IDOL | BTS 8th member

Goodbyes: Namjoon and Taehyung

December 11th, 2023

The car was quiet.

Not the comfortable kind of quiet they were used to.

No music played through the speakers. No one was scrolling through videos and laughing. 

No teasing from the backseat.

Just the low hum of the engine and the sound of tires moving over the cold December snowy streets.

Minhee sat between Jimin and Jungkook, bundled beneath her grey coat, her hands tucked loosely into her sleeves.

Neither of them had said much since they left.

Jimin sat by the window, his bucket hat pulled low over his head.

Jungkook was on her other side, dressed just as warmly, his own beanie covering the freshly shaved hair underneath.

The memory came back before she could stop it.

_________________________

Flashback

The sound was the first thing she noticed.

The steady buzzing of the clippers.

Minhee paused outside the room, her hand still resting against the doorframe.

She hadn't expected to hear that.

Actually, she hadn't expected anything.

She was just looking for him.

Jungkook had disappeared earlier without saying much, and when she asked one of the staff where he went, they simply told her he was getting something done.

Something done...

She hadn't thought much of it.

Until now.

She slowly pushed the door open.

And stopped.

For a moment, the scene in front of her didn't feel real.

Jungkook sat in the chair facing the mirror, covered in the black cape, his hair already cut.

Dark strands were scattered across the floor around him.

The hairdresser stood behind him, carefully working through the final touches, his own expression already giving away more emotion than anyone in the room was saying out loud.

Jungkook, however, seemed strangely calm.

Almost curious.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at himself from different angles in the mirror.

Running a hand through hair that was no longer there.

Testing the unfamiliar feeling.

Then as if he sensed someone was watching him, his eyes lifted.

And he saw her.

His reflection met hers.

Her long permed black hair was down, wearing an oversized blue hoodie swallowing her petite figure.

For a second, his entire expression changed.

His eyes widened.

Then a nervous laugh escaped the girl.

There was something almost adorable about his reaction.

Like he had forgotten she was going to have to see this moment too.