BLACK ON BLACK | TK

Chapter Twenty One

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"On my way now
Don't give up on me."

Taehyung woke up to a familiar headache, the aftermaths of the prior night pulsing strongly in his temples as he sat on the edge of the bed and contemplated about how many drinks he had downed the previous night.

He got out of bed with difficulty, noticing that he was still wearing the same clothes, which made him grunt as he immediately strolled towards the bathroom to take a warm bath in hopes of getting rid of the headache. He sat under the water for a long time, thinking about what had happened the night before and, the more he thought, the more he remembered.

Taehyung wanted to argue with himself because he had been so careless, so careless with his words, that he had told Jeongguk things he should not have mentioned. He came out of the bath without a headache, though his chest tightened because of the things he was feeling. He was greeted by Muse and Onyx in the kitchen, the two waiting by their bowls for Taehyung to feed them. He knelt beside them, wearing only a thin robe, then stroked each of them as his lips curled in a bright smile — they were part of his happiness and Taehyung wouldn't have it any other way.

"I neglected you a little, didn't I?" He laughed, watching as Muse laid on her back so that he would pet her belly. "How about a few bonus snacks today?"

After filing their bowls with their favorite food, he added some rewards in it, then walked to the fridge and got ready to cook something for himself as well. An omelet was enough since he was too tired to do anything else, struggling to prepare even a cup of coffee which he drank while eating after adding a lot of milk and two teaspoons sugar. He didn't exactly like coffee, being more of a tea enthusiast, but he hoped that the caffeine in it would make his sleepiness fade.

He knew Muse and Onyx couldn't wait to have a walk so he ignored the mental fatigue he was feeling then went back to his room to change into more suitable clothes. He decided to wear a pair of light-colored jeans and a white-collared sweater with a coat dropped over his shoulder, the first one he found laying around. There was no need to put the leashes of the two dogs on since they were trained to follow him so he went down with them following after him only to be greeted by the couple of elderly people that always made his days feel better. They turned towards him, smiling, and he found himself returning their smiles.

"Taehyung, have you found your partner, darling?" The elderly woman asked, her lips curled into a smile that was supposed to seem joyful and yet, there was something extremely depressing and sad about it. "Last night, while we were on our nightly walk, we saw that such a handsome young man brought you home."

His heart tightened at that, for Jeongguk was far from his partner. He smiled, shaking his head.

"He's just a friend."

The two smiled sadly, which saddened him even more because, just like it used to happen before, people still looked at him like he was a pitiful sight to witness. He wished to turn around and walk away but, before he could do that, the woman's voice echoed once more, making his heartbeat stop for a second. It seemed like more time passed as Taehyung listened to her words and tried to calm his heart from breaking out of his chest.

"You know, sweetheart," a sigh left her lips as she put her hand on Taehyung's shoulder. "love can be found anywhere, not only in your soulmate's arms. It's the person that matters, not some stupid HLA genes they created a few years ago. You can create your own bond if you love them enough. Fate is not as powerful as we think it is. We can change our destinies ourselves." As Taehyung turned around towards the two of them, he found them both smiling as they held arms, the woman's hand still draped on Taehyung's shoulder. "After all, look at us. We found ourselves through real love, not through a pen offered to us by the government."