BLACK ON BLACK | TK

Chapter Six

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"You ignored all the darkest of warnings
Found our end in the silence of morning
It fell beneath the cold
I'll take the desert, you take the coast
But to each his own."

Taehyung's life had been full of loneliness and sleepless nights, of sadness and shallow eyes but after the appearance of those words everything seemed to get worse—if it was even possible.

Taehyung cried so hard that Jimin felt compelled to give him pills in order to calm him down and the following day the man looked as if he didn't want to be there anymore, on that couch, in that apartment—on that planet. Jimin and Hoseok couldn't pinpoint which one was it but they tried to ignore the fact that Taehyung looked like he wanted to disappear. Jimin understood him a little, or at least tried, because in reality he couldn't understand the pain one felt when he was rejected by their own significant other. The words on Taehyung's wrist had not yet disappeared, which meant that his soul mate had not erased them. He wanted him to see them again, and Taehyung did. He had been staring at them for 10 minutes, tears streaming down his cheeks under Jimin's worried gaze. His friend knew that Taehyung needed peace and to be alone for a while but there was a fear inside him that was not going to allow him to leave Taehyung alone anytime soon.

Jimin stayed with him that day, hugging and stroking his hair, but a few hours later Taehyung did what he always did; he smiled, lying that he was fine when he really wasn't. However, as usual, Jimin left his apartment because Taehyung urged him to, as he did every time those feelings of loneliness overwhelmed his mind. He offered to walk the two dogs in his place but Taehyung refused, assuring him that he would do so since he had to get some fresh air as well. Jimin actually knew that was just an excuse to kick him out but he couldn't blame him. Taehyung led him to the door with a smile, a mask he wore so perfectly it seemed almost real, and once it closed, the artist fell to his knees and cried his heart out again. He cried so much that he fell asleep on the floor, being woken up by the howls of the two dogs that had to be walked. He stood up with a sad smile on his face then put on the first coat he found, disinterested in the fact that he was still wearing pajamas and that it was almost evening. He tried to ignore the words on his wrist, but failed, and at one point, as he put on the leashes of the two dogs, Taehyung began crying again. It wasn't the painful sobbing anymore—no. His emotions were so overwhelmed, his soul so broken, that Taehyung's tears rolled down his face uncontrollably as his face remained emotionless. He couldn't stop them.

Despite his misery, he still went down to the park, then sat down on his bench and set Muse and Onyx free. His eyes went to the sky, and the tears returned, even if they were never truly gone. Taehyung knew he shouldn't have hoped, but he simply couldn't give up something he had wished for all his life. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes for a few seconds. He took a liner from his pocket, then pulled the sleeve of his coat up, revealing the words that still stained his skin. The first sign that his soul mate existed was a rejection and at that achievement Taehyung chuckled ironically, a sound full of regret and sadness. He pressed his black pen just below the bent, elegant letters, then started tearing again.

"I will wait until you'll get the courage to tell me those words yourself, face to face."

Taehyung sighed before covering his wrist again. The park was almost empty, with only a few teenagers walking around, so Taehyung allowed himself to cry quietly for a few minutes. He heard footsteps coming towards him but at that moment he couldn't even care who the person that was sitting next to him was, hugging him so delicately. The familiar scent suggested that this was Hoseok, so Taehyung let his head fall on his friend's shoulder, sighing again as he buried himself more and more in the warmth that couldn't satisfy the coldness he felt in his heart. Hoseok stroked his hair, a gesture that would have usually calmed him, but at that moment only made him sigh louder because Hoseok should not have been the one comforting him. Taehyung calmed down in Hoseok's arms and the other let him fall sleep, knowing that he probably needed rest. He picked up Taehyung from the bench but before he could make his way to the apartment, the two dogs reached him. Hoseok sighed, not knowing what to do since the black dog still didn't like him, but from a distance he could see Jimin walking towards him with Yoongi. He put the leash on Muse but Onyx refused to approach them, running to the opposite side, which surprised them all.