Chapter Text
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“Me and your father are getting divorced. You’re going to live with your grandmother from now on.”
Those were the sentences that greeted him one lazy morning after finishing his studies.
Park Jimin, 22 years old, freshly graduated from an Arts Academy, and apparently unneeded by his own parents.
He always knew that his mother and father weren’t on good terms, constantly arguing about every single little thing, but the blonde boy thought that with love, they could get through everything. Because, they loved each other, right? Otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten married and had him, right?
That was, though, only wishful thinking.
The more he grew, the more he noticed how they talked less and less, sparing a word or two only in regards to Jimin’s education, to what an exemplar son he should be, and how he should only think about studying and building a steady career.
He was starting to think that maybe, all those stories about beautiful and eternal love were just that; stories. Just fairy tales that no human being would actually get to experience.
It was his grandmother who always rekindled that hope in his chest, telling him time and time again that his parents were just unlucky, and understood a bit too late that maybe they weren’t meant to be.
And those words saddened him a little- because, what if he also made the wrong choice in the future?-, but at the same time, the kept that fire of hope burning bright in his chest, that one day, he would also find someone for him.
So, it wasn’t that much of a surprise when his parents gave him the official news that they would finally separate. What he wasn’t expecting was for his parents to throw him away like some used and unneeded rag.
He always worked hard, never failed in anything, all because he wanted to satisfy his parents, so how come neither of them wanted to bother with keeping him?
Make no mistake, he loved his grandmother dearly, the weeks he always passed during the summer with her were probably the best of each year, but he couldn’t help but be devastated by the thought of not being loved by his own parents.
Just like that, he found himself standing in the small countryside village where his grandma, a perky old lady called Park Jisoo, lived, the hot summer air sticking to his skin uncomfortably.
It was a pretty much uninteresting small town with small cute houses built in wood, each one with chimneys on their roofs due to the cold winter that didn’t fail to fall every year on the village- accordingly to Jisoo’s recountings.
His grandmother always joked about how she didn’t know how she managed to survive the rigid cold whenever winter came. Jimin always scoffed at her for that and told her to stop making such crude jokes.
The village was surrounded by a majestic forest, which never seemed to end, the leaves of its trees colored with such an intense green it almost had shocked him the first time he saw them. There were times he almost felt like being called, a mysterious force drawing him in, tantalizing him into wanting to explore it.
But he never did. He never crossed that line that separated the forest from the village, always using the excuse of having too little time for that. He never understood what was that kept him from relenting.
He never asked his grandmother about those woods, and she never mentioned them either, neither telling him to go play there, or to not go in. He didn’t fail to notice, though, the way she would, from time to time, stare at the green expanse with a glint of longing in her small wrinkled eyes.
Jimin huffed a heavy sigh, and noticed that he had been standing on the same spot where his parents had left him, suitcase clutched in one hand, for the last fifteen minutes, too busy contemplating his surroundings.
With a last shuddering breath, he tightened his grip on the suitcase handle and started walking towards Jisoo’s wooden house. The walk to the hut was as short as he remembered, the road littered with little, shiny stones, which reflected the blinding light of the summer sun.
While walking, he raised his head towards the sky and squinted his eyes, one hand coming to cover at them from the glaring sun. The blue expanse was as clear as it could be, not one cloud in sight, a scenery much different from the clouded air of the big city.
Jimin took in one big gulp of air and smiled, feeling the pureness of it, the familiar wood smell coming from the forest tinkling his sense in a pleasuring way.
Once he arrived he knocked lightly on the door. After a few seconds he heard the sound of slow steps approaching from the other side of the threshold, and then a old lady was opening the creaking door with a face-splitting smile.
“Jimin! You’re here!” She exclaimed in happiness, much as his grandma did everytime he came for the summer. A sly part of his mind remembered him that this time, it would be forever, but he didn’t even get to start worrying about what his life would become, because suddenly he was engulfed by a pair of frail arms.
Jimin let out a small oof and then laughed, wrapping his own arms around the shorter woman, raising her up and twirling her around. That was no time to feel depressed, he would have time to mope around later.
For now, all that mattered was showing his grandmother that he was fine and that they would lead a great life together. He didn’t want to bother her in any way, since she had always been so good to him. No matter how sad he was, he would never fail to show gratefulness to the only person that apparently cared about him.
“Hey grandma, how are you? The flowers doin’ fine?” Jimin asked after letting her down, offering his arm for her to grab on and leading both of them inside.
He didn’t know what kind of magic Jisoo worked, but no matter how hot it was outside, her house was always cooler, the chilly air doing wonders to soothe his suffering skin. He sighed in appreciation once they were fully inside what, from that moment on, would be his own home.
“Of course I’m doing fine, sweetie.” She swatted at his arm with her skinny hand, a disbelieving scoff falling from her lips. “This old hag still has long to go.”
When they got to the living room, she opened one of the light blue curtains adorning the space, and showed Jimin part of her small collection of flowers- tidily settled into their own decorated pots-, with the rest of them planted in her backyard, which probably was bigger than her own house.
While she showed Jimin the colorful flowers, Jisoo raised one eyebrow, as if daring him to challenge her. He giggled at that and shook his head in mirth, never failing to find his grandmother’s anthics funny.
“So that shitty son of mine didn’t even bother to come and say hello to his own mother, huh?” She sneered while sitting on her battered couch, making space for Jimin to sit next to her. Jimin laid his suitcase against a wall and made his way to sit next to Jisoo reluctantly, still not ready to face the subject.
“I don’t get how someone like that could come out of my own womb, he didn’t learn a single thing from all the things I taught him. He’s exactly like his father.” She kept grumbling with a deep scowl, her hands waving around frantically, and for a second the blonde feared for his safety and scooted his head back a bit.
“He even managed to find someone as heartless as him, I swear to God, and look what happened, abandoning his own son -”
He visibly flinched at the words and curled a bit in himself, already feeling the bile he had barely managed to keep down coming up his throat. Jisoo, though, was instantly on him, one arm around his shoulders and whispering sweet words to his ears.
“I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad again. I’m just so mad at how they treated you, you don’t deserve any of this.” She told him while tightening her grip on his shoulders for a bit.
“It’s okay, grandma, it doesn’t matter-” Jimin tried, lowering his gaze to the ground, but a pair of trembling hands to his cheeks and a firm voice interrupted him in his tracks.
“Of course it matters, Jimin! You deserve the world, you truly are a ray of sunshine, and I don’t want any cloud to hide your light.” She stated with conviction while drawing smoothing circles on his cheeks, putting her forehead against his own. Jimin sighed and melted into her soft touch.
He had forgotten how it felt to be cradled so closely and tenderly.
“Everything will be alright from now on, okay? I know it’s hard to believe, but your grandma never lied to you, right?” Jisoo asked, concluding with a teasing tilt and giving one light pat on Jimin’s cheek.
He smiled at that and nodded, and even though he couldn’t completely believe that, he at least felt a little better, knowing that somebody was mad on his stead, and that they would be on his side no matter what.
“Good. Now, I’m gonna go brew a pot of tea, the one you like so much, so go to your room and settle down.” She concluded with a small kiss to his forehead and then stood up, walking towards the kitchen while still muttering a few curses.
He giggled and then went to pick up his suitcase, dragging it lazily up the stairs and to his room. He opened the door and heaved a sigh of relief at seeing it had already been cleaned and tidied up. He truly didn’t have the strength to do anything right now.
Jimin took in the bed positioned against the left wall, slightly bigger than a normal single one, and the pretty much empty desk on the right side of the room. Directly in front of him stood the old wooden wardrobe with still a few of his old clothes in it, and the orange curtains closed to hide the big window behind them.
Whenever he came in the summer, he made a habit of keeping them closed, even if the window was open, because right on the other side of it, stood the big forest he so intently strayed away from.
Maybe it was his tiredness, maybe it was the gaping hole in his chest begging to be filled, but he didn’t even feel it when he let go of the suitcase handle, walking towards the window in an almost dazed state.
As if they had a mind of their own, his hands raised in the air and grabbed the soft fabric of the curtains, tearing them open. The window was already open, as if beckoning him, and Jimin gasped at the sight.
As usual the green was so shocking he felt his mind reeling for a moment, his eyes growing as big as saucers. It had been a long time since he had seen the vibrant leaves this close, and had he extended his arm, he would’ve probably been able to touch them and feel their texture under his fingertips.
The spell, though, was broken soon after, the sound of a loud thud echoing strongly in the small room.
Jimin let go of the curtains as if they had burned him and he hastily turned around, instantly noticing the suitcase now pitifully laying on the ground. He let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned around once again, hurriedly closing the drapes and deciding not to let his frail state of mind take over him.
Not sparing another thought to what was lying behind the window, he adjusted the suitcase on the ground and opened it, staring at its scarce contents with a frown.
That was the only kind of luggage he had, so he had to give up a big part of his clothes, only taking with him what he liked the most. He still wasn’t satisfied with that little he could take, but had no other choice.
By the time Jisoo called him to join her in the kitchen, he had already placed all his clothes in his ‘new’ wardrobe, and arranged all the other few possessions he had taken with him from his old room.
The alarm one of his old friend had gifted him, a few framed photos, his dance trophies, an autograph from one of his favourite artists, his cds collection. Again, nothing much.
Once they were seated at the kitchen table, they started recounting how the months they had been separated had been, what they did, if there was anything new. His grandmother’s life was pretty static; waking up, gardening, eating, sleeping, eating and then sleep again.
He didn’t fail to notice, though, the way she casually dropped the fact that she had started to take a stroll at the forest borders when she was feeling exceptionally good, something she had never cared to mention before. He ignored that. The less he thought of that place, the better it was.
Jimin told her about his last year at college, about his graduation, and about his insecurities at starting a new life at the village. His grandmother smiled kindly at him at that and held his hand gently in a comforting way.
Once they finished drinking their tea, Jisoo dragged him to her backyard, explaining to him, one by one, how to take care of- like she had called them- her own beautiful children, each one having a different way of being handled.
By the time they went over every flower, it was already dinner time, Jimin’s stomach growling in hunger. His grandma barked out a loud laughter at that, and he blushed at the sounds coming from his own traitorous body.
Two hours later, he was already getting ready to get comfortable in his bed, laptop booting up on the comforter. He gave a quick once-over to the room and then grabbed his bathroom supplies.
Once he was inside the bathroom and he turned towards the mirror, he almost jumped back in shock. No matter how tired he was from the travel, it still didn’t explain the shockingly dark bags he had under his chocolate brown eyes. Not to mention the excessive swelling of his cheeks and the pale state of his skin.
He frowned at his reflection and then growled, berating at himself for ignoring his self-care so much due to the latest events. He looked devastated, no wonder his grandmother started rattling off on how much shitty his parents were. It was partly thanks to them that he was now in this state.
Since the news of their divorce, sleep eluded him like he was the plague, and when he did manage to sleep, it was only for a few hours and because his body was craving a bit of rest, no matter how little it was. When he woke from those short naps, though, he felt more tired than when he had collapsed.
Jimin sighed for the umpteenth that time and opened the faucet, letting the cold water run for a bit before splashing his face with it, hoping to bring a bit of comfort. He brushed his teeth and went back to his room, looking at his laptop for a long moment before deciding he wasn’t in the mood for browsing on internet.
Instead, he grabbed his phone and his headphones, collapsed on the bed and started blasting music in his ears.
After what probably were weeks, he finally felt himself being embraced by the warm and welcoming arms of sleep.
After two weeks of a steady sleeping pattern, and a healthy dose of a balanced diet, he could finally look at the mirror without seeing a ghost reflected on it.
At first, Jisoo had to force-feed him and practically shove the food in his throat, but after a few days, appetite started coming back on his own, the pleasure of eating his grandmother homemade food greater than any heartbreak
The calmer his mind felt, though, the more a nagging thought in the back of his head started becoming louder.
Whenever he was calmly relaxing, or he let his mind wander with no restraints, he always found himself thinking back to that forest he was so hardly trying to avoid. He would open the curtains of his room without his own consent, he would stare at the green foliage when he was tending to the flowers.
Whenever Jisoo saw him being transfixed on those hellish woods, she would always smile at him knowingly. Knowingly of what , he couldn’t guess for the life of him.
Until one day the curiosity gnawing at him became so strong he even asked himself why the hell was he so bent on ignoring it.
“What the hell is wrong with that forest?” He found himself blurting one day during breakfast, his grandmother’s eyes snapping up to him so fastly he worried for a second over the possibility of her neck breaking. The surprise in her eyes, though, disappeared as soon as it came, replaced by something else Jimin couldn’t quite place.
“Why are you asking, honey?” She wondered unbothered, as if the young man wasn’t sporting the deepest of the frowns, all the while spalming her homemade peach jam on her freshly toasted bread.
The blonde was so tempted to just forfeit the subject and start eating that heavenly breakfast, but he refused to relent, his fists clenching under the table.
“It’s just.. It’s so weird. I never went to the forest because I always felt as if that was.. Wrong -” Jimin started, his hands suddenly raising up waiving around in the air- he had gotten that habit from his grandma-, “but now the more I stay here, the more I want to , I don’t even understand why I’m feeling like this.”
He concluded with a frustrated groan, his head falling on the table with a soft thud. His grandma simply hummed at that, and then opened her mouth to say something that would have prompted him into laughing, hadn’t they been in the serious contest they were.
“Do you believe in magic, Jimin?” She questioned calmly while quietly munching on her bread, as if she was simply asking about the weather, her eyes wandering to one of the windows of the kitchen. When her inquiry was met with silence, she turned to look at Jimin’s disbelieving face with one raised eyebrow.
“I don’t think this is the moment to joke around-” He began, only to be interrupted by a loud huff of air coming directly from his grandmother’s mouth. She then scoffed and made a shushing motion with her skinny hands at him, effectively shutting him up.
“Whatever, it’s fine if you don’t understand, for now.” She settled, going back to her breakfast. “As for the forest, it all depends on you. If you feel you shouldn’t go, then don’t. But if your need to go is stronger than your fears, then I suggest you take a tour around there whenever you have free time.”
Then she winked at him and leaned over the table, using one small finger to push at his forehead, making him stagger back a bit in his seat.
After that, she went back to being her usual self, as if the conversation had never happened, and Jimin couldn’t help but be more confused than he was before, because, what was he supposed to do?
When they were done eating, he tentatively raised from his seat and started cleaning up together with Jisoo, weird thoughts playing in the back of his head for the rest of the day.
Apparently, his body had officially detached himself from his mind, because out of nowhere, he found himself standing right in front of the place he dreaded so much. The tall trees stood meters above him, the green leaves almost mocking him from their height.
He could simply turn and go away, go back to his home, to his grandmother, but instead, a force greater than him taunted him into passing that border he had time and time again refused to cross.
The instant his right foot stepped on the musky soil, he felt a bolt of electricity going through all his body, jolting him into almost stepping back. But he refused. He had already taken the first step, he might as well continue and find out what it was that enticed him so much.
He felt the air growing heavier, charged with something unidentified, but he ignored it, he kept walking, and walking, and walking, his steps getting faster by the minute, until he was running, towards where, searching for what, he didn’t know.
He only knew that he had to run, that he had to find whatever it was his body was yearning for.
All of a sudden, he noticed that the scenery around him had changed. The ground had grown more slippery, all kind of plants crawling around his feet, almost alive and looking like snakes ready to bite at him. But the scariest thing was the thick fog that had seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Jimin felt his panic raising when he noticed that he didn’t recognize which way had he come from, the path he was following suddenly gone. The fog was unrelenting, and he couldn’t even see the top of the trees anymore.
He squinted his eyes in hope of seeing the shocking green color that had always terrorized him- but that now felt like the only thing that could keep him calm-, but found nothing. He started walking backwards, feeling the fear clawing at his heart, his breath growing heavier, leaving his mouth in pants.
And then his feet caught on something.
And then he was falling backwards.
He barely had time to look back behind me before he felt the ground colliding with his shoulders, and he realized with horror that he was falling down a slide, a dark lake rapidly getting nearer and nearer while he relentlessly rolled on the steep ground, his whole body aching every time it hit the soil hard.
He closed his eyes and readied himself for the crash, for the biting cold, but nothing came.
As the water swallowed him up, he felt drier than ever, nor hot nor cold, nothing like what he had prepared himself for.
What he felt, instead, was something akin to a extracorporeal experience, as if the world was shifting on its axis, making him unable to distinguish up from down, right from left. His body was weightless, as if fluctuating in a place with zero gravity.
His mind was reeling, his eyes still closed from the fear, not understanding what was happening around him.
Maybe it was all a dream.
It had to be.
Suddenly, the mind-blowing sensation of travelling through space itself ceased, and he felt his ass hitting the hard concrete, and the familiar sensation of wet clothes sticking to his body, making him almost sob in relief.
When he opened his eyes, though, the relief was gone as quickly as it came.
The fog that had haunted him was nowhere to be seen, just like the rest of the forest where he had been.
Jimin took his time to take in the scenery around him, his eyes growing wide and jaw going slack. He was sitting in a small pond, the water barely ankle deep, so clear he could distinctly make out all the little pebbles in its bottom, and the trees all around him were completely different from the ones he was used to see.
They were smaller, their foliage in a weird green color, one he had never seen before, but most of all, they beared fruits he couldn’t even recognize .
And not the kind of ‘not recognizing’ because it’s some kind of exotic fruit. The ones he was looking at didn’t even seem like normal fruits. They were oddly shaped, with colors so vibrant they almost looked fake.
What scared him the most, though, were the weird creatures littering the pond, little things with six legs and two heads.
Jimin felt not one ounce of embarrassment at the scream he let out, too busy not trying to shit on himself while he hurriedly stood and walked away from the body of water.
The more he kept going, the more he felt dread building up inside him.
Where the fuck had he ended up?
Just when he was about to crouch on the ground and cry his nerves out, he heard the sound of something shuffling around behind him. He rounded on where the sound had come with a bit of uncertainty, and instantly regretted it.
In front of him was what he could only describe as half a woman- with black hair and icy blue eyes-, and half a snake, the lower part of her body slithering on the ground much like a reptile would do, her eyes glaring daggers at him, and an actual hissing sound coming from her downturned mouth.
He truly didn’t know what force in the universe was managing to keep him from fainting right there and now.
“What i sss a human doing here?” She growled at him, a bifurcated tongue slipping out at the weird ‘sss’ sound the creature produced. Jimin only whimpered at that, unable to do anything else, but that apparently only caused for the snake’s irritation to spike up even more.
She glowered at him, her eyes flashing with something frightening, and when she flicked her darker than the night tail at him in a threatening way, all he could do was turn on his heels and run as fast as he could.
He didn’t even mind the way his body was begging for him to stop, his legs positively burning and his breath coming out in ragged sounds, he kept running, and running, the trees flashing by his sides while he felt the creature still coming at him at a frightening speed.
I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to-
And then he was falling, again.
He was so taken by the thought of running as fast as he could that he hadn’t noticed the way the ground suddenly inclined, making him slip and roll for the second time in that day on a slope. With the only difference that now he was too confused to try and understand what was going on, what with the way his bruises from the previous fall were screaming at him for mercy.
The only thing he saw before he blacked out was a mop of shockingly blue hair right in the middle of his path, and he felt more than heard the loud curse emitted from the very much breathing creature he collided with.
And then blackness came.