EDEN | Yoonmin

sixty-seven

sixty-seven

_____ 🌿 _____

A SOFT GREY-GREEN HAZE FILTERED THROUGH THE FOREST CANOPY. Jimin felt as if he'd gone through the wardrobe that led to Narnia; it was cold — the air, Dk's hand, his body as their shoulders brushed. Jimin was freezing. Smoke left his lips as his teeth chattered lightly. He wrapped an arm around himself for warmth. Dk didn't seem to notice that he was shivering; he only continued to lead him through the forest, deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of ice and green. He could hear running water, a bell rolling and chatter echoing in the distance. He frowned, confused. Was Dk taking him back to town? Why weren't they headed for the lake?

"I knew, the moment I laid eyes on you, that I was going to marry you one day," Dk said, briefly glancing at Jimin as they wandered through the woods. He gave him a boyish smile and for a second, Jimin wasn't so afraid of him. The soft, chocolate colour of his eyes shone in the hazy moonlight, and held more warmth than the sun ever could in that moment. He looked human — not just a shell of the man he used to be — and Jimin supposed that if Yoongi had not existed all those years ago, maybe he could have loved him.

Dk pointed off into the distance and Jimin could suddenly make out a ghostly image of a white, semi run-down, church. It dominated the space of clearing they had approached and off to the side was a small cemetery. Shadowy figures of men, women and children flitted in and out of the building in old timey clothes.

"You were standing right outside of the church with your mother, wearing your best Sunday clothes. It was love at first sight; at least, it was for me,"

Jimin swallowed the lump in his throat as a ghostly image of himself standing with a figure of what looked similar to his mother disappeared along with the church into the haze.

"I'd never seen someone so beautiful — so pure. I thought you were an angel; you had to be, something as perfect and serene as you couldn't exist anywhere else except in prayers and dreams," Dk's voice is gentle and giddy — he's excited to be talking about him and their past. It reminds Jimin of Yoongi, and how content he always seemed when he talked about the past.

"I tried courting you several times that first year, but I fear I only made a fool of myself. I never knew what to say to you. You made me nervous. I could barely form a sentence in your presence, I was too busy memorizing your face, the softness of your eyes, and that smile of yours. Sometimes I even forgot my own name,"

A shadowy figure of a younger Dk stumbling on his words turned into an image of him with flowers in his hands.

"I brought you flowers everyday. The people in the village said you loved them, especially sunflowers because they reminded you of summer's warmth. I tried to pick sunflowers for you but some days I gave you roses or lilies. And you'd smile at me, a real smile, as if you were happy to see me. Sometimes you'd accompany me for a walk and we'd stroll through the town and talk; you'd kiss me on the cheek when it was time to say goodbye — though I suppose that was more out of kindness that genuine affection,"

Dk showed him a vision of the two of them walking around a smaller version of Collin's Port, talking and laughing and smiling with one another. Jimin couldn't believe how happy the two of them looked. Had there been something between them once, or was he showing him something only Dk wanted to see in order to sway the narrative.

"We got close enough that eventually I worked up the nerve to ask your father for your hand in marriage — to which he said yes of course — though you didn't seem thrilled by the idea of being married to me," Dk admitted softly as he turned to Jimin. He didn't sound angry, but rather apologetic. He brushed some hair out of Jimin's face, letting his hand fall quickly when he noticed Jimin tense up.