Paradise in You | sope

paradise redefined | epilogue

TEN YEARS LATER

"Right this way, Mister Jung."

His footsteps were far louder than Yoongi had imagined them to be as he followed the nurse across the hospital hallways. The place looked unrecognizable, but Yoongi hadn't been in the halls since he was a mere child, so everything could have changed without him knowing. Strangely enough, his heart thundered, and despite his best efforts to reassure Hoseok that he could handle the visit by himself, Yoongi now wished that he'd brought Hoseok along instead of making him wait in the lobby for him.

He hadn't wanted to come back to his small town. The last time that he'd been in this place had been in May of 2016, a bit after Yoongi and Hoseok had celebrated their first dance and graduation together. While Hoseok had been barred from attending St. John's prom, he had been more than welcome to attend Yoongi's prom, and so they went together. The night had been one to remember. It was Yoongi and Hoseok's first official dance together, and it was the first time that Yoongi had realized that there were many others like him who didn't care about who he was with. Namjoon had opted to go with Jimin to prom as well, and they all spent their time partying and dancing.

It had been one of the best nights of Yoongi's life.

Hoseok had graduated from St. John's with honors. They didn't let him walk the stage, but he made sure to show up anyhow, opting to run down the stage at the last minute, which stunned absolutely everyone, but it had been a complete moment of victory. After, Yoongi had graduated alongside Jimin, and he had been able to walk the stage, so he supposed he didn't miss much. Hoseok and Yoongi took their graduation pictures together, held a party to celebrate, and as luck would have it, Hoseok's mother was given an opportunity for an extremely well-paying job in Los Angeles.

She accepted it, and about three weeks later, Yoongi and Hoseok's family had all moved to the sunny, blue state of California, formally leaving everything that had hurt them in Texas. It worked out well in the end, too, as Namjoon and Jimin had decided to go to schools in California, which meant that they, too, would be heading to California very soon. Namjoon had managed to keep Jimin hidden from his family, and it wasn't until Namjoon was about to leave for California that he decided to come out to his parents with the intention of cutting them out of his life if they didn't accept him.

Surprisingly, his parents had been fine with it, going as far as apologizing for not letting him feel that he could confide in them, the complete opposite of what Namjoon had been expecting from them, considering how they had reacted to Yoongi being outed. Namjoon had introduced his parents to Jimin about a week later, and as far as Yoongi had heard, Namjoon's parents had absolutely adored Jimin.

"Yoongi, you look good."

Yoongi didn't smile at the words.

He thanked the nurse, who quickly scurried away, leaving Yoongi with his estranged father. His father was full of needles, and judging from the sickly expression on his face, Yoongi knew that his father didn't have much left to live. Strangely enough, his mother was nowhere to be found, but he thought nothing of it. It was possible his mother just didn't want to see Yoongi, and he was fine with that. If this were any other time, Yoongi would also be crying, but it had been over a decade since he'd spoken a word to his parents. He felt nothing for his father lying on his deathbed.

"You're married," Yoongi's father said, eyeing the gold band on Yoongi's ring finger. Yoongi grimaced but nodded. "To who?"

"Hoseok."

The brief pain in Yoongi's father's eyes was one that was fleeting but one that Yoongi noticed all the same.

Hoseok had kept his promise about marrying Yoongi, though not everything in their relationship had been easy. They'd gone off to college, and that's when Yoongi had started feeling the pressures of being labeled gay. Suddenly, he'd been surrounded by people who were incredibly comfortable with their label, who dressed a certain way, and who made Yoongi feel like he had to prove himself as someone who was gay. It had caused rifts in Hoseok and his relationship, mostly due to Yoongi's insecurities, but just like always, Hoseok had been patient. They'd had regular fights, as all couples did, and sometimes Yoongi feared that Hoseok would find someone better than him, but Hoseok had always been there to remind him that he didn't want perfect.