A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

18: Dead to You

The one Sister Elena had gone on a rant about in class once.

Fallen Angel.

Except his stare wasn't as intense. It was tame, almost like a glare but withholding any ounce of animosity.

He was just...staring.

Once Jimin's eyes caught the boy staring, the latter quickly turned away despite obviously being noticed. Jimin spared one last glance before ignoring the boy. Jimin cleared his throat, eyes on the blackboard for further instruction from the nuns. They were focused on something else, completely unbothered by the volume in the room, one Jimin found obnoxious.

"Psst..."

Jimin frowned, his widening eyes darting around in search for the source of the call.

"Psst..."

Jimin paused, blinking before turning to the left to be met with an awkward looking kid. His face was no longer hidden, but his body language gave off the feeling that he would've preferred to keep it that way. He was as young as Jimin, as was every other kid in that room. His hair was messy, a curl here and there protruding from the top and resting on his forehead. His thin lips twitched into an awkward smile.

"Hi," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck timidly and glancing from the ground to Jimin.

Jimin nodded, "Hello."  He offered a small smile, annoyance dissipating by the second. Jimin didn't want the lad feeling even more awkward than he did at that moment, so he offered a kind reply for consolation.

"I just got here. I don't know anyone," the kid said, smile growing naturally and teeth slowly poking out behind his thin lips.

Jimin nodded, "I've been here for a while," he shrugged.

The kid's smile fell ever so slightly, "Ah. I see. I'm sorr-"

"Not your fault. I don't really care. Been here all my life so I don't know the difference," Jimin rolled his eyes, and the lad seemed taken aback by the anger that seemed to rise from Jimin. The other quickly nodded, nervously staring at the ground.

"I'll only be here for a bit, but I hope we become good friends," the kid mumbled, a kind smile directed towards Jimin. Jimin held back from a couple of cruel words, opting to simply nod and smile back.

Everyone had been there only temporarily from the start. However, short term stays became long term and hope would diminish like sand in an hourglass. Nothing yielded from hoping to quickly be adopted, to be taken back by parents who regained custody of them, or by family members who had once made promises to take them under their wings only for those promises to be void, worthless, empty. Trust was obliterated in a fury of tears and screams of betrayal. You could beg but those pleads were rendered silent by the walls of the orphanage, where at such a young age, kids learned that the world was full of lies and false hope.

But Jimin bit his tongue, because despite the world being so cruel, he would never be as such to those also subjected to this torture.

There was a momentary silence where both boys were unsure of what to say next, but Jimin quickly stepped in, hoping to make a friend that wasn't as obnoxious as everyone else in the room.

"So...my name is Jimin," he spoke, grinning, "What's yours?"

The kid smiled back, "I like your name.

Mine's Taehyung."

It felt surreal, and extremely spontaneous—in a good way. Nothing could've prepared Jimin for the sight before him. He stood in awe, his heart dropping to his feet and eyes filling to the brim with tears. They did not flow, and through his blurry sight, Jimin took a disbelieving step forward.