Dreambound Shadows

Chapter 8: The Last Embrace

The room was cloaked in a gentle, golden twilight, the dim light casting elongated shadows that danced across the walls. A soft, nostalgic warmth enveloped Jimin and Aera, a poignant echo of moments long past. Jimin, his eyes fixed on the darkened expanse before them, broke the silence with a whisper, his voice tender and heavy with unspoken emotion.

“Aera…”

Aera turned her face towards him, her eyes filled with a mix of hope and trepidation. She waited for him to look back, to offer some form of reassurance. But Jimin remained steadfastly focused on the distance, his words carrying a heaviness that seemed to press down upon her.

“Do you remember this place?” Jimin’s voice was almost a murmur, laden with the nostalgia of their shared history. The room around them was more than just a physical space; it was where their souls had first intertwined, where their love had blossomed under the soft glow of the moonlight.

Aera’s response was silence, the question hung in the air like a haunting melody. Aera’s face fell, her expression clouded with sadness. She knew the direction this conversation was taking, and it was a path she dreaded. Jimin’s words were a bittersweet reminder of the inevitable changes they were facing.

When Jimin noticed her quiet contemplation, he turned to her, but before their gazes could meet, Aera had already averted her eyes, her head turned away in an attempt to shield herself from the emotional storm brewing between them. The sight pierced Jimin’s heart, a sharp pang of distress that made him yearn to bridge the distance between them.

He reached out, gently taking her hand that rested on his lap. His thumb stroked her knuckles, his touch delicate and soothing. Her hair fell like a curtain, hiding her face from him, and with a tenderness that was almost painful, he tucked it behind her ear, revealing the sadness etched on her features. His fingers lingered for a moment, tracing the curve of her cheek with a care that spoke of deep affection.

“Aera…” he called her name again, this time in a voice laced with sadness. He exhaled softly, as if trying to release the weight in his chest. “You already know what I’m about to say, don’t you?”

The truth in his words cut through the quiet, and Aera’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to look at him, to confront him with anger, to unleash the torrent of emotions she had been holding back. But she chose to remained still, her face turned away, masking the turmoil inside her.

Seeing her resistance, Jimin tried to coax her attention, his attempts to reach her seemingly futile. Realizing she was not ready to face him, he continued, his voice laden with the weight of his decision.

“Aera, I need you to understand,” he began, his voice quivering with the burden of his emotions. “What I’m doing now, what I’ve already begun to do—it’s all for your sake.”

He stopped mid-sentence, the words catching in his throat when he noticed the first tears gliding silently down Aera’s cheeks. Her expression was a haunting blankness, her eyes locked on a distant point as if in a trance. The sight of her tears, the pain in her eyes, was a knife to Jimin’s heart, making him pull her into his embrace without hesitation.

Aera’s head rested against his chest, and Jimin gently stroked her hair, whispering words of comfort that did little to ease the ache in his own heart. Aera’s resolve crumbled under the warmth of his embrace, and she began to sob, her tears soaking into his shirt.

His hand never stopped its soothing motion as he continued to speak, his voice a gentle murmur against the backdrop of her quiet cries. “My Love, even if we can’t be together as often as before, it doesn’t mean I’m leaving you. I’ll always be by your side, watching over you, protecting you… just like I’ve always done.”