T/W - death, mention of blood, abusive relationship.

Solivagant (adj.) - wandering alone, solitary wanderer.

Jimin loves Ri Ta with all his heart. He wandered on this path for long, waiting for her to join. Will he be able to move on and overcome it as he promised her? Or will he be stuck in time, trying to change his fate?

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"Are you sure we are on the right path?" Jimin clutches the steering wheel before making a steep right turn.

"Yes. I am pretty sure. That's what the map says." Ri Ta holds up the map in front of Jimin. But his eyes fall on the ring.

"It's a big diamond." He says with a scoff. She sighs, keeping the map away.

"Can you, for once be supportive of my decisions?" Ri Ta became a bit annoyed. She has been best friends with Jimin for the past 12 years. He ended up catching feelings for her and she ended up marrying someone else.

They were going to her fiancé's vacation home because he was throwing a small party for their close friends. Of course, Park Jimin would be invited. And since Ri Ta lives close to him, he volunteered to drive them there. But the problem was, they didn't know where it was. All she had was an old map which Ri Ta found.

They first thought of going using google maps but the location couldn't be found. Ri Ta remembers the fight she had with her fiancé just over the fact that why his vacation home was in a remote place.

"I am. I just don't like your choice of men." He shrugs, jolting Ri Ta out of her thoughts.

"You are one of them." She winks at him.

"If you would have chosen me, we would have had a better vacation home at a better place." It seems that Jimin had the last say.

She folds the map in frustration and says, "Oh please Jim, not again! I am tired of this conversation. You are my best friend. I love you. I love him too but in a different way. You both have very different places in my life."

"Chill Ri Ta. I was just joking. You know I wouldn't come in between the two of you, right? It's just, I was scorched for life when you chose him over me. You just met him 6 months ago." Jimin whines.

"Love isn't bound by time." She keeps looking out of the window. Jimin looks at the back of her head and places his hand on her.

"I am sorry. Please look at me?" he requests in the most sweetest voice and she sighs again. She can't say no to him.

"Because I need someone to read the map for me." He chuckles. Ri Ta hits his hand.

She hits his hand a bit too hard that Jimin didn't see a small pothole ahead. It was in the thick of the night and the headlights weren't much of a help. As the tire hits the pothole, Jimin tries to swerve the car back on the path but his attempts were failed.

Their car was now off the road and on a muddy road ahead. Ri Ta and Jimin were panicking as the car was going to hit a tree. He hits the break and his head hits the steering wheel. He falls unconscious, only looking at Ri Ta before closing his eyes.

Jimin opens his eyes, slightly flinching from the pain in his head. The first thought that came into his mind was Ri Ta. He looks to his left to see her unconscious too. He couldn't see any blood.

He holds her face and rubs her hands, "Ri Ta! Ri Ta! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Open your eyes!" Jimin was on the verge of crying.

She groans, feeling the weight on her hands. After opening her eyes, she saw Jimin's face right in front of her. On the other hand, he was more than relieved to have seen her alive. He hugs her.

"Thank god Ri Ta! You are alive!" he sniffs near her neck.

"Of course, you dumbhead. I won't leave your ass so soon. But...." She stops mid-sentence.

"But what? Are you hurt? Are you in pain somewhere?" he pulls away from the hug to examine her head. There was just a small scratch.

"You were just hugging too tight. I couldn't breathe." She chuckles and Jimin takes a sigh of relief.

"But what now?" she looks around. Their car hit a tree in the middle of a fucking forest! "How did we end up in a fucking forest?" she takes out her map to examine it.

"Right after I took that turn. The roads were clear before but after that turn, it was darker and surrounded by tall trees." He says after remembering his banter with Ri Ta. "I did not see that fucking pothole and now we are here. I am so stupid!" he hits the steering wheel which makes Ri Ta's door open.

"Great! Now I broke the car too!" he gets frustrated.

"Don't worry Jimin. We will find a way." She says, closing her door. "Try your phone." She takes out hers to only find one single line for the network. She dials her fiancé's number.

"Where....kr....kr.... the.... fuck....kr...kr...are...you...krrrr." and it cut. Ri Ta tries to call him again but it said no network.

"Shit!" she curses under her breath, "Any luck?" she looks at Jimin.

He shows her the same "No Signal" message. "Let me try the map. At least we can know where we are."

He opens the app but it couldn't detect their location. As if they were somewhere that wasn't on earth.

"You try. Mine is weird." Jimin looks at Ri Ta. She gets the same result as him.

"Now what do we do?" Ri Ta looks at him. Jimin fiddles with his fingers. He does that whenever he is nervous. She holds his hands and assures him that it isn't his fault.

"I don't think the car will work anymore." She looks at the condition of the car. It hit the tree and the bonnet was totally destroyed. Plus, they didn't know where they were. "And the map isn't helping." She looks at the map.

"Let's get out and walk the way we came." She suggests. Jimin is a bit not into the idea because it was dark in the night and they were in an unknown forest.

"You have any better idea?" Ri Ta challenges him and she knows she is right. Jimin takes a long sigh before shutting off the engine and taking the key. He also takes his bag which was full of snacks and water.

They shut the door and look back at the road they came for. Then look at each other.

Where the fuck is the road?

"We came down a muddy road thingy but there are no tire tracks!" Jimin looks at the ground in bewilderment. He was sure that with the speed that the car was slipping down, it would leave tire tracks.

"I am still thinking of how we came past that tree." Ri Ta points at the large pine tree just behind the car. If they were coming down from there, they were sure to have hit that first. But somehow, they didn't.

Jimin looks around them. The car crashed under another tree. They cannot go back to the place they came from because it seems that it just leads them deep into the forest.

"Let's go ahead." Ri Ta says, marching forward.

"But it goes deep into the forest. We might get lost into it." Jimin denies.

"Do you want to stay here and die then? No one will find us here." She argues.

Jimin hesitantly agrees to it. He doesn't like dark, gloomy places because you could always wander alone, get lost, and stumble upon some unknown. And this was a forest. Bad things were bound to happen.

They are walking past the trees. Somehow, the forest doesn't seem that dense but still, Jimin couldn't help but feel so out of it. On the other hand, Ri Ta seems to know where she is going.

"It seems as if you know this place by heart." He chuckles nervously but Ri Ta just tuns to him with a cold eye.

"I am thirsty. Do you have some water?" she asks.

He nods and puts his bag down, but to his dismay, when he opens it up, everything was already finished. Their snacks, their water, everything.

"Did you.... finish these?" he asks her hesitantly.

"How will I when I have been with you this whole time?" she smirks and somehow this was uncomfortable for Jimin.

"But I checked it before leaving the car." He was sure of it. Or he wouldn't have taken it with him. It was also a bit heavy when he was carrying it and walking.

"Maybe you didn't check thoroughly." She walks ahead as if nothing happened.

Something is weird.

He silently follows her through the twigs cracking beneath them, owls hooting above them and a strange smell coming from Ri Ta. He did not smell it in the car.

"You smell weird." He points out.

"Oh sorry! While trying to save our lives, I forgot to put up perfume." She replies sarcastically, still walking ahead.

"I didn't mean it that way. You just smell different." His voice becomes small. Somehow, he was afraid of Ri Ta.

"Maybe it's the sweat." She replies back. Jimin sniffs himself. He was sweating too but her smell was different.

They keep up their pace but it feels like they have been walking for eternity. After an hour, Jimin stops her.

"Wait, Ri Ta! I can't.... walk...... anymore...." he pants and sits on the forest floor.

Ri Ta picks him up slightly and says with determination, "Come on. We are close."

"You are talking as if you know this place." His suspicions grow but Ri Ta is still bent upon exploring this forest at one go.

"Just a bit more. I can see some light." She walks ahead making sure Jimin is right behind her. She was right. There was a faint light coming though they couldn't identify the source.

"What if it is from some of those tribes living in the forest? You know how unwelcoming they are to outsiders." Jimin trembles in fear.

Ri Ta just scoffs walking ahead. Jimin is too scared to say anything. The smell seems a lot stronger than before.

They walk for half an hour more, watching the light grow steadily. It now seems as if it was an artificial light and they were close to human habitation. Jimin was tired but Ri Ta wasn't. And he had had enough.

"Wait!" he stops her.

"What now? We are so close!" she groans in frustration. She was so close to it and right before grabbing it she is disturbed.

"What is up with you?" he holds her arm but he flinches when his skin touches her.

It was ice cold!

She also looks at him with sympathy, "You have to move on. It wasn't your fault. Promise me."

"What? What are you talking about?" he asks in confusion.

She doesn't say anything but moves forward. Jimin got this feeling that he has to follow her to find whatever 'truth' it was.

Their walk was fruitful because there was a dimly lit house in front of them. Ri Ta takes a deep breath and looks at him.

"This is it." She presses his hand and leans in to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for everything."

She moves forward and rings the bell. They both are waiting before the door opens. But Jimin is shocked.

Ri Ta was standing there with her fiancé, Seo Joon!

He looks beside her and then back at the Ri Ta standing in front of her. He stutters but before he could say anything, Ri Ta hugs him.

"You are back! I thought you wouldn't come back!"

But Jimin is too shocked to say anything. Seo Joon smiles at him and says, "Thanks for coming back, man. She was crying the whole time you weren't here."

"Wait, you were in the car with me right now. We walked till here. Then how come..." he says but Ri Ta looks at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about? That was like a week ago. You don't remember?" she asks.

Jimin's head was now paining. What do you mean by last week? When did that happen?

"Let him come in first. It seems he has walked all the way here again." He ushers Jimin in politely. The next thing Jimin notices is the band-aid on Ri Ta's head.

"What happened to your head?" he touches it but she flinches in pain.

"Don't worry. I am okay now. And he said sorry for it." She looks at Seo Joon and he smiles.

"What do you mean he said sorry? He did that to you?" Jimin rushes to hold Seo Joon by his collar.

"Hey! Hey! Chill man! I already told you it was in the moment." He tries to talk.

"What the hell is happening here, Ri Ta?" Jimin asks her angrily as she tries to hold him from hurting her fiancé.

"Calm down Jimin! It was just a push! And you know how hot-headed he is!" she is successful in getting Seo Joon out of his hands. Jimin looks at her in confusion.

"When we came here last week, he was already upset that we got lost in the forest. I kept telling him that it wasn't your fault but Seo Joon wouldn't listen. You heard our conversation and you interrupted it. He got angry because I was taking your side and accidentally pushed me. I got hit in the head and you got furious. You beat him red and blue." She shows the bruise on Seo Joon's cheek, "I had to come in between you both to stop it."

"And in that process, I slapped you." She looks at Jimin with tears in her eyes, "Look, I am sorry. You went out of the house, saying you can't believe that a strong woman like me is taking his abuse. But thank god you understood that it was just a one-time thing, and he apologized soon after he realized what happened." She takes a deep breath.

Jimin has a hard time breathing.

Why doesn't he remember any of it?

Why does it seem as if it is not a true memory?

"I.... need.... I need some water..." he collapses on the sofa.

Ri Ta nods and goes to the kitchen to get it. Seo Joon sits on his knees in front of him and says,

"I hope you don't come in between us anymore. You had your chance of beating me up, next time I won't let you get away." He warns Jimin.

"What is that smell?" Jimin sniffs. It was coming from the cellar.

"What smell?" Seo Joon gets up in confusion.

"That." Jimin points at the cellar door. It was the same smell that Ri Ta had when they were walking in the forest. And somehow it feels stronger.

"That is the cellar." He says but Jimin is already walking down the stairs. "You won't find anything there!" he shouts and runs behind Jimin.

What Jimin saw on the ground of the cellar shook him. It was Ri Ta's body, bloodied and her hand and legs were chained.

"What the...." Jimin says but Ri Ta speaks from behind.

"Thank you, Jimin for finding me. I knew I could always rely on you." She walks towards him as Jimin looks back and forth between the body lying there and the living, or shall we say dead Ri Ta talking to him.

What was the reality?

"I knew Seo Joon was a mistake. I just want you to know that it isn't your fault. It is my fault that I trusted the wrong person. You need to move on now Jimin. Please. You did your best with finding me but it was just a little late. It isn't your fault." She touches his cheek and Jimin collapses on the ground.

His eyes slowly closing in.

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Jimin opens his eyes to the sound of the beeping machine.

"Where am I?" he tries to sit up but groans.

"Please don't move sir. You are still in pain." The nurse says, checking his vitals.

"Where am I?" he asks again.

"Hospital." She replies.

"Where.... where is Ri Ta?" he looks around to find her.

"Sir, she has already died. Remember you were the one who found her body? They arrested the murderer and he is now rotting in jail." She puts her board near the bed.

"What? Ri Ta is dead? Which means it wasn't a dream?" his breathing gets harsher by the second.

"NURSE! Bring the sedatives!" she shouts to another nurse. It takes them some time to control him but he was finally sleeping again.

"What is up with this young man?" the new nurse asks.

"His name is Park Jimin. Apparently, his best friend Yoo Ri Ta was killed by her own fiancé in their vacation home. Jimin went to pick her up but was too late. The fiancé was an abusive person and one night he killed her and hid her body in the cellar. Jimin fought back to find her body but came out in this shape." She looks at the bedridden state of Jimin.

"Doctors say he can't walk anymore. And he has been here for the past three months. He always wakes up to the same dream, asks about the same girl, goes crazy and then we have to sedate him." The nurse says sadly.

"It seems as if he is living in an unbreakable loop. I hope he can move on." The other nurse whispers.

"The girl was his best friend and he was in love with her. It is hard to move on." The nurse replies back.

Jimin is sleeping soundly, not aware of his surroundings.

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Jimin opens his eyes to find himself in front of Ri Ta's door. He smiles and knocks on it. It opens with a creak and Ri Ta is standing there with the most beautiful smile.

"Hey! Ready to go to your boring fiancé's vacation home?" he asks excitedly.

"Yeah! One problem though. We have to go by the old school way. Maps!" she holds out an old map excitedly.

"Cool! So much for an adventure!" he scoffs as he opens the car door for Ri Ta.

It feels like déjà vu to him but he shrugs off the feeling. He sits on the seat and starts the engine.

"Ready?" he asks her one last time.

Ri Ta nods back.

The End

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