Picture Perfect | Vmin

10 | The Breaking

A/N: I recommend listening to 'Louder than Bombs' :)

2:33

The rain fell in sheets. Jimin walked along the path, head down, hands in pockets. Water dripped onto his brow, and he let it fall, some stray droplets falling securely onto his eyelashes. Puddles had long ago collected in his shoes, now responsible for the loud squelching sounds he made as he walked faster now. The soft material of his trench coat was thoroughly waterlogged, the thing weighing ten times more than it used to. Jimin raised his head to the sky, squinting against the onslaught of rain.

As if on cue, a voice─ his voice─ rang inside his head.

"It'll be okay, Chim."

With that, Jimin broke.

A torrent of memories gushed out from their confines like a broken dam, emotions crashing over him in cataclysmic waves. Each individual memory demanded to be heard, filling his head─ the noise was deafening. Jimin doubled over as tears streamed down his cheeks; he could imagine it was not a pretty sight. Letting out a hoarse cry, he clutched his chest, his body convulsing with sobs while the rain continued to fall relentlessly.

The grief was excruciating. It bellowed furiously, writhing inside of Jimin. Reaching out its razor-sharp claws, it slashed, and wounds that were painstakingly healed with superficial i'm fine 's and its nothing bled anew. The only comfort Jimin knew was that his blood ran red, and not black, like the demon inside of him, patiently waiting to take him as its own.

A sound cleaved the tsunami inside his head─ a sound. His name. Jimin.

"Jimin!"

The male only sobbed harder, begging to whatever higher power there was to just make the voices stop─ it wasn't real─ hadn't he already endured enough─

The name was repeated again, only louder.

please make it stop─ it's too much─

"Jimin!"

He screwed his eyes shut, mouth agape in a silent howl. His knees felt cold, yet numb, the wet fabric covering them─

a puddle.

Jimin was kneeling in a puddle; unaware of it until now.

The sound of fast-approaching footsteps could be heard.

Jimin sobbed.

A gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder. He jumped slightly, startled.

"Jimin is that you?"

"No," he sobbed into his hands, not daring to look up.

The hand rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "Jimin?" A gentle voice caressed his ears.

Jimin looked up. His eyes were red and horrendously puffy. Tears still-falling glistened on his reddened cheeks and snot streamed onto his lips. Quickly realizing who it was, he whipped his head back and hid his face in his hands ashamedly. It was Taehyung. "Please leave me alone."

"Not a chance," Taehyung breathed, crouching down to face Jimin. "Hey─ hey, look at me," he coached gently.

Jimin forced himself to meet Tae's eyes. His dignity was in ribbons, so there was no point in holding on to it anyway, he reasoned.

The rain had stopped falling on him, but the pattering sounds of rain still enveloped his surroundings. Confused, he looked up.

A black umbrella.

Facing Tae, he murmured hoarsely, "Th- thank you."

The sound of his own voice made him grit his teeth from chattering.

Taehyung looked startled. "You're welcome."

From out of nowhere, the icy wind blew, ruffling Jimin's soaked hair and causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Taehyung, still crouching, rested his hand on Jimin's soaked knee. "You're shivering, Jimin."

The boy stayed silent and hung his head defeatedly.

Turning his head to face the photographer, he looked at him with pleading eyes. "Cou-could you p-please not mention this?" He whispered brokenly, gritting his teeth harder immediately after, stopping them from chattering.

"Of course. Whatever you'd like."

Taehyung locked eyes with Jimin. "I'm always available to talk— if you need it."

"Thank you," Jimin whispered quietly.

"Here," Taehyung slowly helped the younger up, (A/N: Jimin is younger than Tae in this fic─ I believe this detail is mentioned in "Notes") the model wincing at the unfamiliarity of standing after kneeling on the ground for so long.

Still holding the umbrella, Tae guided Jimin down the path. "I know a place where we can get you cleaned up," he assured the younger, receiving an appreciative look from him. 

A/N: And they meet again! I love slow burns but they're hard to write, especially when you're rooting for both of the characters. :)

Word count: 715