"We become the monsters we're most afraid of."
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"Jimin," she breathed out. "You're allowed to touch me."
His plump lips slightly parted as a gasp escaped him. "I-" he exhaled, his fingertips slightly grazing her cheek.
"I'm someone else tonight...
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Waking up the next morning felt like Aera’s soul had ascended, had a taste of heaven and now someone had put her soul back into her body.
Everything was so much clearer now. As if up until now, she had been seeing in black and white, and for the first time in her life, she could see the world around her in its true colors.
Still in the clutches of her sleepiness, she rolled over to her side and let her gaze cast over Jimin lying on the bed next to her. His features were a lot softer in slumber now that the tension creasing his forehead was temporarily gone. His breathing slow and shallow, he resembled more a boy rather than a man now.
The sight made Aera’s heart flutter in her chest.
She let her fingertips glide over the warm and smooth skin of his shoulder down to his upper-arm. His eyelids slightly fluttered and he let out the most adorable sleepy sigh.
Aera inched closer, weaving her fingers into his hair and a surprised squeal bubbled through her when his arm suddenly shot forward, wrapping around her waist and pulling her towards his bare chest. He hummed, eyes still closed shut, and she chuckled softly.
The serenity that took over her was short-lived though, when an intrusive, alarming thought started flickering in the back of her head. Immediately it managed to overshadow her morning peace, preventing her from relishing in Jimin’s touch.
Because she remembered.
It all came back to her now.
Slipping from Jimin’s embrace, she sprung up from the bed with haste, heart beating erratically in her chest. Her breathing quickened so much she feared she would start to hyperventilate.
She remembered. All of it. The night Yoongi had come to her penthouse.
“I had no idea his mother was coming,” Yoongi’s hand traveled to Aera’s jaw, cradling her face. “Had I known, I would have stopped him from doing this. I’m so sorry you had to see her and go through it all over again. I can’t begin to imagine how you must have felt.”
“No,” Aera breathed out, digging her nails into her palms and starting to quiver in panic.
“You look at me like we’re so distant when we use know each other in such an intimate way. We used to fall asleep and wake up next to each other, Aera, you could be a little bit warmer towards me,” he dug his teeth into his lower lip as his gaze dropped to her neck, lingering there for a while before trailing back up to her eyes.
“No. No, no, no,” she rasped, shaking her head violently, her palms gripping on the blanket. This must be some kind of a dream. A nightmare. This never happened.
