Christmas Love || Taejin

Chapter 21

When Seokjin returned home, his mother was sitting at the table with Hyejin opposite to her. Seokjin's footsteps stopped their furious conversation as Mrs. Kim turned around and jumped from her seat while Hyejin glowered at Seokjin as if she wanted him to stop existing.

"Son!" Mrs. Kim threw herself on her dear child and checked him for any sort of injury. How could Seokjin tell her that the wound was not on his skin but deep inside his heart?

"I was so worried about you, my baby, my little prince," Seokjin's mother gushed worriedly as he clasped her son's shoulders and scanned him in concern.

"Where were you? Look at you, my baby. You didn't eat anything, did you?" She crushed him into another hug and this time, feeling overwhelmed by his mother's love and his own storm of emotions, he collapsed into her arms, tears streaming down his face like a million waterfalls.

"Eo-Eomma..." Seokjin sobbed on his mother's shoulder, unashamed and exhausted.

"What is it, my boy? Who hurt you?" Seokjin's mother asked in a scared but gentle tone; it wasn't everyday that she saw her son break down like that.

"Eomma- Eomma... I- I can't do this anymore," Seokjin continued to cry his heart out quietly.

"Let's go to your room, my little-"

"Can you two stop?!"

Hiccuping, Seokjin looked up and saw her sister striding towards them before aggressively separating the two and striking across Seokjin's face. Seokjin held his cheek, petrified by what had just transpired. His eyes met Hyejin's but he could no longer find his twin in those dark, hollow orbs.

"How dare you touch your brother?!" Mrs. Kim didn't miss a beat, placing herself between her children after overcoming the initial shock.

"How dare you treat us differently, Kim Sunhwa!" Hyejin screeched on the top of her lungs, rendering their mother wordless.

As silence hung in the air with harrowing heaviness, Seokjin opened and closed his mouth to say something to dissolve the atmosphere, but his mind had been wiped blank after being hit by his sister. He couldn't even process his emotions properly but he knew he was horribly scarred and would remain like that for quite a while. 

"Hyejin-ah, let's go outside," Seokjin finally managed to say as he tried to take his sister's arm but the latter whipped it away from his reach and pushed past him menacingly, heading towards the entrance door. 

When he had reached the doorknob, she turned around and spat, "I wish I was never born in this disgusting family. I wish you never existed, Seokjin. You're treating me like vermin, Eomma, but you know what?"

"Your golden little son is gay. He likes that son of that friend of yours- Kim Yigang, isn't it? And that's why he's crying like a stupid bitch."

Seokjin felt like he had just got hit by a truck. The world seemed to be spinning and his breaths were starting to undulate, making him feel like he would fall apart any moment then.

"Seokjin-ah," his mom said gently. "What is Hyejin talking about?"

Seokjin could only stare at his sister with disbelief and betrayal.

"Seokjin-ah," her tone was former this time. "Is Hyejin telling the truth."

 His brain bellowed, "Run."

He looked at his mother, unable to meet her eyes and slowly, painfully nodded. His mother gasped and clasped her eyes shut, trying to digest the information that has just been shoved at her.

"How does it feel now, Seokjin?" His sister hissed, her voice laced with the slightest hint of venom.

"I'm not saving you, just how you didn't save me-"

"I didn't save you?" Seokjin murmured, his voice just above a fragile whisper. 

"I didn't help you, Hyejin?" Seokjin's focus had now shifted. 

"I didn't take the blow from Abbeoji that night? I didn't stand in the way?" Seokjin said coarsely.

"I didn't talk to Abbeoji for hours? I didn't tell Eomma it was going to be alright? I didn't come back to this godforesaken house just for you? Is that what you're saying?" Seokjin was now only a few inches from his sister, towering over her, intimidating her. 

Hyejin continued to glare at him but her eyes had began to well with tears.

"I hate you, Hyejin-ah," Seokjin whispered  before announcing, "And I'm leaving."

Seokjin turned back to his mother and bowed deeply. 

"I hope you can forgive me, Eomma," Seokjin said in a hollow, robotic voice. "But I am so tired of everything. I'm going to leave the country soon. Until then, I'll live somewhere else. Don't worry about me."

With that, Seokjin left his sister and mother to register his words and headed to his room where he began to shove his belongings back into his suitcase, hesitating at Taehyung's scarf. He held the soft fabric between his fingers and slumped down on his bed, staring at the patterns that Taehyung had created. He rolled it and held it against his face, before wailing his heart out into the little gift.

He should have never returned.

__________

Taehyung woke up with an enormous sneeze. 

He looked at his clock and realized he had overslept. Jerking onto his feet at the speed of light, Taehyung grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, planning to brush his teeth at his workplace, and hastily got into a brown set, which he had prepared the night before, before rushing out of his room and bumping into his mother who nearly dropped her thermos of coffee.

"Eat something!" was the last thing Taehyung heard before exiting his house and galloping to his car which he started in a frenzy and hit the road. As he sped past the other vehicles, he reminded himself that a car accident wasn't worth getting into and began to slow his speed. He decided he needed at least one coffee to start the day even though he absolutely hated it; he needed some sort of stimulant to get rid of his grogginess before he reached the firm. 

The nearest coffee shop was his mother's, so he parked his car to the side of the road to run and grab a small coffee because that's all his tastebuds could handle in one go. He made it to the front of the shop when the door swung open timidly and out came the love of his life.

"Jin-ah," Taehyung blurted out before correcting himself, "Uh- uh, I mean, hyung."

"Tae," Seokjin smiled at him but the smile didn't reach his hollow, exhausted eyes. 

"Hyung... Hyung, are you alright?" Taehyung forgot all about work and was ready to place Seokjin into his arms.

"Yeah, I... I just quit work," Seokjin explained, averting his eyes to the side.

"But... but December just started," Taehyung said, unable to understand what was happening. "You're not leaving till..."

"No, I decided to...decided to leave early," Seokjin breathed out, his eyes drooping and losing focus. 

"But- but hyung... why?" Taehyung could almost hear the crack creeping across his heart.

"I..." Seokjin started to walk away slowly before turning to fish something out of his coat pocket and firmly place it into Taehyung's hands.

It was his scarf.

"I don't have a reason to stay." 

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I enjoy torturing you guys💜