The King's Swan | Jikook |

Chapter 13: Just Like You

Jimin's eyes blew wide as he stepped back at the view of the king. The omega was shocked to be in the presence of the royal alpha this whole time and couldn't tell if he had to bow or lose his mind at the sight of him. The omega grew more pale as he was before, his eyes darted and trembled just along the pupils and his hands covered his plump lips in shock. The beautiful swan was speechless and took a moment to collect himself.

Certainly, Jungkook allowed Jimin to process this and only looked at the ground in shame. Now that Jimin knew who he truly was, what else could be done? The alpha stood in place as if he was bound to the pile of grass underneath his shoes. Suddenly the night grew colder and the skies no longer greeted him with peace.

"Jimin..." Jungkook whispered and stepped forward with his arms held out to his muse. "I understand how confusing this must be..."

Yet, Jimin pulled back and continued to deepen his glare at the king.

"This is beyond confusing! I don't know how to feel about this... I thought you were bound to someone else this whole time but little did I know, that I would be talking to the King himself! I... I-I thought we were honest with each other, of course, I was honest the whole time but this... T-This is insane!" Jimin sputtered and couldn't bring himself to look Jungkook in the eyes. "After all this time, you kept this a secret for many weeks until our relationship grew as deep as the roots of a tree. How could you do this to me?"

"Jimin, listen, please..." Jungkook spoke up and noticed how Jimin seemed so distant. "I hid my identity for many reasons. I didn't want you to know who I was until I knew you felt the same way about me too. When we kissed, I felt your heart match with mine and I just knew I had to be honest with you and tell you everything," Jungkook said and wrapped his arms around himself. "Everything we've spoken of, it's been such a life-changing trip, I wish it could last forever but I knew I had to tell you the truth."

"Why did you need to know if I felt something in order to confess?"

"Because, I didn't want to confess too soon."

"What are you afraid of?" Jimin wondered and with that, it struck another dark memory of Jungkook's first love. He closed his eyes and let out another exhale before deciding to come clean about that too.

"Once upon a time, a boy loved another and revealed it all too soon. But then, he wasn't loved, he was used for power," Jungkook then sighed and raised his hand over his head. The thought of reminiscing back to the darkest part of his memories frightened him, but when he looked at the omega once more, he knew he didn't have it in him to hide another secret.

"When I was just a crowned Prince, I masqueraded as a commoner and journeyed outside of the palace to find at least one friend. I was so lonely at the palace, it drove me insane. When I ventured out, I ran into an omega. He was a little older than me, but he was breathtaking; he made me feel as if I was the only one that mattered in his world. But I mistook his kindness for love and when I revealed my identity too soon, something changed. He seemed more clingy than usual and not once did I hear him return any loving words to me. Then one night, I overheard him speaking with his true lover, not me. He was going to rule the land and see his true love secretly. He was intelligent, since he knew I was already in love with him, he was using me to his advantage. But, I knew too well he never acknowledged his love for me. I was blinded by love. So naive, so stupid..."

Jimin then looked up at the alpha with only sympathy filling the gleam in his eyes. He could only imagine how much Jungkook felt right after his first love betrayed him and faked his love to him. Of course, this was enough to make Jungkook completely shut down when it came to love and stray away from it. Distracting himself with painting nature and fighting off his desperation for love. It wasn't easy and Jimin soon began to notice the light in the situation.