ethereal ➳ k.th

21 - Pride

"Why are you here again?" Taehyung sighs and you slam the door shut behind yourself with your foot, hands still locked in the handcuffs. "You're such an asshole. You fuck with my feelings and then have the audacity to get me arrested as well?"

"You were practising black magic," He says with disgust and you can't help but scoff at him. "You are one hell of a fucking idiot. Where's your proof, huh?"

"You were with Serim, shaking her hand," He spits, not even looking over at you. You open your mouth to argue with him again, then pause and frown. "Serim...? You mean that princess reading by the fountain?"

"Oh, don't act fucking oblivious Y/N!" Taehyung raises his voice a bit and you clench your jaw while watching him, standing by his bed. "Don't ever raise your voice at me like that again. I don't know what you think happened between me and that girl, but you're wrong."

"Yeah, sure I am," He mutters, somehow finding the energy to argue with you despite being so ill. "Taehyung, so help me God, if you don't swallow your pride and talk to me I'm going to leave you for dead."

He sighs, not meeting your eyes, arms crossed in front of his chest. You sit down on the side of his bed like you did plenty of times before while nursing him, the handcuffs digging into your wrists painfully.

"You were with my ex."

Your eyes go wide and you look up at him with a little gasp. "Serim is your ex?" You ask in bewilderment and he nods silently. "Oh fuck! I had no idea, I swear. Wait, why do you think I'm doing black magic? I just talked to her about the book she was reading."

"Serim is a witch, she practices it. People pay her for curses, and they seal the deal by shaking her hand," Taehyung explains numbly, not looking at you once. "Oh...wow, you are so fucking dumb."

He picks up the nearest cushion and smacks your back with it none too gently. "Ouch!" You let out, grabbing the cushion and throwing it aside. "Get out Y/N."

"No. I just met her while Yoongi was still in the maze, we talked about the book and then I said my name. I shook her hand and she said hers. You never told me your ex's name, remember? How was I supposed to know?" You ask and he glares at you unforgivingly.

"Most curses sealed by Serim are death ones, and I fell ill again the next day," He says pointedly and you roll your eyes at him. "Because you pushed me away when you're clearly in love."

"I am not in love!" Taehyung protests, sitting up quickly. The only colour returning to his pale cheeks is because of embarrassment, which is kind of amusing. "Then why are you so sick? I didn't even know about black magic till learning about your curse. I was introducing myself normally. It just doesn't make sense for me to curse you."

"Why should I believe you?" He asks sceptically and you sigh at him, wishing you didn't love such a fucking idiot. "Why would I curse you? What do I have to gain from you dying? You're my paycheck."

"I was getting better, and I wouldn't need a nurse if I was cured, so you wouldn't get paid. You paid Serim to make me sick again," He says and you squint at him, brows furrowed and lips parted.

"That is the dumbest theory I've ever heard. God, can you get these off, they're hurting me," You say, holding out your wrists to him. Taehyung glares at you before undoing the handcuffs none too gently.

Once your hands are free, you stretch them out a little with a smile. Then you turn to Taehyung and cup his cheeks, smiling a little bit. All this over a stupid fucking misunderstanding, you can't tell if you want to strangle him or hug him to death.

"I love you, you asshole," You sigh and Taehyung scowls at you, cheeks heating up as you hold his face so delicately. "Get off, you tried to kill me," He says, swatting your hands away. You just roll your eyes at him. "You know that isn't true, admit it. If you really believed it, you'd be yelling at me to leave."