Only with time...
Only with time did he realize that not everything was rosy. When you live in a small town, it is impossible to keep a secret, everyone's life is exposed for others to examine. Yoongi noticed that people no longer seemed so happy with what fate had brought them, that they were looking elsewhere for what their soul mate was supposed to offer them; homemakers used their free time to criticize those who dared to love another person without having met their soul mate, and turned their backs on those people who, although they knew her, went on with their lives as if nothing had happened.
The older ones gathered in the afternoon at the park, reminiscing about stories from when they were younger while watching their grandchildren play. Sometimes they said nothing, but other times, they wondered where the world was going to end up if young people kept going against what the gems told them to do. They weren't as sadistic in their criticism as homemakers, maybe they were in their time, but now they resigned themselves to the events, to the life of this century, and had a little hope that everything would end well.
Because of this, and many other things, Yoongi stopped paying attention to soulmates. Before he spent his time looking at his gem, hoping that it would shine every time he left home and went to a new place, he had the hope and the illusion of finding his other half. Sometimes he would meet someone with whom he shared likes and opinions, and he couldn't help but think that it would have been great if that person was the one for him. But just as quickly as he thought it, he dismissed it, for it was his gem that would tell him who the person was destined for him. After a long time with no results, he ended up giving up and resigned himself to waiting for the sign of his gem.
For the first time in his life, he didn't want to see that sign. No matter how much Jin and Namjoon told him otherwise when you meet a person, you also know their problems. And it would be understandable if someone didn't want to be with him because of this. If he was sincere, he wouldn't want it for himself either. It was no longer just because of the depression he had had, but because of these strange shadows that he kept seeing repeatedly, that harassed and tormented him.
"Don't think twice, Hyung," Namjoon said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You don't know your soulmate yet, so you can't know how they can react. It only remains to wait and not think of the worst. Let things take their course. "
Yoongi nodded slightly and then got up from the chair, rattling his joints as he stretched.
"Alright guys, thanks a lot for the chat. It wasn't as disastrous as I had imagined, but you have drained the energy that I had left, so if you'll excuse me ..."
Yoongi went through the gap between the two armchairs and headed towards the front door, thinking that his friends were following him to see him off.
"Where are you going?"
At the question, Yoongi stopped and turned around, finding his friends still on the couch and looking at him with a frown.
"To my house." He said jerking his thumb towards the door to give more emphasis to his answer.
"I don't think so, young man, you're going to spend the night here. It's too late to go back and you need to rest, something that in your apartment has proven to be mission impossible." Jin said as he got up and went to the room he shared with his boyfriend.
"Guys, no need, really, I don't want to intrude ..." Yoongi started, only to be silenced by Jin's gaze.
"You are never a bother." He sentenced as he returned to the room. After a few moments, he came out in pyjamas (which were clearly from Namjoon) and a beige towel. "Besides, that floor is probably haunted or something like that. It would be a sin to let you go back to that place."
Yoongi looked at Namjoon, who only shrugged with a small smile of resignation. After that Yoongi, at Jin's order and command, went to the bathroom to shower, taking pyjamas and underwear with him while they prepared the guest room.
Once inside the bathroom, Yoongi calmly took off his clothes; he was tired, not only from work and the subsequent meeting but also from the conversation he had had with the boys a few minutes ago. Once again, he was grateful to have them in his life, and that they wanted to continue in it. Once in the shower, he removed all the dirt and sweat that had accumulated throughout the day. A bubble bath would have been the best solution for a day like this, but there was no such thing here and he was not at home either, so a simple hot shower was more than enough.
After finishing, he dried his entire body, then put special interest in his hair and remove as much moisture as possible. Then he dressed in the pyjamas that had been left for him, which were a very light blue colour and quite soft material. Before leaving the bathroom, he gathered up the dirty clothes to put them in the backpack he had brought with him and went to the guest room, where Jin and Namjoon were waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him.
They are not thinking of continuing the conversation, are they? Yoongi thought as he put the clothes in the backpack which his friends had put on the floor, right next to the nightstand.
At that moment, Jin clarified his doubts at once with a question that took him by surprise.
"Hey, Yoongi. How about you stay here for a couple of days?"
Yoongi had finished zipping the backpack when Jin finished his question. He got up slowly and looked at the couple somewhat confused, not really understanding what the proposition was about.
"We were thinking that ... Well, rather we have concluded that since the shadows only seem to haunt you when you are at home, not even at work or other places, maybe it would be a good idea to change the environment. I don't think the theory that it's haunted, as Jin Hyung puts it, is plausible, but it may to some extent be having a negative influence on you. We don't know why this is happening, but we think it would be a good idea for you to spend a few days away, to test and rule out possibilities." Namjoon explained.
Yoongi made an O with his lips, although no sound came out of it; he was still processing what Namjoon had said. In fact, he now realized that this time, unlike the first, the shadows seemed to appear when he was alone at home. They didn't even show up when he was sitting alone in the hallway waiting for Namjoon. He really didn't know if shadows worked that way and only appeared when he was at home, but just like Namjoon had said, it was a matter of testing and ruling out possibilities. If there was one thing that Yoongi appreciated in this life, it was sleep; Maybe some nights he was awake because of inspiration, but still the rest of the days he could fall asleep in a matter of seconds and fall asleep for as long as necessary. Since the shadows, everything had turned into chaos and he hadn't had a single breath to enjoy a proper night's rest. He was tired of being tired. If the solution was what Namjoon proposed, there was nothing to lose by trying.
"I don't know if this plan is going to work, but it's worth a try if it's going to allow me to sleep through the night," Yoongi said.
"Of course you do, you'll see that you're going to sleep like a baby," Jin assured him as he patted the mattress. "You won't want to get out of here when it's daylight."
"I didn't plan to do it."
Jin responded with a smile of his own, the kind that made the room brighter than it really was.
"Then we will let you settle in and rest. Tomorrow we'll stop by your house so you can pick up a few things while Jin Hyung is at work." Namjoon said as he got up from the bed, followed by Jin.
After saying good night, the two of them left the room, closing the door gently. Yoongi stayed in the same position for a few moments, standing and observing the room, absorbing every detail. It differed totally from his, in that it was more spacious and orderly; the light tones and lighting gave a feeling of relaxation and comfort in which he wanted to lose himself.
He closed his eyes, savouring the moment of peace he had just in case this plan didn't work out and he had to stay up all night like an owl. For everything that had happened to him these past few days, it was almost strange and surreal that today had passed without a hitch. He wasn't complaining at all, but it was strange that he had been talking about the shadows and that they hadn't appeared all day. Yoongi came to think that perhaps the shadows appeared only when he was at home, or alone, or alone at home. He didn't know and he didn't want to find out, he wanted to get a full night's sleep without even having to wake up to go to the bathroom.
After organizing the few belongings that he had with him for the moment, he left the room to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and incidentally leave the towel in the bathroom. On the way back, he tried not to make too much noise, not sure if the others were asleep or not. His sense of direction in the dark was quite remarkable, besides the fact that he had already slept a few nights, all of them because he had no choice.
When you go out to party with your friends and the driver, usually Jin, he ends up drinking, you have no choice but to replace him and take them all home, because according to Jin "the streets are very dark at night, Yoongi, and no I want nothing bad to happen to my children." The reasoning was very good, but it was a pain in the ass not to drink a drop of alcohol when he was supposed to go out to do just that. So with that as a survival experience - because it was hard to outlive your friends, and even more so if they had drunk - it was easy to navigate your friends' apartment in the dark, almost as easy as your own home.
Still, he tried to do it carefully and trying not to trip over anything. Already being near his room, he heard voices. They were more than whispers, more like murmurs, but he couldn't understand what they were saying, even though he knew they were close. For a moment he thought the shadows were making their appearance again; in fact, in his panic, he turned around to see if he could see any. Quite stupid, considering that it was quite challenging to see something in the dark without a light source. After seeing nothing, he dismissed the idea and thought that it would probably be Jin and Namjoon, talking in his room.
After taking a couple of steps towards his room, which was right next to it, he could see that the door to the couple's room was a little ajar, not enough to see inside, but enough so that a small beam of light illuminated the corridor and their conversation could be heard. At this point, it was easier to discern what they were saying, but Yoongi was not one of those who stayed to listen to the conversations of others, at least not consciously. He liked his privacy, as did the others, so he started backing silently into his room, stopping short when he heard his name mentioned.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened to Yoongi." It was Jin who spoke.
This story belongs to @nometoloko on AO3. I'm just her translator.
This is where I must take my leave, folks. Hope you liked the chap.