----.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.----
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
°･:*✧✧*:･ﾟ
:・ﾟ
･ﾟ✧
'

ㄥ|爪|ㄒㄥ乇丂丂

ch²⁰-a slow dance

---.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.---

The space is all vibrant and chirpy, even though sunset is already here. The dated lampposts are lit up once again with the bright flame, illuminating the faces of the villagers, elders and youngsters alike. It is as if they've come across a little hole that lights up the dark, dark tunnel they've been venturing through, and they bask in this little, limited light all they can, before they move further through the metaphorical dark shaft.

Although it has been a long while since the last I had been here, it is as clear as day of what repercussions the people of the kingdom have faced along the senseless, endless war. Every woman, every mother, has this glumness on her face, a bluing aura surrounding her, a clear conveyance of the fact that she has lost someone dear, be it her husband, a brother, or a son. And although their faces light up with the evening's news, the brightness is time-bound; they know that too.

It is a series of enthusiastic chuckles that push me out of my thoughts. It is Jungkook, who dances away with Byeong's mother, as the onlookers clap with fervour. The little old lady looks so bright, so happy with a pretty grin decorating her face, as she is twirled around gently along the music. It would seem as if it is a pair of mother and son, dancing away in the ecstasy brought by each other's company, if one doesn't know better.

An arm comes to surround my shoulders, and warmth floods into me, driving away the little bumps over my skin that had started to form as the breeze turned chiller.

"Mother seems euphoric." Byeong's words are intelligible, sounding against my ears with a smile. It is a lesser known fact that Aunty-Il had lost another son, Byeong's younger brother to a disease when he was just a child, but it isn't a forgotten one. Everyday since that fateful night, Aunty-Il has remembered her lost child, something that had come to be as a ritual for her. She'd light up six candles every night, the number signifying the age of her son when she'd lost him, under the same window, under which he'd taken his last breath.

The way she looks at Jungkook right now, as he waltz with her under the lights with a breathtaking grin, says it all; she revels in this moment where she imagines that the arms that hold her, are her younger son's. And somewhere along the lines, Jungkook's eyes start to glitter with a heavy emotion. An emotion that isn't a guest to me at all.

"It has been a while since I've seen her so happy, so truly happy, yet he has been able to bring it out of her with just a meet, something I've always aimed at, and-and, this would sound absurd, but he feels familiar to me?"

"I know."

"Do I-Do I know him from somewhere?"

I smile at him, knowing very well where he comes from, agreeing with the same, but end up getting cut off by a familiar chuckle that sounds nearer this time.

"HaeJin," Aunty-Il calls me out, dragging a grinning Jungkook by his wrist, behind her.

"HaeJin, does your friend not eat well? He's going all thin! Son, all this dieting affair is crap, you don't want to be any thinner than this at this age, trust me."

"Alright Aunty-Il," Jungkook plays along with an amused smile, not minding the playful accusations, receiving a little slap on his forearm from her.

"Call me Mom, dear. Anyway, you wait here a little while with HaeJin and Byeong, while I prepare a good fattening meal for the three of ya. God, kids these days, all about appearances," Aunty-Il walks into the cottage, muttering away.

Releasing a giggle, I turn to face the men, who stare at the entrance where the little woman disappears, with a lovely emotion glinting in their eyes.

"Well, I'll be back in a few, just need to check on somethings," Byeong informs in a mutter, walking away to join another man, who seems to be waiting for him.

A silence that lingers between us is filled in with the music and the chuckles and laughter that resounds from the villagers. It takes a while for me to contemplate on whether or not to ask Jungkook for a dance. It so happens that he asks for it first.

"Would you-would you like to dance for a bit?"

It's wonderful how he has gone from hostile to welcoming and friendly to me, and I comply with a grin.

He takes my hand gently in his, escorting me to the circle where the villagers twirl with a carefree air surrounding them. One hand comes to rest on the small of my back, while the other guides mine to his shoulder. His one, that is draped over my waist and goes to the back pushes me closer to his body with a gentle force. Warm breaths hit my cheeks, and suddenly the chilly breeze does not bother me anymore.

The grin that stretches my lips never fades away, as he starts to sway us with the rhythm of the music. Who could've guessed that the cold soldier I'd met a little while ago would turn out to be a commendable dancer. My fingers which rest on his shoulder, turn just a bit greedier, softly clutching his shirt there into their grasp, and he smiles at the action.

A few minutes pass in the harmony that flows through the air, and Jungkook breaks the silence after a while.

"HaeJin,"

I hum in response, diverting my eyes from a happy, dancing elder couple to him.

"Thank you."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Thank you for bringing me out here. Thank you for trusting me enough to bring me here. These are good people."

"Guk, you needn't thank me."

"No. I do. I need to. I've been to places so horrible, so- places I've tried so hard to escape, only to fail plenty times. I've done things I hate myself for." He shakily exhales, and I give him the pause he wants, to breath and begin again.

"There have been people I lost, dear people I'd been compelled to live without. But today, those people you introduced me to, even if it last just a few hours more, it gives me a taste of what it could've been like to have them around, a taste I thought I could never have. M-maybe I don't deserve it for all the sins-"

"Ssh, Guk," I raise myself over my toes to get closer to him and embrace him, "never say you don't deserve a thing as lovely and precious as a family. And for the past, it makes us what we are today, but it doesn't define what we'd be in the future, it all depends upon today. And if today is when you decide to make necessary amends, the future is meant to be beautiful."

His arms hesitantly come to join my back to return the affectionate gesture, and he rests his chin on my shoulder.

"I know that I don't know exactly know who you are today, or how you've come to be like this, but I do think that I knew you younger."

He pulls away slightly to study my features with his mouth agape.

"Y-you do?"

I smile.

"I sure do."

"HaeJin! Would you bother helping me out?!" Aunty-Il's voice interrupts the conversation.

"Not at all, Aunty!"

"Come bring the boys in too, dear!"

In the later hours, when everyone relishes the Kimchi-jjigae prepared by Aunty-Il, I feel soft eyes on me, an unheard question swimming in them. Yet, when I make contact with them with my own, all I see is a lovely sparkle in them, a sparkle that is a well known foundation for faith, and an alphabet for adoration.

✧*:･ﾟ✧

1382 words.

[A/N: This took a while alright. Phew, sorry.]

----.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.----
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
°･:*✧✧*:･ﾟ
:・ﾟ
･ﾟ✧
'