IN THE NAME OF LOVE | TAEGUK

two.

leaning against the cold wall, a boy took the last sip of his beer before throwing the empty can on the floor. his vision was already blurry, everything was twisting around him, and he felt like he was about to faint. however, he somehow managed to pull himself together, continuing his walk back home.

his friend back home would be certainly worried about him, he always was. not just because the male cared about him but also because he was scared something might happen to him. honestly, he was justified to feel like that.

his past's pretty shitty. and lately, he felt like it was catching up with him. he felt like he was falling in that dark and empty hole again where his friend was pulling him out a few months ago. he could hear the male calling out his name. he could see his hand stretched out for him to hold. but, he couldn't. he couldn't move. he felt numb. helpless. hopeless. and catastrophically hollow. empty.

the desire to drink alcohol was slowly rising and increasing day by day. and he hated himself for feeling like that. but what scared him the most was the feeling to take those pills again. those pills which pushed him into that disaster.

the boy sighed, stopping in his tracks, searching for some money in his pocket. however, someone stopped him, grabbing him by his collar and pushing him against the hard wall, making him hiss in pain. he tried to look at the man's face but couldn't identify since he was wearing a mask while his hair covered his eyes as well.

however, he noticed how another man joined his mate as they started to beat the shit out of him. he tried to regain his strength, but the alcohol won't let him as it soaked up all of his energy. with that, he was their helpless victim. they continued kicking him, slamming him against the wall harshly before punching him in his stomach, causing him to slump to the ground.

and he couldn't handle the pain anymore. with droopy eyes, he rolled himself back and forth on the cold pavement while those unknown guys disappeared in the dark alley, taking whatever money he was left with, leaving him there alone. all bruised.

frailly, he tried to get up but all in vain as his arms couldn't hold his weight anymore and he collapsed on the cold street. he felt tears cascading down his bruised cheeks, the saltiness causing his wounds to burn, his nose and lips were bleeding and his eyes kept fluttering close since the pain was getting even worse.

his sight was getting blurry by each passing second and before the boy could proceed anything further, everything around him turned black and his head slumped hard against the cold pavement as he laid there, for hours, half-conscious until dawn as the sun appeared, shining brightly, unlike his dark life and he could still feel the alcohol in his veins.

with all of his strength, he finally succeeded to get back on his trembling legs. walking through the alley as he eventually spotted a gas station. he needed some water to get the fucking alcohol out of his damn body.

desperate, he searched in his pockets for some money but there was nothing. "fuck!" he cursed under his breath, releasing that the unknown men took everything he had last night. he looked around until his eyes landed on a boy and a girl about to get into their school premises, probably his age.

with fast steps, he walked towards them, grabbing their attention as they looked back at him. "h-hey, excuse me, do you have some money for me?" he asked politely, trying to hide his tipsy voice but obviously failed since both of them looked at him in shock, well, one of them to be precise, the other just stared at him, thinking about something.

"ew, get lost! disgusting—"

"sure." the boy spoke, his voice radiating kindness, already searching for some money in his bag. and taehyung's eyes widened since he didn't expect that as an answer. he was clearly shocked. the boy actually confirmed to give him some money even though he looked like an absolute shit.