I woke up this morning feeling lethargic and emotional. I had nothing else to attribute my mood to other than the dream that came to me last night. It wasn't like I could blame it on menstrual hormones since I hadn't had a period in over seven years—and would never have one again.

A large sigh forced its way out of me as I pushed myself to get out of bed. I had finally gotten used to the hard mattress. My body had needed to adjust to this one as it was a lot different to the soft mattress I had at home. Though, I did find I now woke up a little less sore. But whether that was from the bed, or the fact I wasn't on my feet all day at the bakery, couldn't be determined.

I headed towards the bathroom to wash up when a knock on my door had me diverting my course. I mentally cooed at how cute Jimin looked as he stood on the other side. His puffy cheeks and eyes were evidence that like me, he'd not been awake for long.

"I wanted to bring you this," he said. I was enraptured by his soft, yet raspy voice. Jimin held out his arms that were draped with a garment bag and passed possession of it to me. "I hope you like it. I chose it myself."

I giggled at the way his cheeks bloomed with the same shade of pink as soft cherry blossoms. "I'm sure I will, thank you."

"Ah, I'd better let you get ready. We'll be leaving after breakfast as it will take a little while to get to The Enticing One's palace."

I couldn't help the questioning look that flitted across my face. Did they actually refer to each other by these pseudonym names that Bang Si-Hyuk used? A groan came from the man still hovering in the doorway. "I hate those names. They make me feel like a piece of meat. But until the others give their real names to you, we have to use them."

Jimin shot me a quick smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. Turning on his heel, I heard a soft 'fucking tradition' being whispered. I wondered if the visceral contempt he was displaying, in reaction to being called 'The Glamorous One' instead of Park Jimin, was how BTS in my universe often felt. It wasn't a stretch to wonder if the group felt objectified by their millions of fans based on the devotion of ARMY. It made my heart sink knowing that my family and I had often put the seven members up on a pedestal simply because they were talented... and handsome.

Sighing and shaking my head to clear the thoughts from my mind, I closed the door and began to get ready. On my way towards the bathroom, I made a pit stop to lay the garment bag on my bed. I wanted to see what Jimin had chosen for me, but I could admire the dress once I was clean.

Even though I had been here at the palace for two weeks now, I had not gotten used to the atrocious water pressure of the shower. I thought the shower at Nana Betty's house was bad, but this one took the cake. I had no idea why the shower itself was so large, yet the water pressure was dismal. How anyone thought a meagre trickle of water in the shower was good was beyond me. I'd been through rain that was heavier than this!

After I had complained a few days ago about how long it took me to rinse my hair, Jimin laughed. He told me that the palace's water pressure was actually very good compared to the houses in the city. Apparently, because the country had gone through a large drought a few decades ago, the government had installed water pressure regulators country-wide, whereby the pressure was controlled. This also inhibited households using an excessive amount of water. Any that exceeded their allocated amount had their water shut off for a period of time. As someone who had lived in Australia where we were often in a state of drought, I couldn't believe what I'd heard. We never had our water shut off for using too much, instead we had to pay an arm and leg in our quarterly water bill.

After wetting my hair, I turned off the water as I applied the shampoo. I groaned in relief as I massaged it into my scalp. If there was one thing I loved most, it was a good head massage and to me, it was better than sex. I turned the water back on and spent the next couple of minutes washing the suds out of my locks. The water was turned off again as I massaged the conditioner in. I still missed the shampoo and conditioner I used at home that smelled like creamy and sweet coconut, but this one was nice too. I found the zingy citrus and mix of herbs invigorating, plus I absolutely loved how shiny it made my hair!

While I rinsed out the conditioner, my mind flitted back to the dream I had last night. I stood under the pitiful stream of water and allowed myself a few moments to wallow in the feelings that were threatening to overtake me. I'd had dreams of my family since I'd been here, it was only normal that my subconscious was trying to wrap its head around what was happening. Yet, the one last night felt different. Given that I could still remember it when I often forgot what I'd dreamed about, I knew it was different.

"Trying to work it all out is Future Nell's problem," I told myself as I turned off the water. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my body and hair in a couple of fluffy towels. Standing in front of the mirror, I gave myself the same pep talk I always did whenever I had to deal with other people. "You only need to worry about today. You, Nell Bennett, are a beautiful, amazing and good woman. So, anyone who thinks they are better than you can go fuck themselves. Now, go get into that dress and shine bright like a diamond."

Pumped up with confidence after my pep talk ritual, I made my way over to the bed. I reached out and grabbed hold of the zipper of the garment bag and began to slide it down. The teeth parted like the crowd at airports watching BTS arrive. I watched as the fabric started peeking through the opening and my heart plummeted.

"Fuck."

꧁♥💜♥꧂

"You look beautiful."

I could hear the awe in Jimin's voice as I entered the carriage with the help of one of the guards. I was still not used to this antiquated form of transport; the way I was entering and exiting the grand, gilded carriages was on a similar scale to a newborn calf finding its feet for the first time. I looked up to see his eyes taking in every inch of my appearance. I wriggled around on the bench seat trying to get comfortable.

"Thank you," I replied, trying to sound sweet and appreciative. I managed to hide my desire to strip the garment off my body, not in a sexual way but for self-preservation.

The dress wasn't hideous or uncomfortable; in fact, it was one of the nicest cocktail dresses I had ever seen, let alone worn. A delicate lace draped over the soft and silky underlining that skimmed my curves and fell a few inches above my knee. I could admit that looked beautiful in the garment. And I really did love the sparkly encrusted shoes and the diamond jewellery that came along with it; I'd chuckled at the decorative 'J' that sat delicately on the white gold necklace, flanked by two diamonds.

It was the colour that I had taken an instant dislike to. The deep violet colour looked good against my fair skin tone and my auburn hair. But the fact remained that it was still the one colour that I had refused to wear for many years. I often felt like the only ARMY who didn't wear the fandom colour.



"What's wrong? Do you not like the dress?"

An internal battle waged in my head as I tried to think of a diplomatic way to tell Jimin that while I loved the dress itself, I hated any purple hue. I couldn't go into why I was superstitious about a colour because to explain that only misfortune and heartache came whenever I wore anything in a shade of purple would mean that I had to tell him what some of those things were when he asked... which I knew he would.

Instead, I decided to tell him something else. "The dress is beautiful, Jimin, it's not that. I guess I'm feeling a bit sensitive and emotional because I had a dream about my grandmother, Nana Betty, last night. It was a memory of a time I spent with her when I was about 16 and the boy I'd been dating for the past year had just broken up with me."

I felt warmth surround my right hand as Jimin's fingers intertwined with my own. It felt nice to have his hand holding mine. It was little things like this that I missed throughout the years that I've been single for. I didn't miss the mediocre sex or the feeling of having someone wanting to know where I was at all times. It was the small intimate actions of a man being there for me; him holding my hand or hugging me tightly while kissing my head as he told me things were going to be okay. Sure, I had my father, Aiden and Christof in my life, not to mention little Caleb, but having a man who I could call my own—and who was there for me through the good times and bad—was something I hadn't had in about four years.

"When Nana Betty heard, she brought me into her happy place—her kitchen—and together, we spent the day baking." I smiled at the memory; it was still one of the sweetest ones I had of my time with her. "She listened as I vented about how I found out my boyfriend had another girl on the side. I cried enough tears to fill the ocean and at the end when they dried up, she told me: 'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because he is finally someone else's problem.' And boy, was she right about that!"

The day I found out that my high school sweetheart had been cheating on me with my bully felt like the worst day ever. I thought I would never get over my heartbreak, especially since I had been so close to giving that loser my virginity. Nana Betty, in all her warmth and wisdom, transformed that day. Before our talk, it had been the day here my heart got ripped from my body and crushed to the point it would never be the same. But she empowered me to know my worth and to demand nothing less from future partners. Her advice stuck with me. It was my grandmother's advice that I heard in my head the times when I learned my ex-fiancé had cheated, and my ex-boyfriend had dumped me.

As I told Jimin a little of what happened that day, all the feelings that I had gone through came rushing back over me. They were not the ones where my teenage heart was breaking. Rather, they were from memories of being with my grandmother when she was happy, healthy and full of life. It had been several years since we'd been able to bake together. The breast cancer she had fought hard against and had supposedly beaten a decade ago, had come back, with a vengeance. It had metastasised into her bones and spread throughout her body. Nana Betty was a fighter but unfortunately, this was the one fight she wouldn't win.

Last year, she made the hard decision to stop all treatment and let the disease claim her life. None of my family wanted her to live in a hospital or palliative care home, but as always, Nana Betty always had the last word. She had booked herself into an aged care facility that specialised in assisting patients to live out the end of their days in comfort. We loved that she could come and go, and we all made sure to spend as much time with her as possible.

"She's right though," Jimin said, pulling me from my memories. "Only worms disguised as men cheat on women, and they definitely do not deserve your love or tears. Save both of those for someone who truly deserves your love and only gives you tears of happiness."

'It seems that this Jimin is not only sweet, kind and thoughtful, he's also a romantic at heart.'

I squeezed his hand in gratitude. "You know, Nana Betty was the one who taught me how to bake and her lessons always came with a side of life advice. She had always told my siblings and me that her mother did the same with her, and that she wanted to continue the tradition with us three kids. My brother, he was more interested in licking the bowls clean than learning how to make the delicious treats. Much to his chagrin, he was always the designated dish washing duties. That was until he proclaimed that he'd given himself a promotion to become chief taste tester. As the years went on, my brother was at university and my sister became more interested in other hobbies. It ended up being only Nana Betty and myself in the kitchen, and I loved it."

I managed to stop myself from saying what Esther's hobbies were. How could I tell Jimin that she loved taking pictures on her camera, when in this universe it hadn't been invented? During my time here, I'd been spending more time looking things up in the library at the palace. It boggled my mind; there were so many things that hadn't been made. If they had, like the gramophone, they were miles behind the technology we had in my universe. I learned that Nichola Tesla had been a more prolific inventor in this universe than mine. That's why there was such a good electrical system here, even without any motors.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," Jimin said. His soft and soothing voice brought me back from my memories.

"She really is. The dream I had morphed into another memory of a time the two of us spent time baking together. I was about 19 and the two of us pretended we were in a competition where we had to create the most delicious and elaborate-looking cupcakes."

"Cup cakes? You make cakes in cups?" I had to giggle at the adorable, confused look on Jimin's face. With his head cocked on a slight angle to the side, he could have resembled a cute puppy.

"They're called cupcakes because they used to be baked in cups. But they aren't anymore. Nana Betty's mother, my great-grandmother Edith, used to be a potter and dabbled in metalwork. She loved to make different sized cupcake moulds since they were her favourite thing to eat."

I could see Jimin was still a little confused and to be honest, I loved this look on him. It reminded me of the video where BTS' Jimin was asked if he had clean feet and he shook his head.

"If I were to get a blacksmith to make this 'mould' you speak of, will you make me some of these cup cakes please?"

I nodded rapidly, wanting nothing more than to share this part of my life with him. "Sure, I'd love that."

The rest of the ride to the other Seed Bearer's palace was spent with the two of us talking about anything and everything. I talked more to Jimin about my family, especially Nana Betty, and how I'd come to live with her beloved cat. Jimin had a great laugh when he heard about Baron Richard Flufflebum. The feline had some weird traits; he absolutely abhorred singing and whistling, loved any box no matter the size, and the only human food he liked was sweetened dairy and only if it was served to him on a spoon.

I didn't realise tears were beginning to fall until Jimin used his chubby thumbs to wipe them from my cheeks. "What's going through that pretty head of yours?" he asked in muted tones as an arm wound around my waist to pull me in for a side cuddle.

I had to admit, it felt really nice being cocooned by the strong wall that was Jimin's chest. The man was like my own personal weighted blanket that moved and talked. He held onto me with a strong grip and the sensation of his muscles rippling against my body with each of his rhythmic breaths was so comforting.

I told Jimin about helping out on my grandparents' cattle farm when I was a young girl, and how we'd have family camping trips to the beach. No matter what I told him, Jimin actively listened the whole time, and his arm remained around my waist as he cuddled me in the carriage. I loved that we never seemed to run out of things to say. Both of us were genuinely interested in what the other talked about. It didn't hurt that I loved to listen to the dulcet tones in Jimin's angelic velvet voice as he spoke.

The more time I spent with the blonde Seed Bearer, the more I saw the soft and kind side was the real Jimin. Along with his intelligence, generosity and ability to listen, I felt like I could fall for him so easily. This man was starting to tear down my walls, one brick at a time. It scared the absolute shit out of me, especially since I was lying to him every day—one of omission, but nonetheless, it was still a lie. Part of me wanted to say, 'fuck it', and tell him the truth about me. Yet, the bigger part of my heart and mind still couldn't trust Jimin; I had no idea how he would react to me being barren.

'Squish, the higher you build walls around your heart, the harder you fall when someone tears them down.' Nana Betty's words rang through my head as I looked at the man I had been assigned to. I hoped that if someone were to break down my walls, it would be someone like Park Jimin.

꧁♥💜♥꧂

"We're here," Jimin exclaimed as he pulled his hand from mine to clap in excitement.

I turned to look out the window of the carriage. If the houses of Seed Bearers were their palaces, then this place definitely fulfilled that description ... and more. It was a three-storey house—if you could call it that. As the horses pulled us along the cobblestoned driveway, the building kept going and going. Window after window passed us by and I could only hazard to guess how many rooms this gigantic house contained.

I wondered which of the members lived here. If they were anything like the BTS guys from my universe, I could imagine any of them living here. I envisioned Namjoon pottering in the large gardens tending to the many plants. Jin would probably be hiding behind the statues and jumping out to scare people passing by. On the large lawn would be Jungkook practising his boxing or Hobi choreographing a new dance. Tae would be posing for a painter who was creating a masterpiece of the handsome man. I would bet that Yoongi would either be in the kitchen cooking or I'd find him lounging asleep on a hammock in the shade.

It really did live up to the alias name for 'The Exquisite One'. Even though it wasn't to my taste, it was exquisite. As much as I could imagine BTS in this house, I really had no idea who any of the other six men in this universe were; it could be any of them who called this palace home.

The carriage stopped. One of the guards who was riding on the outside climbed down and helped me to disembark. As Jimin came to stand next to me, he offered his arm and together we walked up the stairs and into the grand foyer. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling. Crystals spiralled down from the centre, which was surrounded by a soft cascading rainfall of glittering stones. It was both elegant and luxurious, without being gaudy since the rest of the room was minimally decorated.

I tried to look more at the room. However, I found myself being dragged by the blonde man into an even larger area where many people were standing around mingling. I had to stifle the internal squeal that threatened to come to fruition as I spied the six other members of Bangtan. They were all looking so handsome with their coloured hair that they looked computer-generated. All six hair colours suited the men perfectly.

Blue hair that was vibrant and bright.

A soft and muted mane of mint green.

Orange locks that rivalled my old tabby cat.

A mop of burgundy red that was both sexy and cute.

A pale pink tone to blonde hair that looked ethereal under the lights.

Gunmetal grey that had natural silver highlights like the moon had kissed them while he dreamed.

* Who do you think has which hair colour?