Marco Polo (Taehyun x Reader)

M

  ⚠️WARNING! THIS BOOK CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SUICIDE AND SELF HARM! IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY SUCH THINGS, PLEASE DONT READ THIS STORY⚠️

  "Marco!" I screamed into the empty air. I chocked on my sobs as tears streamed down my cheeks, making my face feel weird. The lump in my throat refused to disappear as I awaited a response, only to be met with the soft echo of my own voice.

  I wanted to hear her voice calling out to me, finishing my sentence. All that responded was a silence that was deafening. The only sound that could be heard was my chocked sobs.

  I'm getting way ahead of myself.

  The story began in the midst of our senior year.

  We didn't know it, but we had been in the same class for years. It just goes to show that you can miss a lot when you aren't paying attention.

  I always stayed by my friends. I got lost easily, still do, and so I would hold onto their arms a lot. They didn't mind at all. If anything, they encouraged it. Regardless of me clinging onto them like a koala to a tree, I would still get lost. I'd get distracted by something or swept away in a crowd. I would end up being alone in a group of strangers. It was really scary. It's like getting lost in a shopping mall when you're a child, which I did, and still do, even in my teen years. My sense of direction had never been the best. I could barely tell my left from my right.

  Relief would wash over me whenever someone found me. Having someone with you when your lost makes it seem like you weren't even lost to begin with.

  I will say that circumstances I met her under we're not good by any means, but if I could turn back time and do it all over again, I would. She was worth getting lost every single time.

  My friends had decided we should go to the shopping mall on the most crowded day of the year. Missing out on something that all your other friends go to was like missing an episode of a TV show. You won't understand some things that happen after. That's why I decided to go, even though we knew it was inevitable that I would get lost at least once.

  My friends had joked about getting me a little baby backpack that had a leash connected so that I wouldn't get lost. They also suggested using a kindergartener rope with rings on it, so we could all hold on and no one would get lost. They've even suggested putting some sort of tracker on me.

  Though the mall was huge in size, probably bigger than the school, it was filled to the brim with people. Any direction you could possibly look, there was a person. I tried my hardest to stay with the group, I really did. Something distracted me and before I knew it, my group of friends had disappeared completely, as if it were a magic trick. I was used to getting lost, so usually I would stay calm and message my friends or just stay in one spot until they found me, but with the amount of people pushing and shoving to get into the stores so they could buy items on sale, I started to feel panicked. I looked around anxiously, trying to see if I could spot possibly Soobin or Huening Kai's heads from above the crowd, but I had no luck. I moved swiftly, trying to get to a wall or a store or somewhere I could just stop and wait, but the anxious crowds swept me away against my will.

  That's when she found me. She grabbed my wrist after seeing me struggle and she pulled me into a calmer store. My anxiety melted away. I felt calmer and more rational. I turned to her. She looked worried. She was worried, I had later figured out, because she saw how anxious I looked. She told me that she thought I would have an anxiety attack or something.

  "Are you alright?" She asked hurriedly. I was quick to nod.

  "Thank you so much," I said graciously.

  "Do you have a group of friends or someone to be with?" She asked immediately. "It's not safe to be here alone at this time of the year," she told me.

  I quickly grabbed out my phone and called Soobin. He asked me where I was, how I got lost, and more questions of the sort. I apologized so many times, saying that we should've known this would happen.

  He told me that they had ended up in a record shop. He said they couldn't leave because the crowd was densest around that specific area. I told him I would go to him, and for some reason, he trusted me to not get lost.

  "The record shop?" She asked, having overheard part of my conversation.

  "Could you tell me where it is?" I asked. I was going to try my best to not get lost, but she seemed to have other plans.

  "Why don't I go with you? I heard you say earlier that you get lost easily," she told me.

  I accepted her offer. Perhaps I was too quick to trust her, but once again, if I could turn back time, I'd do the exact same thing all over again.

  "If you get lost..." she started. "Yell 'Marco' and I'll respond with 'Polo', that way we both know where each other are," she suggested.

  It would be embarrassing to yell in public, but if it kept me from getting lost, I would be willing to try it.

  We set off for the record store, pushing our way through the dense crowd. I didn't hold on to her arm because I didn't know if she would be okay with it or not. This resulted in me quickly getting lost. I got all turned around in the giant crowd.

  "Marco!" I yelled. I listened carefully for a response over all the other voices that mixed together to create a loud mumble.

  "Polo!" I heard from a little ways ahead of me.

  I walked in that direction but it wasn't long until I forgot where I'd heard her from, so I called again and she responded. This kept going on until I found her.

  When I found her, she told me to hold onto her arm so I wouldn't get lost as easily. I was thankful that she was doing so much for me. I rested my hands loosely on her fluffy jacket, keeping my arms farther away that I would if I were holding on to Soobin or Yeonjun. I would pretty much hug their arms so I wouldn't get lost.

  I didn't lose her again which was surprising considering the dense amount of people in the mall. When we got to the record store, I could already see my friends heads poking around from behind the tall shelves.

  "Thank you so much," I said. I wanted to do something to repay her for her kindness but she refused any form of repayment. I asked her for her name. She told me. From that moment on, it was a name that could not, and will not leave my head. (Y/N) was her name. She asked for mine, so I told her. After sharing names, she left. She disappeared into the crowd. I thought I wouldn't see her again. But oh boy, was I wrong about that.