Big stage, bright lights, and probably more than a hundred people ― not that Jimin was counting.

There he was, on stage, waving and bowing to a cheering crowd he’d just performed for, screaming “thank you” to everyone in the crowd, and he couldn’t have been happier. At 19 years old, Jimin was casted as one of the lead dancers in his first ever dance recital. The instructors said he was especially good at contemporary dancing, so they cast him since no one was able to fit the role. He was even able to choreograph a part of the routine which turned out pretty well, hence all the congratulations he had been receiving backstage, especially from his Hoseok hyung and Jaebum hyung.

 

“Good job out there today, kiddo!” Hoseok’s voice boomed down the hallway.

“Yeah, you really didn’t seem to be nervous. Are you sure that you haven’t done this before?” Jaebum was walking alongside Hoseok, carrying a bunch of flowers that people must have thrown on the stage. “Are you sure you aren’t doing this for a living?”

Jimin laughed. “If I did, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

“Solid point.” Jaebum and Hoseok joined in the laughter before excusing themselves to the other dressing room where their stuff were.

 

 

 

 

 

“You were awesome!”

“HOLY― you scared me!!” Taehyung was sitting on the couch, playing what seemed to be an action game on his phone, in the dressing room that was only meant for the performers, hence Jimin’s reaction. “How did you even get in here?”

Taehyung shrugged and said, “I have my ways.” He chuckled and pointed to a plastic bag on the table where Jimin’s stuff was. “I brought Chinese, your usual. Thought you might be hungry after all that workout on stage.”

At the same time, Jimin’s stomach decided to say hi in the form of a growl. He looked at Taehyung and smiled. “My hero.” He made a beeline straight towards the table but before he could take the food out of the bag―

 

“WAIT!!” Taehyung shouted. “Get dressed first, we have to go somewhere. You can eat that in the car.”

"Um, okay. And where will you be taking me?" Jimin asked as he pulled his shirt and jeans from his duffelbag.

Taehyung flashed him his rectangular grin before returning to his game on his phone. "You'll just have to wait and see."

 

 

 

 

After dragging Jimin by the hand out of the auditorium, Taehyung drove them through the city, passing by bright lights and loud noises. Jimin kept pointing at random shops with his chopsticks, saying that he'd visit them and go shopping one day with half a dumpling still stuck in his mouth. He'd never felt so comfortable and thankful for private vehicles until then.

 

 

An hour later, he realized that it was a good thing he finished his noodles half a mile ago before recognizing the familiar winding paths they were driving through. His best friend was taking him to the only place he's been wanting to visit for a long time already: the cemetery.

 

 

Taehyung parked the car a little further away from the entrance and they both got out of the car wordlessly. Jimin started walking.

"Wait," Taehyung called out to Jimin. Jimin turned around to see his best friend opening the trunk of the car.

 

He had gotten him flowers - a bouquet of red roses now occupied Taehyung's right hand as his left closed the trunk of the car. He walked up to Jimin and presented them to him with a small, knowing smile on his face. It was all Jimin could do to not break down in tears right then and there, but as he looked into Taehyung's eyes, he gathered his courage and smiled back. He had someone to talk to first.

 

 

When the mausoleum came into view, Jimin realized that Taehyung had prepared and cleaned even before going to the recital. When they got to the door, he stopped and turned around to say something to his best friend when Taehyung stopped him and ushered him inside. "Later. Thank me later. They're waiting for you."

Jimin in a breath and turned right back around, stepping into the building.

 

 

 

"Hi mom. Hi dad."

 

 

 

 

 

Jimin was an only child and had lost his parents to a car accident when he was 14, a few years after he started dancing. He loved them so much and was so devastated and broken after the accident that he didn't dance or would hesitate to even listen to music for weeks. Only on an afternoon 3 weeks or so after the accident did he find a letter in his mom's diary (since he kept the room untouched and wouldn't let any of his relatives go in there, even his parents' siblings) on their nightstand that made him reconsider his abstinence from the art.

 

The letter was addressed to him for his 15th birthday. His mother had written that even though it was a bit too early for her to write, she was afraid of forgetting to write and rushing to finish it before his actual birthday. It also said that she and Jimin's father were so proud to have them as their son and that she loved him more than anything else in the world. She told him to be himself, and that even though he didn't know who he really was yet, she'd be there to help him figure things out. She said that if dancing was really what he wanted to do, then he should do it to the best of his abilities, no matter where he is or what situation he's in. At the end, she wrote that whatever he did and wherever he went, they'd always be there for him. That, after long and hard days, he'd always have a warm glass of milk to come home to. Enclosed in the letter was a wallet-sized version of the only family portrait they had, the one they took in a studio when he was 10 years old, the 3 of them (with Jimin in the middle) in the midst of laughter. Jimin remembered that it was because his father had said an inside joke to make him smile (he used to hate cameras). It was one of the happiest days of his childhood.

 

That evening, fighting through the tears and sobbing, Jimin called Taehyung's house and talked to Taehyung's mom, apologizing because he wouldn't be able to make it to the sleepover because he was feeling sick. Taehyung's mom said it was alright and that he should rest at home to get better more quickly and that she might drop off a fresh batch of kimchi that he and his aunt (the only person staying with him besides the household help) could eat. He said thank you, hung up the phone and went back to his room, politely refusing to eat dinner. All he wanted to do was lie in bed and just miss his parents 'til he falls asleep.

 

 

But, after dinnertime, he thought he was imagining someone knocking on his bedroom window (since his room was on the 2nd floor), until someone started shouting his name. Jimin looked over his shoulder to find Taehyung crouching by the window sill, asking Jimin to open the window if he didn't want him kicking a hole through it just to get in.

Apparently, Taehyung had managed to convince his mother that Jimin wasn't really sick and that he needed to be the one to sleep over at Jimin's because they had a school project they needed to work on immediately. Her only condition was that he bring the kimchi she already made and that he shouldn't be much of a nuisance just in case Jimin was really sick. He agreed, kissed his mom goodbye, walked all the way to Jimin's house 2 blocks away from his, refused to ring the doorbell just for the element of surprise, and there he was, standing in his best friend's bedroom with an overnight bag that might or might not already reek of kimchi.

 

Thinking that Taehyung might have conjured up a plot to make him laugh and occupied all night long, Jimin was about to tell him that he was not in the mood when he was pulled into a tight embrace.

 

Taehyung's strong arms encircled his shoulders, warmth seeping into Jimin's perpetually cold body, and Jimin started to feel his eyes welling up again. Grabbing fistfuls of Taehyung's sweater, Jimin held on as the sobs continued to rack his chest, tears streaming down his eyes, and heart feeling so abandoned and lost he just didn't know what to do anymore. In between his cries of "I miss you"s, "I love you"s, and "Please come back"s, Taehyung shed a few tears as well, rubbing Jimin's back and holding their position because it was the only thing he could do for his best friend at that moment. To just be with him and let him know that he wasn't alone; to remind him that his parents would always be with him, no matter what.

 

Ever since Jimin's parents died, Jimin always felt like he was swimming in endless waters with no direction whatsoever.

 

That night, Jimin learned that the pain really does lessen when you share your burden with other people. And that Kim Taehyung will always be there to save him before he drowns.

 

 

 

 

 

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

"Really."

"I know."

"I didn't think you'd remember."

"Of course I did. But did you tell them I said "happy anniversary?""

"Yeah," Jimin chuckled. "They said thanks. For everything. Even the cake."

"Hey," Taehyung raised both his hands up, "all I did was help celebrate."

"Why are we celebrating this again? Death anniversaries?"

 

"Because it's the start of life. Like, if one door closes, another one opens." Taehyung tapped a finger to his head. "It's all about how you look at it. Like, for example, in their case. Their lives on earth ended, but their lives in heaven started. Being able to look at you and watch over you wherever you go and whatever you do. They must be living the life they always wanted to."

 

Jimin, despite having dried and wiped the tear tracks on his face, felt his eyes welling up again. He sighed shakily. "Yeah, I bet."

"Have you ever imagined them being able to look down at you while you do... you know?"

 

 

Saucers. Jimin's eyes went as wide as saucers. He faced Taehyung, so quickly he almost broke his neck, and started punching his arm. "WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO MENTION THAT THAT'S DISGUSTING WHY AM I EVEN FRIENDS WITH YOU―"

 

"It was just a question!! Ow, stop that! But what if they can also hear or see your thoughts and your imaginat―OW!!"

 

 

 

They laughed throughout their ride home, although Jimin banned Taehyung from mentioning or even entertaining that thought ever again because that was just wrong in every way possible and Jimin thinks, in time, he'll be able to touch himself again in peace without thinking about his dead parents watching over him and seeing what he was doing.

It was a disgusting thought, but Jimin had laughed at it later on. It was a nice break to laugh as hard as he did after crying a lot. He looked at Taehyung blabbering on about another animal trivia he saw on the internet and smiled.

 

 

 

 

That night, Jimin learned that he didn't really need to talk for Taehyung to know what he needed and wanted to say.

 

He already knew.

 

 

---

{a/n: so how was this first one? hehe well, you made it to the bottom. // anyway, i just wanted to apologize in advanced because since i still have my writer's block, i won't be able to update regularly. but do anticipate the rest of the chapters and thanks for reading!}