Strong || Kim Taehyung

Chapter 5

He brushed the new, smooth surface of the book Yuna had given him with the tips of his fingers, recalling her hopes for him to read it.

So he did.

The faint essence of the book caressed his face as he opened it, flipping through the introductory pages to skip to the first chapter. His eyes followed every word printed on the page as his mind started to wrap around the story, intrigued by the details.

Little did he know, his mum was silently watching him from the doorway of the study room, her eyes gazing softly at his back.

•••

"Taehyung! Your English tutor is going to come soon!"

He flinched violently at his mum's voice from the lounge room shattering his concentration, looking up from the book in absolute daze. He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't realise an hour went by.

It was just like Yuna said: the story was simply beautiful.

It was so similar to his life's occurrences that he almost surmised that the writer wrote the book while watching him.

He closed the book and observed the halcyon sky through the closed window, his heart begging him to open it and scream Yuna's name, in hopes for her return. He felt undeniably solitary without her.

Was she doing fine?

Was she thinking about him?

Did she miss him?

Three weeks flowed by since her last presence next to him, and not once did he dare to "forget about her". That was not what she wanted, and that was unequivocally not what he wanted.

Who knows, maybe she would appear again without anyone's knowledge like she always did.

And he would always wait for her.

•••

His hand gripped on a biting cold, metallic bar of the front gate, the other holding a ruby stained apple plucked from one of the apple trees in the garden.

He swallowed hard, feeling a drop of sweat roll across his cheek. He had to get out there.

Just ignore the people. Just look ahead at least.

He blinked, realizing the gate was locked - the almost forgotten obstacle blocking his path to meet Yuna. She had once told him where she lived, although the directions felt foggy in his mind.

He wanted to see her. He needed to see her. He had to see her.

Diverging to his right, he headed towards the south gate at the back of the dwelling, foolishly hoping it was still unlocked from morning, since it was open that time for an unknown reason.

When the gate came in sight, it was closed; but it didn't mean it was locked. Reaching the identical looking metal barred gate as the north one, he attempted at sliding it open, succeeding satisfactorily.

He released a long sigh as he stepped out on the public sidewalk, as if he had been holding it in for uncountable minutes. Trying not to wheeze already, he held his chin up, challenging himself to confront the presence of strangers walking past his.

He eyed the two people ahead approaching him, too occupied with their own business to be aware of him. His breathing was even - just two people.

He squared his shoulders and started stepping forward, trying to remember the directions as accurately as possible.

But then - dear Lord, he had forgotten about the town square far ahead that he had to face before reaching her house. The usually cramped, congested square that was overfilled with people. His pace came to a halt as he suddenly felt his heart tugging at his throat.

What now? He was completely unable to move as paralysis enveloped his form, urging him to fall on his knees right on the spot. More cold sweat tickled down his face, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he attempted to get up, overcome the galling feeling and just meet Yuna, whom he had been missing for so long.

His breathing trembled inexorably - clutching tightly at his collar, he attempted to push himself to stand up again, but ended up falling into someone's arms. Someone he had missed so greatly.