Bird of Paradise • taekook

Thirteen

"You know that's futile, they will find you, there's nowhere to go. Please, just wait for me."

"Tae, if I leave, you'd come with me, right? Just the two of us, just like how it always was?"

"I-" He wanted to say they needed time, that getting away from it all would take weeks, maybe months of planning. He wanted to say he's afraid, not good enough to protect both of them, to ensure their absolute safety. And all the people involved, both their families, all the people they've touched in life, it's all a tangled web that he couldn't sort through in his head.

But he was stuck in silence instead, the seconds passed, he blinked and heard the single word, dropping like lead, "Ohh", before she hung up the phone. The one word that has since haunted his dreams for two years now, two years of not knowing if she's dead or alive.

Sorry. If I could rewind time, could I have saved you? If I was there for you, would you have stayed?

His eyes prickle, but Taehyung squeezes them shut, not giving into the flash of weakness.

"Maybe it was meant to be this way all along. I'm the older one, remember? Meant to pave a way for you to follow..."

"Don't need a way... just want you back..."

"It's ok, Tae. I'm always with you, in one way or another." She sighs, her heavy breath lingering like a note from a song that will never be finished, "Have you seen those blooming flowers behind your house? So pretty, like someone splashed paint everywhere..."

"Yes..." A dash of vibrant orange, a stripe of bright red.

"Every flower has a message, just like every person deserves a belief of their own."

"Hmm?"

A nudge on his shoulder, the touch chilling, making him shiver, "You deserve so much, Tae, and I know you will have it, if you just fight a little harder for it."

Let me see you. Let me be next to you again. But instead of the words, tears finally fall, puddling inside, making a mess of the unrelenting ache.

"And remember, if you can't find me, go back to our spot, back to where there were only the two of us." Her hand grazes by his hair, gently, carefully, or is it a gust of night breeze through the window gap, carrying the icy moonlight with it.

The tide crashes and breaks in a thunderous roar, a million foamy bubbles receding from the shore. Taehyung jolts open his eyes from the dream, gasping, wanting to chase down the moment with everything he has. But the dream is gone, his single bed feels empty and cold, white pillow case stained with tears. Taehyung pulls the thin blanket close to his chest, and lays in silence for a long time, letting the waves wash over his thoughts.

By the time he has finally stabilized his breath and calmed his wayward heartbeat, he sighs and pushes himself up. The neglected backpack at the corner of the room beckons, and there's something lodged deep in his stomach when he digs into the bag to find his phone.

The message flashes, luring him in like a siren call.

- V! Wanna see something cool?

Taehyung wipes the mist off his eyes, and types up a response.

- Stop, Loey.

His mind is drifting when the phone finally flashes again.

- C'mon, I told you I'd find something, didn't I.

Taehyung sits in the dark, fingers trembling, no longer having the strength to type up a response.

But stubbornly, the phone flashes again.

- It was not easy, I'll tell you that. This is one of the many things I tried out, but, remember Victoria always had a thing for digital steganography, hiding data in unused bytes of photos? I don't have your talent of crazy insight, so I did it the hard way: had a team of eight people scan every single image in the world, in reverse chronological order. Two months' of work, they found a handful of photos that could lead to something. When I saw one of them I knew right away that's the one. Take a look.
[photos attached]

Taehyung clicks on the photo, it's grainy on the tiny flip phone screen. A brown antique glass bottle, with something like a piece of rolled up paper sticking out of it.

Blink, another message.

- File creation date is December 30, 1993, that's your birthday, no? A txt file is hidden in the bytes:

ppikyzozoxj hti oaazdak, rihy jüex snzq rvtv lürn TjtO Qhjhwj, Kyernse

Yes, Vernam cipher, both you and her have a thing for it, the old school and complex. I can't decipher it without the key tape. V, you can find it, right? What if she needs your help, what if she's waiting for you out there?