Shadow Dancing | K.TH

All the Sides to Love

It didn't seem so bad— jumping.

Putting an end to my story.

My soaked feet squeak against the wet dirt as I shuffle over to the edge. There's nothing like a fence blocking me from just stepping right off— as if this was the path I was meant to take.

It probably was.

"Don't."

The voice nearly startles me overboard— and I can't help but let out an ironic sigh as my eyes meet with V's. It's dark and violent as always, but there's a hint of panic to it. Like he actually cares if I stepped off the edge or not. Like he actually gave a single damn about me.

"Go back. It's too late for anything to change." I say, my voice finding the anger that it'd lacked ever since I'd talked to him. Now that we were alone, and he'd actually found the nerve to come find me after he'd told me to basically piss off from his life, it made me so, so much angrier than it should've.

"It's never too late."

I hiss as I stomp my foot like a child having a tantrum. My body teeters dangerously close to the edge, and I can feel adrenaline surging though me as panic replaces everything in his gaze.

Now he cares. Because if he didn't come back with my pathetic self, he'd probably get scolded by Jin. He didn't even care about me dying.

"I didn't mean it."

I nearly laugh at his face. I'm feeling dangerously high— like standing on the line between life and death has made me go a bit insane.

Instead, I fix a murderous glare at his face. Countless times he's done the same thing to me— whenever I'd tried to show him care. Whenever I'd tried to sympathize, to love— he'd give me nothing but this stare.

I'm glad the rain hides my tears.

"You're a liar, V." I whisper, my voice hushed with sorrow as I inch closer to the end. One more feet, and I was gone. Keeping that in mind, I step back another half-foot.

"You probably only came here because Jin forced you to."

"No." He says, daring not to move. Every word is careful— measured. Like he was trying to talk someone down from committing suicide.

Well, he was.

"Liar."

"I did not lie, Tzuyu."

"You're lying right now."

The rain has reduced to a drizzle, remnants of it dancing on my lashes. But of course, that wouldn't matter in a few moments.

"You look at me as if I'm a monster."

The sentence is out of me before I can stop it, my tone pathetically sorrowful. This is not how I wanted to end my last words, but the look on his face is so priceless it's almost worth the effort.

"So why would you want to come to save a monster that deserved to die in the first place?"

Tears slur my voice as I recall his painful words, cutting into my chest and slashing up my heart. His face twists in an expression I can't read.

"You are not a monster."

"You look at me like I'm one." I accuse, the tears coming faster and heavier. My body dissipates and reappears over and over and over again, my heartbeat rising and falling to follow its rhythm.

"I was mad." He whispers. "I was so, so angry. I needed someone to blame for Jimin, and it wasn't your fault that you were right there."

"Oh, I totally understand." I say sarcastically, swallowing a lump in my throat. "Jimin was my fault. This was all my fault. I know— so that's why I'm going to jump, and you're not going to stop me."

"I won't let you."

"You're not going to tell me what to do." I say, expression twisted with pain. "Why can't you just let me go? Just walk away, like you've always done! Let me die in peace— can't you just do at least that for me?"

"Because I care!" He exclaims, any signs of silence now completely gone. "I care, and I don't want you to die. I care, and I was too afraid to show it. I care, so I won't let you end your life. Not like this—not like this. Please—I've made a mistake."

He looks up at me, desperation in his voice.

"Let me fix it."

He cares? V. We were talking about V here, someone who turned me away so many times I lost count. Someone who hurt me more than my father in such different ways.

"Yeah, right." I murmur silently, my head hung over and sadness draped over me like a thick, heavy blanket.

"You don't even want to touch me."

Then I automatically step back, and I don't realize the action until my weight shifts down to ground that didn't exist. I don't realize until my feet finds not the surface I expected to find, but only air.

A harsh breath sucks the life out of me.

Suddenly, V's there— pulling me back from the edge with such force I'd go flying if it wasn't for him holding me. His eyes reveal an emotion I hadn't ever seen in those slanted pairs before— something foreign and unnatural.

Yet so enchanting.

"Yeah?" He challenges. "That's not a problem."

Then his lips are on mine, and I can't think. He smells like morning, night, and the day— all blending together into one beautiful moment. With his arm still tightly curled around my waist, he twists us around so he faces the cliff instead of me.

But before I can think about that, he kisses me harder— and then I can't really seem to think about it anymore.

It feels like only a magical second has passed before he pulls away, leaving the two of us gasping profusely for air. Even though he could run miles without breaking a sweat, here he was—

Gasping and nervous because of a kiss.

Well, I couldn't exactly blame him myself. My heart is pounding so hard that I can't breathe even if I tried to. My body fades in and out of existence as he grips me again, sending ecstasy sparkling up my spine.

We kiss for what seems to be like forever until he finally realizes that I was still losing blood from the reopening of my wound.

He would've noticed it much earlier if he hadn't been so focused on my lips.

"Oh." A note of shyness adorns his voice as he asks, nothing forceful and authoritative. This is a different V— and like all the other sides, this side I love.

He holds out a hand as he struggles to meet my eyes. And somehow, for some reason, I can't help but find that cute. An emotion named shy is such a new, abstract concept for him that I marvel at his demonstration.

"Come back with me?"

Smiling until my face feels like it's going to split, I slip my wet fingers into his palm.

"Of course."