On-Way Passage || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 7

Jimin remained at his grandpa’s tombstone for nearly thirty minutes, only lifting his head when his tears had almost dried up. Upon doing so, he discovered that Taehyung had left his side. He rose to his feet, cast a look around, and saw Taehyung standing at the end of a row of tombstones, staring off into the distance.

By now, Jimin no longer felt Taehyung was that difficult to get along with.

Taehyung’s upper body was wrapped in a white shirt, collar wide open and hem tucked into his suit pants. With a lean waist and long legs, he possessed a striking appearance.

Jimin walked over to the man. He should have noticed, and yet he didn’t turn his head. Jimin approached him and came to a halt by his side, then said, “Do you mind waiting a bit longer?”

Taehyung turned to look at him.

Jimin said, “I want to see my parents.”

Taehyung appeared stunned for a brief moment before saying, “All right.”

Seeming to have sobered up from the blow of his grandpa’s death, Jimin’s thoughts gradually cleared. He bought another bouquet of flowers for his parents, then placed it at their tomb and crouched down to talk to them for a while.

His parents had died young. All his memories of them originated from a photo album back home, and then the black and white photographs on their tombstones, which he and his grandpa used to visit every year.

For someone with no memory of his mother and father, most of Jimin’s affections were tied to a natural attachment one felt towards their parents. When Jimin’s gaze rested on the young man and woman on the tombstone, it suddenly occurred to him that from here on out, he truly no longer had any living relatives left. An even more intense misery welled up inside him, and for a long time afterwards he couldn’t say a single word.

It was already past five in the afternoon when they left the busan public cemetery.

Taehyung went to the minimarket to buy drinks while Jimin stood beside the car, eyes blank as he gazed out at the deserted parking lot. 

A bottle of cold mineral water suddenly appeared in front of him. Jimin reflexively took it and saw that there was another bottle in taehyung’s hands, who then went round the car and got into the driver’s seat.

Jimin watched Taehyung dumbly.

“Why aren’t you getting in?” asked Taehyung after rolling down the window.

“Where am I supposed to go?” Jimin asked, lost.

Taehyung scanned their surroundings; despite the fact that the sky hadn’t yet darkened, there was no one else in the cemetery except the staff. “Are you planning to spend the night here?” he inquired.

Jimin followed his line of sight and also looked around. He said, “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Don’t be scared,” Taehyung said. “Your grandpa will protect you.”

Jimin reached out to hold the window frame. “I wouldn’t want to cause the old man any trouble.”

Taehyung said, “Then get in the car!”

The car slowly made its way out of the cemetery grounds.

As he sat on the passenger seat, Jimin’s heart was wracked with unease. It had been a far off thing, back at the hospital, but after he’d seen his grandpa at the cemetery and confirmed that he’d long since passed, that feeling continued to soar.

“Where to now?” he asked Taehyung.

Taehyung asked, “Where do you want to go?”

“I’d like to go home.” Jimin asked, slightly anxiously, “Is it still there?”