1994.

23. CRESCENT SMILE

CRESCENT
SMILE

THE ROOM HAD turned cold, a breeze slicing down her spine as she slowly sat on the couch. her anger had died down, a trembling fire now extinguished to petty ashes, for her to only feel a blue–toned emptiness. she sighed, wiping tiredly at her eyes.

taehyung hadn't come back downstairs, made the excuse of putting the bags in the spare bedrooms, but she knew he was hiding up there away from the havoc she was left in. she didn't really care: hoseok, a stranger with a threatening aura, was better company to her in that moment. said male was pouring two small glasses of whiskey, standing at the coffee table.

"i've seen this new jeongguk. he's a complete wreck," his voice was soft — not patronising, more so sympathetic.

raesun felt herself tear up; the emotions inside her were near to disintegrated but she could still feel the swarm of new found sadness, "yeah... i thought as much," she mumbled into her hand.

the older male spared a gentle smile as he handed her the drink. she mouthed a thank you, clasping the cold glass in both hands, with hoseok sipping on the alcohol whilst staring off into space, "he started doing some heavy shit, drinking a whole lot more, going after those gang members as if there was no other choice. yoongi told me it was... well, it was to try and block memories of you."

with another sigh, she closed her eyes to prevent the dam from breaking, swallowing a pained sob, "does he hate me?"

hoseok looked down at her, one brow raised, and looked quite unsure as to what he should do — he didn't look like a caring person, maybe he actually didn't know to comfort another. nevertheless, he settled his glass onto the table and sat next to her, hesitating at first but placed his warm hand on her back in some sort of soothing manner, "i'm sure you never asked to get shot. this isn't your fault, you know that right?"

before she could answer, a knock interrupted their conversation — she could only guess it was jimin. hoseok patted her back (quite harshly might she add) and stood up to answer it; she figured she might as well look at least half decent, standing up and flattening her hair, brushing non–existent dirt from her clothes. but there was nothing she could do to clean the mess inside of her: she felt dirty, still feeling taehyung's hands on her and the guilt tainting her soul.

yet she tried to put on a smile.

she must've looked different than she did that past summer, because when mijin and jimin walked into the room (looking confused, most likely because they didn't know what this surprise of hoseok's was) they peered at her with inquisitive narrowed eyes.

mijin's mouth gaped open and shut almost comically, finally letting the words free from the trap of a numb tongue, "i–is that...?"

in a rush of realisation, jimin hurried forward with wide arms to encase her in the warmest hug he could manage in such a chilly room, his breath panting and hands shaking, "oh my fucking god, raesun! i–it's kim raesun!"

raesun simply smiled through her tears as he pulled back for a second, studying her for a longer moment. he probably noticed her muddy under–eyes, or the collected tears in the rosy whites of her eyes, or perhaps even the burn of alcohol on her lips; he still grinned that pretty crescent smile, teeth catching in artificial light just like his new blonde hair did.

"okay but..." he laughed in disbelief, his grip on her a little too tight but raesun ignored it, "is it the shrooms i took an hour ago, or are you a–actually here?"

raesun caught mijin frozen, hands over her mouth as she still scanned her up and down trying to make sense as to how she was actually there — the ruby head laughed a shattered laugh, a hiccup caught in her throat, "i–it's really me, jimin."

at that, mijin was rapid to join their hug as rivers flowed from bloodshot eyes and a stronger friendship was found amidst lost–hope and now–false mourning. raesun hadn't quite grasped the reality of seeing two familiar faces, so only god could tell how she'd react when her honey boy was in her sight again. would their reunion be this beautiful? or will it take place in a bloodbath or hell fire?

despite the messy group hug taking place in his living room, hoseok simply chuckled in his place leaning against the doorway, swirling his cup of whiskey with his sight trained on the three crying teens, "told ya it was a surprise."

— 雨 —

in light of recent events, i've decided to finally update this again

hope this aint too bad

anyways, you've only got to wait two more chaps until the Big Reunion lmao sPoiLeRS

lots of love,
starr.