Royal Pain | PJM • slow updates

Chapter 28

Once Eunjae had set Jimin on his bed, she'd returned to the bathroom and made quick work of brushing aside the broken remnants of the mirror so that the young prince would not absentmindedly step on them. The woman had also gathered the soiled cloths she'd used to clean Jimin up, tossing them in a hamper to be washed.

Eunjae had managed to capture a glance of herself through what remained of the shattered mirror, though the image was disrupted and distorted, and the girl was horrified to realize that the pastel fabric of the robe she'd borrowed from Chaeyoung was now unmistakably stained in several places with scarlet blood.

Eunjae aggressively exhaled out of both frustration and guilt before exiting the bathroom and reentering the prince's chambers. She'd make it up to her friend somehow. She briefly observed Jimin, sat up on his bed with his legs thrown over the side and hunched shoulders, and noticed he'd removed his top shirt to remain only in a thin white undershirt. Eunjae was keenly aware of the faint outline of his abdominal muscles from underneath.

Jimin glanced at the girl as she approached him slowly, his eyes drawn to her every movement. His hand ached with a dull stinging pain, but he ignored it as she drew closer and closer to him before settling right before him, his chin level with her chest as he tilted his head up to gaze at her. She seemed a bit flustered as she hesitated to meet his stare, but she eventually did before swallowing and speaking up.

"You took off your shirt." She bluntly stated.

Jimin breathed out a short chuckle at how straightforward she was. "I was hot. Too many layers." And Eunjae did glimpse how the thin fabric clung to Jimin's skin as if it were just another layer of epidermis, presumably due to sweat.

Eunjae didn't relent, her eyebrows arching at his response. "It's the middle of an autumn night. You're going to get sick if you don't bundle up." She argued.

Jimin rolled his eyes mockingly. "Though unnecessary, I do appreciate your concern." He braced his palms on his thighs before attempting to stand, but suddenly became lightheaded.

Eunjae sprang into action before Jimin could fall forward, once again hooking her arms around his firm body and setting him back on the bed, this time leaning his back onto the headboard. It required her to sit on the bed, too, so that now one of her legs was folded under her, her knee brushing against Jimin's thigh. She sighed, shaking her head as she felt his forehead. Slightly feverish.

"You can't be exerting yourself anymore for the night, you're far too weak. You haven't eaten since, when, lunch, probably? Not to mention you're drunk and deprived of some blood." Eunjae raked a hand through her hair as her eyes shut for a moment. "What were you thinking?" She finally asked the prince.

Jimin looked tired and worn as he slouched on his bed, but that didn't stop him from coughing out a bitter laugh as he raised his bandaged fist. "This pain is nothing compared to the turmoil that is my life." Jimin gulped to dampen his dry throat, his fist falling into his lap as his eyes failed to meet Eunjae's. "I needed something to overpower my misery."

Eunjae's heart dropped at Jimin's words, her expression beginning to match his downcast one. She was hesitant as she laid her palm on the prince's leg, just above his knee, in an attempt to console him. "I'm not privy to the circumstances of your life, but it greatly disheartens me to see another human being inflict pain upon themselves as some poor attempt to drown out their sorrows. There are healthier methods that exist than this behavior."

The soft weight of Eunjae's hand on his leg was surprisingly a great comfort to Jimin, who was a stranger to being consoled. Her words sank deep within him as he mulled them over, taking slightly longer than usual to comprehend it all due to the lingering alcohol in his system. His eyes trailed from her palm, up the length of her body on his bed (he just now became aware of his blood soaking her attire), to her earnest expression as her eyes bore into him.