Remedy

Chapter 3

Lavender. Lilac. Orchid. Or maybe...

"Can you pass me plum?"

Jimin barely even has to look up to pick up the right bottle and hand it to Taehyung.

"Thanks."

Taehyung sighs and stares at the swirl of colors on the paper plate. He opens the cap and pours out a tiny amount of the dark purple paint before closing it back with a snap.

He dips his dirty brush on a mug with hot water and then cleans it up on his shirt. When it's dry, he coats the tip of the flat brush and then concentrates before making a thin line across the blues and reds on his canvas.

A few more brushstrokes and then he dips the brush with the hot pink and mixes it together, adding in a little bit of blue then more pink then more blue. When he's satisfied, he grabs another brush, an old stiff one, and lightly moves it against the canvas to barely scrape out a bit of the color.

"It's looking so pretty Tae," Jimin leans in from behind him.

Taehyung smiles and admires his own work. He's happy with it too. He's been working on this painting all morning. After getting an incredible three hours of sleep, he'd woken up and been unable to go back to bed.

It's a small canvas and he's nearly done. Just adding some little details, mixing in more shades for a more alluring look.

While he paints, his brain jumps through ten hoops to get to thoughts of Seokjin. It's been doing that a lot lately. His lips curve up while he daydreams and recalls his time with him.

Taehyung likes how Seokjin looks at him. It makes him feel like he's under a spotlight, and not in the unnerving way everyone's eyes following him around school made him feel. No, it's something more special, flattering.

He's been a mess for the past few weeks. Just stupidly captivated by Seokjin.

Taehyung had never been very picky with who he dated. He just wanted someone who could make him laugh and who was nice to him. Their height or weight didn't matter. Gender and looks wasn't an issue. He got flustered easily with compliments and attention.

He doesn't regret all the people he's kissed, the dates he's been on. He had a lot of fun, but he'd also gone through so many jerks. People who took advantage of his kindness. Who tried to control him and hinder his self expression.

He's glad that he guarded his heart enough to protect himself. Thankful for Jimin for telling him what he needed to hear. Thankful to himself for waiting on some things. He's so relieved that his first time wasn't with some random person who called him pretty a few times, but with someone who took care of him, showed him respect.

Jimin's mom likes to remind the two of them that they needed to respect themselves and that included the way they let other people treat them.

Taehyung's own parents don't provide him with as much guidance as Jimin's mom does. After they moved, they had become busier. Their lives improved because they had more money, but with their success came a growing disconnect between them. His father was obsessed with going higher, always reaching for more. He was ambitious and worked hard and Taehyung admired him, but they hardly talked now.

When Taehyung started dressing differently and wearing makeup, it took them a while to even notice. He remembers now the first time they brought it up. He'd gone from light makeup to full on dresses, but they never mentioned it so Taehyung had begun to think they simply didn't care. Then one day, after being informed that they were having family over, he was told by his mother, with a big pleasant smile on her face to, "Dear just wear something normal, please."