Chapter Text
The pebble skipped across the shallow, making the ripples shimmer in the orange sunset. It bounced in perfect elongated arches, each one shorter than the next, until its trajectory died out, ripping the water surface as it suddenly disappeared underneath. As if it had never existed. A dragonfly resting in its path shot into the sky, its rainbow skin glorious in the dying light.
“Seven!” Jungkook chortled, grabbing his head with both of his hands. “Did you see that?”
“Saw it…” Jimin’s head was down as he was rummaging along the shore, looking for a perfectly flat pebble. He picked one up, weighing it in his hand, turning it from all sides. “Now you watch this…”
The boy stretched his left leg out and leaned his whole upper body back, forming an elegant slanted line that ended with an extended arm. It was a pose of a skilled spear thrower, the best one in five neighbouring villages. Instead of throwing the stone as he would a spear, he leaned all the way to his right, the outstretched leg providing balance, until his line of vision was parallel with the water surface. He swung his arm and released the projectile. It glided swiftly across the mirrored sun, almost too fast for him to count. Almost.
“That was eight,” Jimin said matter-of-factly, as if none of Jungkook’s glee rubbed off on him.
The other boy crossed his arms, pressing his lips tight.
“That wasn’t…”
Jimin’s icy stare interrupted him mid-sentence.
“OK, fine, it was eight.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “How come you always win? What’s your secret? It’s not like I suck at it. I’m always right behind you. And you’d think that sometimes, even by accident, I’d get to win...”
“There are no accidents, Kookie,” Jimin said, throwing his arm around his friend’s neck. “It’s called practice. Be honest with me, how much do you practice?”
The sun had set, giving way to the blue hour. They turned away from the water, Jimin’s arm still hooked around Jungkook’s neck, slowly making their way back through the woods. The boys were of the same height, same stature, wearing very similar clothes – light, linen shirts and beige cotton trousers crumpled up to their knees. Seen from behind, they could have been mistaken for twins.
“Stone skipping? Are you for real? I practice running, carving, shooting crossbow... Who practices stone skipping?”
“I do,” Jimin said, smiling. “I go to the lake whenever I have time in the mornings.”
Jungkook stopped in his tracks, unhooking Jimin’s arm. He looked his friend in his eyes, a deep line forming between his eyebrows. “Just because you want to beat me?”
Jimin laughed out loud, head thrown back. His eyes disappeared in the beaming smile.
“What? No!” He kept laughing. “You should see your face! What if I did? Would we no longer be friends?”
Jungkook was not amused. “Answer my question!”
“I practice because I want to be good at everything. When we were kids… How old were we the first time we skipped stones? Six? Seven? I wasn’t any good. It wasn’t just stone skipping, it was other things too…”
“Like what?” The other raised an eyebrow.
“Anything really… You remember the trick with throwing out loose caps from under overturned bottles with a stick? Do you know how many bottles I broke until I got them to stay standing? My mother was gonna kill me.”
“That’s even dumber than stone skipping…” Jungkook cut him a side eye, slowly walking on. Jimin followed.
“It was a challenge. It’s all a challenge. The things I’m really bad at are the biggest challenge. I keep practicing until I no longer suck, just to see if I can do it.”
“You mean, until you’re better than everyone else?” Jungkook scoffed.
“Not at all. I’m doing it for myself. I want to be the best possible version of myself. When I hit a limit, I stop.”
“It’s just that your limits are higher than everyone else’s, hm?”
“Oh, come on, Jungkookah,” Jimin laughed, throwing his arm around the other boy’s neck again, pulling him closer. “You’re the best without even trying.”
“You mean, second best…” Jungkook hung his head in frustration.
“You can outrun me any given day…”
“Yea, right…”
“Stop moping, I’m giving you a head start.” Jimin smiled.
Jungkook turned his head, smiling back. He put his hand on Jimin’s chest, pushing himself off and throwing the other boy a little off balance, giggling as he broke into a run.
Bending his elbows, ready to pursue, Jimin caught a faint scent in Jungkook’s wake. It was a scent he’d never felt before; as if the pines surrounding them decided to waft their resin a bit stronger, as if there was an invisible bonfire too, just next to them, dry pinewood cracking into a rich, comforting smoke. He hadn’t felt it when he hugged Jungkook, but it hung in the air the boy left behind him, like an afterthought.
Jimin tried to ignore it, because it always started with denial.
The muscles on his legs tensed, skin covering in goosebumps as his bare feet kicked off. His body hurled forwards, the mind not knowing, but also knowing that he was leaving his childhood behind, running into the unknown, like an arrow released blindly, on the off chance of hitting the target.