Quiet | BTS ✓

58

The end of the year can mean many things for a person. To some, it is a relief to leave a year behind that did nothing but torment and taunt them. To others, it is a gentle transition into a continuation of their calm, uneventful lives as they see nothing special about a new year.

Some people, Yoongi included, see the new year as a symbol of a new beginning.

This year has simultaneously been the best and the worst of Yoongi's life. Some of the loneliest times of his life existed in the first half of his year, while the second half of the year has shown him a level of unconditional love that he has never known until now.

As Yoongi sits on the couch of his new apartment, watching the seconds tick by on the clock mounted onto the wall across from him in the living room, he hears the voices of some of the reasons he has to thank for giving him the breath of a new life.

Hoseok and Rina are tipsy, dancing carelessly across the hardwood floors of the living room. Yoongi doesn't need to see them to know how happy they are tonight; he hears the wholehearted euphoria in their laughter.

Seconds continue to tick by; they do not slow down for anyone who hopes for more time in this year that only has minutes left to exist in the present time. They tick by in a steady, almost comforting rhythm as they continue to turn the last few pages of the nearly finished story.

The current year is coming to an end; Yoongi knows that the new year that is approaching as steadily as the current one is leaving is going to have the potential to be the best year of his life.

He feels a small shoulder nudge against his own and his eyes move to focus on the girl next to him, who is watching him with a curious look in her eyes.

"It's interesting," Yoongi says as Aria continues to give him her full attention. "How time is so constant. It is the one thing that bows down to no one; it does not ever change itself to please someone else. It's always the same. As long as it has existed, it has never been something different."

Aria nods in understanding, though she frowns slightly at where he is going with the conversation.

"I think most humans wish to be that way," he continues. "I think we secretly crave to be the type of person who will never change who we are, no matter how relentlessly other people try to bend our minds to their will. And it's just fascinating that something as simple, yet complex, as time is who we all crave to be. We never even consider time as an entity; it's just there, always ticking away and always there to remind us that it will never stop for anyone."

Aria lays her head on Yoongi's shoulder as he continues to be lost in thought, fingers mindlessly intertwining together as Hoseok and Rina's mingled laughter echoes throughout the apartment.

"Time is truly fascinating," Yoongi says through a sigh as he rests his head on his girlfriend's. "It is simultaneously a friend and an enemy; it is something we beg for more of in a moment when we all know there is no more to give than what we are already given. Yet we still like to pretend we have some control over something that is simply uncontrollable. I remember how when I was a child I would desperately wish to fast forward through time, which is funny considering how most people wish for more time instead of less. But I was so unhappy in my current life that I just desperately wished to fast forward to a time where I didn't feel that way."

Aria leans up and kisses Yoongi's neck, nuzzling her face into his soft skin, and he shivers as her breath hits his exposed neck.

"But now that I am finally where I wished to be all those years ago, I want nothing more than to pause time. I wish that this moment, and others like it, could last for a lifetime. I wish each meaningful moment that I hold so close to my heart felt like I was living out a full, happy existence each and every time. I find myself wishing each beautiful moment could last forever."

Yoongi sighs happily and squeezes Aria's hand as he continues to watch the seconds tick by. "But something I've grown to realize is that forever is no specific amount of time. Because to some, forever is infinite, lasting endlessly until time itself no longer exists in the form we all know. To others, it is only a few seconds. Some people promise forever and the promise seemingly gets broken when something tragic happens and they have to leave this world behind. But, to them, that was their forever. So I guess what I'm trying to say in all of my rambling is that, however long my forever is, however long time gives me, I will cherish these moments... I will cherish you and our family."

"Ten!" Hoseok and Rina yell together as Yoongi realizes that it is now ten seconds until midnight. Ten seconds to his new beginning.

"Nine," Yoongi says, smiling softly as he and Aria stand.

Hoseok and Rina move into the living room, handing Yoongi and Aria a glass of wine.

"Eight," they all say together as Aria watches them fondly and excitedly.

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Happy new year!" They all yell simultaneously. Hoseok and Rina empty their wine glasses and then lock their lips together, swaying back and forth slowly as Hoseok's arm wraps around Rina's waist.

"Happy new year," Yoongi whispers to Aria as he leans down and places his lips against hers gently, his hand moving to rest against her waist as her free hand rests against his chest.

The kiss is filled with numerous promises of how the new year will be for the couple. Yoongi doesn't need to say a word as the couple parts and they each take a sip of their wine. Her lips against his own sent a very clear promise to Yoongi's heart and he silently thanks time. No, time did not stand still. It never does. But Yoongi is eternally grateful for how much time he has been given, and how much time he still has left to be with the love of his life.

With the unspoken promise of a lifetime together, Yoongi and Aria's lips meet again as the seconds continue to tick away steadily and calmly.