MALEVOLENT HEART | TK

Chapter Twenty One

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"Stay with me
A little longer
I will wait for you
Shadows creep
And want grows stronger
Deeper than the truth."

Walking through that dark and familiar corridor seemed to put some type of newfound pressure on his shoulders as he listened to his every breath echo off the walls and resonate so loudly that he could feel the buzz in his bones. His steps were rapid, so fast that the front of his legs was burning with flames and needles that seemed to tore his muscles apart inch by inch with each passing second.

He's been sleeping for many hours, he knew. After checking his phone, Taehyung realized he's been asleep for longer than he had intended. That wasn't why he was out of breath as he took turns on those hallways—that wasn't the reason of his unstable heartbeat and racing thoughts. No. It was the empty bed he had found in Jeongguk's room that turned him into a mess—he wasn't there and Taehyung was sure that Jeongguk hadn't left his bed to take a nice walk through the forest around them.

His steps seemed to get even faster as he approached the main area of that compound—the room he had met Jeongguk in, the image of that ethereal man walking in with his golden cane supporting most of his weight was still fresh in his mind. Many things have changed since then—Taehyung was dead to the world and now he didn't look at Jeongguk like the man was mad and twisted.

So many things have changed and too many have remained the same.

The moment Taehyung stepped into the main area, he felt his lungs collapse inside his body. Relief flooded his veins the moment he spotted Jeongguk on the couch, his chest bare as he looked over some documents—he seemed to always have documents he needed to check.

The man raised his head, meeting eyes with Taehyung for the first time in many hours, action that sent shivers down Taehyung's spine because Jeongguk had that effect on him—on most people, he thought. It was power in its pure form that which laid in his irises. Power that didn't come from social status or money—it came from deep inside one's mind. Strength of mind and soul, something many people sought throughout their lives without realizing that seeking such things was never the wisest of choices—seeking power turned people week.

The ability to influence the course of one's life—that was power and Jeongguk seemed to exude it from each pore in his body.

"Taehyung." Jeongguk's voice resonated around them, reminding Taehyung that he was still standing in front of him, unmoved, unshaken even if his whole body was shaking and his mind was filled with worries he didn't want to name. Jeongguk seemed to notice his troubled gaze because the man's eyebrows lowered into a frown as he let the documents fall on the ground without a care before he raised himself from the couch with ease—like he wasn't even wounded. How come Jeongguk could act like he wasn't troubled by any of the things happening around them? "Taehyung, what is it?"

Jeongguk walked to him, hands immediately gripping his face and forcing Taehyung to look into those obsidian eyes of his. There was such rawness now in them—care. Heart wrenching care and warmth that seemed to fill his body as well, overcoming the anxiety and tremors flowing through his body.

"I though you had left." He sighed, feeling the need to explain himself even if Jeongguk hadn't asked that of him.

Jeongguk simply glanced at him, unshaken, calloused fingers still on his skin—they seemed to tighten after hearing Taehyung's breathy words and the emotions they carried.

"Leave?" Jeongguk asked in return, his voice secure even in that moment of weakness around them. Their bodies were so close Taehyung could feel the warmth of his skin—it was raw emotion he felt as he stared into those irises that seemed to hide too many actors behind their curtains. "Where could I ever leave without you, Taehyung?"