Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Thirty-second -

"Taetae! Taetae!"

Taehyung frowned, sleep gradually leaving him as the person continued to drum relentlessly on his bedroom door, shouting the nickname that, for six months now, the teenager knew all too well. There was only one person here who called him that, and it was also the only person at the Institute who would dare wake him up like that without fearing the consequences. Normally, no one was prepared to deal with the mood swings of the one and only Kim Taehyung. So in the mornings, he was left alone.

The banging on the door continued, and now Taehyung was wide awake. He muttered an incomprehensible swearword as he got up, unwillingly extricating himself from the warmth of his sheets, and moved slowly towards the door, grabbing the pair of gloves lying on his bedside table as he went and sliding them down his palms.

When he opened the door, he almost caught a hand in the face, but the fist stopped just short of hitting him, and the person instinctively took a step back. Taehyung's tired gaze fell on a young man his own age, with black hair and an angelic face. His full lips stretched into a radiant smile. He exuded a solar energy, and Taehyung stopped himself from covering his eyes as he dazzled him.

"Jiminie... What do you want with me so soon in the morning?"

"They've just released a new game at the arcade, come with me!"

Taehyung stopped himself from throwing a fist in his face.

"Couldn't it wait until this afternoon?"

The boy in front of him smiled wider, letting him know that he couldn't care less about his grumpiness. The two stared at each other for a moment, before Taehyung finally looked away with a sigh. He knew he'd break eventually anyway, so he might as well save his strength.

"Just give me two minutes..."

"Okay!"

Taehyung closed the door and didn't open it again until five minutes later, dressed, his hair combed and a little more awake. No sooner had he left the room than his friend linked their arms, dragging him happily down the corridor.

Park Jimin. He had arrived at the Institute about six months ago, and had immediately set his sights on Taehyung. At first, he'd clearly push him off, because Jimin had far too much sunshine and energy for him. He was like a living battery, and that contrasted radically with Taehyung's obvious lack of energy. But in the end, he was easily carried away. It had to be said that when Jimin had arrived, the boy had been at his lowest morally. The absence of a certain Cajun had already been felt for six months, and this, combined with his growing lack of confidence, had plunged him into an obvious depression.

Jimin had been like a breath of fresh air. He was always positive, always smiling, persistent and, above all, never easily offended. That was probably why they'd become such good friends: despite Taehyung's regular mood swings, Jimin was always there, smiling and encouraging.

"I wonder what this new game is like?" Jimin said dreamily. "Oh, I hope it's not too crowded! Well, that's why I wanted us to go early! That way, afterwards, we can go for a burger!"

Taehyung let him speak, knowing full well that at times like these he wouldn't be able to say a word. But that suited him, he didn't really like talking.

As they reached the end of the corridor, at the crossroads leading to the kitchen, they came face to face with Jin, who was looking around distractedly. When his gaze fell on the pair, his eyes lit up and he hurried over to them, while the two friends stopped, silently watching him approach.

"Ah, that's good, I was just looking for you, Taehyung!"

The boy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? Why?"

"Professor Xavier's asking for you. He's in the Cerebro room."

That was even stranger. If the Professor was in the Cerebro Room, it was because he'd noticed something unusual about a mutant. But it was odd that he should call him, because normally it was Namjoon who met him there. Taehyung had only been there once or twice.

He exchanged a glance with Jimin, who nodded and smiled knowingly. Never mind, their little trip to the arcade will have to wait.

"Okay, then."

***

Namjoon stood silently in the back, watching the professor concentrate, his eyes closed and his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He had a sort of metal helmet on his head, connected by thick cables to a super-powered computer. This was Cerebro: a supercomputer capable of amplifying Professor Xavier's telepathic powers. Then suddenly, before Namjoon's impressed gaze, images appeared on the room's huge screen, as big as a cinema screen. And among all these images, one stood out more than the others: it was the photo of a young woman, with long blonde hair and green eyes like those of a snake.

"Who is she, Professor?" Namjoon asked as Xavier took off his helmet, his gaze also focused on the screen in front of him. "A new mutant?"

Charles didn't answer immediately, scanning the young woman's face with interest. He plunged into thought for a moment, which began to worry Namjoon slightly. Between that, and the fact that he had asked Taehyung to join them, there was something unusual. And if even the professor looked confused, it didn't bode well.

"A new mutant... Yes, that's what it looks like... I've just received the signal, which means that her power has just been triggered..."

"But?"

Because, given the tone used by the professor, there was bound to be a 'but'.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Xavier finally said. "Firstly, because this young woman is twenty years old, and such a late appearance of a power is not insignificant... And secondly..."

Namjoon frowned, waiting for the next part of the professor's reasoning. But it was a long time coming.

"Professor?"

"That woman... She... She was supposed to have died five years ago."

Namjoon's eyes widened and he almost lost his balance.

"Really?!"

"Yes, and on top of that, an autopsy was carried out on her body after she died... She didn't have any mutant genes... It's almost impossible for a power to have woken up now, when this woman is dead..."

"W-We... Do we have any more information about her?"

The professor's gaze darkened, and Namjoon realised he wasn't going to like what came next.

"Yes... She died on her wedding day, killed by none other than her husband..."

"Which was?"

Charles paused for a moment, as if dreading answering the question.

"Jeon Jungkook."

"What?!"

The two men turned, and their bodies tensed as they saw Taehyung, his eyes wide, his face distorted between surprise, incomprehension, pain and anger, tears already forming at the corners of his eyelids.

~🌻~

The real story begins...😌😉💕