His lungs burn as though set on fire. He sinks lower and lower into darkness, the pressure on his chest increasing with every passing second. His vision blurs and he can't seem to get air into his lungs as hard as he tries to. His arms and legs refuse to cooperate, his muscles too suddenly heavy to move.
He feels like he's on the edge of unconsciousness. His lungs scream for air but his body seems to give up entirely, slipping further under the bed of darkness.
There's an alien touch to his torso and he's being pulled away from the depths of darkness he allowed himself to be pulled into. There's a soft voice speaking to him but he can't seem to comprehend anything, eyelids seemingly too heavy to open.
Through his closed eyelids, the warm rays of sunshine he feels against his skin and then he breaks through the surface. He coughs violently and whoever holds him, tightens their grip on him. He allows whoever it is to manhandle him and then his body is dragged over sand, the little particles tickling him through his clothes.
He is shifted onto his side and he coughs up water, nose scrunching in disgust at its salty taste. The voice is still speaking to him and Jungkook doesn't understand a word. All he knows is the voice is melodic and somewhat familiar. He is pulled over such that his back is against the sand.
His eyelids flutter open, blinking to get the world into focus. Beautiful amber orbs stare back at him and he knows he'd recognise them anywhere. He's woken up to them before. Those beautiful amber eyes he looked into on the day he took his wedding vows.
"Jimin," he mumbles.
The eyes crinkle into little crescents, something Jungkook has always adored.
"Hey, Jungkook. You were so eager to see me that you just leaned far over the rail and plunged down into these waters, hmm?" the other chuckles and Jungkook's brows furrow in confusion.
"What?" he asks, groggily.
It's then that he notes how Jimin's forehead is shining as though he smeared glitter over himself.
"You don't remember?" Jimin asks, face twisting into one of concern and he cups Jungkook's cheeks as though to examine him for injuries.
Like a lightning bolt out of the blue, it hits Jungkook.
The king.
The axe.
Jimin.
The blade slicing right through his neck, separating his head from his body.
Jungkook sits up with a jerk and Jimin grips him.
"Slow down, soldier. You'll hurt yourself," he scolds the younger but Jungkook couldn't care less about himself right now.
"He killed you," Jungkook gasps out, fingers lightly brushing the skin of Jimin's neck.
Jimin tilts his head.
"I'm well and alive," he grins at Jungkook.
"But—how?"
"Remember what I told you? I'll look for you in every life," Jimin repeats and his smile never fades.
Jungkook's eyes go wide when he spots it for the first time. Jimin's legs are replaced by a magnificent tail, a shade of purple like the sky at dawn. There are scales that cover his arms and his bare torso glistens in the sunlight.
He is beautiful.
"You're a mermaid," Jungkook blurts out and Jimin makes a face.
"I'm a merman," he corrects at once with a little pout.
"You're beautiful."
Jimin blushes and giggles softly, "thank you."
Jimin raises his head, his ears perking up as his sensitive ears seem to catch a distant noise.
"Someone's coming. I need to go," says Jimin and Jungkook nods, sensing the urgency in Jimin's voice.
"Jimin, wait," Jungkook calls before the other can slide back into the waters, "will I see you again?"
"Of course you will. What kind of a question is that? I'll be here, same time tomorrow."
With that, Jimin flashes Jungkook a warm smile and slips back into the waters with a small plop, disappearing from sight.
Jungkook hears footsteps and twists around to see another male standing there.
"Enjoying the view, doctor?" he asks.
He is stout with a white lab coat on and round owl-eyed glasses perched onto his nose.
Derek, his mind supplies and he recognises the character almost immediately, from another one of his incomplete works. The tale of a mermaid where Derek played the role of a scientist, an evil one at that. Jungkook realises who he is when he looks down at his own clothes. He is a marine biologist who falls for a supposedly mythological creature and struggles to keep it safe from falling into the hands of greedy mankind, like Derek right here.
He nods, "yes. Enjoying the view."
"What brings you here?"
"Just a regular chit-chat. I didn't find you in the beach house so I assumed I'd find you here and voila!"
Jungkook manages to give the man a small smile, his mind too muddled from the previous events and how he suddenly landed himself in a completely different universe from the last one.
Was he given another chance because he failed to protect Jimin in the previous life he lived as a royal?
——
What do you think?
31 May, 2023
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𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 • ᴊɪᴋᴏᴏᴋ
Fanfiction"Addiction is a family disease." Jungkook's life is taken over by his addiction to substances and Jimin tries to fix the cracks on their ship single-handedly; tries to keep them afloat. Bound by the chains of addiction, Jungkook is blind to the havo...
