iris . vkook

ninety seven.

Unbeknownst to Taehyung, he'd actually been up there for half an hour. Just sitting in the rain, ready to fall.

Jeongguk was losing his fucking mind.

After Taehyung had stormed out, he'd numbly stared at the petite ring placed in his palm. His mind was blank, and he just stared at it for a good five minutes. He hadn't realised how long he'd been stood there, since blankness washed over him like a tide crashing to shore.

It wasn't until he'd caught sight of the dramatic rain outside when he realised the meaning behind Taehyung's words. His eyes had widened comically, and he'd shoved the ring on his own hand before rushing out.

He'd checked everywhere that Taehyung could've possibly gone to. He'd ran to the nearby supermarket, asking for sightings of a particular purple-haired pretty boy with sparkly black eyes.

He'd ran to the university, asking one of the teachers (an undercover gang member) if they'd seen Taehyung. Asking them to check the camera footage for a particular tall, lithe-bodied darling with soft hands.

He'd sprinted to the dingey alleyway, filled with druggies and dealers and prostitute. Asking them if they'd seen a crazed, cherry-lipped boy with the prettiest face - despite it being marred by bruising and wounding.

Hell, he even ran to his own quiet space. By the time he got there, he collapsed out of exhaustion. He slumped against one of the rocks, bringing a bloodied and bruised hand, pain inflicted from frustration, sweeping his hair out of his face and piling it on top of his head.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, beginning to slip into panic.

He knew that Taehyung wasn't dead, he hadn't experienced the agonising pain in his chest - something that happens when your soulmate dies. However, he didn't know how much time he had left before he'd feel that punching pain.

He'd never been scared of death. Never worried too much about anyone. He never had to worry that death was going to arrive in an untimely manner for anyone that he knew. 

So when the one person who he cared about most was, literally, teetering on the brink of death, he was losing his mind. 

He tilted his head upwards, shutting his eyes as he willed his brain to work. He growled, hitting the rock as hard as he possibly could as he cursed himself for being so fucking stupid.

Taehyung felt his knuckles throb, blaming it on his icy hands.

Cursing himself for ever dragging Taehyung into this mess. He should've just killed him when Boss had ordered and now he wouldn't be in this state of mind where he was wishing that Taehyung wasn't dead. He should've never fallen in love. This was why he feared love. 

Cursing himself for allowing Taehyung to get that riled up, and for allowing him to just walk out of that door. He wasn't sure why he didn't rush after him, he'd willed himself to move but his shock glued his feet to that kitchen floor, the ring feeling so heavy against his skin. It burnt his palm. It didn't belong on him, it belonged around Taehyung's finger.

He forced himself to stand up, the imagery quite like when he was younger, and his stomach was stained with bruising and weakened by hunger.
This time, he was simply stained with love and weakened by Taehyung.

He found himself wandering the streets, walking a circle before setting en route to the apartment.

At one point, he'd become so desperate that he'd looked up to the moon for answers - and fuck, was he glad when he did.