• M a k t u b : Spirit of the desert • [ Taekook ]

15. Taehyung, ask

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The black suit fitted his slim figure perfectly.

He was combing back his thick black hair looking out of the corner of his eye at the box which was nestled deep in his closet.

Jungkook turned around to check that Nadira wasn't in their room and climbed onto his tiptoes, reaching for the box. His hand trembled as he quickly opened it.

There stood a small white box with a bow, in which was a green pendant that Taehyung gave him. He still came back from time to time to the message that he read over and over again with tears in his eyes. Afterwards the man closed the white box.

Jungkook hadn't worn the pendant in a while, he would only occasionally check its beauty when he had days where he couldn't shake Taehyung from his thoughts.

Biting his bottom lip to stop himself from crying, he looked at the photo. He will always remember that day.

And how could he forget it? He remembered like it was yesterday when Ali took picture of them in the Sahara.

With teary eyes he looked at their smiling faces as they lay on the hot sand. Jungkook stroked the part that showed Taehyung's face with his thumb.

Taehyung's eyes couldn't be seen because his black hair fell over them when the men fell into each other's arms. And Jungkook has longed for years to be able to look at those eyes one more time.

He held the picture close to his chest for the umpteenth time, aware that he never showed the photo to other. Kissing it once more, he put the box back where it belonged.

It was his ritual which for years secretly gave him some strength to continue with his life.

In the beginning, such days came to him often. There were also times when he was incapable of anything. He would lie in bed for days.

When Ali came to ask him if he want to go to the Sahara for a few days, Jungkook would shake his head and turn in the other side in bed.

Over time, it's got better. He got busy with daily duties and then the wedding happened. So there was no time to think about the past, and that sweet sin he committed years before.

He would get used to the emptiness and then he would glance at the photo and move on. It meant the whole world to him. Because at the end of the day, the photo was all that was left of his Taehyung.

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The young man looked confused at the airport, with a suitcase in his hand, not knowing who exactly he was looking for.

Hundreds of people were standing with different names in their hands, among which he was looking for his own.

You see, Kim Taehyung booked a ticket to Marrakesh the day after the letter he received. So, one of Oman's sons was supposed to be waiting for him, but he didn't know the man. That's why he was finally relieved when he saw his name on the card held by a tall dark-skinned man in black.

The ride to the hotel was short and mostly quiet, Taehyung spoke a few words in English, but when he saw that the other was having a lot of trouble with words, he kept quiet, not wanting to burden the man with that.

Taehyung was tired because of the time zone, only thinking about how he was going to sleep until the morning when the event was held for an old deceased friend.

So he did.

Tae almost fell asleep in the morning when he skipped the alarm. And if it wasn't for the room service with breakfast which he arranged the day before, he would have missed the opportunity for which he originally came to Morocco.