Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Thirty-third -

"Taehyung..."

The boy looked away, resting his eyes on the young woman's face displayed on the big screen. She was magnificent, bewitchingly beautiful. Even he, who was gay, couldn't look away.

"Is this true?" he asked, his voice breaking softly.

Namjoon answered nothing, turning to the professor, who was watching his youngest student with a serious look.

"I don't have the details yet, and I can't feel her brain activity, so it's hard to tell, but..."

"You know I'm not talking about that."

The professor paused for a moment, during which no one dared speak. Taehyung, his gaze still fixed on the screen, while the other two men stared at him without knowing how to react.

"Yes."

Taehyung closed his eyes, containing as best he could the wave of emotions that surged through him, and above all... his tears. For a year, he'd had time to think. To suffer. And to question himself. He was still angry with Jungkook, because he had betrayed him in the worst possible way. But he wondered whether his reaction had been disproportionate. If he hadn't made a mistake, asking him to disappear. Because he'd missed the Cajun terribly. It was as if, on the day he left, he'd ripped out a part of his heart and run off with it. Since then, he'd had a gaping hole in his chest.

But in the end, maybe he hadn't been wrong. Jungkook had much bigger secrets for him, which he had been careful not to reveal. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more painfully chilling the conclusion became: he knew nothing about Jeon Jungkook. The little he knew about him he'd obtained from reading his memories. Jungkook had never told him anything.

He'd never trusted Taehyung. So why should Taehyung have trusted him? He'd betrayed him once, and now he was being stabbed in the heart again.

"Taehyung, are you all right?" the professor asked, looking worried.

The boy took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure, and opened his eyes again.

"Why have you called me here, Professor?"

Xavier's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he crossed his hands under his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Well... This whole thing is suspicious, far too much so, and I need someone to go and find out what it's all about." he confessed.

Taehyung couldn't contain an angry laugh.

"And you couldn't think of anything better than sending me to check whether the dead wife of the man I loved is really alive?"

When you put it like that, even Namjoon, who was always on the professor's side, couldn't deny the absurdity of the situation. If he'd found himself in the same situation with Jin, he wouldn't have put up with it. So it was normal for Taehyung to get angry. And the professor knew it too.

"I'm aware of that, but if ever..." He began, struggling for words. "If Jungkook's there too, you'll undoubtedly be the only one with any influence over him. We need as much information as possible, and in this context, you're in the best position to carry out this mission."

"What about Jin? If there's anyone who's cut out for this kind of mission, it's him! He can literally read minds!"

"Jin and I are leaving on a mission tomorrow morning, to approach a young girl who set fire to her house when she discovered her powers." Namjoon intervened.

Taehyung bit his lip, trapped. On the one hand, he really wanted to refuse this mission. But he understood that he was the most qualified, because in addition to his past experience with Jungkook, he was the only one who could read someone's mind apart from Jin and Xavier. It wasn't the same kind of telepathy, but it was still useful for gathering information. Even if he hadn't used his power since Jungkook left, and he never intended to use it again.

And then, deep down inside, there was this little voice whispering to him that he might be able to see Jungkook again. And as much as he didn't like it, he couldn't deny that he missed the man. He needed answers, to see what was really going on. He needed them... to move on.

He sighed, looking away.

"All right, I've understood..."

The professor smiled appreciatively.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow with your team." Namjoon explained. "You've already built up a small group here over the last few months. I think they'll agree to come with you. I'll pass on any additional information to you."

The young man nodded, then turned on his heels, leaving the room without giving them another glance.

"He's angry." Namjoon remarked.

"It was inevitable. But... I think he needed this mission. Much more than he'd like to admit."

***

"So we're going on a mission?! Yippee!"

Jimin started doing a victory dance, and his ridiculousness lifted Taehyung's spirits a little. At least knowing he'd have Jimin and his eternal enthusiasm by his side gave him a bit more strength.

"And where are we going, then?" Hoseok asked, giving Taehyung a sympathetic smile.

"Where Jungkook and this... Bella Dona grew up... So Louisiana, New Orleans." The young man replied, his voice still vibrating with emotion.

He didn't like talking about them out loud. Every time he thought about it, his heart squeezed, so to hear it come out of his mouth... It was almost unbearable. He really didn't want to go on this mission.

He turned to the man on his right and gave him a hesitant look.

"Do you mind coming along... Logan?"

Logan shrugged, a smile forming on his lips.

"I've been training you almost exclusively for a year now. I'm not going to let you down now, kid."

Taehyung held back a smile, feeling his heart warm a little. Over the past year, Logan hadn't let him sink. Probably because he knew what it was like to be overcome by sadness. He looked after him, motivated him (and sometimes even shouted at him). He had looked after him, becoming something of a father figure to him. A figure he'd never had.

Jimin stopped his victory dance dead in his tracks when he noticed a shadow round the corner, and all he had to do was catch a glimpse of a certain black hair and his eyes lit up instantly. Without warning the others, he rushed after the person and grabbed him by the arm.

"Yoongi!" he exclaimed joyfully. "We're all going on a mission, so come with us!"

Yoongi's eyes widened and he instinctively began to pull on his arm to free him.

"Let me go, you idiot, you're going to break it..." he mumbled as he pulled, but Jimin's iron grip was impossible to break.

"Come on! Come with us, we're off to Louisiana!"

Yoongi froze and turned towards him, spotting Taehyung and the rest of the group in the distance, watching them silently. Seeing the change in the young man's attitude, Jimin let go of him, and Yoongi took the opportunity to join the group, stopping in front of Taehyung.

"Is it true?" he asked, his voice full of innuendo.

The boy didn't trust his own voice, so he just nodded silently.

"I see. Then I'll come too."

~🌻~

Taehyung have his own team now!🤭💕