A Taste Of Midnight

46

Centuries ago, the halls of Taehyung's mansion were filled with a warmth that was rare among their kind. Laughter and joy, a stark contrast to the usual silence that blanketed the vast rooms, had breathed life into the cold, elegant estate. Seokjin and Taehyung, bound by an unbreakable bond, had been blessed with a miracle—a child. It was an unimaginable joy for them, an event so rare that it felt like a dream they barely dared to believe.

Seokjin's hand rested tenderly on his rounded belly as he felt the gentle kicks from within. Taehyung would often kneel beside him, pressing his ear to Seokjin's stomach with a look of wonder, his eyes lighting up as he felt their child's movements. His hands would linger, warm and protective, a silent promise to their unborn child.

"I can't wait to meet you," Taehyung would whisper softly, his voice filled with a tenderness that softened even Seokjin's heart. Seokjin would smile down at him, threading his fingers through Taehyung's hair as he rested his hand over his.

When the time finally came, and their baby was born, it was as though a light had entered their lives. Their child—a beautiful, delicate being with Seokjin's gentle features and Taehyung's deep, dark eyes—was perfect. They spent hours together in the nursery, a soft, sunlit room adorned with gentle touches of love. The baby's cot was draped with silken curtains, and there were toys and small tokens of affection lining the shelves. The nursery had become their sanctuary, a room where they could escape the dark realities of their world, if only for fleeting moments.

Taehyung doted on their child with a devotion that was fierce and unwavering. He'd hold the baby close, cradling him with a gentleness that belied his strength, speaking to him in soft, loving tones. Seokjin would watch, his heart full, marveling at the love in Taehyung's eyes as he rocked their child to sleep, whispering promises of a future they would cherish together.

But then, one fateful day, tragedy struck.

It was midday, and Seokjin had fallen into a deep sleep, weary from the sleepless nights of tending to their little one. The baby lay in his cot, the soft sheets tucked around him, his tiny form so peaceful. But in Seokjin's exhaustion, he had forgotten to close the heavy drapes that shielded the room from the harsh daylight. The golden sunlight, which streamed through the open window, crept across the floor, casting a warm glow over the nursery.

As the sunlight moved, it reached the cot, bathing the fragile baby in its deadly warmth. Unaware of the impending danger, Seokjin continued to sleep, lost in dreams of a bright future. The child, too young and defenseless, couldn't cry out, his small form burning under the rays, the delicate skin turning to ash.

When Seokjin finally woke, a cold sense of dread washed over him. He noticed the light spilling into the nursery, illuminating the cot, and a jolt of terror struck him. He rushed over, but it was too late. The once-peaceful bed was now empty, only a faint, silvery ash remaining.

A heart-wrenching scream filled the mansion, echoing through the halls with a pain so profound it seemed to shake the very walls. Seokjin collapsed to his knees beside the cot, reaching out as if he could somehow bring back what he had lost. His cries were broken and desperate, his hands trembling as he grasped at the ashes, unable to comprehend the devastation.

Moments later, Taehyung entered, his face lit with the excitement of his recent hunt, only for the expression to vanish in an instant. His gaze fell upon Seokjin, crumpled and shattered by the cot, his hands clutching the remnants of their child.

The look in Taehyung's eyes shifted from confusion to horror, and finally, to an unfathomable grief as the reality sank in. He moved to Seokjin's side, his movements slow, almost mechanical, as though he couldn't bear the weight of what he was seeing. Dropping to his knees, he reached out to Seokjin, who looked at him with haunted eyes, tears streaming down his face, the guilt and anguish etched deeply into every line.

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Seokjin, his own body trembling, his eyes glistening with a sorrow too deep for words. They held each other in that moment, the weight of their loss pressing down on them, leaving them broken and bereft in the nursery that had once been filled with love and hope.

The weeks following their child's death were marked by an agonizing silence that clung to the mansion like a suffocating shroud. Seokjin and Taehyung, once bound by an unbreakable love, found themselves trapped in the same house but worlds apart, each consumed by their own unfathomable grief. Seokjin was racked with guilt, unable to forgive himself for the fatal mistake that had cost them everything. He moved through the days like a shadow, haunted by memories of his child's delicate face and the feeling of his tiny hands.

Taehyung, on the other hand, began to change. At first, his sorrow was a mirror to Seokjin's, a shared burden of sadness that held them together in their silent suffering. But slowly, that grief twisted into something darker, something filled with anger that grew like a poison within him. He started to snap at Seokjin over the smallest things, his voice cold and cutting. What began as harsh words soon became accusations, each one laced with a bitter resentment.

"You should have been more careful, Seokjin," Taehyung would hiss, his gaze hard and unforgiving. "You were his mother. You were supposed to protect him."

The first time he lashed out physically, it had been a single, thoughtless slap in a moment of fury. Seokjin had been stunned, his cheek stinging, but he'd told himself it was the grief talking, that it would pass. But it didn't pass. The anger only deepened, and soon Taehyung's outbursts became more frequent and more violent. A shove here, a pull there—each incident a little harsher, a little more cruel. And each time, Seokjin endured it, his guilt so consuming that he believed he deserved the pain Taehyung inflicted on him.

Taehyung's rage escalated, his punishments turning into painful bites that left bruises and marks that would take days to heal. He no longer saw the man he loved; in his eyes, Seokjin was a reminder of what they had lost, a figure to direct his fury upon. Every time he looked at Seokjin, he saw the baby's ashes, and it made his blood boil.

One day, Seokjin, in a moment of desperation and clarity, tried to flee. He slipped away in the dead of night, hoping to escape the torment and find peace somewhere far from Taehyung's wrath. But Taehyung's anger was unyielding. When he discovered Seokjin was gone, a dark fury overtook him, and he searched relentlessly, scouring every corner of the earth until he finally found Seokjin, weak and desperate, hiding in the shadows.

Without a word, Taehyung dragged Seokjin back to the mansion, his eyes filled with a cold malice that Seokjin had never seen before. This time, there was no pretense of love left, no mercy. Taehyung locked him in the basement, a dark, damp space that reeked of neglect, where no light could penetrate, and where the cold stone walls seemed to close in like a prison.

And thus began the nightmare that would define Seokjin's existence for the next decade.

The first few days were a blur of pain and fear. Taehyung would visit him daily, tormenting him in ways that made Seokjin's skin crawl. He'd use silver chains to bind Seokjin's wrists, the metal searing his flesh and leaving burns that took days to heal. Sometimes, he'd pull back the thick drapes just enough to allow a sliver of sunlight to filter in, burning Seokjin's skin as he cowered in the corner, helpless and broken.

Taehyung's punishments were relentless. He'd taunt Seokjin with the memories of their lost child, reminding him of his perceived failure, twisting the knife of guilt deeper and deeper until it was all Seokjin could feel. And whenever Seokjin grew weak from hunger, his body craving the sustenance only blood could provide, Taehyung would let him starve, feeding him only once every few months, just enough to keep him alive but never enough to satisfy the ravenous hunger that gnawed at his insides.

The basement became Seokjin's world, a dark and unforgiving space where time ceased to exist. Days blended into nights, each one marked only by the agony of starvation, the relentless ache of his body, and the suffocating loneliness that clawed at his sanity. His once-strong spirit slowly eroded under the constant abuse, his body and mind fracturing under the weight of Taehyung's cruelty.

And yet, no matter how broken he became, a part of Seokjin clung to the memories of who he once was—the man who had loved, who had hoped, who had held his child in his arms. But that memory was slipping, fading with each passing day, as he lost himself in the darkness and the pain.