Life wasn't fair.
And yet he continued to fight against it with each passing breath.
Perhaps this would be the round he finally won.
...
Rationally he was entirely aware that this was a terrible plan. If you were to take some sort of poll garnering public opinion, he was certain the results would show how poorly thought out all of this was. Somewhere along the way one would assume he would have learned the importance of not making split second, irrational decisions, weather through his own experiences or the magnitude of stories he had been told.
Unfortunately he hadn't. No, if anything all it had taught him was that sometimes you're left with no other choice but to dive head long into the deep end and rely on hope to make sure you survive.
Jungkook was the metaphorical deep end and Taehyung was the life boat he was about to take a mad leap from. Anyone with a currently working brain would probably call this entire ordeal crazy, and label him the same.
And shockingly, they wouldn't exactly be wrong.
Actually no, that was a lie. There was absolutely nothing shocking about it.
...
"So it's gonna be the second door on your left." Taehyung kept hesitating, finding new reasons not to actually unlock the door that currently separated alpha and omega. Probably because between the three of them, he was the only one with more than a single working breaking cell and an ounce of common sense.
"Taehyung, really, it's gonna be fine. I've got this." Honestly he probably didn't. There was no telling how Jungkook was actually going to react to suddenly being confronted by said omega, by being pushed back into a corner and trapped. It was like a proverbial can of worms just waiting to explode.
"You say that now." There was a deep sigh as his eyes went from the lock to the key in his hand, twisting it around his fingers for the briefest of moments before finally working up the courage to throw caution to the wind. Metal brushed against metal as the key slipped in and the lock slid out of place. "Good luck, baby omega. Go knock some sense into that fool alpha."
...
That lock had been more than just a physical barrier, it had represented a mental one as well. The very last thing standing between him and the path on which he was fated to tread. One step closer to reclaiming what had never truly been his, but had felt like a devastating blow to his entire being none the less. A defeat that was destined to occur no matter how hard fought the battle had been.
But it had only been the battle that was lost, and now Seokjin was preparing to rage the war.
...
It was pitch black and dead silent, a combination that sent shivers up the length of his spine, uneasiness settling at the base as he tried to push on, journey through using only touch and the light of the moon.
Second door on his left.
His hand brushed over something that felt like wood, a distinctly different texture from the surrounding wall, and he moved on, silently reminding himself that it was the second, not the first that was his destination. Chilled plaster returned beneath his finger tips as he took another careful step, and then a second and a third, before it was the deep grain of wood again. Nails scratched against the surface as he sought out the handle, teeth sinking into his lip as he tried to find the courage it took to actually twist it and reveal his future.
Everything within him wanted to save this alpha. Wanted to do it for Yoongi, for his mother who lived every single day feeling as if he had failed his. Who had taken the most precious thing either of them would ever have and left nothing of value behind. Who cried into the late hours of the night, under the watchful eye of the stars. Who wiped his tears and still awoke each day and faced the demons that haunted him with bravery and courage.
Wanted to do it for Jimin, despite having never known him. Wanted to fix the pain and hurt and anger he had caused. Wanted to give him the peace of knowing that it wasn't his fault. That Jungkook would be loved desperately and completely. That they could each truly, finally, be free.
Wanted to do it for Jungkook who deserved to have an omega to call his own. Who would care for him, who would stand him up onto his own two feet and keep him there with all the strength they possessed. Who would never once allow him to falter.
And selfishly wanted to do it for himself. Wanted this alpha who would protect and encourage and love and adore him with everything he had left inside. Wanted late nights curled up in blankets and early mornings watching the sunrise. Wanted tiny little moments of peace and happiness.
It didn't matter that he wouldn't be the first to receive it, that he wouldn't be Jungkook's first love. Wouldn't be his first mate. Because he would be the last.
The beginning and the middle and the end of everything.
...
Crooked fingers twisted slowly, feeling the latch give way and finding the strength to push the door open. Later he would look back and realize that he never quite knew exactly what he had been expecting, only that he had attempted to prepare for the worst. Tried to prepare for finding a human being as broken and devastated and low as they could possibly be.
He would also realize that he hadn't actually given any thought to what he was going to do. That was probably part of what made this plan so terrible.
Finding nothing possibly may have been the best case scenario. Perhaps secretly it was even the one he was wishing for. But wishes weren't meant to come true and he was certain there was supposed to be an alpha there somewhere, waiting for him like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
But there was nothing. Just a stark emptiness that seemed to settle thick and heavy into his heart, cracking it straight down the middle, a wound so deep he couldn't possibly hope to repair it fast enough.
Maybe he wasn't meant for this after all.
...
"He wasn't there."
"You sure he wasn't just in the shower or something? I mean, the last time I saw him leave voluntarily for anything besides work was a week ago and that was only because I bribed him with sushi. Actually, come to think of it, that was also the last time he showered without me having to remind him so that's a dumb ass suggestion."
"Maybe he went to go look for you?"
"Did you forget cell phones exist? We're even talking on them right now."
"I honestly don't know how he stands you."
"It's a blessing and a curse."
"Should I be worried? Because I'm kind of worried."
"Nah, chances are he just realized there's no more banana milk and I wasn't there to whine at about it."
"Can you call him or something?"
"Or you could leave me out of this so all my limbs remain in tact."
"Really having a hard time believing you're a beta and not a bitch."
"Listen, I happen to really like having all of my appendages, okay? But since you're being so generous and allowing me to keep them, I'm gonna give you a pro-tip."
"I know I'm gonna regret this but, go ahead."
"He works tomorrow."
"So?"
"You know where he lives now. No reason why you can't be there when he comes back. Just like old times."
"I really hate to admit it but that actually might work."
"I know. Sometimes I even shock myself with how brilliant I am."
...
Tomorrow.
Put into the simple terms of a single word, it honestly didn't seem like that long to wait. Only it wasn't as if the hands striking twelve and bringing forth a new day would be enough, because there would still be, by his calculations, another entire day worth of waiting once that event took place.
So really, he supposed it was truly the day after tomorrow that he was looking forward to. And that seemed like some impossible task, a feat that he was never going to be able to complete, let alone somehow survive.
Maybe it was time to find a distraction.
