"There's not a cake you want me to pop out of, right?" she asked.

I hadn't thought about it before, but now that she mentioned it...

"Not unless you're volunteering." I replied, patting the edge of the dock to invite her to sit.

I hadn't thought anything out when I spontaneously decided to have a bachelor party. I just knew that if this was the end of the road for me, I wanted one more memory. One more memory with Y/N.

"Not even a little bit," she replied.

She sat next to me, her scent drifting on the breeze. Something about it eased the tension in my shoulders, melting away any thoughts of tomorrow.

"My parents said they used to sit and watch the sunset when they were dating," I said. "I wanted to do that at least once with someone."

Someone I felt at ease with.

I waited for a snarky reply. Something like, well why don't you call your fiancee? or something like that. I deserved it, probably. 

"Well..." she said after a moment. "I suppose that wouldn't be inappropriate."

No objection? How far could I push this?

"Do you want to make it inappropriate?" I asked.

"I will shove you in this lake right now if you don't knock it off."

I laughed. There was the snark I adored. If I didn't watch myself, I could get lost in this.

"Sing for me," I said.

"What?"

"Sing for me," I said again. "I want to hear your voice."

She shook her head. "Also not happening."

I figured she wouldn't do it, but I wasn't planning on her to do it anyways.

"No?" I said with an extra dramatic sigh. "But I wanted to hear music. I guess I'll have to sing then."

Before she could object, I started singing.

Like a small piece

Of dust

That floats in the air

If the flying snow is me

I could

Reach you faster

Snowflakes are falling

Getting farther away

I miss you (I miss you)*

She was quiet while I sang. I wasn't sure if she liked the sound of my voice or not, but I wanted to leave her something. I wanted to be a small part of her memory, no matter what the outcome was for us.

It was silent for a moment after I stopped.

"Jimin," she said, my name sounding sweeter than usual. "Did you also know I was engaged to Jin?"

I exhaled. She had to bring that up now? "Found out about that, did you?"

"What do you think?" she asked. "Should I agree to the marriage?"

"You're actually considering it?"

"Not really. I haven't known him – or any of you for that matter – for very long. I just wanted to know your opinion on it."

I leaned my head back. It was true. She didn't know any of us, did she? We barely knew her. But she felt like such a natural part of us... like she really was meant to be beside us.

The question was... who was she meant to sleep next to?

"You'd be good for him," I finally said. "I would like to see him happy. If you ask me, he's been alone too long."

"He doesn't seem miserable."

"Not on the outside. But the weight of a kingdom is hard on him. I hope he finds someone to love him. It's all I hope for any of us, really."

Including the people I'm stealing happiness from.

I wanted to make jokes tonight. I wanted to make Y/N laugh so I could forget just for a moment what waited for me on the other side of this sunset.

But there was nothing I could say.

I stared at her when she wasn't looking; watching the breeze whip through her hair, sending the strands flying around her face.

She had been through so much, but unless you saw the damage on her body, you'd never know it. Her positive attitude didn't feel fake. She was real. Every emotion was on display for the world to see, and she wasn't bothered by it.

It's what made her beautiful to me.

I swallowed and turned away, avoiding the burning in my stomach.

I had to laugh to myself.

You think I'm playing games, Y/N, but the truth is... I've really fallen for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thank you for tonight," she said as we walked back into the castle.

"I should be the one thanking you," I replied. "After all, it was the best bachelor party gift I could have gotten."

"What did you get, exactly?" a third voice asked.

Namjoon raised his crooked little eyebrows at us. I forgot how fun he was to mess with sometimes. It had been a long time since I did it.

I smiled. "You'll find out one day when you're older."

"I'm older than you."

"It's not my fault you don't know all ready." I shrugged and turned back to Y/N. "Goodnight, my dear."

I bowed and left. Maybe it wasn't nice to leave Y/N to fend for herself, but she could manage. If I stayed too long, Namjoon would pick up that I was just messing with him. I turned to go down the hall and back to my room, but a small voice stopped me.

"Did you have a good evening?"

I didn't want to turn around. Instead, I shut my eyes, internally cursing myself.

"It was alright," I replied, trying to keep my voice flat.

"You look... happy."

I swallowed, turning to meet Nara's gaze. I didn't say anything. What did she want me to say?

"You and Y/N get along well," she continued, stepping forward. "I'm glad you've become friends."

I ran my tongue against my teeth. I couldn't tell if she was faking it or not. I had to check, and there was only one way.

"I enjoy her company," I replied. "Just as you enjoy Jungkook's."

Her jaw tightened, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm not angry, you know," I added.

It was the truth. I was never angry that Nara and Jungkook cared for each other. Jealous was more like it. But not jealous for Nara... I was jealous that Nara and Jungkook had what I had wanted for so long.

She didn't have that with me.

"Y/N is wonderful company," Nara agreed. Of course she would agree with me. She never did anything else.

"Why do you do that, Nara?" I asked. "Why do you pretend nothing affects you?"

She looked up at me, pausing for a brief moment.

"Why are you so agreeable?" I continued. "Why did you agree to this whole mess in the first place? You're miserable with me."

"I'm not miserable," she said softly. There was another long pause.

"You're lying,"

Her lips pulled to the side. "I guess we're even, then."

"Then tell me something honest. And I'll do the same."

She looked in my eyes for a long moment.

"We're engaged, Jimin," she said, "But you insist on spending your time with other women. Regardless of my feelings about it, you should be more careful. If any of the paparazzi caught wind of that--"

"I want you to leave me," I said flatly.

She stopped, looking at me through broken eyes.

I tried to steady my breath. "That's why I do it. That's why I avoid you. That's why I spend time with other women. Our parents made this arrangement, and we're both miserable because of it. As good a woman as you are, you know I don't love you. And I know you don't love me."

Her eyes drifted to the ground.

"You should marry someone who loves you, Nara. Someone who you're comfortable around. Someone who would do anything for you. Someone like Jun--"

"-We don't really have that option, do we?" she asked, her voice cold. "Do you want Sehun to be king?"

I wanted to collapse from frustration. "Of course not. But I don't want to drag you into this, either. My parents conditions to get married so soon will destroy us eventually. I'll find another way."

She bit down hard on her lip, shaking her head. I could see her heart shatter right in front of me. This is what I was trying to avoid. A lifetime of this? I couldn't do this to her.

"Nara -"

"There are no other options, Jimin. There just aren't."

She turned away from me and left. 

Maybe she was right. Maybe there were no other options. 

Fate was that cruel sometimes. 

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*Spring Day English translation from: https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2017/02/bts-bangtansonyeondan-spring-day-bomnal

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