Eclipsed Hearts (Taekook)

Prologue

Ignore the mistakes 🙏🏻

In the dimly lit study cafe, a palpable tension hung in the air as Taehyung pleaded desperately with his manager. The feeble echoes of his cries reverberated against the walls, a heartbreaking symphony in the small, suffocating space.

"Please listen to me—-Please, I beg of you. Don't kick me out of this job, I-I really need it," Taehyung's voice trembled, a desperate plea to salvage the lifeline slipping away from him.

"Customers are Gods, I told you—"

"I get it. It was my—my mistake. I'll apologize. I promise it will not happen again." Taehyung's voice cracked as he pushed himself onto his knees, a last-ditch effort to beg for mercy.

"It's becoming a routine now. I can't take it anymore. Enough. You are fired, Taehyung!" The manager's words cut through the air like a sharp, frigid wind, leaving Taehyung crumpled on the ground, his world shattering around him.

Left alone in the cold aftermath, Taehyung remained a shell on the unforgiving floor. His body stumbled, and he fell back, the chill of the floor offering a cruel warmth against his numbing skin. It was the end, a cruel sentence served in a matter of moments.

As the background noises began to fade, Taehyung's eyes became a canvas, painting vivid pictures of his life's troubles. The struggles of his household, the undisclosed health problems tormenting his body—all came rushing in with a merciless force. A sharp pain shot up in his chest, mirroring the anguish that engulfed his very soul.

Amidst the fading echoes, a vibration in Taehyung's pocket yanked him out of his miserable reverie. The voices around him returned, the bustling ambiance of the cafe coming alive once more.

"Hello." Taehyung pulled out his phone, his voice laced with the residue of despair.

"Tae, we just came back from the doctor. Mom's next checkup is after three days. The doctor said the medication will be changed. It's—the doctor said the new medicine will cost more. Could you send me 3 million won so that I can—-" His wife's words reached Taehyung, but he was far from hearing anything. Responsibilities loomed over him, and now, even his job had slipped away.

"Tae, are you—-"

"I'll do something, Anna," he whispered, his throat heavy with unshed tears, his head pounding with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The empty pit in his stomach intensified, a relentless reminder of the torture that now consumed him.

"Oh, thank God. Alright then. Call me once you are free from your shift," Anna's hopeful voice chirped through the phone.

"Sure." Taehyung's response was devoid of life, the flatness in his voice a stark reflection of the desolation settling within him. In the midst of anguish and uncertainty, Taehyung's world crumbled, leaving behind the haunting question of what would happen next.

The once vibrant cafe seemed to close in on Taehyung, suffocating him with the weight of his shattered dreams. The sharp scent of brewing coffee and the soft murmur of hushed conversations formed a dissonant backdrop to the turmoil within him. Alone in the crowded room, he grappled with a tsunami of emotions, his eyes vacant yet haunted.

As if in slow motion, he rose from the cold floor, his movements mechanical, reflecting a soul drained of hope. The cafe's harsh lighting highlighted the weariness etched across his face—the lines of defeat that painted a canvas of relentless struggles. Each step felt like a heavy anchor, dragging him deeper into the abyss of despair.

Outside, the city carried on, oblivious to Taehyung's personal tempest. Faces blurred into a sea of indifference as he navigated the bustling streets, shoulders hunched under the weight of a reality that had become insufferable.

His phone buzzed intermittently, a cruel reminder of responsibilities he could no longer shoulder. Anna's voice echoed in his mind, pleading for financial support to sustain the flickering flame of his family's hope. The distant promise of 'doing something' felt like a mere echo in the face of impending darkness.

As he walked through the city's heart, the concrete jungle mirrored the cold, unforgiving nature of his circumstances. Neon lights and billboards flaunted a world that felt light-years away from his reality. The weight of unemployment, coupled with the impending medical expenses, bore down on him like an unrelenting storm.

Taehyung found himself standing at a desolate crossroad, both metaphorically and literally. The uncertainty of the future loomed ominously, casting shadows on his every thought. The city that once offered dreams now seemed like a labyrinth of nightmares, and he was lost within its maze.

His mind replayed the scenes of rejection, the harsh words of his manager echoing like a cruel mantra. The future felt like a distant mirage, slipping through his fingers with each passing moment. Yet, in the depth of his anguish, a spark of resilience flickered—a desperate yearning to defy the odds and rise from the ashes of despair.

The journey ahead appeared daunting, a treacherous climb up an insurmountable mountain. Taehyung stood alone at the base, staring into the abyss, his heart heavy with the burden of survival. In this symphony of struggle, he was both the composer and the reluctant protagonist, uncertain of the notes that fate would play next.

The desolate street stretched before Taehyung, a path fraught with uncertainties, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his worn-out black trousers. In that moment, he felt a crumpled paper within, a haunting reminder of an encounter with the rich boy who had turned his world upside down.

With a hesitant grip, he extracted the paper, and beneath the stark glow of a nearby streetlight, he unfolded the creased note. A Korean phone number stared back at him, accompanied by the simple instruction: " +82 010 4231 6878. leave a text here whenever you feel ready."

The memory of the affluent young man surged back, the taste of humiliation still lingering on Taehyung's tongue. A surge of disgust compelled him to discard the paper, to cast away any connection to the world that had so callously rejected him. Yet, as he moved to let go, his wife's desperate plea echoed in his ears, a plea that tugged at the frayed edges of his resolve.

"Take good care of yourself, son; you're losing weight," his father's loving voice resonated in his mind, adding a poignant layer to the turmoil within. The warmth of family love clashed with the harsh realities of his present, bringing tears to his already weary eyes.

"Tae, are you facing problems? I can help; I can start working to help you," his wife's empathetic voice surrounded him like a comforting embrace. The thought of her, seven months pregnant, only tightened the grip on his already shattered heart.

His hands dove into his pockets once more, retrieving a worn-out wallet. Opening it revealed a meager ₩500, and another wave of tears threatened to drown him. Taehyung had endured enough, but for his family—the sole bedrock of his existence—he resolved to cast aside everything, even his bruised self-esteem.

Summoning courage, he reached for his phone, fingers trembling as he composed a response. "I'm ready. But I have a few rules."

"Beggars can't be choosers, love. Come to the mansion in two hours!" Jungkook's instant reply cut through the silent night, each word a dagger plunging into Taehyung's already wounded soul. The weight of those words hung heavily in the air, a stark reminder of the price he would pay for accepting a lifeline from the very hands that had pushed him into the abyss. In the stillness of the night, Taehyung stood at a crossroads, his decision paving the way for an uncertain future, where the echoes of pride and desperation clashed in the recesses of his conflicted heart.

This book has been in my drafts for months. I'll be uploading this from 1st. This book will only have 10 chapters and it'll be angst with happy ending!

But first, did you guys liked the prologue?

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