A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

26: Ugly Duckling

An astonished Mara gaped at the variety of fruits and vegetables that Jin had been successfully growing. The herbs added the finishing touch to Jin's attentiveness and prioritizations. He seemed to be knowledgeable on the basic and even the complicated essentials. Mara admired his work, and she now fully understood why the greenhouse was his pride and joy.

"I've always wanted a bee colony but I have no idea how or where I would get one," Jin sighed, "But I digress. I guess I'm just a bit too ambitious," he smiled.

"I have a lot of respect for you," Mara commented, "It must've been long and hard work."

Jin shrugged sheepishly, "It was, but I loved the anticipation. It was the process of seeing something I gave love to grow and return the favor."

Very sweet way of seeing it, Mara thought.

"I lived off of mango trees for a bit. I kept the centers with the naive hope of planting the seeds someday," Mara airily reminisced.

"A mango tree? That sounds delicious," Jin sighed dreamily.

"It really was..." Mara mumbled.

"Was?"

Mara nodded, growing a bit somber, "Yeah...all of my efforts to preserve the tree went out the window."

"Oh..." Jin studied Mara's far away gaze, "I see."

Mara watched as Jin proceeded to tend to the budding strawberry flowers distractedly. She thought back to how much she had admired and relied on that tree, and how horrified she was to find it destroyed into an unrecognizable mess. The girl wondered why other people were gifted more luck than others, and why life was so opposed to her happiness.

Was Jin a better person than her?

Was Namjoon a better person than her?

Jin glanced at Mara, doing a double take when catching her staring. He offered a kind smile, and Mara caught the twinkle in his eyes that made the gesture all the more genuine. She couldn't believe she'd just questioned his intentions. However, she was an envious girl.

Maybe it's because I crave something they abundantly have.

Company.

Safety.

Friendship.

She replayed the words spoken during the meeting, questioning if they were truly friends or people willing to coexist to save themselves.

"With every battle comes relief. It's a package deal. You don't get one without the other," Jin softly spoke.

Mara did not feel reassured after her previous conflict— she received not a single drop peace. The only reassurance she got was from seeing Jimin alive and thriving. The girl grew frustrated, wondering when she would find that light at the end of the tunnel for her—and her only.

"Yeah," she whispered, "I hope things work themselves out. I'm really tired."

"You're still a kid, and I don't blame you for wanting a break from all the stress of fending for yourself," Jin reassured, beginning to trim and cut leaves from his herbs.