Three days later

Jimin steered the Harley, turning round the corners of the empty streets. The sky was black and thundered angrily. The wind blew violently in his face, biting at the cold skin. He revved the engine, increasing the speed even more and the vehicle shot forward with a roar.

Another thunder echoed in the air above him, silencing the frantic honking of a car behind Jimin. It followed him intently, like an annoying tail. He sped up, determined to lose the irritating Subaru.

Headlights shined in the mist of the twilight, their reflection in the Harley's side view mirrors were blinding Jimin. He gritted his teeth and spat out. He just wanted to be on his own. Wouldn't Jungkook take the hint?

There it was again, this ridiculous honking. Jimin took a sharp right turn towards the bumpy road outlining the sea shore. The Subaru couldn't maneuver as easily as the Harley and it slipped sideways, its tires screeching loudly. Soon enough, it caught up with the motorcycle again.

Lost in the chase, Jimin was becoming more reckless by the second. He had nothing to lose anymore. There was no one in this world for him. His life meant nothing to him, and he'd gladly lose it if that would take this suffocating pain away.

"Fuck!" Jimin cussed under his breath. "Just leave me alone already!" his voice died out as soon as it left his mouth, overpowered by the rumble of the Harley.

The motorcycle glided to the right as Jimin guided it uphill towards the forest. The slope was steep, but the Harley easily shot upwards. He didn't stop driving until finally coming to an abrupt halt on top of a desolate hill.

The Subaru sideslipped as Jungkook stepped on the brakes. It skid for a little bit before he regained control of it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jungkook lunged from behind the wheel and shot forward, not even bothering to close the door of his car. His eyes trembled with the booming of his angry voice.

"Riding." Jimin simply uttered, taking his safety helmet off.

"Yes, with a million miles per hour! Do you realize how dangerous that was? You could have died!" Jungkook yelled, gesturing animatedly.

"And you should have let me!" Jimin snapped back, earning a startled look from Jungkook.

"Is this what you're trying to do with your reckless driving? Kill yourself?" the hurt spilled across Jungkook's face as his teeth caught his lower lip anxiously. His anger had subsided, making space for genuine concern and something that looked a lot like pity.

This felt like a punch in the face for Jimin.

"Leave me alone," he groveled as he turned his eyes away. "Go back and stop following me everywhere."

"No," Jungkook's voice was hoarse but still rose above the sound of the waves hitting the shore down the hill. The wind was blowing straight in his face. "I can't, not when I see you like this."

Stubbornly, Jimin turned his back to his friend. His eyes cast over the vast ocean view before him and the gray angry clouds blanketing the sky.

"I'm okay." Jimin let out, stunned to realize that he was fighting back tears. He thought he had cried them all. He cried until there was nothing left inside but raw emptiness.

"You're not." it was a statement more than it was a question. Jungkook's fingertips brushed against Jimin's shoulder and he shuddered away.

Hearing someone else say it out loud was the last nail in the coffin of Jimin's brittle self-composure. The tears he had tried to keep at bay streamed down his cheeks unchecked as the uncontrollable sobs rippled through his body. Waves of pain washed over him relentlessly.

Memories of Aera flashed through his mind one after another, like a fast-paced video montage. The most beautiful woman for him. How tiny hand felt in his, how her smile illuminated every room she entered. He could still see her, he could still feel her laying in his arms peacefully. The way she'd snuggle closer to him in the middle of the night. The first time he had made love to her, how perfectly they fit against each other. The first time he had told her he loved her. He had never loved anyone else in his entire life. She was the one for him. She was the only one.

"She's gone, Jungkook!" Jimin lamented against the roaring of the waves, hiding his face in his hands as his emotions erupted through him. He could hear Jungkook's footsteps as his friend stood in front of him.

"I know." Jungkook sighed. "I understand-"

"No you don't!" Jimin yelled. This all sounded so trivial, so ridiculously small compared to his enormous grief. Jungkook's comforting words evoked a sort of embarrassment deep within him and it transformed his pain in anger. "I just want to be left alone. I don't need your fucking pity, go away-" upon realizing he was choking up on the words, he stopped talking, and shoved Jungkook to the side harshly.

"Hey!" Jungkook straightened out his jacket and shoved Jimin back.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Jimin finally raised his eyes from the ground to lock his gaze with Jungkook, and noticed that tears had started to pool at the corners of his own eyes as well.

"Stop pushing me away, Jimin! You may wallow in your misery all you want, but you're forgetting that I lost Aera too!" the volume of Jungkook's voice was progressively increasing and so was the anguish entangled in it. "We all lost her." He sniffled, turning to the side.

Jungkook's silent weeping was worse than screaming. It broke Jimin's heart even more, if that was even possible. Abruptly, he pulled his friend in for a quick hug and patted his back. Jungkook gripped at his shoulders tightly.

"We..." Jimin stammered, trying to draw in a steady breath. "We were going to elope."

Jungkook drew back, breaking the hug. His glistening eyes were enlarged, darting between Jimin's bloodshot ones.

"I'm sorry, I-" he croaked. "I had no idea. Oh my god, Jimin. I'm so sorry. I- god. I'm sorry." He released a quiet whimper.

"You were going to be the best man." Jimin sniffled, pausing in an attempt to hold back the sobs. His throat burned, unable to form words.

"Fuck," Jungkook hissed, wiping his tears roughly. "Goddammit!" he kicked a small rock on the ground, sending it flying over the cliff.

"The last thing I ever said to her was how I couldn't trust her. She died thinking that I was mad at her. My last words to her... were out of anger..."

Jimin placed a hand over his mouth when he realized his voice was breaking. The tears streamed down his face like water from a broken dam as the thread of every happy memory he ever had unraveled in his mind. They were quickly overshadowed by the sinister image of how they found her in the woods, how her beautiful but cold body lay on the grass. She was like a porcelain doll, pale and lifeless.

Jimin's heart was shattered and he screamed at the very top of his lungs. His shoulders wracked with every sob as he gasped for air. Balling his hands into fists helplessly, he wept and threw his head back to let out a pained cry. Aera's light had been taken away by death's darkness. The only woman he ever loved. Gone. Forever.

"What are we going to do?" Jungkook mumbled dejectedly, running a hand over his face, his cheeks tinted with a rose hue from the cold air. "Meisa won't stop crying. Namjoon hasn't left his office in three days. Jin stopped talking completely. And-"

He stopped. Jimin knew exactly what he was going to say, because Jungkook was the only one who had seen it. Somehow in the middle of the chaotic combat, one of Hyukjae's men had pushed Taehyung straight into the portal to Abaddon. Yoongi had tried to pull him out and had ended up being sucked in along with Taehyung. After Jiah's death, the portal had completely disappeared.

"What are we going to do without Aera?" Jungkook asked, his voice wavering.

Jimin's gaze drifted towards the horizon. A single ray of sunshine was peeping throughout the black clouds. A single spark of hope. Somehow his broken heart found a way to beat again.

"I know what I'm going to do," he uttered. "Whatever it takes. Even if it kills me..."

"I'm going to bring her back."

- End of Book 1 -