Beauty of My World

Chapter Twelve

Taehyung opens the other bottle for himself and takes a sip. The crackling of the bonfire and the chirping of the crickets provide a calming atmosphere that helps Taehyung speak. "Have you gone camping before?"

"No," Seokjin answers. "Have you?"

"Yeah," Taehyung pauses as he regains old memories. "I used to go camping all the time with my parents. They loved the outdoors so we would go whenever possible." His heart fills at the thought of his parents again. "The family tradition stopped when my omega dad got sick."

He takes another sip of his drink before continuing. "I became very sad after my omega dad passed." He feels a little choked up as he recalls his pain. "I became even sadder when my alpha father sent me away at the age of thirteen. Overseas, I isolated myself and became very angry. I didn't understand why my alpha father would suddenly turn me away at such a vulnerable time.

When I returned, all I could feel was anger and resentment at his action. Instead, of trying to understand the grief he was also dealing with, I just pushed him away. Then I lost him. I lost him and I felt even worse. I even lost my eyesight and my alpha senses. I didn't want to live anymore. I was exhausted with regretting everything. I was all alone...or so I thought," he took a breath.

Turning his head to Seokjin, he continues. "You helped me realize that it wasn't my fault. It wasn't anyone's fault for what happened. Although everything has changed, I should still live and live my life to the fullest. I should still search for the beauty of the world. Thanks to you, I've let go of my anger. I learned how to grieve properly and learned to love what I have. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be who I am today."

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Seokjin feels touched by Taehyung's words and realizes that Taehyung has changed dramatically since they first met. He isn't moody and dismissive of Seokjin anymore. Instead, he's happy and caring.

"You told me that you'll only leave when I see the beauty of the world again," Taehyung reminds Seokjin of his words. "I see the beauty of the world but I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay and continue being the beauty of my world."

Seokjin's eyes widen and he feels a wave of emotions consume him. Taehyung blushes as he adds, "Can I know now if you accept me as your one and only?"

Seokjin's heart skips a beat and he has to stop himself from answering right away. "Taehyung, I..." his voice is weak, having not spoken much. "I need to tell you something," he manages to get out.

Taehyung smiles excitedly, "What is it?"

Seokjin doesn't want to ruin the mood, but he has to tell Taehyung. "I don't want to disappoint you."

Taehyung's smile fades and he seems confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that," Seokjin can't bear to look at Taehyung and turns away. "You're not the first person I've been with."

"What does that have to do with us?" Taehyung questions. "I don't care if you were with others before me, I just care if you want to be with me now," he says softly as if still scared Seokjin will reject him. "Do you?"

"I-" Seokjin stops himself. "You don't understand." He avoids looking at Taehyung from the corner of his eye. "It's just that every time with my past relationships, I've disappointed them."

"Disappointed who?" Taehyung asks, sounding concerned.

"Alphas," Seokjin lets out softly. Tears come to his eyes. "All the people I've dated were alphas just like you," he whispers, afraid of what Taehyung would soon think. "And every time they got tired and bored with me. They all left me..." He looks up at the night sky, urging his tears not to fall.