"Joonie? Joonie, we gotta go babe" I said, shaking him awake. He fell asleep in the living room of the suite shortly after breakfast.

We stayed up almost all night with Geong-min and Koshi, talking with and getting to know each other. I'm pretty sure Geong-min and I knew almost everything about each other by the time we were tired enough to go back to sleep. She was such a cool person, she was smart, very down to earth, adventurous and funny. Koshi was also a delight, it turns out he was an engineering genius. He was a computer engineer with a minor focus in aerospace engineering and a philosophy geek. On top of that he also spoke 4 languages fluently- including Korean; the man was unreal. I had not met him personally I would think she made up him. I was happy that he and Namjoon hit it off as easily as me and his sister, they both had plenty to talk about. Namjoon was fascinated with Koshi's brilliant mind.

I'm not sure what time it was when we got in bed, but we woke up a little after 10 am. Koshi was already up, he'd turned it about 2 hours earlier than us, with a nice breakfast spread waiting for us. After eating, Namjoon and I took showers and checked in with our mates, not telling them the full story just yet. We decided we would wait to tell them in person.

Namjoon and Geong-min talked about their situation extensively, trying to figure out how to move on. Although they were upset and shocked, neither of them thought they could completely cut their mom out of their lives so suddenly. They decided to give themselves some time before trying to talk to her, but a necessary conversation had to be had. Their mom was a good mother to them and up until yesterday they both maintained a good relationship with her, so I know this whole situation was weighing heavily on them. Although I couldn't see myself interacting with that woman ever again, unless she gained some sense and apologized-and even then, maybe, I assured my boyfriend that I'd support him as best as I could.

Koshi offered to drive us back home, so we accepted. The ride was pleasant but quiet since me, Joon and his sister were still tired from staying up so late the night before. When we arrived, Geong-min popped in to say hi to the guys and introduce Koshi to them as well. They stayed for about an hour before heading home themselves.

"Wow, I can't believe Geong-min has a soulmate too, this is crazy" Hoseok said, surprised by the news

"Yeah... makes us wonder how many of us are really out there and why no one has come forward in so long" Yoongi wondered out loud. He chewed on his bottom lip with his arms folded over his chest

"I had the same thought. There must have been a reason soulmates stopped coming out" I added

"Who knows" Jin shrugged "Right now I'm more concerned about what was going on with you two yesterday" He admits, pointing to Joon and I

"A crazy turn of events to say the least, my mother is more likely than not a racist. She doesn't like Ma-ri or Koshi because they're black" Namjoon answered. The room fell eerily silent as everyone's face contorted in disgust

"How..." Jungkook's sentence faltered as hse shook his head "Did she actually tell you that?"

"Yes, she did," Joon sighed. "I still can't believe it but it's the truth."

"What about your dad?" Taehyung asked

"He was just as shocked as we were. He was very happy to meet Ma-ri and I'm sure he would have been equally excited to meet Koshi had the bomb not gone off literally minutes before he arrived at their house"

"How are you feeling?" Jin asked, placing his hand on my thigh. I shrugged

"I'm okay... now that I've had time to process everything, I guess having all of my future in-laws like me would have been too good to be true, but I guess 11 out of 14 is still good" I replied, which made Yoongi twist his face up

"11 out of 14? Everyone else's parents loved you"

"Not everyone" I glanced at Jimin, who was awfully quiet. "Apparently, Mr and Mrs. Park aren't fans of mine either, according to Joon's mother"

"Jimin, is that true?" Taehyung asked him with furrowed eyebrows. Jimin just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Your mother needs to learn how to keep her mouth closed" He spat, looking at Namjoon as if he was the problem

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Joon frowned

"Exactly what I said, she talks to damn much" Jimin replied and kissed his teeth

"The hell..." Hoseok said to himself as his eyes darted between the two men

"So, you're pissed at my mom for exposing your parents for being prejudiced but not at your parents for being prejudiced?"

A humorless snort escaped me as she palmed my forehead. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down because at that moment I wanted to scream and hit something, well someone. I managed to look at Jimin again and saw he was in a defense mode, so I had to approach him carefully.

"Did you know your parents didn't like me before or after I met them?" Everyone figuratively held their breaths while waiting for him to answer my question, including me

"Before" his tone was full of agitation. How dare he sit here with an attitude?

"And you still took me to meet, in their home, knowing they didn't want me there? Had me smiling in their faces thinking everything is good when they were probably cursing my very existence the whole time I was there. They are some damn good actors; I will give them that"

"Jimin, why didn't you tell us before? Why take her home knowing she wasn't really welcomed" Jungkook asked, his left leg bouncing

"I wanted to introduce you to my family like the rest of us, is that a crime? My parents did it a favor to me"

"Wow!" This time I laughed for real. "Well, make sure they know they don't ever need to do you any more favors on my account" I stood up and walked out the room, to the kitchen where I grabbed a juice out of the fridge. Yoongi followed behind me, standing on the other side of the counter, watching me. From the kitchen we could still hear the rest of the guys, talking to, well interrogating, Jimin.

"They are my mom and dad! I'm not going to stop talking to them over some girl!" I heard him shout. That hurt. A few days ago, he was telling me he loved me and now I had reduced to 'some girl'

"Some gi- SOME GIRL?!" Namjoon shouted "That's our future-fucking-wife you jackass, not just some girl"

"That's not what I m-" he started but was cut off by Taehyung

"Then what the fuck do you mean? She's our soulmate and you're talking about her like she's some groupie"

Jimin was at a loss for words based on his lack of an explanation. With Yoongi's attention diverted I slipped away and stormed out of the house after grabbing the first set of keys I saw; I couldn't listen to anymore. Ironically when I hit the unlock button it was Jimin's car the light up, so I hopped in the driver's seat and started it up

"I should crash this shit" I grumble as I shift gears and take off down the long driveway. My phone rang and Hoseok's face illuminated the screen, but I pressed decline and sped down the road.

Of course, I didn't have a destination in mind but I wanted to get as far away from Jimin as possible, but I physically hurt him. The tank was full, and it was chilly but nice late Saturday afternoon, lots of people were out but the streets didn't feel crowded. I drove for a while, but less than an hour before I realized I was out of the city and in the countryside. Again, my phone rang, this time the call came from the man of the hour himself, but I ignored it. I wasn't ready to talk to him or listen to some lame-ass, forced apology he was guilt tripped into giving. Namjoon texted me next, so I pulled over to read his message

Baby just tell me that you're safe and we will leave you alone

I'm safe.

- OK. call if you need anything and don't stay gone too long.

- I love you

- Love u 2

I shut the car off and got out, a gust of wind whipped my hair around as I stood on the passenger side of the car looking out at the Han River, clearing my mind of all thoughts but that only lasted a short while. It's too late to regret it now. I thought to myself. Why do I keep facing rejection and loss? Am I not a good person? Don't I deserve to be accepted and loved? These questions were the loudest, begging to be answered. I leaned against the car and focused my gaze up, beyond the blue sky that was starting to fade into an ombre of pink, orange and violet as the sun began its descent to end the day and welcome the moon in its place.

I wished more than anything at the time that I could talk to my mom. I wished I could hear her soft voice full of reassurance and feel her warmth as she wrapped me in a hug... and for the first time since I was eleven years old, I wished I could talk to my dad. We never got around to him explaining the concept of boys to me and teaching me how to deal with their stupidity. He would probably be marching over there right not to set Jimin straight, I smiled at the thought.

A car horn startled me back to reality, gave my heart a nice jump start. I turned to see an older man and man in pickup truck

"Are you alright?" the woman asked, her eyebrows bunched into one long line

"Yes, I'm okay"

"That car is too nice to break down on you" the man said, inspecting the luxury vehicle from his seat behind the steering wheel

"Oh, no it's not broken down, I just... I just needed some quiet. The city is too noisy" I explained politely. They didn't look convinced but nodded anyway "I'm going back home now actually so please don't worry"

"Okay" the woman said. I walked around to the driver's side and climbed in, rolling down the window to thank them again for their concern

"Thank you for stopping and get to your destination safely" I tell them with a smile

"You too Ma-ri" the man said and I froze up. The couple gave me a warm smile and waved goodbye as they drove off.

I stared at their vehicle until the faint even of their taillights disappeared into the distance. Hopefully they were going to blab about seeing me. The car sat quietly in idle for a few more minutes before I thought it best to move off the side of the road. As I drove, I found myself on the familiar route to my sister and brother's house. When I arrived, I sat in the car for a while trying to choose which sibling to call, both of them would flip out but Minji was the safer option. Minsu would definitely go over there trying to fight and I cannot let that happen. The phone rang for a long time, I was expecting her voicemail to pick up, so I was about to just hang up and go back home when he voiced chimed through the speaker

"Hey Ma-ri" Minji greeted me cheerfully

"Hey unnie, umm are you busy?"

"Not really, just folding my clothes. What's up?" she asked as I played with the sleeves of my sweatshirt, wondering if I should really her why I'm sitting in the front of her house

"Um, I had a disagreement with one of the guys and stormed out... I'm actually sitting outside right now"

"Why? Don't you want to come in?" Even though I couldn't see her I knew she had her lips pushed to the side

"Actually, can you please come out to me?"

"Yeah, give me two minutes and I'll be out" she agreed then ended the call. I watched the door until I saw my sister step around it and climb in the passenger seat "Nice car, when did you get it?" she asked looking around at the dark leather interior

"Thanks, but it's not mine, it's Jimin's. I just grabbed the first pair of keys I saw and left"

"Hm. Alright, talk to me, what happened?" Minji pulled her left leg onto the spacious seat and turned so her upper half was facing me. I took a similar position but leaned back against my door

I took a big breath and blew it out before talking again "So, yesterday Namjoon finally took me to meet his parents and we were there for less than an hour before the whole visit and day went to shit. His mother is racist and straight up told him she didn't like my kind, that I'm not good enough for her soon and that she will never condone us being together"

"Ma-ri, are you serious right now?"

"As a heart attack, oh! That's not even the best part," My sister's eyes bulge as if what I'd already told her wasn't shocking enough "Anyway, Joon's sister was also there during their mother's revelation, earlier she told them she had a surprise right? So, imagine how shocked everyone was when Geong-min's- that's his sister's name- SOULMATE showed up looking like black silk, the man is literally straight from Africa"

"Ah fuck!" Minji swore than covered her mouth with her hand, I couldn't help the chuckle I let out due to her reaction "So you are sitting here telling me that both of her kids have a half black and an African soulmate, and she doesn't even like black people, talk about irony. That's messed up though, are you alright? What about Namjoon, is he okay? And his sister?"

"Meh. It sucks and I was really upset about it yesterday but now I'm sadder for Joonie and Geong-min than myself. "I shrugged and wiggled my toes in my shoes. The car was quiet for a minute

"So did you and Namjoon get into an argument at some point?" My sister asked with a confused expression on her face, pushing the strands that escaped her messy ponytail behind her ear

"No, it wasn't with him. After that whole ordeal at his parents' house, we ended up leaving, Geong-min's mate Koshi is here on business and allowed me and Joon to stay with them at their hotel suite, so we spent the night and they dropped us off at home earlier this afternoon. When we got home we told the rest of the guys what happened, Jin asked if I was okay and I told him I was then made a comment basically saying it was unrealistic to expect everyone's families to like me and that ten out of fourteen wasn't bad," Minji's face contorted much like Yoongi's at the same point "Joon's mother ratted out Jimin's parents as being prejudiced, they apparently don't like that I'm half black either, so he got upset and blamed Mrs. Kim which struck a chord with Joon then Tae got upset, I was pissed off and everyone was pretty much jumping down Jimin's throat cause he said something, I'm sure he didn't mean, but in the moment said it"

"Damn, this is crazy. What did he say?"

"He said wasn't going to stop talking to his parents for some girl"

"I know he wasn't referring to you" I nodded "I will kick his ass myself, you know Minsu is gonna kill him"

"I know and that's why I don't even want to tell him" I groaned, rubbing my temples "I know Jimin cares about me and he doesn't just see me as "some girl" but it still hurts, you know? To hear someone that you love talk about like you matter to them"

"I'm sorry Ma-ri, what happened afterwards?"

"I don't even know, I just left while they were still arguing and that was a couple of hours ago now. They were blowing up my phone for a while until I told Joon I was ok and cut it off." I yawned and straightened my legs. Minji looked like she was in deep thought as the care fell silent again.

Whenever things started to look up for me, I would always get harsh groundings that made me wonder if I was supposed to ever be happy. Reminding me that life isn't fair, especially for people like me. I try not to focus on the bad and negative things but it's hard not to when they outweigh the good and positive. Too much was happening at once and I knew it was only a short matter of time before I started to crack under the pressure.

"Are you going back home?" Minji aksed, pulling me out my head

"Yeah, I just needed to try to decompress and think alone for a while, it gets really loud there sometimes"

"I'm sure, eight people living under the same roof and seven of them being men is the formula for chaos" She joked but with facts

"True."

"When you're ready, hear Jimin out at least, I know he didn't mean for what he said to sting and I'm sure he's genuinely sorry for reacting like he did. Don't be too harsh on him but make him work for your forgiveness"

"Let me get back before they send a search party for me, thanks for listening and allowing me to vent"

"No problem, let me know when you get home"

"Yes ma'am, bye unnie"

"Later. Be careful" We hugged, then Minji got out of the car and ran back inside to escape the chilly weather. We were almost at the halfway mark of March when it was still bitterly cold some days, but you could see that Spring was right around the corner.

With my sister safely in the I began my ride back home, spending the drive reminding myself that everything and everyone was NOT against me. I am still adjusting to the major changes my life has undergone, we are still getting used to the new dynamic of our soulmate relationship and I still have a lot of personal issues to work out as well.

"It's only been four months Ma-ri, give it time" I told myself "Be patient"

After my little pep talk, I climbed out the car, locking it and entering the house. It was quiet, either they were in their own rooms, or they all killed one another; the former being the most likely option. I put Jimin's keys back on the table and slipped off my shoes

"Noona?" Jungkook called from the top of the stairs

"Yeah" I replied, turning my phone back on to text my sister and let her know I was back home. Jungkook scooped me up in his strong arms "I'm fine Kook"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive" He hummed and put me down. "What happened when I left?"

"Taehyung and Hoseok freaked out a little bit, especially since you were answering your phone. After the screaming stopped because Jimin locked himself in his bedroom, Jin tended to Namjoon and Yoongi tried to talk to Jimin one on one but he's ignoring us right now and as for me, I called my parents"

"Just give Jimin some time, he's really conflicted right now"

"Aren't you mad though?" my sweet-faced soulmate asked as we made our way to my room

"Mad? Not so much but I'd be lying if I said my feelings were hurt and that I'm disappointed in Jimin. We talk often so the fact that he felt he couldn't tell me about his parents makes me feel like he doesn't really trust me" I expressed. Jungkook made himself comfortable on my bed and turned on my tv

"That's understandable"

"He'll come to me when he's ready, until then I'm not saying anything else about it and you guys shouldn't either. He doesn't need everyone jumping on his back during every waking moment, I appreciate y'all defending me but attacking him like that won't resolve anything" I had changed out my regular clothes into a pair of bike shorts and a black Fear of God t-shirt I swiped from Namjoon or Yoongi, I couldn't remember.

"Okay, I won't say anything else about it to him"

"Thank you" I got on my bed, sitting against the headboard with a bag of chips I pulled out of my candy drawer. "Want some?" I offered the maknae

"Only if you feed me" I rolled my eyes but held the cheese flavored snack to his lips "Thank you, what do you want to watch" he says while crunching

"We can finish It's Okay to Not Be Okay. I think we were on episode eleven or twelve" He found the show in my list and pressed play. The show resumed from the six-minute mark of episode 11. Jungkook made himself comfortable between my legs, laying on his back with his head resting on my stomach.