BANGTAN ✓

bonus ending: forever (영원히)

f o r e v e r (영원히)

❝Someday when these cheers die, please stay by my side.❞
_______________

BTS

The dorms were all cleared up, brown cardboard boxes filled with items stacked neatly in the corner.

The seven young men stood in the dining room — now devoid of any furniture — with red, tear-rimmed eyes and swollen faces.

Naked walls which were once covered with numerous photographs, the laughter which echoed through the walls of this house, the smell of fried potatoes and steak, the memories they'd made and the love they'd shared — all were tucked neatly into brown packages, ready to be shipped to seven different locations.

Like Voldemort dividing his soul into seven hocruxes, they now stood at a crossroads with seven diverging paths, the inevitable future of separation weighing down their thoughts.

Seokjin addressed the elephant in the room. "So, it's here. The End."

Yoongi nodded slowly. "Yeah, we are finally here. Our journey ends here."

Nobody responded.

They felt the crushing feeling in their hearts, a burning sensation slowly making its way to their eyes.

Jungkook succumbed to the pressure first. He broke down sobbing, unable to bear with the tension which hung in the air between them. "No, no, no. I can't do this. For God's sake, I can't do this."

He felt their reassuring hands softly patting him on the back. Someone, most likely Jimin, wrapped him in a fierce hug, their tears gently staining his shirt. In a heartbeat, he felt the remaining members slowly fall into the hug.

The group hug lasted for an eternity; time weaving itself into a complicated symmetry.

Taehyung was the first one to break away from the hug. His face held a sombre expression.

"Let's make a promise," he said quietly.

"What promise?" Hoseok questioned, raising an eyebrow. Promises never really ended on a good note for him.

"To stay friends forever." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "To be there for each other in times of need. To call frequently. To meet occasionally. To remember our fights. To remember the tears we shed together. To remember the times we laughed together. To remember us. To remember Bangtan. To remember ARMY. To r-remem—"

He couldn't go on. He was crying helplessly by now. He wanted them to promise a lot of things. But he knew it would be futile.

Twenty years from now, on one fine day, they'll open their photo albums and gaze at the old pictures with a curious nostalgia. The memories would have faded by then.

He was afraid of fading away.

For a brief second, he did not know where he was. Except for the sound of his sobbing, the room was deathly quiet.

Slowly, he lifted his head and glanced around in confusion. They were all staring at him.

'Or rather,' Taehyung thought in surprise, 'they are staring at something behind me.'

He turned his head in the aforementioned direction and gasped in shock.

There stood Jimin, in all his 5' 8" glory, with his fists tightly clenched and cold fury burning in his eyes.