The Omega's Choice | Taejin

Forty-Two

Seokjin woke with his hand moving over the empty side of the bed. His fingers searched across the blanket before his eyes opened, and when he found nothing beside him, he sat up. Taehyung's clothes were gone from the chair, the bathroom door was open, and no sound came from the hall. For a moment, Seokjin stayed where he was, staring at the place Taehyung had slept, trying to understand why he felt disappointed. He had only allowed him to stay for one night. Nothing had been promised beyond that, yet waking alone after falling asleep with Taehyung's arm around him felt worse than it should have.

He pushed the blanket away and climbed out of bed, but before he reached the door, something closed downstairs. A second sound followed, then the scrape of a cabinet opening. Seokjin let out the breath he had been holding and made his way down without changing out of the loose shirt he had slept in.

Taehyung stood in the kitchen with his back to him, wearing the same trousers from the night before, while his shirt and jacket rested over one of the dining chairs. Several cabinet doors were open, and he appeared increasingly annoyed by whatever he couldn't find.

"What are you doing in my kitchen?" Seokjin asked, and Taehyung looked over his shoulder before turning his attention to Seokjin's bare feet.

"You should put something on your feet. The floor is cold." When Seokjin kept staring instead of moving, Taehyung closed the cabinet in front of him. "I was looking for something to make for breakfast, but there is hardly any food here."

Seokjin looked toward Taehyung's clothes on the chair, needing the sight of them to settle the last of the fear that he had left. "I thought you were gone."

"I came downstairs." Taehyung watched him for a moment, and a small smile appeared when he realized why Seokjin had come looking for him. "Were you worried?"

"No. I was surprised that you left your shoes near the stairs. Someone could trip over them." Seokjin walked farther into the kitchen and looked inside the refrigerator Taehyung had left open. "There is food here."

"There are three eggs, noodles, rice, and kimchi that should have been thrown away several days ago. What have you been eating?" Taehyung reached past him and removed the container, holding it away when Seokjin tried to take it. "This cannot stay here."

Seokjin reached for the container. "Put it back. There is nothing wrong with it."

Taehyung moved it farther from him. "It smells terrible."

"It is kimchi. It is supposed to smell." Seokjin took the container from him and returned it to the refrigerator. "I receive meals from the palace kitchen when I want them. I don't keep the house full of food because I rarely cook, and I am not going to begin preparing every meal myself to prove I have changed."

Taehyung closed the refrigerator. "I didn't ask you to prove anything. I was trying to understand why the kitchen was empty and why there is no one here to prepare breakfast."

"Breakfast will arrive when I send for it." Seokjin folded his arms as Taehyung looked around again. "I still have servants. They deliver meals, clean, take care of the garden, and bring anything else I order."

Taehyung glanced toward the empty doorway. "Then where are they?"

"Not inside," Seokjin answered as though there was nothing else to explain, but Taehyung kept waiting. When it became clear he would not let the subject go, Seokjin moved toward the cabinet beside the stove. "If you are determined to cook, the oil should be in here. The person who cleaned yesterday may have moved it."

Taehyung caught his wrist before he could reach inside. He turned Seokjin's hand over and stared at the healing burn near his thumb, his expression changing so quickly that Seokjin tried to pull away. Taehyung held on and moved his thumb along the skin beside the injury without touching it. "What happened?"