#* it's over

the end came so fast-- one moment, jimin was trying to fight off a crazed soldier, desperate to end the struggle without blood. and then a wave of exhaustion hit him, and the next he could remember, the faery king was walking down the halls of the underwater battlefield and ordering strangers to collect them.

king seokhyeon, jimin had faintly recognized, blinking blearily at his figure. the council was here.

it only made sense, after all-- only the council could solve an issue this huge, and only someone with the vast magical prowess that seokhyeon did could subdue an entire castle of people out for blood. jimin just hopes that hoseok is safe, for a few traitorous moments, before violently pushing away the thought to try and avoid the inevitable pang in his chest at the thought.

he lets them take him (it’s not like he had any choice, head foggy and limbs useless), watching the watery world around them fade into the distance as the volunteers swam upwards with him in their arms.

the rest is a blur, really. being settled back on land, getting accustomed to gravity and air, taking off the necklace and letting it sink into the sandy beach without any intention of picking it back up again. he watches with a towel over his shoulders as more survivors are brought ashore, numbness settling into his chest as friends and strangers alike take in their first breaths of air after hours of being underwater.

he looks away and tries to will away the lump in his throat when they bring hoseok up, shuddering hard enough that the volunteer in charge of taking care of him asks if he’s okay. jimin just shakes his head, and nods through the calming skills the volunteer shares with him, answering her calm questions (”what can you see right now?” “describe a familiar, comfortable place in your memory.” “if you feel dissociated, squeeze my hand until you come back.”) monotonously, making it a point to lie every time anything associated with hoseok appears in his memory.

it’s over, isn’t it?

all of it is-- their relationship, their life together, everything. more things died down there than egos and bodies-- jimin feels like he left a part of himself behind, and now he can’t muster feeling, too shell-shocked to react to the world with anything but apathy.

it was all over. hoseok was a hunter, and jimin was a werewolf. the ugly truth was there to behold for everyone, exposing them for what they really are. jimin had always thought that hoseok was his prince charming, deep down-- but he wasn’t a prince at all. he was the huntsman, and he did not hesitate when ordered to do what he was told, loyal as ever to death and destruction.

the man he loved was a murderer.

when a volunteer asks him if he wants to go home, jimin doesn’t answer for a long time, as if he hadn’t heard them. it takes a few tries-- “jimin-ssi? park jimin-ssi, can you hear me?” before he finally nods his head, mumbling the first address that comes to mind that doesn’t have hoseok’s fingerprints on it when prompted. he’s guided into the card, and they tell him not to worry about getting the seats wet. it’ll be fine. no harm done.

he just stares blankly at the floor.

it’s not that long of a car ride-- the neighborhood was settled close to the beach, overlooking the same shores jimin had been pulled from. if the volunteer has any opinions about the wealth of the house they pull up to, she doesn’t offer any, instead asking if jimin needed help out of the car.

“no,” he said softly. “thank you.”

he watches the woman drive away before finally walking up to the door, still holding the towel around him. he was still in his pajamas-- no socks or shoes, nothing, barefoot and cold and in despair. he knocks on the door before ringing the doorbell, waiting.

when the door opens, jimin tries to keep it together. he does. “hyung,” he finally whimpers out, and it all comes crashing down again, tears welling up in his eyes so quickly and violently that he almost sways right there, gripping his towel so tight around him as if it could protect him from everything that happened. seokjin is his closest friend, the first person he thinks of after hoseok when he needs anyone, and now jimin is standing on his doorstep, shaking so hard he might fall over. “seo-- hic, seokj-jin hyung--”