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Iris closed her eyes as the tears silently rolled down her red cheeks. The wind picked up, blowing even more violently in her face. The tiny rocks shifted unhelpfully underneath her feet. She swayed forward, quivering blue orbs snapping back open.
The sea was a tumult of giant waves crashing in the ocean shore. The ledge she was standing on was two feet wide. One wrong move and she would plummet down to her death.
Salty drops fell from her chin, drenching her thin shirt. She heard her own whimpering, like a distressed child. That's what she was, after all – a child. A nuisance. Shunned and banished from her coven for being a weakling. Criticized and hated by her own family. Alone, abused and rejected all her life. No friends, no family, no one to care for her. Having lost the only person who ever understood her.
She drew a sharp intake of air, inhaling the salty breath of the sea. Tonight, she'd finally rid the world of the hindrance she truly was.
After all, no one would really care if she was gone.
***
Jimin sobbed into his palms unceasingly. The pain came in waves, robbing him of his breath. He was hurled back into the arms of his grief. His hopes of ever seeing Aera again shattering with each shuddering breath he took. He clasped onto the table for support – he had never felt so powerless before in his life. He didn't know if he could do it again. He wasn't sure if he could take another failed attempt at trying to get her back.
Minutes passed as the sobs gradually stopped ripping through his muscles and bones. A comfortable numbness came over Jimin. The hollowness inside helped him gain some clarity on his thoughts at last.
His first thought was how sorry he was for treating Iris like he did. But he was a monster. He wasn't the same person he was before Aera passed. Even if she came back now, would she still like the person he had become? Would she still love him? He was despicable. His soul was rotten.
Iris should have known better, he thought. She should have seen it coming. That's what she got for getting involved with someone so utterly and infinitely broken.
He heaved a staggered breath, wiping his wet cheeks. He thought of going to bed, but the idea of falling asleep right now seemed impossible. The more time passed, the more guilty he grew over letting Iris run into the night like that, upset and distraught. He was reminded of his first and last fight with Aera that saw her storming off in that very same manner, and look where that got her. Look where that got all of them.
Jimin tried to tell himself that Iris was nobody to him. That she didn't mean anything. She had said he needed a friend. He scoffed a humorless laugh. Friend? He had no friends. He had purposefully distanced himself from Jungkook and the others. He did not deserve sympathy, nor did he desire their pity. He was better off alone, and being in their company only intensified his agony. So he ran. Disconnecting himself emotionally was for the best. So he closed off his heart to them and everyone else for that matter.
