Guardian Angel || A BTS Fanfic

1.5: Dark Sea

"The hell?" Yoongi said, squinting at the fog that Jimin had disappeared through. "Where did he go?"

"I...I'm not sure," I replied with a jolt of anxiety.

"He's been so upset lately," Jin remarked. "Maybe that has something to do with it?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why he just suddenly took off," Yoongi muttered.

"Try calling him," Namjoon suggested. "It could've been something important that he had to do."

"Okay." I knew he was trying to reassure me, but my worry was relentless. My hands shook, half from the cold, half from nervousness as I picked his contact and pressed CALL.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Four...five...six...

"Hi, this is Jimin."

My heart soared. "Jimin, where—"

"I'm so sorry I couldn't talk to you at the moment. Please leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can!" I sighed, lowering my phone from my ear after I pressed END CALL.

"He didn't pick up." They looked at me in dismay. Yoongi seemed to be on edge, too.

"Something's wrong, for sure..." Hoseok rubbed his hands anxiously. "Where would he be if he was upset?"

"You know him better than we do," Yoongi added. "As ridiculous as it sounds, does he have a special place or something?"

I was silent for a moment. "I can think of one place..."

"Where?" Jin asked.

"Near the sea," I said. "But I think it would be best if I just went."

"But—" Hoseok protested.

"—Okay, we understand," Namjoon said quickly, cutting him off. Hoseok between him and me with suspicion written on his face, but let the argument drop.

They wished me good luck before going their separate ways. I ran past the shops but ended up slowing down in front of Jimin's apartment. The windows were dark, but I jogged up and knocked on the door a few times just to make sure.

"Jimin?" I called, knocking louder. "Are you in there?"

No response.

"We just want to know if you're okay," I shouted. People who were walking past me stared. "Please let me help."

Again, no reply.

I raised my hand to knock again, but changed my mind and lowered my fist. With a frustrated sigh, I turned away from the door and sprinted towards my apartment.

Thankfully, my bike was still leaning on the wall next to my door. To keep out the rain pouring from the sky, I pulled my hood over my head. I mounted the bike and maneuvered around the people huddled under umbrellas.

The rain had lasted for almost three days now, with a few clear hours in between downpours. It was hard to see past the droplets as I pedaled toward the pier. As I neared the street I needed to cross, my sight was so limited I almost didn't stop myself. The sound of a car speeding by was the only thing that made me put my foot down to stop the bike. My foot nearly slid on the slick concrete. The pavement was unsurprisingly wet.

I pedaled faster, careful not to go too fast on the slippery sidewalk. I made one last turn before I reached the wooden planks at the beginning of the pier. Almost no one was there, but the ones that had been wandering were ducked under the shops' canopies for cover. A few boats rocked violently in the tossing waves as the rain battered down on them.

And sitting by himself, holding a black umbrella, was Jimin.

He didn't see me walking towards him, or at least he pretended not to notice.

The rain made it difficult to see anything, but I could definitely see that he was crying. Sobbing, almost. He had his knees tucked up to his chin and used his umbrella to hide his frail, shaking figure.

"Jimin?" I said softly, sitting next to him.

He turned quickly to me, his red-rimmed eyes wide in surprise before he relaxed. He let his feet go over the edge of the pier, his legs dangling a foot away from the stormy sea.

"Oh. It's just you."

"Yeah, it's just me," I looked at his pitiful state. His teeth were chattering from the cold and his hands unsteadily grasped the umbrella. "Are you okay?"

"No," he answered immediately. "No, I'm not."

"Oh." I felt idiotic for such a lame response. A gust of wind whipped daggers of rain on my cheek and chills raced down my body. I shivered, my wet clothing felt like ice. Jimin noticed, and held out the umbrella to me. "Thanks." I took the umbrella and held it over both of us.

A few minutes of just the waves crashing against the pier passed before I said something. "Jimin, what's making you so upset?" I asked.

He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. "I told you already. It's Jungkook."

"What exactly do you mean by 'Jungkook'?" I kept my eyes on his face as he looked out to the sea.

"He keeps telling me...things," he said hesitantly. "It's just getting to my head. It's stupid, I know, but it hurts a lot."

"He speaks to you?" I asked. That's new. "What did he say?"

He bit his lip and looked down at the gray sea. "In my dreams, he threatens me. He tells me that, if I don't remember him, he'll do something to me. That he'll do something to you, too."

"He threatens you?" What the heck, Jungkook? "Are you okay? What does he threaten you about?"

"Everything," he replied quietly. "That he'll hurt me, or take me, or he'll kill me."

"How dare—" I said angrily.

"Stop it, Taehyung," I looked at him again and saw new tears mixing with the rain. He kept his eyes fixed on the churning waves. "Please. Jungkook doesn't mean it. I know he doesn't mean it. It's not him, I can tell..."

"Jungkook would never say anything like that," I said, switching the umbrella to my other hand as I pulled him into a side hug.

"I guess you're right..." he moved away from me, shaking off my arm. A few raindrops trickled down the umbrella and fell on his shoulder that was now out in the open. "Why is it me?"

"What?"

"Why am I the one who remembers Jungkook? Why can only I, other than you, see him?" He took a shuddering breath. "It scares me, Taehyung."

"Just hang in there, Jimin," I tilted the umbrella back over his head. "I promise everything will turn out well in the end."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, blinking away his leftover tears.

"It's nothing I can't fix," I answered. "I'll make everything go back to the way it was."

"Thanks, Tae," he hugged me tightly and stood up. "I'm going to head home." 

"Do you want me to walk with you?" I asked, standing up and stretching my hand with the umbrella to shield him from the rain.

"It's alright," he said with a smile. "I'll be okay."

"If you say so," I held out the umbrella to him. "Here."

"Oh. Thanks," he said, taking the handle. "Don't you need some cover, too?"

"Nah, I'll be fine," I tapped my hood with a small grin. "I have my hood."

He smiled again. "Your little helmet for your bike, huh?"

"I guess you could say that," I mounted my bike and waved at him. "See you soon, Jimin."

"You too, Tae," he replied.

As I pedaled away, I could almost feel his tear stained eyes following my disappearing back.

Music: "Sea" piano cover by Smyang.