rain [taekook] DISCONTINUED

diamond and obsidian

CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT // DIAMOND AND OBSIDIAN
Taehyung's POV

The shop-comers leave and arrive at a whirling pace. Every time a new costumer enters another swift breezes sneaks in from outside and chills the cozy little coffee shop that has not been welcomed by my presence in nearly a month. The tiny room smells of fresh coffee beans and sweet pastries, a scent I've missed, but is actually quite bittersweet in a sense. The last time I was in this shop I was sitting across a frantic little writer as he worked away on his latest work that I was ecstatic to read. I would observe the way his head would bow lower if someone were to pass by, or how his ears would wriggle if someone in the shop raised their voice. The way his cheeks would turn a precious pink when he would noticed my eyes glued to him. The way he would smile for no reason.

I remember all those great times, cherishing them, as I sit at a table for four with my good old friends. Hoseok at my left, Seokjin across from me and Yoongi at my diagonal. Jimin had gone to visit his parents in Busan for the weekend therefore was not able to accompany us.

"So what do you say? Wanna get out of here and head to the park, we haven't been there in awhile." A voice breaks through the tranquility, gruff yet sincere. Yoongi asks his question to no one in particular but his eyes stay attached on my slouched figure. I nod slowly and wet my chapped lips as I stand with the rest. Before we leave Seokjin runs over to the counter and plants a chaste kiss on Namjoon's cheek, his dimples showing clearer after the small act. I smile at the couple, how easy it is for them to showcase their affectionate relationship.

Seokjin walks back over to us as the four of us exit the shop where we had once exited, hand in hand. We walk down the same sidewalk where we had once strolled along, staring up sky. We walk past the ice cream shop where we had once stopped at to cure his burnt tongue.

My feet drag along the sidewalk in a sluggish fashion, my body barely acknowledges the cool January breeze, the world was only becoming colder. Yoongi stares at me with some sort of sympathy that I ignore, Hoseok tries to crack a few jokes that make Seokjin burst out into a fit of unique laughter. Usually the oldest's laugh alone would make me chuckle, but these days it seems like nothing can really make me smile as much.

Before I realize it, we are entering the familiar park that is coated in a thin layer of off-white snow, smeared with dirt and sprinkled with crushed gravel. Winter seems to be a time of pureness and beauty for most, it only appears as a hassle for me. The coldness, the excessive amounts of snow that never stays clean, the emptiness.

Seokjin and Hoesok take off running towards the tree. The tree. The spot where I had pushed the tiny boy down to ground and crushed his spirit when we were both young, the spot where I'd run to everytime my parents ignored me, the spot where I had sat with my four friends and joked about how stupid the world was, the spot where two new friends were added onto four, than another. The spot where I had stood with him, under a red umbrella as the rain tried to drown us, but we stayed afloat.

Now we're sinking, sinking so deep that we can't resurface. Every breath is clogged by cold water, and I'm afraid I'm close to running out of air.

I'm knocked out of my thoughts when a hand lands on my back, patting a few times. Yoongi tries to smile as he nods my way as a way of asking if I'm alright. I immeditely nod back as we both make our way up to the tree where Seokjin and Hoseok have already planted themeslves at the base that's cleared of any snow due to the thick branches blocking out the white powder.