Our Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Love Yourself

How should one love another?

"Blindly," Min Yoongi answers, smoke curling out from his lips. The fire is burning in his gut, not at the end of his cigarette. "As if the only solution to the dying world is to love. Waiting for something that will never come and thanking even the opportunity to wait. Loving a monster by believing the monster is a man. Soar the heavens for a chance to touch a bit of sun though everything reminds you that you will crash and burn. You have to fall while catching each other and relish the plummet, asking nothing more than the cold embrace from death once it ends."

Jung Hoseok taps his chin in thought. "Fiercely. A tango with fire and ash. Memorize the color red and rejoice once it's all that you can see. The color of heat. The color of blood. The color of passion. The color of pain. Love like a burning fire would steal oxygen to keep it alive. To bathe the world in light and passion, heat of the soul and energy of a thousand lightning storms. But also gently. Like the caress of a breeze or the hands of a loving mother. Love one as the earth has loved us. Call back a ghost not just with warm words and soft hands, but with a beating heart to sing it a siren song. Care like how the rain tends to the flowers and helps them grow. Let the mountains crumble to their knees and cradle them with the softest touch. Trust the wind to cradle you to sleep."

Kim Taehyung lets out a deep hum, leaning against a smooth wall. "Strategically. Know the constant battle between chaos and order, and use that to your advantage. Love in equal measures, but know that there is always room for more. Know that a war can be won by just a single breath or one word, but the same breath or word could also prevent it. Remember that the bounds you are born into will not be those you end up with."

"Warmly," Park Jimin laughs, a flower crown slowly blooming in between his fingers. "Like holding the sun from both sides. Reaching up like a flower basking in the radiance of the sun. Embracing the light of the stars with all your might so that night becomes a distant memory. I think of campfires and golden streetlights, the smell of cinnamon and hot chocolate, the feeling of nostalgia, a lovers' tinkling laugh."

With a smirk, Jeon Jungkook snorts, "Mischievously. A game of cat and mouse without the risk of being caught. A drawn out waltz, a gamble with everything to lose, a sleight of hand. Love like there is only a day left. Love like a fleeting dance. Hold one close as a reminder of what can be lost the next second." He slides his hands into his pockets. "Never think that there is a love for an eternity, just one that teases you that it will."

Kim Namjoon takes a moment to think before murmuring, "Cautiously. Be at home in the dark, but never take your home for granted. Appreciate the comfort of the starting rays of dawn, but take the promises of tomorrow with a grain of salt. You will have everything one moment and nothing the next. Prepare for the wrath of the stars though their light is all you've ever wanted—needed." "Wholly," he adds after a moment's pause. "If one does not know love, whisper what they deserve and gladly fill the gaps in the spaces between fingers. Love like the sun gradually starts to rise to bathe the earth entirely with its glow. Love with everything until there is nothing left. Never be afraid to give up yourself even if it's just in exchange of one part of them. As the rivers ran out to seas, so will you."

With a rumble of laughter, Mathan Foley answers in a strong voice, "Bravely. Remember that fear is the hurricane of love. If you let it ravage you, you are left with nothing but debris. See the fire and be willing to play with it. Know that without it the path will not be illuminated if you don't strive to bring light first. It is a bird taking flight, a wild cat ready to pounce, Prometheus stealing fire. Love like you have nothing to lose."

"Smartly," Kaelyn Grey answers with a nod, hands going to her hips. "Know the length and depth of the fall and know that the limitations will only be your mind. Know when to strike, to block, and to parry, but never retreat. Enjoy the hunt and dance to the beat of victory. Let it be as strong as the pull of the moon on the tides. Bend the cosmic laws around you, but understand how to avoid the aftershock."

"Divinely," Kim Seokjin answers, fiddling with a golden ring on his finger. "As if you hold the whole universe in your hands and all you have to do to keep everything turning is to hold it close. Chase it as the moon chases the sun, and once in its grasp, create the most beautiful sight to man. Embrace the light that you've found, but don't be afraid to let sunbeams drip from the cracks of between your fingers. Hail it as your new religion, and when you speak, let galaxies spill from your teeth. Connect the oceans and the heavens with one hand all the while flattening the demons with the other." "Filled with the wisps and whispers of dreams. Pulling them in like the tide, a fantastical magnet—a connection challenging reality. To fall asleep in the arms of a beautiful unreality that you wake up longing for the clouds. It's trying to love the conman and losing yourself happily to the magic of illusion. Let them turn to you as man would turn to dreams."