in hindsight | siren jimin

1

It's early afternoon when you get to the apartment. Luckily, Seokjin gave you the spare key a while ago so that you wouldn't have to ring the bell in cases like this. Normally, you would have felt weird about just coming in, seeing that it's not your apartment, but you're basically a member of the household by now, going in and out almost daily, and Seokjin knows you're coming from your Katalk texts with him.

Once you're inside, you listen for the boys. Nothing. The apartment is strangely quiet when usually, it would be filled with Hoseok's laughter, Jimin's crow cries, Taehyung's fake cries, Yoongi's quiet giggles, and Jin's ahjussi episodes or general squabbling or just any kind of noise. The door falls shut behind you and you make sure to stuff the keys back into your jeans' pocket and wipe your feet properly on their inside-doormat. You still remember the first time you had come here, when the boys hadn't been sure what to expect of you, when the only person you had really known was Seokjin. Back then, it had taken three visits to become accustomed to each other. After that, however, even Jungkook had taken to greeting you warmly and calling you noona.

"Jin-oppa? Everyone?"

No one answers. Strange. You decide to bring the stuff he asked for to the pantry and then leave. You have your eyes on the destination until you spot Seokjin's phone on the kitchen table. So, is he here or not? You frown. You literally got a reply from him three minutes ago, how is his phone here when he isn't? Maybe he's just in the bathroom. Or he fell asleep, you think. It's strange but strange is one of the adjectives you'd use to describe living with the Bangtan Boys. They are surreal, in a way, and down to earth at the same time.

When you reach for the pantry to sort in the new supplies, you pause. Why did Jin ask for more oyster sauce if he's still got four glasses of it? It's unlike Jin to not be informed about the ingredients in the Bangtan household pantry. Did you maybe buy the wrong thing? One look at the instructions on your phone tells you you didn't. This oyster sauce is definitely the one he asked for, even the pictures match. You furrow your brows. Is something wrong? Could he be sick?

After a couple of minutes, a check-up on Jin's empty bedroom and another three unanswered calls, you simply decide to go back home. What's the point of waiting for Jin when he's obviously not here? Strangely, no one seems to be at the apartment at all.

Just when you turn around, there's a new sound, a humming that you hadn't heard before. It seems to match with your heartbeat, calm and thrumming with quiet energy. It rises and falls and you can't help but wonder where it comes from. It's louder in the hallway, resonating in your ears, your heart, calling a beautiful smile to your lips. All worry about Jin slips away and for a little while, you just stand in the hallway, not sure which bedroom door to pick, so you just let the gentle, rising melody grab a hold of you. It's captivating. The only thing that bothers you is how you slowly feel like there's water in your ears. You can't seem to get it out but the melody picks up, tearing away your attention from that minor discomfort.

There are notes swinging in the air that make you flutter, like your body is itching to learn a new dance and then there are notes that seem to shut off the light, that make you want to crawl under the covers with someone, let yourself be pressed into a mattress and seek pleasure for as long as you can last. This melody is fire and it's wind. It excites you, then breathes your warm flames down, almost as if it was created to play with you, to rile you up and snuff you out. All you know is that you're feeling it move in your blood like the song is a wave and your blood the ocean, salty, ever-wandering and immensely powerful.

Suddenly, the song turns into a direction. You can't believe a second ago you'd not been able to guess where it came from. It's obvious. The song creeps past the half-open bathroom door, inviting you in.