CHAPTER SIX

The Truth Untold

“Who is she?” A single question breaks the silence and Seokjin hates delaying himself. The team has been quiet for far too long so someone has to cut it fast if they want the audition to run smoothly. Not that there is anyone coming in. Not even the clear weather for the past couple of hours seems to have anybody walk into the now opened entrance.

Her? Yoongi points out bluntly that rolling his eyes are very painful to do after being his friends for so many years. Taehyung gently places his palm against Seokjin’s back when he feels the eldest member of BTS tenses at the statement made by the leader. The ambiguity also doesn’t help much with Seokjin’s mind because his curiosity dives deeper as time passes.

The girl is there, mindlessly sitting on their beat-up couch as she pretends not to hear anything the band is discussing. Who is she? A simple question. Why is it so difficult to answer? Why is he being difficult?

“Jungkook! Jimin!” Taehyung burst in excitement and glad to see the pair entering the studio. Judging on the dry clothes attached to them, they confirmed the current weather outside. He wants to cry at the tension but all he can do for the time being is to attack his friends with a dramatic hug.

“Oh?” Jimin shortly uttered as he returns Taehyung’s enthusiastic embrace. When they are done, the dancer waves his hand unbelievably at the familiar face among the group. He is not expecting to see him there. “Why are you here, Jung Hoseok?”

“Apparently, I’m BTS’s band manager now. How about you?” The fellow good-naturedly replied and he feels lighter upon seeing Jimin coming in with the band’s drummer, who he immediately nods his head in acknowledgement. “I just came back from my part-time teacher thing.”

“It’s not the best time to hang out though.” Seokjin frankly stated and Jimin stiffens. Narrowing his eyes at the body language, Yoongi decides to speak, “He’s not here to hang out.” And he changes his view from Jimin’s figure to Taehyung’s. He has an idea of what is happening.

“Can you at least give him a chance?” Jungkook signed defensively when he sees Yoongi glaring at the group’s bassist. “Just give him a guitar and he’ll-”

“To be honest, I’m not surprised that everyone decided to mess with the audition today.” The leader stated, a bit too straightforward not to be offended by. He is at his limit, his bandmates know it. Seeing Jungkook froze at Yoongi’s choice of words, Seokjin steps up.

“That’s it, Min Yoongi! You’re not the only one who is having a bad day today! Just tell us who is she, give Jimin a chance to show his talent, and for goodness sake, stop throwing Hoseok glares will you?!”

“Do you want to know who she is?! She’s my sister! And yes! Let Jimin sing! I don’t care anymore! Clearly, no one in this band ever listens and sees the future that I’m seeing!”

“Well if you tell and show us, we wouldn’t be pulling some last-minute resort to solve the band’s crisis!” Seokjin flips his patience and not even Taehyung’s light tugging on his arm can hold him back. Jungkook bits his lower lip at the fiery exchange. He has no voice to assist and Hoseok is still feeling out of place to help.

It is a mess of strangled words and actions. Thanks to the seating arrangement, Yoongi and Seokjin are not able to create any physical fight. And the leader is not good at verbal fight so all eyes follow his retreating movement, slamming the table and scatter the papers that were neatly arranged by Taehyung before the other members’ arrival. Not long after, Yoora runs. Probably chasing after her brother.

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook lowers his arms, his shoulders hunch forward, making him appear small despite his built figure. “It’s not your fault, Kook. Yoongi should be apologising to you, not the other way ‘round.” Seokjin assures the youngest fellow.

“How come Yoongi never told us about his sister?” Taehyung added his thought into the conversation and sees Jimin bobs his head in the corner of his eyes.

Seokjin wishes there is a significant answer behind Yoongi’s intention in keeping his sister as a secret. And he senses that is not the only secret he is keeping from them. He can’t pinpoint the feeling lingering in his heart as he remembers his friend’s unreadable actions for the last few days. Whatever is going on, he hopes the money and time spend preparing for the audition does not go to waste.

 

 

“Running away is not exactly something I see you doing but I guess one learns new thing every single day.” He is not a fan of people comes barging to his space on a Sunday. It is supposed to be his off-day. It is most people’s off-day after a long week of work.

Namjoon has no idea why Yoongi is in his office, on a Sunday evening when he should be leading the band’s audition at the time. And he is not alone this time which is surprising to him, actually. He doesn’t recall Yoongi having any female friend besides Sujeong. Given the fact, she was a band member so he was friends with her by default like the rest of the group.

“Joon, look at this and tell me this is real,” Yoongi said and takes Yoora’s hand in a harsh manner which makes Namjoon tries to calm the other down when the girl groans at the slight pain inflicted. As expected, the younger male’s eyes widen in recognition.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” She voiced, angry at the action and rubs her wrist when he lets go of her before continuing, “You can’t go around asking people to do vague things, Yoon.”

“Let me guess, you’re related.”

“Yes, we are siblings. If Yoongi doesn’t mind telling his friends that is.” Yoora glares at him and Yoongi puts on his silence again. Namjoon though nods at the information. It takes him minutes of intense flashbacks to connect the dots laid to him.

“It was you! I have been trying to track you down for months!” Namjoon hollered aloud which seems to spark a little interest in Yoongi. “She is the one?! And you never bothered letting me see those letters?!”

“I thought you don’t want to have your dark memories magically opened!” The lad replied hastily but he immediately moves to retrieve the box and smacks them on the coffee table in front of the two. Without pausing any seconds, Namjoon takes the lid off the box and shows them the content. It doesn’t cross his mind this day to come. Both of the siblings’ eyes shake at the handwriting on the envelope.

Namjoon is right. This does magically open Yoongi’s dark memories. The ones he tried to keep from his friends. The past, although little, comes rushing to his mind like a broken tape. Fortunately, they are nowhere near the water. Namjoon can’t imagine what kind of mess will happen if they are. Yet to catch Yoora longingly eyeing on his window is enough to ground their problems.

“He wants you to come back, Yoon.” She whispered, or so Yoongi thought since it was very quiet, almost unheard. Namjoon has the letter from her hand in his and skims them thoroughly. Someone is reaching out for him.

For Yoongi.

“No,” He replied and he is very sure he wants nothing from it. “I don’t want to…” He swore he will not return where he comes from. It is painful even to remember his origin. If there is a way for him to throw away any form of traces about it, he would but there is one he cannot remove. Or he will lose the one thing one of his friends wants the most.

“That explains the rain,” Namjoon stated and Yoora nods, sadly. She tries again. “Please come back to Jinju with me. This is something only you can do.”

“This is not real. He doesn’t want me back. You’re lying!”

“That’s it, Min Yoongi!” Yoora shouted in the same tone she heard Seokjin used back at the studio. “It’s your duty! You’re up for the throne once dad goes. You know that better than anyone else in Jinju. You can’t hide here on land, amongst other humans like the place can function without an heir. Jinju is dying, Yoon.”

Namjoon guesses it is time for Yoongi to fully accept his true self. It is not something that can be easily understood by many and he is not among those many who knows about them. He is trained by his father regarding this matter. This is a job passed down by generations before him. It is an unexplainable responsibility as an underwater world advisor for these fascinating creatures.

A mermaid.

Yes, you read it right. There is no need for a long detailed explanation about them. They are those mystical underwater creatures with a physical human upper body and tail of a fish on the lower part of the body. It is just like how the ordinary human came to know but they have no idea it is real, thinking it is just a myth told by their grandparents. Namjoon was once one of those humans before his father showed him the ropes to the so-called family legacy before his retirement.

The accessories around their neck and wrist are very important. To make things simpler, without them, being on land, these mermaids will lose their ability to talk. Their last resort is to speak in sign language which comes by naturally as if it is their second language. Namjoon figured the kind of problems that can come from that alone which is why he remembers other importance about the accessories. Each of the accessories has an individual value to them and it depends on their identified gender.

Necklaces for the males. Bracelets for the females.

It depicts their respective backgrounds and the Min family has their signature sparkly white conch shell that gives a rainbow tint under the right reflection as their main charm. No one in Jinju has anything near to it as it is rare – a sign of wealth and power since they are from the royal family.

Min Yoongi might be BTS’s leader, keyboardist and rapper on land but back in the underwater kingdom, he is the crown prince of Jinju. An identity he seems to forget until he catches Yoora’s back figure leaning down back at the festival ground, searching for her bracelet.

It will sound very bad and selfish of him to say to let Jinju die. As much as he does not want anything to do with Jinju, he can imagine the people there being lost without a place to call home. They can’t go up to the surface in a massive exodus to the land without making them look suspicious. It is still rough for him from time to time to survive on land especially during summer when it is scorching hot. At the end of the day, he needs twice as much when it comes to the water to keep half of him alive.

“Why can’t you take over Jinju? That never stops father from showering you with everything you ever want in life.” Yoongi questioned. Though his second statement comes out harsh in Namjoon’s consciousness, Yoora doesn’t seem to deny her brother’s words. She also doesn’t like the way he addresses their father.

“You know why I can’t. It is written in the rules.”

It doesn’t fit in today’s society, they figured that out silently. Jinju still has an old mindset despite its growth in technology.

A woman cannot rule a kingdom. That is the only thing her father refuses to give to her. Not even the seemingly endless number of classes she has to attend in Yoongi’s place. When they decided to leave Jinju, Yoora never thought it will be a permanent thing. She was only a little girl after all. Yoongi being three years older than her, his five-year-old self understood the situation more than her two-year-old mermaid mind.

“I don’t want anything to do with Jinju. I have a life here. I am content where I am.” The brother has his fingers lace through his hair, ruffling them with hope it eases his haphazard mind. He has mix feelings on the matter.

First, he actually is glad to reunite with his sister after more than a couple of decades. He would not recognise her without her bracelet. Being alone for some years, it would be a lie if he never wonders about what is going on in Jinju. The only way he has to gather tidbits of information is through Namjoon.

Secondly, having Yoora on land means something is definitely going down in the underwater kingdom. Namjoon has a habit of unconsciously updating him about the royal family without him knowing anything about the royals, visual wise. On several occasions, he managed to slip by and forgotten he was speaking to one of them. Not that Yoongi cared much about Jinju’s political matters.

Finally, Yoongi’s outburst to his bandmates comes into the picture. He owes them a lot of explanation. One of the reasons he felt so fiery mainly due to the pent up stress of minute things he chose to be quiet about. Looking at Yoora, he knew he still has to give her a chance to prove herself. Well, actually, she doesn’t have to prove anything. He knows she will do just great in the band.

Not to be biased but mermaids are artistically talented by nature. Yoongi doesn’t give full credit on his gene regarding his talent though. He believes his musical talents come through learning and hard work. Because if it is true that his kind to say what they are, he shouldn’t be suffering in composing new music all the time.

“It will be very tough to convince him, huh?” She dejectedly spoke and catches Namjoon’s apologetic smile as if he predicted it already. Yoongi stands up and exits the room without many words. They have their eyes stuck on the closed door. Together, they let out a sigh.

“I can see his reasons. He has been on land most of his life. He used to be fine about himself being part merman until what happened to your mother. She and Yoongi lived in the city before he moved to the sea. It is the only way he has to remember her aside from your family charm on your accessories.” Namjoon explained and one line interests her more than the others.

“What did happen to my mom? I thought she is with Yoongi. He isn’t the only one that our dad wants to come back.” Yoora questioned and based on Namjoon’s tightened lips, he tells her to ask her brother herself when the time comes.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

CuriousCat