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𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎

𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎,

𝚄𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 

𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏

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I ran.

I ran without ever looking back, not caring whether I stumbled or tripped, ignoring the feeling of my lungs catching on fire or how much my legs ached so much I thought they would fall off.

There was only one destination on my mind as thickets scraped against my legs. A place of cozy firewood and endless knowledge, all run by a man who embodied those exact things. I had been neglecting that place for a while, but he would be the only one who could give me answers.

Slamming open the door with such force I was sure the glass would shatter, my out-of-breath self met eyes with Mr. Kim.

Or, as I suddenly figured out, Kim Namjoon.

He sat in his usual spot, and unlike Hope, held something in his hand. He looked up in a calm expression as if he expected my arrival. Yet, this time, Kim Namjoon didn't radiate a wise, serene appearance. No, quite the opposite: his jaw was set, and there was a sense of unease in his irises.

"...Did you find out, Moonchild?"

He attempted a reassuring smile but failed.

Instead of answering his question, my legs gave out, and I asked my own.

"...Is it true...? Is he really...Is he? He isn't, right?! He can't be, right?!"

I couldn't feel the tears, but there wasn't a doubt that they were running down my face. Asking those questions were futile; I knew that. From his silence and the way his hands rested on my shoulders, stiff, yet warm, the answer had already been given to me.

"...I'm sorry I've kept it from you for this long...." he admitted voice cracking, "today...is actually the anniversary of his death...I...I couldn't tell you. He didn't let me. Hyung wanted you to only remember the happy moments and then forget about him. He instructed me to make up some lie to say he went back to Korea. He's going to disappear soon, Minami...I'm sorry."

Namjoon was the one crying now.

"Then...then are there any other ways??! There...there has to be another way, right?! If-If there aren't any paths left then we can redraw the map!"

Quoting him hurt, and seeing Namjoon's expression of recognization at my words hurt as well, but in times of need, I believe words of people you look up to come out from your mouth instead.

But from the dejected look on Namjoon's face, I knew there weren't any more options than that. Kim Namjoon wasn't a god, and neither did he know what it was like to die and turn into a spirit. Even if he were to open all the books of mythology and how the souls of the dead worked, it would've taken far too long.

Reader, I would bet a hefty amount of money to guess how you think I felt at that moment. And, you would probably be wrong. I didn't feel any of the standard emotions: Heartbroken, grief-stricken, or emotional pain. In fact, I felt nothing at all. The only thing I thought of was that I had to go see him. My mind screamed at my legs to run again in the direction of his house, to throw myself into his arms just to prove he was real and that he was living.

"Four o' Clock." Namjoon suddenly said.

"What?"

"...When the sun aligns with the scarlet morning...you will be able to embrace him. You need to find what his wish was before he died, or else he can't reincarnate. I've asked before. He can't remember...Please, Minami, go."

He retracted his arms from my shoulders, and then my legs took me through the forest once more.

___

I couldn't remember another time where I ran that hard in my entire life. My heartbeat was either beating so fast to the point of being undetectable, or it had stopped beating altogether. But I knew it had to be in some form or other. Otherwise, how could the thought of him have me run faster no matter how much it burned?

When I thought my heart would burst, his house came into view.

What was he doing now, knowing he would cease to be a part of this world within a few hours? Was he calm? Was he sad?

I would find out sooner than I would like.

Fumbling around with the keys and cursing under my breath, I turned the knob and flung open the door.

"HOSEOK!" I yelled into the silent house, "JUNG HOSEOK!"

There, standing near the window, was him.

He looked up, meeting eyes with me as fear swelled in his eyes.

My breath hitched.

'He knows.' I thought, and I wanted to cry.

"Minami?" He said, puzzled.

"Tell me it isn't real...Please, tell me it isn't true."

"Minami? What's wrong? What do you want to not be true?"

And I knew that he also knew.

From the tremble of his lips to the fear lacing his caramel eyes, he knew.

Gathering any spare courage left, I held my breath and walked toward him, one step at a time. I had to confirm my suspicions for the last time, even if it meant tearing my heart at the answer.

I took a hesitant step.

"M-Minami?"

Two strides.

"Wait! Minami, no! Stop!"

Another step.

I was barely 2 inches away from him.

I'm sorry, Hoseok. This wasn't something I could leave alone.

I closed the distance between us in a hurry, clinging onto the last shred of pray that my worst fears wouldn't come true. I then started to think about Jeon Jungkook and the girl he never had a happy ending with. To tell the truth, although their tragic love story wasn't desirable, I still couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

Because instead of being greeted with the warmth of a solid body, my skin was met with only the cold stillness of the air.

I turned around, positive that he was within the boundaries of where I was walking and that in any other circumstances, I would've definitely made contact with him. Yet, as he was in my line of vision again, something clear and sparkling traveled down his cheeks.

It was the first I ever saw him cry.

And, it would be the last.

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~my ~ nameless ~ birds ~ who ~ sing ~ at ~ dawn~

@ninjakoko - "The Night of Horror"

@cherryficss - "0.1134"

@christinaxmorton - "Reason"

In retrospect I probs should've timed things out so that there would be more chapters at a more gradual rate instead of just dumping yall these last chapters IOJIOEWJIFJ :,)