Generations Expectation's | 8th member of BTS

54

Ae Cha's POV

The world slipped away in whispers of color and light, folding into something half-remembered and dreamlike. The air carried a sweetness I couldn't place, like ripe fruit in the summer, and the sound of distant wind chimes played softly at the edge of hearing. My feet pressed into cool, dewy grass as I looked around.

I stood in a meadow, endless and golden, where wildflowers danced in the breeze and the sky above swirled with hues of lavender and peach. The sun hung low, its warmth soft and forgiving. Everything about this place felt surreal, both familiar and foreign. It was peaceful—too peaceful.

Then I heard her voice.

"Ae Cha, sweetheart." she called, gentle and lilting, just as I remembered.

I froze. My pulse quickened, and a lump rose in my throat. Slowly, I turned toward the sound, and there she was.

My mother.

She stood a few feet away, her dark hair spilling down her back like silk, a soft smile playing on her lips. She wore a white dress that flowed around her like water, her skin glowing with an otherworldly radiance. She looked just as she had in life—young, vibrant, untouched by time or illness. My heart clenched painfully at the sight of her.

"Mom." I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper.

She opened her arms to me, and though I wanted nothing more than to run to her, I stayed rooted in place. I knew better. This wasn't the first time she had come to me like this. These dreams always found me in the quiet moments before something changed, before life upended itself and left me scrambling to catch up.

She tilted her head, her smile tinged with sadness. "You're overthinking again, my love. Come, sit with me."

I blinked, and suddenly there was a wooden bench beneath a lone willow tree just behind her. She gestured for me to follow, and though my legs felt heavy, I obeyed.

We sat in silence for a moment, the soft rustle of the willow leaves above us filling the space between us. I didn't know what to say. What could I say to a ghost?

"It's been a while." she said finally, her voice light but knowing.
"It hasn't been that long..." I murmured, staring down at my hands. "You were here when... when Bongseo-, that woman took me. You warned me then, too."

"Yes." she said softly, her tone tinged with regret. "And yet, here you are again, burdened and lost. You carry so much, Ae Cha. Too much." I bristled at her words, a sharp, involuntary reaction that tightened every muscle in my body. The dream, for all its softness and warmth, felt suddenly suffocating. My fists curled tightly at my sides, nails biting into my palms, an anchor against the unease building in my chest.

"I don't have a choice." I said, my voice rough and unsteady, each word carrying more weight than the last. "My friend, Kyong needs me. If I don't help her, no one will. You don't understand what it's like."
Her gaze shifted, softening and then hardening, cutting through my rising anger like shards of broken glass. When she spoke, her tone was low and piercing, quiet yet filled with an authority that silenced the rustle of the meadow's grass.

"Don't I?"

Her question was a blade, slipping into the cracks I hadn't realized were there. I flinched but held her gaze. Around us, the golden light of the meadow faltered, dimming as if the sun itself was retreating. Shadows unfurled slowly from beneath the willow tree, their edges blurring, soft and insidious. The air, so sweet before, grew heavier, clinging to my skin like warm water.
Her hand moved toward mine, and before I could pull away, her touch found me. It was warm, and grounding, like the lingering heat of a fire's last embers. The sensation rippled through me, quieting my anger in the way a heavy storm hushes the world in its wake.