4.6 | Dark Ages ✓

- 1 0 : 0 0

  

– 1 0 : 0 0

TIME-TRAVEL IS AS easy as breathing now.

He lands in the same spot where he'd stood, only sometime in the past. The river reflects the glare of the noonday sun, and he acquaints himself with his surroundings. Nothing much has changed—the row of houses is still there, along one bank of the river, with a long stretch of road on the other end—and the only people in sight is a couple up on the bridge. He spares them a cursory glance before turning to leave.

Then he stops.

Slowly, he retraces his steps to get a better look at the couple. The hulking man has the woman blocked from Taehyung's line of vision, but a closer look makes him realize that there seems to be some fighting going on. A flash of movement, a sharp shove, and the girl twists aside so that he finally catches a glimpse of her face.

His breath catches in his throat.

It's her.

He doesn't think. His feet move rapidly of their own accord until he's running towards them at a full sprint. It's all the jealousy he'd felt when any of the other men in his time-jumps seemed to have known her better than he ever did—but multiplied a hundred fold. It's rage in its purest form, his vision blurring red and his heart a furious beast rattling in its cage.

The man looks up at the sound of his approach. So does she. Her eyes are still wide with terror, both her tiny wrists clasped in one of the man's large hand, and her legs trapped between his. The man's got his zipper halfway down and one hand up her skirt.

At the sight of that, something in Taehyung snaps.

In one swift movement, he levels his gun to the man's forehead. The man's lascivious grin vanishes, his features contort into an expression of plain shock.

"What're you—"

"Get the fuck away from her."

"—you can't—"

He curls his fingers around the trigger.

"—don't shoot!" The man flinches, backing away with his arms raised in surrender. "Don't...don't shoot! I—I didn't mean to! I didn't know—"

"If you ever touch her again, I will kill you." Taehyung says quietly. It's all he can do to keep himself from pulling the trigger. The only thing that stops him is the fact that she's here. "If you ever speak to her again, I will kill you. If you even so much as breathe near her, I will kill you. Is that clear?"

Still pale with fright, the man nods vigorously.

Taehyung lifts his chin in a sharp gesture for him to leave. The man scuttles off without hesitation, but Taehyung doesn't let his guard down until the bastard's out of sight. When it's just the two of them left, he finally lowers his gun and turns to her.

"Are you alright?"

The words are barely out of his mouth when he finds himself with an armful of...well, her. With a choked sob, she buries her face against his chest and fists the fabric of his jacket within her hands. He goes entirely still, his eyes wide and his hands frozen by his sides.

"Thank God you're here," she whispers, still trembling from her earlier fright.

He swallows. Vivid images from his dreams flash before his eyes. He's seen this behind shut eyelids dozens of times before. He's waited to do this a long time ago. He suspects he's even held her in a past that he can no longer remember.

But it's nothing compared to this.

Slowly, his heart still slamming in his chest, he raises one arm to pull her closer to him. He rests his chin lightly on top of her head, feeling her hair tickle his skin and the scent of roses fill his senses, and closes his eyes.

So this is how it feels to hold you, he thinks.I don't ever want to forget. Please don't let me forget.

Gradually, her sobs subside and she pulls back. Now, holding her at arm's length, he finally gets a good look at her. Gone are the traces of the girl he'd met in his previous jumps and, in its place, is the woman of his dreams. Her eyes are red from crying, but fixed on him with the kind of softness from her that he's so familiar with. Where before she'd been gangly and awkward, she's grown into her graceful features. A pretty blush colors her cheeks, and she chances a glance up at him beneath her lowered eyelashes.

His gut clenches involuntarily at the sight. It's everything he can do to stop himself from pulling her into his arms again. This sheer want—this need—is not the same for her, he reminds himself. It's only the fourth time that she's met him, and for all intents and purposes, he's practically a stranger.

"I thought he was a good guy," she says quietly at last. "The date went so well, you see."

Taehyung almost lets out a derisive snort at that. A good guy would know how to take 'no' for an answer. But you're no better, he remembers, cold dread suddenly creeping through him. Did you forget?

You're the villain in this story.

She doesn't seem to notice his discomfort. Wringing her hands in a nervous gesture, she adds, "I just—I wasn't really thinking, I guess. He was the only guy to ever ask me out, and I thought—"

"What about Yoongi?" The words leave his mouth a split second before he registers his mistake.

Her eyes widen. "Yoongi?" she repeats, in confusion. "We share the same class, but I've never even spoken to him. How do you know Yoongi?"

Shit. What the hell was he thinking? Of course he shouldn't know Yoongi. Why would he—when they would only meet ten years later?

Taehyung gulps and moves to take a step back. But she doesn't let him. Her fingers tighten around his arms, keeping the gap between them as little as possible. Her eyes search his face, as though seeking for some kind of answer, and he can't help averting his gaze from her.

"I know who you are, Taehyung."

His head snaps up. "What did you just call me?"

"Taehyung."

He almost shivers at the way her tongue wraps around the syllables of his name—lovelier than anything he'd heard from her in his dreams, lovelier than anything he'd ever heard before. He swallows nervously at the tiny smile playing on her face. "How did you—"

"I'm very smart," she says, lightly. "But apparently, you're even smarter than me. You're Taehyung, MD-PhD, expert in bioengineering. Your research on how stem-cells can be qualitatively restructured to boost immunity to diseases is absolutely inspired. I read it in my school's library. I must admit, it gave me quite a shock to find a picture of you in the book, although it did solve the biggest question that I'd had all my life."

He stares warily at her. "Which is...?"

"Are you a time-traveller?"

He freezes. Alarm bells shriek a warning in his head, but he can't bring himself to deny it. Will denying it settle her curiosity, or prompt her to probe further? And if he says yes, what then?

She takes yet another step closer, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Is time-travel possible?"

As if on cue, he hears a familiar sound. Tick, tick, tick. She's close enough to hear it too, and her eyes dart down to his watch, before she looks up. The smile on her face widens, so brilliant that his heart begins to pound. He shoves down the desperate urge to pull her into his arms one last time before the future plays out.

You don't know it yet, but I'm the man who will someday destroy your world.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Stepping away from her, he lets out a painful breath and barely manages to answer her questions before he vanishes.

"Yes."