Sound of Winter || Taegyu

Chapter Eleven

It's a quiet night, where the only sounds being heard are the rattling of glasses and Taehyun's heart wrenching cries. He's been standing over the counter for hours, staring blankly at the floor as Soobin, Yeonjun, and Kai try to console him.

He's been a different person altogether since Beomgyu's disappearance. He stopped taking care of himself, hair long and scraggly with eyes devoid of the usual sparkle. Not only did he lose the love of his life, but he also lost himself. The police assure him constantly that they're doing everything in their power to find Beomgyu, but he can't shake the feeling that they're never going to find him.

Taehyun feels like his life has lost all meaning, being unable to sleep, eat, and having no interest in doing the things that he once loved. His days are now being spent drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, staring blankly at the four walls of his home that used to provide him with comfort.

Their once neat and tidy home is now a mess. Empty bottles littered across the floor, along with dirty clothes and take out containers that his friends are currently trying to clean up. He can't bring himself to care about anything anymore. He lost the one person in his life that he loved more than anything, and with him gone, Taehyun lost his sense of purpose.

The days blend into each other and Taehyun can't recall the last time he slept. His mind is a constant jumbled mess of thoughts and memories, none of them making sense. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees Beomgyu's face again and hears his voice, calling out to him and telling Taehyun to find him.

As the night goes on, his despair grows deeper, and he finds solace in the bottle of whisky in front of him. The others have tried multiple times to stop him, but their efforts always go in vain; he's already consumed several shots and is in the process of pouring another one.

He grabs the glass filled with the amber-colored liquid, the scent hitting his nose as he breathes in deeply before he closes his eyes, tossing it back in one gulp. The burn of the alcohol stings in his throat, but it's nothing compared to the pain that he feels inside. He rubs his hands over his face, the stubble on his jaw scratching against his palm, and lets out a heavy sigh.

The alcohol begins taking a toll on his body, face puffy and red with swollen, bloodshot eyes. He stumbles towards the living room, barely able to stay on his feet. He almost falls to the ground before an arm wraps around his side, holding him up and assisting him to the couch.

"Come on, Taehyun. You need to take it easy," Soobin's voice is calm as he places his hand on Taehyun's shoulder.

"No," Taehyun shakes his head, attempting to stand up but Soobin's hand on his shoulder prevents him from doing so. "I can't just sit here. I have to do something. I should have been there."

"Stop it," Yeonjun says firmly, "You can't control everything."

"You don't get it. This is all my fault. He kept asking me to work from home so we could be together more but I was so persistent on going in. If I didn't have to drive across town, I would've made it in time."

"There's no way you could have predicted this would happen."

"I'm supposed to protect him and I failed. What if I had done things differently? What if I had just worked from home like he begged me to do?"

Soobin pulls him closer, Taehyun's head now resting on his shoulders and allowing Soobin to hold him. "You can't blame yourself. You did everything you could."

"But it wasn't enough," Taehyun says, his voice trembling. "I should have known that something was wrong. I should have called to check-"

"We closed early," Kai cuts him off. "Remember? The storm knocked the power out and we closed early. You had no way of knowing."