Black-hearted | kth

Chapter Nine

Wonder dawned in Taehyung's warm brown orbs as soon as he saw me and a tiny, almost imperceptible smile crept on his lips. He turned around to properly face me and put his hands in his pockets, staring me up and down enchanted like I was some heavenly hallucination.

My heart was racing in my chest like it was the cardiac Olympics. Suddenly I felt self-conscious of myself, lowering my gaze to the ground. His penetrating gaze was capable of making even a nun shy.

"Oh Taehyung," I heard my mother's lazy voice come from the other side of the room and I imagined her with her head lolled to one shoulder while leaning back into the cushions. "I will be very sad when we lose you to the rest of the world again."

Smirking as if he knew something she didn't, Taehyung looked over to her.

"Why speak of this now, Josie? Do you want me to go?"

"Oh, no, not at all. It's just that I imagine your endless adventures and exciting expeditions would come calling for you again."

"I'm taking some times off exploring for now, while my family needs me." Taehyung said, scoffing a small laugh and I could sweat he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh?" my mom hummed. "And are you taking some time off... Clementine?" she said in a sultry French accent and I could hear the pout entangled in her voice when she said the next words. "You're not going back to her any time soon, aren't you?"

He plastered a tight smile on his face.

"No, I believe I am not."

"Marvelous. I have to tell you, I'm going to miss you terribly when you go."

"I'll stay here for as long as you need me then."

"Living in this house has never been so pleasant up until now. Thank you for coming into my life and teaching me how to have fun again, Taehyung."

"My pleasure."

"You remind me of a younger version of Julian..." my mother sighed. "When he was still fun and exciting, and mysterious..."

"Having fun has never been my brother's forte. Ever since we were kids, he was always the serious one. The more reliable one," Taehyung announced.

"Oh, and you're the fun one, aren't you?" she chuckled.

He became dark, staring down at the swirling liquid in his wine glass.

"I guess I am that, yes... among another things." He mumbled and I shivered at how cool his voice sounded.

I heard shuffling coming from the other side of the room and I imagined my mother had stood up. I caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and I saw her sway her hips towards the vintage cabinet, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"My life was so dull, Taehyung. You and your presence here colored a world so grey," she murmured in a gentle voice. "Now I don't feel so alone."

Taehyung cocked his head to the side to look at her quizzically.

"Alone? What about Valerie?"

He knew I was listening, he knew and that's why he drove the conversation my way. I felt my throat constrict as I crept closer to the door frame.

"Oh, what about Valerie?" my mother said dismissively, a tinge of mockery in her voice. "Didn't you see her the other day? She hates me. I've never had a proper mother-daughter relationship with her. Between us, I think she's broken."

"Broken?" Taehyung questioned, arching a brow.

"Yes, like messed up. In the head," my mother said in a hushed voice. "I've never seen her excited over anything. And she's never had any friends. She rarely smiles. I used to think she was deranged, but I just can't share that with anyone, you know? I don't want people to think my child is a freak. That would be humiliating. I was so relieved when Julian accepted her because I was afraid he'd be put off by how weird she is. This was probably one of the reasons that I married him."

She paused. I could hear her long dress glide on the carpet underneath her feet.

"When she was little she wouldn't play with dolls. I bought her all the pretty ones, and she'd never even look at them. The only time that she'd play with them would be when she'd be chopping their heads off and clawing their eyes out," she whispered warily. "I mean, what little girl does that?"

"That really is strange." Taehyung commented impassively.

"And she'd never tell me anything. She'd mostly keep to herself. Not once have I heard her say 'I love you' to me. She's so cold," she sighed. "Sometimes I think she's emotionally stunted."

"Maybe she's just shy."

"No, that's not it," she clicked her tongue. "It can't be helped, then. We are who we are. She is my child and I love her, but... oh my god, I'm going to sound like a terrible mother, but – sometimes I wish she was different."

It felt like a bullet had hit me square in the chest, hearing my mother's words. Taehyung threw me a side glance, examining my face in a split second, before looking away again.

"Who we are born and who we become are two very different things," he said cryptically.

"Oh, Taehyung!" my mother exclaimed softly and I could picture her throwing her hands by her sides dramatically. "You are such a sophisticated, intelligent and well-read man. You just get me. It's a pleasure being in your company. I'm starting to think I married the wrong brother."

He dropped his gaze to the floor, an ambiguous smirk painted over his lips.

"You don't know who I am yet, Josie."

"Oh!" she chirped coquettishly. "Actually..." my mother swayed her hips towards him, panning into view as she did so. I hid even deeper into the shadows, staring from behind the doorframe with one eye. I saw her fingers dance on his chest in a light and teasing manner as she tilted her chin up. "It doesn't matter to me who you are."

"Yeah?" he breathed, the same knowing smirk plastered on his face. "Well, I feel the same."

"You do?" she batted her long eyelids at her.

"Yes," he said. "It doesn't matter who I am to me, too."

I held my breath in as I watched her remove the distance between them. Taehyung stood calmly, his hands in his pockets whereas my mother was the one who initiated the close contact. She stood on her toes and brushed her lips against his. He didn't react. She went further by taking his lower lip in between her teeth, sucking on it lightly, their noses brushing against each other.

I had to press my palm against my mouth in order not to gasp as loudly as possible and make my presence known. It felt like the world had stopped turning as my mother's arm slithered around Taehyung's waist and then all of my surroundings turned into a fuzzy blur.

I had to get out of there.

The ground underneath my feet disappeared and I felt like I was falling down an endless abyss. I took a staggering step backwards, a floor board creaking underneath my weight. Taehyung's eyes pierced through me as I kept walking backwards.

Without thinking, I turned around and dashed for the exit, not caring about the noise I was making.

Within a flash, I was already in the driveway, practically jumping into Taehyung's convertible that was left unlocked.

My trembling fingers rummaged through the glove compartment. Fuck, yes. The keys were in there.

I grabbed them as quickly as possible and started the engine. I put the car into gear and drove backwards, swiftly making a right turn and then stomping on the gas pedal.

My fingers clutched around the steering wheel, I drove off into the night.