a/n: This is in third person because although the focus is Taehyung, it does switch to Jimin for a short time.

~

Clear blue

Water

High tide

Came and brought you in

~

Taehyung hated getting tan. The beach was the best spot to do so. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to hate the place.

The clear, bright, blue sky. Birds soaring across it, their wings stretched out, riding the slight breeze. Smooth sand lying comfortingly underneath Taehyung's feet. The water sparkling as if it had a million diamonds on its surface. People laughing, people talking, people resting, people playing.

He was there with a group of his friends, but they hadn't wanted to go down to the water, opting instead to stay in their spot in the shade of a tall tree. Taehyung, with his pants rolled up to his knees and his shoes kicked off, ran to the water's edge. Before he could run in and splash around the cold, refreshing ocean, Taehyung spotted a guy a few meters away. He was wearing a white t-shirt and light shorts. His knees were hugged to his chest, and only half his body was out of the water and dry. He was just looking off into the distance, letting the waves come in and soak him before pulling away to start over.

Taehyung never liked being alone, so he always assumed other people didn't like it either. Without thinking too much, which he didn't actually do much of before doing things anyway, Taehyung waded into the water in the direction of the sitting brunette. When he was close enough, Taehyung reached down to tap on the man's shoulder. He didn't move. Taehyung tried again, tapping a little harder.

"Excuse me?"

Finally, the guy turned. He didn't look especially sad or angry or whatever Taehyung expected, but instead was calm with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Yes? Do you need something?"

Taehyung bit his lip and walked around to be beside the other, who was eyeing him with light curiosity. Taehyung slowly bent down and sat beside the stranger, successfully drenching his clothes. When the cold water hit his stomach, he let out a hiss. The unknown man next to him smiled a little bit.

"I, uh, thought you might like some company," Taehyung said.

The man shook his head, looking off to the horizon again. "No."

Taehyung's spirits plummeted. He'd have to go home soaking for no reason.

"But I wouldn't mind it if you stayed."

Oh.

Taehyung looked to the horizon, too. He couldn't find much about it that was interesting, and wondered what the other was thinking about. He also wondered a lot of other things.

"So... what's your name?" The brown haired man's gaze fell to Taehyung.

"Park Jimin."

"Okay. Jimin-ssi, why are you sitting in the water in your clothes?"

Jimin smiled. "Why are you?"

Taehyung frowned. "I thought it was obvious. Because of you."

Jimin looked back to the sea and nodded.

Taehyung wasn't satisfied with his answer, but he didn't push farther.

"Well, I'm Taehyung."

~

Skies grew

Darker

Currents

Swept you out again

~

Taehyung's throat hurt from screaming for so long and his ears hurt from hearing screaming for so long and his head hurt from the fast pace of events and his heart hurt because he knew how it was going to end.

Finally, he climbed out of the car, stumbling a little from how numb he felt. He stopped to catch his breath before locking the car and walking out on to the long stretch of sand.

It was night time, and a cold wind that swept by raised goosebumps along Taehyung's skin. His hiccuped breathing carried farther than he liked because of how quiet it was. Soft, yellow lights did almost nothing to brighten the area. Crossing his arms and holding himself tight to keep warm in his coat, Taehyung walked to the edge of the water. Even though he couldn't see anything, he could taste the salt in the air and hear the water against the sand, and that was enough to comfort him. The tears eventually stopped flowing, and his mind cleared a little so that he could think about the night's events without emotion clouding his logic.

After a few minutes, movement to his left caught his eye. Uncautiously, Taehyung walked over to inspect. It was a person in the water. Taehyung wanted to know what they were doing in the water in the middle of the night, seemingly in regular clothes, so he pulled off his shoes and rolled up his pants like he'd done so three years prior. As he got closer, he was able to make out the shape of the person, and the much-too-thin shirt they were wearing with pajama pants that were doused in salt water to the mid-thigh.

He didn't move closer to them, deciding to speak from where he was.

"What are you doing in the water so late?"

"Thinking." The person, a man, replied.

"About what?" asked Taehyung.

"My boyfriend."

"What about your boyfriend? Why do you need to go into the ocean in pajamas to think about him?"

"We had an argument."

"What was it about?"

The man sighed loudly. "I don't know."

Taehyung didn't know what else to say. "What are you thinking about now, then?"

There was a long pause.

"I think I'm going to break up with him."

Fresh tears sprung from Taehyung's eyes. He walked deeper into the water, not worrying about his pants, not stopping until he was right behind Jimin, who hadn't turned around yet. Taehyung pulled Jimin into his arms, pressing his face into the crook of Jimin's neck from behind and holding the other as close and tight as he could. He sobbed into Jimin while Jimin stood, not saying anything or doing anything, for all of the ten minutes. Finally, Taehyung was able to calm down, and his grip around Jimin's torso loosened a little bit, enough for Jimin to carefully turn around.

Jimin met Taehyung's eyes, which were puffy and red from constant crying. Jimin softly put his hands on Taehyung's sides without loosing eye contact.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," Taehyung said in a hoarse voice.

Jimin went up on his tippy toes and kissed Taehyung softly, for the last time. Tears streamed down Taehyung's face again, and he felt cold when Jimin's lips weren't touching his anymore. He hiccuped. Jimin's eyebrows creased, and he showed a hint of sadness.

"Are you going to walk away from me now?" Taehyung asked.

Jimin shook his head. "I want you to walk away from me."

"One more hug, please." Jimin nodded. Taehyung leaned down and squeezed Jimin as tight as he could. He felt Jimin wrap his arms around his neck, but he didn't play with Taehyung's hair like he always did. Taehyung shook as he cried in Jimin's arms, thankful that the other didn't pull away. Finally, after forever and still not long enough, it would never be long enough, Taehyung let go. He stood back, looking at the most beautiful thing in his world for ten seconds before quickly placing a peck on his cheek. Then he willed himself to stop crying and slowly turn around. He dragged his feet until somehow he was out of the water, standing in the wet sand. Leaving his shoes and socks, he ran the rest of the way, up the slight hill and into the parking lot, where his car was. He didn't allow himself time to think as he started his car and drove away from the horrifying place as fast as he could.

~

In silent screams

In wildest dreams

I never dreamed of this

~

Taehyung slipped his suit jacket on as he left the house, running late as usual. When he got into the office, his assistant handed him a coffee, which he took with a 'Thank you' before setting his things in his office and rushing out again to attend his first meeting. He was meeting with a newcomer to the company, someone who he was supposed to mentor. He forgot the name, but thought it was Min-Something.

He burst through the doors of the meeting room. The newcomer was already there, bowing.

"Hello. Please treat me well."

Taehyung's heart stopped.

~

Tossing

Turning

Struggled through the night with someone new

~

His friends needed to stop sending him out on dates with these people. It never led to anything more, and it never would. He, for the fifth time that month, climbed out of the man's bed he'd never wanted to get into in the first place and quietly slipped on his clothes before sneaking away.

~

Lantern

Burning

Flickered in my mind for only you

~

Taehyung waited for the ride he'd called for, thinking about work. The man he had to mentor every month now. Min Jimin. He'd gotten married, apparently.

Jimin pretended not to know Taehyung. Taehyung knew he had to be professional, and followed Jimin's lead. They didn't mention anything from the past, but their relationship was more strained than that of usual mentors and their "pupils".

Taehyung longed to talk to Jimin. Maybe over a cup of coffee or something if not at work where they had to see each other anyway. Even if he was married, Taehyung wanted to be his friend. Jimin was still the best person he knew.

The next day, Taehyung arrived to work on time, probably for the first time in weeks. He was in a good mood for being on top of things, and the weather just made it b