Chapter 9

"When were you going to tell me huh?" Yoongi questioned again, voice cracking with sadness. "I…I just don't understand Jimin..why? What have I ever done to deserve this?" No words could describe the turmoil, the shock, confusion, and utter betrayal that ran rampant within the confines of Yoongi's heart. "Is this some sort of joke?! Some sick prank someone's playing on me?! Is it because of what I said about life and death?! Well I've long since learned my lesson! There was no beed they draw it out this long!" Yoongi was shaking now, eyes and cheeks turning a light shade of pink from the tears he'd shed.

Jimin could only stare, mouth agape as he desperately searched for something to say, anything to say. "Yoongi…" Jimin sighed, letting his body go lax as he looked Yoongi in the eyes. "None of this is a prank. I'm so, so sorry! I should've told you sooner and I shouldn't have let it go on this long! But I just..didn't know how to tell you I was technically dead. Please try and understand!"

"…I want the truth." Yoongi demanded, mouth in a tight line. "No more hiding Jimin, I want to know everything."

Jimin nodded with a sigh. "I can do that…I owe you that much." Jimin grasped at the hem of his shirt, gaze zeroing in on the movement of his fingers. "Other than what I've already told you, my family wasn't really well off. We weren't 'poor' per say, we made enough to get by. Growing up I was in and out of this very hospital every time my parents punished me for being 'troublesome.' But every time, they'd apologize for it." An emotionless smile pulled at Jimin's lips. "They'd hug me, stroke my hair, give me forehead kisses, and tell me they'll make up for it by giving me whatever I wanted."

"A trip to the sea." Yoongi breathed out. "It's what you've always desired."

Jimin nodded. "We hardly ever went out or did anything because money was tight. I would always see parents with their children at parks or on TV at the beach, laughing and playing, without a care in the world. I wanted to experience that…but I never did get the chance to."

Yoongi tensed, sucking in a sharp breath. This was it, he was about to hear the moment where Jimin's life care to an end. Yoongi had a feeling that the story Jimin had told him the night he'd held the other in his arms was the night of his death, but Jimin just didn't have the courage to tell him that. "Jimin…the night you won the dance competition." Yoongi paused momentarily, not really sure how to ask if his suspicions were true. "Was that when you…"

"Yeah." Jimin confirmed in a shaky tone. "I can still feel every ounce of pain, the adrenaline rush, the fear, and anger I felt that night. Even now when I think back on it I can still feel the same defiance clutching at my chest before everything went black."

Yoongi pulled Jimin close, resting his chin on Jimin's head as his eyes drifted shut. He couldn't imagine the emotions Jimin felt when he had been fighting for his life. His heart ached for the deceased male. None of this was fair, Jimin didn't deserve any of this. I'm

"It's hard to explain, but when I woke up, I didn't feel…awake. I could hear the monitors beeping and people, and smell disinfectant, but I couldn't see anything or move, everything was dark." Jimin continued, eyes wide and distant. "I'm not sure how long I was in that state, but eventually, I heard my mother's voice. Her voice was soft, quiet, and hoarse, like she'd lost it from screaming or crying. I could hear her talking, saying she missed me and that she prayed that I'd wake up soon. She told me that if I woke up, if I came back to her, she'd take me to the Sea. She promised me Yoongi…all I had to do was come back to her! I could feel the warmth of her hands, and I could hear the sadness in her voice! Yoongi, it felt genuine! My mother never hit me, but she never protected me either. But for the first time in my life I felt like my mother cared! That she really loved me!"

"Jimin…" Yoongi started to say, holding onto the other tighter.

"And then I did it! I woke up!" Jimin have a humorless laugh. "I could move, see, touch, hear, everything! But what I woke up to wasn't to my mother by my bedside, I woke up to my body being covered by a sheet and then taken out of the room." Jimin turned to look up at Yoongi. "The moment when reality hits you, and the world comes crashing down around you. The moment you realize your dead..It's a terror you only feel once.

My mother's promise, her hurt, it kept me here. It gave me hope that she'd return, that she'd see me and fulfill my one wish. But days turned into weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. I still stayed though, never losing faith that she'd come around. Of course, I grew sad, tired, and lonely as time passed. So I'd let my guard down every once in a while in hopes that someone would see me, would keep me company and ease my pain even just for a moment. For eight and a half years no one came, but then one day you showed up."

Jimin grasped Yoongi's hand in his own, fixing his teary eyes on the face above him. "Meeting you made all those years waiting worth it! I was no longer sad because of my parents, I hardly ever thought of them when I was with you! Instead I began to feel sadness because I knew you'd have to leave someday. I felt sadness because I'd have to tell you the truth eventually, and I feared your reaction. Yoongi…you've made me very happy! Happier than I've been in such a long time. Thank you, for everything!"

"Jimin…Jimin.." Yoongi cupped Jimin's face, letting his thumbs caress the skin of his flushed cheeks. "Please, leave this hospital."

"Yoongi I can't do that! I can't leave just yet." Jimin clutched at Yoongi. "Not yet! I have to wait for her-"

"She isn't coming back!" Yoongi's time was gentle but firm. "She isn't coming back and I think you know that. It's been nine years Jimin, please! When you were hospitalized, when you heard your mother talking to you, she told you everything! She said she missed you, she was sad, she wanted you back!"

"Exactly Yoongi!" Jimin exclaimed. "That's why I have to sta-"

"But she never said she loved you!" It hurt Yoongi to say what he was about to, to see the heartbreak and anguish in the eyes he loved, but jimin needed to hear the truth. "You were hospitalized consistently throughout your life, each time your parents offered you something you wanted to make up for it. It wasn't because they were sorry, Jimin! They were being investigated for child abuse. The hospital is required to contact authorities when they suspect abuse is happening and that's what was happening. They offered you things you wanted to keep you from saying anything to the doctors that would get them arrested! It's all in your hospital file!"

Yoongi had been holding it in ever since Jimin started talking, but he couldn't keep it in any longer. When Namjoon urged him to open and read Jimin's file, he'd seen every injury, hospital visit, doctors notes on potential abuse, and each time the investigations were stopped because Jimin never told on his parents. It angered Yoongi when he saw it. They used Jimin's compassion and his dreams to keep themselves in the clear and keep jimin in their hold.

"I know it hurts Jimin, and it isn't and easy thing to accept, but you need to. They killed you. Your father beat you into a coma and your mother played the role of the anguished mom to throw off anyone who may have suspected her. What you heard was an act and it's absolutely disgusting what they did to you. You know it, I think you've known it for a long time. Now it's time for you to come to terms with it."

Oh how Yoongi wished he could wipe off the conflicted and horrified expression that withered on Jimin's face. How he wished he could tuck him within his jacket and keep him there, so he'd never have to feel pain ever again. But Jimin needed to feel this. He needed to recognize and process his pain in order to move on from it.

"You've remained stagnant for so many years Jimin, suffering and torturing yourself when you didn't need to. You deserve to be happy, you deserve peace! Leave this place and all the pain it's held for you behind, go to the Sea, go to the one place that would bring you a smile, please!"

"Yoongi..it's not that simple." Jimin shook his head. "I want to go! I want peace! It's just so hard!"

"I know it is! It's going to take time for you to register and accept this, but I know you can do it. When you're ready to leave this place, I'll be right out there waiting for you." Yoongi placed his forehead on Jimin's. "I promised you that when we get out of here I'd take you to the Sea and I meant it. I can see you, hear you, feel you, and touch you. If I have to go to the Sea when the sun rises and stay until the sun sets, whenever you're ready, I'll be there. I'll join you at the Sea."

Jimin stared, seemingly stunned into silence. Then as if a dam had bursted open, he crumbled against Yoongi's chest and cried.

"I love you so much Jimin…" Yoongi murmured. "I'll spend as much time with you as I can in life, and I'll spend eternity with you in death. That's a promise you can count on."

*****

2 years later….

"Yoongi! Hurry up will you?! The meteor shower's about to start and you're going to miss it!" Hoseok shouted from the backyard.

"Alright alright I'm coming!" Yoongi shouted back, rushing to bundle himself up in a blanket as he headed out to the backyard with Yeontan hot on his heels.

It was chilly out tonight, a large picnic blanket was laid on the grass as well as two telescopes, a couple of binoculars, Cameras, and snacks. Hoseok, Taehyung, Jungkook, and Namjoon were all already spread out and awaiting for the Meteor Shower to start.

"I really hope I get some good shots! Some pictures of the Meteor shower would go great in my next showcase!" Taehyung exclaimed happily as Yeontan plopped down in his laps.

"Same here!" Jungkook piped in. "A video of this would be fucking fantastic! Imagine the views I could rake in if I can get some good shots!"

"The scenery is going to be so beautiful!" Namjoon exclaimed. "Don't you think Yoongi?"

"It'll be my first time seeing one! So I'm pretty excited!" Yoongi replied with a smile. "Hoseok looks like he's excited too! If him being unable to sit still is anything to go by."

Namjoon gave a laugh, casting a glance at Hoseok who stuck his tongue out in response. "Oh! By the way! Something was let at the Hospital recreation room with your name on it!" Namjoon dug in his coat pocket, pulled out a medium sized box and handed it over to Yoongi.

With a question grayer of his eyebrow, Yoongi took the box in his hand, taking note of the rattling noise it made when he moved it. The box was plain, a simple black that felt like it was made of cardboard. Slowly, he opened the box up and peeked inside. The first thing he noticed was a shell. A pretty, white shell that sparkles beneath the moon and held a pristine pearl in its center.

"Wow…it's beautiful!" Yoongi gently scooped it up in his hand for fear that being too rough would break the fragile item. Beneath it lay a small, handwritten note that Yoongi had to narrow his eyes to read beneath the dark sky. As his mind registered the two lines on the paper, Yoongi's eyes widened with a gasp. His hands began to shake and his vision became clouded with tears.

'You know…I used to believe that when someone dies, they leave something special behind for their loved ones, like a trinket of sorts. Something to let them know that they've found peace and they don't need to worry about them anymore.'

"Yoongi?!" Namjoon called in concern. "Are you okay?!"

Yoongi nodded, a smile appearing on his face as let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, I'm just fine!"

Yoongi read the note over and over again, forgetting all about experiencing the Meteor Shower with his friends as he began making plans to sneak away from them and head to his long awaited date. He'd waited for this for over two years. And now the day had finally come and he could barely contain himself.

"Actually guys, watch the Meteor Shower without me. I've got somewhere I have to be and it can't wait." Yoongi said as he rose to his feet.

"Are you sure?" Hoseok questioned. "You've been looking forward to this for a long time Yoongi!"

"Yeah..well there's something else I've been looking forward to for an ever longer time." Yoongi flashes the confused group a smile before turning to leave. "Get some good footage for me!"

Yoongi looked at the shell in his hands before reading the little note once more.

Meet me at the Sea!

~Love, Jimin <3