As night fell, the blue haze of day lifted to reveal the innumerable stars. Through the moonless night came the rhythmic pounding of the waves and a cool breeze occasionally moving gently over their skin, flicking the tiniest grains of sand into their semi-closed eyes.
"Jimin-ah, I messed up everything, didn't I?" Taehyung scoffed, grunting and running both of his hands down his face. Although it was secured under the dark veil Jimin could see his face muscles loosened down almost impassively.
A silence followed, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.
"No, Taehyung. You did what you felt right at the moment. There's no fault of yours." Jimin took a glimpse at the side through the corner of his eye.
"But she will hate me. I bet she already does."
Jimin involuntarily released a sigh as he crisscrossed his fingers over both of his kneecaps. "You know her, she may be upset right now but her anger is just like a burning candle, it will melt away eventually."
"I know she will grasp that what you've done was only for our sake."
Jimin squeezed his tense shoulders as his eyes seized close in assurance. "So stop estimating about weird thoughts, and don't bother yourself much. Just give her some time. She will surely understand."
"She will."
"I hope so."
"By the way, I know it's neither the right time nor the place for this but only if you don't mind, can I share with you something?" Jimin caused Taehyung to retract out of his thoughts as he was now facing him.
"Sure."
"But I'm afraid if you're comfortable with this right now."
"No, Never mind," With the last thought, Jimin turned away his gaze up to the gloomy sky.
"You know, you have to tell me now. Trust me, I'll be okay with that. Tell me, what is it?" Taehyung placed his palm on the latter's thigh.
"Actually, it's about Moon..." Jimin trailed off with a hint of hesitancy in his voice. His eyes traveled around as if trying to focus on one thing. The campfire crackled from behind, silhouette from the flames casting over both of their backs.
"I thought long and hard about it. And the conclusion I came to is this."
"I like her." That was it and Taehyung's soul suddenly felt fragile. He wasn't sure if it was just the deception of his eyes, or his palm was really sweating and trembling a-little.
"Just like I did for all those past years. No, even more than that. I like her a lot." A pink blush already crept up to his cheeks as he fiddled with his fingers.
Taehyung's heart was complicated with thousands of emotions once again as if a smooshed ice-cream melting on a hot road.
"My feelings for her keep inflating my heart and it feels like it could burst at any second."
"I can't help it anymore so I'm planning to tell her soon."
"Keep it a secret for now though, okay?"
Why couldn't you keep it a secret from me too? Taehyung was already in transition to become the person he never wanted to be.
And now whether he wanted or not but he became one, all he could do was sticking to his determination to take great care not to damage the bonds of friendship, love, relationships, and people who were everything to his heart and soul. Letting go was how he could rescue their souls, and his', from the abyss.
"Don't worry, Jimin-ah! I told you, you can always count on me. I won't spoil anything to anyone. I wish you both well." His voice came small as a teardrop rolled by his cheek and for the first time he was in the solace that his face was covered because he feared that he would not be able to hide his vulnerable self well if it was not.
"I knew it! I knew you would always understand me. I'm glad that I discussed this with you first." Jimin's eyes smiled into crescents as he pulled Taehyung into a grateful hug.
I wish you've never discussed this with me.
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Moon and Bee sat next to each other on a thick wooden log that laid along the riverside as they admired the calm midnight view. In whistles and sighs, in roars and silence, it was both lyric and song.
Moon's eyes were halfway closed as she felt the chilly wind blow her hair into a tousled mane and she didn't give a damn about it. For the first time since entering this magical world, she felt cold, not only physically but emotionally also.
"Why did he do that?" Those were the first words that slipped out of Moon's tongue as she stared into nothingness as if running out of expressions.
"I-I don't know. But—"
Bee didn't get a chance to complete her sentence when Moon cut her short, without realizingly throwing the pebble in her hand into the river, causing the eddies to form in impressionist curls. "But?"
"But what? An innocent person lost his life, Bee and I couldn't do anything, we couldn't do anything! Why? Just because Taehyung refused to? Just because 'he' didn't want to?!"
"How is it fair?!"
Bee was left with no words, she swore she could feel the fury just by looking at her exposed eyes and all she could do was to shrink her head in despair.
Moon paused with a loud gasp when she realized that the ice spikes were rising from her palms, her irises matching with them.
"He's not only the one to blame, we all are equally at fault. Only if we didn't become a little selfish, that person could've been saved. We're sorry, Moon." Complete misery was evident in Bee's features, her voice was shallow.
Lack of response from Moon was enough to confirm the fact that she was admitting all she just said.
Still, Moon couldn't help but let it all out. "Why he had to do that? Why he had to make me think of him like that? Why he had to make me regret and think about my feelings for him twice? When I thought of him as the coolest person ever. When I respected him so much. When I thought he could do anything but not wrong to anyone. When I loved him with all my heart—"
Bee was already aware of this somewhere, still, she looked alarmed since Moon's voice was cracking and she sounded very close to tears. She herself was well conscious of that as well.
"Don't you dare change your opinions about him, he's the same Taehyung you knew, he's the same Taehyung you respected, he's the same Taehyung you'd spent your most of the time with, he's the same Taehyung you loved. He just might've had some reasons. And I'm sure you'll continue all your true feelings for him in the present and future too, yeah?"
"Because I'll make sure to beat your ass if you don't."
Moon released a deep chuckle snapping out of her somber state. There was a comforting tranquility until Bee opened her arms, beckoning for a hug.
"Come here."
No more words were needed as Bee engulfed her in her arms as she cried into her shoulder softly.
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It didn't feel that long when the night had already descended from dusk to the fresh and bright rays of dawn. Earth's star had bloomed on the horizon, golden petals stretching ever outwards into the rich blue as if it had missed the sky and wanted nothing more than to warm up those blues to a radiant gold.
The leaves shimmered like a mirror flecked mosaic and the morning dew sparklingly caressed the land and soft light ignited the birds into a chorus of melodies.
Jimin felt refreshed as he washed his face and hair with the cold river water, sitting near the campsite, he scanned the area.
Namjoon was lying next to the went-out fire, his posture calm and composed even while snoring off.
The oldest and youngest seemed nothing but uncomfortable. They looked as if they were bickering in their sleep too. Jungkook's leg was at Jin's chest and Jin's hand was in Jungkook's hair.
How can they even sleep like this, idiots, Jimin mumbled to himself, then carefully chuckling, not to disturb anyone up.
Bee and Hoseok were nearly hugging each other, her hair securing half of his face, yet the fire power bearer wasn't bothered by it at all. Jimin watched with a small smile as his heart melted at the sight.
After taking a brief glance at Taehyung, he reminded of the conversation they had last night, how stressed he looked even in sleep as his brows were scrunching slightly upwards.
As Jimin's eyes wandered to the other side, he couldn't help himself but to giggle when he spotted Yoongi, his eyes were out of focus, his hair pointed out in every possible direction, he looked as if he was away from all worldly attachments.
Gosh, I wish I had a camera with me.
Then his gaze fell and just stayed there at the person he admired with the deepest feeling. How she hugged herself tightly, making him want to embrace her immediately and provide her some warmth. How her perfect lips were agape ever so little, a slight shift in her position making her long hair fall on her cheeks and forehead, with minutely arched eyebrows peeking in between as if purposely teasing him.
After taking care of their businesses, the nine were just preparing to leave the place when they were startlingly surrounded by a hoard of people, their horses stood tall and majestic.
"I've heard about you mysterious masked people," One of the men glad in general's clothing spoke, his tone stern and a sort of mocking.
"His highness has wished to meet all of you, in person."
Author's Note:
Hello guys! I apologize for another late update, my schedule has really been demanding off a lot lately. I just want to say take of your health, and be happy, cause that's what all matters. Thank you for reading, hope you like it.
Have a great day ahead! Purple you 💜💜💜