I Dreamed a Dream || BTS

~ 2 ~

A wave of shock descended upon the Court, expressed in murmurs, hurried whispers, and confused shaking of the head. As his father still would not look at him, Taehyung forced his lips into a relinquishing smile and returned to his place, allowing Min-kyu to stand in his stead.

"As Court Minister on the Court of Air, I... I elect Choi Min-kyu as the Court's representative suitor. Min-kyu-ssi, you will proceed to the palace in three days' time with the purpose of winning the queen's heart and competing against the other Courts to become king of Joseon. This convention is dismissed."

Since that moment, Taehyung had not ceased to quiver with rage. Even as he sat on his bed, his hands trembled violently and his eyes were bloodshot from angry tears. Every hair was on end, every vein prominent against his skin. His thoughts were muddled by fury against his father, who had elected Choi Jung-il's son, a nobody.

"Taehyung..." His mother's voice was hesitant, and her head was bowed. Her trembling hands clutched a tray of tea.

"Leave me alone," he ordered.

She persistently stepped closer until she had reached the side of his bed. "You must drink this, Taehyung... for your health."

"I do not want it."

"Please..." Balancing the tray on one hand, she reached out to lovingly smooth down the loose hairs on his forehead. His hand lashed out and smacked her arm away.

"I told you to leave me alone." Another blow, and the tea tray was smacked from his mother's hand, spilling uselessly onto the ground. Sobbing, quivering with fear, blubbering meaningless apologies, his mother flung herself onto her hands and knees. "Is it so difficult to comply with simple requests? Are you truly so foolish? It is a wonder why my father married you if you cannot abide by the commands of your superiors."

"I-I am s-sorry, T-Taehyung..."

"Are you?" He knelt down and gripped her chin, tilting her head at an awkward angle. "Are you sorry for your actions, or are you sorry for me? Are you sorry that my own father would elect another man's son?"

"I am sorry for everything," she whimpered. "That I have so clearly f-failed you."

It took him a moment to realize the accusatory implications behind her words. He released her chin and stood, but before he could unleash his anger with a rough kick, his father called his name.

"Finally come home, have you?" Taehyung snarled. "Are you finished avoiding me like a coward, Father?"

"Do not be rash, Taehyung. You know why I could not elect you."

"I would request that you enlighten me. It is blatantly clear that no suitor could be more fitting than myself."

His father's perpetually sorrowful expression faltered to a moment of distaste as he swept his arm across the room, gesturing to the overturned tea tray and Taehyung's cowering mother. "Even the Mad King would not have behaved this way."

"The Mad King would not have responded to injustice?"

"What injustice has been done? It is a simple matter of electing a suitor, and you were not elected. You can continue to become a scholar, just as you have dreamed."

"No, that is your dream," Taehyung hissed. He gripped the front of his father's robes, pinning him against the doorframe. His mother pleaded him not to hurt anyone, but he silenced her with a rough shout. "I will no longer allow you to live your own dreams through me. I aspire for greatness beyond a scholar's life." He chuckled, reveling in how his father trembled. "You will regret not electing me. I promise."