ocean eyes

act two

'I-I need to go.'

Hoseok was a deer caught in headlights.

He was staggering backward as he stood up, scrambling into something nonexistent, something to ground him while the fear kept eating him from skin to flesh. He was terrified. He felt like the child he was back in the closet that night, clothes hanging down covering his eyes but not his ears.

'Hyung?'

The chair Hoseok sat on fell on the floor with the stiff motion.

It was silent this time.

The voices were silent, they were in whispers like the calming waves crashing the shore of Busan. Hoseok was drowning, and there was no way swimming back to the safety line. It's quiet inside his head, and quiet was dangerous. Quiet was dangerous with Taehyung. It made everything unbearable; made everything more vivid. With the screams, at least Hoseok was distracted enough to actually fear the person. But this...

This seemed like they wanted to punctuate the painful hazards of Kim Taehyung.

Ten.

He promised Hoseok the highest rank in the scale, and Hoseok didn't know a person could be dizzy by fear.

'Hos... hyu...?'

He could see Yoongi from the corner of his eyes, severely looking at him with eyes that questioned. Hoseok didn't dare to look back, didn't dare to ease the glint of worry because how could he coax Yoongi that everything was alright, when Taehyung– the only thing he ever talked about– was there, equally worried as if he wasn't the sole reason of the havoc in Hoseok's mind?

How dare he, Hoseok thought through his hazy state, a bitter taste on his tongue. As if Taehyung pretended to not have a rotten soul. As if he wasn't laced with bad deeds behind that cursive, demonic smile. How dare he look so fine with sin.

Distantly, Hoseok recalled Yoongi saying Taehyung a golden boy, and he wanted to laugh because it's utterly amazing for someone to be rated a fucking ten and being referred with a name like that– a name Hoseok's tongue desperately trying to roll.

He denied it.

'Hoseok–

'Yoongi.' he interjected. His voice was barely audible, and he shakily walked away. 'B-Be safe, Yoongi.'

'But hyung-!'

Hoseok turned. He didn't stay to find out what Taehyung had to say and pretended not to notice the way Taehyung's face fell when his heels started to bring himself further from the table. He heard him yelling his name, Taehyung's voice was promising safety like he was calling out to the sunset, something that sounded like 'at least let me drive you home, hyung!'

Hoseok would've; could've replied, nodded his head and let himself fall.

But he denied it, and he didn't know why.

000

Unknown

Hoseok hyung, are u better?

This is Taehyung. Yoongi hyung gave me ur number.

Two messages, and Hoseok was already gritting his teeth.

His hand had clutched his phone with a vice grip, knuckles white and nostrils flaring. He wasn't fearing the fact that it was bending down slightly. Sparks of annoyance rocketed itself through his boiling veins as he reread the message again.

His phone dinged once more.

Unknown

I hope everything's alright