“Jungkookie ~ ! Wake up, Jungkookie ~ ”

Said boy groaned and buried his face into his pillow, despite all the small kisses his hyung was pressing into him. Not hyung, at least, not just hyung anymore, he thought to himself with a small smile. Last week, a few days after their ‘I Need U’ first win, Jimin had asked him out, and Jungkook had happily said yes.

A deep voice cut through the haze of his sleepiness, likely BTS’ leader whom he shared a room with.

“Jimin, I told you to go wake Jungkook up, not to go make out with him.” Jungkook heard him muttering something about hormonal teenagers as his footsteps faded away.

“But I am waking him up. You never specified the method!” He could almost hear Jimin pouting in his voice.

“Alright, I’m up,” he grumbled, trying to appear disgruntled even though he was more than grateful for Jimin’s method of waking him up. It was much better than Seokjin pinching his s, that was for sure.

The maknae walked into the kitchen where the oldest member was busy flipping eggs. It was then that he remembered what he didn't in his half-asleep state.

“Today's our day off!” he exclaimed in realization. “Why did you guys have to wake me up so early?” His sentence ended in a whine as he reached across the counter to pour himself a glass of water.

“We decided to go on a road trip to Busan,” Seokjin explained, ruffling his hair affectionately. “It'd be good for group bonding, but we'll have to leave early to make the most out of today.”

“And when did we make that decision, exactly?”

“Last night. You were so tired you fell asleep in the middle of the discussion.”

Jungkook turned to see Yoongi stumble through the doorway, rubbing his eyes disgruntledly. His eyes lit up considerably when they fell on Seokjin, and he wandered over to wrap his arms around him, leaning into his broad shoulders in an attempt to fall asleep again.

The maknae rolled his eyes. “Namjoon hyung scolded Jimin hyung for waking me up with kisses, but he completely overlooks the fact that you two are practically married. This is discrimination.”

“You and Jiminnie are still kids!” the leader yelled from the living room area.

“We’re both over the legal age!” Jungkook yelled back indignantly as he set his mug on the dining table.

“Is everyone up? Breakfast is ready!” Seokjin called, as the members began showing up one by one.

✦ ~ ☪ ~ ✦

“We should go on an adventure,” Taehyung proposed out of the blue.

The seven of them were in the company car they had borrowed for the day, cruising along the countryside of Busan after having spent the better part of the morning in the bustling metropolis districts.

“What d’you mean?” Jimin asked from his reclining position in the back seat, his accent surfacing lazily due to the heat of the day.

“Somewhere where there's not a lot of people,” he answered, as if he was seriously considering the idea.

“There's not a lot of people here,” Jungkook pointed out, gesturing to the rolling fields and the ocean in the distance.

“Somewhere with even less people,” Taehyung elaborated. “Y’know the outer districts we passed on our way here? I saw one full of warehouses. Think they're haunted?”

“There's no such thing as ghosts, Taehyung-ah,” Namjoon said in a philosophical tone, having been listening to the conversation.

“We might still find things there. Can we go, Jin hyung?”

“I don't see why not,” the eldest replied. “It depends if everyone else is okay with it…” he trailed off, looking at the cuddling couple in the back, the 94 line that was melting from the heat, and his own boyfriend that was taking a nap shotgun. “I suppose the warehouses could offer some shade,” he relented with a sigh, before turning the car around at the next intersection.

✦ ~ ☪ ~ ✦

Jimin and Jungkook strolled hand in hand, passing through the streets of the ruins of the district. Although both were from Busan, neither had ever had the opportunity of visiting the fallen districts, and they didn't want to admit it, but for once Taehyung’s idea turned out to be a brilliant one.

Inexplicably, the boys were drawn to what once was probably the largest warehouse, but was now nothing more than a charred husk. They carefully stepped inside of the skeletal-like metal frames and split up, poking around the wreckage with interest.

That was when Jungkook was hit with a bout of nausea, falling to his knees, as Jimin followed.

Images assaulted both boys, and unbeknownst to them, the other five members were experiencing the same thing. The scenes whirled past, snapshots of another time, another life perhaps, yet so clearly them. The last scene passed slowly though with less detail: flames, fresh blood, a silver stake, the night sky, fallen roses.

Jungkook gasped as he was suddenly plunged back into the present, certain that what he had seen weren't illusions of some kind, but rather memories. My memories, he thought with a start.

“Hyung, did you - did I - how - what?” Jungkook stuttered, nearly stumbling in his attempt of righting himself. Instinctively, Jimin reached out to grab him before he could fall, although the older boy appeared just as shocked as him.

“I saw it too,” Jimin confirmed. “I think - I think that might've been our past selves. Another lifetime.”

Jungkook blinked at the concept of past lives, never having believed in them. However, it seemed to be the only explanation for the images they had just seen simultaneously.

“If that had really happened, then I - ” Jungkook cut himself off violently, swaying back and forth. He might just be sick. The cries of his clan echoed in the recesses of his mind, the wailing of the eternally damned as he sent them all to Hell. His hands were tainted by blood, and even worse - “Hyung, I killed you.” He was utterly disgusted with himself.

Jimin approached him, closing the distance between them to take his hands. “And remember why you did. To take revenge for what our clan had did to your family. For us to meet again under better circumstances, where we can be happy together. I encouraged you to do so, and so we are here now. Don't doubt yourself, Jungkookie.”

He gave no reply, instead leaning down to rest their foreheads against each other, still troubled by the blood that he had spilled in another life.

“It's fate that the seven of us were brought together,” Jimin continued seeing as how he refused to speak. “Because we all deserve to be happy. So please don't blame yourself. Your goal was for us to be happy together, right? Aren't you happy right now, with Bangtan, with me?”

“Yes,” Jungkook was finally able to respond with conviction. “I'm happy.”

“Then you have nothing to be worried about. Leave the past in the past, and let us make our own future together.” Jimin leaned up for a kiss, which he obliged.

“As long as we're together,” he whispered when they broke apart, as if saying a secret. Jimin grinned and began pulling him out of the ruins.

“Let's go back to the others. They're probably waiting.”

As they escaped the darkness surrounding the remains of the warehouse, Jungkook found the air cleared. His memories were nothing more than that, and his decision in his past life could not affect his present. He was Jeon Jungkook, maknae of Bangtan and not Jeon Jungkook, newest addition to Crimson Starlight. All he had was his future now, the only thing he had to worry about. His fingers tightened around Jimin’s hand, and he found that his boyfriend was right. As long as they were together and happy, their past cannot cast a shadow over their sunshine. And he intended to fill every moment with sunshine from now on.

A/N: This was in the works ever since I finished Touch of Death, so I’m glad I finally posted it :D With that being said, now that this story is officially finished, I will be more or less abandoning my AFF account and only post on my AO3, which you can find here, because AO3’s tagging system makes more sense to me aha. To everyone who has read my stories on here so far, whether you will follow me to my AO3 or not, thank you so much for giving this amateur fanfic author a chance. Every comment, upvote, and subscription means the world to me, and AFF will always have a special place in my heart as my first attempt at posting fics. I will be coming at you guys will (hopefully) much better written pieces in the future, and as always, have a nice day/night!

~ Starjay