20.

Jennie P.O.V

"I have the best girlfriend in the world," Jimin suddenly yelled. He paused for a brief second, and looked at me with fond eyes.

"You see her, she's mine!" He continued, causing my breath to hitch.

This felt oddly familiar, sort of like a déjà vu. And that's when it clicked.

Similar words had been said a few months back, but in a harsher, more covetous way.

I shook my head, trying not to think about it. I put on a smile, and said, "The same goes to you, babe. You're the best boyfriend ever."

I leaned in, and pressed a kiss to his luscious lips. He reciprocated the action, and I smiled softly into the kiss.

We pulled away, laughing slightly at the disgusted looks from our friends.

We all broke into a fit of laughter, when someone, probably Yoongi, shouted, "PDA is banned in this household!"

The atmosphere seemed all light and cheery, but I was in deep thought. I just couldn't get it out of my head.

The words Jimin said affected me; In a good and bad way. He might not remember, but I do. . . I remember it a little too clearly, as it was probably our first huge fight.

And, of course, I was the one to blame. My jealous and insecure ass almost fucked things up with Jimin.

The laughter had calmed down now, but my spiraling thoughts made it hard for me to concentrate on what the others were saying.

The thoughts I had tried so hard to push away, were back in my brain now, like unwanted guests.

It was my twentieth birthday, and I was less than excited.

Why? Because my boyfriend was nowhere to be seen.

We had only stared dating a few months prior, but he was already a huge part of my life.

Probably because of his gentle nature. He treated me like a precious doll; a doll to be cherished.

I never quite got that love while growing up, so, getting it from my Jiminie felt better than ever.

Now, back to why I wasn't happy on my own birthday. . .

I was standing impatiently in front of the fountain. It had been twenty minutes since I had sent Jimin a message asking him to meet, and I was even more worried since he hadn't even read the message yet.

I waited a few more minutes, and upon seeing no sign of him, I had decided to go up to his dorm, and check if something was wrong.

It was roughly 3 P.M, and I had Jimin's entire schedule memorized, so I knew he had no classes for the rest of the day.

I stealthily made my way to the boys dorms, which was right across the fountain.

The sky was cloudy, and it was really pleasant to witness, but I payed no heed to it; my mind was preoccupied with worry.

My mind, I realized, is a very dangerous place.

It makes up the most unrealistically irrational scenarios that, despite having little to no chance of actually happening, I gullibly start to believe.

It doesn't matter how illogical it seems, I get stuck on that idea, till I begin literally hyperventilating about it, even though it hasn't really occurred.

And something very similar had begun to happen while I hastily clicked on the elevator's button.

"The damn lift just won't come quick enough," I had growled, still pressing the button.

My head was still muddled up with memories of the events that had taken place a few days prior.

Jimin had apparently come out as being bisexual.

In front of the entire cafeteria.

But, I wasn't there to witness it, since I had to stay back in the library to finish my math assignment Wonwoof had given a while back.

How did I know about his coming out, then?

Jimin didn't tell me on his own. No, I had to hear it from Rosé.

I had to hear my boyfriend's coming out story from my best friend.

As if that wasn't bad enough, when I confronted him about it, he just replied with a simple nod of his head, and a claimed that he had 'forgotten' to tell me.

I forgave him for it, but I had spent the night overthinking about it, and our relationship too.

Would his sexuality affect or change our relationship?

At that time, I remember thinking bitterly that I had more competition to look out for.

Yes, now I'm very much ashamed of thinking of our relationship as a mere competition, but at that time, I was stupid.

I was stupid, dumb, immature, all the bad stuff, I get it.

But that's how I was before. And that led me to sneak around the hallway till I reached his door.

I sighed in relief when I heard his familiar voice.

However, that soon morphed into a frown when there was another unfamiliar laughing voice blending with Jimin's.

It wasn't Taehyung, as he had a deeper voice, and none of his other friends were supposed to be free.

I knew that because we would usually spend Wednesday afternoon's together as both our friends were in between their lessons.

Their laughter was persistent, so I waited outside till they stopped, as I didn't want to interrupt whatever they were up to.

"So, 7 P.M. today, right?" I heard the other male's voice ask.

'Jimin will deny for sure, he won't spend his girlfriend's birthday with someone else.' I recall thinking.

"7 P.M. it is," I heard Jimin's voice reply.

My body suddenly halted.

'He must've forgotten. . . he wouldn't intentionally leave me alone.'

I didn't know which was worse; him forgetting my birthday, or him intentionally making plans with someone else.

I put on a stoic face and slowly walked away from his dorm room, pulling my phone out with shaky hands, and making a call.

"Rosie? Are you still free to hang out?" I asked after taking a deep breath.

"I am, Jen, but weren't you gonna stay with Jimin?" My roommate replied, her voice sounding confused over the phone.

"No, he's. . . busy right now. Also, I'm sorry for ditching you," I said, feeling genuinely guilty for pushing Rosé away when she took the effort to bunk her class just to spend time with me.

"Fine then, let's dress up and go to the mall! A fun girl's day out. I'll be waiting for you near the gate. See you!" Rosé said excitedly before hanging up.

I turned back to look at his door one last time before slowly walking away from there, my head hanging low.

'There's no way he would've forgotten.' I knew it, but a part of me, the insecure part of me, tried to convince me otherwise.

As I was waiting for the damn elevator to reach the floor I was on, I heard muffled laughter, followed by a door opening.

I knew who the laugh belonged to; after all I had spent half a year drooling over all his features.

I had ran over to the staircase, and hid behind the granite wall, peeking out from it. I saw Jimin and some other guy walk out from the room, towards the elevator.

I had seen the other male a few times, but couldn't recall his name at the moment.

They were laughing about something, and Jimin hit the man's shoulder gently.

I gripped onto the wall in anger. I hated that someone else, a man that too, could make Jimin laugh like that.

"Oh my God, I love you," Jimin said, causing me to furrow my eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too," the man said, snickering. "Anyways, be ready by seven, okay?" He continued, causing Jimin to nod, and let out a hum in acknowledgement.

"Oh, it's already here," Jimin's unknown friend said, looking at the open elevator door.

"Thank God, this elevator annoys the shit out of me. It's slower than a herd of snails travelling through peanut butter."

"Yo, what in the actual hell is that metaphor?" The man asked, laughing and stepping into the elevator.

I stood rooted to my position, afraid of getting caught, even though I wasn't technically doing anything wrong.

I mean, I was just listening to two males talk, from behind a wall. . . nothing creepy in that.

Right?

I was shaken out of my thoughts, when I heard Jimin ask, "Isn't that like an analogy or something?"

"Really? Eh, I don't care. Anyways, I should get going considering I only have a few hours left," the guy said, in a rather sarcastic tone.

"I'm sorry, Wooyoung. I know this is kind of last minute, but it needs to be perfect." Jimin scratched his head guiltily.

"Yeah, I get it, and don't worry, I'll make sure it's perfect."

"Thanks, man." Jimin patted Wooyoungs' back. Or well, I assumed that he did, because of the loud noise, and groan that followed.

A few 'byes' were exchanged, before the elevator doors closed.

I heard retreating footsteps, and a door closing, indicating that Jimin had gone back in.

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in.

I flinched when my phone rang, and I quickly put my finger over the speaker trying to reduce the sound.

I quickly walked down the stairs, and upon reaching the first floor, I finally picked it up.

"Yes, what is it?" I had asked, whispering rather aggressively.

"Where are you?" Rosé asked in a hushed tone. "And, why are you whispering? Wait, why am I whispering?"

"I don't know," I said in the same tone, "oh, and meet me in front of the fountain. Bye," I added, quickly ending the call.

Of course, I could have tripped, and broken my head while running out of the boys' dorm at a dangerous speed, in a pair of heels mind you, but had that mattered at that moment? No, it hadn't.

I had to talk to Rosé. I was confused, and needed some information. I mean, what were they even talking about? What had to be perfect? Why was Jimin going to meet up with that guy at seven?

With those thoughts swarming in my mind, I ran towards the fountain, and saw Rosé sitting there, scrolling through her phone.

I went up to her, and and sat down harshly, exhausted from all that running. Rosé flinched, and looked up from her mobile.

Yes, it was just for two minutes, but it's hard to even walk in heels, how can you expect me to not be tired after running in them?

"Rosie, I need to talk to you."

"Oh, uh sure. Can we go to the mall first? I'm kind of hungry," Rosé said, chuckling nervously.

I nodded with a small smile, and almost yelped when she pulled me up, dragging me away from the fountain.

After eating at my favorite restaurant, and of course, after ice creams, I told Rosé about everything I had overheard in Jimin's corridor.

She had told me to not worry about it, but I remember lashing back at her, telling that I couldn't not worry about it, especially when he was purposely ignoring my messages and phone calls.

Being completely honest, a frightening thought had flashed through my mind at the time; what if he was sick of me, and wanted to break up with me?

Seeing my hysterical face, Rosé advised me to go and talk to him, when we get back. I agreed, my mind a little more pacified.

Fast forward to three hours later, when Rosie and I reached the campus, our hands adorned with shopping bags.

"Isn't that Jimin?" Rosé said, pointing towards a well dressed figure walking hurriedly. I took a closer look and realized that it was indeed Jimin, wearing a blazer with jeans, running a hand through his well styled hair.

"Where is he going, dressed like that?" Rosé asked, the very same question spinning in my mind.

"Shall I go after him?" I asked, desperation laced in my voice. Rosé had stared at me, and took the bags from my hands, telling me to 'go, get my man.'

And so, I did.

I followed him, keeping a safe distance so he wouldn't know of my presence.

'Where is he going?'

I was perplexed but continued fast-walking, following Jimin, who was much ahead of me.

I had cursed my heels for being so difficult to walk in, till I reached a part of the campus I wasn't aware of.

I caught my breath and looked up to see a curtained area. Jimin was hugging the guy from earlier, Wooyoung, his lips continuously spouting words I couldn't make out, although I caught a couple 'I love you's'.

"Jimin?" I called out, coming into their line of sight. Jimin clearly stiffened next to Wooyoung, who had his eyes widened in what I assumed was panic.

"B-babe, Jen, what are you doing here?" Jimin stuttered, walking towards me, a shaky smile on his face.

'Why is he behaving like this?'

"You weren't responding to any of my calls or texts, I was so worried!" I exclaimed instead, jumping on him for a hug.

"Oh, I'm fine babe. Appreciate the concern though," Jimin chuckled nervously.

"Jimin. Is there something I should know?" I asked, subtly hinting him to tell me why Wooyoung was still shook on his spot.

"Of course there is. Do you know how absolutely gorgeous you look right now?" Jimin pecked my cheeks.

'Smooth motherfucker.'

"Jimin, I'm serious. What's going on with you both acting as if I shouldn't be here?" I asked, staring at Wooyoung.

"That's because you shouldn't!" Wooyoung exclaimed.

"What? Jimin, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, getting more panicked by the second.

"N-nothing, babe. That means nothing, we're just messing around."

"Why are you stuttering? And why does Wooyoung look like he's just been caught cheating?" I asked again, utterly confused, until a puzzle piece fixed inside my mind.

My eyes widened in realization, and so did Jimin's.

"Babe, it's not what you're thinkin—"

I pushed Jimin away and looked at him with disbelieving eyes.

"Wait, she knows?" I heard Wooyoung's confused voice. I could see Jimin frantically gesturing him to stop speaking from the corner of my eye.

Jimin then walked up to him, and hissed, "No, you idiot, she doesn't know."

"Well, now I do," I said, looking back and forth at them.

"Jennie, oh, for Gods' sake. What is it that you know?" Jimin asked, once again running a hand through his hair.

"That you both have something going on with each other."

"Yeah, we do— wait, what? What makes you think that?!" Jimin sounded incredulous.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you were ghosting me on my birthday, made plans with him here without letting me know, and came out as being bi just days back?" I held up three fingers for emphasis.

"But, that doesn't mean that I'm in a relationship with him! I already have you!" Jimin held out both his hands, exasperated.

"You could've at least let me know that you were going to ditch me on my birthday!" I cried.

"No, babe, you don't understa—"

"Why should he be answerable to you? Why is he supposed to tell you everything he does?" Wooyoung interfered.

"Because he's my boyfriend?" I said loudly, as if it was obvious.

"That doesn't give you the right to control him!" Wooyoung exclaimed.

"What?! I don't control him!" I exclaimed as well, but my voice was tinged with doubt.

"Oh, please, I've seen you around campus. You control him and his actions, and it's so obvious!"

"Jimin, do I control you? Do you feel like I'm controlling you?" I asked, turning to him, fuming.

I saw my boyfriend hesitate for a second.

"That should answer your question," Wooyoung said proudly, slinging an arm around Jimin, a bit too close to my liking.

Jimin too looked a bit uncomfortable. Or at least that's what I thought.

My insecure ass couldn't help what I did next;

I went up to him and grabbed Wooyoung's collar, shaking him violently.

"Don't you even dare to think about touching Jimin!" I said, still shaking him.

"You see him, he's mine! And mine only!" I continued, my loud, angry voice slowly lowering.

"He's mine." My hands slowed down, and my voice did too, until it was nothing but sobs.

I felt someone's strong grip on my shoulder which pulled me back so harshly, that I ended up falling on the ground.

I didn't even bother to look at who had manhandled me like that, because I knew it was Jimin. I could recognize his touch anywhere.

I didn't even try to get up from there, and continued crying, my worst nightmare playing out right in front of my eyes.

And I could do nothing to stop it.

"Jennie, babe—"

"Don't call me that!" I hissed at both, Jimin's voice and at his hand which was on mine.

"J-just stay away from me, Jimin. Stay away from me." I pushed his hand away.

I didn't want Jimin to come near me, because I was afraid that I would physically hurt him, in this frenzied state of mine.

But he was persistent and came forward to hug me. I pushed him away once again, causing him to fall down on the ground beside me.

My tear filled eyes widened at the sound of pain that escaped his mouth.

I sobbed harder.

"I told you to stay away. I didn't want to do anything to pain you, but now you've gotten hurt and it's all my fault. One more thing to add to your list of 'everything-fucked-up-with-my-girlfriend'." I put my head in between my hands, still crying.

I felt Jimin come closer, embracing me in a hug. I tried to push him away once again, but I felt my strength leave me, and tiredness creep up on me.

I hated it, but I could do nothing but melt in his arms.

My head rested on his shoulder, and my hands were tightly fisted around his shirt. My sobs died down a bit, and Jimin continued to pat my back, whispering sweet words in my ear.

I finally looked up at him, and felt my heart skip a beat, because of the look in his eyes. It radiated so much warmth, so much love; I could look into them forever.

Just one glance at him, and I'd feel better.

Once, you get out of a dark tunnel, there's always light greeting you. My light, was Jimin.

He helped me see the good things, instead of focusing on the bad.

That's why I loved him. With him, no one else mattered.

Not even people like Wooyoung, who had decided to interrupt our little moment.

"Jennie, I'm so—"

"Wooyoung. Not the time. Please." Jimin never stopped caressing me.

"Alright, I'll just. . . leave." I heard Wooyoung's furthering footsteps, until there was complete silence. Well, as silent as it can be at seven in the evening.

"Can you please trust me on this one, and follow me?" Jimin asked, helping me stand straight, while getting up himself. I nodded, still sniffling.

"With a smile, please." Jimin gently pushed my lips till they became a smile.

I laughed slightly at that.

"Much better," he said, a fond look taking over his face, which gave me butterflies.

"Now follow me." Jimin dragged me towards the curtain, and tugged it away, revealing a blanket with picnic baskets set on the ground.

There were cute little flowers spread out on the blanket, paired with cute little candles. There was also a pink cake, which had the words, 'Happy birthday to the best girlfriend in the world,' written shakily with black icing.

My mouth fell open. Jimin smiled a little, and pulled me closer, so I could admire the spread more carefully.

The food was all Korean snacks; my favorite ones.

A little box kept in the corner caught my attention. Jimin noticed, and bent down to pick it up, only to hand it to me, scratching his hair.

I opened it slowly, and was met the sight of a designer watch. A Chanel designer watch, which I had wanted ever since my previous birthday, to be specific.

My head shot up to look at Jimin, who had an eager look on his face. My eyes teared up once again.

"Do you like it?" Jimin asked.

I tried speaking, but no words came out. I just couldn't force any sort of sound to come out. Jimin was still waiting for my reaction, so I resorted to actions.

I nodded happily.

"I'm very glad you do. Now, let's eat. I made sure it was all your favorites." Jimin smiled.

We sat down and ate the food. No words were spoken, but none were needed.

His gestures, actions, smiles and loving gazes were more than enough.

I looked around in awe once again, and my eyes lingered over the cake.

The pink cake was actually an ice-cream cake. A milk flavored one, at that.

Again, my favorite.

"Was Wooyoung helping you plan this?" I asked, looking down, as I was afraid to meet his eyes.

"Yes, he was. His grandmother owns a store filled with Korean goodies. I had spent a week trying to find your favorite snacks, but I wasn't able to. I overheard Woo talking to San, about one particular snack, that I knew you liked, so I asked him for help," Jimin replied, smiling.

I sighed, embarrassed at my actions.

'Oh, god how could I have ever thought Jimin would hurt me? That too, on purpose?'

Jimin was too thoughtful and caring to do such a thing.

"Woo was also going to help me in decorating this place more beautifully, but before we could, you showed up, and. . . well, you know what happened next," he laughed, sheepishly.

'I do, Jimin. I almost destroyed our relationship because I was so insecure.'

I could never bear to lose Jimin. I love him way too much for that. He's such an important part of my life, that I couldn't, and still can't, imagine a life without him.

"I-I'm sorry," I had said, looking down, ashamed of myself.

"Why?" He asked, softly.

"For everything. I'm sorry for being so controlling. I'm sorry for being so insecure. Most of all, I'm sorry for thinking you'd ever cheat on me," I said, my voice wavering.

"It's okay, angel. I forgive you," he paused, reaching over to kiss my forehead gently. "I just hope you know that I would never cheat on you," he continued, drawing small circles on my hand.

"And it's okay to be insecure. It's alright, as long as you know that I'm always going to be here for you. If not always, you can at least count on me to be there for you as a friend." He had a soft but sad smile on his face.

I felt a pang in my heart at the last few words, because no matter how much it hurt, it was true.

Nothing lasts forever, and life isn't a fairy tale.

We should learn to savor things while we still have them.

That was when I had vowed to change; for Jimin, for my friends, and most importantly, for myself.

I didn't want to be the kind of person who drives their friends away, because they're too jealous, and overprotective.

Yes, I was like that. . . heck, I still am, but I'm better now. Like Jimin had told me, 'baby steps'.

All I needed were those words of reassurance from Jimin. Just knowing that, no matter what would happen, I'd still have him in my life. That helped a lot more than I had originally thought.

I am improving, and I'm going to continue doing that, until I am a better version of myself. Not for anyone else, but for me.

After all, that was what mattered the most, wasn't it?

"Jennie?" I felt someone shake me out of my reverie.

"Babe? Are you okay? You zoned out for a while there." Jimin stared at me worriedly.

The one thing that hasn't changed; his caring and understanding nature.

"I'm fine, Jiminie. Much better, all thanks to you," I said, leaning forward to encompass him in a hug. Jimin happily hugged me back.

"I don't know what I did this time, but I'm glad that it's helping you," he whispered in my ears, nuzzling into my hair.

"I thought we had established that PDA was banned here!" I heard Yoongi shout once again.

"Someone get those lovebirds away from each other, before we end up witnessing live porn," Taehyung said, with a disgusted face.

"Oh my God, you all are impossible. We're just hugging, for Gods' sake!" I yelled back, however my voice was muffled, since my face was in Jimin's muscular chest.

"Everything starts with a hug," I heard someone say, although I couldn't recognize the voice, over all the chatter in the background.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Like I said, y'all are just a bunch of asses who are jealous because you don't have someone to cuddle with, or someone who'll care for you when you need it," I declared, grudgingly pulling back from our hug.

"We know we're all single, you don't have to rub it in our faces all the time!" Seokjin exclaimed.

"Hey, speak for yourselves." Jisoo flipped her hair.

"And what's that supposed to mean, sis? Have you been seeing someone?" Namjoon asked, pretending to be calm, but I saw the way he clenched his jaw.

"Jimin. Spin the bottle, it's your turn." Jisoo turned to my boyfriend, urgently gesturing him to spin the bottle.

"Doesn't matter, I'll find him anyways," Namjoon muttered.

Jisoo glared at him, causing everyone to burst into laughter at their sibling antics. Namjoon just glared back at her, playfully.

I used to envy my other friends for having siblings, because they just looked like they had so much fun together. I almost always felt lonely, because I had no one; my parents were never there for me, and I barely had friends growing up.

But now, I know that having siblings may be fun, but having a significant other, someone you can rely on, without the fear of judgement, is even better.

I glanced at Jimin, sighing contently at his warmth.

I really do love him.

___________________________________

A / N

[061221,, this chapter has been revamped.]

*hides behind a wall* Well, hey there!
Long time no see🤡
Longest chapter as an apology, why not-

We weren't gonna leave our girls without any history, so... yeah!
We hope y'all liked that angsty mess, lmao

*ps, this was a reference to a question in the blurb "Can having an obsession destroy your relationships?", we hope that was clear. The questions in the blurb weren't random questions, they're hints of what is gonna happen in the story. Like,, the questions will be answered in the story, as the characters go through it.*

Happy birthday to JUNGKOOKIE UWUWUWUWU
We love him smmmmm, his mini concert yesterday was a blessing indeed, WE GOT A PARADISE PERFORMANCE KSKSKSKSKSKSK

We love y'all sm uwu

~ VeXo💜
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