Jungkook began to notice things about Taehyung that he'd never really paid attention to before, like the bald spot on the left side of Taehyung's head, above his ear. There was little hair, and the plump, peach skin was clearly visible underneath. He noticed the way Taehyung had to stop and breathe while going up the steps, as the cancer had weakened his entire system completely. Even though it had been a year since his surgery, the doctors had informed Taehyung of many difficulties that would infiltrate his normal life. His diet was limited, as well as physical activity. Despite smoking being the cause, he couldn't stop, even after the frantic hospital trips at 3 AM in the morning. Mrs. Kim was hopeless; her son was slowly dragging himself to his death.
"She cried almost every single night." The two of them were downtown in the streets of New York, the city buzzing with the sounds of cars and taxis. "It was unbearable."
"So then why didn't you stop?" Jungkook asked simply. He knew it wasn't simple though. Taehyung's actions always had reasons behind them; he didn't do anything without one. "If your mom was that upset, you should've stopped."
"Oh, how a mess I was," he marveled, entwining his fingers with Jungkook's. He darted across the street, just as a taxi zoomed past them. "Excuse me, how I mess I am."
"I don't understand," Jungkook said. He buried his nose in his scarf as he felt his cheeks turn pink from the gust of wind. The gusts howled in the midnight blue sky as it bit at his face; mostly his nose. New York wasn't usually this windy, but tonight was a strange night.
"It helps me remember that I'm dying everyday." He spoke with his tongue, the words dancing off the edges, making Jungkook's throat as dry as the Sahara. "Smoking kills. That's what everyone says right? If I'm going to die a slow painful death, then why not make it quick and carefree?" Now that was the stupidest and most ignorant thing Jungkook had ever heard Taehyung say.
"You've always been stupid," Jungkook began, "but I never though you'd actually be this stupid." Taehyung forced a half-hearted smile and shrugged. "After all these years, you finally get a mom that cares for you and listens to you, and you just throw it all away because of cancer."
"It's not like I didn't have a mother," he pointed out. "She was just absent for most of my life, but she was still there. There wasn't day that went by where I felt like I didn't have a mother." He looked at Jungkook with those hazel eyes that shone with a particular feeling of pity; not for anyone but himself. "When I came to see her in this apartment, she wouldn't stop apologizing for every parent-teacher conference, soccer game, and parent night she'd missed. Forgetting to sign me up for SAT classes wasn't even half of it."
"I couldn't even imagine," Jungkook whispered. There was a small silence in between their trailing conversation, then he added, "So who is Sora?"
"Ah Sora," Taehyung began, hurrying his footsteps a bit. "Why don't we find a place to sit down and then we'll talk?"
"I know a park about two blocks down." Taehyung entwined his fingers in Jungkook's and gave him a warm smile, one that would cure anyone's cold heart for days. Their steps were one and the same; matching each other's footsteps like the couple they'd used to be.
At this point, Jungkook didn't knew what was going on in his head. Cancer. . . Sora. . . Mrs. Kim. . . the disappearance. Everything was supposed to slowly come together in the end of a love story like this, except neither of them was in love with each other yet. As he walked with Taehyung, he felt his chest rise and fall underneath the inky sky.
The park was quite quaint; very small and perfect for small walks and a tiny playground which children could play on. Except at this time of the night, Taehyung and Jungkook were alone, enveloped in their own feelings and thoughts they were about to share. Sora, still unspoken of, was an alluring, slim brown-haired maiden in Jungkook's mind. She exhibited a radiant aura, one that Taehyung was madly attracted to, and he strangely felt chills creep up his spine when he thought of this.
