—

he woke up to a sea of flickering gold.

it was quiet, yet comforting. the kind of silence that brings one to the deepest realm of calmness. the nightsky hung above him like a veil that promises him wishes as long as he managed to pluck one of the stars down. park jimin kept his gaze trained on the breath-taking view, not willing to blink, just in case it was a fragment of his imagination. 

if this was a dream, he would rather not wake up.

eventually, he did move. towards the rustling a few feet away, where a girl sat on the soft turf with her legs propped against her chest. bringing his hand up, jimin's fingers tentatively brushed the side of his head where a wound should have been. to his surprise, there was nothing. after a more thorough inspection, he realized he was clean of cuts, bruises, or any form of injuries for that matter.

where is this place even? he wondered. the field he was standing on stretched far away into the distance, and ended in what seemed like a cliff. behind him was just grass, grass, and more grass. 

deciding that the only way to find his answers would be through the girl, he took slow and even steps towards her. aware that she was simply staring at the sky just like what he was doing a few minutes ago, completely not informed of jimin's actions. or if she did, she wasn't showing any reaction.

"excuse me?" he called out.

she jerked a little in surprise before turning to face him. black hair tied up in a messy bun, a few strands were loose and left hanging at the nape of her neck. slightly messy bangs cut a little into her eyes, her eyes that twinkled in the midst of the dark. she was young — probably the same age as jimin, or even younger. lips that twitched at the sight of him, slowly curling into a relieved smile.

"you're up!" 

standing to brush any dirt off her pastel blue dress, the girl approached him in tiny skips, as if eager to speak to him. subconsciously, jimin took a step back, wary of her bold actions. she could tell he was scared, and came to a complete halt immediately, hands clasped behind her back. 

"where... are we? how did i end up here?" he asked, thoughts messed up and words fumbling.

she frowned. "this is the place where i live, and i found you tumbling down a hill in the morning."

"and where, exactly, is this place that you live? what is it called?"

"it's..." she faltered for a moment, struggling to find an answer to his question. "it's... just... my home? i don't think there's a name for it...?"

he wondered what mess he had gotten himself into.

glancing around, jimin asked, "is there anyone else here? anyone else that i can talk to?"

"you'll have to wait till morning. when the sun rises, it's when the train to town will come."

he nodded slowly.

"or if you'd like... i can speed things up. i can speed time up." she continued.

"wait, really?" he perked up. 

she gave an eager nod and urged jimin to close his eyes. it took only a few seconds before the sounds of chirps from birds that glided across the sky reached his ears. a distant honking from an incoming train. he then knew why she wanted him to close his eyes — even through his shut eyelids, the sunlight seemed to sear through them. 

"i'm not too sure who you can find help from, but..." she lowered her head and fiddled with her dress. "if you ever decide to come back, take the train 17 hours later, starting from when you set foot in town."

"... okay, i will." jimin replied, curious as to why she sounded so... broken. was it because he was leaving? but they didn't know each other, right? hell ; it was the first time they were talking to each other.

before he boarded the train, she blurted, "please stay safe! i don't have anymore medicine for you if you come back with a cracked head again."

he blinked. "what medicine..."

she waved his question off and pushed him inside the carriage. "have... fun, i guess?" she tried a smile. "ah! you haven't caught my name yet, right? it's mia!"

the train door slid close, gears starting up again.

"mia, mia, mia, mia!" she chanted since jimin didn't reply her. it was only then that he realized she hadn't caught his courteous nod. sliding the window open, he stuck his head out.

"you can call me jimin!" he shouted over all the noise from the moving train, hoping the winds would carry his words over to her.

a/n; chose the name mia because the scandinavian meaning of mia = the star of the sea hehe