No Going Back

28

Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.
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The Art of War
Sun Tzu

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A sudden coldness washed through Taehyung's body, locking his limbs and suffocating his breath. This . . . This couldn't be true.

This couldn't be happening. 

These two pieces of papers - a birth certificate and a paternity test tying his father to another son - had to be illegitimate. The inky lettering and bold stamps were probably forged by an experienced professional; the witness signatures were most likely falsified. Even the table that compared DNA data and confirmed the relation between the child and parent had to be counterfeit.

This all had to be one corrupt and illogical scheme.

Because if it wasn't - if the documents were valid and authentic - that meant two people Taehyung trusted with every fiber of his being had lied to him for years. People he looked up to, people he idolized, could have deceived him for years. 

Years.

Just thinking of the possibility left him disoriented and dizzy, with his heart thrashing against his rib cage and his lungs unable to suck in much-needed air. Every inch of his skin tingled with an other-worldly apprehension, an innate awareness that he was nothing but a clueless, defenseless pawn in a game he didn't fully understand.  

And as much as Taehyung wanted to deny, deny, deny, he couldn't. Deep down, a small, nagging feeling - one that would be easy enough to ignore for the time being - took root in his core and began to grow. It burned brighter and overthrew each conscious thought until he knew. He knew these creased, yellowed papers were real; he knew his loved ones had concealed this information from him.

Really, he shouldn't be so surprised. The world Taehyung lived in was nothing more than a web of gossamer lies, a gorgeous illusion that lured in its unknowing prey. From afar, the untold truth painted the perfect picture, an intrigue for all to admire. Legitimacy and deceit were finely spun and interwoven, making it impossible to discern fact from fiction.

But that web was also fragile. One wrong move would destroy the entire facade; a vindictive hand could corrupt the sticky weavings and tear it all down within an instant.

Taehyung was aware of all of this; he acknowledged how pretty lies could become if twisted in just the right way. And even though he knew these things, he still instinctively trusted those around him. He put his faith in others. He always accepted their deceptions as universal truths and assumed they had his best interest in mind.

No foul play was ever suspected. 

But his loved ones betrayed him, and that hurt infinite times more than any treachery from his faceless enemies or malicious ex. They played him like a fool, holding onto their secret knowledge all while setting their traps from the sidelines. And Taehyung unknowingly fell into that trap; he was caught in a web of someone else's making.

And now, all Taehyung had known up until this moment was put to the test . . . He questioned everything he was once taught. And with the weight of this discovery, he no longer knew who could be trusted or where he should turn to for honest answers.

So much had changed within an instant, tilting Taehyung's world on its axis and introducing him to a slew of fresh doubts. And that was all because of two flimsy pieces of paper, because of the names on those papers that linked father and son together.

Kim Chinhwa and Namjoon.

Namjoon, the man whom Taehyung owed everything. Namjoon, the man Taehyung spent the last three years of his life with. Namjoon, the man whom Taehyung couldn't save.