ColourBlind~~~ BTS AU

Side Effects- Chapter 4

Taehyung's hug was shorter-lived than I expected. He escorted us both to where Jiwoo was setting up their current model, "Afternoon," I politely greeted Hoseok's sister and the stranger posing leisurely. At the same time, he dampened his lips, the tongue rolling slowly over his lip piercing.

"Wow, hyung, never told me you were hiding such a beautiful soulmate. Thought you'd be longer." A cheeky smirk rose into a childish smile, and the sudden seductive glare vanished. I couldn't help but feel as if I'd just suffered whiplash. Jiwoo rolled her eyes and announced a break. His demeanour suddenly relaxed, but his shoulders didn't slouch. As he rose from his seat to his feet, I was towered by this handsome stranger who greeted Taehyung with a familiar smile.

"Hands off, you brat." Taehyung quickly swatted away the tattooed hand the stranger extended toward me. "Tae, you're being rude." Jiwoo scolded. "Alice, how are you feeling?" She quickly asked as she extended me a glass of juice. I took it without hesitation and sipped on the refreshing lemon beverage. "Much better, I think it was just stress, but I might have a look into getting some soul therapy. Just to be safe." I shrugged.

Jiwoo nodded and glanced quickly at the stranger who patiently waited for us to be introduced, "Taehyung, will you introduce Alice, or shall I?" she sighed. I laughed at Taehyung, who was blissfully unaware and had already wandered over the look over the stranger's photos. His head popped up like a meerkat scouting for danger as his head tossed and turned sharply between the tattooed stranger and me.

"Oh..." He paused, looking confused, then it sunk in, "Oh! Alice, that is Jungkook; Jungkook, this is my Angel, Alice." Taehyung announced. I laughed as Taehyung returned his focus to the screen again. " It's nice to meet you; Taehyung doesn't shut up about you. I can see why, in the market for another soulmate?" He asked cheekily. The question I knew had been a harmless one, a joke. But it stung and rose fear in my chest.

The welcoming smile slipped from my lips, "No." I coldly answered, "I'll leave you to it; mind if I write some emails in your office Hobi?" I turned to the stunned Hoseok. He nodded without a word, and as my feet quickly hurried into the back room, I saw Taehyung trying to conceal a chuckle.

I shut the office door behind me and sunk with relief to be locked away like this, in the quiet solace in the grey, colourless room. It eased my racing heart. Why did I feel so guilty?

I listened for their whispers. "How did you manage to piss her off like that?" Hoseok chuckled.

"I get the whole loyal soulmate. But, it was just a joke." The voice I recognised to be Jungkook's apologetically tried to explain himself.

Taehyung's voice sounded assured, "You might have thought it was a joke, but it wasn't a funny one to her, it's always just been the two of us, and we're both happy that way. I told you to be nice to her... should I go and check on her?" His voice lingered, growing louder as I could tell he grew closer to the door as speckles of colour were slowly forming again.

"Give her some space, Taehyung; she's had a rough morning. Check in an hour; better yet, wait for her to come to you when she's ready. Stop treating her like that fragile young girl that lost her parents. She's a grown woman Taehyung, who you should treat as your equal. Just because you've been childhood soulmates doesn't mean the bond can't break down." Hoseok warned.

Although it was supposed to serve as a warning for Taehyung, his words injected fear to swell within my own soul.

When Taehyung finds out the truth, he won't want you anymore...

When this mystery soulmate finds out you have someone else, he won't want sloppy seconds.

That similar panic from this morning stifled my airways, making it challenging to breathe or even see straight. The only difference was that I could recognise these emotions as my own. My heart racing drummed loudly in my ears, drowning out the hushed whispers behind the door. It felt like a heart attack, like the floor that I knew I had once been standing on had newly formed a black hole and was swallowing me to the darkest depth of the universe where my existence served no purpose.

{Seokjin}

I can't breathe... just like this morning, I can't breathe again.

But unlike this morning, this panic attack hadn't transpired from my nightmares. I had been wide awake, with no triggering situations to send me into such a state that robbed the air from my chest. I could feel Joon's comforting arms around me, but I couldn't recognise anything. All thoughts slipped from my mind; it was as if these waves of emotions had ricocheted back from where I'd sent them this morning. They were hitting me with a vengeful force that hadn't fully possessed my body this morning.

"Jin, breathe..." Joon urged.

My body continued to tremble for a few minutes longer. All I could do was plead with the source of the root of these emotions.

You're not alone... I have family and friends and a soulmate; whom I will find and see again. Even if it's the last thing I do, I will find them silver diamond eyes that brought the colour into my world even if I die trying.