Two days later, Jungkook had forgotten about the shamans. It was almost Valentine’s Day and Jimin had been positively glowing recently. He finished his project, Jungkook was sure. As for Jungkook, another assignment was coming up. Another day he would run the risk of making a mistake, of not moving fast enough or moving too fast, of not coming home to Jimin.

He closed his eyes, forcefully willing such thoughts from his head. When he opened his eyes, it was again Jimin that filled his field of visions, laying on the bed next to him, his chest rising and falling softly in slumber. It was times like these when he finally found himself back in the present, safe from the past and the future. It was also times like these when he was the most spontaneous. A fond smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Jungkook propped himself up on his elbow and brought his free hand up to comb through Jimin’s hair.

“Jimin, oh Jiminie~”

“Hmm? Kookie?” Jimin frowned, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to sit up, before flopping back down. “Why are you awake so early?”

“No real reason,” Jungkook smiled fondly as he picked up a confused and protesting Jimin and carried him to the couch. “Just thought that we haven’t danced in a while.”

“Danced?” The corners of Jimin’s mouth lifted and his eyes twinkled as he pulled himself free. “Jungkook, it’s four in the morning. You have the weirdest timing.” His gaze searching Jungkook’s expression, he must have seen through the thoughts that had been plaguing Jungkook in the morning. “But you’re right, it has been a while.” Flicking off lint from his pajamas, Jimin tried yawning his sleepiness away. Slowly getting down on one knee, he offered his hand. “May I have this dance, princess?”

“Of course,” Jungkook grinned, leaning close to Jimin as he pulled his lover up. Right arm looped around Jimin’s waist, he pressed their swaying bodies together, feet moving slowly to the imaginary music. Resting his chin in the crook of Jimin’s collarbone, Jungkook whispered huskily “But isn’t that my line?”

“Shut up, you idiot.” Jimin smirked as he let his head loll to lay against Jungkook’s, his eyelids fluttering softly.

By the time the sun had risen, the two had collapsed laughing on the sofa. The sometimes-red, sometimes-golden stream of warm light lit the room with color and Jungkook kissed Jimin’s forehead gently. “I want to stay like this forever.”

“Me too.” Jimin smiled softly, his eyes crinkling into his happy eye-smile. “Forever seems nice.”

“Mm, forever,” Jungkook let the word roll over his tongue, tentatively savoring its taste. It tasted perfect, he decided, before he finally wiggled out of Jimin’s grasp, giving him one last kiss on the forehead. At the door, he looked back, eyes softening as he promised, “We’ll have our forever, Jimin. We’ll live on a beach and we’ll dance all day and watch the sun rise and set. Someday, Jimin, that’ll be our forever.”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

“And then?” The shorter boy asked, his mouth wide open.

“Shh. Let her continue.”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

Jimin hummed happily as he wrapped his project. They might not have their forever yet, but he had captured parts of it in his project. Placing the object on the table, he leaned back in a chair. It was only noon and there was nothing else to do until Jungkook got back.

“Useless.” The air seemed to whisper mockingly.

Jimin pouted and shook his fist at the air. “I’m not useless!”

“Then do something, silly.” It was Jungkook’s imaginary voice this time. Jimin smiled; he had been meaning to get eggs for that cake...

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

“Can he even go outside?”

The shaman laughed sadly at the taller boy’s question. “That’s a good question. I’ll let the story answer it.”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

Jungkook grinned, holding up the bracelet to the sun as it twinkled red and orange. Jimin would love it, he was sure. It was only one in the afternoon and he already finished his assignment, luckily escaping the worst-case scenarios yet again, and was in the market looking around, as he did from time to time.

There were always interesting things being sold, from simple foods to elaborate machines or weapons. However, today, Jungkook was interested in buying Jimin a present, a beautiful bracelet to match his beautiful lover. The bracelet had reminded him of the morning, awash with the beautiful red-orange-gold of the sunrise and the similarly colored emotions that had painted the two of them. “How much is it?”

“Can you help me find a customer who has been refusing payment?”

“When?”    

“Will tomorrow work?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s yours...”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

In the foods section of the marketplace, Jimin suspiciously sniffed a basket of eggs before returning them to the vendor with a polite “no thank you.” He frowned unhappily. How hard was it supposed to be to find good eggs here? Why was the market so sketchy?

Comfortingly patting the gun Jungkook had given him a year before at his side, Jimin moved on to the next little market stall. “Do you sell eggs? Chicken specifically.”

“Are you sure? We also have duck, lizard, and others. They’re quite exotic and well-worth the price.”

Nose scrunching in distaste, Jimin replied, “Chicken please. Here’s the money.”

“Suit yourself.”

As three eggs tumbled into his basket, the vendor gave a small shriek and scampered away into the crowd. Confused, Jimin tried to turn around but a sharp pain seared across his side. An iron grip latched onto his left forearm, locking him in place, the owner of which leaned in next to his ear. “Yeah, suit yourself, Mr. Jeon’s husband.”

“Who are you?” Jimin grit his teeth as he felt the knife cut deeper into his skin. His eyes flicked left and right but the passersby simply spared his pleading expression a glance before melting back into the crowd. Jungkook had said they were used to day-time murder.

“You don’t need to know. Just know the name of the girl over there.” The man slid the knife across Jimin’s side, leaving an angry red line, before using it to point through the throngs of people to a young girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen, standing straight with her chin raised scornfully, watching them from another stall. “She hired me. Told me about you and your filthy mercenary husband-”

“He’s not filthy,” Jimin hissed angrily. “You’re the filthy one.”

“That’s not what the young lady says,” the man sneered back, bringing to knife up to Jimin’s neck this time, his threatening voice carrying some story about how Jungkook had murdered her family.

Jimin gulped. This was bad. Jungkook did not know where he was and he had no way of getting help. “Stupid,” he whispered to himself, voice wavering as the knife rested on his skin. The man kept talking and the girl was still watching. He thought of the gun at his side.

One chance. Jimin tried breathing in and out shallowly, his free right hand inching toward his inner thigh. It was the gun Jungkook had given him for his last birthday, for protection he had said. He had also joked that Jimin would never need it as long as Jungkook was with him, but he still taught him to shoot.

“Always shoot twice,” he reminded himself. “Shoot twice and he’ll be down. Shoot twice or you won’t see Jungkook again.”

“What was that?” The man leaned in aggressively.

Jimin’s fingers tightened around the gun. He thought of Jungkook and the forever he had agreed to. “Nothing.”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

The vendor was cut off by gunshots and a scream. Jungkook whipped his head around. It had come from the foods section.

“Yours.” The vendor completed his sentence, placing the bracelet in Jungkook’s outstretched hand. “Sir, are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you.” Jungkook quickly pocketed it and walked a few steps in the direction of the apartment. Then, he spun around and broke out into a walk towards the food section.

“It can’t be. It can’t be.” Words tumbled from his mouth as he started to run. The scream had sounded like Jimin. He knew that was impossible, but it had. “He shouldn’t be here.” Jungkook’s heart clenched in his chest as he pushed past the crowd.

It wouldn’t be him. Murders happened all the time in this city. Jimin was at home. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t-

A whip of blonde hair flashed by him. He snapped his head around in horror. He knew her. She had been the child left behind by one of his missions. And though she didn’t seem to have seen him, she was holding a gun.

“No.” He pulled out a knife as he ran forward, faster, not caring who he shoved out of the way. It wouldn’t be him.

Then, right before he reached the scene, he heard her again. A fleeting, haunting voice from the crowd. The shaman.

“I told you.”

His eyes widened as he tumbled forward and fell to his knees at the sight. It was Jimin.

Jimin, his beautiful, precious, gentle Jimin who would never hurt a soul. Jimin, who he had promised a forever together with that morning. Jimin, who lay there coughing blood with a two bullets in his abdomen and a man dead a few feet to the side, a gun and knife lying next to the body.

His legs felt like jello as he crawled to Jimin’s side.

“Jimin? Oh my god, Jimin, can you hear me?”

“Jungkook?”

His eyes fluttered open and Jungkook gasped with short-lived relief. “Yeah, Jiminie, it’s me. I’m here now, I’m here, baby.”

“Kookie,” Jimin’s hand was shaking as he reached up and Jungkook cupped his hand over Jimin’s on his face. He barely registered the blood on Jimin’s hands. Jimin’s face was pained as he whispered, “You know, I shot twice but you never came. And I didn’t know she had a gun. Jungkook, I thought you were gone. It was all dark and I thought-”

“No, no, no. I’ll never leave. We’ve been together for years, Jiminie, I won’t leave now.” He looked down at Jimin’s abdomen and a curling tendril of panic began to worm its way around his mind. There was blood everywhere, most of it likely to be Jimin’s. Too much blood. The bullets were still lodged. He grabbed a spectator by the leg, pulling his knife out against their throat angrily. “You! Call the ambulance!” Shaking the man loose with a strangled agreement, he pointed his knife at yet another vendor. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t you have cloth or something?” He must have looked half mad because the usually aloof vendor tossed him a rag in pity before turning back to their customer.

“You!-” He was about to threaten yet another onlooker when Jimin pulled at his arm feebly.

“Kookie, what are you doing? Why do you have a knife?” There was a hint of panic in his voice as he looked up pleadingly.

Jungkook felt his chest tighten as the knife in his hand grew heavier. “Nothing, Jiminie. Everything’s alright, don’t worry.” Expertly cutting off the bloodied part of Jimin’s shirt, he used the rag to try and stop the bleeding, but he knew Jimin had already lost too much. As he applied pressure to the area, Jimin groaned in pain and Jungkook dragged his eyes back to meet Jimin’s, tenderly reaching up to cup his face with one hand. “Hey, it’ll be alright. We’re going to have our forever together, remember? Don’t you remember, baby?”

“Oh.” A calmness relaxed Jimin’s features and he smiled as his eyes drifted, “right, Kookie? I bought the eggs so let’s have cake for Valentine’s Day.”

“Eggs-” Jungkook choked back tears. Or maybe it was a strangled scream. Jungkook could hear and see the people moving in the background but he knew the ambulance would never come in time. In this damned city where no one cared who dies and who lives, only about themselves. But Jungkook had someone, he had Jimin, he- Jungkook held his breath for two seconds as he unclenched his fist. He had someone precious to him and the world would not let Jungkook keep him. He wanted to scream, but he took Jimin’s free hand with his other hand instead. He tried to smile as he rubbed the back of Jimin’s hand in small circles. “Yeah- yeah. We’ll have cake and then we can live our forever together. On the beach remember? We said we’d grow old together with sunrises and sunsets. And then we can have cake whenever you want. And dance whenever we want. You wanna dance right? And I’ll stay home all day-”

Jimin frowned, squeezing Jungkook’s hand. “Kookie, you’re rambling. Isn’t this our forever? We’re together and look, the sunrise is so beautiful.”

The sunrise is so beautiful.

Jimin’s words echoed in Jungkook’s head, empty.

He froze for a second, the blood pounding in his head even louder.

Then he followed Jimin’s line of sight.

The sunrise is so beautiful.

It was the bracelet. The red and gold bracelet in his pocket shimmering in the afternoon sunlight was reflected in Jimin’s beautiful brown irises. The bracelet he had bought Jimin for Valentine’s Day, that was supposed to represent their forever.

He bit his lip as a strangled voice came from his throat and Jimin wiped a tear from his face. “Don’t cry, Kookie. Isn’t it the sunrise?”

“I-” He sniffled, but words wouldn’t come out.

Jungkook’s vision blurred as he tried again.

“Yes, Jiminie. It-”

There was a lump in his throat. “It’s the sunrise, Jiminie. It’s beautiful.”

“Mm. Let's stay like this forever, Kookie. It’s so beautiful, so strong, like you. It looks so warm, Kookie, but why do I feel so cold?”

Jungkook pulled Jimin into his arms, sobs racking his body as he rested his lover’s head against his chest, rocking back and forth, tears streaking his cheek. “Sh- shh. Shh, Jiminie. You’re not cold. This is our forever together, remember?” He wiped away tears to look angrily at the people moving around them, uncaring. The vendor had disappeared and the man who was supposed to call the ambulance wasn’t there either. He glanced down at Jimin’s abdomen but immediately looked back up, fighting the urge to throw his knife at a passerby. Instead, he let the knife fall to the ground, wrapping both arms around Jimin. “And that’s the sunrise. We’re on a beach, can’t you feel the sunlight? It’s warm, it’s not cold. That was just a passing breeze.” He looked down, tears clouding his eyesight. “A passing breeze, that’s all.”

“Mm, a passing breeze.” Jimin pressed closer to Jungkook, still shivering. “Kookie?”

“Yes, Jiminie?”

Jimin whispered softly, but his voice was covered by the resumed shouting of the market. The crowd had mostly dissipated, leaving a few sympathetic onlookers unaccustomed yet to the death in the city. Jungkook grit his teeth. “Jiminie?”

“I was going to surprise you today.” Jimin’s breath hitched and Jungkook’s heart clenched. “I finished the project, it’s on the dinner table.”

Jungkook nodded stiffly. “Okay, baby. We’ll look at it together tonight.”

“Good.” Jimin pulled Jungkook slightly, as if telling Jungkook to look at him, to really look at him. Jimin’s hair was matted with blood and his cheeks were wet with tears. His breathing was labored and he winced from speaking. But he was still so beautiful.  His touch was still so gentle, his smile so dazzling, his words so kind, and his eyes so soft. His eyes, his beautiful eye-smile. Jungkook stared at Jimin’s face as if engraving it in his memory. Every crease from his eye-smile that Jungkook loved, he refused to lose it. Every part of Jimin that Jungkook had so long ago memorized. His soft cheeks, his jawline, his eyelashes, his collarbone, the part of his arm where he was ticklish. All of Jimin. And Jimin was doing the same. He was looking at Jungkook as if he never wanted to close his eyes.

His voice had grown quieter. “Jungkook. Let’s take a photo together tomorrow at sunrise. It’s the finishing piece for the project.”

Jungkook nodded. Words wouldn’t come out.

And then Jimin was the first to say it. He shuddered as his breathing became more labored, “Kookie. I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I love you.”

Jungkook placed his hand on Jimin’s back. It was slippery with blood but he didn’t care anymore. He pulled Jimin forward into a kiss. It tasted metallic but he pushed that aside. Jimin had always tasted sweet. He kissed him deeply, tenderly, and passionately as if willing time to slow down, for one last time. Memories flashed by in his mind, their first kiss, running away together, the first time they embraced, their anniversaries, their birthdays, the Valentine’s Days they’d shared, their dances, all flashed by one last time.

When they finally broke apart, he spoke, his voice trembling.

“I’m sorry, too.”

“Why?”

“I love you so much.”

“I know.” Jimin’s eyes were beginning to glaze over, “The photo?”

“We’ll take it,” Jungkook murmured, pressing his forehead to Jimin’s.

Jimin smiled faintly, “Jungkook, the sun is rising.”

“I know, Jimin.” Jungkook smoothed out Jimin’s hair. “I know. It’s our forever. It’s okay now, Jiminie. It’s okay.”

He looked at Jimin tenderly, an unvoiced question hanging in the air between them. Jimin held his gaze in the same tender manner; no words were needed to convey their feelings. This was the point of no return. He knew what he had to do. A single tear fell but Jungkook kept his eyes open. He needed to.

“Jimin. Jimin-ah. I know it hurts. It’s okay now.” He forced a wavering smile onto his face. Jimin needed him. “You can close your eyes.”

And he did. Jimin let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

His body went limp in Jungkook’s arms, the warmth Jungkook had become accustomed to slowly fading away.

Crying silently, Jungkook cradled his lover’s body, rocking slightly in place until he could no longer hear the vendors yelling at him to move or the dimming sunlight. When he stood up with Jimin’s body still fitting tenderly in his arms, it was pitch black. The ambulance had never arrived.

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

Both boys were sniffling, the taller one wiping his tears on his sleeve while the shorter one had been using the taller boys’ shirt as a tissue. The shaman smiled sadly but continued.

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

Jungkook had made his way back the apartment. He had found the gift-wrapped project and slowly torn off the wrapping. It was an oil painting of him and Jimin, holding hands as they sat on a front porch watching the sun rise, their shadows kissing. Behind it was another album, this one was empty save the first two pictures. One was a picture of him sleeping as the sun rose. Another was a picture of Jimin smiling happily with the sunrise in the background. Jimin had already started their forever.

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

“Is that the end?” The shorter boy whimpered, tears still falling down his cheeks.

“No,” the shaman answered gently. “Not yet.”

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

A year later, Jungkook was standing in front of Jimin’s gravestone. He had come by every week at sunrise, bringing deep red roses each time to replace any that had wilted. This time was no different. He sat down and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of the air as the wind flittered by his neck.

Jimin had wanted only his heart cremated. His ashes scattered into the wind from a mountain top so he could be with Jungkook wherever and whenever. Jungkook had fulfilled his request.

He placed several photos in front of the gravestone. “These are for you. Aren’t they beautiful? I’m really bad with your camera but the sunrise is worth it. I’ve left the right side of the photo album blank. It’s for the photos of you.”

Then, he settled down next to the gravestown as the sun slowly rose, casting its red and orange rays on them. “The bed feels so cold without you. This is much warmer, I want to stay like this forever. Isn’t it beautiful, Jimin?”

And when the sun rose high in the sky, Jungkook would slowly rise as well and head back, always with a promise, “I’ll be back.”

And he kept his promise. He returned every week until he couldn’t. At that time, he watched the sunrise from a hospital bed, the money they had been saving for their forever together now keeping Jungkook alive and alone. It had only been a year. They had said it was an unexplainable heart disease, but Jungkook could explain it. He welcomed it.

So when his breathing became labored and his vision started blurring, he painstakingly flipped to the picture of Jimin in the album on his bed stand next to the painting. His most precious person. He smiled, the sun was rising. “Wait for me, Jimin. I’m coming.” In the distance, he heard a familiar voice and he closed his eyes. “I’m coming.”

And if that once disbelieving shaman had passed by that hospital bed, she would have seen two spirits, young men, one laughing with a camera looped around his neck and the other smiling with a use-worn photo album in his hand, as they walked hand in hand into the sunrise, to their forever.

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲

 

“That’s a bad ending.” The taller boy was still frowning, but his features had softened.

“But why did they have to die?” The younger boy sobbed into the taller boy’s shirt as a gentle hand rubbed his back.

“‘Cause they’re stupid, Min-ah. If I was that Jungkook guy, I wouldn’t have ever let you out of my sight. Ever. So you can’t do anything that stupid either, okay?” The taller boy pulled the shorter one into his lap, rubbing away the tears on his face.

“I’m not stupid.” The younger boy hiccupped as he stopped crying to pinch the other’s cheeks, “You’re the stupid one, so you have to stay with me forever.”

“Right, right, I’m stupid, but it’s almost sundown so we should head back.” The taller boy grinned and got up, pulling the shorter boy to his feet.

“But- but-”

The taller boy sighed fondly as he swept pieces of grass off of the shorter boy’s shirt, “I didn’t say we wouldn’t come back, did I?”

The short boy’s mouth made an ‘o’ before he broke out smiling and he pulled the older into a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, whatever,” the taller boy replied, squeezing out of the hug as he started walking away.

“Yeah, and?” The shorter boy poked him in the side, eyes crinkling into an eye-smile.

The taller boy ignored him, turning around and bowing, “We’ll be back tomorrow, thank you, m’am.”

“And? And? And?”

He walked a few feet.

“And? And? And?”

“Quit it will you?!”

He walked some more.

“And? And? And?”

“Argh! You’re insufferable!”

Silence.

“I love you, too, okay?!”

“And?”

“I hate you!”

“Hey!”

The smaller boy tackled the taller as they tumbled down the hill together before rolling to a stop. The taller picked the shorter up, carrying him bridal style as he complained. As she watched them walk away, she didn’t miss the slight blush on the shorter boy’s cheeks or how the taller boy’s eyes had softened. She didn’t miss the way the short boy pouted but then looped his arms snugly around the taller boy’s neck or how the taller boy let the shorter rest his chin on his shoulder. She didn’t miss it this time, because she had seen it before one dark night in front of an apartment door.

And as the boys’ voices faded into the sunset with their silhouettes, she smiled —she had been right all along. No matter the time or place, they were meant to find each other again.

 

⠠⠿⠐⠑⠲