level 23 / btsvelvet

special episode one

PART ONE: IRENE
episode 13

when work hours end, taehyung and i take a train to daegu, his hometown, at my request.

he takes me around the city to the fragments of his childhood memories, recalling the stories of his younger years as we go.

stories, which make me laugh until my stomach hurts, but also stories which i work hard to immerse myself in so i can forget that i don't have any stories to tell myself.

the truth is that i don't know what to do with the information my father has confronted me with. my nature has always been to detach myself from the problem, so that i can solve it logically. but how can i detach myself from a past that is solely mine, and mine alone?

taehyung knows that i'm more shaken than i am letting on, so he works hard to distract me, and his antics prove effective for the time being.

i can only feel gratefulness replace the fear in my mind when we watch the sun set from the balcony of an abandoned warehouse after our meal at taehyung's aunt's restaurant.

the abandoned warehouse, he explains, is right across from where he used to live-a meager, run-down apartment next to an old gas station that could never compare to the mansion he is residing in now.

"my father wasn't around much when i was little. neither was my mother." he says, leaning on the railing. "i used to think i was worthless, because that was what my uncles told me when my parents weren't around. they didn't believe in the company, and they thought my parents were dragging the whole family down."

at this, my fingers brush his back slightly, and by the way he shifts his weight to the side of the balcony, i know he's inviting me to join him.

so i do, but as hard as i try to train my focus on the dusk-light view of daegu, somehow my eyes always wander back to him, the way the fading yellow skies light the edges of his face and alight the dark irises of his eyes.

it is now comfortably silence between us, as i watch him and he, in turn, watches the sun in the distance.

i resist the urge to reach out and brush his hair with my fingers when the wind tosses the minute strands unkemptly past his eyebrows and above his eyelashes.

at that moment, i realize that i want to rely on him, to let myself be comforted by him-because i trust him, and because his attention makes me feel like i am the only thing that matters.

"taehyung-ssi." i find myself confessing suddenly, "i'm scared."

he turns to look at me, and i meet his gaze to see that there is a tenderness beneath the fury of the flames, a caress that is filled with warmth.

-

PART TWO: JUNGKOOK
episode 12

I hear the far-away ocean
across a dream, over the horizon
going to that place that becomes clearer
take my hands now
jungkook, euphoria (2018)

there is something simple in the way that i love her.

because unlike most people who fall love, i never denied that i loved her, not to myself, not to others, and never to her.

even when she told me she would never consider me like that, that day when i'd taken her to the sea after my graduation, i'd never once considered leaving her side.

of course, there were those that questioned this.

they all say life is short, that it shouldn't be spent waiting. that the good things never last, that not everything is meant to be. they say promises are meant to be broken, that nothing ever works out the way one would like it to.

human nature is selfish in the way that we always want something in return. that we will give up if it's not in our best interest, if it hurts our pride.

but it was the fact that she didn't love me back that made me realize i loved her in the first place.

that i could love her without her loving me.

that was the beauty of my love-it was selfless.

then they will say again, "even if you love her now, there is no such thing as forever."

but i choose to believe in a forever, because that is what she is.

she is forever.

to me, the moments spent with her were also the moments when time faded into eternity-the slowing down of the millions of things running their course in the universe to the sound of her laughter on my shoulder.

and as she is sleeping, now, next to me, the stars in the night sky pause to watch over her.

"jungkook," she says, when she realizes i am still awake. by the sound of it, she is still half-immersed in the beckoning of slumber.

"hm?" i answer. she shifts slightly, and i shift unconsciously with her.

"sleep," she then murmurs, and i close my eyes.

once again, the fine line between life and death becomes blurred as i leave this world to find her in her dreams.

this, is our always.

a/n: so this is a special episode! aka two short stories with a poetic theme for irene's birthday & yeri's bday ahaha. IM LATE BY A MONTH WOOHOO. basically i wanted to update bc i'm stuck writing episode 14 and a feel bad lol.

also, bts' puma fansign is happeningg right now in real time and their all black hair is KILLER. it's also #6 years with exo!!! AND if you have not listened to new heroes by nct's ten, or euphoria by jungkook GO NOW!!!!!! bts bout to slap us with that comeback 😭 it's called 起 wonder!!! it's 1/4 parts to 起承转合 (ly: her was 承)

today is jonghyun's birthday. bless him, angel 😭🌟