I forgot just how handsome he is.

But my heart drops when I really look at him.

He's lost weight. And he has dark circles under his eyes.

And then I notice his outfit.

Gray sweatshirt. Sweatpants. Slippers.

He didn't come to visit me.

He's been readmitted.

I walk up to him slowly with Yoongi walking behind me.

"Jin?" I say quietly.

He stops shuffling the cards and looks up at me, tired eyes locking onto mine.

His eyes immediately soften when he sees me, and without hesitation, the cards fall from his hands onto the table as he launches himself at me, pulling me into his embrace.

"God, I missed you," he whispers.

I immediately melt at the familiar touch that I've missed so desperately.

"What happened to you?" I say quietly.

"I was doing well. I wanted to visit you, but Dr. Kim said you needed to figure some stuff out on your own, so I stayed away," he explains. "I was going to my weekly therapy sessions and hanging out with Jimin a lot. I got a job with him at the restaurant actually. But then my parents showed up one day."

I squeeze him tighter.

"They wanted to borrow money from me. For drugs and booze. And I don't know. Just seeing them after all that time was a lot. And on top of it, they only found me to get money from me. And after that, everything just spiraled downward. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. And they decided to send me back here before I did something stupid."

"I missed you," I whisper. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you. I've made a lot of progress being back here, and I realized how toxic and dependent I was on you. It wasn't fair to you, and I'm so sorry. For everything."

Jin kisses the top of my head. "I'm so glad you're okay, love."

"And I'm so sorry that you're not okay," I say, tears welling in my eyes.

We stay in each other's arms for a few more minutes until Yoongi clears his throat.

"This is awkward."

I laugh and pull away from Jin.

"Hey Yoongs," Jin says, smiling kindly. "Thanks for taking care of my girl."

My heart soars at his words.

"She doesn't need to be taken care of anymore, man. She truly is getting better this time," Yoongi says, shrugging and sending me a small smile.

"I was still keeping too much pain held in, but I've finally released it and talked about it. I'm really not that girl you had to babysit anymore, Jin," I say, smiling proudly.

"About your parents?" He says quietly.

I nod. "Before, I didn't think talking about it would matter. But I didn't realize how destructive it was making my behavior by letting that pain take over and consume me."

Jin nods and pulls out my usual chair for me, but I shake my head.

"I'd like to sit next to you," I say, grinning.

Yoongi chuckles before taking the seat that Jin had pulled out. "Thanks, Jin. You're so sweet!"

I laugh as Jin pulls out the chair next to his for me to sit down.

After Jin and I sit down, a comfortable silence envelops the three of us.

"I can tell how different you are," Jin says after a few minutes.

"Stronger medications and lots and lots of intense therapy sessions," I say, leaning my head on Jin's shoulder.

I can feel how different things are.

I crave his presence still, but not how I used to. I know I won't feel lost when he leaves the room.

I won't need him to watch over me all the time because I can't bare to do anything without him.

I've learned to be strong on my own.

And I've learned not to lean on Jin, but to appreciate and cherish him for the man he is.

He's not my crutch anymore.

He's just... Jin.

My Jin.

"Cute," Yoongi says as he grabs the cards from the table. "Let's play something."

**********

Jin's POV

I lay in my bed, feeling the weight slowly leaving my chest.

Clara seems to be so much better than she was when I last saw her.

I never thought of her as toxic and I never hated that I put her feelings before my own.

But I understand that she needed to learn how to be strong on her own.

And now that she's accomplished that, I can't help but fall for her even more.

She's the strongest person I've ever met and today, she just proved that even further.

Her eyes had light in them for the first time.

She may have thought she was okay before, but all of that hidden darkness kept her weighed down.

I guess I was like her lifeline before.

But now, she's her own lifeline.

And I can't be more proud of my girl.

She's really going to get through this.

I feel butterflies in my stomach at the thought of her beautiful face.

All she has to do is smile at me, and it's like the darkness never existed.

I know I have my own demons to battle against, and now I know that I need to stop putting others before me because it's self-destructive.

I laugh to myself.

She and I are so different, but we're so alike as well.

We were both destroying ourselves without even knowing it.

But now we both know to put ourselves first to be able to heal and move on.

And I'm going to move on with that beautiful girl by my side.

Damn, I love her.