UNDER HIS SPELL { taekook }

ー ; ０７

Jeongguk had gotten carried away.

He thought that trying to forget Lee Seojun and pretending he never even existed would solve all his problems somehow. But the reality was that Seojun did, very much, still exist. And he still went to the same college as him. Even had the same lecture as him once a week. He had been foolish to think he'd never have to see his face again. In fact, not seeing him would prove to be more difficult than he had expected. There was no easy way out.

The blazing sun bathed him in its warmth, but Jeongguk felt it was smothering him. He was restless, out of breath, unsure of where he had ended up after all that running. He didn't even have a plan on where to go, and mindlessly roamed the streets in a desperate attempt to forget the encounter he'd had just minutes ago.

But when he looked up Jeongguk had taken note of how his surroundings were a bit more secluded. He was stood beside a utility pole, an alleyway of garbage bags to his left, a long narrow road to his right. In the distance he could see a row of small, grubby apartment buildings and the area seemed eerily quiet.

He squatted down and lifted his head, eyes settling wearily up at the blue sky.

"Will we always be together?"

"I wouldn't ever leave you, Gguk."

"...You promise?"

They had been so young then. So pristine. Unknowing. About love, about the world; everything. But even then, Jeongguk believed him. Believed they'd always have each other. Love each other.

Now? He wasn't sure what love was.

"You're not crying this time."

Jeongguk's eyes flickered over to see Taehyung, who stood a few feet away from him, dark eyes blatantly staring at him, lips pressed into a firm line. Jeongguk found he couldn't ever tell what this man was thinking, yet he always managed to appear before him.

"How... do you always find me?" he let out in a shaky voice, not bothering to hide his emotions anymore.

Taehyung slipped a hand into his pocket casually, stepping closer towards the boy before he sat on the pavement beside him.

"Instinct, I presume." He clicked his tongue, "I have a good sense of awareness."

Jeongguk blinked back at the man and turned to look at the sky again. There was a silence that overtook the air around them, once again in the isolated street that seemed a bit too quiet, and Jeongguk could hear the sound of distant honking and ambulance truck alarms. Sounds of the city. Truthfully, it was a stunning day out. The kind of day you'd go on a picnic with friends on, or enjoy a day at the amusement park with family. A day to bask in the joys of being alive. But Jeongguk didn't feel joy in any of those things right then. He was the kind of person who would rather be alone when he was upset, yet for some reason he didn't mind Kim Taehyung's company. A man he barely even knew, whose existence he'd been ignorant of until just days ago.