cracked marble • jungri

eight

"..you see, i was heading towards here, through the blackforest pathway with a companion," jungkook admits, noticing the way youngjae purses his lips when he mentions his route to the destination, almost as if he is seeing the image in his eyes, sees the tendrils of black trees that he saw just days ago. it is awfully unnerving.

"i take it that it didn't go too well," youngjae says to him almost knowingly, as if expectant. he nods in response, exhaling shakily as the past comes rushing back to attack him.

"yeah," jungkook says breathily, remembering the brief flashes of memory that linger in his head. they're fleeting and vague, but they make him feel filthy and terrible all the same. the eerie blankness in her eyes was disturbing, shook him dead when he first saw the void in her orbs-- black and empty of emotion. he felt like he was looking at death.

the wheel creaked its loudest before he fell to unconsciousness, he remembers. deafeningly loud, ringing along with faint tinkling laughs belonging to a voice he doesn't recognize.

terrifying.

then jungkook remembers more. star child, that's what they called her. a term he has never heard of before, not once in the bushes of rose vines that grow in the expanse of his mind, not once ringing a bell. the boy's brilliant, incredibly so, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out the meaning behind those two words. the vines in his head intertwine but they do not meet, only pricking at each other with their tiny thorns.

he could not understand. what does it mean?

jungkook snaps back to reality, glances at the patiently waiting youngjae, who seems as if he is contemplating. he knows this simply because he has seen his brother doing this a lot. thinking, thinking and thinking to no end, filled with endless thoughts of the infinite and of its beyond. eden lives in his brother's head, and he can see that the case is the same for youngjae.

something is different about youngjae, noticeably. the boy looks almighty, as if he knows all and sees all. wisdom is written all over his face, in the dimples of his smile and the crinkles on his skin. they're wedged between the gaps of his pearl bones but showcased so obviously, and jungkook is in absolute awe despite not being proven anything just yet.

then he finally asks the awaiting question, fiddling with his fingers nervously as he avoids eye contact, avoids meeting the boy's deep eyes, as if they are holding the secrets to all kinds of marvelous things. "youngjae-ssi. i hope you don't mind me asking, but.. what is a star child?"

youngjae blinks his eyes owlishly, tilts his head to the side as he surveys the boy with unbridled curiosity. "you do not know?"

when jungkook shakes his head, youngjae sighs, before nodding slowly. he waves his hand dismissively, and the sunlight in the room is gone, leaving them in complete darkness, save for the mosaic patterns that glow above their heads. they illuminate the room dimly, but the glow alone is enough, and youngjae pins him with a soft gaze as he carefully sits down on the cold marble, legs crossed.

"star children are quite like deities, you could say. they are immortal beings with all kinds of phenomenal abilities, and can see the future better than any normal seer in this world," youngjae explains quietly, a peaceful smile on his face. it proves to calm jungkook down easily, and he stares at the pretty boy with much fascination, getting lost in the boy's eyes. "originally, star children were not always immortal. they are born as normal mortal children, in fact."