Misery /✔/ Taekook

Chapter Twelve

Taehyung has been so occupied with spending time with his family that he hasn't had much time to himself or to think. Of course, at night his mind begins to wander but with the help of PM medicines, he shuts them up immediately after Hanseok is fast asleep. His dreams are still nightmarish, Dongwook's face haunting him but those nightmares are becoming less and less, thankfully.

Today, however, he finally had a "free day". His mother wanted to spend time with Hanseok and take him off Taehyung's hands for a while and after some convincing, Taehyung finally gave in and allowed her to do so. Taehyung is an inexperienced parent and he tries his best but parenting is hard and stressful. He's been trying to prepare the five year old for kindergarten which he'll be attending next year and the boy has the attention span of a puppy: he gets distracted by the slightest things like specks of dust floating around. Hanseok has also adopted the habit of lying which isn't surprising to think about since almost all children lie but it's still surprising to be lied to right to your face by your five-year-old son.

Hanseok had been playing with a toy Jungkook had given him a while ago and accidentally broke a porcelain figure on the small table in the hallway. Taehyung knew the boy did it since no one else in the household played with airplanes and he had waited for Hanseok to apologize but he never did so he decided to confront him to which the boy looked him in the eye and said: "no, Mommy, I didn't do it."

It baffled Taehyung for a few seconds and he scolded the boy for lying but, of course, he continued to do it. Not only is Hanseok lying, but now that he's grown more comfortable around everyone, he's began throwing tantrums when he can't get something he wants.

So to say Taehyung needed a break is an understatement.

Currently, Taehyung was walking along the beach with his hands tucked deep inside his pockets. The bottoms of his pants and his feet were soaked from the tides but he didn't really care as he continued his long and calm walk. There was a lighthouse near the end of the beach and he's taken Hanseok there once where the boy almost slipped and busted his head open on a rock. Taehyung didn't take him back of course but that's where his destination was today. He just wanted to sit on the rocks and watch the sunset. Not many people were on the beach since it was beginning to get cold but Taehyung didn't mind the weather.

"Young man, can you hand me that?" An old woman called out to him. She was very elderly and used a cane to hold her up. She was pointing her bony and shaky finger at a can buried under the sand with only the corner of it sticking out.

Taehyung bent down and dug it up before handing it to her.

"I sell them, extra money can never do any harm," she said, "thank you."

"You're welcome," Taehyung smiled before continuing his walk towards the lighthouse. He planned to go into town and search for a job since his sister also worked but that plan was thrown out of the window because when Taehyung remembered, it was already too late. He assumed Jungkook would eventually stop letting them live there for free even though his sister works and eventually start taxing them.

He finally made it to the lighthouse, climbing the wet rocks and being careful not to slip or cut his foot on the sharp edges. He sat down on a flat rock that overlooked the ocean and gave him a perfect view of the horizon. The sky was a shade of all warm colours and it made his tanned skin look more golden.

'What a life' he thought before frowning. Even now, his life wasn't much. He was still rather envious of all the people who got to see the sunset and the sunrise every day in their past up to now and took it got granted. His life is still controlled by fear, just as a bit less than before.

As Taehyung thought deeper about it, watching the sun kiss the ocean line, he realized that, for only fourteen years, he wasn't scared of anything. Even when he became fully aware that his parents weren't rich, that his family couldn't get what they wanted and barely what they needed, he wasn't scared. Hell, he was already living in poverty, if anything he was more scared of having an overwhelming amount of money than having none at all.

His father always said, "money is man's weakness."

But after he was taken, that's when the fear began to grow. It manifested and now he doesn't remember what it felt like to be so carefree like he was before he was taken. Maybe that's just growing up though, you can't stay carefree your whole life; eventually, you'll have to worry about something. Some people just hide it better than others.

Taehyung leaned back with his arms behind him and holding his body up. Some people just aren't scared, some people just worry.

"First time I'm seeing you here."

Taehyung gasped, pushing himself up and turning to look at the owner of the voice. His eyes connected with a pair of familiar brown ones. Taehyung looked away. The sun seemed to melt into the ocean, its reflection wiggling into the ocean like melted ice cream.

"What are you doing here?" Taehyung asked.

"I come here every other day," Jungkook answered. He settled on another flat rock, near Taehyung but not too close.

Silence settled between them. The silence wasn't awkward but it was somewhat suffocating. Taehyung couldn't pay attention to the sunset anymore and it was as all his thoughts have retreated back into the darkness of his mind. He was highly aware of Jungkook's presence, he could see the older male in his peripheral vision. He was wearing a black T-shirt and slacks and Taehyung if he was cold. The breeze had picked up just a bit and blew his hair out of his face but Jungkook didn't even shiver but neither did Taehyung who just released a quiet huff. Goosebumps appeared on his skin and he shook his head in an attempt to fix his hair.

Finally, as the ocean began to eat the sun whole, Taehyung said, "I'm sorry...Jungkook."

"For?"

"Lashing out, I shouldn't ha—"

"You shouldn't apologize," Jungkook said. "I should, however, apologize for my actions. I thought ahead of your situation."

Taehyung shook his head but he couldn't find any words to say. He stared at his hands turned pink by the cold. His feet and ankles were freezing since they had been in the water a few minutes ago but he didn't really mind them. What he did care about, however, was settling a mutual understanding between him and Jungkook. Jungkook is the person who saved him after all. He can't be mad at someone who changed his life for the better.

"Hanseok misses you," Taehyung decided to say.

Jungkook released a huff that could be considered a chuckle. "How is the little man, anyway?"

"He's...different," Taehyung answered. "Definitely changed since you've last seen him."

"Oh—"

"But he's still—"

"How are you, Taehyung?" Jungkook interrupted. Taehyung clamped his mouth shut, glancing at Jungkook before looking back after noticing his eyes on him.

"I'm fine."

"Are you?"

"Yeah, how are you, Jungkook?"

Jungkook didn't answer for a while. "I'm fine, just stressed."

"Kingdom matters?"

"Yeah and other things. Personal things."

It became dark, the sun completely swallowed by the ocean. Taehyung took a deep breath before standing up. Jungkook watched. Taehyung stayed put for a few long seconds before saying.

"I need to go back home, I'll see you around."

He took conscious steps, making sure the rock is flat enough to stand on. Jungkook stayed put and Taehyung wondered if he was just going to sit there the whole might. The idea didn't seem too bad, he'd like to do that. Maybe tomorrow night, after Hanseok is asleep.

"Taehyung," Jungkook said as soon as the younger male's feet touched the sand. Taehyung turned to look at him. "Hm?"

"I— tell Hanseok I miss him too."

Taehyung bit his lip before nodding. "Okay, I will."

"Goodnight, Taehyung."

"Goodnight, Jungkook."

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Word Count: 1418

This didn't go as planned.