Seokjin was eleven years old.

He was tall for his age, had a pretty face and smiled easily.  He went to school everyday and also got scolded everyday, because of his lack of attention in class, his tendency to look out the window and to dream about elsewhere, while the teacher was explaining things that were considered way more important than a boy's imagination.

Seokjin didn't have any close friends since his family had just moved in town a few weeks ago and nobody here had similar interests as him. He used to have a few friends in their old town, and he kept his most precious memories about them deep in his heart. He remembered the moments they had together, the exchanged laughs and spontaneous activities they always came up with. It made him smile every times he thought about it, but it made him nostalgic at the same time knowing he had to move and leave everyone behind.

His passion was to draw everything around him in a small notebook he always kept with him. Since his family lived in the countryside, there were many plants and animals around their house which the boy enjoyed observing and drawing. Whenever he saw a flower that was pretty enough, a gracious animal or an adorable ladybug, he couldn't help but to feel the need to protect them, to watch over their health and to ensure their well-being.

Consequently, it had become a habit for him to walk around the nature surrounding his house and water flowers or bring some bread to the birds who chirped happily to thank him.

After a few hours of wandering, every night, Seokjin would hear his mother calling him from afar. '' Jin sweetheart, it's time to come back home! '' He went inside the house for the night and invariably came back the next day to take care of every living creature he encountered.

One day, when the sky was starting to turn grey and the air to feel heavy, foreshadowing a storm, Seokjin climbed on top of an immense rock from where he could see everything from a new perspective. He was a lot higher than the ground now and needed to be careful not to fall, but the view was worth it.

He started to trace on a new page of his notebook the landscape that was unfolding in front of him, the trees and the flowers and the occasional animals who passed by. Satisfied with the result, he snatched the page from the notebook, folded it and put it in his pocket, deciding to colour it later.  

Suddenly, a colorful trace in the air captured his attention. It was flying delicately around the boy but it seemed very weak.

Seokjin approached his hand carefully and the colorful creature accepted to land gracefully on his little finger. It was a butterfly, the most beautiful he had ever seen. But one of his wings seemed weaker than the other, making it difficult for the creature to stay for a long time in the air.

As he observed the butterfly he felt a tiny drop of water roll down his nose and knew immediately that he had to go back into the house if he didn't want to get wet. Bringing with him the butterfly who was too weak to fly away, he hurried back home, following his mother's voice who once again was calling him. ''Jin, come back home now!''

Once inside the house, Seokjin started taking care of the butterfly, searching through an old dusty book to find out what it ate and how it lived, making sure it had everything it needed to survive despite its weakness.

He read that the creature's condition was not rare and that he only needed to provide it a shelter for a few days, so that it could regenerate the cells he needed to reinforce his wings and to be able to fly again.

For the next few days Seokjin didn't leave the house, not going to school or even outside, simply taking care of his precious and delicate butterfly, telling him about his memories with his friends, asking about the way it feels to fly and to be able to run away from the world whenever you feel like it, sharing his solitude with someone.

A few days passed while the boy took care of the beautiful butterfly, which eventually became stronger and even more beautiful. 
One evening, back on top of his rock, in front of the burning sky and the river, Seokjin finally opened the jar in which he had kept his new friend safe for what was now more than a week. Hesitant at first, the butterfly opened his fragile wings who seemed even more colorful because of the sunset light, and he flew away, leaving Seokjin behind, thanks to whom he was now free to go back to his home. 

The boy unfolded the piece of paper that was still in his pocket. To the drawing of a landscape he had previously worked on, he added the numerous colors of the sky in that instant, all vibrant with beauty, like a comforting message from elsewhere. He also drew a small butterfly, its outspread wings taking him up into the sky, so he could remember that beautiful moment forever.

______________________________________________________________________________

In the waiting room of a hospital, five boys were waiting side by side without exchanging a word, all of their eyes glued to the white floor and all their shoulders sagged, as if they had been involved themselves in the car accident that had injured their friends dramatically.

It had been weeks now, maybe months. The boys kept coming day after day, wishing for a change, for a sign from the nurse that everything would be fine, wishing that they could see their friends again. But as time passed their hope diminished slowly, very slowly...

Jimin's cheeks were hollower than ever, sculpted by sadness.
Jungkook's eternal smile had not been seen a single time, erased by the tears.
Hoseok, who used to be cheerful all the time, didn't even have the energy to get up in the morning and live normally anymore.
Yoongi spent his time sleeping, trying in vain to forget about everything. 
Namjoon had no comforting words for any of them anymore.

They had stayed in silence for hours once again, when a nurse approached them with tears in her eyes, and a smile. Immediately, the boys all looked at her, waiting for the news she was bringing.

''Your friend Taehyung... finally woke up.''

The five boys hurried into the hospital room where their friends had been laying for so long, feeling the need to see it with their own eyes, hoping that it was real, that they could talk to Taehyung again.

When they entered the small room, Taehyung was still in the white bed, he was very weak, but his eyes were opened and a delicate smile appeared on his face when he saw his friends all around him, tears in their eyes and relief in their voices as they greeted him. ''Welcome back, friend.''

They talked for a few minutes before the nurse announced Taehyung still needed to rest a lot and to take a series of tests to make sure everything was fine. 
Everyone got out of the room one by one, relieved to see their friend again, but also with regret and pain as they all passed by the second bed of the room, which was occupied by another friend. 

The pale eleven-year-old boy lying between the white sheets, who had not moved for weeks, was named Seokjin. Of all the people involved in the car accident, he was the most injured, the only one to have not yet woken up. Everyone knew that his chances of ever wake up were so thin that they were almost non-existent, yet one person never left his side, always hoping for his return.

''Jin, come back now'' his mother whispered again and again, leaning over Seokjin's motionless body, wishing he would hear her despite the coma from which he would probably never escape.