipped slightly in a silent plea.

"I'm not the one for you." I repeated.

His face creased with sadness and he released a small sniffle that broke my heart. Before I realized it, we were both crying quietly. I cried from too many emotions bottled up inside, and he... he was crying over something that could never be.

"Okay," he nodded, breathing in sharply and still not letting go of my hand. "Okay. Well, I had to say it... I had to at least try."

"Thank you for sharing your feelings for me." I sobbed softly. "Maybe... we're better as friends."

"Let me drive you to your place," he said once we had calmed down. He put the car into gear and started driving smoothly.

"Okay." I hummed, gazing straight ahead at the road.

That night, my heart said goodbye to Jimin. I didn't know if I was going to see him again. None of us talked for the rest of our time together. I hoped he had gotten his closure. I surely got mine.

If there was one silver lining, it was that at least Jimin had opened his heart to a woman. He had initiated a transformation that would change him for the rest of his life. I was proud of him, but...

Sadly, I couldn't be with him on his journey. I couldn't be the woman that would love and cherish him like he deserved.

My heart was still bleeding... aching with love for someone else.

author's  note:
only two chapters left, guys. brace yourselves.