NeoNara || TXT || taebin || yeonkai

2014: Sunday, Part One

2014, DAY THREE
Sunday, August 17, 2014 4:43 AM

When Taehyun wakes up, the first thing he notices is that the bed is empty. There's no Mayumi beside him.

Yesterday's memories float back to him. Oh, yeah. I was assaulted...I think. I threw up a lot. Mayumi got arrested. She's not here. Soobin should be here. But when he turns to see if Soobin is in bed beside him, he's not. There's only blankets and an extra pillow and curtains still on the windows, safe from when Mayumi had gone on her rampage.

Oh.

There's something about this that feels odd. The entire RV feels strangely empty. Taehyun knows he's all alone. He's never slept totally alone before. Either his parents have always been home, so he can go to them if he needs something, or Mayumi is always around.

She's going to come back.

Taehyun imagines, for a second, what it might be like. Mayumi would knock on the door to the RV, ask to be taken back in. She'd probably be in tears. Say how her parents bailed her out of wherever the police took her, ask for forgiveness, say the demons made her do some horrible things and she's so, so sorry. Taehyun imagines the touch of her skin, the way she would look up at him, all teary-eyed. She would probably say something along the lines of, "This would have never happened if you had just asked me to marry you."

I need to find Soobin. Taehyun's voice is weak, and he finds he suddenly can't get a straight thought out. His mind swarms with thoughts of Mayumi being right outside his door, thinking of how he needs to hide, needs to get away from her. What if Soobin is here? Where is Soobin? I need to find him, I need to get him away from her. His mind starts buzzing again, fog setting in. And he tries to force himself to get up, but it doesn't work.

No. Mayumi's coming back. Mayumi's going to take me away. I know it this time. It takes all he has, but Taehyun manages to roll off the bed, taking most of the blankets with him. He stares at the ceiling for a moment, then takes a deep breath and scoots the blankets off of himself. He crawls over where the blankets have fallen, then reaches for the curtain that separates the bedroom from the rest of the RV and pushes it aside.

He looks up. The pull down bed is still made up, but Soobin is nowhere to be seen.

He's gone. Did Mayumi get him? Where did he go? Taehyun puts his head between his knees, tries to think straight, fails. He left me. He thought I was fine for the night and left me. Didn't he think that Mayumi would be back? Why did he leave me alone like this? Why am I all alone? Does nobody love me? Where is Mayumi? At least she loved me. She'll be back for me. I'll be okay. Soobin left, but Mayumi will be back. I'll never be alone again if she's by my side. She's always by my side. I'm always safe when I'm around her. That's why I'm panicking like this. It's because she's not here right now. I want for them to drop the charges. I'll pay for the RV damages, I'll quit DJing, I don't care, I just want Mayumi back with me --

"Taehyun?" Soobin's voice wafts through the RV, and then Taehyun hears footsteps. He barely has time to recognize that Soobin is still here before Soobin's arms come around him, pulling him into a loose hug. "Taehyun, honey, are you okay? We need to get you back to bed."

Taehyun doesn't answer.

Soobin strokes Taehyun's hair. He's not the lightest of sleepers, but he has barely dozed all night, mostly worried about Taehyun. Soobin knows he can sleep on the train ride back to the city later today. Right now, Taehyun needs him. "Taehyun. Sweetheart. Talk to me. Are you okay?"

Taehyun does not uncurl from his ball, but he tries to speak. "Mayumi..."

"She's gone, Taehyun. Do you think she's going to come back?"