“Sunset reminds me that death is merely a deep slumber.
And like the sunrise, we shall be awaken to meet the Light.”

The beautiful sun started to dive slightly into the west, designing a beautiful pattern in the clouds. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky.

Seokjin just arrived at the bridge. As much as he was ashamed of being late, he tried to tell himself it was normal. It was absolutely normal to be late on your first day to meet a girl. Especially, when she was to be your new friend and a sort of therapist.

The place, Han River Bridge was selected by Yu Beom. He was the one who chose the time and place for their first meeting. Which Seokjin totally disliked since it was kind of a romantic spot. Couples came here all the time to see the fireworks.

As he stepped on the bridge, he stopped again. This was his 8th stop so far since the morning. He didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to see the girl every day, hoping she would magically fix him. At the thought of meeting her, he could feel a knot forming in his stomach, nauseous and nervous together.

He could just turn back any minute but his conscience didn't let him. He didn’t want to disappoint his manager anymore. He best got this over with.

Letting out a regrettable sigh, he started to walk ahead in search of the girl. There were so many people from tour guides to photographers. Not to mention those annoying couples, giggling and holding hands.

“Jin-ssi!”

The voice was familiar. As he turned towards the source, his eyes immediately landed on the familiar figure, waving her hand awkwardly. The realization hit him later, he had skipped her.

Cursing under his breath, he lifted his hand too and made his way towards her. Yes, he forgot her face and he was very ashamed of himself too. This was gonna be embarrassing for the future. Swallowing hard, he met the girl with a steady gaze and approached her with mind-spitting rubbish thoughts.

"You came!" This was her way of greeting. A bright, wide grin.

"I'm not gonna apologize for being late,” he had no idea why he blurted that out.

She scoffed. "Did I tell you to?"

Considering how fast she replied, he was a little taken aback.

“How long did you wait?” he asked apologetically, hoping she would understand that.

Checking her watch, she answered, “Just an hour, don't worry.”

Sure.

Now the weird awkward situation everyone feared arrived between them. None of them were speaking a word and instead, doing what everyone was doing. Watching the setting sun. What was so good about it anyway? Seokjin knew this was the first sign of cancelling this whatever meeting with her.

He wondered why she wasn’t talking. He actually thought she would be the one making the environment light between them. But she was as quiet as a mouse. As if he didn’t exist beside her.

Stomach clenching in anxiety, his brain suddenly produced an interesting thought inside his head, for which he was grateful.

"C-can I ask you something?"

She took three seconds to nod.

"What did you mean back then, at the fan-sign event?"

Her pupils travelled to the corner as her eyebrows clutched together. "W-what did I say again?" she had no idea what he was talking about.

He had no problem repeating the same words.

Yoon Min blinked again and then exclaimed slightly. "Ah, that? An author, E.E. Cummings once said that in his poetry."

He didn't think those two lines would come from an author because all this time, he thought she was the one who said it. No wonder they sounded so poetic to him.

She answered his question then, "Trust your heart if the seas catch fire suggest that we should put our deepest trust in our heart. If things seem to go wrong, even as bad as seas catching fire, one's heart is where their trust should lie.

“And live by love though the stars walk backwards connects the first line to love. This phrase tells us to live by the love in our hearts no matter what happens, not even something as weird as stars walking backwards.”

Seokjin took time to understand every word that was hidden behind that meaningful poetry. He wasn't a fan of books so hardly he ever read stories or poems. Finally, he found the answer he was seeking for all these weeks.

But did he realize it?

She glanced at the mighty sun again before leaning her arms on the railing. “The reason I told you that was because I wanted you to trust no one but yourself only, though the world has left your side. The love for yourself shouldn't disappear like those people and there's absolutely no need for you to be stuck in time instead of moving forward. I wanted you to be happy by yourself. That's why, I told you that quote."

It's not even 10 minutes but he found his heart listening to her soul attentively. Whatever she just said, it took him a full minute to realize the meaning. It was surprising why she told him that quote out of everything.

He cleared his throat and decided to stare at the sun since he's got nothing to do.

"Where did you learn that? Your parents?"

She replied after releasing a sigh, "No. I've got no parents."

He widened his eyes and glanced at her face. One thing he was lucky and proud of in his life was he had the best parents in the world. Especially, he had the best mother in the whole world. He will never regret or deny this. His parents supported him and loved him uncountably. He couldn't imagine his life without them.

He became a little sad about her being an orphan. “I'm sorry."

This time, she widened her eyes and questioned back. "What're you sorry for? Wait, did you think my parents are dead?"

By the way she said it, yes, he thought they were dead. Anyone would have thought that.

"They aren't dead. They are just not in Korea." she changed her gaze back to the sun.

He wondered how she managed to live in a foreign country. When he used to go on world tours back when he was still an idol, he would miss his mother from time to time. His mother would call during the first trips, asking about his health and scolding him to eat more. She never forgot to ask about the members.

As much as he became nostalgic, he thought this was a pretty good topic to discuss with her.

"Do you miss them?"

She smiled more and shook her head.

Huh?

As time ran slowly with her, he grew more curious about her odd life. She was somehow different from him. He wanted to ask her the reason but that might seem nosy and he didn't want to show interest in her anyway. But something about her was changing that feeling.

"Why not?"

The girl's eyes shook silently escaping his gaze. She casually answered in her process of taking steady breaths. "Let's just say I didn't have parents like yours."

He blinked one more time and stared at her face in pure confusion. But he chose to remain silent then. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it.

“You know what, I can't do this anymore,” Yoon Min raised her hands to surrender and it just baffled Seokjin. Why did she say that? Did she find this situation more uncomfortable than him? Was she gonna leave?

Before he could open his mouth, she swiftly turned towards him, her hair flicked in the air. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, okay? I'm not like this usually. It's just Yu Beom-ssi told me to keep quiet and let you talk mostly. Can you believe that?”

As a matter of fact, he could believe his manager was capable of telling her something like that. Seriously, how could he tell her that?

“He told me not to start the conversation, not to find topics to talk, and so much more I can't remember! He believed this way, you'll improve a lot.”

What was the point of appointing a fangirl to be his therapist-friend if she was gonna be told what to do? So Yu Beom was the reason she wasn’t being herself. He knew something was off about her.

He stared at her face blankly, unsure how to respond.

Luckily, she continued. “But I'm not gonna listen to him. I thought of my own ways to get through to you. I don't know why they set us up to be friends or something...since it happened, I want you to put your faith in me. You will ask me as many as questions you want. You can tell me everything that bothers you. And I'll gladly tell you everything I know. My stories, my beliefs, my theories — let's see if we can get along with each other. And let's hope we help each other too.”

Seokjin doubted if she really could keep those promises she was making and if both of them could help each other as she hoped. He couldn't help but worry.

But she said to trust her. As of now, he'll keep on doing that. He trusted her voice, her heart. He must trust her to get his life back. That's what everyone believed.

Yoon Min smiled and said, “Okay let's start. Ask me a question right now.”

It came out as a surprise. Her words flabbergasted him as he widened his eyes and his pupils shook. Was he supposed to ask anything?

Without realizing it, he blurted out the thought stuck inside his head for the past while.

“Why don't you miss your parents?”

He wanted to dig a hole and hide inside. Was that the best he could come up with? She was clearly uncomfortable a while ago and he managed to make things worse.

She blinked her frozen eyes, honestly not expecting him to stick to that matter. Letting out a soft exhale, she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"That's because I ran away from home."

☆THE FAULT IN OUR STARS☆

THANK YOU FOR READING
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