✔️Fire & Ice || Jikook

A Thawed Heart

Jungkook woke up to the feeling of fingers softly combing through his hair, his head resting on someone's lap. His eyes immediately wandered to his hyung, who was humming to a light tune while staring off into space.

"Jin hyung?"

"Oh! Jungkookie, you're finally awake!" Jin exclaims with a smile just as Jungkook lifted himself up from the bench in the garden.

Jungkook blinked the dark spots away from his vision and looked around for a certain someone. "Where's Jimin?"

A small frown appeared on Jin's face as he looked towards the pathway to the left side of the garden. "I don't know. As soon as he woke up, he just ran away without a word."

Jungkook got up and held Jin's hands with a smile of gratitude. "Thank you so much for this, hyung. Please leave the rest to me, now..." Then, he took off in the direction Jin was looking at in search of the ice mage.

"Good luck, Jungkookie..." Jin whispered before the younger turned around a corner.

Why did he run away? Jungkook thought as he called Jimin's name. He continued looking until he spotted the small figure sitting on the edge of the fountain. Slowly, he approached the still mage until he was right in front of him.

"Jimin...?"

The boy was looking down, fingers gripping the stone beneath shakily. His expression was concealed, and he didn't respond to Jungkook.

What's wrong with him? Didn't this solve all his questions? Shouldn't he be relieved? Jungkook's eyebrows furrowed as he knelt down and brought his hand up to tilt the other's chin. He stopped when Jimin quickly tossed his head to the side, avoiding his touch.

"Jimin, what's wrong? Why are you like this all of the sudden?" Jungkook questioned.

A few moments passed until Jimin decided to speak up, his voice low and hollow.

"Did you see that man? That...thing?"

A picture of the ominous, human figure screeching flashed in Jungkook's mind as he bit his lip. "Yeah, the impostor. He - it - looked so human, but I feel like it's not at all..."

Jimin shook his head and lowered his head even further, causing Jungkook to reach out and hold his hand.

"Are you afraid of it, Jimin? Is that why you ran?"

Jimin looked up at Jungkook, eyes shining with a new emotion: fear. "What if it comes back? What if it's here right now, listening to everything we're saying? How do I know you're not it?!"

Jungkook immediately grabbed both of Jimin's hands, knowing the other was beginning to panic. "Jimin, I'm not an impostor. It's really me. Look..." He pulled up his sleeve and showed Jimin his fire emblem.

Jimin visibly relaxed and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Now do you believe me?" Jungkook asked, the question meaning two things.

Jimin tensed before slowly nodding and whispering, "...Yes, I believe you now..."

Jungkook smiled widely in joy and relief, but before he could speak, the other pulled his hands away from his grasp. The smile melted as quickly as it came.

"But it's too late now...My heart," Jimin places a hand gently over his chest while gazing emptily at Jungkook's confused face, "won't beat anymore. It's cold and dark, and I can't seem to feel anything no matter how hard I try."

Oh... Jungkook's hands felt strangely empty without the other's small ones resting in their grasp. He noticed the distant look in Jimin's chocolate brown eyes, and suddenly, he felt the need to help him. He wanted to help Jimin feel warm again, not this unbearable coldness that left him scared in a dark void of loneliness.