Against Time | k.th. ✔

十二 : guest to his own funeral

In front of Taehyung laid a framed photograph of his, encircled by abundantly diverse incense sticks and flavorsome delicacies. Bouquets of flowers were nestled against each other— a few of them stacked up too— on the same table which supported the aforementioned items. Roving his gaze around, he sighted the families of his close friends, as well as his neighbors, as they reserved separate tables to themselves— gossiping and laughing so ear-splittingly loud.

Taehyung did not mind their lack of etiquette. Rather, what troubled him more was his mother's absence from the scenario. She was nowhere to be spotted. How did she manage to throw such a big gathering without Taehyung, with her not even making an appearance at the site of the function?

Moreover, why was Taehyung's picture put up as if he died or something? What did those reverential gestures even mean?

Clueless, he called out to his mother, only to have looks laden with utmost daze darted upon himself.

"Tae—Taehyung? Is that really you?" Sangcheol—who was standing at a distance— stuttered, causing Taehyung's mother to yank her head in the same direction as she watched her son wide-eyed.

Taehyung's mother dropped the ceramic that she had otherwise held in her grip, making the shattering sound as the cue for her guests to lunge towards Taehyung and hustle each other to earn the lifetime opportunity of kneeling before him. They rubbed their hands in the same way one would do in order to beg for something, and continued to hail him as if he were a king.

Just what was wrong with his people all of a sudden?

"God Taehyung, please bless me to have a field full of successful crops!"

"Oh merciful God, bestow your blessings upon my bachelor son so that he marries a beautiful, dutiful woman!"

"God—"

"Shut up!" Taehyung roared, and the whiny people fell quiet like a retreating deluge. "Why am I being treated as a God out of the blue? Mother, where are you? What is all this... this ceremony that you've organized?"

"Taetae!" An exceptionally nasal voice was recognized by Taehyung's hearing, which immediately stirred him into shielding his ears— to save them from oozing blood apparently, "Where were you all this while? Do you even know how much I missed you? Now, let's get married quickly so that neither one of us dies before the knots are tie—"

"No one gets to speak except Mother!" Taehyung yelled once again, making people jump at their own places.

The woman's— who was actually his betrothed Yeoreum— pining attempt at receiving admiration from the man she loved went down in drain when Taehyung cut her off in between like that. Carrying a morose expression she stepped back, complying to the demand that he had made. Looking sternly at her own feet, Yeoreum could discern through her peripheral vision, the incoming ones towards Taehyung to be his mother's— her hunch being confirmed soon after with a ripping sound erupting from the slap that she had planted on his cheek.

Everyone gasped at the mother-son argument— their faces gradually turning pallid as the aftermath. Yeoreum's hands quickly covered her unhinged mouth, as her eyes indecisively rallied between Taehyung and his mother. A materializing figure grabbed her attention in the meanwhile, who turned out to be Sangcheol's, reaching out to Taehyung's mother to provide her emotional support in case she broke down.

"Shouldn't I be the one to know your whereabouts first? Where were you these past three days? Do you even think of anyone else besides your own self? Do you even have an idea how I coped up with your abrupt death— Thank God it didn't prove to be so." Taehyung's mother huffed as she completed, tears pricking her eyes and settling on their brink.

"I—I was trailed by the Japanese." Taehyung stated crisply, but the dithering was as blatant as ever.

"The Japanese? And all this while I thought you got trapped in those caves. When did you even get out? I was there for about an hour or two." Sangcheol chipped in, causing Taehyung's eyes to lose their stability as they traveled to and fro.

"When I made it out of there... y—you weren't around anymore. You must've left. Moreover, one of their officials identified me when I was on my way home. It was past curfew... I didn't know about that. I didn't want to get caught so I made a run for my life into the forests. I—I stayed there until I didn't feel safe—Er, assured that they had left. I didn't know you would worry so much, Mother. Forgive me, please." Taehyung sobbed, immediately biting his lower lip to muffle the following ones.

"Do not ever risk your life this way again," his mother's stringent tone somewhat softened, "this is all I ask of you, son."

Taehyung forgot every adversity that he had gone through until then, once his mother addressed him dearly once again— just like how he had imagined in his mind— and closed the space between each other by wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he began to weep. Taehyung's mother caressed his back dotingly, calming his spiking nerves considerably. The visitors— some smiling fondly whilst the others twisted faces in distaste— also took their leave when they realized it was about time they did so.

However, a thought particularly continued to nudge Taehyung even when he had spent some time in solitude. The very fact that he had succeeded in keeping everyone in the dark, without having been inquired back, could last shorter than he must expect it to be. Even though instances of people being taken into unlawful custody by the local authorities had been increasing day by day, it did not ensure Taehyung and his little lie being safe from getting exposed in the long run.

A pat was felt by Taehyung on his shoulder, and a result his head whizzed in the supposed direction, his line of sight ultimately capturing his friend offering a soothing smile to him.

"You feel better now?" Sangcheol quizzed, adjusting himself as he seated next to Taehyung.

"Relatively." Taehyung halted as he pressed his lips into a thin line in contemplation, "Forgive me for I stressed you too. I didn't mean to cause—"

"Save your apologies for next time, Taehyung. Uh— why must I speak so carelessly! Don't repeat your actions, alright? I don't want to see your mother suffering like that again." Sangcheol glared at Taehyung, though his eyes crinkled soon— implying how he had been feigning his  displeasure with Taehyung the whole time.

Having considered that a playful comment was all that was required to ease the atmosphere, Sangcheol resumed, "Speaking of which, don't you look too groomed for someone who spent three nights in the forest?"

And Taehyung's gleeful face drooped.

🔹

a/n

imagine arriving at your own funeral... no one except 1939 tae can do that 🤣