Dreaming Alone | taekook ✔️

t h i r t y - e i g h t

So tell me will you stay now?
'Cause I feel like I'm saved now
You got me in a free fall, you're my sweet surrender

sweet surrender
~ atc

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The brunette pulled the cap off with a pop and took Jeongguk's hand again. With extra care, he started drawing over his scars.

Little dainty hearts.

"Tae..."

"I don't expect you to flip a switch and suddenly be okay." Taehyung whispered as he continued to doodle onto his skin, "I don't. But time heals. And I'm not perfect, but I'll be there every step of the way."

He held Jeongguk's other wrist with care and repeated his actions, decorating it with half a dozen purple hearts.

Jeongguk stared down at them. It was like Taehyung had sprinkled stardust onto his wounds and crowned it his galaxy. Like even the ugly parts of him deserved to be viewed as a constellation, deserved to be beautiful and deserved to be seen.

"I don't know about the Jeongguk before I met him." Taehyung pocketed the marker and flicked the ravenette under the chin affectionately. "Tell me about the Jeongguk after meeting me. What does he want?"

He wants to love and be loved. Cherish and be cherished. He wants to live unapologetically, without any guilt. He wants someone to hold him through every mistake he ever made and build him back up until he felt whole again.

"He wants to be your soulmate." Jeongguk drawled, leaning forward, itching to be closer to this boy who had just painted his monochrome world a beautiful color of hope and wonder. "I want to be your soulmate."

"Do you?" Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed. "But I lied to you."

"You do things to me, Kim Taehyung. I swear. You pick up all my broken parts and piece them together like it's no biggie." The ravenette took one final look at the masterpiece Taehyung had left on his skin and pulled the sleeves back down, turning his focus on the boy who managed to occupy more space in his heart than he thought possible. "I was so scared of people getting to know me— everything about me. But maybe that was exactly what I needed. Maybe I needed a soulmate. And you know me more than anyone."

"You're not upset about me lying?"

"Not anymore." Jeongguk shrugged. "I understand you were just... trying to protect what we have... trying to help me."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more..."

"Tae." Jeongguk scolded, "You've done so much for me." He pressed his body flush against the brunette's. "Soulmates?" He asked meekly, holding up his pinkie.

Taehyung reached out and hooked his finger around the ravenette's.

"Soulmates." He promised.

What does it mean to have a soulmate?

They're the impetus that pushes us to new heights. The mirror to all our weaknesses and strengths. The epitome of trust and harmony. The reason to be courageous in the face of challenges.

They're our other half.

There are zero insights on how such connections are formed. How does the universe choose who we belong with? Yet it is in our collective blindness that lies beauty.

The unknown is so vast. We try so hard to run from it, glancing back constantly to see if it had caught up, only to slam into it headfirst.

When Jeongguk looked at Taehyung, the unknown didn't seem as intimidating.