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After she’d climbed on, Jungkook reached back and grabbed her legs, sliding his elbows under them to fully support her, then he headed for her house.  He walked the few blocks with virtual ease, suddenly thankful for all those hours he’d spent in the gym.  They were paying off today.  He grinned as he realized he’d gotten to be her knight in shining armor.  If only ARMY could see him now!  He laughed at the notion as he imagined the resultant Tweets.

She was silent all the way home.  She’d leaned her cheek across his shoulder blade.  She closed her eyes.  And tears slid down her cheeks.  When would he leave?  How long would they have together before circumstance tore them apart once more?  Oh, she wished her ankle would stop hurting!  It felt like the agony in her heart was melding with the pain in her ankle, amplifying both.

A few minutes later, Jungkook pushed the door of her home open and walked in to deposit her gently on her couch.  After receiving instructions, he went in search of an ace bandage to wrap her ankle.  Having found it, he returned in time to see her wiping the tears off her face.

He knelt before her and gently took her ankle in his hands.  He began to examine it.  “I don’t think you’ve done more than slightly sprained it.  We’ve had several injuries among the seven of us, and this doesn’t look nearly as bad as what I’ve seen all of us experience.  You’ll be ok.”  

He began to wind the bandage around her ankle.  As he did so, he spoke quietly, “Hyejin, it’s true that I can’t promise you tomorrow, but the one thing I can promise is that I will always be your friend.  Can we be friends, today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives?  On the days I work, I can find time to text you.  When I have free time, we can meet at the park and just take a walk.  We can talk.  I…I can’t be in a relationship with you.  

“Though,” his eyes met hers, “I wish I could.  I want it so badly.  But you’re right; it wouldn’t be fair to you.  I’d end up leaving, and you’d end up sad.  So would I.”  He looked back down at her ankle as he finished wrapping it.  

“But I want you to know something.  Every time that I stand on a stage, and I sing a sad love ballad, I’ll be thinking of you.  When you hear ‘The Truth Untold,’ I’ll be singing my lines to you.”

“What’s ‘The Truth Untold’?”

He pulled out his phone and began to play it.

The haunting strains of “But I still want you,” clearly sung in Jungkook’s amazing vocals, reverberated around her heart and made her tears start flowing once again.  She bowed her head as silent tears slid down her cheeks to drop onto her lap.

Jungkook, still kneeling before her, was shaking his head.  Her tears had fallen just a few inches from him.  He was watching as the liquid soaked into her pants.  “I can’t do it.”  

“What?” Her head came up, and her heart was rising with the note she’d heard in his voice.

“I can’t leave you.  I can’t be the man in ‘The Truth Untold’.  I don’t want to ache for you, knowing you belong to some other guy.  You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl, Hyejin.  And you’re more than all that too.”

His midnight eyes were searching hers.  What was he looking for?

“It’s too much to ask, but I’m going to ask it anyway.  Would you wait for me?  Would you be willing to wait seven years for me?  You’ll be almost thirty before I’m free.”  He paused as his gaze continued to probe her own, then he went on, “It’s too much to ask, isn’t it?  Of course, you could break up with me any day that you decided you couldn’t wait any longer.  Or if you met someone better than me…”  Old insecurities were surfacing again.

As she looked at his bent head and as she found his eyes again, she could see the real Jungkook hidden there, beneath the surface.  The boy she’d fallen in love with.  The vocalist who had heard her song and fallen in love with the heart that had written those lyrics.  The sweet guy who had been lying smashed beneath her disobedient and dangerously large puppy, his face covered in the eager pup’s saliva.  The man who had carried her home after she’d sprained her ankle.  The love who had wiped her tears off her cheeks with his own fingertips.

“Jungkook.”  She stared intently into his eyes.  “Yes.”  What was she saying?  She could wait six years for this beautiful boy.  Couldn’t she?  There’d still be time to have children.

“Are you truly willing to sneak around with me for six years?”

She laughed.  “You make it sound so bad!”

“I’m not allowed to make my relationships public.”

“Relationships, is it?  How many girls do you have on a red thread, Jungkook?”  She was teasing him now, but he didn’t see the twinkle in her eye.

“One!” He exclaimed, alarmed.  “I mean, none!  I mean, there’s only you!  I just meant I’m allowed a girlfriend, but I can’t let the world know.  ARMY would be upset.”

Exasperated, she cried out, “Who is ARMY?”

Jungkook just stared at her.  She really didn’t know who ARMY was?  “They’re our fanbase.”

“Ohhhhh.”

“What?”

“Now so many things make sense.”  She smiled at him.

“Hyejin, would you date me even if you couldn’t tell anyone?”

“No one?”  How could she pass that off for six long years?  “Not even my parents?  Or my sister?”

“If they’d agree to secrecy, you could tell them.  But no one else.”

“Not even my best friend?”

“Is she trustworthy?  How long has she been your best friend?”

“Yes, she is!  She’s been my friend since primary school!”  She was looking a little indignant.

But Jungkook pressed on.  His livelihood depended upon discretion.  “If she leaked it, I’d have to deny it.  Would that hurt you?”  

This was so complicated.  He didn’t want to hurt her.  It was a lot to ask!

Hyejin looked at him.  And she sighed.  “I’m beginning to understand the conundrum you’re in.  It is a lot to ask.  But I think I’m willing to try.  Can we spend some time together over the next few weeks getting to know one another better before we make any long-term decisions?”

It was an intelligent and fair question, so why was he feeling so deflated?

“Hey,” she whispered, noticing his reaction.  She reached out and touched his knee.  “Jungkook, I really like you.  And I know you like me.  But we don’t know each other very well.  We have all these crazy feelings running around inside of us.  And we’ve both called them love, but love is something strong enough to endure six years of unideal situations.  Before we take that leap, we should find out if we’re really suited to each other, don’t you think?  I mean, you may discover I have a bad habit you just can’t tolerate.”  She quirked her lips at him.

“I live with six other guys.  I highly doubt you could do anything to drive me crazy.  They’ve already tried everything!”

She laughed.  “Even so.  Let’s be friends for the next few weeks and get to know one another.  We’ll revisit the relationship question after that.  Fair enough?”

He nodded.  Is this what he got for falling in love with an older woman?