Unexpected - Park Jimin

Chapter 28: Caught in the headlights

Your schedule was tight these next days, shooting after shooting, recording after recording, interview after interview, performance after performance... The days passed in a blur, you went from one location to the next, sleeping in the car or whenever you had a break.

And so it happened. Stressed, you ran across the street. Taehyung screamed after you, telling you to stop.

But it was too late. 

You turned your head in surprise, eyes meeting the blinding headlights right in front of you. You heard a loud squeal. A car hitting on its' breaks. A sickening thud. 

The last thing you saw was the bright light illuminating your face before everything turned black.

"Y/N," a soft voice called out to you, accompanied by a hand that was gently caressing your cheek. Your eyes fluttered open slowly. Momentarily blinded by the light, you only saw outlines and rough shapes before the things in front of you became sharp.

Taehyung's face was hovering above you and he was smiling his typical boxy smile. "You're awake," he seemed relieved, his deep voice gentle and soothing, holding back the excitement of having you back.

"What happened?" you asked lowly, hand reaching for your painfully aching forehead.

"You ran over the street and got hit by a car," he mumbled guiltily, gaze fleeing yours as he sat back down on a seat beside your bed. "I should've stopped you, I should've seen it. I should've-" he broke off and you could see the blatant guilt in his beautiful eyes. "Taehyung, it's not your fault," you said softly, not wanting to burden him with what had happened because of your unthoughtfulness. "I didn't watch out. I was stupid." He shook his head, lips pressed tightly together, "You scared me so much. Don't ever do this again!" he complained with a slight chuckle all the while rubbing a tear away. His chuckle only poorly managed to divert your attention away from his tears. Your heart felt heavy at the sight of him so worried, but you couldn't help but smile. He looked so cute.

"I'm fine and I won't cross the street like this ever again," you assured him seriously and hugged him tightly. He smiled poorly and backed off again. "You were lucky. Like crazy lucky. You only have a slight concussion and a few bruises and scratches. That's all." He smiled, "You're surely asking yourself why you're not in a hospital."  You hadn't even realized that you were in your own bed at the apartment.

"Jimin-" he started, "He came straight away. As soon as he heard of your accident. He told us that you shouldn't wake up at the hospital, he didn't tell us why, but he said that you wouldn't cope well with waking up at a hospital. So we transported you here." Taehyung looked slightly confused, but nevertheless happy to tell you that the singer seemed to finally come around. 

As much as you wanted to deny it, your heart fluttered when you heard of Jimin's thoughtfulness. He had remembered. He had cared enough to inform the others.

 A sad smile spread across your lips as your eyes glossed over. He did still care about me...

Seeing your expression, Taehyung's hand reached for yours, squeezing it slightly. "Hey," he voiced softly, "We're making progress no?" You nodded softly, trying to keep your emotions at bay. Taehyung's gaze didn't leave you, worry still prominent on his graceful features, hand clasped around yours. 

"My mom," you mumbled finally, trying to explain why you were in your bed and not at a hospital, "Sh-She died in a hospital. It was a car accident," you gulped harshly when the words left your lips. Realization hitting you hard, you started to laugh hysterically, tears starting to roll down your cheeks. You could've died. Just like her. Just because of your carelessness.

"I-I could've died like her," you choked on your words, tears dripping down on your pillow with a light 'tap'. Taehyung rushed forward and took you in his arms, pressing your head against his chest in a protective manner. Your arms clung around him as quiet sobs escaped your lips. "Shh, Shhh. Everything is okay. You're fine," he whispered hurriedly, tightening his embrace on you ever so slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked worriedly. "It just never came up," you managed to mutter, burying your head in his soft cotton shirt.

"Well anyway- Ever since that day-" you sniffed and rubbed your tears away silently, trying to get control over your emotions again, "I've never set foot in a hospital again. Every time I tried, I had panic attacks," You explained quietly and looked at Taehyung in a distraught manner. "And Jimin remembered," you added softly, as sad smile on your lips.

A soft knock on the door made you sit up straight, your reddened eyes looking at the door in confusion. Ever so quietly, the door opened, revealing a worried silhouette that managed to speed up your heart rate in the matter of a split-second. Seeing you sitting on the bed, a soft smile rose on his beautiful puffy lips. "Can I come in?" Jimin asked carefully and you nodded. "Taehyung? Would you please give us a moment?" you asked your friend and he smiled. "Of course," he caressed your cheek carefully like a mother would before he left the room with wide strides.

Jimin silently sat down next to you, his eyes focused on the ground, his bottom lip trapped beneath his front teeth. 

"Things got pretty bad between us huh?" he said softly, finally looking up at you, his eyes displaying his troubled emotions in a swirl of warm brown tones. "You pushed me away, Jimin," you mumbled, avoiding his gaze, the hurt obvious in your words. 

"I tried to-" you stopped, "I tried to make things right, but you kept pushing me away." Your eyes locked with his and he nodded, gaze flitting back to the ground. "I know that it was a long time ago, but you slept with one of my closest friends," he muttered, "and then you kissed him not so long ago. Can't you understand how I feel?" He looked hurt, confused, his normally smooth forehead creased as he tried to finally tell you what he felt. "I don't know whether you still have some buried feelings for Taehyung or not-"

"I don't," you interrupted him bluntly. 

"What Taehyung and I had. Was completely different from what I had with you-" your voice was soft, your eyes trained on him to gauge his reaction. 

"Taehyung and I had a ... a ... a physical connection, if you absolutely want to label it. And when I kissed him again-" you stopped, trying to find the right words, "I just wanted to feel loved. I wanted to forget about the pain you had created in my heart. I wanted to feel cared for, I wanted everything you had given me in the past but had destroyed with that kiss with Minha." 

Tears swole up in your eyes, as his gaze softened. "Jimin, I don't care if it was only for a movie. It still hurt. It hurt a lot," you voiced, your fingers curling around the blanket as you thought back to that dreadful day. 

Jimin fixed you intensely, guilt evident in his eyes. "A-And it's so hard to say this, after all these times you pushed me away, but I need you. I need you back in my life. This cold side of you?" you gesticulated with your hands in front of him, "This Pokerface? It's not enough. I need the real you. I don't know if we can ever go back to what we were, but I want to at least be friends."

Jimin looked at you, no words leaving his beautiful lips, his gaze thoughtful before he gently reached for your hand. "Friends," he mumbled. 

You squeezed his hand with a soft smile, "Friends.".

You wanted more than that, so much more. But he wasn't ready and you weren't either...