you'll be mine || vmon

what,

The late August air hung humid and heavy around Namjoon's skin as he walked, beads of sweat rolling down his face with each step he took up the incline of the hill he had walked up at least a hundred times before. The sun was nearing the horizon, but heat still remained in the air, so it was hardly any cooler than it was at noon. His shoes definitely weren't designed for all these hours of non-stop walking, despite his love of taking strolls around the city, their sides beginning to dig into his feet.

He wouldn't give a single bit of it up for anything.

The summer was drawing to an end, and each day he had to spend more time studying in preparation for the school year. He dreaded the start of it, knowing he'd hardly get any sleep, instead sacrificing most of his time to endless revision for just a chance to get into SKY.

These moments were his favorites. They had always been.

Today, it was just him and Taehyung roaming the city alone, since Yoongi was stuck at home, already caught up in extra study materials. Namjoon knew it would only be a matter of days before he was in the exact same place.

So he cherished every last second, embracing all the little things that occasionally annoyed him. It was likely the last true day of their last true summer together, where they were still young and mostly free.

Despite the bit of melancholy, it was also one of the best days Namjoon had had in a long time. Ever since the morning they had been walking, not going anywhere in particular, merely enjoying where they were along the way and stopping wherever they felt was interesting enough, and stuffed themselves with street food and their favorite kimbap.

It was the perfect end to the summer, if there had to be one.

As they passed by an alleyway whose sides were covered in worn-down advertising flyers, a brown tabby cat ran past them, strides nimble and quick, gone past them in a few seconds. "Wonder where it's going," Taehyung remarked, stopping at the entrance and looking inside.

"Why don't you follow it and check?" Namjoon joked, but a smile grew on Taehyung's face, the one that always appeared when he was going to do something he knew was both fun and stupid.

"Good idea,"

Turning on his heel, Taehyung headed into the alley, and the last thing Namjoon saw of him was his mischievous smile. He considered, for a moment, stopping him, but had already dismissed the idea by the time Taehyung turned a corner towards the middle of the pathway, following the cat's movement.

It was still light out, Taehyung always did things like this, and they had been in this part of the city many times before. There was nothing wrong with a bit of innocent fun, even if the cat things had originally been a mindless wisecrack.

Namjoon stood at the edge of the alley and waited, wondering whether Taehyung would exit triumphantly with the cat in his arms or if he would come back alone and disappointed.

And he waited.

After a bit, he began tapping his foot up and down in a rhythm, counting the seconds to keep track of time. Taehyung wouldn't be much longer. Maybe Namjoon would scold him for getting him all worried, though, because he was getting a bit uneasy.

By the time he reached 300 seconds, the uneasiness magnified. A heavy dread poked at the edge of his mind, insisting that something was wrong.

He tried to tell himself that Taehyung had merely gotten caught up in his search for the cat, and nothing was wrong, and his friend was just being silly, and then walked into the alley with a brisk pace, hoping that he was right. Regardless of what he told himself, the feeling never got better.