Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Forty-eighth -

Sorry for the long wait! I have a lot of work lately, so it's hard to find time to write... Anyways, the third arc of this book starts now! Hope you'll enjoy!💕

~🌻~

The heavy doors of the Xavier Institute finally opened, letting Taehyung and his team through, tired after weeks of gruelling work in Louisiana. But it wasn't physical exhaustion that weighed most heavily on their shoulders. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere became even heavier. Taehyung was leading the way, his eyes empty and his features drawn. His figure seemed frailer, his back slightly arched, as if the weight of his thoughts were crushing him.

No one dared to call out to him as he walked past them without so much as a glance, not even Kitty, who had learned not to mince her words with him. Not a sign, not a smile. It was as if the young man had turned into a shadow.

"He's really feeling bad..." Jimin breathed worriedly.

He watched Taehyung disappear into one of the corridors of the residential wing, without bothering to stop and report back or even to greet anyone. They didn't have to wait long before they heard a door slam.

"He's already locked himself in his room..." said Logan.

All four of them looked distressed. Everything had changed that evening. Taehyung's words to Jungkook, before he left him the potion and disappeared, still echoed in their minds. Heavy words, violent in their despair, as if Taehyung had poured all his emotions into a stab wound in the heart. He regretted every word he'd said, but it was too late to go back. Just one more time.

Logan clenched his fists and shook his head, clearly upset.

"He shouldn't have lost his temper like that... he's been desperately waiting for Jungkook to come back for a year, so why did he react like that?"

Jimin and Hoseok nodded slowly.

"It's not that simple."

The three of them turned to Yoongi, who had remained in the background until now. His dark, piercing gaze fell on the three men in turn, before turning to the grand staircase leading upstairs, where Taehyung's room was.

"He's young. We tend to forget it, but he's only nineteen." he explained, unperturbed. "He's just a kid who's fallen in love for the first time and has no idea how to deal with all these emotions."

Yoongi paused, letting his words sink in. His voice became softer, less firm.

"Do you remember what it was like? The first time you felt like your whole world was falling apart because of one person? Maybe it's never happened to you, but that's what he's going through right now. It's going to be okay, I think Jungkook's mature enough to understand that. They'll both be okay. They don't need us interfering in their little story."

Jimin looked away thoughtfully, while Logan just stared at Yoongi with a small smile.

"His world falling apart, eh?" he quipped. "Is there something you want to tell us, Yoongi?"

The young man's cheeks flushed red. He turned away, grabbing his bag which he threw nonchalantly over his shoulders, and walked away without looking back.

"Bullshit..."

Meanwhile, in his room at the end of the corridor, Taehyung slammed the door behind him. Silence greeted him like a leaden blanket. He collapsed on his bed, his face buried in his hands, barely holding back a sob. The weight of his own words, the decisions he had made and everything he had left behind threatened to overwhelm him. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks, like rain he refused to admit.