A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 35; School, sigh

Taehyun nibbled at his bottom lip in concentration and his eyes were wide and focused on the screen in front of him. His hands moved over the keyboard and his fingers pressed the buttons to make the characters move.

He was playing his own game, the company to which he sold the idea to having developed it further until they finally released it after a month and a half. It wasn't a big game which was bound to be played all over the world, but it got popular in the smaller towns rather quickly.

The blonde character on the screen jumped up and slashed his sword down, right into the shoulder of the other guy. He fell down the ground and his HP went down a good 200 points which made him faint. The screen then zoomed in on the blonde, who smirked and skillfully swung his sword, a big victory displayed over the screen.

"That's so unfair!"  Came a voice.  "You programmed in a way so you can win every time!"

Taehyun shook his head and looked at his friend in the little screen in the corner.  "Trust me, I didn't. I only play fair."

"I don't believe you!"  Yeonjun huffed and crossed his arms.  "You don't need to believe it for it to be true."  Taehyun said and watched as the character of the other boy leant forward on his knees, his black hair contrasting with his pale skin and amplifying his feline like eyes and then he looked up, slashing his sword down to the ground.

"I demand a rematch."  The boy said and Taehyun could see the words for a new round appearing on his screen.  "And I want another character."  He then added which made the brunette scoff. His friend had no idea that the warrior he had just played with was one of the strongest - if not the strongest.

Taehyun accepted the new challenge and dove head first into another battle, again playing with the blonde as his character. He wasn't planning on ever changing that, wanting to spend as much time with the boy as possible even though he knew it was only the pixelated version of him. It was better than nothing though and he knew that. Still, he hoped that someday he could see the shorter boy face to face again.

He moved his hand over the keyboard and his fingers pressed into the buttons which made the blonde jump, raise his sword and slash it down. Yeonjun saw it coming though and let the bigger male step aside and turn away from the blade. Taehyun scoffed again as he noticed his friend had chosen the King of Barbarians as his character. In the game he was stronger than the blonde boy, yes, but he was slower and less precise. He let his character slide over the ground, through the taller's legs and then he was jumping to his feet, thrusting the sword into the King's back.

"NO!" Yeonjun yelled and the brunette could hear the sound of frantic typing on a keyboard through the speaker. He smiled proudly and watched as the familiar victory reappeared on the screen in front of him. "Just accept the facts buddy. I'm better than you." He said matter of factly.

"This game is broken," The other stated. "It doesn't work."

"Of course it does." Taehyun rolled his eyes. The other boy lifted his arm and brushed his hand through his hair before he was raising a finger up, looking the camera dead in the eye and raising an eyebrow daringly. "I will be back and I will defeat you, watch my words."

The brunette chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Then the voice of Seokjin sounded from downstairs, yelling at him to quit gaming and go to sleep as it was a normal school day tomorrow. Taehyun bid his friend goodbye and shut off the computer, pulling his headset from his head and pushing the chair away from his desk. He quickly changed into sleepwear, which just consisted of sweatpants, and then brushed his teeth briefly before he was slipping under the covers. A sigh left his lips and his thoughts wandered off to the platinum blonde. It wasn't on purpose, the boys was just becoming a thought that was on his mind all the time.

He wondered what he was doing now, if he had adapted to his life as the emperor already and if he got still bothered by some of the soldiers striving after Rowoon's words and beliefs. Taehyun just couldn't help but sigh deeply at the thoughts, and he wished he was there to see the boy rule over the kingdom. He was sure the blonde was nailing it, that he was making people happy and gave them a feeling of safety, putting guards up and telling Warrior Yoongi to continue doing the good work he put up.

It didn't take long before he fell asleep, a soft continuous smile on his lips at the memories of the blonde and when he woke up the following morning he could smell the delicious breakfast his brother was cooking all the way from his bedroom. He took a quick shower and got dressed before he walked downstairs, sitting down at the table.

"Good morning." Seokjin smiled sweetly at him as he set a plate down in front of him, a few pancakes covered in syrup on it with a few slices of different kind of fruits next to it. "Morning." Taehyun replied and started digging in, the food looking too delicious to leave it be.

"How did you sleep?" His brother asked, trying to make small talk before they would leave for the day. The younger shrugged and glanced up for a second. "Not bad not good. Just.. normal."

Seokjin hummed and swallowed down his own food, sipping at his water afterwards. "Where's that blonde guy? Beomgyu, was it? I haven't seen him this morning." He asked him and Taehyun forced his mind to think of an explanation quickly. He hadn't thought of an excuse yet but luckily he got lucky and thought of something before his brother would get suspicious. "Um.. Yeah, he went to another guy's house to stay there. The school thought he would fit there better than here."

Seokjin hummed and nodded in understanding. Then an offended expression took over his features. "What do you mean would fit there better than here? This house is big enough and I alway keep it neat and clean and I can cook well, what more does a boy need?" He huffed, making Taehyun chuckle and shake his head.

They continued talking for the expanse of time breakfast took them and when they were bringing the dishes back to the kitchen the older turned to him.

"Do you want me to drop you off at school today?" He asked him then, making the brunette look up at him. His eyes held a kind expression and his words sounded genuine. His hair was messy and tangled from the night but it suited him, looked pretty on him and made his face stand out. He had never really offered it before but Taehyun wasn't going to let the offer slip through his fingers.

He nodded. "Sure, Hyung. If you want." Seokjin smiled and it wasn't before long that they stepped into the car and drove away. It felt odd to just continue his daily life now that everything was behind him. It felt weird to act like it all didn't happen and he didn't just traveled between worlds like it was nothing. He knew he couldn't really change his life in his own world though, even if he wanted to so badly. He wanted to take the blonde to here, or stay there with him, but he could never leave everything behind.

They arrived at his school building and he quickly kissed his brother's cheek as a goodbye and stepped out of the car. Taehyun walked into the building and went straight to his locker, where he got the books he needed for the day. Yeonjun was playing a game on his phone and leant against his own locker but as soon as he noticed the other boy he pocketed his phone and walked up to him.

"I'm practising and I'm sure I can beat you in a week or so!"  He stated proudly, grinning widely. Taehyun raised an eyebrow.  "Yeah?"  Yeonjun nodded hastily.  "Yep!"

"We'll see about that."  The brunette responded and placed his hand flat on the door of his locker, pushing it shut and turning his key in the lock to secure it. He pocketed his keys and swung his bag over his shoulder.  "We'll see about that."  The other mocked him in a high-pitched voice and draped his arm over his shoulders, pulling him down and ruffling his brown hair as they walked to their first class together.