The Dusk Gallery | Taehyung x BTS

Decision Painting

"This canvas, like I said, shows your regrets or choices or decisions".

Taehyung turns his head from his cousin to the canvas as watches as six sentences appear.

Six.

"So six possible loves?" he questions

"Correct".

Wow. The thought itself was enough to really surprise him. That means that if he had done something different in his core life, whether that was yesterday, a year ago, or 14 years ago, he could have had a life with someone. He could have found his love. He might have been happy. Would he have been happy?

His eyes scan over the silver lettering, the sentences that really could have changed his future. God some of them were so simple? Is that really all it took? Such a small change and he could have found a love? Taehyung begins to feel guilt and anger. Anger at the fact that he could have had a possible life of happiness if he had only done one minor fucking thing.

He gets so riled up at the idea that he's suddenly punching the wall forcefully with both of his fists, one on either side of the painting. The wall shakes a little from the impact and Taehyung stays there with his eyes closed and his forehead pressed against the matte painting.

"No need for that dear cousin. You get to experience all of these lives. You get to select the painting, pick the regret and see how your life could have been. You get to see the people you could have fallen in love with. And get this. At the end you get to choose".

Taehyung releases a heavy breath through his nose and drops his hands by his side again before turning to face Daehan. "What do you mean I get to choose. Choose what?"

"You get to choose the love you want. You get to choose which person you want to end up with. And then once you wake, that'll be your reality. Somewhat. The life itself won't follow. So if you end up like I don't know, a butcher in one life with someone called, oh god give me a name, Manse, and you chose that painting. You wake up in your real life and Manse will soon follow. The butcher job thing won't. You will get to be with that person so to speak"

"God I don't know if I follow" Taehyung admitted in defeat.

"Right in simple terms. The paintings will show you six different lives with six different guys. And when you've found the one you love, the one guy you can see having a future with, you can choose him. And it'll come true. Poof, the fairytale is now a reality!"

Rather than be excited at the idea of having a happy life with the love of his life, Taehyung has a question to ask.

"What if I don't choose? If I don't find the one I want. What then?"

Daehan crosses his arms over his chest and very matter-of-factly says, "Then you will get what you want. You'll die".

"Good then let's just do that. Let me die. That's what I wanted in the first place."

Truth was, Taehyung couldn't imagine himself in a happy life with someone who loved him. Who could love him? He was depressed, lazy, uninteresting. His core life was shit. He didn't want to make anyone else suffer through that same shit with him. It wouldn't be fair.

"Not how it works here I'm afraid. You have to go through these lives. Trust me, once you're there you'll see how much you're enjoying it".

"Doubt it".

"You're just being bitter. Look you have to select a decision to change anyway. So go on, pick one".

"How long will I be in that life for?"

"Good question. Here in the in-between no time will have passed. But there in that life you'll be living it could be a day, weeks, months, years. It depends. The thing you need to know is that that life will come to an end because the Gallery requires you to experience all six of the lives"

"Hang on why. Why do I get to do this? Why do I supposedly get to chose a life with someone who loves me. Why me?"

At that question Daehan can only shrug. "The universe does unexplainable things sometimes dear cousin. You got given a second chance. It's up to you if you want to take it or not. Either way, like I was saying, the life will come to an end at a time you least want it to. You'll feel when it's ending but don't worry. You'll just end up right here with me, and I'll be waiting".

"Why are you even here"

"That I can't answer. That's something your subconscious decided"

"So what do I do now?" the brunette asks, looking for an answer.

"You select a decision. On the painting. Touch the one you want to change first. It will lead you to your first life".

"With one of my possible loves?"

"That's right".

The idea was daunting. Taehyung has never been in love. He doesn't know how to be around a person. He doesn't know how to be a boyfriend, and now he will be, what, thrust into a world where he's someones lover? What if he didn't like the guy? What if everything in that life was horrible?

"Just pick a freaking decision, before I kick you".

Taehyung sighs and walks towards the painting once more. His eyes scan the silver letters, trying to think which decision he should change.

At last he decides, and his hand, although shaky, slowly drags over the words.

If I never came out to my parents

He didn't have the time to think, because the next thing he knew the words began glimmering like diamonds, swirling around the painting whilst the other options disappeared.

Suddenly the black painting wooshes off to the side and another pairing appears before him. Gold frame. Glowing silver canvas. His eyes were glued to the pool of silver but before anything else happened the world went black.

And then he wasn't in the Dusk Gallery anymore.

But...a hotel?