An entire year has passed. 365 days since Jimin disappeared and left behind someone else. 12 months since I last checked my countdown timer. The memories Jimin left with me still lingered, but I knew that he was never coming back. Why would he anyway? He disappeared without a trace for so long, leaving me and the Namjin twins in confusion.
That reminds me, I haven't been in touch with them since I graduated. I haven't been in touch with many people lately, just a few close friends to cure boredom while waiting for my interviews. Jobs are harder to find than I thought.
For no reason at all, I took out the countdown timer from my pocket. Although I haven't been checking it, I still brought it along with me wherever I went. It was surprisingly still counting down, but it skipped a lot of days and months.... almost a whole year.
It would end in exactly a week, a lot less than the 3 years Jimin promised. What on earth was Jimin doing? Just then, the countdown timer skipped a whole day.
I gasped and almost dropped the countdown timer. Just then, I suddenly realised something.
13 August was in 6 days.
That's right, it'll be Jimin's death anniversary right when the timer stops.
Continuing my journey home after an interview, I didn't think much about the supernatural.
Other than Jimin and the twins, there weren't anyone else with supernatural abilities. That fact made me question if the supernatural was even real. I mean, it should be. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be an 'angel' Jimin and a 'human' Jimin. They'd be the same person.
Unknowingly, I stopped right outside a very familiar big white house. Just as I was about to walk away from the gate, the front door opened.
"Young Ji Noona! It's been so long since I've seen you. Has Jimin hyung returned yet?" There it is. The same question asked every month when I stop by Jihyun's house.
Jihyun's mother was frequently out and about working, so the house basically belonged to Jihyun now.
"Jimin isn't with me yet. He'll come back soon, I promise." The same lie told. I'm very sure Jimin was never coming back, but I couldn't possibly tell that to a kid.
"Noona, I'm not a kid anymore! Why do you always think I am one? I can live on my own!" Jihyun whined.
If you were wondering, yes, he did read my mind. It was something I couldn't explain, but it was most probably just the fact that we were close like siblings.
"I have to go now, study hard okay?" I smiled widely at him before leaving.
Just as I left, I caught a glimpse of a very familiar yet nostalgic eye smile. It was the exact same eye smile Jimin had. It was also the only thing I can hold onto in hopes that I would see Jimin again.
All the hope that I was holding onto was all because I unknowingly fell for him. And the feelings were never going to leave until the day I can confidently say that he was gone and never coming back with second thoughts.
I entered my house and tossed my bag and coat on the floor next to my shoe rack, hearing a soft 'clink' from the countdown timer and my phone.
I took a shower and went downstairs again to pick up my phone. As usual, I surfed the net for a little while to look for open job spaces.
It has almost became a daily routine to think about Jimin but never do anything about it. I'd just let my mind linger for a while and then continue on with my day.
It almost felt as though he was dead, but of course, angels can't die.
It has been 6 days since I checked the countdown timer. Today was 13 August, Park Jimin's death anniversary. I never went to visit his tomb since I knew that he was always with me in the form of my butterfly necklace that hung around my neck 24/7.
The countdown timer showed "20 minutes" in roman numerals. Somehow, it had changed from digital numbers to roman ones. Weird.
Just then, the minutes turned into seconds. The 20 seconds counted down painfully slow. Literally.
With every second passing, the pain in my heart intensified. Until the very last second, I fell to the floor with the timer still in my hands. When the number 1 disappeared and the timer crumbled into golden ashes and vanished, I blacked out.
I woke up in a brightly lit room. The walls were painted a very pristine white and the room smelled of disinfectant. I was in a hospital.
"Ah, Choi Young Ji-Ssi. You've finally awakened after your surgery. Congratulations, it was a success." A nurse with neatly tied up hair greeted me with a smile.
"Surgery? What surgery? How long have I been here?" I questioned, feeling a wave of curiosity crash over me.
The nurse's expression turned into a shocked one as she spoke, "Young Ji-Ssi, do you not remember? You agreed to the heart transplant. There was a donor just in time for you, if not you would've died already. Do you at least remember that you suffered from a heart attack?"
I bit my lip and tried to remember as best as I could. "Not really... I only remember feeling a strong pain in my heart before blacking out...."
The nurse fumbled with her pockets. "The man who brought you here was your heart donor and he left you this letter. If I remember correctly... his name was Park Jimin... I think?"
The nurse scratched her head in thought and handed me a piece of neatly folded paper.
I felt my heartbeat quicken at the name mentioned. Jimin?
I quickly unfolded the letter and read every word carefully.
'dear Young Ji,
It has been long since I properly talked to you and saw you again, but don't worry, I've been watching you from above. If you were wondering where I was for so long, the only explanation I can give you is that I was under probation for killing. Things work differently up there than down here, so you wouldn't understand.
However, I told you that timer would be important. It wasn't a countdown timer to my death anniversary, it was a countdown to the day I return and fulfil my mission. Simply said, the day I truly save your life.
As you may already know, you were dying of a heart attack. I came to give you a heart, so don't expect me to come to you anymore since I technically died the second time. I'm now safely back in heaven at God's side, ready to save another person. Should you ever see me again, please pretend I'm someone else. Although I'm supposed to remove your memories of me being your guardian angel, I can't bring myself to.
I want to live in your memories as the man you pictured me to be. I want to be remembered by you for as long as you will. This is all because I love you, and always will. Take care of yourself, and you have my heart. Don't lose it ;)
-Park Jimin'
After reading the letter, I tightly shut my eyes and gripped onto the butterfly necklace like my life depended on it. Just then, I felt a strong connection to my heart. There he was, Park Jimin had given me his heart.
~~~
That's it, my Jimin fanfic, I Know, is finally done! I'm sorry if it's too short for your liking but I am extremely grateful that you took time to read this and thank you so much for bearing with the extremely slow updates :)
