Sound of Winter || Taegyu

Chapter Twenty Two

Beomgyu jolts awake, inhaling sharply as thunder roars throughout the room. His head falls back against the pillow, hair sprawling underneath him as he tries to fall asleep again, but with no luck as thunder echoes through the room once more. It's loud, almost deafening each time that it sounds. The rain hitting against the window mixed with the sound of thunder is too much for him to fall asleep too.

He lets out a sigh before blindly reaching up a hand to jostle Taehyun's shoulder, hoping that the younger can provide him with some much needed comfort. But when he's met with nothing but an empty bed, his heart drops in his chest.

"Taehyun?" He asks, sitting up in the bed and allowing his eyes to scan the dark room, but he only sees emptiness. Taehyun's half of the bed is cold under his fingertips, sheets folded to crist perfection and pillows neatly fluffed against the headboard, almost as if he was never there to begin with.

Taehyun hasn't left him alone much the past two months, only when he's been making food or showers, so seeing the bed beside him empty like it is only causes Beomgyu to freak out a little bit more than he should. Looking at the alarm clock on Taehyun's nightstand, he squints his eyes at the bright red flashing light.

It's only 12:06.

He doesn't remember falling asleep, nor does he remember when Soobin and Yeonjun left. Hopefully they're all still downstairs, playing video games or watching a movie, and that's why Taehyun isn't with him right now. However, his brows furrow as a heavy unease settles deep within his stomach. It's almost as if every fiber of his being is acutely aware that something is wrong, but he's just not sure what exactly it is. He tries his best to not freak out and to be logical, knowing that nothing bad has actually happened. He's been stressed and because of it, he's been making a bigger deal out of things than he should.

Nothing in the room seems out of the ordinary, other than it being so late and Taehyun not being with him, so he doesn't know why he feels the way he does. And despite how calm the room feels, there's an invisible cloud that veils the room in an eerie cloak of uncertainty. The air around him feels heavy and stagnant, subtly whispering in his ear that something is wrong, all while screaming at him to get out.

He reaches over the bed and turns the lamp on, groaning inwardly as the room is faintly illuminated by the warm glow, casting flickering shadows upon the wall and nearly blinding him in his groggy state. His hands rub over his face rather harshly in hopes of being able to wipe away the fatigue that lingers in his body, though it does nothing to help. Ripping the blanket off of his body, the delicate embrace of warmth begins to leave him, leaving the night's touch to caress his bare skin.

As his feet touch the cool wooden floor, he sits there for a moment, letting a yawn escape out of his mouth. Part of him wonders if he should go back to sleep, but another part of him wants to go downstairs to make sure that Taehyun actually is okay. He's sure that everything is fine, but he can't help but be concerned.

With a gentle sigh, he pushes himself off the bed, grabbing the small blanket and wrapping it around his body as he shuffles towards the bedroom door. The house is sickeningly silent as he tiptoes down the creaky wooden staircase, the ends of the blanket dragging on the ground behind him.

He remembers when he was a kid, when he would run downstairs in the early winter morning, a blanket tightly tucked around him. Sometimes his mom would scold him for allowing it to drag the ground, but nonetheless, she would still pull it up tighter on his shoulders. He frowns at the memory, wishing that he could go back in time and change a lot of things.

When he reaches the bottom of the staircase, he's not met with Taehyun sitting on the couch like he expected. Instead, the younger is packing a suitcase in the dimly lit living room, quickly folding up clothes and packing them into his bag.