Stranger | Jikook/Kookmin

40 | Last String of Fate

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In the Fall of the new academic year, Gidae is a scenic landscape. The city blooms like a beautyberry. Golds and browns from the leaves paint its humble streets, the smell of fresh rainfall streams its hiking trails. Starting from August, it wakes up from its siesta and flourishes with book fairs, traditional street food expos, historical drama shootings and firefly festivals. Not only are the students welcomed into another exciting year, but the residents get eager about their thriving communities and businesses.

This weekend, a van parts from the clamor of the city to the plains of the rural town. The distance from Gidae city to Gegu village is nearly an hour, and they are nearly fifteen minutes away from the old nameplate that defines the entrance of the village. The closer they get to familiar surroundings, the more the van stirs due to rocky roads, but mostly because of Byeong won't stop jumping up and down on Jungkook's lap.

"We are going to hawaboji's home!" he sing songs endlessly, dancing like the man himself will welcome him. Maybe for the sake of his precious heart the past will visit the present, memories will kindle from their ashes and surround them with warmth, thank them for being loyal, for remembering, for never forgetting.

They are visiting the cemetery today. 

Jimin decided to travel with aunt Yumi that weekend since she regularly visits her husband's grave at the old cemetery in the village, and use the opportunity to send his prayers to his own grandparents, water the flowers of their tombs. When Taehyung heard about it, he joined the trip too, as he shares the same family with Jimin being first-generation cousins. Unsure of whether it was his place to butt in, Jungkook requested to come with them and he is so grateful that they welcomed him happily.

"Does anybody from the village know that we are visiting?" Jimin asks as he turns the wheel, trying to escape from a cavity on the road. They all jump a little bit and Jimin apologizes with a smile.

"I told Miran's eomma," aunt Yumi says, swallowing a piece of her tangerine and passing the rest to Taehyung who accepts it happily. "She probably told the others. Do you have plans for the night? It would be nice to see them for a few hours after the cemetery visit."

"I'm free for the weekend," Jimin shrugs. "Taehyung-ah, do you have schedule today?"

"I'm good," Taehyung exclaims, watching the greenhouses from the window as they advance to populated areas of the village. "Jungkookie?"

With Jimin's eyes on him, Jungkook leans his head back on the passenger seat, passing Jimin a sheepish grin.

"My place is your side, Mimmi."

As his boyfriend erupts into flustered smiles and teasing words of their romance echo from the back of the van, Jungkook finds himself giggling and burying his face on Byeong's soft hair. 

They have just marked a month into the new academic year, and the lack of material explains the great amount of time they spend together, but Jungkook is faithful in their future now. They have managed their long-distance relationship incredibly well over the summer, considering the circumstances. They set some common times to check-in and both parties both parties would show up, Jungkook would send Jimin videos from his trip every day and Jimin would send Jungkook cute videos with Byeong in them, they would try to have at least a meal together once a week and other times Jimin would randomly call and... tell Jungkook how much he missed him.

Specifically that. 

Between the two of them, Jimin seemed to have the hardest time making the distance relationship thing work. 

Jungkook did pull all-nighters a couple times because Jimin didn't look okay enough to hang up so soon. He is not sure whether there were some background problems because he didn't want to push Jimin into telling him anything he wasn't ready for, but Jimin was happy with Jungkook confessing to him over and over again, kissing the screen and flirting with him to the point that he would be blushing too much to even appear on camera.