Hilde | Kim Taehyung fanfiction ✓

taehyung

18

After parking a few miles away, Taehyung strolled past an old phone booth on his way to grab lunch for the group. While waiting for the food, he stepped outside and into the booth. The small town felt stuck in time, so he didn't dwell on presence of the booth as he dialed a number.

At first, Taehyung hesitated, debating whether to hang up and handle things with Everhart. But just as he was about to end the call, a crackle of static and a breath on the line stopped him.

"Thorne, I know you're there," he said, exasperated and exhausted, rubbing his forehead and eyes.

"Ah, my Secret Weapon!" Thorne's voice crackled back. "Sorry, kid. I didn't know it was you. Got Novikov sorted?"

"Almost. He bolted, might be in Idyllwild," Taehyung explained.

"You're in Ames now?" Thorne's tone was skeptical.

"I'm heading there. Just wanted to keep you updated," he informed Thorne. "If you need to let Everhart know I'm on my way, and tomorrow I'll be departing from Arrowvale. It should all be wrapped up within three days or so."

"Secret Weapon, you tell him that," Thorne replied, a hint of amusement evident in his voice. "There you go," he added before passing the phone to someone else.

"Don't call me..." Taehyung began, but his tone shifted as Everhart's voice greeted him. "Everhart, hello."

"How's the job going?" Everhart asked.

"Good, I think," Taehyung murmured the second part. "I'm in Arrowvale right now. I'll contact you once I'm in Ames, meet me there."

Everhart abruptly hanging up without saying a thing; every single client of Taehyung's was not someone of many words, so it did not surprise him.

He left the phone booth and returned to the restaurant to grab the food. With the rain still pouring down, he walked home, the plastic bag of food in hand, going through the thirty-minute journey.

Upon entering the house, an eerie silence greeted him. Something felt off. Moving further inside, Taehyung found Arya on the floor, hands covering her ears, eyes shut tight. She rocked back and forth, knees on her chest, while mumbling something to herself. Edith sat on the couch, her hand over her mouth.

"What's going on?" he asked, but received no response. "Arya?" He whispered, inching closer to her cautiously like he would a bomb. He knelt beside her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention, but she remained unresponsive.

Arya slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot red, and the ghosts of her tears stained her cheeks.

Every now and then, thunderbolts would illuminate the living room they were in; this was their only source of light. Taehyung watched as new tears traced the same path down her cheeks.

He just sat down next to her after asking Miss Allen to go grab Arya a glass of water and paper towels from the kitchen. Now, it was only the two of them, sitting on the living room floor. Taehyung put on the ground the plastic bag and tucked some hair strands behind her ears, then wiped her tears away with the back of his hand.

As he was about to tell her something, Edith came rushing in with too many paper towels and an overfilled glass of water. "Here," she said, her voice shaky.

Arya only drank a quarter of it before putting it down next to herself and attempting to get off the floor. Taehyung could see she was too weak to stand on her own, so he helped her up, putting her arm around his shoulders, his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Once she was on her feet, she pulled away from him, her body trembling. She walked down the hallway and into one of the rooms at the end of the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her.

Taehyung simply stood there, watching. He turned to look at Edith, who was now standing in the center of the living room, her face pale and looking shocked. "What's going on?" he whispered.

He stood there, gaze fixed on Edith, who kept her eyes glued to the ground. He felt a surge of questions bubbling inside him, ones he wished she'd answer. Like assuring him she didn't know the stranger she was with earlier, that he hadn't said anything compromising. That he hadn't mentioned Taehyung's association with him.

Urging Miss Allen to take a seat on the couch, Taehyung promised to return shortly. With a burst of energy, he dashed to Arya's room. Knocking on the door, he waited, the pitter-patter of rain outside the only sound keeping him company. After a moment, Arya said, "It's open."

He eased into Arya's room, careful not to startle her as he approached the bed where she lay. "Your mom is kind of worried, I think she's in shock." Taehyung mentioned.

"She's not my mom. Quit saying that," Arya replied through clenched teeth, catching Taehyung off guard. But he decided Miss Allen's identity wasn't his concern.

"Okay, okay. The woman in the living room, she's just not handling...this well," he stumbled over his words, struggling to express himself. "I'm not asking you to explain what happened," he assured her, silently adding because honestly, I couldn't care less. "But you need understand, the situation we're all stuck in," Taehyung started his sentence emphasizing the word all, "is bad. Like, really bad."

"I know that already, you think I'm stupid?" Arya shot back, turning to face him; anger shaped her features.

"What I'm trying to say is," Taehyung attempted to clarify, "I don't know why, but you're very clearly angry at Edith. If we let anger take over, this will most likely end in blood. Ours." Arya just huffed in response. "Your not-mom is freaking out. She's clueless about what's going on or why you're here. You need to talk it out, figure out a lie to tell her and reassure her. Letting emotions run wild will be the end of us," he added before exiting the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

"Just so you know, I don't know why we're here either." Arya clarified to the ghost of his presence, not knowing that he heard her. "I need reassurance too."

In the living room, Miss Allen remained seated on the couch, a blank expression decorating her face. "Miss Allen, how about we grab a bite?" Taehyung suggested, offering a gentle smile that genuinely softened his eyes as he spoke.

"No appetite," she replied blankly.

"Suit yourself," He whispered, retrieving her lunch from a plastic bag and setting it beside her on the couch. "If you feel like warming it up, there's  a microwave in the kitchen."