Chapter Text
‘A closure. That’s it, that’s all I’m asking for.’
His eyes closed and his hands clasped, he gazed up at the starry sky above him.
A wish, the only one that had come to mind as he watched the luminous trail of a shooting star.
‘I’m leaving next week and I’ll never come back to this city. The chapter of my life in Seoul has come to an end… I’ll never see him again… please, I just want to see him one last time so I can say goodbye properly.’
Yet, deep down, Jimin didn’t know if he should really believe that his silly wish would come true. How many times had he already made wishes while looking up at the sky? And how many times had they actually come true? Never, to be exact.
But there’s always hope, no matter how silly it may be, when you find yourself gazing at the sky and seeing that faint starlight.
“Did you make a wish?” Jungkook asked him, sitting on the bench beside him.
It had been a lovely evening, but there was undeniably a heavy atmosphere hanging over them. They, too, would soon be saying goodbye. No, not forever, but they wouldn’t see each other the way they did now.
They’d been living in Seoul for three years, and after meeting in their first year at dance academy, they’d become inseparable. By now, everyone knew them as a duo living in perfect harmony. It was strange to see one of them alone, but if that happened, it was only because the other was out of town for a few days.
All things, both good and bad, are bound to come to an end. And there they were, in the middle of a summer night, sitting in their favorite park, chatting about this and that as usual.
Jungkook was going to stay in Seoul. A company had hired him to join a dance crew shortly before he graduated from the academy. When he found out, they’d celebrated for days.
Jimin had been lucky, too—he’d been invited to join a theater’s dance troupe. It was one of his dreams. But he’d had to turn it down.
One phone call was all it took to clip his wings.
‘Jimin-ah, I’m so sorry, but Dad’s condition has gotten worse,’ his mother had said on the phone two days after that job offer.
And so, Park Jimin had given up his dream of working in theater and told the landlord of the apartment where he lived that he would be moving out at the end of the month to return to Busan.
It hadn't been an easy decision, but in the end he had decided to return to his hometown and work there so he could better support his family and avoid paying exorbitant rent in the Korean capital.
It hurt. It hurt a lot. But knowing that his father wasn’t well hurt even more.
“Yeah, I did it,” Jimin replied calmly, his eyes still fixed on the sky.
“I bet it’s about him,” Jungkook laughed mockingly.
Jimin playfully hit his friend on the arm, pretending to be offended. “Of course not! I told you, that’s all in the past now.”
The look on the younger boy’s face spoke for itself. He knew it wasn’t true and that his hyung hadn’t gotten over it at all, but he didn’t want to push the issue any further. “Anyway, I hope it comes true.”
Jimin looked down at the ground as he wondered to himself whether he’d done the right thing in making that wish. There were so many things he could have asked the stars for—like better health for his father, his family’s well-being, finding a good job… but instead, he’d fallen for it again. Once more, he’d put the one who had been his forbidden dream for all those three years in the capital at the forefront of his thoughts.
But you can’t control the heart, and Jimin had learned that a long time ago.
As always, Jimin and Jungkook had gone out to eat the following evening as well. Not only was it a habit for them, but at that moment they felt they needed to spend even more time together since they would soon have to part ways.
It had been a pleasant evening, and it had flown by. Time seemed to be passing even faster these last days.
They were at their usual spot where they said goodbye before heading home. Fortunately, their apartments weren’t that far apart.
“Ahhh, I can’t believe I’ll have to say goodbye to Seoul in a few days,” the blond lamented.
“It’s all your fault, hyung. If you’d made a move on Taehyung, maybe you’d still be here,” Jungkook said.
“Shhhh! Don’t say his name! And besides, that’s not true… you know it too!”
“Why can’t I ever say his name? It’s not like if a passerby on the street hears it, they’ll know who we’re talking about.”
It was true. Seoul was so big and crowded that not only could people not possibly know his Taehyung, but it was probably also full of other men with the same name.
“Don’t say that… hearing it reminds me that he’s a real person,” Jimin said, avoiding his friend’s accusing gaze.
“If only you’d mustered the courage every time you ran into him at the academy or out and about and actually talked to him, you’d be screaming his name between the sheets right now.”
The blond blushed fiercely, deeply embarrassed by what he’d just heard. His imagination, unfortunately, was very vivid.
“B-but I did try!”
Jungkook looked at him wearily; they’d had this conversation so many times that he was sick of it by now. “You just followed him on Instagram, and he followed you back. You could’ve sent him a DM, but you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t do everything myself! I’d already taken the initiative to follow him first… Anyway, that doesn’t change the fact that no matter how things turned out, I would’ve left Seoul anyway.”
“Lies. Your dramatic ass can’t handle the embarrassment. Your dad will be back on his feet in a few months, but you’ve still decided to go back to Busan just because you’re hurt that after a week, Taehyung unfollowed you and deleted your follow too. ”
With his hands crossed over his chest and his face turned the other way, Jimin decided he’d had enough for the night.
“Believe whatever you want, I’m going home. Good night.”
“You’re such a drama queen, but you know I’m right,” Jungkook chuckled, but the blond wasn’t listening to him. Behind the younger boy, at that very moment, a person was walking by.
Kim Taehyung.
Jimin could have sworn Jungkook was still talking, but none of what he was saying was being processed by his brain. It almost seemed as if his friend had summoned him by saying his name.
Taehyung was there with a friend and was heading down the same street that led to Jimin’s apartment.
The blond hid slightly so he’d be shielded by Jungkook, who, in the meantime, hadn’t noticed a thing and was still talking away. Jimin pretended to listen to him.
Only after Taehyung was out of sight did Jimin allow himself to take a deep breath and calm down. His heart was pounding.
“Everything okay?” he heard Jungkook ask.
Finally, the blond looked back at him and paid attention. “Yeah, yeah, sure, everything’s just fine.”
Jungkook realized something was off the moment Jimin started smiling and giggling. It didn’t make sense for him to do that after the things he’d just said.
But he knew that was a reaction his hyung only had when it came to one particular person. He’d completely lose his composure and start smiling like an idiot, no longer understanding anything going on around him.
Jungkook kept looking at him questioningly until Jimin spoke.
“It came true, Kookie. My wish just came true.”
“Huh? The one about the shooting star? What was that about?”
“I wanted to see him one last time before I left… and that’s exactly what happened. It just flew right past you.”
Jungkook spun around to look at Taehyung, but by then, the boy in question was already gone.
“Seriously? You actually made a wish about him after telling me for months that you don’t want to hear his name mentioned anymore and that you hate him?”
“I just wanted… I just wanted to etch that last moment I saw him into my mind forever…”
“You’re head over heels, my friend. Once you admit it, you’ll feel better about yourself.”
“There’s no point in doing that. That was the last time I saw him—that’s exactly what the wish said. It was my closure, and I got it.”
“Pathetic,” Jungkook said, snorting and taking a few steps back in a futile attempt to see which way Taehyung had gone.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
“Tell me where he went so we can follow him and you can go and talk to him.”
Jimin then grabbed Jungkook by the hands and dragged him back the way they’d come in a moment of panic. “No, absolutely not. Forget what I told you.”
Jungkook wrenched his hand free from Jimin’s grip. “Come on, what do you have to lose? You’re about to leave this city; if you don’t talk to him now, you’ll never do it again. This could be your last chance, and you’re just wasting it like this.”
Jimin knew full well that Jungkook was right. One part of him—the rational part—told him he should follow Jungkook’s advice, but the other part—the insecure part—begged him not to, not to make a fool of himself yet again. Taehyung had already rejected him in the past by unfollowing him… why would he want to make a fool of himself all over again?
He had to accept that they weren’t meant to be. Not in this universe, at least.
Even the stars were telling him that this was their goodbye.
“Jungkookie, seriously, it’s better to just let it go. I’m going home now to get some sleep. I got the closure I asked for, and now I have to accept it,” Jimin said without smiling. He was serious this time. Enough with the fairy tales.
The younger one sensed his friend’s change in mood and didn’t want to push the issue. He remembered all too well how hurt he’d been the year before when the Instagram problem had happened.
“Okay, fine. I don’t agree with you, but I have to respect your idiotic decisions.”
“Thanks,” said Jimin, dejected.
“Good night, hyung. I hope for your sake that that star has bigger plans for you.”
The blond sighed and said goodbye to his friend, setting off toward his house.
He prayed with all his might that Taehyung had changed his route or stopped at some pub in the meantime, so he wouldn’t have to run into him on the street.
But luck must have abandoned him, because the exact opposite happened.
Taehyung was right there.
He was walking and chatting with his friend, and it looked like they were looking for a place to grab something to eat.
Jimin could feel his heart pounding. He was happy and nervous at the same time—a reaction that was exaggerated to say the least, but what could he do? He had no control over his heart.
It didn’t take him long to catch up to them. Jimin was walking quickly, while the other two seemed to be taking their time.
At one point, they stopped to decide whether or not to go into one of the pubs on that street, and the distance between them and the blond guy was practically nonexistent—close enough for Taehyung to notice him.
The taller boy glanced at him—or at least that’s what Jimin thought—while the blond, in the meantime, had grabbed his phone with the intention of calling someone—maybe Jungkook, he wasn’t sure—just to pretend he was busy.
Jimin was afraid Taehyung would mistake him for a stalker; it wasn’t the first time he’d been afraid of that. They simply frequented the same places, so it wasn’t hard for them to run into each other, yet Jimin had become fixated on the idea that the taller guy considered him a stalker because they’d often found themselves in the same place.
Jimin managed to get past the pair and continued on his way home.
He wondered if Taehyung had ever understood anything about the feelings Jimin had for him, if he’d noticed the smiles that lit up the blond’s face every time they passed each other on the street, if he’d ever thought about him even once the way Jimin thought about him constantly. He wondered if Taehyung had ever looked at him when Jimin couldn’t see him… He wondered if Taehyung was doing it right now. Probably not.
‘Goodbye, Taehyung… this time, forever.’