How The 7 Have Fallen

Don't Lie To Me

Later, Taehyung walks back into the living room to check on you and notices you are no longer on the couch. He hears piano music coming from the music room.

He knows the song you are playing and heads there. You hear someone enter and wipe the tears off your face as you turn, smiling. "Hi Tae, how's the gaming going?"

He knows your smile is fake. He takes your hand. "Come with me, Poppy. Let's take a walk." Reluctantly, you rise, and he places your arm through his and heads out the side door.

Tae knows you aren't one to keep to yourself like this and be so quiet usually, so he knows you need to talk.

As the sun is setting, Taehyung leads you to the pier. You both sit on the edge of the dock and take off your shoes. Tae rolls his pants legs up, and you both dangle your feet in the water like you used to do in your younger days at his Grandmother's. You, Lilly, and Sunni had wonderful childhood memories with Tae at his Grandmother's.

You look out over the lake, hoping to stall the inevitable question that you know Tae will ask. He gently holds your hand. "I know you were crying. What made you cry?"

You look at him, and before you can speak, he says, "Don't lie to me."

You sigh deeply, "I had forgotten that a song we worked on together was on my playlist. It caught me off guard, and I wanted to play it, but I couldn't stop the tears."

Tae puts an arm around your shoulders and gives you a squeeze. "I thought so. It must be tough to be here so close to him."

Unable to look at him, you say, "It is painfully so."

Trying to understand, he asks, "Why did you take on the assignment? You knew he would be here, and you would have to spend time with him, too."

Looking down at the water, making circles with your feet, you say, "I know, but Lill and Hobi wanted me to do it. They thought it would be good for me, but I don't know. I took the assignment because Lill wouldn't let it go. Then Hobi said he wanted a world-renowned photographer for a world-renowned group. You guys." You push slightly with your elbow to his side as he snickers.

"Yeah, they can be very persuasive when they want to be." You shrug and say, "So, how could I resist? I said yes." You smile at Tae. "Plus, I knew you would be here." You both laugh.

Sitting in companionable silence for a few minutes, Tae asks the question you hoped to avoid.

"Poppy, what happened between you and Yoongi?"

"I don't know Tae. I thought he loved me. I thought I had moved beyond it, but seeing him again . . ." Tae gently asks. "What happened?"

You shift a little while still twirling your feet in the water, releasing a big sigh as you continue.

"The last time we were in the studio together, he was agitated. He had just found out that someone had taken credit for one of his songs and claimed it as their own. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but he swore it would be the last."

You take a breath. "Anyway, he was recording background for the song he was working on, and he wanted me to do a part in his song where we just exchange a few words."

"I wasn't feeling well and tried to leave the room. I got dizzy and lost my balance and fell into him. He split his lip when his face hit the mic setup."

Taking a deep breath you continue, "He asked me had I been drinking and started yelling at me. He said he was getting tired of me always being in the way. After he got back from the emergency room for stitches to his lip, we ended up in a horrid argument. We both said things out of anger that night. I don't know how much of that anger was due to his work being stolen or it was actually me he was angry with."

You fight back tears at the memory and sniffle, "He told me to get out and stay away from him. It broke my heart to leave, but I did."

Tae sits there in complete silence, not interrupting, "He focused on his career, and I tried to bury myself in mine, but things got worse for me."

Listening intently, he finally interrupts, "What happened?" 

You look at him. "I found myself waking up one day in the hospital. I was told I was found having a seizure. They did tests and found a small brain tumor. It was causing my dizzy spells and loss of balance. Then it got to the point it was causing seizures."

You hear a sudden intake of breath from Tae. You knew he was surprised. You felt guilty that you hadn't told him, but you were afraid to.