Lovely | BTS ✓

2

Taehyung steps inside, almost slipping his shoes off so he doesn't soil the floor, but he realizes he won't need to do that because the inside of the house is just as in disrepair as the outside.

He has his work cut out for him.

"I'm sorry for the mess," August says, seeing the widened eyes of his companion and rubbing the back of his neck. "I've not been well, so I haven't been able to stay on top of housework. It's just me here - hence why I've hired you."

"I understand," Taehyung says, nodding as he sends August a tight smile.

"Let me show you around," he says, taking Taehyung's suitcase from his hand and placing it at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor.

Taehyung nods, the nervous tremor in his hands being hidden away as he slips them into the pockets of his slacks.

"This is the entryway, of course," August gestures to the dust-covered darkness around them. "These stairs lead to the bedrooms; yours will be the bedroom on the right."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Taehyung says, tilting his head forward as he glances toward the top of the stairs.

That's when his eyes meet the painting.

A girl, seemingly around Taehyung's age, is painted sitting on a chair, her dainty hands folded across her lap. Blue eyes - blue like the sky he has lost access to with the looming trees surrounding this house - stare straight ahead, a softness glowing from within their depths. Rosy cheeks like flower petals and lips like summertime make her look like an embodiment of what he imagines mother nature to look like in all her ethereal glory. Blonde curly hair frames the delicate features of her face, melting over her shoulders in a waterfall of gold.

"Isn't she lovely?" August's voice sounds from beside Taehyung, and the trance he had fallen into shatters to pieces, shards of his vulnerability falling to the dusty floorboards beneath him.

"Who is she?" Taehyung asks, voice sounding like that of a stranger as his gaze dances over the delicate lace of the girl's dress.

"Amelia," he says through a sigh. "My twin sister."

"Beautiful," Taehyung whispers. "The painting."

"It is," August says, clearing his throat as he attempts to pull wrinkles out of his shirt. "She was the most beautiful soul I'd ever known."

From his words, Taehyung understands.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he says, tearing his gaze away from the golden-framed painting to focus on the man next to him.

August bows his head forward. "Thank you. Her passing is the reason I've lost any incentive to keep my home from crumbling. But I know she would be so sad to see the house she and I grew up in falling into nothing. Something as beautiful as this painting shouldn't be surrounded by so much despair. Don't you agree, Taehyung?"

Taehyung's eyes meet those of the girl in the painting.

"Yes," he says, turning to smile at August.

"Let's finish up the house tour and then you can get settled into your room," he says, glancing over at the painting of his sister one last time before turning to walk away.