Marriage of Royal Inconvenience [Jimin x Reader]

Ch 26.5 - Truths

Hanna watched as the limo pulled out of the driveway, resisting her urge to chase after it.

Why am I even back here? Y/N's a big girl. She needs to take care of herself. But I can't... I can't leave her with Uncle Martin.

Her heart pounded as she turned around to enter the castle doors. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that it had nothing to do with Y/N.

She just didn't want to see him again.

But it was inevitable. It always would be. Fate had already decided to torture her for a lifetime.

Whatever. No sense in thinking about it.

Hanna dropped her head down and sped down the corridor. Where was Y/N's room again? Somewhere on the west side? Maybe the north side?

She tapped her foot. Why were all castles so different?

She roamed the hallways, trying to find something familiar. Wasn't Y/N's room next to the courtyard? Where was that again?

Asking one of the guards for directions, she sighed in relief when the hallway finally opened up to the courtyard.

Then she sucked her breath back in.

Jungkook sat, hunched over on one of the courtyard benches, elbows on his knees. He was deep in thought, chewing on his pinky nail. 

Her mouth pulled to the side. He still does that?

She frowned. Y/N's room should have been down the hallway that was behind him. But Hanna didn't want him to see her. She hadn't spoken to him since that night, and she still didn't want to.

She crouched down, pressing herself against the wall as much as possible. Crawling sideways, however, wasn't as easy as she had hoped. Instead of a crawl, it was more of a wobble. She threw her weight sloppily from one side to the other. Halfway down the path, she fell on her face. She lifted her head up to check on Jungkook. He still wasn't paying attention.

This isn't working.

She flipped over to her hands and feet, prancing down the hall in a bear crawl. The dirt was scuffing up her hands, but at least it was faster. Sheesh, didn't they mop this hall?

She brought her head up to look at Jungkook again. What was he thinking about anyways?

Hanna grunted. She didn't want to know what he was thinking about. Who cared? It wasn't her problem anymore.

She yelped as pain shot through her hand. She dropped to her knees, lifting up her hand to find a lose nail. Her hand wasn't bleeding, but it stung.

She turned her head back to Jungkook.

He wasn't thinking anymore. He was staring right at her.

Hanna jumped to her feet, ready to run again. Jungkook jumped up faster, sprinting towards her.

"Hanna!"

She hated it when he said her name. On his lips, it was such an empty name.

She started to run down the hall, but a hand grabbed her and pulled her back before could get far.

"I've been looking everywhere for you."

Jungkook's deep eyes stared into hers. She pulled her arm out of his and frowned.

"Well, you found me. You won. I'm leaving."

She turned, but he grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back again. "Where have you been? You've been gone for days."

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" she snapped back. "Just go do whatever it is you do."

He stepped in front of her, blocking the way. "You're still angry."

She pretended to be confused. "About what?"

His head dropped down, fingers fidgeting together. He bit his lip. She tried not to stare. He had never been that way in front of her. He was always annoyed and frustrated. Now, he was like a sad puppy.

No. Stay mad at him. You won't get through this otherwise.

"I'm sorry, Hanna."

She clenched her teeth together. His voice was so sincere.

"That night... I didn't mean to do that. I wouldn't do that. I swear I wouldn't hit you."

She looked away, not answering. He paused.

"My mom..." he continued. "She... she was abusive."

Hanna's eyes dropped.

"I promised never to be like that. I worked hard to make sure I wouldn't be like that. Please trust me. No matter what you do to me, I wouldn't hit you. I swear to God it was an accident."

Her lips melted into a weak smile. "I always wondered who hit you."

Jungkook's eyebrows raised. "What do you mean?"

"In school. Remember the day I kicked your ass?"

"Is this really the time to bring that up?"

"Your shirt got twisted." Hanna continued. "I saw the bruises across your ribs."

Jungkook inhaled, running his hand through his hair.

"I watched you a lot after that." Hanna continued. "It seemed like you were hurting. I wanted to do something for you..."

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "All you did was cause me trouble. Running around yelling, 'Kookie is mine to torture!', threatening everyone I talked to, punching my best friend that one time because he..."

He stopped. His eyes snapped back to Hanna.

She sheepishly rubbed her neck. "I didn't know the best way to go about it back then."

He swallowed. "Hanna, you...?"

"I know." she said. "I know it was an accident. I knew it from the beginning. But I don't want your apology, Jungkook. It won't change anything. Even if you apologize, everything still goes back to the way it was."

He looked at her, confused.

She gritted her teeth, ignoring the ache in her stomach. "I won't bother you anymore. Do whatever you want."

She turned around, not answering his unspoken questions.

I can't take care of you anymore. I won't.