BLACK ON BLACK | TK

Chapter Four

***

"When you had not touched me yet
Oh, take me back to the night we met"

Taehyung got home safely after a long journey with a taxi driver who was too talkative for his own liking but he managed to detach himself from the conversation by pretending to be busy with his phone. His mind was filled of thoughts and ideas that troubled him but, no matter how much he tried to erase them, he couldn't. He thought of his soulmate, of the blank spaces on his body and the emptiness he was always overwhelmed by. Taehyung had always wished to experience love, to understand how it felt to have a significant other who would love you as you were but he had never realized that with love and the desire for it also came other emotions—loneliness was the most painful one.

As much as he wished to feel loved and to offer his love back, loneliness overwhelmed him, reminding him that he was still alone—that he had no one to call his own.

With those thoughts still imprinted in his mind, Taehyung opened the door to his apartment, being immediately greeted by the sound of his dogs' paws as they ran. A smile appeared on his face as Onyx jumped on him and soon Taehyung was laughing out loud. After a well-deserved shower, meant to drive away the dizziness he was feeling and the icy feeling in his veins that never truly faded, Taehyung sat down in front of a new canvas, simply because he was not tired.  His fingers gripped the brush and, before he knew it, the darkness of the night had already turned into a dim light. Taehyung decided he should probably sleep when the first rays of sunshine caressed his face so he lazily walked to his bed, falling asleep with images of unfamiliar eyes and warm hugs swirling in his mind.

Still, even if they felt warm, the ice in his veins never melted.

***

It was a call from Jimin that woke him up after a few hours of sleep, Taehyung wondering if anything had happened since it was too early and Jimin was not used to waking up at that hour.  However, seeing his name on his screen brought a smile on Taehyung's face, because Jimin had called just to make sure he was okay, even scolding him for not answering his dozen messages.

Taehyung laughed, then promised his friend that he would meet him in an hour's time at their favorite cafe. Since he didn't have enough time to walk his dogs, Taehyung took their leashes and decided to take them with him—the cafe was pet friendly and his dogs were already loved by the staff there so he felt no worries as he walked down the stairs with his pets following after him. 

Jimin was already on his way to the cafe so Taehyung made sure to leave earlier as well. His friend had told him during the call that he had managed to wake up earlier so that he could prepare Yoongi's lunch, mentioning that he had always dreamed to be able to do so and now, that he finally could, he wasn't going to let a hangover stop him. Taehyung smiled as he walked down the sidewalk, the tote bag in which he usually kept his sketchbook and some essentials for drawing hanging on his shoulder, Onyx and Muse walking quietly besides him.

Once he entered the cafe, Taehyung noticed that Jimin was already sitting at one of the tables, another person sitting with his back turned to Taehyung. Even if he couldn't see his face, he knew it was Yoongi from the way his friend was gazing at the person—his irises filled with adoration and love. 

As he stepped closer, Taehyung greeted the girl behind the counter with a large smile on his face—she was a foreign student who's been working there for more than a year and they've become friends after Taehyung had given her an umbrella during a rainy day. He lived close to the cafe so it was no problem for him but the girl had felt extremely grateful, which had lead them to creating a friendship Taehyung wasn't even expecting. He thought those friendships, the unexpected ones, were the most beautiful—his friendship with Jimin was the result of an unexpected even as well.