VMIN / THE GUTTER

11

Jimin has known Kim Taehyung since he was four years old. It was their first day of school, and the younger was playing dress-up; Jimin had first seen him parading around in a yellow tutu, climbing on a desk and making a group of children giggle. Jimin, ever the astute, quiet child, had settled back, and silently seethed at the attention the younger was getting. He recalls, even now, the very first conversation they'd had, where Taehyung had told him Jimin's drawing of his recently deceased grandmother wasn't accurate. He recalls having stabbed Taehyung with a pencil that day.

Kim Taehyung was always a weird child; he was a bright, yellow, cascading sun, twirling in glorious paint splurges, against a tea-stained cesspit of antiquity, teeming with the maggots and death-eaters of reality. While everyone else was reading stories of princes and castles, he was scribbling down anecdotes of zombified entities and grey people, who suck the souls from your eye.

But, even amongst all those idiosyncrasies, Jimin always felt he had a pretty good grasp of who Kim Taehyung is. Now, looking at him from a reckless new angle, he sees flashes of a new person entirely, coming to him in flickering bangles of truth, patching themselves together to formulate one wondrous empennage. It's as if he's a myriad of persons, spread out across Jimin's vision, flickering before him like refractions from kaleidoscope.

Jimin's breaths are intense, as he stares darkly at the younger boy.

Taehyung is silent, looking almost sulky, as he effortlessly picks up the multitudes of books that are stacked all across the floor.

The lights are in perfect working order now, and Jimin can see all the empty shadows of the room, can make out every crevice of it, and he sees they're alone. It's just him, Taehyung and the disappointed librarian.

"If you pick it all up, there'll be no need for me to involve anyone else." She'd told them, as soon as they'd come across her and, needless to say, they were both inherently grateful for it. For once, it was actually Taehyung who'd managed to charm her into it — what with how much time he spends here, he'd become her favourite student, and so she was willing to look the other way. Jimin can't help but thank the heavens for it. He doesn't think he can manage another scolding from his mother.

All in all, it takes them a good two hours to clean everything up, and the librarian waits for them, mindlessly clacking at her computer.

They both apologise profusely before leaving, and there's a ticking in Jimin's fingertips, like he's itching to do something, to say something. To his surprise and mild irritation, Taehyung makes no move to say anything to him, and merely speeds his way out of the library. Of course, Jimin, still rampant with questions, runs out after him.

"Hey!" He yells, traipsing through the empty halls, gasping as he sees the other pick up the pace. "Come back!" He demands, pushing through the swinging entrance door and darting after the younger. Pacing down the stairs that lead up to the school, he sees Taehyung glance back for a moment, before he falls into a sprint, dashing away.

He makes for the woods that loom over the school, standing adjacent to it, and the crackle of leaves beneath his feet, and humidity of the hot, light air makes for the chase to become all the more tense. Though Jimin is more athletically virtuous than the blue-haired boy, he must admit Taehyung is fast, dashing around the faded brown roots, like a little splurge of blue phasing in and out of focus.

"Quit following me." He calls out suddenly, his voice like a cloud, so soft and airy, as if his soul has been shaken from his body.

Jimin, spurred on by that, speeds up and pants out, "quit fucking running." It echoes in the quiet woodland, and a squawking cacophony of ravens tear off of the trees, a crepuscular spume of feathers shaking the branches. It seems to startle Taehyung momentarily, enough for the older to catch up and get a good grasp around the back of his neck — he pulls at the scruff of his collar, as one picks up a dog, and Taehyung futilely struggles against him.