Stigma || A Kim Taehyung Story

Rise

Taehyung was in darkness. Was it endless? He didn't know, but that's how it felt. It felt like something was crawling in his skin, making a shiver run down his spine. He knew he was dead, but was this truly all that happens after death? Maybe it was. Then he awoke. He was in a morgue, lying on a cold, metal table. He sat up, but felt a strange feeling like he was being pulled back down. He looked down, expecting to see straps or restraints. But no? He was almost transparent. He lifted his hand to study his pale skin, but it got pulled back to its previous position. He used all the strength he could muster to sit up on his makeshift bed. He turned to look at whatever had been holding him down. He gasped and leaped away.

It was him. His body behind him on the table. Was he a spirit, or was he just dilousional? Probably both. He stared at the body beside him. Cold skin, blue lips, damp hair. He looked like he'd been dead for a lifetime. He needed to find his friends, they'd be worried about him. They'd be wondering how he'd even died in the first place. They thought it was an accident. But no, he'd been murdered. He'd been sent to the bottom of that lake, with someone's hands around his throat. Then Taehyung began to wonder. How long had he actually been there? It can't have been longer than a few days. Or a few weeks...

Taehyung stood up. He felt a pain in his back and he screamed, but the only sound that left his mouth was a sharp breath. He must be a ghost.

At the house of BTS

Jungkook woke with a start. He was hyperventilating, and sweating profusely. He looked around. He was in his room, as he'd hoped. He sighed, trying to calm down, but then he remembered what happened in his dream. Then he remembered that Taehyung's death hadn't been a part of that dream. It was real. He felt pathetic crying, but it hurt him so much to think about it. It would always be him and Jimin who had nightmares, and it was always Taehyung who comforted them. Not anymore. He sniffled quietly, holding his head in his hands.

Jin approached him and sat by his side. "Nightmare?" He asked. Jungkook nodded. "Jimin's been having them too. Just go back to sleep, okay?" Jungkook nodded, and lay down again. It had been almost two weeks since Taehyung's death, and he still hadn't had a restful sleep. Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok had all gone their separate ways, mostly staying in their own rooms. Jin was staying up most of the time to look after what was left of the maknae line.

Jungkook turned on his side, and Jin pressed a kiss on his forehead before he left the room, probably to check on Jimin. Jungkook curled up and tried to sleep. He wasn't in the mood for another nightmare, so he sat up. His eyes widened. He backed away, falling of his bed and hiding behind it. This was impossible.

Taehyung stared back at him through the darkness, a silk gown around his shoulders, fastened by a knot at the front. His eyes were drowsy and his face was dull and expressionless. He looked exhausted. Jungkook stared. This can't be real, can it? Taehyung took a step closer, and that's all it took to set off Jungkook. He backed away and cried in fear. Great fear. He kept screaming, with Taehyung suddenly coming way to close. Jungkook felt a bit lightheaded, and the room spun around him.

Jungkook woke up on the floor of his bedroom. He lifted his head from Jin's chest. His eyes were half closed, and full of sleep. He looked up at Jin, tired and frail. Jin ran his hand through Jungkook's messy bedhead. "You okay, Kookie?" Jin whispered in his ear. Jungkook nodded. "I heard you scream, then as soon as I came in you passed out." Jungkook nodded, his eyes already starting to close. "Was it a nightmare?" Jungkook whispered. Jin shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is you need some sleep. You look exhausted." By the time Jin finished speaking, Jungkook was already dozing off, his arms clumsily flung around Jin's waist and shoulder. Jin picked up Jungkook and lay him down back in his bed. But Jungkook wouldn't let go of Jin. Jin sighed and lay down next to Jungkook, arms still round each other.

Hoseok was driving himself insane. He stared at the pictures. Taehyung looked so adorable in the them. Hoseok knew that all he was doing was digging up the past, and he knew it was bad for him. He wiped another tear off his cheek and put the picture frame back on the shelf. He looked around him. His room was a mess of clothes and dropped picture frames, and he was a mess too. He had big purple bags under his bloodshot eyes and a painful headache. The only thing he'd left his room for was food, since there was an en suite bathroom in his room. He didn't even leave for food that often anyway, since he'd lost his appetite completely over the past week.

He watched the sun rise out of the window of his room. He always used to watch the sun rise with Taehyung by his side. He sighed sadly at the empty space beside him.

Yoongi did hear people talking about him as he walked past them. He did cover his face with a mask to hide his sadness. He certainly did have the feelings everyone talked about him having. He stormed past the people in the streets of Seoul, not bothering to apologise when he bumped into someone. He found his way into a bar, and sat himself down. He knew it was only just morning, but he was losing track of time lately. He ordered whatever would make him forget.

Namjoon watched the next day dawn. He felt guilty. Guilty that he had been the only one who might have had the chance to save Taehyung, but he didn't. And now look at the pain it caused the others. Hoseok would be purely devastated, Yoongi would be getting drunk, Jungkook would be crying at Jin.

And Jimin?