The Lovers on the Mountains [TXT, TAEGYU AU]✔️

Part 4/5

2012 words
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"Christ!", the younger boy yelled.

Stunned by his behavior, Taehyun wanted to correct him on language but held himself back. It wasn't the right time.

They were out of the station, Beomgyu in tears and Taehyun watching him pace in utter confusion but in no doubt at the same level of anger as his friend.

"What are we gonna do now? They took my mom, what?" He couldn't even speak and his head hurt, so he sat down on the pavement beside the other. They were hopeless. The kids were sincerely hopeless.

"Beomgyu?", the latter hummed in response. "We should leave," Taehyun suggests. "We can't stay here."

"Where do you want to go then?"

Taehyun shrugs. "I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat," he says, pulling out the $3000 he's kept deep in his pocket. Beomgyu's eyes widened.

"Wait, but you said not to spend it until we get to the new world."

"We're going to need it, Beomgyu. I don't know how long until we leave again."

The more Beomgyu thinks about it, the more Taehyun's words make sense. They will be here for possibly a week at most and... they'll have to eat something since their mom, the one who provided them with needs, is gone.

Beomgyu nods, standing up. "Let's go to 'On The Way.' I want some chips." Knowing Beomgyu, he was possibly suggesting this convenience store for the cheap snacks. That's smart, if they're going to spend, might as well not be too much.

In silence, the two walked to the store. Taehyun wondered what was circling through Beomgyu's mind and he wished he could help him. Ever since Mrs. Choi took him in, he appreciated everything she did for him and Beomgyu. Although Taehyun was worried about her, he knows that whatever he was feeling is nothing compared to Beomgyu.

The door of the convenience store didn't seem far away from them. Under the sunlight, the store was dark and empty. "Don't tell me they're gone," he mumbles under his breath as he jogged to the door.

But at last, they were. The lights were off, most of the snacks from the shelves were gone, and there seems to be no sign of human activity for weeks. What surprised Taehyun as he peeked through the glass window were the bags of snacks sitting on the shelves and drinks in the fridge that still remain at the abandoned store.

"They're gone, aren't they?" Taehyun felt Beomgyu walk closer and nodded, opening the door effortlessly. Beomgyu walked in behind him, observing as Taehyun searched for a light switch. Instead of helping the older, Beomgyu searched for an office of any kind instead.

He spotted a door behind the checkout counter, labeled with the owner's last name. The brunettes used to come to "On The Way'' many times in the past and Beomgyu became familiar with the unique name. He strolled around the counter, swinging the small door open, closing itself after Beomgyu passed it. Surprisingly, the office's door was unlocked.

With a creak, Beomgyu opened the door. A room of empty walls and a messy desk in the center greeted him. Empty shelves and dirty floors, along with an insulated wire on the floor that disappeared behind the bookshelf caught his eye.

The wire connecting to a large device on the desk sparked Beomgyu's curiosity. He brushed the papers off it, revealing a dusty telephone. His mother had mentioned these devices before.

When Beomgyu and Taehyun were younger, they passed by an antique shop. Taehyun had seen the telephone on the display window and asked Beomgyu's mother about it.

She explained how they were used hundreds of years ago. Over time, they have lost their importance and still very few people hold on to the tradition of using the item, the owner of the store being one of them.