Ashes | Epilogue

One Last Letter

[Two Days Later]

       Yoongi remained curled up into a ball on the warehouse floor, but all his tears had dried. The snow outside had melted and the sun slowly began to fade away behind the horizon. If he were to guess, it was probably somewhere around 6:00PM. But time didn't matter to him. Nothing did.

Slowly, he got up and turned towards the body. But he kept his gaze down towards the floor, still refusing to look at the boy. He walked over to where Jimin was hanging and fell to his knees in front of him. Though, he quickly stood back up, noticing a somewhat large word spray painted on the floor beneath him. He walked to an angle where he could read the letters.

"Stay."

       More tears filled Yoongi's eyes as he fell to his knees once again. If only he had stayed longer that one night. If only he had listened to Jimin for just a little bit longer. Maybe things would've been different.

       Yoongi's eyes drifted up to a metal chair that stood a few feet in front of him. The chair was placed directly underneath Jimin's hanging body. His eyes darted up to the ceiling, quickly passing the boy's face, and stared at the rope that was tied from a metal beam to the boy's neck. Yoongi let out more sobs.

       Though, when his gaze drifted back down to the chair, he noticed a small envelope that lay on it. Yoongi hurriedly scrambled over to it and snatched it in his shaking hands, as if he were afraid it would disappear.

He tore it open and began to read.

Dear Min Yoongi,
       It still feels weird calling you by your full name, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I know this was hard for you. I know you wish I hadn't done this. You probably hate me now, but there's not much I can do about that. I've left you again, and I'm so sorry. But this time, I can't come back.
       I hope you understand that I did this because I was breaking on the inside. I had so many emotions that needed to be let out, but no one really bothered to listen. No one except you. And I hope you know how thankful I am for that.
       I'm sorry I lied to you. I know this isn't Jinagan Street. I know I made you waste your time looking for the nonexistent street. But I was honestly scared of what would happen when you found me. Are you okay now? Probably not. You and I, we were never okay to begin with.
       You're the best person I had ever met. I'm beyond happy that I met you, that I annoyed you and you still didn't push me too far away. I'm happy you never really left. And if you found this letter, I hope that means you found me, too.
       I miss you, and I want to see you again. I know we may not see each other for a while, but I'll watch over you. I'll make sure no one hurts you, even if I'm not actually there. I want you to know how much I enjoyed our little talks and adventures. I'm happy you sat down with me and listened that one night. It meant a lot. Even if it was just one night.
       I just wanted to let you know that I love you, and that it's been fun. I'm happy now.

                                                -Park Jimin

Yoongi stared at the letter in his trembling hands. It took him about ten minutes before he decided what to do next.

       He hastily got up and walked around the warehouse, opening and closing doors that lead to nowhere. He pushed open a door that was already slightly ajar and almost fell over at the sight of at least a dozen masks staring back at him. Taking a closer look, he realized they were masquerade and mannequin masks. He slowly shut the door, slightly creeped out.

       Eventually, he opened a steel door and found just what he was looking for.

       Behind the steel door was a closet, and in the closet, there was gasoline.