Undying Love | Jeon Jungkook

The Light In the Garden

Charlotte~
My gaze shifted upward, looking longingly at the flickers of blue through the thick leaves. I knew there was sunlight out there somewhere, but there were so many trees here that the garden was bathed in shade and shadows. The landscaping was beautiful, but also somewhat depressing to my sunshine loving soul. Scanning the grounds, I found the only patch of daylight on the far side of the yard.

I looked back at Yoongi, who was unconventionally talking a blue streak. Would he allow me to walk around the place? I knew he was trying to maintain his balance on the fence between being kind to me and keeping his place in his clan. Also, his demeanor towards me was so much changed from before that I was hesitant to ask for favors. I assumed his loyalties were to his clan.

Slipping his arm around my shoulders, he inquired, "How does your chest feel today?"

I searched his guileless eyes for a possible ulterior motive to his attentiveness. But there seemed to be only good intentions there.

"It's okay, only a bit of an ache now. Did you see it? Was it bad?"

He nodded as he answered, "You'll add a few new scars to your collection."

Grimacing, I lightly rubbed my hand over my chest where the pain lingered. Looking again at the patch of sunlight, I sighed at how close, and yet how far away it seemed.

"Do you feel up to walking a bit?" he asked, his eyes on the same small bit of sunlit real estate.

"Can we?"

He stood up and extended a hand towards me, which I took. We ambled around the garden, slowly getting closer to my intended objective. We passed by several intricate flowerbeds, which graced the yard with their bright colors. It reminded me of how Yoongi had loved to get his hands in the dirt and make things grow, but that was several lifetimes ago. Surely this wasn't his handiwork.

We walked for a few minutes more before I realized we were fully surrounded by small, bright pink heart-shaped flowers hanging in graceful arches—Yoongi's favorite, bleeding hearts. I chuckled, the irony not lost on me.

"Bleeding hearts? Are these your gardens?" Part of me was delighted that this integral part of Yoongi remained intact after all this time.

He grinned, adorably showing all his gums, obviously pleased that I still knew his handiwork. 

"But how? Are you able to manage sunlight now?" Yoongi had always been paler than the normal person, a wide brimmed sun hat his constant companion. But after he'd been turned, even the smallest amount of sun had quickly caused agonizing burns. Once he'd had my blood a few times though, he could tolerate it better. It was the source of many battles between us; he wanted more and more, and there came a point when I couldn't give him what he needed anymore.

"No, you'll see this garden is purposefully kept in shade. There's a reason for that," he said, wistfully looking around in the dim light. "I planned it that way so we could all come out and enjoy it. Jungkook is barely affected by the rays, but Jimin works nights for a reason; he cannot tolerate it anymore than I can. The rest have varying degrees of tolerance."

I remembered his life before this affliction was foisted upon him; he spent most of his time outside working his farm or in the garden. We spent time picnicking, fishing, or just wandering hand in hand through the forests that bordered our land. Our lives had been bliss. His loss of the outdoors had pained both of us terribly. The loss of his humanity had only pained me.

We had tried to continue on with our life together for a time, but without a mentor to show him the way Yoongi could not control the monster he was quickly becoming.