Chapter 13

AHSHDUEJEBDUSSHRIIENDHFUEJEDB ARE WE KIDDING?!?!?! DYNAMITE SOUNDS SO GOOD HOLY GUACAMOLE IM SO OBSESSED! MY MOM THINKS IM STUPID HELPPPP. STREAM IT BABES_________________________________

Pickles.

That was the first thought I had when I woke up. The oh so wonderful pregnancy cravings had begun.

I sat upright in bed, placing a hand on my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I had begun to feel winded quite often which was normal for a pregnancy but it still freaked Seokjin out, so he always left a glass of water by my side.

I surveyed my now slightly bigger baby bump in the mirror, proudly rubbing it before heading out to the kitchen to quench my craving for pickles.

Luckily, since I had demanded them before, Seokjin had stocked up on it. And by stocked up, I meant we had at least five big jars of them.

I grabbed one jar out of the fridge and used my superhuman strength to open the lid.

I pulled out a big pickle and began munching on it hungrily. My diet literally consisted of pickles lately. Nothing else could top them.

On the kitchen countertop Seokjin had left a neat little note for me. I smiled at his pretty handwriting, admiring all of his little mannerisms.

After I heard his cheeky little statement in Taehyung's office, I had realized that I was starting to pick up on all his little adorable habits. The way his left eye twitched when he was hungry or the way a tiny dimple would show up when he ate. Or the way when we were out in public his demeanor would change around other people.

I had come to terms with the fact that I might have a small crush on him, but I was convinced it was nothing more than a 'father-of-my-child' type crush.

I looked down at my bump and gave it a gentle rub. I was fifteen weeks along which meant I was almost half of the way there to seeing my beautiful baby. I was feeling hopeful about everything. My dad's health hadn't been getting better but it wasn't getting worse either which was a good sign. So hopefully he'd be around enough to see me bring his grandchild into the world.

I took a big bite out of the pickle and began to briefly scroll through my socials. Honestly, even though I had been staying with Seokjin for a little over a month, it was still hard to get used to everything. I was so used to working all day everyday that I wasn't sure what to do with the extra time on my hands.

But lately, I was having the extreme urge to be adventurous and risky. I wasn't normally a 'daredevil' so I had no idea to begin, but I was always antsy and had this overwhelming desire to go do something spontaneous. But I of course had to be safe, so what was the next best thing?

That's when I remembered a particular rule or Mister Kim's initial craze that he hadn't changed when we revised it together.

He told me to never go in his study or his bedroom. Ever. If I ever needed something from him, I was to knock. And on top of that, he always kept the rooms locked. He was obviously hiding something.

The question was, did I really want to risk it and invade his privacy like that? He had hospitable for the most part and strangely caring. I'd totally break his trust if he found out.

But that being said, my curiosity was killing me. I mean it was only natural to feel curious, right? Truth be told, guilt was eating me up, but I felt like I had to do it.

So I compromised with myself. If the door to his study was unlocked, I'd take a quick peek. Nothing more. And if it was locked, I'd drop it.

I took my pickle jar and clambered up the stairs. I stalked towards the end of the hall, and to my surprise, the door to Seokjin's study was unlocked and wide open.

This had to be fate right?

I tentatively stepped closer and peeked my head inside.

It was what one would expect of a study. It was fancy and arrogant much like Seokjin. It had a clean cut mahogany desk right in the center that was surprisingly littered with papers.

I coughed, "Well well well, Seokjin isn't as much of a neat freak as I thought."

I stepped onto the rough, red, rug, gawking at the sight of the shelves and shelves of binders and file folders.

My hands grazed the books as my eyes darted around the room. My confusion only deepened as this seemed like a normal room. There wasn't anything to be hidden.

That was what I thought until I got closer to the desk.

The first thing I saw was a golden photo frame, perfectly capturing a happy looking family. A mom, a dad, and two little boys.

I gently picked it up, my finger swiping over the features of the family. The parents were very attractive people. Even the little boys had cute little faces.

My hand gravitated to the younger looking boy. Despite being years younger, I knew exactly who it was. Which meant the other boy must've been his older brother.

I set the photo back down and drifted my gaze to the scattered mess of papers.

One thing in particular caught my eye. It seemed like an old news clipping.

The headline read:

Globally famous and sensational business couple of Kim United have been found dead in a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver.

I kept reading...

The news is especially saddening as the couple had two sons who had barely started their adult lives. Kim Seokjung, age 20, and his younger brother Kim Seokjin, age 18 are seen here mourning their parents loss.

Of course, in light of this devastating news, the question of who will inherit the family company comes into question. A source tells us thee couple's family members have been relentlessly fighting for control of the company and its assets.

However, in a recent statement released by the company, it has been stated that the Kim brothers have withdrawn themselves from the business and their family, namely calling their family members "money-hungry sharks." Kim Seokjung said he will not be pursuing any type of business career and has stated that he will be retreating to a quiet life that his parents always wanted. On the other hand, his ambitious younger brother Kim Seokjin seemed to challenge his tyrannical family. The young heir has decided to start his own business while simultaneously attending school. The new company will be called The Kim Group and he asks that everyone support it well.

Everyone is eager to see how the new, young CEO will lead. More updates soon.

I let out a long breath I didn't even know I was holding in.

He was so young. So vulnerable. His extended family took his parents death as a sign to fight for money. To fight for power. This gave the teenaged Seokjin an ultimatum. Cooperate with his family and live peacefully or fight back against them and put forth pride in his family's name. He took all of it on his own. There was no time to grieve.

It felt like within a matter of seconds I had just connected with Seokjin on a whole other level.

Maybe it was in different ways, but the concept was the same. Taking on a higher responsibility for the greater good of your family and your pride.

He wasn't some arrogant CEO who coldheartedly went about life. He was a human being experiencing human feelings. He was someone bottling up years and years of anguish and grief to prove a point. He lost out on his formative years because society backed him into a corner and he reacted as any pressured teenager would.

All of a sudden I felt a rough force grab my wrist and spin me around.

I gasped as I stared into the incandescent eyes of Seokjin.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. Here."

I could barely speak from how shocked I was.

He gently jerked my body, his jaw clenched tightly.

"I asked you, what the hell you are doing here?" He sneered.

"I-I can e-explain," I stuttered.

He was teeming in anger, "I should hope so. Because I remember making it abundantly clear that you had the freedom to do whatever you wanted except go into this room. I eased up so much on you Kwon Yubin. All I asked was that you listen to this. So better be a good explanation. But you should know, excuses make me very angry."

The Seokjin I had seen lately that gave me sweet little forehead pecks was gone. I had only seen this Seokjin on TV. This was CEO Kim Seokjin doing business with someone inferior to him.

I silently followed him out of the study, flinching as he slammed the door. He marched past me, anger evident on his face as he shot me a mean glare.

I looked down in shame, dragging my feet along as I walked down the stairs. I put a hand on my belly to hopefully give it or myself a source of comfort. I'm sure me being slightly terrified of Seokjin's outburst was probably scary for the baby too.

Seokjin sat me down on the couch across from him, his eyes staring right into my soul.

"Talk. Now."

I took a shaky breath, "I-I'm sorry Seokjin. I know you said not to, but I was bored and I had an urge to see. It was unlocked so I wanted to just take a peek in, but clearly I overstepped that boundary. I have no excuse I swear. I'm so sorry, I never meant to invade your privacy like that."

He let out a bitter laugh, "Sure. Are you going to judge me now too? Pity my pathetic excuse for pettiness? You wouldn't be the first."

I pursed my lips, "I'm not sure what you mean."

He scoffed, "You wouldn't. I spent my whole life getting criticized about my choices so don't think you judging me is going to offend me."

My voice was softer and my expression softened, "Seokjin..."

His lip quivered a bit, "Don't say my name like that. Don't act like you understand me or you have sympathy for me. I don't need it."

I could tell he was biting back tears.

How long had he bottled this up? Ten years? That's a long time to throw yourself into work without mourning.

"You can choose to believe me or not, but I don't pity you and you certainly aren't pathetic. And for the record, I do understand. In my own way at least. You were a kid. And you were confused. Your parents had just tragically died and instead of being able to cry, you were in the middle of fighting your extended family. Your brother made the choice to withdraw leaving the battle up to you. And you chose to fight. You chose to defend your family and help them. You built your company from the ground up while simultaneously being in school. Maybe I didn't do that. My parents are still here and I'm not wealthy enough to ever know what having a snake-like, money-hungry relative would even look like, but I have been through hell and back to support my family. I went through only two years of college before getting thrown out because my grades slipped because I was working six jobs. Thank god for Taehyung or I might've not made it to where I am now. My parents had only made enough to provide food and clothes and barely pay off the mortgage. My sister had dreams. But there was no way my parents could support it. So I took the fall and I gave up my dreams to help complete my sister's college fund. And I made money to establish retirement funds for my parents. And I made money to pay off the mortgage fully and pay off the car. And when my dad got sick, who do you think paid for all the medical bills so that my family wouldn't have to spend a dime? So no Seokjin, I don't pity you. Nor do I find you pathetic. What I see, is a man who is almost twenty-eight years old and has silently suffered for ten years while the world made their assumptions. What I know, is that you are compassionate and warm and funny. You weren't allowed time to grieve and that took a toll on you. But you aren't the people the media has painted you out to be for so long."

I was slightly startled when I saw tears began to slip out of Seokjin's eyes.

Without hesitation, I stood up and moved to sit beside him. I gingerly placed an arm around his massive shoulder and pulled him into my chest.

And that's when he broke.

After ten years of holding it in, the man finally let out all his anguish and lamentation. He sobbed loudly, holding onto me tightly. All the built up years of pain and suffering rushing out of him all at once.

"I had n-no r-real f-friends. Everyone used me f-for my m-money. I couldn't t-trust anyone. Until I found the b-boys, there was n-no one in my l-life. I w-was so h-heartbroken over my p-parents that I p-promised never to l-love someone as h-hard as I l-loved them."

My heart broke. He truly didn't deserve any of this. No one deserved to be this broken. His faith in humanity was almost zero. And it didn't have to be like that, but all humanity showed him was pain and suffering.

I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

"B-but I failed," he added quietly.

"What?" I questioned.

He sniffled, "Nothing."

I sighed, soothingly rubbing his back until his sniffles and tears subsided. This was truly the most raw and honest moment Seokjin and I had ever had.

No more personas. This was the true being of Kim Seokjin.

"I'm sorry for going in your study. I promise I'll never do it again," I hummed.

Seokjin caressed my baby bump, my abs tightening at the feeling of his hand on my bare skin.

"It's okay. Yubin...thank you. Thank you for being there. And thank you for looking at me without judging me. Thank you for understanding me," he said.

I inhaled sharply when I felt Seokjin's warm lips press against my bump, leaving short and sweet kisses all over the skin.

Now really wasn't a good time for that. Like I mentioned, second trimester meant ramped up sex hormones. Meaning simple acts of meaningless affection could set me off.

My eyes fluttered shut as I ran my hands through Seokjin's hair.

"I lo—want you both to be happy. I'll make sure that it happens," he said.

And so, with our walls completely down, the path into my heart was wide open. And so was his.

There was nothing stopping us from anything anymore.

The question is, would either of us take a step in the right direction?____________________________________

jjkuniverse made such a nice cover for the book which I will add tomorrow but I'll just leave a picture here for now. Honestly to anyone who I ask for covers or who want to make them, I love you all. You're all so talented 💜