There are some things Jungkook has learned to live with.
The cameras. The schedules. The endless demands of a life lived in public.
And the fact that wherever Jimin goes, people inevitably fall a little bit in love with him.
For years, he has told himself it doesn't matter.
For years, he has smiled through interviews, fan interactions, teasing comments, and countless reminders that the person he loves most has always belonged to the world as much as he belongs to himself.
Until one day, something shifts.
What begins as a handful of small moments soon becomes impossible to ignore, exposing cracks neither of them realised had been forming beneath the surface for years.
Because this was never really about jealousy.
It was about everything that came before it.
Commissioned by Paula
Word Count: 26,024
Such a multi-layered story that I feel a bit intimidated to post.
Feels like every re-reading deserves its own review.
Got to marvel at the consistently patient unravelling of nameless emotional knots when it’s anything but easy and nothing made logical sense.
Little insecurities and inexplanable discomforts here and there among countless acts of care and affection. It’s a paradox and yet so relatable, all these too human vulnerabilities.
That’s why it takes even more courage to bring them up rather than defend against them.
Perhaps it’s hubris to expect or demand that fears of loss and of love flowing elsewhere would disappear entirely.
Perhaps it’s not a reason to cast doubt on a solid relationship. Perhaps it’s universe’s insurance policy that love is not to be taken for granted, however long and committed it has been.
The earth has so many fault lines and probably since time immemorial.
And yet, here we are.
After all the pressure, the foundations shift, the fit may be slightly different, but they are still there.
And that’s the whole point.
Perhaps love is like that – the home still standing tall even after the earthquake. We just need to make sure we’re not reported missing.
Thankfully, all’s well that ends well.
An extraordinary read and a must re-read. So worth it, every word of it.