fiendish heart [1]

6 。beauty or the beast

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A knock on the wooden frame of the carved hut disturbed Taehyung from his sleep. He woke with a stiffness in his neck and a striking pain up his spine, looking up through lidded eyes to see Hoseok standing at the door. His gaze wandered to the gentle fingers wrapped around his wrist, holding him in a tight embrace as steady breaths left the culprits parted lips. Taehyung couldn't help but stare, confused at the most. Kook was sound asleep, using his arm as a pillow.

„I see you've made yourself at home." Hoseok finally decided to intrude, catching back Taehyung's diverted attention. „Seokjin told me what happened, are you alright?" His answer was much too complex for him to say aloud. Clearly his facial expressions said enough for Hoseok though. "You cared for him, Taehyung, in a time when you should have been scared. That is going to bring some expectations with it. Was this just a one off thing, or do you intend to help him?" The question seemed to set in a still atmosphere, for he didn't know what to respond with. 

„I don't know," he finally murmured with a discouraged tone. „There are things I'd rather not know about him, and things I do not want to get involved in."

„Well you need to decide. Last night, you helped him. Seokjin came back after you two had fallen back to sleep to see Kook calm after one of his episodes. What did you do that calmed him?" Taehyung brought his lip between his teeth, suppressing words he wanted to say but knew would be wrong in the situation. Once again, Hoseok repeated his words, „You need to make a decision, will you help him?"

„Can I ask you something before I decide?" Taehyung added cautiously, watching Hoseok scrutinise his every move. Then he nodded, before his gaze flickered to the midnight boy who slept so peacefully. „What happens if I do help him? Has anyone else ever tried?"

„Seokjin did, but he got anywhere." Hoseok replied, shifting his posture so that his right shoulder rested himself against the huts entrance. „He believed that if Kook knew more about himself, maybe he'd be more controllable."

„You can't control a person. You can influence them, but not control them." A dark chuckle elicited from Hoseok's throat, he slowly shook his head as he stepped back.

„No, you are right, you cannot control a person. But you can control a beast. You can chain up a beast and train them. That's what Seokjin's goal was; to put Kook's beast in chains and to bend him to obey the orders he should. I'm not saying that should be your goal. Instead, I think you should try to be the influence. He has no mercy and he plays with other's weaknesses..." his sentence faltered as Kook shifted his head slightly, fingers moving from Taehyung's wrist to his waist. „I need to go."

„Why?" Taehyung queried as Hoseok spun on his heel.

„Because the devil just woke up." Then he was gone, off the platform and down the tree. That left Taehyung alone with the boy, one eye cracked open so that he stared up silently.

„You're awake." Taehyung said simply, an obvious observation. „How did you sleep?"

„Fine." Kook mumbled, eyelids fluttering shut for a moment or so as he rested in a gentle somber. „I am not a beast." He finally spoke after the silence, eyes still shut and breathing slow. „I am just ... not like you."

„I never said you were, Kook. I promise I'll never think you're a beast." Kook scoffed, turning onto his side and looking up through a forlorn gaze.

„Yes, you will. One day you will look at me and see nothing but a monster." The words were obviously dwelled upon, something the boy thought about more often than he'd like to. „But I am not a beast."