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mood music- you are the reason calum scottjungkook is lonely.he thinks that it’s not fair how he has no friends, because everyone else in school has a buddy. they go to lunch together, they play together, they have each other when the teacher tells the class to pair up.they’re never left alone at the side like jungkook is.everyday, he’ll go home from school, sullen and moody. by the way, he also thinks that it’s not fair how people have their parents pick them up from school, or welcome them home from school with open arms and dinner on the table. he comes home to a cold marble living room, only a single light turned on in the corridor. both his parents return after jungkook goes to sleep.(it’s a funny sight, really, an eight year old fixing his own dinner from the fridge, showering, picking out his own pyjamas for the night, and tucking himself into bed.)sometimes, if he can’t sleep, he’ll sit in front of his floor length windows, just staring at the great outside. he imagines how it’ll be like to have a friend to talk to, somebody who can understand him and will play with his toys, and share their own toys. he wishes and wishes, both hands clasped in front of him, sitting cross-legged on his bedroom floor. he sits there, alone, in complete darkness except for the moonlight spilling through the window and illuminating his face. he leaves his room light off, because he can’t see the stars if it’s on. and that would be such a shame, because he thinks that the stars are so pretty.and so, on yet another lonely night, he watches in fascination as a star spins in the sky, twinkling, before it drops straight down, straight into jungkook’s backyard. his eyes widen, and he flings open his bedroom door, hurtling down the steps two at a time, rushing into the backyard.there, in the middle of his backyard, is a little boy, maybe one or two years older than him, curled up in a ball. he’s wearing pyjamas with dinosaur prints, and jungkook gasps happily.he runs over to the boy. “who are you?” he asks, his voice laced with wonder. he taps the boy’s shoulder when he doesn’t respond.the boy stirs, before yawning and sitting upright, rubbing at his eyes.“mmph?”jungkook sits down in front of him, eyes round and bright. “you’re in my backyard! maybe we can be friends?” jungkook asks hesitantly. the last time he said this, he’d been laughed at.but this boy is different. this boy doesn’t laugh. this boy blinks curiously, taking in his surroundings, then jungkook’s eager face.“i’m jimin,” the boy begins, a little smile forming on his face. “and we can be friends!”—jungkook isn’t lonely anymore. he spends the rest of the night playing with his dinosaur figurines with his new friend, jimin, and he’s so, so happy. jimin laughs at everything he says, jimin never once makes fun of his nose, or his teeth, and jimin doesn’t yell at him. they’re halfway through a dinosaur battle when jungkook hears someone stomp up the stairs.“jungkook? i heard you talking! go to sleep! why are you still awake? didn’t i tell you that you need to be asleep before daddy and i get back?” jungkook whimpers in fear, his eyes fixated on his closed door, and jimin gulps.“gotta go,” he mumbles, but jungkook doesn’t hear him.when jungkook turns around again to tell jimin to hide under the covers, he realises that jimin is gone. his heart sinks.wasn’t jimin a friend? and aren’t friends supposed to stay?—he goes to school the next day, and talks all about jimin during their sharing session as a class. for the first time, he talks animatedly to all the other eight year olds in his class who are fixated on his story of the boy who fell from the stars.afterwards, his classmates would ask him more about jimin, wanting him to describe how exactly jimin had fallen into his backyard. during lunch, they would sit with him, wanting him to tell his story over and over. jungkook did so happily, not sitting alone during lunch for once. he tells them all about the dinosaurs they played with, making all the boys excited over the full set of dinosaur figurines that he owns. he talks about how jimin had glittered when he first appeared in his backyard, making all the girls gasp.by the end of the day, he has been accepted into the class’ social circle; because eight year olds are fickle and easy to please, and they had never really disliked jungkook anyway.jungkook waits at his window every night for jimin, because he wants to tell jimin about his newfound friends, pride sparkling in his eyes and confidence lifting his previously hunched shoulders.but jimin never returns.—it has been a long time since jungkook has worried about having friends, and an equally long time since he’s sat in front of his window. but here he is, sitting cross-legged, his right hand holding his phone so tightly that his knuckles are white. faint traces of the argument going on downstairs drift up the stairs, floating through the cracks of his breaking family, straight to his ears. he clenches his jaw, turning the volume of the dumb pop song he has playing up another two notches.he sits there and just tries to breathe but it’s so difficult, because he feels like there’s a hand wrapping around his throat, doing its best to cut off his airflow. he tries to will away the tears bubbling beneath the surface, rising on the emotional tide.and so, jungkook thinks of him.jimin. the name itself brings back laughter and joy, the amount of immeasurable happiness that one night had brought jungkook. a mere figment of his imagination, but so dear and precious to him. he almost rolls his eyes at how much the thought his imaginary friend affects him, but he figures that tonight he can go easy on himself. he can let himself indulge in the thought that jimin is real, that his guardian angel exists somewhere out there. as another wave of anger rolls over the house, his head sinks into his hands, and tears wet his cheeks and palms.sudden desperation raises his head towards the stars again, almost praying for a miracle to happen. it is then that a streak of light heads downwards towards his backyard, twisting and turning and unfolding itself into a teenage boy, and jungkook drops his phone.—throwing his window open, jungkook leans out to look at the boy -jimin, but much older now- stand awkwardly on the soft grass, looking around curiously much like the first time he had landed in jungkook’s backyard.he looks upwards and sees jungkook staring at him. he gives a little wave, and motions for jungkook to reach down to get ready to pull him into his window. jungkook watches, open-mouthed, as jimin scales the wall effortlessly, reaching the bottom of his window in no time, and jungkook grabs his hand, lifting him in through the window. as jimin stands there in his bedroom, shaking out his clothes. jungkook stares at his hand, which came away from jimin’s grip covered in shiny dust.“hello, i’m-”“jimin.”“oh, you remember me!” jimin smiles pleasantly, and he steps forward to hug jungkook.the fight continues downstairs, in full volume now that jungkook has thrown aside his earphones and phone. but jimin simply takes jungkook’s hand again, sitting them both down on his bed.“ignore them. tell me how you’ve been,” jimin says encouragingly.as jungkook launches into everything he’s ever wanted to tell jimin -everything, from how he started making friends after that one visit jimin had paid him, to how his parents had started fighting because of stupid money problems-, the shouting from downstairs quietens and becomes nothing but a quiet buzz, and jungkook loses himself in jimin’s beautiful eyes.—“what about you?”“what about me?”“what exactly are you?”“it doesn’t matter,” jimin says mysteriously, a teasing smirk hanging off the corners of his mouth.“oh, come on.” jungkook groans.“well, what do you think i am?”“an angel?” jungkook guesses. jimin giggles.“no, but that’s really cute. i’m a star, jungkook.”a star?“see this? stardust,” jimin continues, swiping his index finger down jungkook’s arm, leaving behind a silvery trail.“you’re made of stardust too, you know?” he says.“what do you mean, ‘you’re a star’?”“i said what i mean,” jimin shrugs.jungkook frowns and nods slowly, about to press further, but jimin glances out the window and flinches, gulping.“i have to go,” he says hurriedly. he rushes to the window, but jungkook reaches out to grab his arm.“don’t go,” jungkook almost begs, “please.” he doesn’t understand why jimin needs to leave. the sky is still pitchblack, stars littered across the dark fabric.“look, i shouldn’t even be here,” jimin says gently. “i don’t want to leave you either.”“please don’t go, please.” jungkook isn’t listening. he won’t, can’t, let jimin just slip out of his grasp again.Jimin shakes his head. “please let go, jungkook. don’t make this harder for both of us.”“d-don’t, don’t leave me, don’t leave like everyone else does. jimin, i need you, i want-” jungkook is surprised to feel tears make their way down his face.jimin’s face is contorted in hesitation and pain, and he looks torn.“i-”“at least tell me when you’ll be back again,” jungkook begs. he senses jimin’s reluctance to leave, and he pulls jimin even closer to him.“tomorrow, i’ll be back tomorrow.” they’re so close that jungkook can feel Jimin’s breath on his lips, their eyes fixed on each other’s.“really?”jimin nods. then his hands come up to cover jungkook’s eyes, and jungkook feels a wave of heat against his skin. there’s a flash of bright light, and when he opens his eyes, jimin is gone.—after jimin leaves, there is nothing to distract jungkook from the screaming match still going on downstairs. he curls up under his blanket, giving up on trying to use music to block out the noise, and thinks about jimin instead.but even the sweetest sentiments of jimin can’t make him feel better. instead of going to sleep dreaming of stars, the last waking thought he has is that love doesn’t exist.—the next morning, jungkook goes downstairs and sees the extent of the damage last night’s fight had done.there’re glass shards in the kitchen, and torn up invoices on the dining table. a remote control lies broken on the floor.and since both his parents are already at work, it’s up to jungkook, again, to clean up the mess and the remnants of their fight.he drags himself through another shitty school day, and the only thing that keeps him going is the thought that he would see jimin again in a few hours.he goes home, does his homework and listens to cliché songs about breaking up and making up and love and loss.—true to his word, jimin visits that night. he makes a quieter entrance than usual, simply appearing on jungkook’s windowsill when jungkook has his back turned (giving jungkook a damn near heart attack). tonight is quiet, supposedly with both of jungkook’s parents tired of fighting all the time. they sleep in separate rooms.jimin and jungkook sit on his bed, with jungkook lying down, his head in jimin’s lap as jimin runs his fingers gently through jungkook’s hair.“a penny for your thoughts?” jimin asks, still playing with jungkook’s hair. “you’re thinking so loudly.”“mm, nothing much,” jungkook says, sighing. “have you ever been in love?”jimin’s hand stills, before he goes back to petting jungkook’s hair. “past tense, no. present tense, yes.”“what does that mean?”“what do you think it means?”there’s a pause. jimin continues humming, his voice an even, smooth tone.“here’s a yes or no question, since you like to be all cryptic. do you believe in love?”“yes.”“why?” jungkook’s answer is sharp and incredulous.“why would i not?”“well, just look at my parents. they must have been pretty in love to decide to get married and have me, right? but they pretty much abandoned me since i was a kid, and just led their lives as successful individuals. love? bullshit.”“don’t be so quick to denounce love, jungkook,” jimin sighs.“i have good reason to,” jungkook retorts.“i’m not arguing with that, because you do. but what i’m saying is, don’t stereotype all kinds of love to be this disastrous just because of your parents.”“cheesy.” jungkook scrunches up his face, tilting his head to look at jimin. “but i just don’t think that way, i guess.”and that’s when jimin leans down and brushes his lips against jungkook’s and time seems to stop.“what if i tell you that i love you? would you believe, then?” jimin asks him softly.jungkook is frozen.“i-it’s- you’ve only known me for one day,” he manages to choke out.“mhm, and? i know it’s stupid.” jimin shrugs. “but is it wrong? love and logic rarely go together. they parted ways since the beginning.”“again,” jungkook says in a small voice, and jimin leans down to join their lips in another kiss.it’s not the kind of kiss that seems to set fire to your entire body, heat scorching your skin; but rather a kiss that sends a tickling sensation down your spine, liquid happiness pooling at the bottom of your stomach, butterflies fluttering around. he feels like he’s glowing, euphoria filling him up from his toes.it’s also jungkook’s first kiss, and he thinks to himself that if kissing feels this good all the time, he wants to lie here and kiss jimin until he dies.jimin breaks the kiss, smiling down at jungkook. “i’m leaving. soon,” he murmurs, nudging for jungkook to sit up. “i don’t know when i can see you again. but it’s for the best. we can’t get too attached to each other.”“w-why not?” jungkook can feel his heart breaking all over again. “why do you keep doing this to me?”“I’m sorry, it’s not my choice either.” jimin’s voice pleads for understanding. “i have to leave.”“no, not that… why do you say that we can’t get too attached to each other?”“because i’m a star, and stars were never made to be tied down.” jimin replies sadly. “close your eyes.”resisting the urge to pull jimin to him with pure mental strength, jungkook forces himself to stay still. again, jungkook can see the bright flash and feel the wave of heat that smothers the room, and when he opens his eyes, jimin is gone again.this time, jungkook has a horrible feeling that it’ll be a long time before he sees jimin again. he touches his lips, still tingling from the kiss, and his fingers come away with glitter on them. stardust, as jimin had called it.he flops onto his bed, his mind rewinding the entire night, committing every detail to memory. he already knows that in all his bad moments, this will be the memory he comes to.jungkook turns around to look out the window. maybe it’s just his eyes playing tricks on him, but he swears that one star is brighter than the others.“until next time, jimin.” he whispers.it doesn’t matter how long jimin takes. he’ll wait.is that love?—as much as jeon jungkook is in love with jimin, he’s still human. humans, unlike stars, were made to fall in love.hence, he searches endlessly for somebody who can make him feel the same way that jimin does, to fill the void that jimin left. but it’s impossible. nobody makes him feel quite as special, and as happy as jimin did. and he definitely has yet to find somebody who gives him a fuzzy warm, tingly feeling that jimin did.twenty-two years old and studying astronomy, and yet he can only think about a teenage boy who left him six years ago. sometimes he visits his childhood home to see his father, a man who should know him the best but is practically a stranger. and everytime he does, he makes sure to sit in front of his window and tell the night sky about what he’s been up to, and where he will go. he can’t see the stars from the window of his new apartment, the lights of the city far too bright.he falls into an endless cycle of one night stands, broken hearts, a trail of exes and people he never really cared about. his mind, stressed-out from studying, is close to breaking; and the feeling of dejection each time he finds someone whom he thinks will finally be the one, and realises that they aren’t, takes a huge emotional toll on him.the thing is that— he knows. he knows what he wants, and he knows he can’t have it, but he wants it anyway. the one person that jeon jungkook cannot have is the only person he wants.he learns about stars on a daily basis - he’s studying astronomy, after all - and he learns about how stars have a core, a central energy that keeps it from ripping itself apart. an inexplicable force of of immeasurable strength somehow able to contain all of the energy of the star.he speculates, he really does. but he can never bear to dwell too much on it; his heart aches too much.he misses jimin with every breath, thinks about him all the time, sees his face in every crowd. jungkook had never gotten closure with jimin, only a promise that he would be back. and it’s because of that promise, jungkook can’t move on. who knew when jimin would come back? he didn’t want to commit to a relationship, because he knew he would drop it in a heartbeat if jimin came back to see him.—jungkook gets home from his university, throwing his stuff on the floor of his apartment. given his family’s wealth, he isn’t the token broke college student, of course. he has a nice little flat in the middle of the city, the only sound keeping him company being cars driven past.he’s locking his door, stretching out his tired body when he sees the edges of his closed bedroom door light up with a familiar blue glow. he freezes.no, it can’t be.he rushes towards the door, throwing it open, his heart in his throat.sitting on his windowsill, looking out the window with both knees hugged to his chest, is jimin.jungkook stands there in shock, his hand still on the doorknob.“j-jimin-” he croaks, voice and brain no longer working. jimin turns to face him, a little smile on his face. his face is slimmer, and his hair is now platinum blonde, making his fair skin even paler. but his smile has never changed, still making his eyes crinkle up, and still representing everything that jungkook wants in his life.“you’re back.”“you can’t see any stars from here,” jimin says, turning back towards the window, his voice flat.“you look good.” he hops off the windowsill, heading straight towards jungkook’s open arms. “i missed you,” he mumbles against jungkook’s neck. jungkook embraces him tightly, unable to believe that he has jimin in his arms. his one love, his only love, and the person he was never meant to be with.“me too,” jungkook eventually replies, but that goes without saying.—they end up entangled, both in body and heart, in jungkook’s bed, spilling confessions to each other, hushed whispers and promises made to be broken.“like your new hair,” jungkook says, his hand, stroking small circles on jimin’s back, coming up to brush it away from his face.“it suits me?”“yes, but then again i think you could dye your hair any colour and still look good.”jungkook feels jimin’s lips stretch into a smile against his collarbone, and jungkook pulls jimin impossibly closer to him, heated skin against bare skin. he smooths his thumb over a dark bruise just under his earlobe.but when jimin tilts his head up and leans in for a kiss, jungkook turns away, covering jimin’s mouth with his fingertips.“tell me first- will you be back tomorrow? will i see you more, now?” jungkook asks, his voice trembling, the words cutting new wounds and reopening old ones as they fall from his lips. the previously easy-going, relaxed atmosphere becomes heavy with tension.he knows the answer before jimin even replies him. he recognises the look of guilt and the quick averting of eyes; he’s been given that look too many times in his life.so when the answer comes, he isn’t as heartbroken as he would have otherwise been.“okay then,” jungkook says, his voice harsher than he intended.“jungkook-”“don’t. i don’t want to hear your explanation. don’t make promises that you can’t keep. don’t make me fall in love only to lose you anyway.” jungkook is done. he can’t bear this anymore.“i understand,” jimin replies softly. “should… should i leave now?”“...yeah.”jimin nods, sitting up. he swings both legs off the bed, picking clothes off the floor. jungkook stares at the ceiling while he dresses himself, not wanting to give in and pull jimin back to his side again.“i’ll miss you a lot,” jungkook murmurs.“and i’ll think of you everyday.” jimin’s voice is full of tears. “you think you’re the only one hurting?”before jungkook can even answer, jimin is gone, again. and yet again, time and time again, jungkook would do anything to have another five minutes with jimin by his side. “it’s not fair,” he whispers into the empty room.but it’s about time he moves on.—he graduates with distinction with honours, and a place at a famous astronomy research corporation. when he gets back to his place, a single rose is waiting for him on his desk, and a note beside it.“to all the stars you’ll find.”jungkook holds the rose to his chest, gently cradling the fragile flower.—mood music- lovely billie ellish, khalideventually, he meets a guy. he’s nice, he’s funny, he’s pretty. they date for two years, and his friends pester them to just make it official. jungkook brings him back to see his parents, and both of them approve.soon after, wedding plans begin. the day of the wedding, the venue looks like nothing less than something out of a fairytale. everyone congratulates jungkook on having an stunning marriage ceremony, and an equally amazing partner.it doesn’t matter how great he is, he still isn’t jimin. jungkook hates it, hates himself for it, guilt tearing him apart with every step down the altar.jungkook knows this is a huge mistake. when he says his vows and looks deep into his eyes, he sees flashes of jimin’s smile behind the man in front of him. when he kisses him, he’s brought back to the night jimin kissed him for the first time.he wonders if jimin is watching the outdoor wedding, unable to shake the feeling.his suspicions are confirmed when a bouquet of simple white flowers arrive at his doorstep, the petals dusted with a familiar shine.—the divorce is ugly, even uglier than his parents’. there isn’t even a clear cause, everyone telling them that they just didn’t click anymore. but in his head, jungkook takes all the blame.he never truly loved him, and it showed. whether it was in small actions or just words, there was something off about the whole situation, and jungkook has never been a good liar.—the day after the divorce, he moves all his stuff out of jungkook’s house, and jungkook works on forgetting his name, and that he ever existed. a particularly bitter night leaves jungkook crying on his knees, his face in the side of his bed, having never felt so lonely in his life.when a glow, which he now associates with both pain and warmth, fills the room, he sighs.familiar arms embrace him from behind, followed by a head resting on the nape of his neck. “what went wrong?” jimin whispers. “was he not good enough?”“go away, jimin. i told you, i don’t want to see you anymore!” jungkook cries out, the heel of his palms digging into his eyes, desperately trying to stem the tears that keep flowing out of them. “go away-” jungkook dissolves into tears again, angrily wiping them on the back of his sleeve. jimin just hugs him tighter, his own tears wetting the back of jungkook’s shirt.“i’m so sorry,” he says over and over. “so sorry.”jungkook turns around to face jimin, pressing their foreheads together, his eyes squeezed shut. he can’t bear to look at jimin.“i couldn’t forget you,” jungkook sobs. “and i know i can’t have you, but forgive me, i can’t be without you. my heart has never- i have never wanted anyone else but you. each day without you, i feel like i’m going to die.” jungkook manages to force a laugh. “how the hell did this happen?”jimin has no idea. he had never anticipated that the first time he lost his way while walking on the moonpath would have resulted in him falling into the life of the person who had needed it the most at the time. and that he would make jimin want to sacrifice everything to be with him.but jimin is aware of his own responsibility, and his role that he must fulfill.“please move on,” jimin whispers, no matter how much it hurts him to say those words. “please, for me. move on.”“why? why do i have to move on? won’t there be a day… surely there’ll be one day when you can leave the sky and join me. won’t there?”no, there won’t be.because jimin’s fate stretches for millions, billions of years, and so even if jungkook were to wait for jimin for the rest of his life, jimin would never be able to join him in this lifetime.all his visits to earth is already taking a huge toll on him, and he’s sure these hours he’s spent here with jungkook has already taken millions of years from his lifespan. not that he cares. still, he must follow the path predestined for him since the beginning of the universe. and jungkook must walk a different path.“you have to move on.” jimin tells him firmly. “listen- our lives are millions of miles apart. we don’t stand a chance. i won’t let you waste your life like this.”jungkook’s eyes are closed, tears still quietly leaving the corner of his eyes.“do you understand me?”“yes,” jungkook chokes out.“good.” jimin smiles, pressing a kiss to jungkook’s lips. and it’s the last kiss he’ll ever give him.—maybe it’s because he finally has some kind of closure with jimin, or maybe because jungkook has finally understood something, which is why he ends up getting engaged again, to another man. except this time, he feels satisfied with his partner.perhaps he’ll never be able to love someone as much as he has loved jimin, but at least he can come close to it.the night before the wedding, jungkook goes out for a walk at a nearby park, trying to calm his own anxiety. he’s sure of the marriage this time, but he still worries. it’s impossible not to.he’s not even surprised when he hears a thud of somebody walking in the grass behind him. he keeps walking, but with his head hanging low, afraid of what jimin will say.jimin jogs over to him, the grass swishing around their feet. “hey.”“i’m engaged,” jungkook blurts out, unable to look jimin in the eye.“mhm, i know. i came to congratulate you.”jungkook stops walking, and jimin stops beside him as well.“you know that you’ll always mean the world to me, right?” jungkook asks quietly.“i do. and likewise.” jimin pats him on the shoulder. “jeez, look at me, will you?”jungkook raises his eyes from the ground, and jimin sees them rimmed with red.“hey, i’m not blaming you or anything. stop looking so miserable! it’s your wedding tomorrow!” jimin exclaims, poking jungkook’s cheek.“still wish it was you,” jungkook mumbles. jimin’s eyes darken.“hey, i don’t want to hear you say that, okay. you have a fiancé whom you will be happily marrying and dedicating your life to tomorrow. i’m not involved in your life anymore, do you understand? after your marriage, i’m not going to see you again. that’s why i came now, to say goodbye.”although jimin tries to sound strong, his voice still wavers at the end, and jungkook can tell he’s trying to bite back tears. he pulls jimin by the wrist, wrapping his arms around his waist.“thank you.” for everything. for teaching me how to love, and loving me enough to let me go.jimin leans his head on jungkook’s shoulder, tears wetting his jacket. “please be healthy and happy.”jungkook cups jimin’s cheeks, kissing his forehead for the last time.—jungkook, working at a stargazing laboratory, discovers a star behaving in a strange pattern. it is burning at an alarming rate, progressing through the different stages of a star’s life at a rate almost equivalent to a human.after a year’s research, he concludes that it’s due to the unstable core of the star, too reactive and too explosive to control and balance the force and heat of the star properly.he predicts that the star will burn out in about 40 years time, a ridiculously short amount of time for a star. so impossible that no one believes him.still, his research paper wins him awards, being one of the few research papers that address the idea of core energy.he has the privilege of naming the star, and he names it ‘semper lucet jimin’.or in english, ‘jimin, always shining’.—he urges them to go home and leave him alone. “i’ll be fine, go home and get some rest.” they finally leave, and jungkook settles back against the hospital bed pillows.he’d asked for the lights to be turned off, and to leave the window blinds open. from here, he can see the night sky. throughout his life, he’s had too many changes, but one thing that never changed is just how much he loves the night sky.alone in his ward, he lets himself dream of impossible things.he wonders if he’s still young, or if he’s an old man now, like jungkook. wonders how he’s been for the past forty years.wonders whether he ever thinks of jungkook, and whether he knows that jungkook has yet to go a day without thinking about him.then a smallest hint of blue light tints the dark sky outside, and jungkook’s breath catches. it can’t possibly-“you came back.” jungkook whispers, his voice weak. with a trembling hand, he reaches out to take jimin’s outstretched one.
jimin is old too, but his eyes still sparkle. “i did, jungkook.”“jimin. it has been a while.” jungkook says with a smile.“did you miss me?”“all the time.”
jimin tips his head forward in acknowledgment, his other hand coming up to stroke jungkook’s cheek. jungkook nuzzles into his touch, eyes closed.“am I about to die?” he asks softly, curiously. he is not scared of death anymore.“stars do not die, jungkook. they simply take another form.” jimin answers, his thumb stroking over jungkook’s cheekbone.“i’m not the star, you are.”“in every way possible, you are a star, jungkook.” jimin’s voice is soft. “but yes, your stardust is getting restless. it wants to move on. will you let it?”“will you hold my hand?”
jimin laughs, and in the dim moonlit hospital ward, Jungkook sees pearly tears slide from beneath his eyelids.he watches the way they shine before soaking into Jimin’s shirt.“yes, jungkook. i’ll hold your hand.”“don’t want to... go, though. wanna stay with you,” jungkook murmurs. but even as he talks, he can feel his strength leaving him.“you’ll always be with me,” jimin replies.“i like the sound of that,” jungkook manages to say, each breath becoming harder and harder. the machines beside the bed begin beeping, but nothing exists at that point except for jungkook and jimin. nothing but jimin and jungkook.jimin with his hand in jungkook’s, the way they were never meant to be.jimin watches jungkook’s breathing become laboured, and feels his hand weakening in jimin’s grip. “jimin...”“yeah?”“i... i love you,” jungkook gasps out. jimin can’t stop the sob that leaves his mouth.he does his best to control himself. “I know.”“won’t you... say it back?”“i love you, jungkook.” jimin says, his voice cracking on the last syllable, his breath finally catching, and he cries in earnest. “i love you, I love you, only you.”“i know.” jungkook replies, a smile on his face. “jimin... i think, i’ve been wrong this whole time. i do... believe now. i... i really...” his breaths are getting faster and shallower, and the last word comes out as mostly air. “Believe.” then his hand loosens entirely, his face relaxing, the machines around him going haywire.jimin releases his hand, lies on Jungkook’s chest and breathes out for the last time.—that night, both jimin and jungkook returned to the stars. after all, we all came from the stars;and it is only right to return to where we belong.
—
epilogue
Astronomer Jeon Jungkook’s star, which he named “semper lucet jimin”, burns out the same day that he passed away. This means that his prediction of the star burning out in forty years (from the time he reported it) was indeed accurate. Scientists are currently looking into this phenomenon. Although ‘semper lucet jimin’ is now nothing but heat and scattered dust, it will live on forever in the memory of science.