Out Of The Woods (TaeJin)

9 - Saturday, November 16th

Saturday, November 16th

"Is this the one?", Taehyung asked Seokjin with soft eyes as they walked towards the shut-down amusement park.

The elder one merely nodded as he gave the other his hand to jump over the short barricade.

Earlier that evening, Seokjin met him again at the orphanage. When the Gucci boy said that he would be here every Saturday from now, he firmly decided to ask for half day off every Saturday from the café.

He was really good with the kids – they warmed up to him quickly. Then, he taught them about art, about history, about things even Seokjin had no idea.

After their work at the orphanage, on their walk back towards Seokjin's place, Taehyung had said, "I like this a lot. I feel like I am breathing. I haven't felt like this in years."

And, the way his eyes glinted when he said that made Seokjin change his plans for that night. He asked Taehyung if he could meet him at the community gate at 7. One should be crazy to do that with a stranger one has only met a few times but fortunately for Seokjin, Taehyung turned out to be crazy enough.

That is how, they were now walking through the ruins of a bankrupted amusement park with only the stars, the moon and the distant street lights showing their path. Seokjin would like to add the other boy's glowing skin and sparkling eyes to the list too.

The park looked undeniably creepy and a few turns later, Seokjin smiled a little as Taehyung latched himself onto his arm.

"What will we do?", he asked as he curiously looked around. "All the rides are shut."

Seokjin smiled again, "Are you scared of water?"

Taehyung shook his head and when he realized the other might not able to see that in the darkness, he voiced it, "Not really. But I am not fond of water parks. The water – the water is yuck."

Seokjin's laugh boomed through the empty lot. He then asked Taehyung to wait while he ran to turn on a switch. When he was back, Taehyung was standing at the same place, but his eyes shone brighter than the scene before him.

Before them was a tiny bridge with a little cave-like entrance beneath it. The lights lit up in an arch, throwing dancing lights on the water beneath it. There were two boats, out of which only one was within reach, and neatly anchored to the ground.

Seokjin took his hand and carefully helped him sit in it, like he was the most precious thing he ever held in his entire life. He gestured Taehyung to paddle and he did. It took them a few seconds to find the rhythm and when they did, the boat waddled into the cave. A soft, low, love song hummed inside the cave as the Christmas lights that adorned the walls painted colors across their faces.

And, Seokjin's heart ached as he glanced at the one sitting next to him. It ached like he missed something he never even had. He tried to swallow the feeling away and directed the boat to an opening. Their eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness. He heard the younger one audibly gasp as he took in the lake that they were in the middle of.

The lake was small, but the darkness made it seem bigger. The water was usually murky but again, the darkness made it seem like black liquid. There were tall pine trees covering the other end.

So, there the two were, sitting in the middle of a lake in a pink boat, with pine trees around, with the sounds of owls hooting into the night and the stars shining down on them, their reflection a scenic blur in the dark waters.

Seokjin tore his eyes away from the mesmerized boy and threw his head back to stare at the sky, "Nice, isn't it?"

The early winter breeze made them shiver and the elder one closed his eyes, back still arched towards the sky. His silhouette shone under the crescent moon light, like his skin was doused with liquid pearls.

"The most beautiful thing I've seen in my life.", the other one whispered. Only, he was looking at Seokjin.

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Author is a horrible person. She forgot to post this chapter right after the previous though she said she would. Forgive her. 🦔

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