“Are you sure no one will notice you? Aren’t you famous?” Jiyeong hissed. She was sitting in the bus next to Jimin, who had a cap pulled down in order to cover most of his eyes. Although there was only an old lady inside the bus (along with the driver) with them, Jiyeong was afraid a group of girls would come and bother them. Weren’t idols always chased by stalker-like fans?

“I doubt it.” Jimin shrugged nonchalantly. “I ride this bus all the time. Barely anyone ride Bus 221, so it’s kind of like my private method of transportation.” A smug smile tugged on the corners of his lips.

Jiyeong wasn’t sure why Jimin let her follow him. He had even paid for her bus fee. Heck, she wasn’t even sure where Jimin was headed. Maybe he just wanted a ride around the city. The bus was calming and quiet – it almost seemed like a gently rocking crib.

But then… The girl’s eyes traveled to Jimin’s hands. He was holding a small bouquet of white roses. Before getting on the bus, he had purchased them at the tiny flower stop near the bus stop. Jiyeong wondered if he was visiting a friend or relative. Who knew – he might have a secret girlfriend.

Several stops later, Jimin rang the bell to get off. He shrugged his shoulder and Jiyeong’s head rolled off. She jumped up, realizing that she had fallen asleep – unfortunately, on Jimin’s shoulder. Sheepishly, she glanced at the boy, but he didn’t even glance back at her. His vision was focused on outside the bus. Jiyeong rubbed her eyes and peered out the window.

It seemed like they had left the city. It was almost like the countryside, with grass growing on stretches of land bare of any buildings. When Jimin stood to get off, Jiyeong automatically followed.

“Where are we?” she asked as the bus sped away, leaving them at a bus stop that would’ve been just the side of the road if it didn’t have a tiny sign poking from the ground. Jimin said nothing and started walking. Jiyeong, of course, followed.

A few minutes away, Jiyeong could see huge stones scattered about in front of them. When they got closer, she realized that they were tombstones. Her eyes widened. Did one of Jimin’s relatives pass away?

Jimin stopped at a couple of tombstones lying side by side. He knelt down and carefully placed his bouquet in the middle of the two. Jiyeong stopped right behind him, standing. She noticed that the last names of the inscribed names on the tombstones were “Park.” Then it dawned on her. She remembered that Taehyung had said the Jimin was an orphan. Jimin was visiting his parents’ grave.

Then Jiyeong heard sniffling. To her utter surprise, Jimin was crying. Sobs escaped from his mouth and he buried his face in his hands. Jiyeong’s jaw dropped.

They stayed in those positions for a couple of minutes. Then Jiyeong dropped onto her own knees and gently placed a hand on Jimin’s shoulders. She could feel him trembling under her hand as he cried.

It wasn’t the first time she had comforted someone who had been crying, but Jimin had been the last person she had expected would cry. He was the one who always insisted that she minded her own business like the third rule of the House of Secrets, but he had taken her to his parents’ graves – a place that would obviously mean a lot to him personally. Had he finally opened up to her? It confused her. Especially since she knew her current identity, the one that he knew, was a lie.

She was silent, wishing there was something more she could do other than reassure him with her hand on his shoulder.

The bus ride home was quiet. Jimin’s eyes were slightly red-rimmed, but he had stopped sniffling. He was staring out the window, so Jiyeong couldn’t see his expression at all from next to him because his face was turned away. Outside, the sky was dark. The two were the only people on the bus, save the driver.

“Are you okay?” Jiyeong murmured, breaking the silence. To her surprise, Jimin turned towards her. His face was expressionless, causing a twinge of disappointment in Jiyeong’s chest. He had shut himself away again.

“Three years ago, on this day, my parents passed away.” The boy’s voice was curt.

“Oh. I’m… sorry.” Jiyeong felt guilty for yelling at him for not working on the research project with her that afternoon. Not knowing what else to do, she put a hand on Jimin’s. “My parents… passed away too when I was young. I barely remember them, but… I know they loved me. And even though they’re gone now, that love still lives in my heart.”

She closed her eyes quickly, trying to push away the traumatic memories that were threatening to resurface. She focused on one person from her memories: Jungkook. She had found him like how a person wandering, lost in a dark cave, finds the glimpse of light signaling the exit. And he had pulled her out into the sunny outside world. She knew that before Jungkook had been her dear brother, but his memories were fuzzy since it had been so long ago.

Jiyeong wondered who had pulled Jimin out of his cave of misery. Whoever he or she had been, that person did a pretty good job, for Jimin seemed like an energetic, although a little arrogant, boy. Curiousity getting better of her, she cautiously asked what was on her mind.

“No one did.” Jimin’s first words startled Jiyeong. “I saved myself.” He let out a painful laugh. “I was fourteen. I was dead myself for several months – nothing but a shell on the outside. But then… one day I was lying on my bed like how I was most of the time.... just lying there. It was bright outside, maybe late morning. A small shaft of sunlight was peeking out from between my curtains. And there were these dust particles sparkling in that shaft. I felt myself reaching a hand out to disrupt their dance in the air. It was strangely marvelous and beautiful. That’s when I realized… I wanted to live. I wanted to live in a world that had so many wonders, no matter how little, in my life.

“I got up and went outside. I was just walking in a straight line, not knowing where I was going. It was probably the first time I had gone out in like months. That’s when I passed a church. It must’ve been a Sunday, because I heard the choir singing. It was about the strength and eternality of a parent’s love. It was so beautiful… Tears came running down my cheeks. That’s when I decided to devote myself to singing.”

“And you became an idol,” Jiyeong ended softly.

Jimin nodded. “And I became a singer,” he corrected her.

Jiyeong was silent for a moment. “I admire you,” she finally said. “You had the strength to escape that depression by yourself.”

Jimin frowned. “How old were you when your parents passed away?”

“One. Or two,” the girl admitted.

Sighing, Jimin leaned back into the seat. “You were way too young. So who saved you?”

“Well… I had a brother. But he was taken away from me when I was four.” Jiyeong’s voice was barely above a whisper. “And then… I met Jungkook.”

The expression on Jimin’s face showed that he finally understood why Jungkook had been so keen on being with Jiyeong all the time. “So you’re brother… do you know where he is now?”

“No. That’s what I want to find out.”

“Is that why you came to attend Taejong High?”

After some hesitation, Jiyeong nodded. That was the closest to the truth she could tell Jimin right now.

“By the way,” the girl said, changing the subject, “Why did you tell me all this? Are we… friends now?”

Jimin chuckled. “Yeah, I guess we are. You’re really somebody, making us break the sacred rules of the House.”

Jiyeong smiled, but a heavy weight settled on her heart. Was it really alright to become so close to the tenants of the House? That hadn’t been part of her main plan.

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