A/N: I hope y'all have your tissues ready-

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"There you go," Lindsay whispered with a soft smile, as she finished gently bandaging the wound on Namjoon's forehead. "You're all wrapped up and good to heal."

Namjoon chuckled and sent Lindsay a loving smile as she rose from her seat beside him. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he felt so protected and warm. He found himself feeling deeply connected with her soul as he relished in the compassion that crept up from behind those gentle brown eyes. The tenderness of her soft touch upon his scars, the soothing sensation of her reassuring voice. It made Namjoon feel like he was in the world's safest bubble and nothing could hurt him.

Placing the porcelain bowl filled with medicine away, Lindsay resumed her place beside Namjoon and gave him a small smile. "I guess all we have to do now is to... let nature do its thing," she said.

"Yeah," Namjoon whispered, still gazing at Lindsay with that same warm expression. "I really can't thank you enough for...you know... taking care of-"

"No, please." Lindsay abruptly said but softened with a smile. "Please, don't mention it. This is the least I could do for everything you had to endure for my sake. Believe me, I'd do it in an instant if there's anything more I could do."

At the sheer genuineness seeping out of her words, Namjoon felt something warm ignite within him, slowly melting away at his heart. "I know," he softly whispered.

"But..." he started looking down at his neatly bandaged arm.

"But?" Lindsay asked concerned, gazing at him patiently.

Namjoon took a deep breath, his fingers fidgeting with a loose thread on his shirt. Chewing the inside of his cheek in contemplation, he sighed before meeting Lindsay directly in the eyes. Lindsay inaudibly gasped under her breath as pain struck her when she looked into Namjoon's eyes. They no longer possessed the smugness or cockiness they usually did. Instead, they looked shattered and pained.

"But it means a lot to me because I'm not always used to being treated like this," Namjoon confessed with a wry smile. "Not at all...not since a long time ago at least," he added with a pained chuckle.

"Namjoon." Lindsay softly started, her eyes filled with endless love and compassion. Reaching out, she gently rested her hand on his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Biting his lip furiously, Namjoon frustratedly clenched and unclenched his fists. "I was not always allowed to be this vulnerable in front of anyone..." Namjoon softly spoke and his lower lip started to tremble, which further urged Namjoon to chew his lip. "My father... he wasn't... he told me that I shouldn't..."

"Hey, hey, Namjoonie..." Lindsay softly hushed him as she leaned closer to him and started to stroke his shoulder comfortingly. She understood that Namjoon was facing an extremely difficult situation right now. It was clear to her from the grief-stricken look in his eyes that he was about to reveal something greatly personal and very painful to him. "I'm here for you, Joonie..." she gently tried to reassure him again.

Namjoon let out a frustrated groan before burying his face in his hands. "Oh God, this is so embarrassing," he spoke in a muffled voice. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't listen to this."

"Joonie, no." Lindsay calmly said, gently prying Namjoon's hands away from his face so that she could gaze compassionately into his eyes. "Namjoon, I assure you that you can tell me anything." she firmly said. She softly sighed before cautiously reaching out and taking Namjoon's hand in hers, entwining their fingers together, making a silent promise to him. "You don't have to talk about anything if you don't feel ready to," she whispered. "But you always can at another time when you are ready."

Namjoon closed his eyes to momentarily collect himself before opening them and softly squeezing Lindsay's hand in reassurance. The warmth overflowing from her gave him more courage than anyone ever could have. "No. I want to tell you this. Right now."

Lindsay waited with bated breath but her composure remained patient. She had no intentions of rushing Namjoon at any cost and only wanted him to be comfortable in her presence. All she knew was that she was about to learn a side of Namjoon that no one had ever known before.

"Ever since I was little, I was always pressured by my father into becoming this perfect, golden son anyone could ever have." he started after many deep breaths. "He would find some kind of an opportunity to criticize me from the way I stood to the way I talked, to the way I dressed. Thinking back, I've always thought of my childhood as a military camp and my dad as the strict army instructor."

"Growing up, I remember him being constantly disappointed in me. As if nothing I ever did was enough for him," he spoke bitterly, his face looking numb but also filled with pain. "He would find all sorts of ways to compare me with other kids my age and if someone else did something better than me, he would tell me how he wished that he had a son like that instead of a poor excuse like me."

Lindsay sat there in aghast. She would have never fathomed for the life of her that Namjoon had such a hard time growing up. It almost felt too unbelievable to be true. Yet, she decided to save all her concerns and questions for last and let Namjoon freely express himself the way he could to her. Something told her that he had been needing a moment like this for a long time.

"I was just a child with no experience and I didn't know any better." he continued. "I was desperate for his acceptance and affection. So, I allowed him to push me into the painful mold of the perfect son he had always wanted. I let him push me and make me compete aggressively with others just as he pleased. Once, I scored a grade a bit lower than the highest scorer in the class and my father kept taunting me and mocking me for that entire week. He would then push me to work harder and to be the best. Once, I was down with the flu and was admitted to the hospital but he barged into the room with a mountain of papers and instructed me to work while lying on my sickbed. I didn't know what else to do at that time."

"Oh my goodness, Namjoon," Lindsay muttered under her breath in overwhelming shock. "I don't.... know what to say-"

Namjoon smirked before his melancholy returned. "Growing up, my father would point out people who make mistakes in front of me, people who were careless, he would comment on what pathetic imbeciles they are and firmly advised me to never be like them."

"What about your mother?" Lindsay asked, desperately hoping somebody would have fought for Namjoon. "Didn't she do anything?"

Namjoon bitterly chuckled to himself. "My mother?" he repeated, staring down at his hands. "My father never allowed me to get close to my mother. Besides, the relationship I had with my mother was pretty much non-existent because I was taught to think low of her by my father. My father loathed her."

"Kept on cheating on her and when I asked him why treated her so badly, he would say that she was way below his league and that if I were to become careless and pathetic, anyone would leave me in the future just like how he left my mother."

Rage bubbled underneath Lindsay's nerves. She felt enraged enough to commit a murder and the murder was targeted specifically at Namjoon's dad.

Namjoon took a deep shuddering breath as he decided he might as well continue since he started. "My father would publicly humiliate me in front of others such as my relatives whenever I would disappoint him, such as if I ever dropped a plate, but if I did something good such as scoring good grades or winning awards, he would become very warm and affectionate towards me... which I desperately craved for."

"Father said that the only way to win the world's love and admiration was if I became as flawless as possible, only if I became the best, and met their highest expectations. He said I could fall sick with the workload but think of all the attention and praise I would get from people if I exceeded their expectations. I craved that admiration and sense of belonging more than anything, and if my father said that being obsessed with perfection is the way to achieve it... then so be it."

"Namjoon..." Lindsay felt her heart breaking for him. All the torment, all the pressure he had to go through for years.

"Seo-jun never had to endure this though. Lucky devil." Namjoon grumbled with a smirk. "Since I was the oldest, my father had eyes only on me. Seo-jun grew up under the care of my mother and she raised him to be compassionate and intelligent."

"Are your parents still... are they..?" Lindsay started struggling to form words through the aching in her chest.

"Are they still alive?" Namjoon asked, before continuing. "Yes, they are. But they got divorced. The moment they told me that they were splitting up, I felt my whole heart and soul shatter. Suddenly, nothing in my life felt real anymore. My mother wasn't financially stable enough to raise two kids by herself and my father didn't care for us. So, the custody over Seo-Jun and I was given to my father's younger sister."

"We-were you happy there?" Lindsay asked, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. She had to be strong for Namjoon's sake.

"Aunt Tilly treated us well but my heart was numb and there was no turning back. My father said that he divorced my mother because she didn't meet his standards and she was...well... imperfect. Imperfection was what tore my family apart. I decided that from that day on, I would become a perfectionist and despise mistakes."

With that note, Namjoon ended the story of his damaged childhood. But what he never expected was to have Lindsay flung herself at him, throwing her arms over his shoulders, encasing him in a tight hug.

"Oh, Namjoon!" Lindsay cried, enveloping him in a tender embrace. Namjoon buried his head in her shoulder and shut his eyes tightly fighting the nightmares that arose behind his eyelids. After a long moment of silently holding him, Lindsay briefly pulled away but held the tormented man in her arms.

Reaching out she rested her hand on his cheek and gently wiped away the tears underneath his eyes. Namjoon gasped in surprise as he never realized that he had been silently shedding tears this whole time.

"Namjoon, I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through. You didn't deserve that at all." she sniffled, gazing deeply into his eyes. "What your father did to you and your family was terrible."

"But you should know..." Lindsay started, placing her hand gently upon his, making Namjoon's heart secretly race beneath. "Imperfection was not what tore your family apart. It was the chase that your father put after perfection that did it. If he had found content within his son and wife, instead of thinking that he should always deserve the best, everyone would have been happier."

"But I need to be the best..." Namjoon softly protested.

"No," Lindsay gently stated. "Namjoon, there's a difference between doing your best and demanding perfection. It's alright to aim high but remember that perfection is an illusion that can consume you."

"And what if I am not good enough for people?" Namjoon asked.

"It doesn't matter." Lindsay simply said with a smile. "People should accept you for who you are, not for some ideal of perfection. And you know what?"

"Hm?" Namjoon questioned with a raised brow.

"Life is more meaningful and interesting when imperfections exist. A road that runs straight is no fun or a challenge to drive on at all. It gets boring."

A few moments of silence passed as the realization began to sink into Namjoon along with the blissful feeling of relief as the mighty expectations of him were swiftly lifted from his burdened shoulders.

"Maybe you're right, Lindsay," he whispered, gazing into her face with a smile. "Imperfections do make life more interesting. Just like how you did. The past couple of days were hectic, I wouldn't lie..." he chuckled. "But your silly antiques made them the most interesting days I've ever had yet."

"Well, kudos to me!" Lindsay giggled through the tears before leaning over and embracing Namjoon one more time. Namjoon happily wrapped his arms around the girl and returned the loving embrace. Amidst the hug, he reached into his jeans pockets and fished out the crumpled-up piece of paper from the fortune cookie.

He glanced over at it with a smile;

'Seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect way to destroy them

Tonight, thanks to Lindsay's help, he finally discovered what it meant.

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A/N: I am really sorry for the long chapter. I just didn't want to continue this scene for two chapters.

Hope you enjoyed though it was a tad bit too sad. Please vote and comment!

If this story was a movie, I'd imagine Namjoon secretly singing this song to Lindsay. Feel free to check it out and pay attention to the lyrics! ;)

https://youtu.be/8TQxoyr7gf8

Byeeee-