A Queen and Her Seven Servants {BTS}

Chapter Twenty Nine ~

When I asked Taehyung how he ended up in Bangtan, he was very open about it. I expected him to hold back or tell me to not be nosey, but he just took a deep breath and started telling a story that seemed like it wouldn't have an end.

"My dad left my mother when she found out she was pregnant," he began, sitting up a little straighter. "My mother was the town's tailor, so now you know where I got it. I had to help out since there weren't that many other jobs around, and I also just felt really bad for my mom and I wanted to help out as much as I could. But then the town started to get smaller and smaller as people started leaving to look for better jobs and better places to raise their kids. My mom and I didn't have a lot of money, so we stayed where we were with the other people who were like us.

"One day my mom sat me down and told me that I didn't need to stay with her any longer. I was fifteen and I needed to go out and find someone that would let be their apprentice. I didn't want to go, but she was so sure that leaving her would give me a better life. So, I left one day, during the night so she wouldn't have to see me go. I didn't know where to go so I just followed the worn-out paths through the brush and hoped that it would lead me to a big city where I could rest and get some food and maybe get a carriage of some sort.

"I finally made it to a fairly large town that was a lot bigger than the one I grew up in. I remember seeing this man go back into an alleyway and something compelled me to follow him. I followed my gut and watched him walk up to this other guy. He started talking to him about the other not being able to complete a deal. The next thing I knew, the guy I was following was on the ground, dead. The boy he was talking to looked up and noticed I was standing there. He told me that he would kill me if I told anyone, so I made a bargain. I told him that I wouldn't tell anyone if he helped me out. It seems pretty stupid for a fifteen-year-old to ask that after he just witnessed a murder, but I didn't think about it at the time."

"Who was this boy?" I asked, finally seeing an opportunity to ask a question.

"Yoongi," he replied. "He took me to where he stayed with Namjoon and Hoseok and Jin and let me stay – they let me stay. With food and water. And after a week, the work started. I was like an accomplice or a helper for Yoongi. I just followed him around and helped him if he needed it. One day I got separated from hyung and someone from the gang we were following me saw me and cornered me. I sure wasn't going to escape without kicking and screaming my way out, since I was really scrawny and weak. But somehow, I managed to come out on top, and I earned a spot in Bangtan's crew."

I tilted my head to the side. "So, you didn't join for revenge?"

Taehyung shook his head. "Who would I need to get revenge on? No one has done me wrong."

"You just wanted a helping hand," I said.

Taehyung sighed. "Don't we all, Your Highness?"

***

"It seems like you're the big brother of Bangtan," I said as I watched Yoongi graze his fingertips over the ivory keys on the grand piano in the ballroom.

He shrugged. "I guess so. I didn't get helped out a lot when I was young, so I try to help out others when I can. It sucks being the only one in your class that can't tell time."

"Why did you join Bangtan in the first place? To get rid of your built-up anger from not being able to read a clock?" I snickered.

"No. I didn't need Bangtan. They needed me," Yoongi stated emotionless.

I blinked. "How so?"

"I was the kid of the leader of one of the bigger gangs in South Aasi. Word of Namjoon and his couple of misfit friends were circulating and my dad wanted them out. I felt bad and decided to get rid of the competition." Yoongi looked up at me, his expression bored as if he had told this tale a thousand times.

"But Namjoon is still-"

"Not him, Your Highness," Yoongi groaned, turning back around. He pressed on the key at the very end, a low note ringing through the empty room. "I killed my dad."

"Like Namjoon," I murmured.

Yoongi clicked his tongue. "I like helping. Without my dad, the gang fell to pieces. So, I just waltzed up to Namjoon and asked him where my payment was. And thus, here I am."

"Your story is gruesome, but you make it sound like killing your parents is an everyday occurrence." I crossed my arms, expecting him to shrug and tell me that the details would be too ugly for me.

"I didn't like my dad, and the feeling was mutual. When you're trapped, you inflict pain on the one who captured you, correct?" I nodded. "I did the same. I was trapped, so I got rid of the one who trapped me. Simple as that."

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