«Δεν αγαπάς κάποιον γιατί είναι τέλειος, τον αγαπάς παρά το γεγονός ότι δεν είναι.»

❝You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.❞

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DEDICATING THIS CHAPTER TO A LOBHLY AND TALENTED FRIEND UWU lilosworld 🤧💜

The next day, Hobi woke up to the light snoring of his soulmate as the two had cuddled up in bed last night. Hobi blushed, suddenly realizing that they were finally Completely bonded. 

His tired eyes gazed at Yoongi's closed eyes, his little button nose, and his glossy pink lips. A smile stretched itself along Hobi's face as he admired his soulmate's features from up this close. His fingers unconsciously trailed across Yoongi's jawline and bopped his nose, as Hobi let out a muffled giggle, careful not to wake him up yet. 

Yoongi's arms were wrapped around Hobi's form, tightly holding him in place. Hobi leaned forward and pecked Yoongi's lips before wiggling out of his hold. 

He got out of bed and wandered around Yoongi's room. There were pictures, lots of them hung all around the room. He walked closer to the frames on his bedside table. 

It was a picture of Ara, Namjoon, and Yoongi himself. Their happy smiles as they hung their arms around each other's shoulders gave the whole photo a pleasant vibe to it. 

Hobi smiled as he walked past that photo, and his eyes landed on another picture. This time, it was a candid picture of Ara. 

She was outside on a bright sunny day, her skin glowing in the warm yellowish shade of the sun. Back when the photo was taken, her hair was colored different from the one she had now. It was a deep black color with light blue highlights towards the ends. 

When Hobi was busy admiring the pictures on the tables and the ones hung on the wall, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body from behind him, accompanied by a groggy morning voice. Jumping slightly, he blushed when Yoongi placed his chin on Hobi's shoulder. 

"Hey," he mumbled, and Hobi smiled. 

"Morning. When did you wake up, hyung?" He turned around in Yoongi's arms and faced him as he placed his arms around the elder's shoulder. 

"I'm not up yet," he grumbled, burying his face into Hobi's neck, breathing him in. Hobi chuckled lightly, pushing Yoongi off a little, attaining a whine from him. "What? Let's just stay like this for a while," he fussed as he latched his lips onto Hobi's. A few seconds into the kiss, Hobi pulled away, covering his mouth. 

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet, hyung." His whine made Yoongi roll his eyes. 

"Does it matter?" He leaned in again, but Hobi placed his fingers on Yoongi's lips and pushed him away. 

"Of course it does. I'm gonna have to go back home and get ready for work. Jin Hyung's still not here, which means I have to open the café today," he answered, slipping out of Yoongi's grasp. "Oh my, and I'm late already!" he mumbled as he tried running out of the room. 

But Yoongi caught his wrists and yanked him back. "Where do you think you're going? You can just wear one of my oversized T-shirts and a pair of jeans. Oh, and I'll give you a spare toothbrush. Jesus, why do you fuss so much about it?" he grumbled as he walked to his closet and pulled out an off-white tee with ripped black jeans. 

"W-wait," Hobi gasped with wide eyes and bright red cheeks. "Y-you want me to wear your clothes to work today?" Yoongi merely shrugged and handed him the clothes, now standing less than an inch away from his figure. 

"Well, why not? Would you rather go all the way back home, waste your time, and not be able to open the café in time..." he paused, bringing up his index finger to trace Hobi's sharp jawline, "or, would you just wear whatever fits you from my closet and go straight to the café?" 

Yoongi had a small smirk on his lips, and Hobi sighed, knowing there wasn't exactly a way out of this. Rolling his eyes, trying to hide a smile, he muttered, "Alright, alright, I'll put it on." 

Yoongi smiled his gummy smile and walked to the bathroom. He opened the compartment above the sink, pulled out a new spare toothbrush, walked back out, and handed it over to him. After he provided Hobi with all the necessary things he needed to get ready, he told him to use his bathroom. 

"You can use my bathroom, and I'll just use the one downstairs," he said and walked out of the room, leaving Hobi some privacy. 

"Damn," Hobi muttered to himself. "When did I get so lucky?" He chuckled to himself and quickly started brushing his teeth. 

- - -

Ara was asleep when she heard a loud noise from downstairs. Jolting up awake, she lurched down the stairs to see her best friends seated at the dining table. 

"Oh," she let out a relieved sigh, "hey. You guys are here early," she mumbled, rubbing her tired eyes. 

"Pfft, early? Ara," Mina looked her dead in the eye, "it's half-past twelve in the afternoon," and Ara's eyes instantly went wide. 

"I-it's noon a-already?" The others simply nodded, and she palmed her face. "Shit, I promised Taehyun that I'd drop him for his photography class today," she gasped, and Yoongi sighed. 

"He left already, Ara. Go take some rest, please, cause you're clearly not okay." The others nodded, and Yoongi continued. "You're getting weaker each day that Jin is away from you. Stop trying to drain your energy, please," he stressed, and she sighed. 

"I'm fine, Yoongi." 

Mina, this time, walked towards her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "No, Ara. No, you're not. I mean, look at you. Your eyes have bags under them, and you're even losing your balance when you walk! Ara, just admit it already, you're tired." 

Closing her eyes and recollecting her thoughts, she sighed and leaned her head onto Mina's shoulder. "Very, very tired, Mina. I'm so tired, and most of all, I miss him so much, it just adds to the pain. But I'm not so selfish, so I can't ask him to come back for me. I won't," she muttered, and Yoongi rubbed his temples in frustration. 

"Ara, take rest. We'll leave now," he got up from his seat and took Hobi's hands in his, pulling him up. He walked over to Ara, followed by Hobi, and she sniffled, tears filling up her eyes. "Just take a break, alright? From everything, just sit back and do nothing for a while. You deserve it, so don't go against that. Understood?" he warned, and she nodded slowly. 

Yoongi sighed and wrapped his arms around her as Ara tiredly hugged him back, patting his shoulder. 

After they pulled away, Mina faked a cry, "Our Yoonkitty is getting softer every minute he spends with Ara, Joonie. He just hugged her!" She dramatically lay her head on Namjoon's shoulder, who stifled a laugh. Yoongi glared at Mina, and she squeaked as Ara and Hobi chuckled. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Then he turned to Ara. "You'll be fine, Ara. He'll be back soon," he muttered, and she nodded with a small smile. 

- - -

"Eomma," Jin quickly walked into her room. "You called me?" 

"Ahh, Seokjin~ah! Yes, son. Come here," she patted the space beside her on the bed, and Jin sat down next to her, with worried eyes and a tired figure. "Oh, Seokjin~ah. You look tired, my son. Are you alright? Omo, you have bags under your eyes! Are you sure you're okay, Jin?" 

He sighed and forced a smile as he took his mother's hands in his. "I'm fine, Eomma. Why did you call? Did you need something?" 

His mother smiled sweetly before bringing her hand up to his face and brushing his hair off his forehead. "I'm fine too, son. I just wanted to..." she pursed her lips, humming to herself, forming the right words in her mind. "I wanted to let you know about something." 

Jin nodded in anticipation, awaiting his mother's words. "What is it, Eomma?" 

"I lied to you." 

Jin froze. What? 

"Eomma—" "No, Jin, let me finish. I lied to you about my condition. I told the doctors to lie to you about my condition. I'm indeed diagnosed with military tuberculosis, but the lie here was..." she sighed, and a tear rolled down Jin's cheek. "I won't live as long as you thought I would, Jin." 

He closed his eyes tightly, restraining his tears as he slowly blinked them away. "Then—" "Shh," his mother placed her index finger on his lips. "I'll be fine, Jin. I'm gonna go up to your grandparents, and they will take good care of me," she smiled. "You have to leave now. I can tell that Ara is suffering so much because of you. I'm so sorry, Jin, it was my mistake. I should have never asked you to come. But I was selfish. I wanted to see my son one last time before I left this beautiful world." 

She finally let out her tears, the smile gradually fading from her face. Jin, too, cried with his mother, his hands still in hers. 

"I'm sorry, Jin. I'm so so sorry," she mumbled as she kissed the top of Jin's head. "I love you so much, and I hope you always remember that. Right now, I want you to leave. I'll even send away the maids and servants after a while. I wanna die in my house, alone. Let me be selfish for one last time, son. I wanna live and die in this house till my last breath, and that I will do. I will die here within these walls, all alone, and after I'm gone, they will come and bury my body where they buried my parents," she finished, and Jin looked up at her. 

"Eomma," he sniffled, "you could have told me. Why did you keep this from me, Eomma? You could have told m—" he couldn't continue when his mother hugged him, cutting short his cries. 

"I'm sorry, Son," she said and then pulled away. "Now go, my dear. Go tend to your worried and tired soulmate," she put on a smile, and Jin nodded. "Oh, and tell Ara I love her as much as I love you. You both have my blessings, Jin. Make me a proud mother, hmm, so that I can leave in peace." 

"I love you, Eomma." 

"I love you too, Seokjin~ah." 

x Chapter Twenty Eight x

[A/N]

My preboards are not happening, and my finals got postponed lol

ANDDDD, I'm gonna finish this book soon hehe 🤭🙃