Caught in a Lie (Jimin's Heart #1)

RUN

"Wait," Hae Mi murmured, the delicate, fiery nerve endings of her lips brushing against his as she said the word.

Place a hand on his chest, she gently pushed him back as she leaned away. A flash of hurt passed across his features, but he hastily schooled his features back into that of an upbeat idol. Glancing away from her, he shoved some noodles into his mouth, saying nothing.

"Jimin..." she pressed and then sighed. There was going to be no easy way out of this. "You know we can't... We've barely..."

"What?" he snapped, frustration dripping from his words. "It's just..." he paused, his knuckles turning white around the chopsticks. "I hate this. I hate this, Hae Mi."

She knew exactly what he meant without him giving a further explanation. But, he gave one, nonetheless.

"I hate that we spent so much time apart. I hate that when you came back, we can't spend time together. I hate that we can't move beyond..." he cut himself off as if realizing how passionate he had grown over the topic of their relationship.

"Friendship," Hae Mi finished for him. She had been watching him the entire time, watching as he finally allowed his emotions to take the best of him. "You know we can't cross the line of friendship, Jimin... ssi." She caught herself before 'oppa' escaped her lips. Saying that would just drive the nail further into his chest.

"Then why did you hold my hand earlier?" he demanded, the chopstick snapping in his hand. "Why give me that small hope that something had changed between us?"

Hae Mi didn't have a reason for that. She couldn't say what he wanted to hear. "I don't know..."

"I have to ask, one last time," he whispered after a few moments of silence. "Am I your first love?"

What appetite Hae Mi had left vanished as those words hung in the air. He had unintentionally done everything right and had worn down her defenses. But, for this question, she couldn't build herself up to speaking the truth. It wasn't the right time, the right moment.

Hae Mi hung her head. "You know what I'm going to say, Jimin. That hasn't changed." It can't change.

Without a word, Jimin grabbed his cold bowl of jjajangmyun and climbed off the playground, huffing as he went. In the darkness, Hae Mi was left alone with the cold food, the street lamps, and a hopelessly reeling head. Did all of that just happen? she asked herself as she slowly rose to her feet and tidied up the impromptu picnic.

Jimin would need time to blow off whatever had just occurred, that much she knew. She couldn't help but feel that she had disappointed him in some way - well, she had, the back of her brain whispered to her. He had been expecting her feelings to change after the months of her suspension. He had been hoping that she would tell him what he wanted to hear.

But if there was one thing Hae Mi was good at, it was being stubborn. Especially when it came to protecting both of their careers in the entertainment industry.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket with a new message. Ji Hyun.

[Jimin hyung just got home and he's pissed. What did you do to him?]

Blame the girl. Of course, that was always the natural course of reactions these days. It was always the other person's fault. Groaning internally, Hae Mi typed back a reply.

[Nothing important.]

Because that's all it was, wasn't it? Nothing important. Hae Mi tried to crush the feelings that she had irrevocably ruined whatever relationship it was that she had with Jimin. Rather than face off with Ji Hyun and his protectiveness when it came to his brother, Hae Mi turned off her message notifications and brought up her transportation app instead.

If there was one thing she excelled at, it was blocking out her problems and choosing to run away from them instead.

Throwing away the remains of the food in the nearby garbage can, Hae Mi mindlessly wandered back in the direction of the Park's home, a plan unfolding in her mind. Rather than deal with the wrath of Jimin and his upset family, she would quietly pack up her things and leave. Besides, it was better to give the family the one-on-one time the had been missing through the years because of Jimin's schedule. Removing herself from the equation usually fixed the problem. Securing a ticket on the last bus of the night - 9:30 PM - Hae Mi picked up the pace and hurried back to the house.

Thankfully, neither Ji Hyun or Jimin's parents were in sight when Hae Mi arrived back home. She released a deep sigh and left her shoes by the door haphazardly. The faster she made it in and out of the house, the better. I am a ninja, a shadow, someone not worthy of being seen. It was a silly mantra that she had been holding on to from her performance days when stage fright overtook her nerves and rendered her to be nothing more than a walking potato.

As silently as the old steps of the house would allow her to, Hae Mi made her way to the second floor. From behind Ji Hyun's tightly shut door, she could hear the hushed voices of a vividly upset Jimin and the consoling voice of his dongsaeng. If guilt wasn't previously riding the top of Hae Mi's conscious, it certainly was now, especially when her mind continued to wander to all of the lies she had been telling him and upholding across the past months.

"But this is for the better," she muttered to herself as she deftly worked to gather her things. It wasn't a taxing task, by any means. Her wallet and phone were in her backpack; her clothes were already tucked away in her suitcase. The only thing she had to do was zip up her bags, make sure the room was in order, and leave all of the drama behind.

Easy enough. Right?

Like a thief in the night, Hae Mi gradually peered around the corner of Jimin's room, checking to see if the coast was clear. The last thing she needed was to become a greater burden for the Park family as she made her escape. She had already ruined the heart of one of their sons; she wasn't about to break the hearts of his parents as well. Before losing her opportunity to peacefully leave and before she lost her resolve to run away, Hae Mi walked into the hallway and down the stairs, carrying her suitcase in her arms as to not make more unnecessary noise.

Steps away from the front door, it opened, revealing the Jimin's parents, returning home from a late weekend night at their restaurant.

"Oh!" Jimin's eomma chirped as she removed her shoes and stepped towards her. "Hae Mi, where are you going this late at night? You aren't leaving already, are you?"

Hae Mi raced to find a suitable reason for her sudden departure from their home. "Since Jimin oppa is home–"

"What?" her features lit up as she heard the news.

Jimin's father pressed closer. "Really? He's home to visit?"

The two of them stepped around Hae Mi and walked towards the stairs, eager expressions on their faces. He didn't even tell them he was coming for a visit? She was stunned to discover that news.

"I figured that I would leave, so Jimin has a place to stay and you can have some quiet family time..." she trailed off, but it was clear that they weren't listening to her.

With his parents distracted by the thoughts of seeing their eldest child for the first time in a while, Hae Mi slipped out into the night and headed for the bus station, hopeful to catch one of the last lines of the night.

*****

It seems that things are getting quite messy between Jimin and Hae Mi these days! I hope things get cleared up soon; otherwise, things at Big Hit will be very awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved. 

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please vote and comment, and give this story lots of love. :)