“Kookie!” You shout when you spot the little kid sitting on the bench under a cherry blossom tree.

He looks up, confused; not knowing where the sound came from or if he was just imagining someone call his name. Maybe he was just hallucinating, since that fist hitting the side of his head moments ago had made his vision swirl with stars. He had been so caught up, silently praying that the school bully who just stole his money wouldn’t come back to beat him up again, that he wasn’t even aware of where he was.

You look at the little boy sitting on the bench, eyes wide and anxious, or more like scared. You were some strange lady approaching him out of nowhere, so of course that terrified look in his eyes was completely understandable.

If him not waiting at the usual spot didn’t already make it obvious enough, the fear in his eyes did.

. This is the first and last isn’t it?

“Umm, uh…hey there” You say as you cautiously walk up to the little boy with pouty coral lips and soft flushed cheeks.

“They started it” He says, trying to explain that whatever happened previously wasn’t his fault.

“What?” You ask confused and scanning the area to see whom Jungkook was talking about, but there wasn’t a single person around.

You look at the boy who is now pointing to the red mark on the side of his head.

“Minsu punched me because I wouldn’t give him the money my mom gave me to buy my favorite candy with. I fell and he took it anyways.”

You just now notice the trace of dried tears staining his cheeks, and the sight is so heartbreaking you feel your chest tighten as your heart twists into knots. Who would do something that awful to such a gentle, caring little boy?

“Forget about that kid,” You say, trying to hold back your own tears. “I’ll buy you that candy.”

“You’d really do that?” He says, face lighting up and eyes twinkling under the cherry blossoms.

You nod, giving him a small smile.

“But who are you?” He suddenly asks, remembering that you’re a stranger he’s never met before.

Oh boy. Here we go. You think as you begin explaining everything, or at least the parts that were safe to tell him about.

You manage to finish by the time Jungkook is happily on his strawberry lollipop. He looked like he wasn’t even interested in anything you were explaining to him, but it didn’t bother you because you were able to make him happy and that’s all that really mattered at that moment.

“Jiminie and TaeTae?” He says, after you mention your situation being similar to that of the famous legend.

You almost burst into tears at how adorable he was, even though you had already met the eleven year old him and should’ve been eased into this sea of cuteness, but the way he squeaked their names was just too much for you to handle.

“Y-yeah, but things will all make sense later” You reassure him, knowing that your time is short and there were more imminent things you had to address that day.

“Thank you for buying me candy” He says, finishing the lollipop and tossing the stick it into the trashcan on the side of the sidewalk.

The two of you continue to walk and chat, you notice that you’re doing most of the talking because Jungkook is very quiet around strangers. It was never that obvious to you how shy he was since you’ve never met him when he didn’t know you yet. Put another way, this is the first time you’re experiencing him meeting you for the first time.

“You’re leaving?” He asks, bottom lip trembling as he looks at you after you tell him you have to go soon. His large doe eyes were almost too big for his small baby face, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen a sight as lovable and angelic (and maybe you never will again).

“You’ll see me again next year,” You say, repeating the words the adult Jungkook had said to you the first time you met him.

“Well, I’m glad I met you today” He mumbles shyly, looking at his feet and playing with his fingers. You notice his cheeks flushing slightly as he continues to avoid eye contact for a while.

You smile while looking down at the top of his fluffy dark hair. Thinking that perhaps this is the last time you would feel his endearing aura and see the image of him standing in front of you.

The walk towards the portal was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do in your life. It felt like there were stones tied to your feet, and a mix of contrasting emotions was sweeping through your heart like a hurricane.

You look at the portal that you’ve become very familiar with over the years, its ethereal colors fade to black the second before it closes for the last time, and that’s when you know it has transformed into a wormhole, an entrance to a dimension outside of Yin and Yang.

“The next time he is born and ages up, and you are old and start aging down, it will have been like the glitch never happened as the cycle starts anew, and the thread of time realigns.”

Namjoon’s voice echoes in your head as you stare at the rapidly closing portal.

You’ll forget the lives you had in the Yin and Yang dimensions, and you’ll lose all the traces of the memories you had of him.

Either way, you were going to lose your memories of him, but it was a matter of deciding whether you wanted to give up everything including eternal life to receive the slim chance of finding him and being with him for a limited number of years in another dimension or just continuing on with your life, never having another chance to feel his ethereal presence and comforting warmth ever again.

It’s a hard decision if you think about the details too hard, so you mentally push those aside. Without all the background noise, it really all came down to one thing, and there was not a single doubt in your mind that Jeon Jungkook was worth it.

You turn back and look at the ten year old Jungkook, even at such a young age he was beautiful. His eyes were open as wide as they can go, looking at you with endless wonder, much like the first and last day you saw him jump.

That chocolate haired, doe eyed boy was worth an infinite number of eternal lifetimes and more.

And that’s your last thought as you take the leap of faith.

Then the rest of the world just fades to black.

…

5 years ago in your timeline you had met the fifteen year old Jungkook for the first time, and it was like seeing a tiny seed grow into a giant redwood tree over night…only the other way around.

You had already began to feel how his memory of you slowly faded as your knowledge of him only grew stronger by the year, that is until the day you’ll supposedly just lose it all in the blink of an eye, but you didn’t want to think about that now.

Looking at the scrawny little boy, who was squatting in the field playing with a yellow butterfly, made you wonder how in the world he managed to grow into such an attractive masculine man. No. Scratch that. It made you question all the laws that governed the universe.

Man, puberty must’ve hit him like a train.

“Oh, s-sorry” He stuttered when he saw you standing there waiting for him. He quickly stands up and brushes the grass off his pants.

“Oh no, take your time, I was just….uhh… enjoying the view” You say, trying to act natural and letting Jungkook know you are in no rush at all and that he doesn’t have to be so formal with you. But as you look around, you realized that there’s nothing around except the grassy field and a lone tree. Even Jungkook has to try and suppress a laugh at the awkward situation you just created for yourself.

“There’s a place I want to show you” Jungkook suddenly says, his expression revealing the eagerness bubbling inside of him. “Close your eyes” He says, as he guides you forward, you had no idea where the pre-pubescent teen was taking you, but you just follow along anyways.

“Ok, we’re here” Jungkook says as he finally stops walking and removes his hands from covering your eyes.

You slowly open your eyes, allowing them to gradually adjust to the brightness. Even after so many visits, you still had a hard time adjusting to how vibrant and warm toned the Yang dimension was.

When the scene comes into view, you see that it’s a cherry blossom tree with a wooden bench under it. You watch the soft rosy petals sway as they are blown off the branches and float towards the ground, the tranquil atmosphere enhanced by the gentle breeze and Jungkook’s light voice.

“This has been my favorite place ever since I was ten.” He says. “I know you probably don’t know it yet, but this is where I saw you for the first time.”

And that’s when it hits you. Jungkook had fallen in love with you a long time ago, as early as the first time he met you. And thinking back at all of those doubts and fears that gnawed at you when you were a teen spending time with the older Jungkook afraid he would stop visiting you, feels over the top and unnecessary now. He wouldn’t have gone out of his way to see you every year otherwise, and that feeling that you could never find the right words to describe, that term that has eluded you for so long was…love.

True Love.

Something no one in the Yin or Yang dimension had ever experienced or was ever going to experience, because they didn’t know what it was like to have a time limit.

They didn’t know the feeling of fleeting moments that would never happen again or the look in someone’s eyes when they’re afraid they’ll lose you.

They don’t know that feeling of longing, that emptiness that wakes you up in the middle of the night, the feeling of being complete only when you are with them.

And that was when you realized you had made the decision to jump long before the actual moment came.

…