Pathways

Endless.

  The morning came over Milan like any other morning, unsuspecting of what yesterday still echoed in the minds of the humans it awoke from their beds. Taehyung opened his eyes to the light passing through the open curtains he forgot to pull over the window the previous night. Just like thousands of others, he wore a new t-shirt over his bare torso as he moved through the rooms of his apartment aimlessly, inspecting the surroundings, confirming the same life.

He did everything he could to postpone checking his phone, thanking the Universe that it was Saturday and he had no real need to be anywhere else. He approached the nightstand like a ticking bomb and slid his finger over the screen of his smartphone without much conviction that he really wanted to know if Jungkook had woken up or if he sent him any text explaining his behavior the other night.

It was an apology that he feared the most because any words of excuse would have rendered the moment utterly frivolous and Tae wanted to keep all his lies in check. He lied to himself that Jungkook called because he actually missed him and alcohol loosened him up and not because Tae was accessible and so far away that it meant nothing. If there was something Tae was very accustomed to, it was the stupidity that fell over people when they got drunk. Didn't he make the poorest choices when drunk? Wasn't his life destroyed by a drunk, revengeful guy? Drunk words meant nothing and if he was to imagine they did, he chose to imagine the positive parts like in a nightmare one does not accept.

To his horror, the phone was showing an unread message and his heart coward in fear, until he realized it wasn't from Jungkook but the only guy he had managed to befriend in Italy and talk freely with. Gabriel was telling him that he was on his way for the early coffee they decided on having.

He was the model Tae used for his personal portfolio, that conceptual photography which was too weird to suggest to anybody else. Gabriel would roam through deserted streets with him, listening to TVs or music coming from other houses. Gabriel would walk through cemeteries with him. He was the man which Jungkook saw in the photo with the stone angel.

He wasn't Italian either. He told Tae stories about his home town of Norwich, England, while also being on the run from everything in his previous life that haunted him. Gabriel was everything but common. They met randomly when Tae was photographing the sights from the top of the Duomo of Milano and between all the tourists, he became aware of how alone he was. Jimin was still in Italy at that time, but he had a part-time job working from home.

He was alone. God was not present. Love had dispersed. Jimin had to leave him soon. His heart was ashamed of all that he had caused. He was the last person on Earth and he was sitting on the rooftop of the Duomo, ugly sobbing like a maniac gargoyle, trying to hide how much every muscle in his body ached in the suffering of his spirit turning to stone.

Out of Nowhere, Gabriel sat down next to him and his arm chained his shoulder. "You're ok... you're ok..." he whispered and instead of pulling away, in his maddening state, Tae clucked to the man's jacket and let his tears fall harder as he turned to bury his head on his chest.

He just held him until Tae was ready to speak.

"I'm so sorry... I'm fine... I'm fine..." he repeated as he attempted to pull himself together.

Gabriel chuckled lightly. "It's ok... I don't mind," he said as he tried to get the Korean boy to relax and breathe without feeling guilty of completely losing it in front of a stranger. "My name's Gabriel..." he uttered in perfect English.

Taehyung wiped his nose with his sleeve and big tears continued to roll off his cheeks. "Taehyung... I'm Taehyung." He managed to get out.

"Ok, do you wanna laugh at me while I try to pronounce your name?" the man chuckled and his voice was calm. "Any nicknames?" he added as he gave up the idea of trying the foreign language.