The Most Beautiful Moments In Life

Chapter 4: The Truth Untold

May 23, Year 22

Namjoon had one hour left before he got off work, and he couldn't be more anxious to leave. When Taehyung shared all the nightmares he'd experienced, Namjoon believed that they were real. Namjoon was never the kind of person to believe such fantasies, and yet something about these dreams seemed far too familiar to ignore.

He'd asked for time off from his second job as a delivery boy so he could search for clues with Taehyung. He couldn't remember that last time he'd requested any time off from work. He needed all the won he could earn to pay for his father's hospital bills. But something about Taehyung made him worry, so he decided to put him first for once.

The plan was to start searching for the most prominent location in Taehyung's "end the world" dream. Namjoon had a few ideas already. Last night he searched up six story buildings near the river Taehyung mentioned. There were a lot of buildings matching that description, so they had their work cut out for them. Namjoon was just about to look up something else on his phone when a message came in. It was from Taehyung.

Taehyung:

Hyung, I can't make it tonight. I'm sorry.

That's all it said. Namjoon scratched his head. His thumbs tapped against the screen as he readied a response.

Namjoon:

Why not? I asked off work so we could do this.

Namjoon didn't mean to sound rude or anything, he was just a little confused. Namjoon watched as his messenger showed him that Taehyung was typing.

Taehyung:

I just can't. I'm sorry.

Namjoon groaned. He'd sacrificed important working hours to help Taehyung and now he was canceling plans. It was hard not to be annoyed, but the more he thought about it, the more he worried. Namjoon decided to send out one last text.

Namjoon:

Are you okay?

He waited a couple minutes. No response. Taehyung left him on read. Now that really concerned him. Why not simply answer the question unless you're not okay? He decided he should ask Jimin.

Jimin and Taehyung were very close in their highschool days, and it was Taehyung who was determined to save Jimin from the hospital he'd been trapped in for two years. Namjoon thought that if Taehyung wouldn't tell him, he might at least tell Jimin what was up. Namjoon looked around to make sure there were no customers before dialing Jimin's number.

"Hello?" Jimin answered.

"Jimin, can I ask you something?" Namjoon said, cutting right to the chase. Jimin paused for a second.

"Sure? Is everything okay?" Jimin asked nervously from the other end. Namjoon didn't pick up on Jimin's worried response and jumped right into his question.

"I'm worried about Taehyung. He's been off lately, and I think he might be getting into fights or something. Have you noticed anything?" Namjoon cut straight to the chase. The other end was silent as Jimin processed.

"I have noticed that he's been different lately. He... doesn't smile the same way he used to. It feels like he's pretending," Jimin agreed.

"Taehyung's been coming over with bruises more and more. He always has some kind of excuse but..." Namjoon didn't want to finish his sentence. He hated even thinking that maybe Taehyung might not be safe at home.

"...do you think maybe I'm just overthinking this?" Jimin pondered Namjoon's words. He didn't think Namjoon was off base at all. In fact, he'd seen some things he couldn't explain either.