I See Colors | Taegi

sixty-two

Around five hours later,
   Yoongi is leading me through a forest
   to show me something.

   The sun has fully set by now,
   so we're both using flashlights
   to navigate through the woods.

   Yoongi had warned us
   five hours ago
   that we would travel all the way to Yeongyang,
   and said we didn't have to go
   if that wasn't okay with us.

   After he and my dad went to a separate room to discuss it,
   he agreed to let us go,
   as long has I had my phone
   and a bag with extra clothes
   (and a switchblade just in case)
   since we'll be
   staying the night.

   We have already gotten situated at the hotel
   and called my dad to let him know that
   we are okay.

   "Your dad is a nice guy,"
   Yoongi comments.

   "Yeah.
   I'm lucky, huh?"

   I see him nod
   just before a breeze runs past us,
   and my shoulders shiver,
   so I hide my hand
   under my cardigan sweater.

   "What's your dad like?"

   I notice the way
   Yoongi slows down a little
   and the sound of crunching under his feet
   becoming harder to hear.

   "He's...
   distant,"
   Yoongi answers,
   "More focused on
   getting the job done
   than seeing the rest of the world."

   "Oh."

   Yoongi shrugs
   just before we begin to walk
   even slower.
   "He's not a bad guy.
   He just doesn't understand
   the importance of
   seeing the way others feel."

The world has
so many people like that.
It makes me wonder
about the things they could've went through
that led them up to that attitude.

"Anyways."
Yoongi stands still
and looks straight at me.
"We're here."

   Thanks to the flashlights,
   I can see the way
   Yoongi smiles
   so generously.

   "I'd recommend
   we turn off our flashlights for this."

   I flick the switch on mine
   and see Yoongi's face
   get more covered in darkness.

   Yoongi switches his off as well
   then pulls me in between the trees
   that my eyes are trying to decipher.

   There is a clearing
   with short grass blowing with the wind.
   I become more aware
   of the sound of the trees rustling around us.

   It's oddly bright,
   but not bright enough to even compare
   with the city.

   "The clearing is nice and all,
   but I think the better direction to look
   is up."

   I follow his advice
   and tilt my head up,
   only for my mouth
   to immediately open.

   Stars.

   Hundreds of them.

   I hardly have time to process
   Yoongi's gentle chuckle.

   "Don't strain your neck,"
   Yoongi tells me,
   "How about we lay down, hm?"

   I look back at him
   when he lets go of my hand
   to sit on the ground
   then lay on his back.

   I follow after,
   and notice the way the grass
   lightly tickles the back of my neck.