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Chapter 15: Will You Be Mine? – April 1 – 14, 2021

Jumi had a big test tomorrow.  So Jimin had helped her to study tonight.  Late.  They were lying on her bed as Jimin read facts from notecards and asked her to supply the missing answers.

But she’d been having trouble concentrating all night long.  Every time she glanced at Jimin’s lips, she remembered the kiss they’d shared nearly four months ago now.  A friendly New Year’s kiss.  It hadn’t seemed to rock Jimin’s world.  But it had surely rocked hers.

All she could think about tonight was brushing her lips across his.  It was absurd.  Four more months had passed with nothing but friendship between them.  She was resigned to it now.  Jimin didn’t see her as anything but a friend.  He’d made it quite clear.  

But she was in agony.  She loved him so much.  And she wanted him.  Wanted to be his girlfriend.  And, someday, his wife.  Jimin was absolutely perfect for her.  If only he felt the same way about her.

Her eyes were growing heavy as they continued to review the last quarter of the material.  Eventually, she fell asleep as he was asking her the final question.

“Jumi?” He glanced over at her.  

But she was lying on her back, her even breathing escaping her nostrils.  Clearly, she was sound asleep.  He smiled.  He didn’t want to leave her.  Would she mind if he slept here?  Next to her?

He settled down alongside her.  But he wasn’t close enough.  He wanted to wrap his arm around her and pull her close to him.  Frankly, he deplored sleeping alone.  When he and his brother had been tiny, they had always shared a bed, and Jimin had derived great comfort from the presence of his little brother in that bed with him.  He wasn’t sure why, but he had always craved someone else’s presence.   

He knew for sure that he craved Jumi’s presence.  And it wasn’t just because his brother had moved to Seoul to study.  Jimin wanted her.  All of her.  He desired to slip his arm around her and hug her close.  To feel the rise and fall of her chest each time she breathed.  He wanted to bury his nose in her hair.  And inhale her pleasing scent.  He loved it when her lemony fragrance teased his nose.  

But, mostly, he longed to taste her lips again.  He hadn’t been able to get their one kiss out of his mind.  And it baffled him because it had been the briefest and most innocent of touches.  Nothing to write down in a romance novel.  Nothing to curl one’s toes.  Yet it had.  He had relived it a thousand times.  He was reliving it right now as his eyes traced her lips.  

He had, in fact, relived it so often that his imagination had begun to feel so amazingly real to him that he didn’t even realize what he was doing when he slid him arm around her and bent his head to claim her slumbering mouth with his own.

Jimin’s lips took hers, and his eyes fluttered shut.  He buried himself in those luscious lips.  Kissing them for several long and wonderful moments.  He was delighting in their taste, in the soft brush of those lips against his own.

Jumi was having the most delightful dream.  Jimin had suddenly slid his arm around her and drew her near.  As she stood staring up into his eyes, she sighed.  His eyes were so beautiful.  Then, without warning, his head bent, and his precious lips brushed hers once more.  But this time they kept returning for more of her.

She responded delightedly, a tiny sigh of pleasure leaving her mouth at one point.  Jimin was so surprised by it that he instantly drew away from her when he realized this kiss was real.  But when she suddenly frowned and whispered, “Jimin,” in a disappointed and questioning way, he bent his head once more and brushed his lips over hers again.

Her arms slid around his neck then, drawing him even closer to her, and he tightened his own hold on her.  He delighted in her lips for several long moments before he finally drew away from her.  Enough to pillow his head on her shoulder.  They fell asleep clinging to each other.

—

She awoke within the circle of Jimin’s arms, and her heart took flight.  Until she glanced at the clock and realized that she was going to be late for her test if she didn’t get up immediately.  She slipped from his arms in such a way as to not disturb him.  So Jimin was disappointed when he awoke a half hour later to her empty bed.  He sighed.  Once again, he seemed to have failed to connect with the girl with whom he was madly in love.

—

When she came home that evening, she didn’t mention their kiss, so Jimin felt awkward and said nothing either.  They sat once again on her bed eating dinner while she studied for another exam.  She had her nose buried in a book, so Jimin took the opportunity to study her lovely face.  He had to resist the very strong urge to reach for her and pull her into his arms.  He wanted to taste her lips again.  Their kiss of last night had been all too brief.  

Why hadn’t she mentioned it?  

Had she not enjoyed it?

Or had she slept through it?

It hadn’t felt like she was asleep, and she had spoken his name once.  But, perhaps, she was unaware they’d kissed.  He suddenly felt mortified that she might not know about their second kiss.  Almost like he’d preyed on her without her awareness.  He was now embarrassed and wasn’t about to mention it.

Her nose might be buried in a book, but she’d read the same sentence ten times and still hadn’t comprehended it.  She’d had the most vivid dream last night.  Jimin had devastated her lips with his own.  She was sighing inwardly now as she relived that delightful dream.  If only he would really kiss her like that.

—

Jimin had fallen asleep on her bed again.  This time before her.  Jumi set her book on her nightstand and rolled over to look at him.  She slid down until she was lying next to him.  She leaned up on her elbow to hover over him as her eyes slid along the slender planes of his face.  

His intriguing eyes were hidden from her view, but she remembered them.  Dark chocolate eyes.  Intense eyes.   Early in their acquaintance, those eyes had sparked her anger.  But now they lit a fire of desire in her soul.  Those eyes filled her with a passion that startled her sometimes.  However, he had no idea.  He believed that she was simply his best friend.  But she was so much more than that.  She’d given him her heart long ago.  Most of the time, that truth hurt her.  It was painful to endure an unrequited love.

However, tonight she drank in his slumbering countenance.  Enjoying the view as her eyes slid along the straight edge of his beautiful nose.  She obeyed a sudden impulse and reached over to kiss the tip of that lovely appendage.  Her eyes slid down one smooth cheek then across his chin.  Next, up to his pouty, pillowy lips.  Lips she already knew held bliss for her.  Would he care if she stole a kiss from him while he slept?

She sighed as she spent several long moments contemplating those lips.  She moved closer to them.  She bent her head and brushed her nose down the length of his to test whether or not he was sleeping as soundly as she believed he was.  But he didn’t move.  His breathing didn’t even change.  Her lips curved into a smile.  

She bent her head and touched her closed lips to his.  Then her lips parted, and she breathed in.  Jimin was so sweet.  He smelled like something divine that she could not name.  She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arm around him. She lay, breathing in his comforting scent until she drifted off to sleep.

—

Jimin awoke with the sun to find himself wrapped in Jumi’s embrace.  Startled, he lay perfectly still enjoying the feel of her arms and the even cadence of her breathing.  He wished he could wake up every morning like this.  He bent his head and breathed in the delightful tartness of lemons.  He would always think of Jumi as his lemon girl.  But this delightful thought was interrupted by a fear.  What if Jumi married someone else?  He wouldn’t then be able to think of her as his anything girl.  She’d be someone else’s girl then.

Sadly, he gazed down at her.  Was there any way that he had misunderstood the last year of their friendship?  Was there any chance that she loved him as he loved her?  Should he take a leap of faith and kiss her?  Just to see how she would react?

Today was a Saturday.  When she awoke, he would see if she was up for a little excursion.

—

Jumi awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the shades.  Spring was here.  Even before she opened her eyes, she could hear the happy trilling of birds outside her window.  As she lay enjoying their triumphant song, she suddenly realized that her head wasn’t on a pillow.  She opened her eyes as she slid her hand across a taut abdomen.  It was covered by a modest shirt, so her fingers slid across the fabric, but she could still feel the muscles hidden underneath that shirt.  She lifted her head to find Jimin gazing down at her over the curve of his cheek.

“Jumi, do you want to go visit the cherry blossom orchard at the university with me this morning?  I was thinking we could grab some pastries and head over there to eat breakfast out in the crisp air.”

“Yes!”  Her eyes lit up, and she raised her head.  “I would love to!”

“Shall we get ready now then?”

She nodded and pulled reluctantly away from him.

—

Jimin was carrying the bag of pastries in his hand.  Jumi had the grande latte they had agreed to share in her hand.  He gazed down at her free hand and made a quick decision.  He reached out and slid his fingers around hers.  Their eyes collided.

“Is it okay, Jumi, if I hold your hand?” he whispered the words.

An odd current flowed over her face.  “Always, Jimin.  It’s always okay if you hold my hand.”

He furrowed his brow at her.  “It is?  You really don’t mind?”

She shook her head, her dark locks bouncing to hit her cheeks.  “I really don’t mind.”

Suddenly, he couldn’t wait another moment.  Framed by the blushing blossoms of dozens of cherry trees, Jumi looked ravishingly beautiful.  Her dark beauty contrasted with the pastel glory of the orchard.  He tugged on her hand and pulled her towards a bench that lined the walking path.  He set down his bag on the bench before turning towards her and reaching for the coffee cup in her hand.  He set it down next to the pastry bag.  Then he turned towards her, and the light in his intense, chocolate eyes as he gazed down at her instantly stole her breath.  Did Jimin have some purpose for bringing her here today?

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her other hand until he was holding both her hands.  He drew them to his lips.  And bent his head to kiss her knuckles while his eyes remained trained on hers.  Her eyes widened perceptibly.  But she didn’t pull away.  In fact, her cheeks began to compete with those blushing blooms floating to line the ground around them.  His lips curved into a sweet smile.

Suddenly, he startled her by yanking on her hands.  He drew her forcibly towards him, pulling her arms out to her sides at the last instant before her chest bumped his.  Then he released her hands, and his arms slid around her waist.  He pulled her up against him snugly and gazed down into her eyes.

“Hi, there,” he murmured softly as a smile lit his eyes.  But the one curving his lips faded away as his intense eyes probed her own.

She was staring up at him with the sweetest expression on her face.  It made him want to kiss her silly.  So that was exactly what he did.  He bent his head and softly claimed her lips with his own.  

As his mouth moved over hers, her heart flew up into the heavens.  Jimin was kissing her!  

She wound her arms around his neck and drew him even closer to her as her own lips answered his.  Jumi let her whole heart fly into that kiss.  She had dreamed of this moment for over a year and a half now.  

Jimin had taken a chance.  So she was going to be brave too.  

Against his lips, she murmured, “I love you, Jimin.  And not just as a friend.”

Startled, he lifted his head to gaze down at her.  “Really, Jumi?”

She nodded.  

A wide grin broke forth suddenly in the midst of his face.  “I love you too, Jumi.  And not just as a friend.”

He bent his head to demonstrate his meaning.  A few moments later, when they were both quite breathless, Jimin leaned his forehead against her own.  

“Jumi,” he breathed, “will you marry me?”

She gasped and drew away from him.  “Wh-what?”

“It’s driving me insane living with you.  As just friends.  Can we just get married and enjoy all the pleasures of being more than friends?  I’ve known for over a year that I want to marry you, and nothing you’ve ever said or done has changed my mind.  You’re already my best friend, and what’s better than marrying your best friend?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed before bussing him on the lips.  “Yes!  I will marry you!”

He pulled her close and inhaled her scent, the fragrance of lemons blending with that of cherry blossoms.

––

Yura was waiting for Jin when he came home from work that Wednesday late in the afternoon.  He and Jungju walked through the door to find her slipping her arms into the sleeves of her jacket.

“Come, you two,” she smiled.  “We have an excursion to make.” 

Jin couldn’t help but notice the picnic basket in her hand.  Quirking his eyebrows, he smiled at her.  “What’s this, my love?”

“A surprise,” she murmured with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.

She instructed him to drive to the university closest to their home.  She questioned him about his day to distract him from his own curiosity concerning their current expedition.  Once they arrived at the university, they found a parking space.  As Jin let Minhyuk out of the car, Yura liberated the picnic basket from the backseat.  Then she handed it to Jin before capturing her son’s hand with her own. 

Jin took a hold of her free hand and asked, “Where to, my love?”

She tugged on his fingers.  “Just follow me.”

They walked a little way down the path before his eyes took note of the pink sky ahead of them.  But it wasn’t a brilliant sunset that was overtaking the earth’s cerulean dome.  Their eyes were being greeted by a beautiful orchard full of blossoming cherry trees.  A wide smile spread across his face.  Minhyuk laughed and pulled free of his mother’s hand so that he could run forward and scoop up some petals that had fallen to the ground before he tossed them up into the air to watch their lazy descent back down to that green earth.  She drew Jin towards one rosy tree.  As they came to a stop under it, she set the basket down on the ground.  Then she glanced up into his eyes, her own twinkling up at him.

“Jin, we once stood under a blushing tree like this one.  Do you remember it?”

He nodded as a vision of their first kiss blossomed in his heart.

“Do you recall what you said to me under that tree?”

A sweet smile curved his beautiful lips as he recited his former pledge word for word.  “‘I love you, Yura.  I will always love you.  You’re the only girl for me.  I swear it.  Forever.’”  That smile bloomed into a grin that revealed his white teeth in all their brilliant glory.  “It’s still true,” he whispered.

A mysterious smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.  “I don’t know, Jin.  I think there’s a very good chance that it’s no longer true.”

“What?” he asked, his confusion revealing itself through his furrowed brow.

She glanced up at the rosy blossoms floating over their heads.  “These beautiful blooms aren’t the only pink things I discovered today.”

Still confused, Jin now frowned.

The smile that had been slowly stealing across her face suddenly suffused it with light.  “I’m pregnant, Jin.  With your baby.  And there’s a very good chance that she’s a girl.  I might just have to share your heart with another girl after all.  What do you think?”

He stared in awe at her for a moment as shock rippled across his countenance.  Could all his dreams be coming true this year?  Yura had become his wife; Minhyuk, his son.  Was she now carrying the baby girl he had dreamed of having with her? 

She watched as joy engulfed his face, and she felt a happy tear invading her eye.  His reaction was such a contrast to the two responses she had received the last time she’d delivered news of a pregnancy to two very different men.  Six years ago, neither of them had been happy.  But today, life was as it should be.  She was pregnant with Jin’s baby, and he was clearly ecstatic.

Suddenly, he responded to her question about sharing his heart with another girl.

“In that case, I was wrong.  I’ll have to break my oath.  You’re not the only girl for me.  Now I have two forever girls.”

She glanced at Minhyuk as he chased a butterfly through the blushing orchard.  “That’s all right, Jin, because I now have two forever boys too.”

As his eyes also fondly traced that tiny head, he whispered, “I think we both have enough room in our hearts for a forever love that encompasses us all.  We’re so blessed, Yura.  That darling, little boy to love.  And now another child to grace our lives with a brand new joy.” 

As he beamed down at her, he continued, “It’s still true, you know?  I love you, Yura.  I will always love you.  And Minhyuk.  And this little one.”  That tender smile transformed his face as his palm came to rest against her belly.  His gentle fingertips caressed her skin through the light fabric of her dress.  “Forever.”

Then his other arm drew her closer to him, and he bent his head.  His eyes fluttered shut right before his lips claimed hers in a kiss that promised he would be as faithful to her in the coming years as he had been for the last sixteen.

––

Jumi walked through the door into her bedroom the following Wednesday night.  Her doll – the one Jimin had rescued for her – was sitting on her bed.  Not on the shelf she usually sat on.  Curious, Jumi crossed the room to investigate.  

Her little doll was holding something on her lap.  It was a blue velvet box.  A deep blue.  Deep like a sapphire.  Jumi reached for it.  As she picked it up, her heart began to race.  Then Jimin’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Open it, Jumi.”

She spun around to face him.  His face was alight with something indefinable.  He was smiling at her, his eyes softly glowing.  She returned his smile and peered down at the box in her hand.  She lifted the lid.  And gasped.

A gold band winked up at her.  In its center was a perfect, round diamond.  It wasn’t very big, but it was absolutely beautiful, sparkling in the light cascading down from the ceiling over her head.

Jimin closed the distance between them and dropped down on one knee.  “Jumi, will you make me the happiest man on earth?  Will you marry me?”

She nodded.  “Yes!”

“When?”

“This summer.  When classes are done?  Beginning of August?  That would give me a while to plan the wedding and some time to earn some money to pay for it.”

Jimin frowned.  “Why would you have to pay for it?”

“My appa isn’t going to help pay for our wedding, Jimin.  I’m going to have to cover my portion myself.”

A ripple crossed his face.

“It’s okay, Jimin.  I don’t mind working.  You and your grandmother have taken care of me for a year and a half.  I’m happy to pitch in to help cover the cost of our wedding.”  She suddenly squealed and jumped up and down.  “I’m just so excited to finally be marrying you!”

His eyebrows flew north.  “Finally?” the tone of his voice revealed his confusion.

“Jimin!  I’ve been in love with you since the moment you burst into my appa’s apartment and rescued me.  I thought for a while back then that you loved me.  But then…I don’t know.  It felt like you backed away, so I decided I’d misinterpreted your feelings.”

“No!  Jumi, I’ve loved you all this time.  I just thought you needed a friend more than a boyfriend.”

“Maybe I did for a time.  But that’s not true anymore.”

“Alas!  You no longer have a boyfriend.”

“What?”

“Now you have a best friend and a fiancé.”  He grinned.

“Oh, well, all right.  I’ll let my fiancé replace my boyfriend,” she agreed with a grin. “As long as I can still kiss my fiancé.”

She lifted her face to his.

“Not yet.”

“Not yet?” she breathed.  “Why not?” she asked a little indignantly.

“Because,” he reached for the box in her hands and pulled the ring out, “it’s not official until I put this on your finger.”  He smiled sweetly down at her.  “May I?” he murmured.

She nodded and held up her hand.  He slid the ring onto her finger.  She smiled.  

“That’s a pretty good fit, Jimin.”

“No,” he responded.  “It’s perfect.  Just perfect.  Just like you.”

She glanced down at her curves and grimaced.  “Jimin, I am far from perfect.”

He reached out to squeeze those curves close to him.  “Jumi.  You are just perfect for me.”  He bent and whispered into her ear, “And I love your curves.  No diets for you!  Please!”

Then his lips found hers again.  Jumi felt a tear forming in her eye as she realized she had found a man who loved her.  For her.  Alone.

She gladly surrendered her lips to his.  And invited the sweetest kiss she’d ever experienced to dance upon her lips.