Chapter Text
Sitting down, as always with his nose buried in a book, fully unaware of his surroundings, the boy jumps a little when the librarian reminds him that it’s closing time.
“Thank you for allowing me to stay longer.”
“Jimin, you are always welcome here. It’s nice to have some company here. Not a lot of people come here voluntary and when they do it’s to look up horror stories or books about what happens when we finally pass on. No one wants to know about the things you are curious about. Talking to you about it, when you have more time is most definitely a highlight of my week. So come back whenever you want. My books are here for you.”
With a bow and a nod of his head he leaves the building, walking into the darkness of the night. Though, it’s not like the day looks any different. Looking at the stars, it’s the only bit of light that helps him find his way. Luckily he is also accompanied by Blob, the little energy ball that will stay with him until he finds friends. In this version of Seoul, friends aren’t really a thing, some people just endure each other, but that’s about it. Loneliness is something they prefer, something they’ll choose over hanging out with others any day of the week. When people do spend time together, it’s because they accidentally are in the same spot at the same time, but not because they decided to meet up.
Blob is the only thing he’ll ever call a friend despite the fact that it can’t talk or talk. What Blob can do is comfort him whenever needed by placing himself against his neck or caressing his cheek. Even without hands, he offers more of a kind touch than any of the people who know him. Another quality Blob possesses is that it can communicate very well with its big eyes.
Right now, Blob is sitting on top of Jimin’s shoulder, casting a soft glow in the darkness. A sign to others that someone is walking here as well. In a world where everything is dark, gloomy, clouded and cold, where the only thing that sticks out is the permanent layer of snow on top of the houses, the trees, the streets… In a world where street lights do not exist, in a world where everyone is born with jet black hair, black eyes and a greyish skin, in a world where people mainly wear black clothes, or grey when they want to go for a splash of colour, standing out is literally impossible.
Walking through Nox, or as the inhabitants call it “Death”, Jimin can’t help but to sigh a little. Yes, he is used to the darkness and the loneliness, he even prefers it, yet sometimes the dark weighs on him. He has always been an outcast, even more than anyone else here, because he loves to read, and once in a while, he even smiles. Something the people do not do in Nox. Grimacing, scowling, glaring, yes. Being sarcastic, unbothered or annoyed, also yes. Then there’s the permanent blush on his otherwise overly pale skin, something no other person has on their greyish complexion.
Another thing that is different about Jimin is that he loves learning more about Lux. Not that he wants to live in that version of Seoul, the ‘living’ part of Seoul, the bright, colourful version of his hometown. The opposite from their reality Nox, or as the people often call it ‘Alive’. What fascinates him is that despite having the same layout of the city, things are so very different.
In Lux people get to smile, people get to act silly, make jokes, have lighthearted conversations. People there frown upon being sad, being grumpy, being indifferent. If you aren’t happy in Lux, people immediately worry about you, tell you to go to a doctor. Which is the opposite from how Jimin lives. If he were to smile brightly, if he were to sing and dance on the street, people would declare him crazy. In Nox, there are only a few jobs. You either become an educator, a librarian, a farmer or a reaper. Reapers have several divisions. There is one who reaps the souls of the dead and helps to set them free. You have those who help the souls of people who want to move on, but can’t yet because of unfinished business, to cross over after helping them reach their final goal. The last division are the reapers who take care of the evil spirits who refuse to go and cause havoc before they are finally destroyed and send them to the deepest pits of the Tartarus.
In Nox, computers, cell phones, tablets, game consoles… None of it works properly. Homework is still done by writing every single word down on a piece of paper. When you need a book from the library, you find the right card that will tell you what shelf the book is on, you place the card in the exact same spot and if you take the book home with you, you get the paper card attached to the book stamped. There are exactly three computers in Nox and one phone. The Reaper station has two laptops, in case Lux needs helps from a certain division of reapers. In the president's office you can find one computer and the only cell phone available in Nox. The president is in contact with the president of Lux in case they need each other’s help. None of the civilians are aware of this, though none of them would have strong opinions about it, it’s not as if Nox and Lux are at war with each other. They are the exact same place, one just alive, while the other is death. In the last 70 or so years, no help was ever needed, but there was an accident about 88 years ago that everyone is aware of, as a fable of course. One of the evil souls escaped from Nox to Lux, where it had been causing chaos by attacking and injuring innocent people, putting houses and cars on fire, throwing around public letterboxes, bicycles and garbage cans. In case of another disaster, it is important that the presidents of both places are still on good terms, sending each other regular reports of the state of their Seoul.
Another difference is the way they are raised. In Lux, people are allowed to be children and are then educated in different fields, so they end up in one of the many different jobs they have over there to keep the place alive and happy. What fascinates him the most though, is how they perceive death. In Lux, it’s a day of mourning. People wear black, come together to talk about someone’s life and cry, a lot. There’s a whole farewell ceremony that takes a long time. People even get time off from work and school to attend that ceremony. Funeral? Was that the word Jimin read once upon a time. He’s not sure, but it sounds about right. In Nox, people wear white. The only occasion they ever wear white for. They place the deceased into the ground, add a black flower on top of the body, cover it with sand and watch their energy make its way into the ground around them, turning into the usual black flowers, trees and the dead grass that is always on the verge of disappear. Even after their death, they still give their all to the community. Some of their energy turns into blobs, that find their way to people who need a little comfort than other people. Hence why Jimin’s blob is still clinging on to him. In total, the ceremony takes about five minutes and once it's over, people just continue their day like they do any other day. And that is when they do attend the small ceremony. Having no friends or other close relations, people don't often bat an eye when someone dies.
Arriving at home, he gets ready for bed. Like every night, he looks outside, stares at the rabbit on the moon and sighs to himself. Every day the same routine. Waking up, breakfast, going to school, learning about the few career choices, fight training seeing as he has to become a reaper, do homework, go back home, eat and go to bed. Tonight, he isn’t hungry though. The more Jimin reads about Nox, the more he wants to visit it one day, though he knows he can't. Not only is it forbidden, it is also impossible without permission of the president, who has never given his permission before. As a compromise, the black-haired boy visits his favourite rock formation, not only because it’s in the middle of a field surrounded by trees and flowers, it’s also the place that has the brightest light in Nox. It’s still grey, gloomy and dark, but somehow, it doesn’t seem so depressing. Jimin loves being here on his own, not only because he adores being alone, but also because he has a secret that he doesn’t want anyone else to discover. When he climbs all the way to the top that rock formation, he sits himself down, makes himself comfortable, with a soft blanket and some hot beverage and looks forward. Jimin doesn’t doesn’t know where it comes from or why it’s there, but for some reason, there’s some sort of invisible barrier that allows him to look at Lux in all its colourful glory.
That Saturday, after he finished all of his homework, he grabs his flask filled with scalding hot tea and puts it in his bag on top of the blanket and some egg kimbap. Wearing his coat, hat, scarf, gloves and snow boots, he quickly makes his way to what he has dubbed his field with his rock in it and climbs to the top as quickly as he can. Eating his food, he watches the colourful flowers move in the wind. It’s funny how he has no idea what any of those colours are called and while he isn’t the biggest fan of overly bright colours, he likes these. They are darker colours, the same as he has seen before in their sunsets. Their trees aren’t black, with crooked branches that look like long arms with fingers attached to it and their flowers aren’t dripping with black blood, leaving behind a trail of ash on your clothes. Their trees are beautiful, especially because they change every season. Another thing Nox doesn’t have. Seasons.
In school, Jimin and his classmates have to learn everything about Lux, just in case distaster strikes and they need to move there, or even worse… Adapt to the place because they never can go home. Over the years, Jimin has gotten more and more interested while his classmates couldn’t care less. Jimin loved the idea of seasons, of seeing his surroundings change, simply because the weather does. He doesn’t see why it’s important that nature and the weather keep changing, it doesn’t really do anything, but the concept itself, he likes it a lot. Imagine if their trees and flowers would change into a different hue of black or grey. It wouldn’t make a lot of difference, it wouldn’t change things, but it would make Nox a little less monotone. He is used to it by now, having lived here for 18 years, but ever since he found his rock and ever since he found the invisible wall, he has frequent dreams about himself in a colourful field, with flowers in colours he can’t name. Somehow he just knows, that if he had to get used to Lux, it would take time, but he would be able to do it. Not that it’s something he should ponder about, nothing like that is ever going to happen, but it still fills his heart with a little warmth every time he imagines himself on the other side of that barrier with his face in the sun, his hair dancing around thanks to wind blowing it back and forth, wearing only a shirt and shorts. He might be wrong. The sun might be too warm on his skin, or it might be too painful on his eyes. Maybe he wouldn’t even enjoy the little gusts of wind moving his hair around, but to him, it sounds amazing.
Jimin likes the cold, he always has. He even loves getting home after an extremely cold day, when his lips are blue, his skin is as pale as the snow outside and the cold has seeped deep into his bones, because it means burying himself in blankets and making a lot of hot chocolate milk or tea, while wearing his softest pajamas, that are black of course. He can’t imagine not ever feeling the cold or walking in the snow, but there is something so appealing about the bright colours and the description of the sun kissing someone’s skin.
The field in front of him is quiet, calm and very serene, that is until, for the first time ever, a group of men, six if Jimin is counting correctly, settle themselves down on a big checkered sheet, not black or grey, placing a few baskets on top of it. Opening those baskets, they take out loads of food, food the black-haired boy has never seen before. In Nox, people eat lots of rice, eggs, dried seaweed, bread, beans, corn, peanut butter and canned soup. The food the men are currently eating is the very opposite. Thanks to the few cooking lessons he had during his time on the farm, he recognizes some of the dishes. There are corn dogs, a lot of eggs made in several ways, pizza, cake and something that looks like long strings with pieces of some meat he has never eaten. He also thinks he recognizes kimchi, but not having had it himself, he can only guess. It does look like the dish he’s seen on pictures in a few library books. The food in Nox is all coloured black, grey and sometimes white. Are we even surprised at this point? It also tastes bland and is overly dry. The juice dripping off the food from the six men is something he hasn’t seen before, something he hasn’t experienced yet, something that makes his mouth water.
Trying to take a better look at the food the strangers are eating, Jimin crawls closer towards the edge of the black rock formation. So entranced by the entire scene in front of him, the young boy doesn’t realize that he’s crawling too far. When his hand touches air, panic takes over him. He might live in Death, but he doesn’t want to end up that way just yet. Trying to scramble backwards, so he can put his hand back on the ground, he hears a few voices shouting loudly.
“Are you okay? Hey, you! Do we need to call for help?!”
“Try to get back! You’ll get hurt if you fall down!”
“Can you hear us? If so, can you let us know you are okay? You are pretty high up?”
Jimin makes the mistake of looking up instead of focusing on saving himself. Seeing the six men, who were previously enjoying that delicious food, having all their attention on him shocks him, making him lose his balance even more, resulting in him actually falling down. Embarrassed, he crawls over the ground, hiding himself in the tall black grass, while quickly making his way back to the main road. He’ll come back for his bag later. It’s not like anyone ever comes here and his bag is waterproof. The only thing that might get ruined is his blanket, but he has plenty of them, so if this one gets ruined or gets picked up by the wind, it’s not that bad.
Lighting the candles in his living room, the electricity has given up in his part of town a long time ago, Jimin eyes his body, checking for bruises and scraped skin. He puts a band aid on both of his knees, the palm of his left hand and one on his forehead, right above his left eye. Checking his ribs, because it hurts there as well seeing as he fell down hard on that area, he notices the bruise that is already turning a very dark black. Adding the greyish lotion on the bruise, he lets out a few hisses. Touching his skin hurts, but he is still alive and he got away from the men.
“I’m fine Blob, don’t worry. None of these bruises are permanent. Give it a week and I’ll be fine.”, Jimin tells his pet energy bubble that is currently floating near Jimin’s scraped knee, trying to use its energy to heal the black-haired boy.
Putting on his pajamas, which is basically just a black hoodie, black shorts and dark grey knee-high socks, he sits himself in his bed, placing his three warm blankets on top of him and a hot water bottle next to him, to help warm the bed even more. Putting his head down on his pillow, his mind starts to race. Up until now, Jimin was convinced he was the only one who knew about the barrier and for some reason he also believed that it worked only one way. He thought that he could look into Lux, but that nobody on that side could see Nox. How wrong was he?!
Eventually, he falls asleep. Being cold and in pain is exhausting. It’s his dream about seeing the six men again, who are still worrying over him and crossing the barrier to properly check up on Jimin to make sure he hasn’t broken anything, that makes up his mind to go back to the border to see if they show up again today. It’s Sunday, which means no school. He finished his homework yesterday, so he has all the time in the world to go back there. Maybe he can still find his backpack there and bring it with him later, when he goes back home. For now, he finds a tote bag he uses to collect his food for an entire day, an umbrella, dry clothes in case it snows or rains all day, another blanket and a few books he hasn’t read yet but has been dying to read.
Walking through the field of black blood dripping flowers, with blob on his shoulder, Jimin is convinced he’s early, but when he steps behind the rock formation he already sees six colourful men sitting in a line in front of the barrier, waving excitedly at him.