In a Split Second || BTS

Chapter 5

Translations:

"¿Comprendes?" is Spanish for "Do you understand?"

"rabat-joie" is French for "killjoy"

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"So," Jimin finishes, lifting the remaining piece of kimchi to his mouth with his chopsticks, "you know what I've been up to these past years. What about you?"

I shrug my shoulders. "There is not much to tell. I moved from Lyon to Paris last year. Tammy helped me find a job and an apartment, and I was living peacefully until this job shook up my life."

Jimin tilts his head to look at me, a strand of brown hair curling over his forehead. "Well, it brought you back to me, didn't it?"

The corners of my lips raise in a small smile. "I suppose so."

"You know, you have not changed a bit."

I raise my head curiously. "No?"

"No. I always thought... the pain would fade over time," he says, speaking cautiously, so he does not trigger any memories.

"I thought the same," I admit, my appetite immediately disappearing as I think back on how many years I have spent mourning things that cannot be changed. A warm hand gently envelops mine and draws slow circles on the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry. I am really sorry for everything that's happened to you. You don't deserve to experience so much more pain than everyone else."

"Why not? I'm the same as everybody else, but no one sees it," I insist, my palms flat against the smooth table in my seriousness. "Everyone is good, but they all deny it. Why is that?"

Jimin thinks a moment before replying, "I think they are unwilling to admit the standards they should be upheld to."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"In other words, we mere mortals are lazy," he teases, tapping my knuckles with his fingers. I smile softly and look up to meet his eyes.

"You have no idea how much I have missed you," I murmur.

"Tammy took my role in a way, didn't she?"

I scoff. "Not even close. She helps me forget about my problems, not solve them. While I am so thankful for her and all she has done for me, nothing can disguise the impact you – and you alone – have had on my life.

"I thought you said everyone was kind."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Tammy is one of the lazy ones you described."

"Am I also a lazy one?"

"Undoubtedly."

He grins at me. "And you think you missed me."

"I did," I insist.

"Cherisse, I wondered how you were doing every minute I spent dancing without you," he says, the teasing smile disappearing from his lips.

I open my mouth to counter his statement when my vision clouds and I have to look down to blink away my tears.

Jimin chuckles incredulously. "I can't believe you're still surprised when people say they care about you. Believe it or not, you are a very likable person."

"When my parents died, no one cared about me, Jiminie," I explain. "My grandparents completely disregarded me and mourned on their own. My aunt hated me from the moment I stepped through her door. You and Madame Beaumont were the first to truly care about me and sympathize with everything I've been through."