Slowly and Painfully ー ✓

Epilogue

Everything looked so hazy, yet so vivid at the same time. He didn't understand where he was and why he was running, but Min Yoongi was tightly holding someone's hand, and his overworked body was telling him that he shouldn't let go no matter what happens.

So he grabbed the anonymous hand tighter and continued to run.

Branches and leaves grazed at his temples, at his legs, and at his waist. A forest? As he increased speed, he sensed something thump his hips in repeat with the same beat of his silent leaps. A dagger?

What the heck is going on here?

Before he could have the chance to comprehend the situation he was under in, a cliff greeted him at his feet. His eyes widened. A rapid stream waited for them not too far below.

Wait! No! He wanted to yell, but no voice came out from his mouth. He wanted to hit the brakes, but his feet were locked in its current speed. Stop!

He didn't stop. He jumped. Together with the unknown identity.

That was when Min Yoongi realized—maybe this wasn't his body at all.

Then, it was silent. And black.

Familiar voices began to resonate in his mind, the dragging echo leading him to think that these came from far, far away. A distance so long that he couldn't see the owners of talking shadows.

You won't die, right?

I won't, foolish you.

Then promise me. Promise me that we will meet again.

I promise.

Yoongi woke up, sitting up straight quite abruptly, which startled an older man in cat-paws-imprinted pajamas passing by. He made no sound, not even a gasp. He just frowned in confusion.

“Hey, you're awake.” His brother stated in case the younger male was only half-conscious. “And you fell asleep on the couch. Again. I can't believe that you can stand the chilly weather with a mere scruffy old blanket your friends gave you from last year's Christmas.”

“It's enough to keep me warm, Geumjae.” He managed a mumble, wearing his black slippers before trudging his body towards the bathroom. It was still quite early in the morning and yet he was already tired, all thanks to that freaky dream.

It felt real. It felt so real.

“Wait, you have two hours to spare.” The older sibling blinked in surprise, glimpsing at the clock on the wall of their living room and then back at the ebony-haired young man. “You can go extend naptime in your room.”

“Nah, I can go extend naptime at school.” Yoongi said dismissively, waving a tepid hand. “Why are you wearing my pajamas by the way? Paw prints don't suit you.”

“U-Uh...”

While Geumjae was so immersed in stammering an excuse for stealing his brother's pajamas, an hour passed after the younger male got out of his hot bath and speedily wore a simple wool cashmere sweater, skinny jeans, and laced up boots.

“Yoongi, I—wait! You're leaving? Now?” the adult rushed to the threshold where he heard shuffling footsteps. “What about breakfast?”

“I'll pass.” The second son of the Min family casually replied, slinging a gray-scale bag over his shoulder that had a treble clef professionally stitched at the center. He did a little bow and his lips drew a thin line. “Have fun at work.”

“Bro, you—”

The apartment door softly clicked to a close.

Geumjae sighed, walking back to the kitchen and putting on his apron. “Something must be bugging him.”