reef knot

twenty-three

i'm so glad how many positive comments the previous chapter got HAHA i was so worried y'all would bash me

and did y'all even notice that the date in the previous chapter is actually wonwoo's birthday 🌚

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July 18, 2018, 7 a.m.

Though the next day is a Tuesday, the university gave the students a day off so we all can finish our humongous stack of papers to complete. Having already finished all my homework, I wake Taehyung up just before the crack of dawn so we can wash up together before heading off to the graveyard to celebrate my dead mother's birthday.

Taehyung groans at first, but immediately awakes without complaints when he registers the stern look on my face.

We quickly brush our teeth, before changing into casual summer clothes and heading out of the frat house. I'm clad in a simple white singlet and denim shorts, while Taehyung is wearing his clothes from yesterday.

The sun is already starting to rise by the time we're safely in his van. Taehyung stops by a florist so we can get some flowers for Mom, before proceeding to drive up the hill towards the cemetery, just at the edge of Seoul.

It's already 7 in the morning when he stops by the road in front of the front gates of the graveyard, and we clamber out of the car softly, as if afraid that any sudden noise would wake the dead from their coffins.

We find Mom's grave in no time, since we've both been here plenty of times. I come here whenever I'm bored or don't have deadlines to rush, and most of the time, Taehyung is the one driving me.

"Hey guys," I greet my parents the moment I stop in front of their tombs. "Happy birthday, Mom," I grin, placing a bouquet of lilies onto the soil in front of her grave. "I got you your favourite lilies!"

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Park!" Taehyung exclaims beside me. "You remember me, don't you? I'm Taehyung!"

I roll my eyes, biting back a smile. "Of course they remember you, you repeat your name every single time you come here with me."

"And also because who could forget such a beautiful name, am I right?" he winks, before placing his bouquet of wildflowers beside mine. "Jiyoung says you would prefer lilies better, but the Internet says wildflowers are perfect for pretty girls, so here you go!"

"Are you flirting with my mother?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Are you jealous?" he turns to me with another wink.

I roll my eyes. "Just go wet the cloths so we can clean the tombstones," I snap, pulling out two dry pieces of cloth from my back pocket and handing them to Taehyung.

Taehyung silently complies, knowing that I probably want to be alone with my dead parents for a few minutes. Talking to the air is what I do every time I come here.

I wait till he's out of earshot before I begin to speak again. "Mom, Dad, please bless Yoongi and make sure he's safe, happy, and healthy," I repeat the same prayer I say every time I come here. "Please bless Jimin too and make sure his girlfriend isn't a bitch," I add on with a small smile, secretly pissed off at my brother for prioritizing his girlfriend over his own sister. "And please bless that Taehyung's internship will go smoothly at that hospital he's always wanted to work at," I put my hands together in prayer position.