WatchingJimin shiftily assimilating himself into a queue formed up only to snatch the last batch of savory hotteoks that had apparently made their creator a common household name, Sera could not help chuckling at the man's infinite efforts to get by the task quickly. He would peer every now and then to find an empty-enough spot for him to occupy, but was instead met with disappointment in return every single time.

Jimin spared an enervated glance at Sera, which undoubtedly led her into pitying the poor boy, but also giggling uncontrollably afterwards.

Swaying her head left and right in amusement over Jimin's silly actions, she fished out her phone from her pocket and began scrolling down her social media feed. Though what she came across at that time was not in accordance to what she must have had in her mind, and hence her baffled expression.

Jimin was trending all over the social media, and Sera was more or less a part of that hot news breaking too. She had herself been a part of the fandom for as long as she could remember, and she very well knew the kinds of fans populating the community. Sighting that multifarious blend of reactions that erupted due to a photo of Jimin and her— that must have been captured by someone right outside the University gates— was making Sera dread its impact on Jimin.

However, that was not what she should have been concerned about at that moment.

Many of the posts that she went past were indeed elevating, celebrating how one of the fans' favorite boys had managed to discover love at last. Many were neutral, playing their safe cards by being careful about their stance of neither presenting themselves as too much supportive or ostracizing, which Sera could not make out the relevance of. But the last category— and the most brutal one too— consisted of those who despised imagining their idol with someone who was not them, and did not even second guess their hateful words before spewing them at their targets.

Unfortunately, the nasty ones tended to triumph over the good-willed ones in the meantime Sera was browsing through the updates. She was amazed at how they were dragging down Jimin alongside with her too, especially when they claimed him as one of the best things to ever happen in their lives.

Never in her life had hypocrisy maddened her so much.

Jimin could not refrain from asking Sera— who was staring at her phone's screen in such distress— if something wrong had happened. She lifted her head up to glimpse at her addresser, who looked tensed and worried over her while the cups containing hotteoks in his hands awaited to come into her grasp.

That precious human deserved so much better than the pointless detestation that being with her was causing him.

"Gaeul texted me just now, I need to return to her as soon as possibl—"

"I had already informed her that you were mine starting from today, did she perhaps forget about that? Also, I'm not letting you leave me just like that. We have several more places to hit on, and I don't want to do that alone." Jimin's lips curled downwards, and even he could not bring himself to believe in what he just did.

Sera had definitely made him forget about the behavioral restrictions that he had placed upon himself, but this? He went really overboard with that.

"Can we please forget about what I just di—"

Sera gazed into Jimin's eyes with her heavyhearted ones for some time before replacing the silence with her voice, "It's urgent, Jimin. I seriously need to go."

"Yeah... okay, that's fine. But is there something else wrong too? Did I do something that you didn't lik—""

"Don't be absurd, Jimin. There's nothing that I don't like about you." Sera paused before standing up on her feet to close the distance between their bodies, eventually sliding her arms to envelope him in her embrace, before continuing, "I love you, Jimin. I always have, please remember that."

Jimin warily circled his arms around Sera too, and rested his chin on her shoulder before murmuring, "I love you too, Sera. But you sound a little sad than usual, and I'm afraid if that would end up in something... something that I don't even wanna think about." He completed as he buried his head further into her neck.

Sera stayed quiet after that, more like rendered tongue-tied by how accurately Jimin had interpreted her melancholy. She pulled herself back from his hold, and turned her back towards him immediately, in case he happened to discern her pale face and figure out that his apprehensions were indeed correct.

That Sera had made a single-handed decision not to meet Jimin ever again, for she envisaged it to be the best for the both of them.

"Take care, Sera. And don't forget to call me once you reach home, alright?" Jimin said calmly, veiling the whirlpools in his head quite efficiently.

Sera's mental turmoil could crush her any minute now. It was just too much for her to take. Jimin's presence had directed her to trust in the healing power that love evidently possessed, and she had— after a long journey of enduring sufferings caused by heartbreak— finally come to perceive Jimin and her as the ultimate end-game.

How naive of her to reckon that. Nothing had ever withstood the tide of fate.

Maybe they were just destined to meet, and not fall in love after all.

With a heavy heart and sinking soul, Sera forwarded herself away from Jimin. Tightening her fists, she hung her head low, and scaled the entire distance anticipating that very moment when she would lastly cross the brink of her emotional baggage and crash down on that current spot extremely helplessly.

And she did, once she pushed herself through the door that belonged to her home. As soon as she had realized that her only company was her own self, lost amidst the sound of her labored breathing, she unconsciously crumbled onto the floor, weeping like no other loss would ever feel so devastating to her.

On the other hand, when Jimin did not receive a call from Sera even after a couple of hours had passed since the latter departed, he gushed in self-admiration when he recalled Gaeul's number kept safe somewhere in his phone as well, thanks to the patronizing event where she had to deal with him in Sera's place.

The receiver attended the call instantaneously, and Jimin was beyond delighted due to that.

"Hello, Miss Gaeul. It's Jimin this side. Could you do me a favor and check if Sera has reached home?"