Work Text:
Jinu stood frozen in place. His bandmates stood beside him.
Suddenly, in the middle of the crowd, her voice echoed. The woman he loved entered the aisle, singing. Her voice awakened something within him that even he couldn't name.
“Nothing but the truth now
Nothing but the proof of what I am…”
Jinu found himself standing at the end of an aisle covered in cherry blossom petals. Rumi walked towards him. She wore a white hanbok, light as smoke. Silk ribbons floated in the air, each step echoing like a chord of the chorus. The wind carried the scent of the flowers, and the melody pulsed in sync with his heart.
“The worst of what I came from, patterns I’m ashamed of
Things that even I don’t understand…”
The young man awaited her at the altar, remembering when she confessed her fears, her origins, each step rhythmic with the beat of the surrounding music. The chorus recalled her pain, but also celebrated her rebuilding.
“I broke into a million pieces, and I can’t go back,
But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass…”
Unlike everyone else, he didn't just see her cracks, the moments when she felt divided.
“My head was twisted, my heart divided.”
And now, in the hallway, she transformed everything they had shared into promises.
“The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony.
My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like.”
He extended his hand. She smiled, a smile that said they had both survived, like the moment she said:
“So we were cowards, so we were liars.
So we’re not heroes, we’re still survivors.”
For a moment, the sound of the music was only the sound of Jinu’s heart. He could almost touch it. Almost. But then, the sound changed. The vision cracked like glass. The white hallway transformed into a dark stage. Rumi was still there, but not at the altar. She was surrounded by flames, the huntress blocking an attack from Gwi-ma with her sword, her clothes had become an iridescent garment. The villain’s purple energy twisted around her in order to destroy her.
In the young man's chest, the lyrics echoed.
"Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony."
Jinu's heart tightened. He realized the wedding had never happened; it was just a desire that fear painted with hope. But even so, he smiled. He felt that something long lost had been returned to him. His soul. And a certainty screamed within him: if love could be born and rebuilt amidst chaos, then he too could fight in its name.
Jinu ran, shouting her name as if each syllable were a promise, and stood before his beloved, like a shield. Forgiveness and tears permeated the moment of bravery in both their hearts. Their eyes never wavered.
And for a brief second, as he surrendered and disappeared, Jinu swore he heard wedding bells.
"When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like."