#Soo Min is one of my best girls and I really ought to treat her better

[lubdubsworld]

The unfaithful Wife ( Jimin /OC)

Chapter 2

I stopped short in front of my apartment, dread rising up inside me like a living thing as i stared at the man in front of my door. I swallowed nervously. How dare he come here? I pulled Jin Soo closer and hoisted him up into my waist , before walking over to the door. Lee Taemin straightened up from where he was leaning against the wall of the door and I resisted the urge to be physically sick. He disgusted me.

"Min Hee yah... Oppa has been waiting for such a long time... Were you held up by something?"

"What do you want?" I swallowed.

"Can't I come visit my favorite girl? Jin Soo, say hello to uncle.." He said to my son, who dutifully whispered, " Hello uncle."

"Jin Soo, come here..." I opened the apartment door and sent my son in , " Mama will be right there.. Why don't you go set up your truck.. We can play ??" I smiled and he nodded eagerly, rushing in to find his toy. I shut the door carefully before rounding on Tae Min.

"Stop chasing me. I don't want anything to do with you..." I snapped. Tae Min ignored me and reached out curling one finger around a lock of my long hair, yanking sharply. I shoved him away but he grabbed my wrists, pulling me flush against his chest. His grip was so strong I could feel a whimper build up inside my throat but I swallowed it.

"Leave.. before I call the cops..." I spat out and he rolled his eyes.

"We both know you aren't going to do that... Did you hear about your wonderful Jimin? He's getting married now. I think you can drop your penance now and come to me. " He said angrily . I yanked my hand away hard, although it hurt like hell and he let go.

"Get out. " I said, voice trembling.

"Your son is the rightful heir to the Park empire. Do you really want him to grow up like a pauper while some other child takes his place? Come to me and he can have everything he's supposed to have. Everything he deserves. Don't be foolish , babe. " He said warningly.

I glared at him.

"He will have everything he deserves and it doesn't have to be from you or anyone else. I can damn well give him the life he deserves. Get the hell out of my face.." I snarled.

He grinned at that.

"You're delusional if you think you're little cup-cake business is going to turn you into a freaking millionaire. Listen to sense, woman. Park Jimin is getting married. He's not going to forgive you or take you back..."

I snorted.

"You're an idiot, if you think I want to go back to him... I hate him almost as much as I hate you..."

"Really? ... So you don't mind the fact that I told him you're my mistress...."

I froze in place.

"What?" I whispered in disbelief.

"He came by the office earlier looking like death. And that bird-brained fiancee of his was yelling at him about you. i decided to bring some peace by letting him know that you were with me now, so he needn't worry. What's wrong? You should be happy.... At least you can have some pride in case you run into him... "

"You're disgusting..." I turned around to leave, reaching for the door knob but he yanked my hand away.

"I'll leave... but you know what always amazed me? How quick Jimin is at believing anything I tell him about you... I mean five years ago, he believed that I slept with you and today he was just as quick to believe that you're still sleeping with him. He doesn't trust you an inch, does he?" He said , sounding amused.

I pulled my hand away , my entire body shaking in violent rejection. It hurt so damn much because it was true. Jimin had never trusted me. When I'd needed him the most, he'd abandoned me. But he'd known Taemin since childhood. Even though they were business rivals, they were best-friends . So when Taemin had assaulted me, tried to hurt me in the worst way possible , Jimin had believed his rediculous story of me seducing him. Apparently he still believed it.

I shook my head resolutely. I would not let Park Jimin into my head again. What was done, was done. I couldn't go through that again.

"Make your choice wisely, Min Hee. One of these days I'm going to stop asking and I'm just going to take what I want." Lee Taemin warned as I slammed the door shut on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry about last evening." I said and Mrs . Min waved it off.

"I'm very familiar with how these society brats act, Ms. Kim. I'm not one to lose good talent because of some hysteric and insecure female. You're welcome to work with me, because you're good at what you do. " She said with a cheerful smile and i felt my respect for the woman grow tenfold. I wasn't used to acceptance. In the early days of my divorce, when the scandal and my face was fresh in everyone's mind, no one had wanted to give me a job. I shut away the old memories and smiled cheerfully at Mrs. Min.

"Thank you so much. You won't be disappointed." i said resolutely.

We spent the next few hours discussing the menu for the upcoming wedding and I had a very bitter revelation. No matter how long it had been, no matter how much I ought to hate the man who had failed me, I couldn't really bear the thought of him with another woman. It was a shameful realization , one that made me hate myself.

It was almost evening by the time I packed everything up, a blueprint and a timeline framed. There were two dozen different recipes to be perfected and tweaked and i could see a few sleepless nights ahead of me. I glanced at the clock and felt a little bit of elation. Mrs. Min had offered me an advance which would likely cover my rent and Jin Soo's daycare fee. It was also just a little past five which meant i could take Jin Soo to the park ,give ourself a little treat. i hadn't been out with him in over two weeks, weighed down by work. My mood perking up considerably, I slowly walked the few dozen blocks to the daycare.

In the beginning I hadn't been able to afford public transport everywhere. So I'd learned to walk. But now, it was more habit than anything else. I enjoyed walking in the fresh air. kit helped clear my head and brough a modicum of peace in an otherwise turbulent life. But today there was no peace to be found. Tears stung instead.

I still felt upset although the initial bitter anger that I'd had for him had now faded into a dull ache, a sort of hopeless acceptance really. Some relationships, I'd convinced myself, were only meant to reach a certain level. Maybe we were just one of those couples who were never meant to be together at all. It was easier to think of it that way, rather than to endlessly nurture hatred and anger for a man, who would probabaly never accept that he had been the one in the wrong.

But , stunningly, it was the good times we'd shared that were harder to forget. The late night ice cream runs, the walks, the shared dreams and the endless nights of passion. I hjad been young, but I'd truly loved him and in his own way he had loved me too. I was sure of that.  

But it had all changed when Lee Taemin had come into our life. He was Jimin's best friend , almost like a brother and they'd grown up together before Taeming had moved to Busan. He had been working in Busan before moving back to Seoul, about four months after our marriage. I'd always noticed the way he looked at me but I'd been a naive eighteen year old. Too embarrassed to bring it up to Jimin. It was the worst mistake of my life. Maybe if I'd confided early on, the events that followed would have gone differently.

One night, about a year into our marriage,  when Jimin had been working late. Taemin had come home. I'd been nervous , had texted Mirae to call Jimin.... Because I couldn't do it in front of Tae Min who looked drunk as well as dangerous. But that had just been another huge mistake on my part.

In the end my husband had walked in on Taemin pinning me to the couch, and to my complete and utter horror he had taken Taemin's side. I'd been furious and angry that he would suspect me , had walked out on him with dignified anger.

But what i hadn't known back then was that Mi Rae had always resented that I had managed to land the most eligible bachelor in all of Korea. So she took the opportunity to completely wreck my marriage. And hurtfully, Jimin fell for her little ploy. It took me a few weeks to realize that Mi Rae had told Jimin that I was cheating on him with Taemin and if he left at once he could catch me in the act. I'd been horrified and determined not to let a silly misunderstanding come between us. But it was too late and the damage had been done.

And i had begged. Shamelessly. on my knees, i had begged Jimin to believe me. But all he'd done was throw a cheque on my face and ask me to get out.

I stopped short when I realized that I'd somehow managed to walk past the Daycare center, lost in thought.

"Mommy!! You came fast..." Jin Soo threw himself into my arms and I melted a bit, the sweet smell of baby powder clinging to him . He was such a well-behaved kid, I always felt blessed. I may regret a lot of things about my life but I would never regret marrying Jimin. Simply because it had given me this wonderful boy in return.

"What say, we go to the park? Blow some bubbles, get some dukbokki..." I grinned and Jin Soo's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Yes.. Yes.. Park!!" He squealed and the caretaker, Ms. Lee gave me an amused smile.

"He's so happy when you come early. " She smiled. I nodded.

"I'll try to be early more often. " i said sincerely.

When I stepped out of the daycare , I got a genuine heart attack.

Park Jimin stood at the entrance, a shiny black Porsche parked near the curb as he stared up at the sky , seemingly lost in thought. He didn't seem to be there on purpose. So it was all just a hideous coincidence, that he'd somehow managed to stop right in front of the daycare when i was taking Jin Soo out. He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans and I swallowed  nervously. He looked even better than I remembered and I had a disturbing flashback to how he used to wear the same white t shirt and faded jeans on weekends that he would spend, wrapped up on the couch with me. I had to drag myself to the present, remind myself of all the reasons he couldn't see me now, with Jin Soo.

Just as I tried to make up my mind if i ought to just run. he turned around and I froze in my tracks , his gaze pinning me to the pavement.

And then I actually made the mistake of turning and running. Jin Soo cried out in shock as I held him closer.

I barely reached a few steps before Jimin managed to come ahead, holding both arms up as he stared at me.

"Min Hee, what the hell.."

"What are you doing here???" I hissed, panicking.

"What the hell a re you doing?" He rasped out. His eyes finally focused on Jin soo, who was staring at him in wide eyed terror, trying to burrow closer to my shoulder. I stepped back a few more steps and Jimin stared at me in disbelief .

"Jimin... You should leave.." I said desperately.

" He looks like me... Just like me... Fuck, Min Hee....  Tell me it's not what I think. You wouldn't hide something like that from me, would you??" He snarled.

I sobbed out a protest. " You kicked me out of your life, you have no right..."

"Like hell i don't.... Tell me the truth..." He demanded and I looked away from him, panting. We were in a public street and people were starting to stare.

"Let's... Let's talk about this like civil people..." I begged.

His eyes narrowed and then widened when Jin Soo burst into tears. His gaze softened and he looked torn. I quickly pulled Jin Soo close and shushed him.

"It's okay... baby.... This is a friend... Momma's friend.. Don't worry... He's an.. uncle.." I said helplessly . Jimin gave me a look that was impossible to decipher.

"Like Taemin uncle?" Jin Soo sniffled and both of us froze. Jimin's face slowly turned black and hard and I shut my eyes in despair.

"Yes... " I choked out." Like Taemin uncle.."

"We need to talk.." Jimin said fiercely and I stared at him. There was no sign of the man I'd once loved. He looked hard and unforgiving , like he wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted.  

I nodded bleakly.

"I.. I can meet you tomorrow. After dropping my ... After dropping Jin Soo off." I said quietly.

"Good. And don't even think of running away again. Now that I know what you've been hiding from me, I'll chase you to the depths of hell if you try to get away from me. you're not getting away from me this time." He whispered.

And then suddenly, chillingly, he reached out and brushed a strand of my hair away from my forehead.

The touch of his fingers to my skin made my entire body seize up.

"Jimin..."

"Tomorrow."

And then he turned and walked away.