Amor, tam pulcher | KTH

06| Venus

—Now playing: Silver Lining by The Neighbourhood ✫

Warm water fell on his head, trickling down his body, moulding his hair into a smooth surface, enhancing his eyelashes and relaxing his muscles. The ticking sounds of water drops on the tiles of the shower were soothing to his eardrums.

The temperature was just right, not scorching-hot, not freezing-cold like the tiled wall behind him and not as chilly as the air that laced his neighbourhood. He'd already rinsed his body and hair and stood under the showerhead looking for solace in the soothing feeling warm water gave his muscles.

The hour hand had passed five and inched closer to six. Five-thirty-two his phone said once he turned it on, towel wrapped around his body and one hanging loosely around his neck.

Nothing important occupied his notifications bar so he turned the phone off.

He wasn't in a hurry, settled important things the previous day so all he had to do was get ready. It took him little time to pick his clothes, cargo pants, a simple T-shirt and a sweater. He left the latter on the bed and went to the bathroom to dry his hair better. All this in twenty minutes.

Since the house was silent, his mother upstairs sleeping and his grandmother reading on her armchair in silence, he finished up a few tasks and grabbed something to munch on before waving at the grandmother and leaving.

A few steps away from his house, he turned a cigarette on, knowing that he had some time before the bus would arrive.

The neighbourhood was in the same condition as his house: silent and asleep. Dogs didn't bark as he walked past the gates, people weren't working on their farms or their gardens, kids weren't running up and down their compounds, happily screaming. The majority of the houses had dark windows with just a few lit up.

From the house he just surpassed came out a trio: a parent with two kids. They hopped onto the car sitting by the fence and drove off.

In the compound of the house he was heading closer to was a student around his age, with a high chance of being younger, opening their gate and exiting. They immediately plug their earphones in, eyes lingering on the phone looking for the right playlist.

Taehyung would normally do the same but he had someone waiting for him.

His backpack hung loosely on a shoulder. One hand held his phone and the other his cigarette. Jungkook wasn't available to pick everyone up that's why sitting on the bench at the bus stop, was a blonde-haired girl typing away at her phone.

Taehyung saw her in the split-second moment he removed his eyes from his phone but only greeted her once he sat beside her. Close to no time was left for them to talk before the bus arrived and opened its doors. Squeezing the cigarette beneath his shoe and taking a mint gum from his pocket, he got on sitting in the front next to Adrielle, seats facing the back.

"Oof! The breeze is so chilly," Adrielle whined, rubbing her arms. Taehyung agreed only after he'd comfortably placed his bag between his feet.

Mother Nature got tired of Rainy Cloud's performance so they went off stage but left their traces behind which were bright-grey chilly mornings—the day would turn out sunny only if Breeze was done cleaning the stage and deleting every trace of the performance.

At the following stops, more students got on the bus. Some were middle schoolers, others were high schoolers. Even elementary kids got on with their parents following behind, holding their hands tightly as they looked for a seat and tried not to fall.

He instinctively checked the doors, looking at the people getting on, recognising their faces.

—Now playing: Infrunami by Steve Lacy ✫