april fifteenth.

namjoon, yoongi and hoseok heard crashing when they entered the dorm. they had finally gotten back from the studio after a couple hours, trusting jungkook to be alone while jimin, taehyung and seokjin went out to dinner. based on the utter cacophony coming from his room, though, they wondered if that was a smart decision. namjoon's stomach churned as he involuntarily thought something disturbing: at least the house wasn't silent. he forcefully shoved the thought out of his mind and rushed to jungkook's room with the other boys.

they opened the door to find jungkook's room quite a disaster area. clothes and random objects he owned were thrown everywhere, littering the floor seokjin had just vacuumed prior to leaving. jungkook was curled in a ball on his bed, the distant look in his tired eyes showing that he was clearly somewhere else. however, the part that struck the boys the most was not the fact that their friend was like this, or that his room was a mess. jungkook was naturally a messy person, and for the past six months, jungkook had been a naturally sad person, too. no, what sent a chilling sensation through their bloodstreams, what made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end was not what was on the floor, but what was perfectly untouched.

the only thing hanging in jungkook's closet was a dress. the dress that had started the beginning of the end of everything for jungkook. it was white, flowy. jungkook had bought it, thinking it would look beautiful against nara's tan skin, that it would bring out her mega-watt smile. being a naturally messy person, he left it on the floor of his room, having to rush to the recording studio in order to avoid being late. nara found it, and assumed the worst.

that it belonged to someone else.

that was the catalyst, the kickstarter in the series of unfortunate events leading up to nara's death. the boys thought jungkook surely would have gotten rid of it by now, so to see it, the lone article of clothing hanging in jungkook's empty closet, his closet that was now resembling a carcass with the bones picked clean of any flesh, was beyond startling.

"jungkook. kookie. jungkookie, look at me." yoongi gently made his way past the stunned namjoon and hoseok. to the public eye, yoongi was the toughest member of the band. but, behind closed doors and with the people he knew best, he had a demeanor that was just pleasant, possessing an innocence when people really got to know him. that was why the other two boys would mostly let yoongi handle it when jungkook was like this. the boy could comfort his little brother like no other. yoongi gingerly stepped over the piles of clothes and miscellaneous objects that covered every inch of the carpet. he kneeled down next to the bed, leveling himself with jungkook. "what's the matter?"

"i can't find it." jungkook said. his eyes lazily drifted to yoongi's, emptier than they usually were since he had been going on the walks that he seemed to like so much. yoongi gently put his hand on jungkook's shoulder, his thumb moving in circular motions, as if to rub some life into the boy.

"can't find what? me and your hyungs can help you find it." yoongi volunteered, searching jungkook's face.

"the photo. the one of me and nara." he said quietly. they knew the photo he was referring to. he kept it in his suitcase when they went on tour, and he would make sure to take it out and put it on his desk in his room whenever they got home from tour. the hyungs hadn't seen it in a while, not since before nara died.

"where'd you last have it?" namjoon chimed in from the doorway. they could see the cogs turning in jungkook's brain as he bit his chapped lower lip in thought. suddenly, he shot up into a sitting position, knocking foreheads with yoongi.

"ouch, what the fu—"

"i know where it is! i know where it is thank you thank you thank you bye i love you guys!" jungkook rushed out all in one breath, springing to his feet, sporadically picking up random items of clothing and putting them on before grabbing his sunglasses and running out of the room. namjoon, yoongi and hoseok looked between each other with wide eyes.

"is he wearing—?" hoseok trailed off.

"uh huh." namjoon confirmed.

"i will never understand a thing that boy does." yoongi sighed, rubbing his forehead sourly.

~

being in the hotel felt odd. being outside with the dumpsters and the trash was one thing, but being inside was a completely different one. jungkook felt déja vu as he slowly approached the front desk, where a woman in a maid's uniform had her back turned to him, rummaging through a drawer. he took a deep breath, shoving his shaky hands into the pockets of his jacket. he was drenched from the spring rain pouring outside. he cleared his throat, but the dark haired woman didn't turn around. jungkook cautiously removed a hand from his pocket and rang the bell on the desk.

"i heard you the first time." she sighed, continuing to look through the drawer. the voice sounded familiar, and jungkook immediately knew who it was. he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, remembering how the last time he had seen her she had put him in a headlock.

"the customer service here is abysmal." he deadpanned, and the maid immediately turned to him. the same black baby hairs had slipped out of her bun, her striking hazel eyes wide, her chubby, freckled cheeks pink with blush.

"oh. it's you." she said, masking her surprise with attitude. jungkook found it amusing. "what do you want? come back to harass me for my name again?" jungkook chuckled, leaning on the desk that separated her from him.

"no, solbin, but if i recall correctly, you were the one who harassed me." jungkook smirked in satisfaction, putting emphasis on her name as it danced off his tongue, taking pride in the shocked expression that graced her features.

"how did you—?"

"lucky guess." jungkook said sarcastically, reaching forward and gently tugging at the patch sewn onto her uniform that read her name. solbin looked down to where his fingers had just been and clenched her jaw. when she met eyes with him again, jungkook was thankful for the desk between them. if it hadn't been there, he was sure she would have karate chopped him where the sun didn't shine.

"what the hell do you want?" she asked, eyes aflame with agitation. jungkook remembered the reason why he was here and the classic "i'm an idol" act that he was putting on faltered.

"i'm looking for a photo. i...left it here." jungkook said, unsure of how to phrase the sentence.

"a photo of what? you? your dog?" solbin asked, still clearly annoyed. jungkook rolled his eyes.

"no, not my dog." he said, squinting at the smart mouthed maid.

"oh, sorry, are you a cat person?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as the muscles in jungkook's jaw pulsed.

"a photo of me. and my girlf—" jungkook stopped himself, flinching as he bit down on his tongue to prevent the dreaded word from coming out, so hard that it drew a little blood. at his therapy session yesterday, dr. kim had reinforced what nara's parents had said about nara being gone and moving on and all that bullshit. he never thought switching verb tense would be so hard. he thought of the ways dr. kim had given him to refer to nara. his "late" girlfriend. his "former" girlfriend. he had suggested his "dead" girlfriend, but kim told him to shut up. soon-hee would appreciate the humor, he thought. none of the new ways sounded right. "me and a girl. she has—i mean, had blonde hair. blue eyes." he stuttered, correcting himself.

the fire in solbin's angry eyes dimmed. she turned her back to jungkook and continued looking through the drawer. he gaped at her.

"seriously? are you—" he stopped abruptly when the maid turned around, holding the photo in her hands. his face softened at the sight of nara's smile, and he quickly reached out, taking the framed photo into his hands and clutching it to his chest. the cool metal felt comforting against his skin, and he felt relief wash over him in waves.

"it's been in the lost and found drawer for months. i was looking around in there for my bus pass. i guess it fell out of my pocket." solbin explained, feeling slightly guilty for treating him like he was in the wrong. he had just wanted a picture of his dead girlfriend back, and she snapped at him. "welp. i'm gonna go." jungkook watched her walk towards the doors, umbrella in hand.

"wait, don't go." he called, walking after her.

"listen, it was nice, um, talking and all, but i have to go to, um, church." she said awkwardly, wringing her hands. "can't be late for the lord."

"you go to church on wednesday?" he asked, trying not to chuckle at her excuse.

"psh, you don't?" she defended. he smiled slightly. for the first time solbin had seen, it reached his eyes. it wasn't just some complacency smile that he put on for show, no. it was genuine.

"alright, at least let me walk you there. it's getting dark out." he said, only earning a look from her. "what?" he asked, faking innocence.

"it's six o'clock. the sun hasn't even set yet." she pointed out. he rolled his eyes and took the umbrella from her hands, stepping out into the rain and opening it, the framed photo still clutched in his free hand. solbin sighed, knowing the boy was quite determined to walk with her. she gave into his hopeful expression and stepped out into the rain.

jungkook could tell she liked the rain the second her feet hit the damp pavement. her glittering eyes lit up more than he thought humanly possible, and there was a little skip in her step as she began walking down the damp city pavement. jungkook wasn't used to seeing a hint of a smile beginning to bloom on her face. it made him feel like he was walking with a complete stranger. like the rain had washed away any inkling of the person she was before. "stop staring at me, stalker." she sighed. jungkook immediately took back all of his previous thoughts. she was still the same person that put him in a headlock, the same person who he was a hundred percent sure would break out into full fledged taekwondo if he even tried to move more than an arm's length nearer to her.

"i'm not a stalker." he defended himself weakly, smiling to himself as they walked. jungkook's feet stepped nimbly over puddles, while solbin's splashed in them with glee. after a while of walking, they came to a familiar place. the cemetery. an unknown force tugged on jungkook's heartstrings. he suddenly ached to talk to soon-hee. she was so easy to talk to, so comforting. always there for him. he was tempted to drop the umbrella, walk through the gates and through the damp grass to nara's headstone. sooner or later, soon-hee would show up, and they'd talk until jungkook's voice was hoarse and stars twinkled above them.

"hello? earth to stalker?" solbin said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. he tore his eyes away from the beckoning headstones and weeping willow trees of the graveyard to rest on solbin. despite the umbrella, dewdrops of rain dotted her stark black hair. though she was looking at him like he was crazy, a hint of kindhearted mischief was in her hazel eyes. jungkook wanted to know what she was planning, what she was hiding behind her pissed off facade and sarcastic humor.

with little hesitation, jungkook continued to walk with her, leaving all thoughts of nara, the cemetery, and soon-hee behind.