Chapter Text
[honolulu hawaii, 7:00am]
"taehyungie, when i pass, please dont mourn for me. ill still be here with you, just like always. i'll be the flowers you water and the grass you step on. i'll be the butterflies flying in the field behind our house, okay baby? there's no need to cry when i'm not going anywhere. i'll just be inhabiting another body for awhile, " the soothing, raspy voice of taehyungs mother whispered to the crying eight year old. he held a vice like grip on her hand, shaking silently as he watched her take her near to final breaths. it felt so empty in the hospital room, having been the single child to a husbandless mother.
with his father passing barely three weeks prior, it certainly felt like the world was out to get him. his had been a heart attack: quick and painful as he fell to the ground after working in their fields all day. luckily, taehyung hadn't been the one to find him lying lifelessly, but he had bared witness to the ambulances pulling up and rushing his body into the back of the truck. his body, which was slowly turning cold as his soul drifted towards a warmer plain. his mother held him as they watched the flashing lights turn from on to off and drive away. the loud sirens would've been comforting in contrast to how quiet the world seemed, as though nothing had happened at all. as though his father hadn't just died on the flowers he'd planted hours before this. but no sounds rang through his ears, besides the ones he was making. he never knew such a big sob could come from such a small body.
now, his mother is suffering a similar fate. since his fathers passing, she'd been suffering mini strokes. her emotions were taking her down slowly and slowly until she couldn't move any longer. she'd been in the hospital for about a week when the fateful conversation came. the "i'm going to die soon and i'm so sorry, but let's all pretend it will be okay" talk everyone must have with a dying parent. taehyung only hoped it wouldn't have been in such close proximity with his fathers unexpected passing.
all he could do was shake his head, cry out for her to stay. he didn't want her to become a butterfly, he didn't want her to turn into the same flowers his father had died on. he wanted her alive and warm and holding him on the front porch as it rained. he wanted movie nights where he would fall asleep and she would rub his back until the movie finished, then tell him all about it at the end. he wanted her to live. to make it through this series of bad emotions and live on to the next. he knew it was possible, they made it almost two weeks without his father just okay. she could make it hundreds more. if taehyung could, she had to as well.
but she couldn't. this time, the only sound that he could hear was a steady beep of the machine alarming the hospital that she was gone. it wasn't the comforting sound he had wished for when the ambulance took his dad. it was terrifying. she was truly gone, like gone gone. like, not coming back for dinner after going to a friends house gone. and that was terrifying. he would have to watch his movies alone, to rub his own back and watch the rain himself. and all he could do was watch and weep.
just weep and weep and weep until a doctor came in and pulled him aside, murmuring something about calling a family member. something something get me help. something something where's your father at? something something something.
his brain felt awfully quiet, except for the one thought that hit him in his small chest like a ton of rocks: why does everyone i love leave?
waking up in a cold sweat, taehyung shot upright with a small shout. his dog began barking at the sudden sound, and he found himself slowly reeling back in from his dream. his cheeks were flushed with tears and his back was wet, now soaked in an uncomfortable sweat from his terrible memories. he grimaced at the feeling and quickly got out of bed to change. you'd think that after having this reoccurring dream once a week, you'd be immune to it. as he grabbed a clean shirt from his messied desk, his eyes glanced down at his phone screen and he nearly started crying again as he realized it was time to get ready for his first day on the job as a tour guide. all taehyung can hope is that he won't regret this as much as he currently is.
-
[seoul korea, 3:56am]
"jeongguk, get your shit! its time to go!"
"relax, i am!" jeongguk shouted back, quickly hurrying around his disorganized room as he buttoned the shirt he just grabbed off the floor. jeongguk and his best friend jimin had planned this trip months ago, so what had jeongguk been doing instead of packing? well, he recently got addicted to karaoke, and would instead spend his nights singing rather than packing, which is what he was doing moments before his friend unlocked the door to his house and started yelling. to be completely fair, he had forgotten they were supposed to leave tonight. or rather, this morning. not that that would've changed his decision in packing any, but it may have made him at least consider it way sooner than one minute ago.
jeongguk opened his dresser and began pulling out a strange assortments of shirts and then an even stranger assortment of shorts and pants. he did a quick glance at everything together, assessing that they would all match at least something in this pile, before shoving them in his suitcase. he hurriedly pulled on a pair of black, clunky sneakers and rushed down the stairs to retrieve his camera.
"jeongguk!" jimin groaned, throwing his arms down as he saw the boy zoom past for his device. "i know i know, i'm almost ready!" he replied in a hurry, running back up the steps to grab his messy bag. "did you grab your suit!?" jimin yelled as jeongguk stood at the top of the stairs. "why would i need one?" jeongguk yelled back, and he heard an aggravated sigh leave his friends mouth, "for the formal party our tour takes us on, dumbass!" jeongguk let out an 'ah!' and ran back into his room to grab his fanciest looking suit. once he attained the outfit and had his bag, he ran back down the steps, nearly tripping into jimin as he reached the bottom. his friend grabbed him by the wrist the minute they locked eyes and ran them to his car, not waiting for any other delays or complaints.
"you idiot, we're going to be late for our flight!" he swore, starting the car up and beginning to drive off as jeongguk was still buckling his seat-belt. he slung forward and grabbed the handle on the ceiling for support as his friend drove fifteen over the speed limit. luckily, he shoved his suit in his suitcase as they ran to the car and threw it in the backseat when jimin did, or else they would've left without them.
"jimin, we will be fine," jeongguk looked down at the clock that read 4:06 am. "the flight doesn't leave until four thirty anyway." "i know, but the airport is fifteen fucking minutes away!" "that means we'll arrive at four twenty-one, that's still enough time." jeongguk reasoned with a smile and jimin wanted to strangle the boy right then. thank god he was driving or else he would've.
"no jeongguk, that means we have to rush to where our gate is and put all of our things on the plane, BEFORE four thirty!" he explained angrily, gripping the steering wheel and zooming past red lights as he took another glance at the clock.
"we'll be fine jiminie. plus, they can't leave without us. we're the life of the party," jeongguk crossed his arms with a grin and jimin chuckled. "shut up, im being mad at you."
"'kay, well you can't be mad for long. we'll be sitting by each other for like, nine hours," jeongguk reminded him with a teasing tone as he looked towards the driver. jimin rolled his eyes. "nine hours with you? that sounds like a punishment," he replied and jeongguk feigned annoyance with a scoff, putting a hand over his heart as though he'd been shot. "if there's a hot guy sitting by himself, im sitting beside him instead."
"you mean i need to sit by a stranger? fine then, no longer best friends, i guess," jeongguk grumbled, sinking into his seat with a frown as he crossed his arms and jimin laughed happily. jeongguk smiled at his friend and turned his gaze towards the window as he watched the city rush past them. might as well take in the view as it'll be the last time he's seeing it for quite some time. he turned up the music a bit louder and let himself hang onto this moment.
-
"jeongguk, hurry up!" jimin called back to his friend, who was falling terribly behind, as they ran through the airport towards their gate. "jimin! wait up, jesus christ!" he panted, tugging his large suitcase as he sprinted towards the smaller man. he's sure he's disrupting the rest of the airport with their yells, but right now he hardly cares as he noticed the bold numbers 4:24 am glaring at him from his watch. "shit," he whispered, running even faster to arrive at their gate.
as he got there, jimin gave the woman both his and jeongguks tickets without so much of a word, and began to run down the clearing with his baggage. jeongguk begrudgingly followed, jogging behind the boy breathlessly to catch up to where he was. they gave the carrier people their luggage, saying a quick "thank you so much," and sprinted into the air-conditioned plane.
the plane was quiet. it was like they had ran into a classroom during nap time. a few people whispered to one another, someone was snoring, many were asleep, and others were looking directly towards the newcomers. they must've looked crazy; running onto the plane like a bat out of hell, as though they were just being chased and were about to tell the whole plane they needed to run and hide too. they were disheveled, a little sweaty, and definitely breathless. they definitely weren't the sight you wanted to see at 4 in the morning.
jimin walked with laboured breaths towards the window seat, plopping down in it as jeongguk sat beside him. they both attempted to catch their breaths - quietly as to not alarm anybody of how hard they were running - and looked around the plane for a flight attendent who may materialize at any second to offer them a much needed cup of water. they didn't appear, but the boys kept their eyes open for one just in case. then, once their chests had settled back to a normal pace, a silence fell between the pair.
jeongguk was the first to break it: "decided to sit beside me after all, huh?"