⊰ T W E N T Y F I V E ⊱

NOW YOU DON'T KNOW

Jimin's kiss held more passion than I knew he was even capable of. Every nerve in my body seemed to ignite as his lips devoured my own. My mind gained clarity as all my senses awakened, everything feeling heightened. His hands squeezed mine firmly, and I could do nothing but let him show me his feelings like I'd asked him to.

His mouth worked with my own, moving in different ways as if he was testing what would get the best reaction out of me. Despite my restricted position, I was kissing him back eagerly, feeling butterflies erupt from the pit of my stomach and flutter their way through every part of me.

Jimin groaned as I returned the kiss, pressing his body desperately closer to mine. He bit my bottom lip gently, teasing me, then pulled away just enough to look at me. When he took in my hooded eyes, flushed cheeks, and breathless state, he smirked in satisfaction at his effect on me. He placed another kiss on my parted mouth, this one agonizingly slow, then he moved his lips across my cheek, along my jawline and down my neck, planting kisses every inch of the way. I shivered under his touch, leaning my head back against the wall.

I felt his tongue brush along my collarbone before a moan escaped my lips when he started nipping and sucking the skin at the crook of my neck. His hands slowly released mine, moving to my hips as he was too focused on his work to continue holding them up. Desperate to feel his lips on mine again, I used my newfound freedom to thread my fingers into his soft hair. I tugged on his locks, pulling his head away from my collarbone back up to my face. I leaned in to kiss him again, but he grinned and put a finger to my lips.

"Eager, are we?" His eyes sparkled as he watched me shake my head.

"Not at all," I responded before moving his finger away. I leaned in, only for him to lean back teasingly. That beautiful smile graced his features and I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. His eyes darkened when he looked at my mouth, then his lips were on mine again. My fingers played with his hair, a groan rumbling from deep within his chest as I did so.

I gasped when he suddenly gripped the back of my thigh, bringing it up to wrap around his leg and squeezing it possessively. Without missing a beat, he used my open mouth as a chance for his tongue to meet mine. I tried to take the lead but was no match for him, and I was left weak in the knees from his assertiveness.

I was completely enraptured by Jimin. His touch lit a spark, bringing on a flame of passion and desire that blazed through me, not just physically but emotionally. The fire he started in me was all-consuming, and I knew deep down that I would never escape it.

His hot, needy kisses eventually slowed into softer, more gentle ones. I'd been so sure that he couldn't possibly make me feel any more euphoric, but he proved me wrong. Somehow the measured, deliberate pace of his lips overwhelmed me more than the feverish kisses had. I could sense his focus, how intentional every single action was. At first he was showing his desire for me, but then... then he was expressing how much he cared.

And my heart could barely handle it.

Jimin's hand carefully slid down the back of my thigh, without taking his lips from mine, and he set my leg back down. He then returned both hands to my waist, bracing me against the wall as if he was worried that I wouldn't be able to hold myself up, which he was probably right about. With one final peck, he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine as we shared the same breath.

My head was spinning, and though I wanted to blame it on the alcohol, I knew it was from the undeniable bliss I had just experienced.

"Now you know," his voice came out huskily.

I finally opened my eyes to find his staring back, full of adoration. Embarrassed, I slid my hands down from the back of his neck to his shoulders, leaning forward to bury my head in his chest. He sighed, running his fingers through my hair. "Why did I do that?" he mumbled to himself, but I still heard.

"I asked you to," I whispered, leaning back so I could look at him.

"You're drunk..." he trailed off with a frown, looking angry at himself.

I shook my head. "Jimin, I've been wanting you to kiss me for a long time. And I don't feel nearly as drunk as I was a little bit ago. I won't forget a single detail," I breathed, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. The corner of his mouth tilted up, but then it lowered as something crossed his mind. He looked at me seriously and swallowed.

I instantly frowned. What just happened?

"What am I missing?" I asked, grabbing his hands when he started to step away from me. He tried to avoid my gaze, but I caught his chin and forced him to look at me. "Jimin, tell me what's wrong."

His eyes were glossed over with tears as he stared down at me. "Please forgive me for what I'm about to do," he whispered, holding my face in his hands.

"Jimin, what—"

"I don't want to do this, but I have to. Maybe one day you'll understand."

My heart sunk. I couldn't help but panic at the torn up look on his face. Before I could manage to say anything, he leaned forward and placed one last meaningful kiss on my lips. When he pulled away, a single tear trailed down his cheek.

"You have to forget." His words nearly knocked the wind out of me. I knew what he was going to do, and my chest ached severely.

"No, Jimin please," my voice cracked as I shook my head, desperately clinging to his shirt, "Don't."

He tightened his hold on my face, making me look straight into his eyes. He slowly brought me down to the ground with him, crouching in front of me without letting me look away.

"Katherine, you need to forget what just happened." His voice came out in that familiar entrancing tone that hooked me under his spell. "I came after you to stop you from going into the water. You asked me to show you how I feel about you, and I told you I couldn't. Nothing else happened between us. There was no kiss."

I let out a whimper as I felt my mind fill with a heavy fog which invaded my memory. The scene of Jimin kissing me slowly washed away despite my effort to hold onto it, to protect it.

Then it vanished completely.

He let go of my face and grabbed one of my hands, watching me carefully. My heart felt heavy as what just happened replayed in my head.

"Show me how you feel about me." My whisper almost sounded like a plea.

His eyes glinted and I could see excitement in them, but as quickly as it came it disappeared. He clenched his jaw.

"I can't." The two words were bullets, burying their way deep into my chest.

Without a sound, I pulled my hand away from him and stood up, not giving him a second glance as I walked off. I didn't understand why he wouldn't express his feelings to me, but it was too painful to ask him for an explanation. I knew he wouldn't give me an answer.

I wanted so badly for him to come after me. To kiss me and show me that the way I felt about him wasn't one-sided.

But he didn't.

* * *

As much as Jimin's actions—or lack thereof—disappointed me, it would not ruin my night. I wanted to distract myself, so I allowed the music and the wild atmosphere of the tavern to pull me back into a haze. I felt quite sober following what happened with Jimin, but I wasn't in the mood to drink more to get buzzed again. I found the boys and danced with them, thankful for how easily they could brighten my mood.

Hoseok spun me and dipped me, maintaining his skills as a dancer even while inebriated. I laughed as he handed me off to Jin who grabbed my waist and swayed me back and forth in some type of waltz, despite the music being upbeat. Yoongi eventually made his way over to me and danced closely with his hands on my hips, though he behaved enough to not try anything more.

I was vaguely aware of Jimin sitting at a table in the corner of the room, keeping an eye on me as he'd promised to, but I did my best to ignore his presence and focus on enjoying myself.

After a few more minutes of dancing, I noticed Taehyung and his father walking down the stairs from his room. They both looked relieved, and I was glad to know that they had come to some sort of resolution.

Taehyung spotted me in the crowd, said something to his dad, then came jogging over to us.

"Looks like I won the bet." He smirked, taking in my unkempt appearance.

I scoffed. "Hardly. I barely got drunk. Besides, I'm already sobering up." I took my best shot at escaping the short end of our agreement.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You're not getting out of this one, Kat. You owe us a song," he gave a smug smile. "Not until later though."

I grumbled under my breath. "Fine."

Tae and the rest of the crew shared high fives, celebrating their strange happiness to listen to me sing. Glancing back at Mr. Kim, I saw him watching us curiously.

"By the way, my father agreed to let us stay upstairs for the night," Taehyung addressed the whole group.

"Great," Yoongi nodded, a yawn escaping his lips.

"Grab a drink and join us," Namjoon invited, looking eager to start dancing again.

"Yeah, you should enjoy yourself before we have to leave tomorrow," Jungkook chimed in.

Taehyung smiled softly and shook his head.
"Thanks, but I think I'm going to turn in for the night. I'm tired after talking to my dad, so I just want to get some sleep."

The pirates nodded in understanding.

"Alright. We'll head up there soon," Namjoon said as he squeezed Tae's shoulder affectionately. The men bid Taehyung goodnight before dispersing back into the crowd. I stayed put.

"You done for the night, too?" he asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

I smiled. "Yes. I'm exhausted."

Keeping his arm around me, he led me towards the stairs where his father still stood.

"We're headed to bed," Taehyung said to him as he tried to walk by. The older man grabbed his shoulder to stop him. I looked at the two nervously, thinking they were about to argue.

"You two make a great couple. I'm happy for you."

Taehyung's eyes opened as widely as mine, both of us staring at his father in surprise.

"N-no, me and Kat are just friends. She's like a sister to me," Taehyung stuttered awkwardly, removing his arm from around me.

Embarrassment washed over his father's face as he looked between the two of us. "Oh, my mistake. Uh, sorry for making the assumption. You two just seem so close." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We are, just not like that," I said lightly, trying to diffuse some of the awkwardness.

"I-I see. Well, goodnight then." He glanced back up at his son. "We'll talk in the morning?"

Taehyung nodded, his cheeks tinged pink.

We quickly escaped the tense atmosphere and made our way up the stairs. Taehyung led me past a few doors until the hallway opened up into a spacious room.

"My dad said we could all sleep in here. He already set out a bunch of blankets and pillows to put on the floor, so we can prepare those for everyone now if you want."

"Okay, sure," I said before leaning down and grabbing a few of the folded blankets. He lifted the other pile and we started spreading them out on the ground one by one. My movements were a little slow since my head was pounding from the after-effects of the alcohol. "So how did it go with your father?" I asked softly.

"It went so much better than I expected. He was angry with me, obviously, but I apologized for leaving without a goodbye, and I explained how I just couldn't stay here and live the life he had planned for me. After we talked about it for a while, he seemed to want to move past it. He really took your advice to heart, Kat. He told me he didn't want to waste our time arguing the whole night, so even though he disagrees with my decision, he's at least accepting of it now." I glanced at him to see a small, content smile on his face. "Then we just caught up for a while."

"Tae, that's amazing. I'm glad he came around and that you two got to work things out," I said sincerely, relieved to see him happy.

"Thanks." He tossed me a few pillows and we started setting them in their proper places. "Now tell me, what were you up to all night? Just dancing?"

"Mostly that, but I did end up going outside to get some fresh air at one point..." I trailed off, unsure how much I should tell him. It would be hard to talk about what happened with Jimin, but Taehyung was my best friend and we hadn't had a conversation like this in a while. With a sigh, I continued, "I was about to go into the water, but luckily Jimin was there to stop me."

"Wait, you almost went swimming in the ocean while you were drunk?" he asked with concern.

I gave him an embarrassed smile. "Maybe. But like I said, Jimin kept an eye on me like he was supposed to and he stopped me from going in."

"Good," he said, letting his shoulders relax a little. He narrowed his eyes. "What else happened? I can tell you have something to tell me."

"Well, Jimin and me... we had this moment. He was putting my boots back on and I fell, and we were so close..." I trailed off again, reliving the moment in my head. "I asked him to show me how he feels about me, but he told me he can't." My chest throbbed painfully as I said the last words.

Taehyung frowned. "I'm sorry, Kat. I could tell you liked him, but I never realized how much," he said as he came over to me and pulled me into a hug. "He doesn't know what he's missing."

"Thanks, Tae," I spoke quietly, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"It's probably for the best that you didn't kiss while you were still drunk though," he added, making me sigh.

"Yeah, you're right. It's just... I felt so clear-headed the moment he got really close. I'm sure I would have remembered every detail," I told him.

"I'm surprised you were able to still dance and have fun after that happened," he commented, pulling back to face me. He was right, I should have been too upset to carry on with the night, but something had kept me from being as devastated as I thought I would be.

"I felt hurt and disappointed, of course, but even though he didn't show me, I still have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I know he feels the same way I do. I used to doubt it, but for some reason, tonight I feel more sure about it than I ever have. Which doesn't make sense, since he practically denied it." I spoke my thoughts aloud, hoping Taehyung might have some insight that I was lacking.

"I don't know why he would refuse to show you his feelings if he does have them, but I always say to listen to your gut. If it's telling you that he cares about you the way you care about him, then I wouldn't give up hope yet." He rubbed my back soothingly. "But as your best friend, I also feel the need to remind you to be careful. I know there's something between you and Yoongi, and I don't want to see you two suffer. If you feel so strongly about Jimin, you should consider telling Yoongi sooner rather than later."

I quieted, knowing everything he said was true. "You're right. I just... I care for him, too. I don't want to hurt him."

"That's understandable. But I know you, and you're going to figure it out and do whatever's right." He tried to tap my nose, but I moved my head to the side before he could. When I looked back at him, his brows were pulled together and he was staring at my neck strangely.

"What?" I asked, titling my head slightly. His widened as I moved.

"Did you get, uh, frisky with anyone tonight?" His question brought a scowl to my face.

"No, why would you say that?"

"Because," he pointed to the spot where my collarbone met my neck, "you have a mark—"

"What?!"

I immediately rushed down the hall to where I'd seen a mirror earlier. I tilted my head to the side and pulled my hair back, revealing a purplish red mark, bright on my skin. I tried desperately to remember how it had gotten there, but came up with nothing. The night was a blur, but I was sure I would have remembered if someone had given me a hickey.

Staring at the reflection of the mark, I shivered as I felt the ghost of someone's lips on my skin.

Why don't I know how that got there?

• • •

Author's Note:

I know a lot of you are probably (definitely) very frustrated right now. I ask that you trust me, and I promise that Kat won't have the kiss missing from her memory forever. Things will continue to move along, so don't give up on me or Jimin yet, lol. His reasons will eventually be revealed!

I hope you all still found this chapter enjoyable. I worked really hard on it :)

I hope you all have a good rest of your week. See you soon!

Love,

-Hoseokiiss

April 30, 2019