Precious Self in the Storm • Seokjin [✔]

21 - The Return

Seokjin awoke slowly.

He blinked his eyes open only to shut them again when bright light pierced at his vision. He moved his arm, feeling oddly stiff. He reached out to find the other members.

His hands met the texture of drying leaves.

Wait- Seokjin's eyes shot open- Leaves?

He forced himself to a sitting position and hurriedly rubbed his eyes. Now much more awake, Seokjin looked up and the first thing he sees is-

The pond.

He's at the pond. What the fuck.

Seokjin scrambled up to his feet, mind unable to catch up. Then he looked down to find himself wearing his old photoshoot clothes. The very same ones he wore the night he ran away.

He gripped the fabric of his sleeves, still looking clean and new. He pulled at it some more to make sure that yes it's real. His hands travelled further down to find his phone in his pocket and some coin change on the other. The exact same amount he had when he first woke up,

Does this mean-?

Seokjin spun on his heels so fast, through the bushes, and jumped over the fence. He found himself at the sidewalk overlooking the familiar street bustling with life and people, except- the air is warm now. The trees swayed at the gentle breeze with their flourishing green leaves. It felt like summer.

A man in a business suit walked by, presumably on his way to work. Seokjin stopped him abruptly, startling the man.

"Sir, I need to ask. What date is it?"

The man fixed Seokjin with a bewildered face but answered nonetheless.

"July 5th. Why?"

July. Yesterday, when he fell asleep surrounded by the others, it was December. It's as if he had gone back in time. Back to the morning exactly after the night he passed out in front of the pond the first time.

"Hang on a second," the man said, studying Seokjin's face. "Aren't you one of those BTS boys?"

Millions of fireworks burst themselves inside Seokjin, and he rushed off the closest public telephone.

Is this real?

He's back. He's remembered again.

Seokjin re-inserted his change into the machine and re-dialed Hobeom's number. His fingernails tapped anxiously against the telephone, his heart beating a mile a minute because this can't be happening.

"Hello?" greeted his manager's voice.

"H-hello? Hyung, it's- it's me. Seokjin."

There was a pause. Seokjin squeezed the phone handle.

"Ah, Jin! We were worried about you. Where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?"

Seokjin hung his head low, all the relieve that overflowed him piling out in a series of laughter. He gripped the phone booth for support.

"Yes. Yes, please."

The moment Hobeom arrived, Seokjin engulfed him in a hug. The manager seemed surprised, but nonetheless was glad that Seokjin had finally returned to them after he went missing for a day.

A day.

For Seokjin it had been a life time.

But during the car ride, Seokjin started to wonder if all of it had actually been real. If the six months that had passed for him really happened, or if it had just been some freaky fever dream.