The Afterlife

21) The Sky, the Sea, and Us

"What are we waiting for, exactly?" Sihyeon had never been on a plane before; although she could remember Wooshik offering to take her some of the places he used to go once or twice, she just could not bring herself to leave the grounds where she knew her family whole sat, and so she was all about home and home alone.

"Umm, Jimin?" Naeun snorted from beside her, for she knew too well Sihyeon had not forgotten about Jimin's existence, if not because her kid literally lived in the man's house almost everyday, then sure because she had only asked the same question ten minutes ago.

"And, may I ask," Sihyeon drew a full smile, cheeks and all, but one too obviouslt blank and forced, "where the f-"

"Sihyeon," Sihyeon heard her mother hiss from behind, trying her best to cover Siwoo's ears when the words almost made close amends with them; it was useless, but she held him all the same.

"I was not going to say it?" Sihyeon shook her head defensively before she turned back immediately to Naeun, who then held a smile as forced as Sihyeon's, trying to match whichever act the younger was trying to put, "where is your husband, Son Naeun?"

"Oh, would you look at that," Naeun's face lit up genuinely this time, eyes hurriedly picking the pace of the newest feet to join them from behind; when Sihyeon turned, it was the very husband she was asking about walking their way, "right on time."

"Yeah, time to slit his th-"

"Dear God," Sihyeon's mother spoke again, and her voice went louder for naught but to stop Sihyeon again, this time wholly pulling Siwoo behind her before his mother would draw an entirety of her paintings to his eyes, "how does he ever live with you?"

"Park Jimin," Sihyeon took a step before Yun, totally setting her comments to the side in favor of taking in the oblivious sight of Naeun's husband; she put on the same smile again, "perhaps you could tell me, what is the time?"

"You are effortlessly scary - I give you that," Jimin nodded in the process of putting down his handbag; he looked around as if to count the people, but Sihyeon knew it was only an act to avoid looking at her, and she would have not given him a choice about it had time been a little more on their side.

Sihyeon was scary, indeed, but Jimin only pretended to be scared of her, for he knew for too long then who she truly was, and he had seen what name she held, what tag she brought along wherever she went but hid beneath her rigid facade, so it was easy to feign submission to said facade, and way easier to know she was far calmer than she had ever been before.

Sihyeon was scary, but she was not the monster that hid beneath Siwoo's bed, or Jaewook who visited Naeun every now and then in her dreams; she was not the abandonment Jimin feared, the darkness that clung to Taehyung's soul, nor the hands that pried on Jungkook's whole. She was scary, but she was the last they all feared.

True to that, Taehyung paid her glaring eyes no heed when the wheels of the plane caught speed, and his eyes glued shut the moment everything started to pace past them.

"Holy f-" his hand caught Jungkook's unconsciously, tightly holding the boy's hands like they were his means to safe grounds, like he woud land back to earth if they held each other like that, but he did hear Jungkook's uncontrollable laughter beside him, and he did genuinely mind it, so he hissed, "Jungkook."

"I am sorry," The younger boy still laughed wholeheartedly, keeling his other free hand to hold his abdomen where the laughter sat heavy, and he sniffed back the tears that sat on the brim of his eyes when joy squeezed itself past his lids, "you really should see yourself."

"He would if he opens his eyes," Yeonjun peaked from the seat right in front of them, and joined Jungkook in the fit of laughter when the llan finally lifted its peak, and Taehyung took what seemed be the last of his breaths, a loud gasp to which the rest of the seats pointed at with their eyes.