1 is Greater Than 7

Burnt Bridges Part 3

Taliah POV

Glancing out of the plane's window, I felt a small smile creep onto my face as the familiar layout of Seoul could be seen. It's been two months too long. I miss my boys. Having been on the plane for who knows how long, I took a moment to stretch my body out once we stepped off. It was the end of April now and the weather had become a bit more tolerable. Before I could really look around, I was engulfed in about 5 different bodies. At first I was a bit startled and confused, but that quickly dissipated as the voices of my big babies began to all speak at once. "Taliaaahhhhhh."
"We missed you so much!"
"Don't leave us again!"
"I was so worrieddddd!!"
"Phones chats weren't enough!"
It went on and on and on. I finally broke free and hushed everyone. They all went silent. "Geez. Quite down! We're in the airport for Pete's sake!"

I looked around and apologetically bowed to those giving weird stares, then looked to the boys and sighed. When I looked back up at them, they looked so sad. I guess I did yell at them right off the bat. I sighed again, and then broke out into a bright smile, "I missed you guys too." I said, and that just resulted in another group hug.

Over someone's shoulder I could see Jooheon and Shownu standing in the back looking lost. Like they wanted to come and say hello but didn't know how. Once I caught their eyes I beckoned them over with my hands and gave them a reassuring smile. They slowly walked over and the others moved out of the way for them. I gave them another bow and proudly announced, "I'm back!"

No sooner than I finished saying that, Jooheon gave me a tight hug. "Welcome back." he said. It took a few moments for the initial shock to wear off, but once it did I slowly wrapped my arms around him and tried to put all my love for him in this one embrace. I wanted to let him know it was okay, that everything was okay, and to give him comfort and safety. I let him be the one to pull away first, and I just ruffled up his hair as if he was a little kid, holding back happy tears.

Then my eyes drifted to Shownu. He looked uncomfortable, maybe because he wasn't really ready to be quite that close, or maybe he was thinking I'd be expecting the same of him. Either way, I approached him first. I bowed again, and holding out my hand, I once again said, "I'm back, Shownu." Although hesitant, he extended his hand to meet mine, and once he made contact, I brought my other hand up to cover his entirely. Then I just looked at him and gave him the kindest face I could, to let him know that everything was okay. At that, I could feel his stiffness give way. Just as I was about to pull away, he yanked on my arm and pulled me into a hug.

"Yeah. Welcome back." Shownu replied. I couldn't hold it anymore, I cried. I don't know what happened in the two months I've been gone, but I'm grateful for whatever led them to this moment. I don't think anything could have made me as happy as I was in this moment. As I was bringing my arms up to hug him back, I got chills to the point that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight.

I felt cold throughout my body and into the deepest part of my gut. I felt eyes burning into me somewhere, cold and lifeless. I quickly tore myself away from Shownu and I started looking around for whoever could be holding such hostility towards me. It was then that I saw them. Those same gray orbs, crazed, stone cold, and seething with hatred. I was frozen in my spot. I hadn't known that I was clenching onto Shownu's shirt, that my hands had started to shake. But just as soon as the feeling came, it left. A few people crossed in front of my view and those eyes disappeared, no longer there. I panicked. I could hear my heavy breaths and feel the cold sweat beading up on my body. I hastily scanned the crowd, trying to decide if my mind was playing tricks on me or not, but I couldn't find them anymore, I couldn't find him.

"...iah....taliah....TALIAH!" I heard a voice screaming out to me right by my ear. A hand waved in front of my face and I followed it back to a familiar face. "A-ah, y-yongguk, what, um, what's the date?" I detached myself from Shownu fully and tightly folded my arms around myself instead.

"The date?" Yongguk asked confused, "It's April 18th." It's that day. The same day I said goodbye to my past 5 years ago. The same day I had to pick myself up and start off fresh again. Yongguk looked at me puzzled, but decided not to question the random inquiry.

"Anyway, I just said I'll see you later tonight," Yongguk continued, "You know, for the final concert?" I just looked at him with a blank expression on my face. He looked me over with a worried expression. "Are you okay? You look as if you've just seen a ghost." No. It's far worse than that.  I don't believe in ghosts, but it seems my worse fear has come back from the dead. I just shook my head however and gave a weak smile.

"I'm fine. I'll see you later." I said shakily.
"Alright...don't forget our promise okay?"
"...I remember." 
With that he went satisfied on his way and I turned around to 7 expectant guys. "Please. Take me home." I said. They all made a little circle around me and I could pleasantly say, that I was extremely happy to have my 7-layer shield back.
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Shownu POV

Everyone was patiently waiting for all the passengers to start unboarding the plane. Once people were walking off, we were all anxiously searching for her face. We saw B.A.P step out first and they became instantly crowded and surrounded by their fan group, and then we saw the familiar curly head of hair and black rimmed glasses girl step off of the plane as well. Just about everyone ran full speed to where she was and started barraging her with hugs and talking about random things. It was no surprise when she told them to shut up. I just chuckled. I wanted to be apart of it too actually. While Taliah was gone, Jooheon and I did a lot of self-reflecting, asking, and working through things we had been afraid to touch for years.

In the end, we decided not to suppress our feelings anymore. It would be hard, and we will forever have these scars on our hearts, but maybe, just maybe, if we open our hearts again, they may heal. We both realized that Taliah could be the one person able to do so. Still, those thoughts are better said then done. We just awkwardly stood on the outskirts not knowing what to do until Taliah motioned us over.

Jooheon surprisingly ambushed her with a hug. I could see the joy in her face, so much so that it almost brought her to tears. I don't know if I can do that, I thought. I don't want to be the one to ruin such a happy moment, but at the same time I want to be genuine. While I was frozen in place, she came over and held her hand out to me. "I'm back, Shownu." she said. The way she called out me was so soothing. When I finally took her hand in mine, she also brought her other hand up, and covered mine entirely.

She just looked at me with understanding eyes. It felt so reassuring, almost like she was telling me to just take my time. I felt safe, like a child does when they feel their mother's embrace, and at that, the final wall I held up against her fell. Her hands started to pull away, but I didn't want her to go, so I hugged her. It was the last thing I expected myself to do but my body moved on it's own. I felt her tears of joy soak into my shirt, and I was certain, there would be nothing that could replace this moment in my heart.

After a minute, she suddenly tore away from our hug and started looking around. At first, I was worried that I had started to make her uncomfortable, but then she froze, her hands began to shake, and she gripped my shirt so tight I thought she was going to tear it off. I was so confused, I tried to call out to her but it was no use. I followed her line of sight, and caught a glimpse of a man in the distance who had cold gray eyes, staring right at Taliah.

It wasn't long before he disappeared into the crowd, but once he did my eyes went wide and my mouth went dry. The blonde flowing hair, and the crooked smile I could never forget. Those dangerous, cunning eyes. It was her. It had been 5 years, through a lawsuit, and a restraining order, but the law and time has nothing on crazy. I expected her eyes to be on me or the other guys, but they were glued to Taliah, watching carefully, like a predator that carefully observes her prey. Before long, she too disappeared into the crowd and I felt the most uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. A storm was coming, and I couldn't do anything about it.