Like parallel lines running in opposite directions, the Yin dimension and the Yang dimension were separate worlds that flowed in perfect sync. People living in the Yin dimension aging up and people living in the Yang dimension aging down. But the interesting thing is, once a person’s life is nearing its end in one dimension, they begin anew in the other, forming a never-ending life cycle that’s existed since the beginning of time.

People in the Yin and Yang dimensions never came in contact with each other simply because they aged in opposite timelines and any form of interaction would just create a paradox.

The only case you’ve ever heard about where two people who aged in opposite timelines were able to see each other and fall in love was the famous story of a boy named, Park Jimin, and his lover Kim Taehyung thousands of years ago. It was quite the legend, a tale told to every kid when they were little. Parents always reassured their children that glitches like that only happen once in a million years because the Yin dimension and the Yang dimension flowed in a perfect parallel cycle, and any kind of error was VERY rare. Some people even went as far as to say, the story is nothing but an urban legend about star-crossed lovers, made up to teach children a life lesson, because the accuracy of the flow of time in the dimensional cycle is apparently 100%.

But this very legend had it’s reputation as most popular children’s bedtime story long before you were even born, mainly because of the lovable protagonist Park Jimin, who was described as a pink-haired, fairy –like boy from the Yin dimension, and his lover Kim Taehyung, a beautiful sun-kissed prince from the Yang. It was less about the actual paradox of two opposite timelines colliding and more about what would happen to people if they lost their practical mindset. The two lovers could’ve chosen to forget about each other and just let the cycle naturally correct the mistake it made. But in the end, their love consumed them and they were forced into the dark depths of a black hole, eternally lost. Or so the story goes….

You had no idea how the telling of this legend became an unchanging tradition, let alone why it was even necessary to expose children to such a tragic tale.

The concept of death was literally that, a concept, because no one existing in either the Yin or Yang dimensions knew what death actually was, because life to them was just an endless cycle, a progression of time in a circle…from old to young, young to old and back again.

To just suddenly not exist one day was unfathomable, and no one would trade eternal life for mortality, so perhaps the legend served the purpose of giving people an idea of true love, another unfamiliar concept (perhaps even more unfamiliar than death) for the people of the two dimensions.

…

“Mom, we’re out of peanut butter!” You shout from the kitchen as you stare at the empty cupboard in disappointment. You had been craving the taste of sweet nuttiness since school this morning, daydreaming about how good the creamy concoction would taste upon hitting your tongue once you got home, only to find that you may not be able to get the satisfaction that had been nagging you all day.

“There should be more in the fridge” You hear the familiar voice of your mom shout back from the study room.

You quickly rush over and open the fridge, the cool air greeting you with a fog that hits your face. You scan the separate levels before you finally spot the brown jar next to the carton of eggs. Yes. Sweet creamy goodness.

It was late in the afternoon and you could still hear the screams of children playing outside. Kids. You roll your eyes, an air of superiority surrounding you as you stuff a potato chip into your mouth. You were only nine years old, but you like to think you were mentally more mature than most kids your age. After all, your birthday was coming up soon, and you’ll soon be a decade old.

You turn on the TV and watch the usual after school cartoons while snacking on junk and sipping on juice. School cafeteria food was gross, so you always came home famished and would rummage through the kitchen in search of your favorite foods. Your favorite time of the day, hands down, was settling in on the big comfy couch surrounded by an array of snacks and watching the colorful scenes of your favorite cartoons flash across the TV screen.

Generally speaking, life in the Yin dimension was cool toned. Cool toned as in blues, purples, and greens, like the feeling of winter or the shady side of the mountain, a world controlled by the moon. Of course that didn’t mean there was no sun, it’s just that from what you’ve heard, the sun isn’t as warm as it is in the Yang dimension due to the further distance.

You had learned about the Yang dimension in school, because it was one of those required subjects. There was an entire class dedicated to studying the Yang dimension, the other side that people in the Yin dimension would reach only when their lives in the Yin dimension came to an end and by that time, every Yin part of them would disappear and their inner dormant Yang would take over.

According to your textbook, the Yang dimension was the exact oppose of the Yin, it’s a warm toned place, as in the yellows, reds, and oranges. A dimension that was much closer to the sun, and thus dictated by its warm rays.

It wasn’t wrong to say you and everyone in the Yin dimension had technically come from the Yang dimension and vice versa. But no one remembers their life in the other dimension because their memories of that dimension are completely wiped clean as the cycle starts anew and their cells are regenerated on a molecular level in the other dimension. The only constant was everyone basically stays the same person, so personality and everything is the same and whatnot.

It’s complicated to say the least, but no one really questioned the natural laws of the universe (other than the scientists that dedicated their lives to researching dimensional universes). However, the one unchanging fact that everyone knew was that citizens of Yin and Yang could never come in contact with each other. There was just no way, and as much as some people wanted to believe in the so-called “glitches”, it was much safer to just neglect the 0.0000001% error rate because who wants to deal with a paradox that puts the fabric of time at risk?

At any rate, childhood was the epitome of a person’s carefree years, and the only thing the simple-minded nine year old you was busy concerning yourself over was what to snack on afterschool, not the workings of dimensional universes. They were the days of non-existent social problems in school, non-existent homework stress, and definitely no future planning anxiety. Because at nine-years old, you were too young to profoundly consider the world you lived in, the dimensional spaces your brain couldn’t perceive, or the universes you were destined to discover.

That is…until you met him….

~

The first time you met Jeon Jungkook was on your tenth birthday.

On that day, he was nothing more than the strange man who jumped into a dark portal that suddenly opened in the middle of the park. The ten year old you just stood in the grass, strands of hair ruffling from the calm breeze that swooped by; head slightly tilted, bright, innocent eyes wide open and starring at him with wonder and disbelief.

There was a certain amount of confusion, but your young mind was too naïve to question his actions or what they entailed.