❝Don't worry, love. All of this is not a coincidence. ❞

― BTS, DNA.

* * *

KWON CHAERIN.

"V?" Unknowingly, my hand was lifted as the urge of stroking the art growing inside of me. Luckily I managed to suppress my desire of touching it.

My mouth left ajar, eyes widened at the awestruck by the painting. It looked surreal, yet eerily familiar. The colour gradation, the way this V person painted each stroke was definitely the same as Taehyung.

Taehyung. That one name was the first thing that came to my head as my eyes landed upon the painting at first glance.

But that's impossible.

"Chaerin? Hello? Earth to Chaerin?" A palm was waved in front of my eyes, luring me out from my reverie.  I snapped my head and saw Namjoon looking at me with concerned face.

"Is everything alright? Are you sick? You were in daze," Namjoon asked. Technically, I was not sick, but I was nowhere near alright.

I nodded my head in a slow motion. "Namjoon, do you maybe know anything about this V person? Truth to be told, this is my first time seeing someone who only has one letter as their name."

He chuckled softly while I put up a quizzical look. "You look so innocent. V is probably not their real name; should be their alias. I really love art and everything about it. But to be honest, I don't know much about 'V' either although I've seen their arts a couple of times already at other local exhibitions."

My mouth formed a zero at his explanation. He might or not have just gave me epiphany to the world of art. "I guess this person is really shy then." I smiled, prying my eyes off of him and back to the Lake of Firelies. Deep down, a strong, heavy, feeling churned in my stomach.

"Why? Is there something wrong with this painting? You seem to be so interested in it." Namjoon stood beside, facing the painting as his hands were folded behind his waist.

I heaved a deep sigh. "It is a long story."

"Oh, I'd love to hear it. Dinner together sounds good?" His dimples were visible once again while asking that question. And I just had to say yes at it because rejecting a kind soul like him would be a sin.

────

We went to an Italian restaurant nearby the gallery and ordered pasta. I had apologized to Namjoon for not taking pictures of him earlier at the exhibition and in exchange for that, I had taken pictures of him in front of the restaurant earlier since the outline was aesthetically pleasing and suited Namjoon's aesthetics.

"You may begin," Namjoon said as he took a sip of his drink.

I averted my gaze around me, licking my lower lips nervously as I began fiddling my fingers. He must have noticed that as his expression morphed into a concerned one at my small gestures.

"Well, I had a boyfriend and he loved doing arts. His style was exactly the same as V, that's why it got me in awe. The colour gradation, strokes, everything seemed so familiar."

"Had?"

"Yes. Had. Because my boyfriend passed away a few weeks? Months? Ago. I'm not sure how long has it been since then. I feel like... the time had stopped for me ever since then. I had stopped breathing a long time ago. I just exist, and the time happens to be ticking." I tried my best to smile and held back the tears that were threatening to fall.

He gave me an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, I did not know. You can stop here if you'd like." Namjoon handed me his handkerchief which I gladly took. Just in case.

"He was mute and deaf, but he used hearing aids to help him. He is the sweetest person I've met, for real. At first, I never thought we would become lovers since our relationship back then was not the best. But things bloomed around us, I guess?" I chuckled, reminiscing the memories of us. Our first encounter, how he approached me for the first time, the dark days, the day he confessed, the day we finally became a couple.

Namjoon's soft gaze and warm smile gave me solace. He made it very easy for me to open up to him. "How did he die? If I may ask."

And the worst part came.

"S― street. H― h― he crossed. Truck. Died. I― I w― was there. He p― pro― tected m― me. Eh ― ?" Without realizing, my mouth stuttered, my cheeks were already wet by the droplets that I hate so much. My words were jumbled. At this point, Namjoon must be very confused.

"So he died in an accident. I understand." I nodded my head while sobbing. He stood up from his chair and moved next to me. "It's alright, just cry your heart out. You did a good job on maintaining it all this time. It must be really hard on you. My deepest condolence." He kept whispering soothing words and rubbed my shoulder gently. Good thing we were seated away from other guests, the restaurant was not that crowded too.

After I was calm enough to continue, I sat up straight and drank my juice. The foods came not so long after that and luckily, the waiter did not question anything although I could see his lips turning downwards as we exchanged gazes.

"The next I know is, I woke up in a hospital ward and my friend was there. He was the one who told me everything and about his passing. I haven't asked for full details yet because I don't think I am strong enough to hear. I haven't contacted my boyfriend's parents too, silly yeah?" I smiled bitterly, facing my lap.

"But Chaerin, aren't you interested on learning the truth?"

I lifted my head at his question, just to see Namjoon was smiling at me.

Yeah. He's right. I should brace myself and ask Jimin for the full story. I could not stay in the darkness for too long.

"Of course I do. But I am not sure if I can handle it? I'm so conflicted." I took the stainless steel fork and played it in my hand, staring at it out of nothing.

"I think it's better to learn the truth first. That way, you would not be stuck in the darkness forever," he suggested.

"Yeah. I think that's the right thing to do. Thank you, Namjoon. It feels like we've known each other for eternity. I swear I can talk about everything to you. Love your vibes, dude." I chuckled.

"No problem. I believe our meeting is not a sheer coincidence." Namjoon smiled in delight.