make it right.

vi.

Taehyung stared at the two tickets in his hand. Yeonjun had just bailed out on their plan of watching the latest thriller out yesterday. There was something itching in the back of his mind, but he didn't tend to it till he was out of any ideas on who the second ticket would belong to.

An autograph of the actor Lee Byunghun hung near the framed pictures in the hall. Written for Jisoo four years ago. And it so happened that the tickets were to his latest release.

Before he knew it, he was down in the living room, standing in front of her. Jisoo looked up at him, intent with curiosity and he felt his ears blaze. 

Taehyung looked down at his hands, "I uh, have a spare ticket to Lee Byunghun's movie. No one else was available and I noticed his autograph near the showpiece... Do you want to come?"

There was a silence when Jisoo looked down and Taehyung had the moment to scold himself for this mindless impulse he followed. He must have made a fool of himself. "It's o-"

"What time? I'm not really busy today.", Jisoo spoke quick with averted eyes, panicking at the bud of happiness inside her. Taehyung pursed his lips before giving her the details and rushing off, giddy with success.

At six pm sharp, he saw her ready to leave. Jisoo wore a sleek black dress with a large golden belt that would make anyone stop and look. Taehyung didn't think it would be someone's first preference to dress up so prim for the movies. Then he remembered a small excerpt from one of his textbooks long back. About how human beings sometimes resort to wearing extravagant attire to feel big, powerful; masking their insecurities behind a fake get-up. He nodded absent-mindedly.

The traffic did it's job well, for they were 14 minutes late to the show. A scene where the protagonist studies file records scattered over his table, played on the screen. Taehyung and Jisoo seated themselves, and the former turned just in time to see the fangirl sparkle in Jisoo's eyes as she eyes Lee Byunghun on the screen. He found himself quite fond of it.

Twenty minutes later, the lawyer goes to meet the victim he was representing. The woman is revealed to be a victim of rape. Before Taehyung could even process, the scene spanned over to a traumatic flashback the girl has. He felt his knees wobble as his stomach dropped icily.

Taehyung felt Jisoo shift and he instantly turned to notice the woman hunched over, palms over her ears. In a swift move, he grabbed her and rushed out the room. They stopped near an empty wall behind the hall.

He watched on with fearful eyes as Jisoo clutched her head. It was all his fault. He should've known better to at least research into the trigger warnings of the film. It was a legal thriller, what else did he expect? The male was initially hesitant of nearing her, thinking she might want space. But noticing her sway, he quickly ran to her, calling out her name. Jisoo took in forceful breaths till the bile in her system settled.

Yet, her lungs contracted and throat heated up. Jisoo's face tilted up, desperately trying to inhale. Her eyes burnt with a lack of tears. There was a blade slicing through her brain, stinging till she could keep her eyes open no more. Taehyung grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest, letting her know of his presence and shifting her focus. "Here, feel this. Count the beats. Count, slowly. Breathe, Jisoo-ssi."

It seemed to work, Jisoo stopped struggling for air and let her muscles loose. The next moment, she sagged down, looking on the verge of throwing up.

She was petrified at the thought of flashbacks, directing her mind to think about anything else, anything but the movie, the girl's face as she cried out, her own clothes being ripped off, the bloody rapist preying mercilessly, Minra and Minwon...Just as she was losing at this; a voice cut through. There were firm arms on her shoulders.

"Jisoo-ssi, please look up. Don't relive it behind your eyes. It's not happening, you hear me? it's not real now.", he forced her to look up and she met his wide brown eyes. He was scared, panicking and shaking.

Did she cause all that?

"I'm so sorry, truly. I should've known better-", she placed an arm on his, signalling for him to stop as she nodded in acknowledgment of his words. She looked exhausted, like every bit of light was sucked out of her. Like she had stopped expecting from life. Taehyung felt a pang in his chest. All he wanted to do was push away all the hurt she carried.

Jisoo looked straight at his probing, worried gaze, wondering if it was okay. To lean on. Let herself sway. For once. She'd lost count of how many 'once's had gone by with him. Just once, she thought before falling onto him, head on his shoulder.

This feels right.

She closed her eyes as an arm rested on her back, emanating warmth. Taehyung gazed at the floor, storm in the pit of his stomach, holding her body close, anchoring her. Weirdly enough, he felt complete. In the idea of being her escape, taking away her pain no matter how small a fraction of it.

Jisoo stayed like that till her stomach was not revolting, eyes stopped blurring and her bones seemed to solidify once more. Around ten minutes passed, and Jisoo sat up. She put her hands in front as she stood up, signalling assurance to Taehyung's frantic, apologetic eyes as he got up too.

"Let's get home.", he said and she nodded, not missing the way his palm ghosted an inch from her back, despite her telling she was okay by herself.

Jisoo thanked him in the car on the way back. "I would have lost it if it weren't for you."

"I should be apologising for not being careful.", he mumbled. She waved the idea off.

In that moment Jisoo wondered if she could have Taehyung all the time, whispering soothing spells against the chaos in her head. She figured she would like that. The next moment, she was furiously waving the idea away, cringing at the idea of depending on someone, of opening up or attaching herself to another.

On reaching the mansion, she gave Taehyung a grin before heading to her own room. As a sign of gratitude, she reminded herself.

"Uncle?", Taehyung looked up to see Minwon staring with beady eyes. He replied with a questioning hum.

"Are you eomma's friend?", the man gulped. Oh, he himself had no answer to that. "I work with her."

"I like you.", the boy nodded seriously, making Taehyung break into a smile. "And why is that?"

"I saw eomma smiling at you. That never happens. No one smiles at her, she smiles at nobody. I imagine her smiling at me everyday." Taehyung knew it was not 'never' as the little one mentioned but it still saddened him. At that moment he resolved to himself.

He'd be the one for each extra smile of hers from now.

published: 03/10/23

1183 words

~sid.