Interlude: Park Jimin

                                    

                                          


                          
"Hey, Babydoll," Taehyung mumbled to the marble headstone. 
                          
It had been eight years since Jimin died and, like every year, the almost twenty-nine-year-old came to wish him happy birthday. 
                          
Taehyung was dressed in a beige turtleneck and black slacks, a bouquet of blue hydrangeas in his hand. "You would have been twenty-nine today, so..." He set the flowers down by the grave. "I brought these for you. Happy birthday."
                          
Taehyung wanted to cry, but he had no more tears to shed. His depression took a toll on him; he couldn't muster a sad smile for Jimin. Everything had gone numb. 
                          
He cleared his throat and sat down in the grass, facing the grave. "You'd be so disappointed in me, Jimin. I'm not the boy you met; I'm not the one you fell in love with anymore. I don't think you'd be able to recognize me now."
                          
A slight breeze ruffled his dark hair, blowing the leaves across the hauntingly beautiful cemetery. Something about the wind caused an odd feeling to rest inside Taehyung's chest; whatever tension he felt melted away and all his emotions were pushed forth at once. It was confusing, but he used the moment to pour all his thoughts to Jimin. 
                          
"I don't know why this keeps happening, Jimin!" Taehyung hung his head and closed his eyes, voice shaking. "I lost you, then Jungkook, and now Namjoon. It's like everyone I get close to dies, and I -- am I cursed? Is this my punishment for existing? My mother and siblings always told me I was a mistake. Is it true?" 
                          
Taehyung didn't realize he was crying until a hand wiped the tears away. 
                          
"Taehyungie."
                          
Jimin was crouching in front of him, clad in his favorite pair of skinny jeans, a loose white V-neck t-shirt, and his dance jacket. He wore a bright smile, rings on his fingers glinting in the October sun. 
                          
"Can you hear me, Taehyungie?"
                          
The businessman nodded, burying his face in the smaller man's collar bones when he was pulled into a hug. 
                          
"You'll be alright, I promise. It'll be okay," Jimin cooed, running a hand through Taehyung's hair. "I believe in you. You're so strong, Kim Taehyung, so fucking strong."
                          
"I love you," Taehyung sobbed, tightening his grip on his love. 
                          
He felt a kiss be placed in his hair. "I love you so much."
                          
Then Jimin was gone.