the sound of your heartstrings | vsoo

chapter 1

TAEHYUNG

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The sun was always on schedule (except for rainy days), so when it was shining high on the blue sky, its rays sneakily seep through Taehyung's windows, gently shining on his face as if it was tugging the young man to get out of bed. Feeling the slight heat, his face wrinkled in discomfort before he could slowly open his eyes. A yawn escapes his lips before letting out grunts and yelps as he stretches out his tired joints. He lays there for a moment, taking in the complete serene state of his room in the mornings before finally getting the energy to hop off his bed. He slips on his slippers before walking in his bathroom, turning on the lights.

Getting up, doing hygiene, eat, work, then sleep. Not once did he ever break this routine. Not like he had anything special happening to his life to break this redundant cycle either, but Taehyung was always grateful that he could open his eyes in the morning. As he brushes his teeth, eyes gazed upon the mirror in front of him, he couldn't help but feel... happy. Perhaps it was the extra hour in his sleeping routine that gave him the extra energy; he was usually a little grumpy in the mornings, but today, he felt like it was going to be a good day. After finishing up with his hygiene, the man steps out of the bathroom and walks towards his drawer, which was situated in front of his bed.

He always pulls out a pull-up sweater with a different color variation each day, paired with plain square pants with neutral colors. On a warmer day, he always wears a plain white t-shirt. However as the winter season inches closer, he opted to wear something with more layers. Once he was done putting on his clothes, he takes one good look of himself in the mirror before leaving his bedroom.

Now, Taehyung never had difficulties during breakfast, but alas he was met with his obstacle of the day when he lifted the milk carton from out of the fridge—it was already empty. He sighs and throws it away before frowning upon his cereal bowl that already had his favorite honey-covered cornflakes prepared. 'Looks like I'll be having takeout from McDonalds I guess...'

He picks up the bowl and proceeds to put it back on the plastic container before stashing it away in one of the cupboards. Taehyung then makes his way to the front door, taking his keys, phone, mask, and wallet in the process before putting on his beige coat that hung on top of his shoes. He puts on his shoes in one swift motion before opening the door. His ears were greeted by loud sound of maintenance construction that seemed to be taking place on the floor above him. He locks his apartment door before making his way to the elevator, where he was greeted by Min Eun-sook, an elderly woman who lives by herself in the same floor as him.

"Good morning Taehyung, you seem to be up and early today." She states, looking at the man from head to toe. He smiles, "Ran out of milk Mrs. Min, I'll be eating out for breakfast." Judging from the grimace of the elderly woman, she wasn't too pleased with his choice of eating fastfood for breakfast. "Oh dear, young people these days, always eating out. You should try finding yourself a nice young woman... or a man if that's what you like. Someone who can cook for you." She rambles.

Taehyung doesn't usually take her rambles by heart, knowing that she was only looking out for him. He chuckles, "I'm afraid I'm too busy to look for someone Mrs. Min... Need to focus on my studies first." She clicks her tongue, "Nonsense! You'll find someone eventually, it's only a matter of time."

The soft 'ding!' of the elevator cuts their conversation short as the metal doors open for Taehyung to step inside. He waves goodbye to Eun-sook before the elevator doors close. After a few seconds, he could feel the elevator slowly descending to the ground floor. There weren't a lot of people who're awake around this time, as the majority of the residents in this apartment complex had night shifts or had work later in the morning; plus this apartment complex didn't have a lot of residents to begin with. It was going to take a little while until he reached the ground floor, so he got a little bit lost in his train of thoughts, especially with Mrs. Min's remarks about him finding a lover.