withering leaves ❁ yoonmin

XXI

Jimin thought it was funny how some things worked out. His parents were the perfect couple, the epitome of "Soulmates"; if there were a Korean Poster Child for the perfect pair, Mr. and Mrs. Park would be that perfect pair, the ones that all middle-class happy families looked up to-who they wanted to be. Funny, right?

Jimin didn't know what this dark molasses-like substance he was floating in was. He didn't really care to find out. All that he knew was that he felt safe and at peace and that everything around him was pitch black, save for the single dot of brightness ahead of him. It was like a single pinprick in a black curtain, the single source of life. There when he opened his eyes, gone when he blinked. And every time he blinked, the light disappeared and Jimin found himself panicking. But when he opened his eyes again, there it was; his only friend in this slow molasses-like space where words slowed down until they didn't exist anymore and his limbs felt heavy and light all at the same time.

The only thing remotely uncomfortable in this small space was the fact that Jimin's limbs began to slowly get colder and colder. Starting from his fingertips and crawling up his arms. This was different form the usual chill he got from his Hanahaki. This was much colder and much, much more painful. In a way, it felt like death: halting and shocking in its finality.

Was this what death was? Because Jimin didn't see his entire life flash before his eyes. Here, he was free to look back fondly upon memories he barely remembered. Here, those memories became crystal clear. Here, he was as important as a single leaf on a tree, and as fleeting as smoke in the air or the foam on the top of an ocean wave. Nothing mattered so Jimin was free to express who he was.

Jimin took in a deep breath, feeling the gentle rush if hair in his lungs; he was finally able to breathe easily again, without his throat feeling heavy or his lungs rattling in their place.

Was this what death was like?

Because if death was this simple and easy and free, maybe Jimin didn't want to go back to the land of the living.

.

"No, Ji-hyun. I'm fine I swear," Yoongi began as soon as he answered his phone, setting it on speaker as he continued to work on his company-provided laptop. He was still in the hopsital bed for some strange reason, not even allowed to got to Jimin and see what happened. The only one to check up on him so far sicne last night was Bang Si-hyuk, who came by to say hi and then left to go to Jimin's room.

"You know, I'm so glad you changed me and your company to your legal guardians instead of your father. Imagine if he got wind of this situation before I did!"

"So... you're not going to tell him?" Yoongi asked, the end of his sentence raising in a hopeful tilt. He was once again reminded of how much he really appreciated Ji-hyun, who had basically become an adopted aunt to Yoongi.

"No! Of course not. I blocked his number and left soon after you did. After your mother died, I knew we were never going to repair things between us."

Yoongi had to stop fiddling around on his laptop, repeating those words in his mind. "What?"

"Did your father never tell you what happened to your mom, Yoongi?"

"I know we have the same eyes and smile. I know her laugh sounded like bells... at least, that's what my father told me. I know she died while giving birth to me... "

"So you don't know the truth," Ji-hyun sighed, causing Yoongi's eyebrows to furrow. As far as he knew, that was the entire truth.

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom did die shortly after giving birth to you, yes. But that's not the main reason," Ji-hyun explained, a small quiver in his voice. "Your mom and I were best friends in high school. When we were in our last year, she decided to take me out on my 18th birthday to a cafe. At that same cafe, she would introduce me to a college boy she had been seeing for the past month."

"I'd assume the college boy was my dad?"

"Yes, you're right," Ji-hyun said, pausing before she began speaking again. Yoongi could feel her guilt, her anguish. He never knew his mother and (semi) step-mother were friends. In fact, he never even knew they met before.

"As soon as I made eye contact with your father, I felt it. I knew he was my soulmate but... I never told him. He lived the next five years of his life thinking he was soulmate-less."

"And my mother?"

"She didn't have a true soulmate. I was her platonic soulmate. Whenever we were around one another, there was a comfortable buzz under our skins. I'm sure you know what I'm taking about."

Yes, Yoongi did know what she was talking about. Just like everyone had a true soulmate, everyone also had a platonic soulmate (sometimes even multiple).

Unlike true soulmates, you could discover your platonic soulmate at any point in your lifetime, and your platonic soulmate was more of a reflection of your soul rather than the opposite in true soulmates. As soon as you meet, it was like an automatic switch; you read each other like an open book. But instead of connecting your souls, it was more like a lifetime friendship. It was an understanding rather than a rope that intertwined platonic soulmates. Yoongi himself had one: Namjoon. Although, multiple platonic soulmates ran in Yoongi's family so he was sure he would find another soon.

Other members in the band had platonic soulmates, too. Jimin and Taehyung were paired. Jungkook and Yugyeom from Got7 were also paired. Seokjin spoke fondly of a platonic soulmate he had met in Australia and still checked up on occasionally. Hoseok had a platonic bond with a member of his old dance team.

"Apparently the two of them were also platonic soulmates... I didn't know until they told me. Your mother was my only platonic bond.

"Your father was twenty-five when he found out that I was his true bond. Your mother was already pregnant with you... about four months."

Yoongi shook his head, trying to understand the sudden influx of information. "And how did he find out?"

"We were the ones who were painting your room and putting the crib together. Your mother was downstairs making lunch for us. I was on a step stool and as I was coming down, I lost my footing and fell. Your father caught me before I crashed down. But as he did, our lips brushed and that's that..."

Yoongi sighed, imagining his father's bewildered face as he felt the bond complete. "What happened to mom then?"

"She was diagnosed with Hanahaki the next day."

"No..."

"I'm sorry, Yoongi."

"It was your fault?!"

"I... yes. It was."

"What flower?"

"I don't-"

"What flower?!"

"...a yellow gladiolus. The symbol of strength and happiness."

"Gladiolus?!"

"Yes. Yoongi, listen-"

"I've got to go."

"No, please-"

"Goodbye, Ji-hyun."

Yoongi hung up the phone.

"Yellow gladiolus..." he murmured, some of the puzzle pieces coming together in his mind.

"Jimin is yellow gladiolus."

Gladiolus was rare. Only one other case, back in 1993. Yoongi's mother, according to what Ji-hyun said.

Maybe he was wrong. It had to be. It wasn't possible. Why would Jimin have Hanahaki if he didn't love his soulmate? How has Jimin survived so long with Hanahaki? How is he still able to keep up the appearance and schedule of a busy k-pop idol even though he was dying? The only was for him to live that long was if his soulmate was near him 24/7 and loved him back-

Oh.

Suddenly, the pieces became a clear picture. Like the heat clearing up a foggy windshield, Yoongi saw everything as it was.

"I love Park Jimin. Park Jimin loves me. I'm Park Jimin's soulmate."

.

The story's almost done, y'all! There may be a max of four chapters left!