butterfly lips。『 minjoon 』

three

three: ending the old

★

the sky was slowly turning into a soft purple color, pink clouds smeared across the sparkly blue canvas. the temple was finally reduced to dust, glimmering delicately in the air. shards of glass covered the two young deities, from their hair to their clothes, and the remnants of their conversation was the heavy silence that hung wearily between them. there was still so much left to be said. 

jeongguk ran his hands through his hair and shaking it free of glass. a couple of it dotted his cheeks and his nose. the bits of it catching the light of his godly markings. he'd always been so beautiful in jimin's eyes and jimin doubted that he'll stop being so. jimin flinched at the thought, his heart clenching tightly as his mind immediately pushed that thought away. he tore his gaze away from jeongguk's face, turning it to his nails instead. 

jeongguk contemplated on what he'll say next as he stared at the breathtaking sky. the stars moved together in sync, dancing gracefully across the sky. suddenly he turned to jimin, smiling brilliantly, living up to his name and jimin couldn't help but let a weak smile appear on his face. 

jeongguk reached over and jimin didn't take a step back instead tilted his head down, feeling the other's hand graze hesitantly through his hair. the pink shards of glass delicately fell out, so slowly and prettily. 'it's been a while', jimin thought to himself, 'since i've felt this safe.' 

jeongguk let out a sigh, "we should find the other gods and move." he let his hand fall from jimin's head. "but this conversation isn't over... unless you want it to be." he said, his voice light as air, small and so humanly vulnerable. 

different, of course, the sun deity couldn't be the same. jimin couldn't help but let his smile grow, "it's fine." it was strange, to feel so at ease. 

they walked down the cobblestone path, the stone cracking and breaking under their feet. through the cracks, dark and foul-smelling blood seeped out. it soaked the edges of jimin's robes in blood. 

the night sky had turned into an inky black blanket, the stars had ceased their dancing and begun to fall. 

still, jimin never heard his heartbeat loudly, instead, it steadily thumped against his chest. 

soon enough, loud thunderous booming began. 

that's when jimin couldn't help but start talking again. the fear of anyone else dying taking hold of him, gripping his heart so tightly that he swore it'll never start again. "do you think we'll be able to do it this time?" 

"the moment that you killed haenatov, was the moment that we've already won. just leave the rest to us." 

"sun deity..." jimin breathed out, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

"we'll be fine." jeongguk turned around and flashed that bright smile of his, that before, never failed to make jimin's heart stop. now, it just filled it with a guilty warmth. jimin turned away, pushing jeongguk forward with a gentle hand. 

"don't lie to me." 

"i wouldn't dream of it." 

the once pink beautiful clouds, dainty little things then, now nasty dark yellow nimbostratus clouds. large and overpowering, clashing loudly against each other in thunderous booms. angel tears fell from the sky, painting the cracking cobblestone pathway a striking mix of vivid red and shimmering blue. 

the two gods ran down the cobblestone pathway, their faces painted blue, clothes hanging heavily off their frames. jeongguk tugged on jimin's hand, pulling him forward as the ground below them continued to crumble. 

the kingdom that they stood upon floated on an overflowing river of blood. 

they stopped in front of a large pavilion, that upon laying their eyes on it, shattered into million pieces, diamonds and rubies cutting their skin. jeongguk acted first, pulling jimin to his chest to cover his eyes as he turned his face away, eyes shut tight. 

once the debris cleared, they pulled away immediately. 

the two of them stared at each other, eyes wide before turning to look at the man who stood in the middle of it all. he was dressed modestly in a soft grey robe under silver-plated amour. his blonde hair reached down to his shoulders in gentle waves. he smiled brightly, "sun deity, love deity. sorry." 

"boss? i-i mean-" 

"doesn't my hair look better like this?" seokjin asked lightly as he danced around the ashes that were scattered on the floor, careful not to touch them. 

jimin blinked, the god's personality so jarringly different from what he was used to. "y-yes." 

seokjin paused, smiling sadly as he looked at the two of them. "leave me with jimin, we have a bit to discuss." he said to jeongguk, who nodded as the marks on his skin glowed brightly. in a flash, he disappeared.  

"come with me, there's a place we must go." 

jimin followed after seokjin, looking at the god with confusion in his eyes. there was something wrong.

"what happened to you?" jimin asked, as the two of them trudged through the grass. 

"the mortal realm is not meant for gods. it's meant for those who live and die, eventually. our lives... are much more longer and more suited for the heavenly kingdom. i feel much older than i am." seokjin ran his fingers through his hair, with a distant look in his eyes. "it changes us, so quickly. you either have to grow numb to it and ignore it or never get used to it. i've seen the worst, i've lived through the worst, and i was powerless to all of it." he had a faraway look in his eyes. "i'm tired."

"sky deity..." jimin whispered, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. 

"i'm not stepping down but i might be absent for a while after we finish rebuilding." seokjin turned to jimin once more. he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he stared off, distracted, and conflicted. "i want you to take over my position for that time." 

jimin stopped walking, turning around on his heels. "what?" 

"i trust you the most. i will rest more comfortably if the throne is in your hands." 

"b-but-" 

seokjin laughed heartily, reaching over to give jimin a gentle push. "i'll have nothing to fear with you in power, trust me and you wouldn't have to fear either." 

jimin grimaced, looking down at his palms. "sky deity, i was... i was dead for thousands of years. i can't, i'm so young and inexperienced." 

"you were also human." 

the ruby guardians opened the tall silver gates to its fullest extent, striking their spears against the river bed. like a vacuum, the inky insides of the gate sucked in all of the human souls, tearing trees off their roots, sucking in the water of the river. 

in the mortal realm, everything that anyone has ever known was destroyed. planets crumbled, stars burst, the darkness became all-consuming.  

and finally, the silver gates closed. 

ngl im getting kind of bored of this book?? but i'm trying to finish it. i hope it's at least bearable.