Facade - BTS Superhero AU

Chapter 15 - Chances New and Old

Song of the Day:
Awake - Jin 🌸💜
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Violence warning for this chapter

...

(I'm sorry)

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   Seongmin loved January snow.

She couldn't explain what it was that made snow in January so appealing to her. Maybe it was that it was a new year, so everything about the world seemed fresh and alive. There wasn't even a lot of snow on the ground, just a little dusting, but it sparkled in the early morning sun as she and Jin walked down the street together.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Seongmin said, smiling up at Jin as they walked.

He smiled back. "Yeah, it really is."

The two had been walking together for what felt like hours, taking a long walk around the city before heading back to Jin's car. They were both warm from the air of Hoseok's cafe and the coffee they had gotten there, and the chilly winter air wasn't bothering Seongmin a bit, even with a small breeze blowing.

A splash of color caught Seongmin's eye. Beautiful decorations to celebrate Seollal were being hung around the streets, and the bright red and gold of lanterns along with other colors of banners and flags contrasted sharply with the sparkling white snow. Jin saw the decorations as well, and the two chatted about the upcoming celebration as they walked along the street.

A particularly bright color splash drew Seongmin's attentional bit further down the street. She noticed it was a bouquet of beautiful pink and yellow flowers, and smiled for a moment.

Then she realized that the flowers were at the base of a post, and a woman's picture was hung up on the side of it above the flowers. She was beautiful, with long, silky black hair that looked almost blue in the light, round dark eyes crinkled up in a smile, and dimpled cheeks. A rosy pink color dusted her cheekbones, making her look like a porcelain doll.

The thing that unnerved Seongmin wasn't the picture, however, but the name and dates written underneath it.

Lee Daeyang
1992-2017

This was a memorial. The beautiful girl in the picture had lost her life here.

"That's so sad," Seongmin started, turning to Jin again, only to stop short at the look on his face. He looked like he was fighting tears just looking at the picture.

"Whoa, Jin, you okay?"

Jin took a deep breath. "I think it's about time I tell you my backstory, Seongmin."

"Backstory? You... knew her?"

Tears pooled in Jin's dark eyes. "Yeah, I knew her. Daeyang was my best friend until she died."

"Oh my God," Seongmin said softly. "Are you sure you want to talk about this?"

Jin hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah. I want to tell you, you should know why I am the way I am sometimes. Why I get sad."

Seongmin placed a hand on Jin's shoulder, guiding him to a nearby bench. "Let's sit here. You can tell me while we're sitting down, at least."

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Alright. Here goes nothing."

"I'm here for you, remember that, okay?"

Jin looked up at Seongmin gratefully. "Thank you, Seongmin. That means everything to me. Now, you saw the dates. It happened in 2017. September 25th. That day is burned into my memory forever."