Chasing Butterflies

Run

And just like that, she walked away.

With Jimin calling her name, and Yoongi screaming profanities at Youngkyun, she walked away. Her heart was breaking more and more with each step she took closer to those doors and further from the family she had come to love, further from the man she had fallen in love with.

Their voices faded away and the familiar waves of numbness crashed over her. It was all she could feel now: numb. A static buzz filled her head and drowned out the slow, incessant clicking of her scuffed heels on the immaculate marble floors.

For once it seemed that the hotel lobby was empty of any people. Only the manager stood motionless at his desk, following Izzy's trail to the elevators with his eyes. Even he looked at her with pity.

The elevator doors slid apart and Izzy placed one numb foot in front of the other. Each painful second in that elevator felt like a lifetime. Time dragged on at snail speed, and Izzy was frozen in it, not moving forward or back.

Time was still but Izzy's mind was racing with memories of her new family.

Watching the boys play soccer down at the docks.

Making coffee with Jungkook at an ungodly hour of the morning.

Taehyung braiding and re-braiding her hair as they sat together on the couch.

Helping Jin make breakfast in the mornings.

Hoseok claiming her as his little sister; something she had never been before.

Namjoon's uncanny ability to forget his house keys.

Staying up late with Yoongi and talking about all the things that weighed on her shoulders.

They were her friends, her family. Her heart warmed with thoughts of them.

And then there was Jimin.

The turquoise leather jacket he'd given her before they even met properly. The feeling of his arms pulling her closer when they hugged. The smile he wore whenever their eyes met for even a second. The way he always sat just a bit too close to her on the couch. The tears in his eyes when they'd discovered her addiction. The warmth of his embrace when he'd finally broken his silence towards her.

These were the things she loved about him.

This was the man she loved.

This was the man she had so carelessly left behind.

Why did she make that bet? Why did have to be so stupid as to take up any deal Youngkyun proposed? She should have known better. She should have walked away.

Her heart shattered as the elevator doors slid open.

The heels she wore were killing her feet but that pain was nothing compared to how she felt in that moment. Her clammy fingers turned the key card over and over in her hand until her body came to a halt in front of room 538.

She slid the card into its electronic lock and the light on the handle flashed green. The door swung open and Izzy stepped inside. It felt like stepping through the gates of hell.