The Void [JJKxOC] AU

Epilogue



Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live.
-Anna Quindlen, A Short Guide to a Happy Life

Love.

The kind that brings you to your knees and gives someone complete control of your heart. Full authority to break you into a billion little pieces and mend you with gentle caresses and sweet kisses. Giving someone that much power is the most terrifying feeling in the world, but we all do it anyway, don't we?

We do it because the immediate stimulation it provides our brain, those small doses of euphoria, and the tingling in every nerve of our bodies when those in power touch us is fucking addicting. We'll pay for it later. We'll deal with the repercussions later because right now, it's the greatest thing we've ever experienced.

But the repercussions are inevitable. When that person is gone, because there is a huge possibility that they will be gone, it's debilitating. The longing for stimulation, for euphoria, for that touch is painful. It's withdrawing from something we never counted on living without. We destroy our world to build a new one with someone and forget that it should continue flourishing even when they're no longer part of it.

Raine had learned the hard way that building her world around someone else was dangerous, but she was human and not immune to the wonders and dangers of love. At least now, she was a bit wiser. Giving that power to someone was both exhilarating and frightening, and even with that knowledge, she would be willing to go through the gamble of a broken heart to have someone look at her like she was a gift to the world.

It was how Jiae looked at Jin when he was doing something as mundane as scrolling through his phone.
The way Taehyung looked at art and beautiful sceneries.
Even the way Hoseok looked at Nari. Though Nari was the only one too blind to notice.

It was the way Jungkook looked at Raine.

And maybe that's why she found herself with her heart on the line and butterflies in her stomach as she walked down the street full of merchants and people enjoying their Saturday evening towards a park she was begged to come to. Even as she passed shops and tables full of tchotchkes that would have usually caught her attention, all she could focus on was him and what he could have planned that was so dependent on her being on time. Eight p.m and no later, Jungkook insisted.

Things had been good between them, great even. What started as lunches during work hours turned into dinners after work. Even once the project for the detergent had been completed, Raine and Jungkook continued to stay in touch with late-night FaceTimes and morning calls as they drove to work. As their connection progressed, Jungkook invited Raine to his apartment for dinner, and she gladly accepted his invitation. Visits to each other's apartments became a weekend ritual. One that they rarely ever missed.

Bam wasn't Raine's biggest fan when he realized he would share his owner's undivided attention with the stranger. With each passing visit, he took to more to her, and Jungkook was all too thrilled to see them getting along. Raine had even begun accompanying them to the dog park and once fell asleep on his couch with Bam snuggled beside her. The picture was forever saved on Jungkook's phone, but she would never know that.

Jungkook was still as caring and attentive as she remembered. He did things like making sure that all her favorite snacks were stocked for movie nights, where they sat on the couch with a respectful distance between them. He still cooked all her favorite things, like fried chicken and pork belly, for her or offered to pick up take-out on the way to her. It was like he had kept all his most beautiful qualities and dispersed all the troublesome ones. Raine couldn't describe the relief she experienced walking into his apartment and not seeing a single ounce of alcohol. She watched him often receive stressful calls from his work and handle them gracefully and maturely. He tackled things she would need a drink to tackle with ease and resourcefulness. That brought her the most immense pride and joy in the world.