二 ; 37

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Kim Hyukjae is not real

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Kim Hyukjae is not real.


Taehyung's little brother never even existed.


That's what Jeongguk had slowly, intricately, come to realize, upon watching the older refer to an empty chair as though a child were seated over it. And kneeled beside the chair was Taehyung, whose boyish smile only made Jeongguk's stomach churn, a sinking feeling constricting every inch of his muscles.


It seemed that for a moment, Jeongguk had forgotten how to breathe. For a moment, his world had come to a halt.


Inhale and exhale...


Then, in a panic; Wait, how do you breathe again?


Right, push the air in through your nose. In, then out.


It was simple, and yet such instinctive actions weren't ones Jeongguk could perform without being hyper aware of it.



The boy trembled, eyes wide, an uneasy look plastered across his paled complexion. His palms felt clammy, body rendered stiff. He'd even forgotten who he was, for a second.


Jeon... who? Oh right; Jeon Jeongguk.


With an effort to pull himself back to reality, Jeongguk forced himself to speak up, though his throat had dried up far more than he had expected. "U-Uhm.." He turned his head to meet gazes with Yoongi, who looked back at him with a defeated expression, a quiet sigh left his lips. Then Taehyung's voice redirected his attention back in front of him.


"C'mon, Hyukjae, say hi, yeah?" He coaxed the nonexistent child, then he looked sheepishly up at Jeongguk. "Sorry, just a moment. He's a little shy, and so..." The man trailed off his words, looked at the empty spot on the chair and began to whisper things to 'Hyukjae'.


Hyukjae, who wasn't there.


Hyukjae, who didn't exist.


Jeongguk's lips shut as he swallowed his dry saliva, unable to find the words to say in the situation he'd landed himself in.


He opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could slip out a rhythmic tone began to pierce the air carefully around them. Jeongguk looked down as he pulled his ringing phone from his pockets, took a glance at the caller ID before gripping the device tightly.


"I-I'm sorry, um.. I-I have to take this.." he mumbled out incoherently, then stepped outside the bedroom in a daze, stumbled down the hall for a bit of privacy. "U-Uh.. Uhm, hey, J-Jimin," he answered in a quiet voice, phone pressed to his ear.


"Gguk, where are you?"


In that moment, he wasn't sure why exactly he had lied. But before he could give it a second thought, the words were already leaving his mouth. "I-I'm, um.. I'm just a-at home."


UNDER HIS SPELL { taekook }Where stories live. Discover now