Ghost from the Past

The past is who we are, it prepares us for the future, it makes us strong.

—

He kept glancing at his watch every other minute.

“When would this day end?” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to rest up. His first major project had been a major success. Jimin had just moved into this new position when he was tasked with this responsibility and he felt like he had been running ever since. With it over, he could now slow down and concentrate on other things.

The crowd was getting the better of him. His energy levels were depleted and he could not wait for the day to be done. He still had a few people to talk to so when he had a little break, he found a quiet place, buried his hands on his face and sighed. It was finally over.

That familiar warmth he had come to love enveloped him. Those hands he had come to know so well wrapped around his waist as the familiar scent did wonders to his nerves. "You did it babe!" Jungkook said and his warm breathe brushed upon his ear sending tingles along his spine and left his knees weak. Even after a while, he still had the same effect on him like the first time.

"Thanks baby!" he said and turned around, wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s trimmed waist and assumed his favourite position on his chest. "I really needed to hear that from you," he confessed and he took a deep breathe and closed his eyes. Reassuring words coming from Jungkook always had a different effect. They stood there in each other’s arms in comfortable silence.

Their peaceful silence was interrupted by a series of messages on Jimin's phone. They were from Lisa.

Congratulations my dear. You did well... Where are you?

...

Everyone's looking for you. Have you seen the stock prices? You are a magician and I am sure there will be a big bonus for you.

…

Get here now!!!!

...

Knowing that the messages would not stop until he responded, Jimin pulled away from the embrace and quickly responded:

Okay okay okay! Be there soon

And thanks for the compliments

...

Love you

...

"I have got to go. See you at the after party?" Jimin asked as he completely detached himself from his boyfriend. Jungkook who whined at the loss of contact.

"Sure. Save me a dance?" Jungkook replied.

"Will see about that!" He smiled as he began to walk away.

"Wait?!" Jungkook called.

"What?"

"How come Lisa gets to be loved and I don't?" Jungkook whined and pulled his lips in a kiss towards Jimin.

"Boy, you trippin'," Jimin laughed but kissed him all the same before he walked away.

The after party went late into the night and it had been epic. Everyone partied just as hard as they had worked. Since the launch had finally happened, the employees had won a couple days off.

The break worked well for Jimin and Jungkook. They still had the restaurant launch to worry about and having a couple of days off would give them some room to focus and put their all in. They were all tired and couldn't wait for the dust to settle. But they weren't about to lax until the restaurant had been reopened.

***

The day before the launch was a busy one.

Jungkook was especially looking forward to the launch because he had something up his sleeve. They rested for the day after the party and showed up bright and early at Jin’s restaurant.

What they expected and what they found were two different things. Jin was in panic mode.

"What's up Jin?" Jimin asked as he walked in and set down his backpack.

"They got the order wrong. Those bastards got my fucking order wrong!!!!" He cursed and threw things across the table. He was a perfectionist like Jimin and things going wrong last minute wasn’t something he was ready to entertain. It was also unusual for him to curse out loud and throw a fit and so when this happened everyone in the room was surprised and it also meant that he was beyond angry. He had been with the supplier company's customer service on the phone for the better part of the night and they weren't particularly helpful.

Jin had been very specific about the colour he had wanted for the napkins and so when the order arrived and it wasn't what he was expecting, he flipped. He couldn't afford any screw ups at the point. He was cranky due to lack of sleep and he projected that. Everyone around him had been walking on pins and needles.

"Hey, calm down,” Namjoon tried to soothe him but he wasn’t having any of it. But Najoon had hand enough. With his pissy attitude, nothing was getting done. So he raised his voice too. “First of all babe, you need to calm down and second, go get some sleep! Now!" he ordered. After much protests and a few bad words, he figured he couldn't win against Namjoon and so he cleared out and went to sleep on the couch in the back.

"Okay, how do we remedy this?" Jungkook asked as they all huddled up around one of the tables. Jimin picked up the colour palettes they had been using for the past couple of months and studied it. His mind was working a mile a minute.

After a while he spoke, "Tae, you work with a lot of fabric right?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"Which if these colours could you get us without breaking a sweat."

Skimming through, Tae pointed at one of the shades of pink. "This one."

"Okay! Get on it ASAP." Jimin ordered with a clap of his hands. In no time Tae was on the phone giving instructions to an unknown person on the other end as Jimin dished out responsibilities to the others and sent them off to do his bidding. They worked well as a unit and whenever they needed something clarified they referred to Jimin.

Little by little the pieces fell together. When Jin came back to the restaurant five hours later, he was a new man – refreshed and ready to remedy the crisis. He was pleasantly surprised. There is a beauty in having amazing friends like the ones he had. When he walked to see everything in perfect order with a few things left to handle, he was overwhelmed that he cried. The alternative napkins had arrived just in time and they beautifully complimented the wrong order napkins. It was Jimin's eye for details that made it possible. They were almost ready to reopen.

Jungkook had stepped out at some point for a bit to get the printed pictures. He was proud of his work and couldn't wait to see them hang on the walls. He came back to find everyone except Jin passed out on the chairs. As quietly as they could they hang the pictures on the walls and put the finishing touches.

The day of the launch was even busier but it was so worth the hustle.

Everything about it was magical. One could tell it by looking at the amazement on the faces of those who walked in. Jin had managed to create the perfect lovers wonderland – a perfect meet up spot with cozy ambience for friends and lovers to meet. The place was packed on opening night.

Jimin hadn't realized how well known Jin had been until the launch. The number of famous faces that walked in to the restaurant was out of this world and Jimin kept gushing at all the celebrities he had the pleasure of serving. Due to the amount of work, the available staff was overwhelmed and so the six came together to support Jin. Tae and Jungkook worked the reception, Namjoon and Jimin together with some of the restaurant staff worked the tables to get the orders and Hobi and Yoongi worked as busboys. It would be a long evening.

As the night progressed, they were all running low as their energy batteries approached zero. Jin's voice had gone hoarse from shouting out orders but all in all, everything was smooth sailing. Jimin smoothly conversed with customers as he got their orders and ensured that there was a smooth flow in the delivery of food from the kitchen.

A new group of people had just been seated and after he had finished with his previous table, he moved onto the new group to get their order. He reached into his apron pocket to pull out a notebook and pen ready to write down their order.

“Hello, welcome to Love Blossoms, what can I get y…” he stopped mid-sentence and his mouth went dry. A thin sheet of sweat covered his body and he felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His heart dropped into his belly with a resounding thud and made home with the knots that threated to send him to the emergency room.

“What the fuck?” he thought to himself. “Why? Why of all the restaurants in Seoul did he have to walk into this one?” he tried to speak, to say anything but his mouth did not cooperate. All eyes were on him and in this moment he felt like a complete idiot. This was not how it was supposed to play out. He tried to move, turn around, disappear, do something but his body failed him. His brain was screaming for him to snap out of it but his body wasn't just obeying his.

For what seemed like an eternity, he stood there. "W-what c-can I g-get you?" he finally found his voice and asked. Even if he wanted to curse into the high heavens, he had to act professional and not ruin opening night for his friend. He was an adult and he was going to act like one.

"What? Aren't you going to say hello to your old friend?" the familiar man asked. Jimin mastered the courage to look at him. Dae-Hyun – the bane of his existence. Seated around him were faces he recognized. Faces of betrayal. Faces that Jimin once considered as friendly even close to family. To his right was the ever lovely In-a. Even after all these years, she was just as beautiful. The smirk of contempt he knew too well still rested on her face. It’s like she was ageless.

Jimin rolled his hands into fists and let them rest on his sides. It took all her had in him not to reach across the table and rip the bitch a new one. How could he? How could he just sit there and act like he hadn’t ripped his heart out, stomped over it and thrown it into a shredder a couple of years ago?

At some point Namjoon had noticed that there was something wrong and he quickly made his way to Jimin. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

Jimin couldn’t have been more grateful for Namjoon at this moment. A sense of relief washed through him and he asked, “Do you mind waiting this table for me? I need some air.”

"Sure! I can do..." before he could finish Jimin was walking away. He dropped the order book at the counter he headed to the restroom. Namjoon watched with concern before he faced the group and took their order.

In the bathroom, Jimin looked at himself in the mirror. He was gorgeous he had to admit, but he didn’t miss the pained look in his eyes. The encounter with his past had thrown him off his element. Even though it had been years, even though he had moved on, painful memories like that never just went away. He sighed as he let the water flow and threw some on his face. He needed to get it together.

“Calm down,” he told himself over and over. There was a simmering anger just below the surface and it could pop off any minute. Part of him was angry at himself for his reaction and for the fact that he was still affected that way. He didn't understand it either, all this while he had thought that he wouldn't be affected in any way if he ever came face to face with him again but why did seeing him again make him so angry? Why did he want to smash his face in and pound him into the floor?

Back at the table, Dae-Hyun quickly placed his order and excused himself to go to the restroom.

"Well well well… if it isn't the Park Jimin himself. Long-time no see my love," he said as he walked into the restroom. His voice brought Jimin out of his thoughts. He strode across the floor and stood behind him locking him in and pinning him against the sink before he could react. Jimin could feel his warm breathe fan his ear and it sent a shiver of disgust down his spine.

"Get the fuck off me!!!" Jimin seethed and went to push him off.

“Aren’t you happy to see me darling?”

“The fact that you think I am happy to see you proves to me that you are mental. Now, get off me!” Jimin demanded once again and tried to push him off again but he did not budge.

"Oh baby!” he cooed and went to caress his face. Jimin slapped his hand away. “It’s funny that you still think you can use your strength on me,” he chuckled and stayed put.

Jimin was disgusted. He hated that he wasn't stronger and bigger. He hated that he was caught up in this situation.

"Don't you miss me baby? Don't you miss me making you scream for me?" Dae-Hyun continued to taunt him.

"You were a bastard, still are!!!!" Jimin spoke in anger through his teeth. He was trying his level best to keep it calm and not show any weakness.

"Isn't that why you liked me baby?" Dae-Hyun taunted him further.

Jimin was starting to feel light headed. All the memories came rushing through him at once made him feel like his strength run out. His breathing quickened. He couldn't be having a panic attack right now. He was completely over those. He found himself receding into his safe place in his mind. His strength ran out when Dae-Hyun kissed his neck because he felt violated. He wanted to disappear. If he could, he would throw up. Dae-Hyun pushed his crotch and rubbed himself against Jimin's butt and Jimin did not miss the obvious bulge in Dae-Hyun’s pants.

"Please don't!" Jimin said helplessly. He was terrified. His mind had transported him to a bad time in his life and he felt scared. He tried to push him off by this only spurred Dae-Hyun on because he exerted his full body weight and pinned him further into the sink. The counter edges dug painfully into Jimin’s skin.

"You used to love this. Don't you remember baby?” He said disgustingly. “Call my name baby! Let me hear my name from those pretty lips." There husky voice indicated his arousal.

"Please don't do this. D-don't..." Jimin begged. He was afraid – afraid that he was going to black out and be at the mercy of this lunatic. Who knew the next time someone would walk into that bathroom? That thought alone forced him to act. He pulled his hand forward and jabbed his elbow square into his ribs. The action forced Dae-Hyun to step back which gave Jimin an opportunity to step out of his hold.

Dae-Hyun cursed in anger as the pain in his ribs knocked the wind out of him. He saw red and charged towards Jimin. "You are going to regret doing th...!" A hard slap landed on his face before he could finish.

"You son of a bitch..." a punch landed on his face. He was beyond angry. He was taller and stronger and he could not be upstaged by this tiny person. In anger and he pushed Jimin against the wall.

"I am going to remind you who is in charge here," he said angrily as he manhandled Jimin pushing his head forcefully into the wall. Jimin. The impact rattled Jimin’s brain as pain coursed through his head. His vision clouded as he felt dizzy.

Dae-Hyun, now too busy rubbing himself against Jimin's back didn't see what came next. Two strong arms lifted him off Jimin and threw him to the ground. Dae-Hyun cursed and tried to free himself from whoever was restraining him. The strong male proceeded to straddle him before he could react and before he knew what was happening punches were raining down on him. He tried to shield the blows but the other male was stronger. Repeated punches came and slowly and painfully. The sickening crunch of bones and stain of blood covered the restaurant floor.

One minute he was on an ecstatic high and the next Dau-Hyun was registering pain unimaginable as his broken nose and fractured ribs couldn’t catch a break. He could feel himself slip into darkness.

Jungkook, so blinded by rage kept punching until he couldn't no more. In his mind the only thing that registered was to eliminate the immediate threat to the love of his life.

The tiny whimpers from Jimin snapped him out of it. Oh. My.God!

He quickly got off the now unconscious bastard and made his way over to his love curled up and helpless by the sink. He had his knees to his chest and head between them sobbing violently. It broke him. It wrecked him. He looked so small and so defeated. He ran beside him and scooped him up into his arms. There was a slight bump on his forehead. Even the pain in his split knuckles could not stop him from holding him in his warm embrace.

The commotion in the bathroom had attracted the attention of one of the staff members who went to get Jin. Lying unconscious on the floor was a moron with bruises all over his face and a helpless Jungkook trying all he could to calm Jimin down. Jimin was shaking and trembling in fear and he could not bring himself out of the haze he was in.

After filling Jin in on what had happened, Jin made a phone call to one of his police buddies who came and dragged away a now conscious Dae-Hyun in handcuffs. He was shouting profanities at the top of his lungs and kept swearing over and over that he would get Jimin. That it was all a misunderstanding and all was consensual and fun.

Jin wanted it done quietly so that it didn't disturb the peace of his guests – especially on such a big day. He kept the balance, everything still ran smoothly at the front as the other five tended to Jimin.

After speaking to the police and giving a statement, Jimin took the pain pills he was offered to cater to the throbbing headache he had. All this while Jungkook held him in his arms. Jungkook cursed himself for not being there soon enough or not being able to prevent the attack and though Namjoon told him it was not his fault, he did not feel better about the situation. Slowly, Jimin drifted to sleep on the sofa with his head in Jungkook’s lap.

The guys were confused. Especially Jin, Namjoon, Jungkook and Tae who did not know who the crazy guy was. They had questions and so they turned to Yoongi and Hobi for answers.

Hobi sighed. It was all so fresh in their minds they couldn't forget.

"So... are you guys gonna tell us?" An impatient Jungkook asked. There was an irritation in his voice indicating that his patience was running out. Hoseok took a deep breath and began, "Dae-Hyun was the first guy the Jimin loved. They met in campus and dated for most of their campus…"

He went on to tell them of how Jimin – and everyone around them – had believed that they were a match made in heaven. They were meant to be. Their love was perfect and an envy to a lot of people. Basically, they were the ‘it’ couple. Things moved on so fast and before long, Jimin introduced Dae-Hyun to his mom.

He detailed them on the dynamics of their relationship. Even though Hoseok and Yoongi never fully liked him, they entertained him because he was their friend's boyfriend. All they had wanted was for Jimin to be happy and he seemed to make him happy so they hid their displeasure and celebrated their friend’s love.

All they knew was all was rosy in their relationship except it wasn’t and everything came to light the night that Jimin had walked in on him proposing to his now wife In-a – who was their mutual friend – in the presence of the people Jimin had considered his friends in their shared apartment. A place that was home for Jimin. A sacred space where their love existed. The betrayal had been so immense and hard that Jimin suffered a heartbreak syndrome. He passed out.

Dae-Hyun in all his callousness couldn’t care less what happened to him so he called Hobi to come and take care of Jimin and left with his party to go celebrate his engagement. He did not even wait for him to show up. He left him passed out cold on the floor. In all the years he had known him, Hobi never thought that the man could be this cruel.

Depression hit Jimin hard. He couldn't understand it and he tried a couple of times to have Dae-Hyun explain it to him. He needed to make sense of it – it would give him some semblance of closure. But what he got in return was humiliation – not only from both Dae-Hyun and In-a, but from the people he considered friends. They even went as far as ruining his name around campus branding him a stalker who couldn't handle rejection and was making their lives difficult.

Jimin's mom – afraid she would lose her son to depression or worse, suicide moved Jimin to the Seoul for a fresh start. His credits were transferred from the old school and he had therapy sessions. With therapy and a lot of love and support, Jimin was put back together again and he got back on his feet.

"The Jimin you see today is a complete contrast of the person he was a couple of years ago. It took a lot for him to get here. It also helped that he didn't bump into the bastard… The lack of contact was key to his healing and I think seeing Dae-Hyun again made everything rush back to the surface," he concluded.

Jungkook was seething in anger. His hands rolled into fists so hard that the knuckles on his good hand turned white. He needed to punch something. He looked over at Jimin’s peaceful sleeping form and sighed. His face all red and blotchy from crying and the bump on his forehead made him look pitiful. All jungkook wished was he could shield him from his past pain.

"I need to take Jimin home," he said. Everyone agreed. It had been a long day for all of them, exhausting both emotionally and physically. The others went back to finishing the rest of the evening. All things considered, it had been a successful evening.

"Hey babe..." Jungkook whispered as he gently rubbed Jimin’s shoulder to wake him. He stirred and hummed in response. "Come on! Let's get you some rest." He supported a very tired Jimin and slowly led him to the car. After strapping him in and made sure he was comfortable he drove out of the parking. The city faded behind them as they headed home. It was a quiet drive home, more especially because Jimin fell back asleep as soon as he settled in the car.

After putting Jimin to bed, he called the others to let them know that they were home safe. They promised to come by the next day to check up on them. For a little while, he sat in the living room, replaying the events of the evening.

In that moment he promised he would do all it took so that Jimin would never have to go through pain ever again.

•••