IKIGAI l KIM TAEHYUNG

Chapter 26: Taehyung

I was sitting at the end of the bed as I watched her sleep. She looked like she was in peace, and that thought brought a smile to my face.

As if on cue, she started thrashing around and opened her eyes, sobbing loudly.

Like an instinct, my arms found their way to her as I wrapped them around her tightly.

"You're okay. You're safe. Shhh. Look at me. You're safe with me, Hera." I whispered into her ears as I held her tightly.

She turned to look at me, her eyes filled with shock and... grief? She was panting heavily so I gave her time to calm down while I rubbed her back gently.

I turned my eyes to see that some water was suspended... mid air? Her sobs quieted down and she turned to look at me.

"I remember everything." She whispered weakly.

She remembered. It took me a few moments to process that.

"I remember it all. You. Notus. My powers." She said, still breathing loudly.
I looked at her like I couldn't believe this was happening. I practically lept at her and hugged her so tightly.
"You have no idea how I'm feeling right now." I told her excitedly, with tears brimming in my eyes.

"How... How is any of this possible?" She asked, hugged me back.
"I don't know, my love. I don't know." I caressed her cheeks.

"I want to know everything, Taehyung." She whispered.
"Of course. Anything you'd like." I faced her.

"Are you... um... immortal?" She asked as if she was saying something illegal.
"Kind of. I can't die."

I had tried. I didn't want a life without her. But it healed quickly every time. Every poison. Every wound. I decided to hide that bit of information from her.

"So you're moving from one place to another since 1873?" She asked.
"Yeah but... how did you know that?" I had an idea. She managed to get inside my room.

"I... might have sneaked inside your room once." She smiled and wiped her tears.
I glared at her playfully.

Then something clicked in her mind.

"This means... that Notus is behind those murders." She half-said half-asked.
"Probably yes. Which is why I asked you to not be alone for long."

"I'm really sorry for what I have done, Taehyung. I really didn't want to hurt you." She whispered as she ran her fingers through my hair.

"You did the right thing. I don't blame you anymore." I smiled and kissed her forehead.

She snuggled closer to me and we stayed like this for a few more minutes, content with just having each other.

"So what did you do all those years?" She asked again.
"Nothing special. To sum it up, I just waited for you." I pushed her hair out of her face.
"You didn't have to, you know." She whispered, almost non-audibly.
I chuckled.

"There was a thought that scared me the most. What if one day I woke up and forgot my own name? I knew I'd remember yours." I said, smiling. She nodded against my chest.

"You must be hungry, right? It's almost dinner time." She whispered as she glanced at her watch.
"Not really, but we should definitely eat something. What do you have?" I asked her, tracing circles with my fingers on the back of her hand.
"Ramyeon. I'll set up the stove." She got up and I mentally cursed at the loss of her body's warmth.
"Wait, I'll help." I said as I got up and we both headed to the store-room.

All the while we were preparing the food, I couldn't help but stare at her. Of course she wasn't the same Velma I knew. But I loved her the same, if not more. Her smartness. Her confidence. Her love for the nation. Her beauty. I loved them all.

I passed her two plates and she placed the ramyeon in them. To be honest, I was looking forward to this first night of no lies between us. I knew everything. She knew everything. Yes, there was an underlying threat above us but this moment right now, it was perfect.

That's when it hit me. There's only one bed.
And the house wasn't that big that I could sleep on the floor.

Well, I'd be damned.

Something told me that the night was just beginning.

"So... we might have to share the bed. There isn't any other option." She said, avoiding eye-contact.
"I won't get on the bed if you're uncomfortable."
Yeah, but if she denied, that would totally suck.

She choked on her mouthful before replying, "No, no. It's fine."

"So" She spoke out of the blue, startling me, "I can't get pregnant."

It was my turn to choke now.

"What?" I asked. That was so random.
"To not have any distractions, I got my womb removed last year." She looked away.

"Do you... regret it? I mean, why did you tell me this all of a sudden?" I asked, careful to tone down my surprise.

"No, of course not. I just thought... you should know." She said, hyper-focusing on the last bit of ramyeon that remained in her plate.

Oh. This could mean two things.

She's trying to warn me about the kind of life I'm getting myself into.

Or she's telling me that there's no need of protection.

I was okay with both.

After finishing the food, we both headed for the bed. There was a deafening silence, and unresolved tension surrounding us. We laid down and turned our faces to the opposite sides. Our bodies were as far as they could be on that small bed.

I couldn't control myself and turned over to her side, to find that she was already looking at me with a mix of emotions in her eyes. We weren't touching each other but we were still extremely close.

"So, it looks like we're in quite a tight spot here, huh?" I said playfully, trying to diffuse the tension.
"Yeah, it seems that way. Maybe I should have brought a spare bed just in case." She smiled lazily.
"Right, because you never know when you might find yourself in a cozy predicament like this." I said chuckling.

"You know, your voice is like fire." She whispered, looking at me deeply.
"I burn you?" I smiled.
"You melt me." She uttered.

We stared at each other for a few moments, and I watched as her chest rose up and down with each breath she was taking. I gulped and her eyes followed the movement of my throat.

I got up to sit, looking away from her.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice trembling with something I couldn't quite place my finger on.

I turned to her, and looked her in the eyes.
"When you look at me like that, my darling, what did you expect?" My voice was so vulnerable.

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sorry if this chapter is all over the place, i tbh didn't know how to write this
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