Beastly Beauty ✓

23. The Rainfall

23 | THE RAINFALL

It was twilight when I made my way to where Jungkook told me to meet him. Arriving there required a walk along the outskirts of the most castle-like building on campus. The walls were stone of a weathered soot color, and the outer edges were adorned with high archways under which I walked. Reaching a final arch that opened up to an expansive courtyard, I found Jungkook and Namjoon waiting, their conversation cutting short as they noticed me.

"There she is," Jungkook grinned, coming up to me without missing a beat. I let out a short chuckle as he slung his arm around my shoulders. "Missed ya, Red."

"You just saw me this morning," I replied flatly, though I knew he was just being playful. I couldn't help but tease him back in my own way.

Namjoon lifted an eyebrow at the sight of us, his lips turned up almost in amusement. "When did you two get so close?"

My mouth opened to speak, but Jungkook answered swifter than I could.

"We're the two who are closest to Jimin, so what happened sort of brought us together."

His explanation was a good save, but I knew it held plenty of truth. The first time it felt like I could start trusting Jungkook was when I saw how guilty he was over not rescuing Jimin from the fire sooner. His eyes had housed a pain that I recognized as sincere, the same kind of pain I felt upon seeing Jimin so hurt.

Namjoon raised his chin in understanding, his eyes softening at the mention of Jimin. "Speaking of, how is he? When will he be discharged?"

"He has to go through another procedure or two, then they said in a few weeks he'll be let out, as long as he's healing well. He'll need to stay in a wheelchair to keep off his feet for a while, though," I said, doing my best to keep my emotions at bay.

Strings of lavender hair fell over his temple as he shook his head. "I'm not a dancer, but I can't imagine how he feels being kept from what he loves. I don't know what I'd do without my music. He must be hurting."

I grew quiet as that familiar wave of sympathy for Jimin washed over me. Why couldn't I have been the one to get hurt? As much as I kept trying to fight it, guilt persisted clawing at me.

Jungkook seemed to pick up on my fallen mood as he squeezed me closer to him. With his free hand - the bandaged one - he held my chin and turned my face toward him just slightly, then his lips were planting a light kiss on my cheek.

Even knowing how flirtatious Jungkook was, the action flustered me. I knew his motive was not to be romantic, but rather to comfort and reassure me. The kiss was his way of wordlessly telling me that it was not my fault, what happened to Jimin. Placing a hand on the spot he pecked, I felt the ever-growing warmth of my face. My gaze briefly caught Namjoon's and found him as surprised as me.

"What's that look for? Never seen two lovers kiss before?" Jungkook asked him, only to wheeze on his last syllable as I smacked his chest.

A scoff came from behind us. "Lovers my ass."

Jungkook let his arm drop away from me as we all turned toward the sound. Yoongi stood under the arched entrance, his irises too dark in the night to read. During the short time Jungkook, Namjoon, and I were talking, the remainder of violet in the sky was swallowed up by blackness. The only light came from the moon above and the lampposts in the corners of the courtyard.

"Is it that unlikely that we could be a couple?" Jungkook questioned.

Yoongi looked between the two of us. "Not a good fit."

"Anyway," I jumped in before Jungkook could continue, "Let's sit while we wait for everyone."

The courtyard was all cement except for the center, which had a large, round patch of grass surrounding a stone fountain. Where the night would have otherwise been silent, the faint sound of running water filtered into the cold air. The sculpture of the fountain was unlike the one I'd seen while practicing with Hoseok some days ago. Rather than dancers, the two figures - male and female - shared an embrace as they crumbled in on each other like both were falling and clinging to their only source of life. Their expressions were carved into ones of desperation and longing, and I wondered what it was like to experience a love such as theirs.