Twisted Love (Winrina Ver)

MINJEONG[CHAPTER 42]

JIMIN LIVED UP TO HER PROMISE-SLASH-THREAT OF SHOWING UP EVERY.
Single. Day. She was there in the morning when I left for my fellowship, usually with a vanilla latte and blueberry scone-my favorites. She was there to walk me home after my workshops. Other times, especially when I was with other people or exploring the city on the weekends, she was less conspicuous, but She was there. I felt her presence even though I couldn't see her.
I never thought Yu Jimin would become my stalker, but there we
were.

On top of that, gifts arrived every day. By the boatload.
By the end of the first week, my apartment looked like I was opening an indoor garden. I donated everything to a local hospital-the roses of every color, the vivid purple orchids and sweet white lilies, the cheerful sunflowers and delicate peonies.
By the end of the second week, I owned enough jewelry to make the Duchess of Cambridge green with envy-at least, until I pawned them. The sum I received for the pile of diamond earrings, sapphire bracelets and ruby necklaces made my eyes water, but I donated most of it to various charities and saved the rest for living expenses. London wasn't cheap, and the fellowship stipend wasn't exactly princely.

By the end of the third week, I was knee-deep in gourmet chocolates, gift baskets, and custom-made desserts.

I didn't care about fancy jewels or flowers, so those gifts didn't matter to me. It was the little things that tore holes in my heart-the red velvet cupcakes that spelled out I'm Sorry; a rare, vintage Japanese camera I'd searched for for years but had never found for sale; the framed photo of Jimin and me at the fall festival. I hadn't realized she'd kept a copy from the photo booth.
Why would I need photos?
For the memories. To remember people and events?
I don't need photos for that.

By the end of the fourth week, I was torn between tearing my hair out in frustration and crumbling like a sandcastle at high tide.
"We need to talk," I said Friday afternoon after I left my lighting
techniques workshop. Jimin lounged against a light pole outside the building, infuriatingly gorgeous in jeans and a white T-shirt. Aviators hid her eyes, but the intensity of her gaze seared through the glasses and burned into my flesh.

A group of passing schoolgirls looked her over, giggling and whispering amongst themselves.
"Shes is so hot," I heard one of them squeal when she thought she was out of earshot.

Spoiler: she wasn't.

I wished I could run after her and give her some unsolicited big-sister advice. Don't fall for girls who look like they could break your heart because chances are, they will.

"Sure," Jimin said, unfazed by the girls' attention. She was probably used to it. While she followed me around London, women followed her around until we all looked like we were playing a giant game of Follow the Leader.

"We can talk over dinner." Her mouth twitched when I glared at her.

"That's not happening." I looked around and spotted a tiny alcove further down the street. Not quite an alleyway, but private enough. I didn't want the other fellows seeing her and asking more questions. Most had already noticed Jimin waiting for me every day and incorrectly assumed she was my girlfriend. "Over there."

I marched toward the alcove and waited until we were ensconced in the tiny space before I spoke again. "You have to stop."

Jimin raised an eyebrow. "Stop...?"

"The gifts. The waiting. The games. They won't work." Lies. They were close to working, which was why I was freaking out. If she kept this up, I didn't know how long I could hold out.
Her smile faded.

"I told you, I'm not playing games. If you want me to stop with the gifts, I'll stop. But I'll never stop waiting."

"Why?" I threw my hands up in frustration. "You can have any woman you want. Why are you still here?"

"Because none of them are you. I..." Jimin's throat flexed with a hard swallow. The nervous expression returned. "I didn't want to admit it, even to myself, but-"

"No." My heart broke into a gallop. I knew what she would say next, and I was nowhere near ready to hear it. "Don't."

"Minjeong, I love you." Her eyes flickered with emotion, and my chest squeezed until I thought it would burst. "When you told me you loved me, I didn't say it back because I didn't feel like I deserved your love. You didn't know the truth about my plan yet, and I didn't think...fuck." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking uncharacteristically flustered. "This wasn't how I'd planned to say it," she muttered. "But it's true. And maybe I still don't deserve you, but I'm willing to work at it until I do."

"You don't love me." I shook my head, my eyes and nose burning with unshed tears. I'd cried so much lately I annoyed myself, but I couldn't stop. "You don't even know what love is. You lied and used me and Yujin for eight years. Eight years. That's not love. That's manipulation. Insanity."

"It started out that way, but Yujin really did become my best friend, and I really did fall for you." Jimin let out a short laugh. "You think I wanted those things to happen? I didn't. They completely screwed my plans over. I held off on bringing down Yoongi for years because of you and Yujin."

"How generous of you," I said sarcastically.

Her jaw tightened. "I never claimed to be Prince Charming, and my love isn't a fairy tale type of love. I'm a fucked-up person with fucked-up morals. I won't write you poems or serenade you beneath the moonlight. But you are the only woman I have eyes for. Your enemies are my enemies, your friends are my friends, and if you wanted, I would burn down the world for you."

My heart split in half. I wanted so badly to believe her, but... "Even if that's true, it's not about love. It's about trust, and I don't trust you anymore. You proved you're the master of the long game. What if this is just another one of those? What if one day, ten years from now, I wake up and you break my heart again? I won't survive it a second time." If the source of the heartbreak were anyone else, maybe. But not Jimin. She was embedded not only in my heart but in my soul, and if I lost her again for whatever reason, it was game over.

"Minjeong." Jimin's voice cracked. Red rimmed her eyes, and I could've sworn she was on the verge of crying. But this was Jimin. She didn't cry. She wasn't capable of it. "Sweetheart, please. Tell me what I have to do. I'll do anything."

"I don't know if there's anything you can do," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Then I'll just have to try everything until we find something," she said, her face granite, her tone resolute. Jimin wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted. It wasn't in her nature. But if I gave in to her the way my heart wanted but my mind screamed at me not to, how could I live with myself? A relationship without trust was built on a foundation of sand, and after a lifetime of drifting, I needed solid ground.

"Go home to D.C., Jimin," I said, exhausted-mentally, physically, and emotionally. "You have a business to run." Even as I said the words, my stomach lurched at the thought of an ocean separating us again. I was a mess. I had no clue what I wanted, my thoughts raced too fast for me to latch onto any of them, and-

"I resigned as CEO, effective one month ago."
That shocked me out of my reverie.

"What?" She was the most ambitious person I knew, and she'd been CEO for less than a year. Why hadn't I heard about this? Then again, I didn't follow financial news, and I'd avoided any news about Jimin herself.
Jimin shrugged.

"I couldn't stay on as CEO while spending all my time in London with you, so I resigned," she said matter-of-factly, like she hadn't given up her life's work on a whim. Except Jimin did nothing on a whim. She thought through every move, and her latest one made no sense. Not unless... I squashed the brief flare of hope before it could blossom into something greater.

"But what about money and expenses?" I realized how dumb that
question was the second I asked it.
Jimin's mouth tilted up.

"I have enough in stocks, investments, and savings to last me the rest of my life. I worked because I wanted to. But now, I want to do something else."

I swallowed, my pulse thundering. "What's that?"

"Win you back. No matter how long it takes."