Flower Boy || KTH

Fresh spring air blew through Kim Taehyung's light, turquoise coloured hair as he walked along the quiet sidewalk. The midday sun, in the cloudless sky, shone down brightly upon the lone boy. The light from its rays highlighted strands of his bouncy, fluffy hair which gave the boy a breathtakingly angelic look to any passers-by. His big brown eyes scanned the tall, stone walls with neatly kept green ivy that hung down its length.

The familiar walls he walked along made up the boundary of his home away from home; the town's Traditional Korean Gardens. Nearly every day - despite rain, shine, hail or snow - Taehyung would visit the gardens and spend his time roaming the grounds at a leisurely pace. With the amount of time he had spent there, he could probably walk around the entire place blindfolded and not once step on any plants, or run into structures, or fall into any ponds.

Since Taehyung had been a little kid, he had walked the same ten minute route to get to the Korean Gardens. While he may walk the same path alone these days, he knew in spirit and in soul, he was never alone. And although he missed his grandparents being by his side and being with him in the beautiful gardens, he knew that they both were in a much better place. As he looked upon the entrance in the far distance, happy memories resurfaced of his times spent there with them.

Taehyung's bright, brown eyes looked up at the huge hands of his grandparents that each held one of his tiny hands. Laughter filled the quiet sidewalk as the trio would walk side-by-side. The low voice of his grandfather's filled his ears as the elder softly explained the importance of someone taking care of the gardens for the future generations. The kind words his grandmother would tell him as she gently ran her hand through his soft hair while he laid his head on her lap. The last smiles he ever saw his grandparents give, as they sat shoulder to shoulder in their wheelchairs, while they overlooked the last sunset they were to ever witness in the very same place they had met.

The Tradition Korean Gardens held a special place in Taehyung's heart. It was one of the only things he would look forward to in his lonely life these days. A soft sigh passed his pink tinted, slightly plump lips as he allowed those treasured memories to fade away. His brown eyes travelled along the ivy covered stone wall once more as a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Soon, he would cross the threshold of the entrance, and he would be filled with a calmness only this place could give him.

In the distance, not too far off from the entrance of the gardens, Taehyung saw a small group of eight boys that were heading in his direction. His heart instantly dropped and his palms grew sweaty, knowing exactly who they were and what was about to occur. The group pounced on any opportunity to gang up on him. They had never been kind to him, and nothing he had done, ever changed for them to leave him alone.

Taehyung grasped the strap of his black messenger bag tighter in his hold. The cool spring air seemed to disappear while the sunlight bore down upon him in hot waves. His inner anxiety swelled as his eyes locked with the leader, and the main initiator, of the group. The taunting cheers from the group filled the previously quiet streets. The horrifying sounds oppressed his will to run away in the opposite direction, instead, it beckoned him towards the only safety he knew.

"Well, well, well," sneered Lee Ji-Hoon, the leader, as he sauntered all the way up to Taehyung until he was face-to-face with him. His light brown eyes sparkled with the joy as he though about how he would soon be inflicting pain onto the younger. "Who do we have here? Guys, look who wants to have some fun with us."

"Leave me alone," weakly said Taehyung with his tearful eyes locked on the concrete pathway below his feet.

"Awe does the little queer flower boy want to be left alone?" Ji-Hoon jeered at the top of his lounges, the group around him laughed just as loudly.