⚘S M E R A L D O⚘ *BTS ff* <NamJin>

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Man in the mirror

Namjoon quickly got dressed for the upcoming events of the day.

Every 3 months, or 4 times a year, he goes into the town to...greet? the people of his kingdom. Maybe greet isn't the right word, but Namjoon does in fact have to interact, to an extent, with his towns people while there.

Waiting for the last piece to his ensemble to be brought to him, his eyes caught the glimpse of the only used mirror in his entire castle. It was flipped backwards so he didn't have to see himself by mistake. Standing up, Namjoon slowly turned the mirror around. Before, he used to do this weekly, or every other day, to remind himself why he has to do these things. Why he has to hide his face, why he has to lock himself away in his castle. Usually after seeing what lies beneath the thin piece of glass that was his mask, remembrance would solemnly wash over him.

But now, now was different. He hasn't seen his face in years, and to his dismay, it's only gotten worse. At the sight of this, this...monstrosity, Namjoon got this weird feeling in his stomach. A feeling like all your intestines are being twisted together in a tight knot, that can't be undone. Before his feelings could get any worse, his thoughts were interrupted by the voice of one of his servants.

"The carriage is he-" Jimin paused in his tracks as he realized what he was witnessing just now. Unconsciously, his tiny fingers began to slip from the cold glass he was carrying. His voice and the sound of the mask meeting the floor, caught Namjoon's attention.

"Sorry! It was an accident! I swear it was turned awa-"
"It's okay. I turned it myself." Namjoon cut in.

This caused the younger to slowly recollect himself. "Wait, you did?" Jimin asked, wanting to be sure of what he heard.
"Yes. I noticed a bit of dust starting to form. And I needed a bit of a uhm, reminder..." Namjoon said trailing off.

A reminder? Jimin thought to himself. Not long after realizing what the elder meant, he tried to comfort him.
"Namjoon-ie hyung, everything's going to be fi-"

"Just save it, weren't you telling me something, anyway?" Namjoon asked, changing the subject.

Jimin slightly frowned. He knew that he couldn't persuade Namjoon's mind with his words,
he never could, but before he'd at least hear him out.

"I was letting you know that the carriage is here, and that I brought your-" both their eyes peeked at the
floor to see the mask with a fairly sized piece cracked from it.

Namjoon picked up the now broken piece of glass and tied the string connected to the mask around his head.
"It's fine Jimin, it was an accident. This'll just have to do." The missing piece was noticeable, but to the emperor it just added more to his mysterious-ness, I guess you could call it.