After a day, Bora started working once again. Yoo-Jin accepted her apology and didn't press the matter further. Instead, she started assigning her job as usual. And Bora thought that was really kind of her.

She was unaware that Yoongi had already cooked up some stories to protect the girl from his mother's fury.

Anyhow, Bora was really anxious when she was called to Yoo-Jin's cabin at this moment. Why would her boss decide to summon her out of the blue when she was doing her job perfectly?

She paced apprehensively toward the cabin. Before entering, she knocked, and once she opened the door, it felt as though the ground had been swept beneath her feet.

Not just Yoo-Jin and Yoongi, there were Jimin, his mother, and Jia present too. Everyone's faces looked pissed for some unknown reason. It seemed that they had also recently arrived.

"Oh yes! Come in, sweetie." Jia spoke cheerfully as she moved to bring Bora inside.

Bora appeared lost. She noticed Jimin's mother pissed while Jimin looked horrible. His jaw had turned black now and his cheek was swollen. He was punched in such a place that he was unable to even apply a bandage.

Jimin's appearance caused Bora's heart to ache. She kept staring at him with sadness, but Jimin kept looking down as if he were sorry for something that Bora was obviously aware of.

As Yoongi spotted Bora's attention on Jimin, he sighed dejectedly. He was upset when she failed to even look at him once. He had already given up all hope. But it was again his fault for not confessing sooner. Given that she hadn't moved on, Bora couldn't just accept him.

Yoongi said, "Bora, come and sit here," and he stood up to allow Bora to sit on the chair where he was sitting.

Jia grabbed a seat next to Bora. They were seated across from Jimin and his mother, whose chairs were facing them. On the other hand, Yoo-Jin sat in her chair that was positioned behind the table.

"So, we have already decided on the venue and dress. Now we need to discuss the menu that I've already chosen." Jia spoke with a smile, looking excited as usual.

"You decided without asking me first?" Hae-sook inquired with a raised brow. Her son was also getting married, so why wasn't she consulted about such crucial matters? She had dreams for Jimin's wedding too.

"Aunty, this marriage has always been my dream. And I won't compromise for anyone." Jia grinned as she informed her.

Jia's remarks caused Jimin to look up at her. Jia was consistently kind to his family. He was unable to comprehend why she had suddenly become so blunt and unconcerned with his mother's sentiments.

"Are you listening to this, Jimin? Just look at this girl already controlling our lives when she hasn't even married you. What will she do when she starts living with us?" Hae-sook scoffed and questioned angrily. She was shocked by how quickly Jia started displaying her true colors. The sweet girl was long gone by now.

"Excuse me! Mind your language." Yoo-Jin finally spoke louder. She couldn't tolerate hearing anyone disparage her daughter when she was around.

"Why shall I, huh? Have you called us to insult us?" Hae-sook got to her feet and muttered between clenched teeth. "C'mon, Jimin! We won't talk with them anymore." She grabbed Jimin's hand and dragged him away from the suffocating place.

Jimin got to his feet and allowed himself to be dragged by his mother as if he was in a daze. "We shouldn't be with people who don't respect us or our views." She glared at the mother-daughter duo before starting to drag Jimin out of the cabin.

She was just ready to open the door until Jimin yanked his hand free from her grasp. "Enough mom! Am I your puppet? Stop treating me like one. I have feelings too. You can't just always intervene in my life." Jimin spat out in anger.

He turned around and was about to approach the woman with whom he would be getting married soon till he was stopped in his tracks by a hand.

"What do you mean by always intervene?" She mocked him in the same tone as Jimin spoke.

"This is the show I want you to watch carefully. And that's the reason why I called you." Jia whispered to Bora as she held her hands. Bora was too puzzled at what she said. Why must she watch them fighting when it doesn't concern her in the first place? Not just she, but Yoongi was perplexed as well.

After Jimin and Hae-sook decided to walk out, Yoongi made his way toward the two girls and stood behind them. He clearly heard everything Jia said. Nonetheless, he made the decision to brush it off and pay attention to what Jia wanted Bora to see.

"Eomma, this time I'm getting married, and it's final. I can't just do what you want all the time. I sacrificed my happiness in the past for your love. I can't just repeat the history and hurt some other girl because of you." Hae-sook was taken aback by Jimin's irate outburst. Jimin had never before yelled at his mum. She reasoned that perhaps Jia must have brainwashed him.

"Sweetie, I care for you. That bit—"

"I dare you to finish that sentence of yours. Don't you dare do that! I couldn't stand up for Bora when you did the same with her. I had to lie to her that my mother lives in the USA so she doesn't have to face a mother like you, who is filled with insecurities. I let go of her and didn't show up on the day of our wedding because you didn't want me to marry a girl from a normal background. What's your excuse now? Jia comes from a well-to-do family." Jimin's eyes started to tear up after mentioning the day he regrets to date. But his anger didn't dissipate. He had to show the reality to his self-centered mother.

Hae-sook was shocked at this point. She walked ahead to hold Jimin's hand but he backed away. "Jimin, that girl didn't deserve you. And I'll forever be grateful to you for not marrying her."

"Really? Mom, not everyone is the same. You should forget what Appa did. I agree that he shouldn't have lied to you about his business tour all the time when he was—"

"—busy with his second family." Hae-sook finished Jimin's statement as her eyes began welling up now. She didn't want to remember that day when she found another woman sitting beside her husband in his car when they were met with an accident. The fact that they also had a son, who was only a few years younger than Jimin, made matters worse. And he could only make out while the other two couldn't.

Jimin couldn't see tears in his mother's eyes. However, she was; he loved her. She struggled to give him the life he deserved after all. "Jimin, you might take me as a ruthless or selfish mother. But you can't expect me to be kind all the time. I raised Jungkook as if he was my kid. I never let him feel how much I despised his mother. Even though I hated his mother, I couldn't deny the fact that she wasn't the only one who was at fault. It was your father too."

Jimin quickly held his mother's hand, shaking his head. He didn't even know why he was doing that.

"I accept the fact that I did wrong to you in the past. But I wanted you to think twice before marrying. I didn't want any girl to end up like me. Just answer me this, did I ever ask you to leave the girl or don't show up on the day of your wedding? Did I ever ask you to lie to her that I wasn't in Korea?" Jimin quickly shook his head.

Now that he gave in thought to the matter, his mother indeed never asked him to do anything like that. She merely expressed her dislike for girls coming from a normal family. She never targeted Bora. How could she when she never saw her face or met her? It was Jimin who was scared to introduce them.

"I shouldn't say this but I was disappointed in you when I got to know from Jungkook that you left the country on the day of your wedding. Did you even try to convince me? Did you try to introduce me to that girl? Do you wanna know why you didn't? Because you got your father's blood running in your veins. He married me too when we were young, without thinking much. And just like girls are emotional fools, so was I. I believed in him and dedicated all my life to his name. However, that unfaithful b*stard decided to have an affair behind my back. It was you who broke your marriage and break the trust of your ex-lover, not me."

Jimin was hit by reality like a truck. In fact, everything his mother stated was accurate. He always blamed his mother but not his own actions. Hae-sook wasn't entirely adamant about sticking with her decision. It was Jimin, who five years prior wasn't prepared for the marriage. When Bora and her family welcomed him and gave their consent too quickly, he felt under pressure.

It wasn't like Jimin was playing along with her feelings. He simply wasn't certain whether or not it was the correct time to get married. And because he was a coward, he never shared his thoughts with Bora.

"I still love her." He mumbled, allowing his tears to flow. He placed his palms on his face and cried loudly like a baby, who broke his favorite toy while playing. "I still love my Bora. I know I should be blamed and I don't deserve to be forgiven by her. But I still love her."

Hae-sook balled her fist in frustration. She pulled Jimin's hands from his face, and she tsked at him after noticing his tear-stained cheeks and red nose.

"We are still sitting in the office of Jia's mother and you're confessing that you love your ex? Why are you being like your father, Jimin? Why?" She shook his wrists that she was clutching tightly. "I failed to make you a better man. I failed as a mother."

The two were crying for different reasons, but Bora was no better. She bit her palm harshly to keep her from wailing as she finally learned the reality. Jia, on the other hand, pulled Bora into a hug and took out her palm from her mouth.

"How did this happen?" Yoongi mumbled to himself but was audible to Jia.

"Oppa, I had heard Bora's brother and your talk that night. I surely felt hurt but I felt so bad for Bora. And that's why I decided to lie about this wedding preparation thing so they fight and accidentally reveal the truth." Jia spoke gently while rubbing Bora's shoulders to calm her down as she continued to hug her.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Bora finally spoke and Jia could only sigh, not being able to form a sentence. How could she console her when she couldn't even imagine what the girl must have gone through?

"Eomma, Bora is here." Jimin finally spoke when he realized that Bora was present with them.

Hae-sook inquired shockingly, "Huh? Bora? Your ex-girlfriend?"

Jimin hurriedly turned around, but when he saw Bora sobbing in Jia's arms, his heart ached. He promptly stood up and went to the young woman. Hae-sook stood up too, finding the situation more awkward than it was.

So she is the same girl who is organizing Jimin and Jia's wedding. Her parents must have given her good manners it seems.

Hae-sook was shocked would be an understatement. Jimin hurt the girl but she still did her job without causing a rift between Jimin and Jia. "I think not everyone is the same." She mumbled to herself, smiling weakly as she noticed Bora crying in Jimin's embrace.

As they exchanged endless sincere apologies with one another, Jimin and Bora hugged each other even tighter.

And finally, the cold man began to cry when he saw Bora and Jimin tightly holding each other as though their lives depended on it.

Why does it hurt more to see Bora crying than to see her in her ex-boyfriend's arms? Do I love her so much that her sadness and tears are affecting me more than the fact that she is hugging someone who isn't me?

_____________________

Now, all we have is the Epilogue and we're done with this book. 

How was this chapter? And what do you think about Jimin and his mother?

I know I've already decided on the ending. But I'd still like to know how you guys want to see the ending.

If you are reading this when the book is completed, I'd still like to know your views before you click on the next chapter.