The Most Beautiful Moment In Life

02. Hold Me Tight

We were nothing until we became something. And we were only something when we were with each other.

One Year Ago.

Kim Seokjin sat in the bed of his truck, back against the cab, his red journal propped up on his legs as he scratched his pen across the lined paper. He'd always loved writing. It was why he'd decided to become an english major. This notebook had been a gift from his parents, inexpensive but meaningful. A symbol of their support of him pursuing a passion with little promise of fame or fortune. He didn't care. It's what he loved.

Every so often, he lifted his eyes from the page and stared out at the ocean. At the expanse of sea, glittering in the sunlight. Beach day was always his favorite day. Sure, it signaled the end of the summer, and the air, though still warm, carried the faintest bite of autumn, but it was a day for him to spend with his six best friends. The ones that he'd shared his life with for the past five years. Sure, his friendship with them looked different now than it did back then. Life had been a harsh beast, threatening many times to rip them apart but they always prevailed and their bond had become stronger every time because of it.

"Jin-hyung!"

Jin tore his eyes from the water to look further down the beach and a smile spread across his face when he saw two obscured figures making their way toward him. One tall and lanky, the other shrouded in a black hoodie. Namjoon and Taehyung.

He climbed out of the bed of his truck and tensed his body as the two younger boys reached him and lunged, each throwing their arms around him and causing him to stumble back.

"Yah!" he exclaimed. "You'd think we haven't seen each other in a decade."

Taehyung smiled, his mouth shaping into a rectangular grin that the rest of the boys had come to love. "Another year, another Beach Day."

"And then you're off to school again tomorrow," Namjoon added mussing up the older boy's hair.

Jin ducked out from beneath his arm and patted his hair back into place. "What? It's not like I'm moving across the country. I'll still be around."

"Much less though," Taehyung said. Jin's eyes lingered on the ugly purple bruise blooming around the boy's left eye, at the cut on his lip that split open when he had smiled. With a quick swipe of his sleeve, Taehyung wiped the blood away that had welled up. How many stains were hidden by the dark fabric of his black hoodie?

The three of them heard more shouts and laughter and turned to find their other four friends running toward them, hair and clothes whipping in the harsh wind. A few more yards and the seven of them were together again, as it should be. As it always should be.

"Jungkook-ah" Taehyung yelled to the youngest boy as he flung his arms around him. "I've missed you so!"

"My brother!" Jungkook yelled back and dramatically threw his body against him in a crushing hug. "Where have you been all my life?"

Taehyung looked again to Jin. "See?" he said. "Jungkook-ah gets it."

Jin could only laugh as he watched the hug turn into a power struggle in the sand. The wrestling match quickly became a dog pile as Jimin, the third youngest, jumped on top, followed by Hoseok and finally the second oldest, Yoongi. Namjoon, more of a lover than a fighter, stood back with Jin, arms folded across his chest as he looked fondly down at their friends.

They spent the day together there on the empty beach. Seven friends drawing messages in the sand, racing each other along the shore, eating junk, wrestling and laughing, their normal lives forgotten, washed away by the crashing waves. By the time the sun was setting, their throats hurt from screaming, their limbs ached, their eyes burned but it was the happiest they'd been all year. It was a day to forget the present and live in the good times of the past and the possibilities of the future.

It grew dark. Not pitch dark. A bright darkness that made the sky a cobalt blue and everything else a crisp black. All they could smell was the tang of sea salt, all they could hear was the breaking of waves as they all lay in the sand and looked up at the stars. The world seems to spin a bit slower at night. The temperature had plunged when the sun set and when they finally couldn't stand the cold anymore, they built a bonfire right there on the beach.

For hours the seven of them joked around, brought up funny memories, burst into song and played games, the punishment always the same, taking a dip in the frigid ocean. Before long, all of them were damp, their hair plastered to their foreheads in wet, salty strands. At last, sleepiness began to settle over the group, sending them all into silence. No one wanted to acknowledge that Beach Day was coming to a close. Everyone dreaded returning to the real world the next day.

After several minutes of silence passed, Hoseok finally sucked in a sharp breath and got to his feet. "I brought something," he said digging into his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, it was wrapped around a plastic baggie of pills. The rest of the group watched with bated breath. "I feel like this is a good moment to start over," he said as he watched the flames lick at the cold air. "And what's a better way to start over than getting rid of the temptation entirely, right?" His eyes lifted to peer around the circle. The others nodded, a few of them giving him small smiles of cautious encouragement. The boy had been struggling with addiction for years. This wasn't the first time he'd decided to quit cold-turkey. But they all clung to the hope that it was the last.

"We'll help you through this, hyung," Jimin said with a determined nod. Hoseok smiled back, his eyes glittering at the promise.

Then with his own definitive nod, he opened the baggie and turned it upside down over the fire. The others cheered as his smile became wider. At last he stuffed the empty bag back in his pocket and fell back down into the sand. Yoongi clapped him hard on the back and Jimin leaned into him, nuzzling his side until he lifted his arm and slung it over the younger's shoulders.

Jin smiled from where he leaned against the tailgate of his truck, his eyes scanning his circle of friends. The next morning he was heading off to college. Sure, his dorm wasn't far and he planned on coming home on the weekends but...

His eyes flew to the dark bruise on Taehyung's face, to the pale, sallowness of Jimin's cheeks, to the threadbare places on Namjoon's old clothes, to the dark stress circles under Yoongi's eyes, to Jungkook wearing Yoongi's sweatshirt providing him the comfort he doesn't often receive at home

...he couldn't help but worry about them. They had a much rougher life than he did and though he did what he could to help, he was afraid that life was getting the best of them. And there was only so much he could do to try and keep their heads above water before he too might sink and they all would drown.