BABY MAMA | pjm

XXI

ACT V | SCENE XXI

❝PHOTO ALBUMS❞

JIMIN LISTENED TO the women laughing in the kitchen whilst watching rosalie draw in the little sketchbook he had gotten her when he'd first tried to win her affection. her pink tongue was sticking out as it usually did when she was concentrating.

running his hand over her hair that had been pulled into two cute little buns, he glanced up in the direction of the kitchen. he heard jangmi's bell like laugh again and paused. it had been so long since he'd last heard her laugh like that. he didn't think he'd hear it ever again, and along with that of his sister, no less.

"you really kneed him in the crotch?" bora laughed. "she did! the poor guy limped his way out of the bar. hoseok and i couldn't stop laughing." it was brigitte who answered between chuckles. "he touched my bum! he deserved it." jangmi said defensively even as she giggled.

jimin played with one of his silver rings, sliding it up and down his finger distractedly. he used to wish that bora and jangmi would get along the way they were now. in the three years that they had dated, jangmi never met bora officially. they'd only spoken on the phone once or twice.

now that they got along, it still mattered but not in the way it did to jimin all those years ago. he was glad that they did because of rosalie. the little girl was good at spotting tension between adults. she'd once asked him why he and jangmi never smiled around each other. he'd had to change the subject because he couldn't find an answer.

"papa," the girl called him now. "yes, princess?" his lips curved up as his gaze met hers. she pushed the sketchbook towards him before pulling the plate holding a slice of chocolate gateau her mother had left her which she had ignored while drawing.

jimin stared at the sketchbook as she dug into the cake with her plastic fork. it was a drawing of him. he could tell because she'd tried to draw the shirt he was currently wearing. he was smiling in the drawing. he chuckled at it. she was watching him watching her.

he looked at the girl who was slowly chewing on the small piece of cake in her mouth. she glanced up at him and smiled, revealing chocolate stained teeth. he let out a chuckle at the sight, thumb brushing over her silky brown hair.

"papa likes it very much." he told her, thumb still moving at her hairline close to her ear. she grinned again as she unsteadily forked more cake into her mouth, smearing chocolate cream over her lips. "princess." he called softly, gesturing to his mouth.

she turned to him as he pulled out a tissue from the box that sat on the coffee table in front of them. when he looked at her again, she had her lips puckered. understanding the gesture fully, he chuckled again, leaning down to place a small kiss on her lips and thus transferring chocolate cream to his own lips.

rosalie giggled as he moved back, finger pointing to his mouth. laughing, he swirled his tongue over his lips and licked off the sweet cream before wiping the girl's mouth with the tissue.

"jimin?" he looked up to see jangmi leaning against the archway, staring back at him, an expression he couldn't read on her face. when did she leave the kitchen? he hadn't been paying attention to the three women any longer and hadn't noticed they had become quieter.

his gaze moved down to her hands where she held four large black books. "what are those?" he asked as she moved in. instead of replying, she placed them on the coffee table, in front of him. "see for yourself." she finally said as she straightened, hand brushing her hair back and behind her ears.

picking the first book up, he brought it to his lap and saw that there was a picture of a newly born baby slid into the transparent pocket on the cover. it was a photo album. they were all photo albums. "me!" rosalie pointed at the picture of the baby with eyes shut swaddled in a pink woolen cloth. jimin moved his gaze from the album to the girl sat beside him and finally up at the woman who was now sitting on the couch.

"we were talking in the kitchen and i realised i never showed you any of these." she explained as her arms came to rest on her knees. "there are a lot of photos. we were always taking pictures of basically every event in rosalie's life." she added as he flipped the album open.

the first set of pictures showed jangmi with her very obvious baby bump. she was smiling the brightest jimin had ever seen in one of them. he ran a finger over the photo, trying to imagine he was actually touching her bump, feeling the warmth of her belly and the kicking of a baby beneath his hand.

sighing deeply, he finally flipped the page after a minute. the next set was of small chubby baby, clearly right after she'd been born. her eyes were closed, small face pink and almost smiling. the first picture showed her mother, still in hospital robes holding the girl to her chest as an older woman - who he figured to be her aunt - sat next to her.

jimin continued to flip through the album at a painstakingly slow pace, taking in every photo, every moment it captured as his heart swelled and deflated each time. he lived all the years he'd missed vicariously through each photo.

jangmi saw all the expressions that passed over his face and smiled slightly, understanding just how much he seemed to wish he had been there. quietly, she offered, "there are videos too if you want to watch them." she had never seen him nod so fast.

☀☀☀

something a little soft and warm