Exactly twenty days. The day of the Winter Solstice was approaching in a slow crawl. Everyone waited for it, wanting to know who was going to be the next to disappear in the middle of the night, never to be seen again in the morning. Yet the upcoming sacrifice wasn't apart of Park Jimin's thoughts as he sat at the edge of Warrington Cliff, feet dangling over the roaring ocean and countless jagged rocks. Cold winter air bit at his face, harsher now as it was beginning to snow. His breath came out in white puffs as he pulled his coat closer to himself. He looked up at the grey sky, snowflakes caught in his lashes. It was all beautiful on days like this. The ocean, the grey clouds, the white haze the snow made. He would sit here forever if he could. But if he did, surely he'd freeze to death.

"Jimin!" Called a female voice from the small town. Warrington had a population of 100 at the moment. It would deplete soon, not just due to the sacrifice, but to the loss of crops and livestock, Winter was also a time where the sickly could finally sleep gently.

"Jimin!" The voice called yet again, and the blonde male sighed as he stood to go tend to the woman's needs. He ran at a slow pace, not in much of a rush to see the woman he called mother.

When he finally reached his little house, he came into view just as his mother was about to call his name again.

"Yes?" He said, red-nosed and blushing.

The woman by name of "Mother" huffed, "You were supposed to be checking the silo to make sure that none of the foxes have gotten in... And did you even feed the chickens this morning?"

Jimin sighed softly, "I'll get to it, Mother, " he said, well, not before his older brother YoonJin walked outside.

"I already did it all mother..." Said YoonJin, staring his smaller brother down. He was such a disappointment to them both, Jimin could feel as much rooted in his very being.

"Thank you, YoonJin, " his mother said, looking up at the older boy. And then came the words he so dreaded hearing. 

"Why can't you be like your brother? You had all of the simple tasks."

Jimin glared at his older brother. "Right. Simple tasks for the simple-minded, " he muttered as he went inside the small house to do something productive like clean and wax the floors and tables.

Jimin wasn't simple-minded, but people didn't care if he was or not. He was simply labeled as such due to his height and how easily distracted he was. He was the runt in this family. All his mother really needed was YoonJin. Big, strong YoonJin of which he used to look up too, but now he was constantly ridiculed by the older and hated that he was even associated with him. Both of them could take a leap off of Warrington Cliff for all he cared.

After hours of meticulous scrubbing and waxing, Jimin sat up from the corner of the stairs and sighed as he got up the supplies and took them upstairs to the closet.

He sat on his bed, the wood creaking softly beneath him. He was good for nothing, right? That's what he thought. That's what he felt. He was a good for nothing little blonde boy with a pretty face and charming smile.

Jimin laid down, looking at his small, wax-covered fingers, pushing them, watching the covering break. Twenty days. Only twenty days.