Unrequited | An Eden Novella

one

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November

—IN HIS DREAM HE WAS SINKING.

Oh the irony, of it all.

Somewhere in the middle of the lake, between trying to make it to the shore and keeping his head above the water, he felt something cold slither around his ankle and give one, good, hard tug, kickstarting his heart into a frenzy. At first, he thought a tentacle had latched itself onto him — a sea monster that dwelled in this historically horrific lake, but when a sharp pain dug into his skin, he realized that it was a hand that had grabbed his ankle and was attempting to pull him below the surface. Razor-like claws dug into his skin, no doubt drawing blood. Tears pricked at his eyes but he would not cry.

A part of him began to panic. He could make it to the shore; if only the hand would let him go, it would only take a few seconds to swim close enough to the edge that he'd be able to put his feet down on the embankment and scrambled to safety. To run far away and put as much distance between him and this place forever.

A funny feeling told him this hand was not going to let go, and should he allow it to pull him under, he was quite positive he'd recognize the face of the person trying to do so. He could see his face clearly in his mind.

Was this divine retribution?

Was this what forgiveness had meant — that their roles were now reversed and it was his turn to be tormented and to suffer at his hands.

Very well then; he deserves it.

Somewhere between trying to keep his head above water, and trying to reach the shore, he gave into his past and let the hand pull him to a watery grave.

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—HE WOKE UP COUGHING; water spluttering from his throat as he sat up in bed. The room felt muggy and damp in the haze of the early November morning. The room spun as he coughed up the water in his lungs. He was soaked from head to toe and if he moved, he could feel the soppy grossness of his sheets absorbing the water like a sponge before squeezing it back out onto the floor beneath him. The trickling run of the water hitting the wooden floor unsettled him — and the smell... He made a face of disgust as he stumbled out of bed, hissing in pain when he put weight on his foot. Looking down, he noticed several long gashes that had already begun to deal. He sighed heavily.

For the past week he'd been dreaming of him. Wasn't the point of forgiveness so that he could learn to let go and escape his past? Jimin wanted nothing to do with him, and now that he was free, Dk certainly wanted nothing to do with him. He could see for the first time in forever, how unhealthy his obsession had been. How much pain he'd caused, not only himself, but both Jimin and Yoongi. All those years alone, consumed by grief and madness had messed with him; he'd become something unrecognizable. He wanted to forget all about them and move on with his life.

Moving on seemed easy. Forgetting was the hard part.

He wandered over to his window and pushed it open, leaning out of it as he breathed in the morning air. Winter was here as the cold, November air blew past him, mingling with the heat in his room. He welcomed the cold, grateful that it had returned. He rather enjoyed it. Was it a result of being surrounded by cold for so long? Possibly. He wondered if it should discomfort him, but in reality, he had learned to find peace in it.

The sun had not yet risen over the horizon; the city before him was still cloaked in heavy blues, but by the base of the city skyline, where high rises met the sky, a lighter blue had begun to lit up the world. Distant specks of orange and yellow hues twinkled and flickered as lights in some apartments turned on and off as people prepared for their days. It was still quiet outside — the city was only beginning to wake up.

A soft scratching sound came from the other side of his bedroom door. He tore his gaze away from the city as he backed away from the window, and padded over to his door. He cracked the door ever so slightly, but it was enough space for the beige and white shadow to slip in, and weave itself beneath his legs, purring softly in contentment. A gentle smile graced his features as he bent down to scoop the cat up into his arms. If he was bound to be able to love anything in this life, it would be this cat; he was the safest thing to love.

"Good morning, Milo," he said, kissing the top of his head. In response, Milo meowed quietly, and licked his nose before settling down in his arms, purring loudly. "Yes, I love you too," he laughed, quietly.

Another meow came from Milo.

"I suppose you're hungry," he said more so to himself than his cat. "Why else would you be super affectionate this early in the morning?"

"Meow,"

"Alright. Let me shower first and then we can have breakfast,"

He set Milo back down on the floor and watched the small creature dart back out into the hallway. He could hear his little paws thumping against the wood flooring as he rounded the corner and bounced into the living room, mostly likely to curl up on the couch like he usually did in the mornings. Dk shut the door with another sigh. He glanced out the window one more; the sky was a softer shade of blue now, a light orange glimmer peeking past the horizon as the sun slowly began to ascend on the world.

He then glanced at this bed, where the water continued to drip from the sheets onto the floor. He was bound to have water damage at this point, and Dk supposed he'd have to deal with that too eventually. He often wondered how Jimin did it — dealing with the dreams and the messes they created, the bruises they left behind. He was not as strong as he was. He was weaker, he would always be weak in his own mind. Perhaps he admired him in a way, to handle such things and try to live as if nothing were bothering him.

Dk slipped past his bed. He could deal with it later. Stripping himself of his wet clothing he entered the bathroom to shower off his past.

He hoped that Jimin had found peace at last.

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it's literally been a year...oops

updates on this fic will be sporadic; I'm still working on The Damnation of Park Jimin, but I'm hoping to return this fic, and several others soon