Paradise in You | sope

paradise lived | one

Sexuality was never something to discover.

It just was.

Sexuality was something as instinctive as the oxygen humans breathed into their lungs, as natural as a baby's wail when it takes its first breath. It was an expectation; one meant to uphold and wear proudly on the vest of your sleeve— just as long you were showcasing the proper sexuality.

For Yoongi Min, the proper sexuality to be was heterosexual.

From the moment his eyes first opened under the fluorescent hospital lights, it had already been decided who he was going to be. Not only was he to be a son, but as a male, he was meant to continue the family bloodline, marry a fine young lady one day, settle down, have children of his own before growing old, and eventually, passing away.

None of it bothered Yoongi in the slightest. It didn't matter to him that his family had raised him with the expectation that he was heterosexual because that was considered normal. It was the norm to be straight, to be attracted romantically and spiritually to the opposite sex. Nowhere in Yoongi's life could he say that the label bothered him— it was easier on him for everyone to assume that he was straight.

There were no repercussions for who Yoongi could like romantically because Yoongi knew that everyone would just assume that he liked another girl. That's just the way things were. Yoongi felt no loss— no strip of his identity because never once in his life had he liked a boy, so it must have meant that he was straight.

How could he be something other than straight?

It was an unfathomable thought.

Yoongi had everything. A supportive family, supportive friends, stellar grades— he was St. Johns Catholic High's Golden Boy, the one everyone was both in awe and jealous of. Why wouldn't they be? If Yoongi were them, he'd be jealous of himself too. Now in his senior year, on track to solidifying the valedictorian merit and preparing himself for his highly anticipated college acceptances, Yoongi knew he was all set. All that he needed now was to draft his final plans— prepare himself for all the college acceptances he would no doubt receive, then choose where he'd spend the next four years of his life.

Unfortunately, it was only September, and he still had a long way to go until he'd finally be able to walk across the stage.

"I'm sure you've all heard the news."

Yoongi looked up from his assignment, as did most of his class, who turned to look at their teacher, Mrs. Ro, Who had a grave expression on her face. It wasn't often that Mrs. Ro Held herself in the manner that she was currently at, so everyone knew that something was going on that was making her feel such solemnity.

"Our most esteemed Supreme Court not only agreed to hear the Obergefell versus Hodges case but a decision was given back in June," she began, clearing her throat ever so slightly. "For those who are unaware of what this means, it means that our rights to marriage are being threatened. Everything that God dictates is being questioned right now."

Gasps broke out at the news, though Yoongi wasn't the least bit surprised. His family had been on top of the Supreme Court case proceedings, and most of his family ended up traveling to Washington D.C to protest against it. Yoongi had landed himself a summer internship in Southern California, so he hadn't witnessed the landmark decision that his parents had, but he could still remember how disappointed his parents were and the outrage that his local church had sparked.

June 26, 2015.

The day that flipped the United States upside down.

The day that marriage between two of the same gender had officially become legal.