MADHOUSE || PJM

#32

i turn a corner. making my way to the visitors room, that's the only place taehyung and i are allowed to meet.

the guard at the door nods and gestures me to step inside.

as i enter the room, i see taehyung sitting at the far end of the table. i muster the courage to walk and sit at the other end, facing him.

his eyes find mine and he gives me a small smile as a greeting, although he looks cautious.

"thanks for coming."

he doesn't say anything and the tension becomes heavier, his eyes evaluating me.

i take a piece of paper out of my pocket with all my questions, my hands shaking a little in the process.

"how are you?"
i don't know why i ask that, but anything is better than silence.

"go straight to the point, i know you habe many questions."

why so cold?

"okay, can you tell me about that night? how did you end up at my house.. and all that."

he lets out a sigh.
"i wasn't able to sleep that night so i stepped out into the balcony to take some fresh air. it was almost dawn, and somehow.. i had a strange feeling that something was wrong."
taehyung rests his head on his hand.

"suddenly i heard a faint scream coming from the woods that separated our houses. at first, i thought it was my imagination but that didn't calm the feeling that something was very wrong. i waited to see if i could hear it again but after that there was only silence. i tried to call you, to make sure everything was fine but there was no answer so i tried calling your home phone but it was disconnected."
he takes a deep breath.

"at that moment i took my jacket and left running towards your house."

"but our houses were a mile away.."
i add softly.

"i'm a good runner and taking the car in that much snow would've been impossible."
he continues.
"when i reached your house, all the lights were off and it was absolutely silent. i wanted to knock on the door but my gut warned me not to do it so i took a look inside through the window."
he lowers his head and when he lifts it back up, he takes another deep breath.

"i'll never forget what i saw."
he rubs his face, trying to continue.

"there was so much blood, so much that i could barely see the wooden floor.. your parent's bodies.."
he presses his lips, and i feel my eyes filling with tears.

"they were on the floor, and in the middle of the massacre there was you, tied up to a chair, wearing a white dress filled with blood stains. and that's when i saw him, the killer was right behind you, walking from one side to the other with a silenced gun in his hand, as if he was trying to decide something. you wouldn't stop crying."

my whole body starts shaking, but i fight for control and continue listening.
"a gun? i thought he only used a knife."

"he also had a gun, he used the knife with your parents.. maybe he wanted to give you a quicker death. i wanted to get in there and save you but i needed to be smart or everything could've ended terribly wrong."
he sighs.
"i stepped away from the house and called the police, they told me they'd take 15 minutes to arrive and that was a time you didn't have. so i walked to the back door and entered through the kitchen. i made some noise to get the killer's attention away from you and it worked, because i instantly hears his footsteps coming towards the kitchen. i knew he'd come armed, so i stood at one side of the door when he walked in, i hit his arm making him drop the gun. we started fighting, but i didn't know he had a knife and he stabbed me. he was about to end with me when he hears the police sirens from afar, and he left after that."

i'm speechless, this is too much information to take at once. some things match to my memories, but others are completely different and new.

did taehyung really risk his life to save me?

"show me the scar on your chest, i want to see it."

he lets out a light chuckle.
"you don't trust me?"

"right now i have no idea who i should be trusting, so i need to see some prove that what you said is true, that you really did that for me."

"you really forgot everything about me, because if you remembered eve just a little, you'd know i'd do anything for you. even die for you."
he stands up and starts unbuttoning his shirt.

i stare as he opens up his shirt, revealing a deep scar on his chest, clearly a stab mark.

without thinking it twice, i stand up and run towards him. taehyung stares at me until i'm right in front of him.

i circle my arms around his waist and hug him tightly, leaning my head on his chest.

he tenses up, but immediately circles his arms around me too, returning the hug.

that feeling of familiarity returns, his hand caressing my back calmly. we stay like this for a while and when we move back, i look at him in the eyes.
"thank you."
i whisper.
"you risked your life for me.."
i caress his cheek gently.
"you were so brave, you must've loved me so much."

he kisses my forehead.
"i still love you y/n. and i'm not going to give up on you."

i bury my face in his neck, i don't want to think anymore, i just want to stay like this, enjoy this sense of familiarity.

because i know that the moment this magic bubble pops, my mind will make me admit that i didn't feel the fireworks, the butterflies, that i couldn't help but compare what he makes me feel with jimin, who makes me feel a million things at once and taehyung doesn't.

there wasn't a second his dark eyes didn't invade my mind. jimin.. what have you done to me?