════SHINE?════
[3019, South Korea, Seoul]
Taehyung heaved out a sigh as he leaned up from the makeshift bed he made last night. He could not dream anymore. And if he did, they were nightmares. Not about his family anymore. Instead, they were of Shine being torn apart by those abominations. Taehyung clawed at his head as it pounded like a whore's heart. He wished he had some painkillers but those were gone a long time ago.
He did not want to leave this place. His head hurt, his bones ached, and his muscles tightened when he tried to get up. Taehyung hauled himself up anyways. He had to keep following the clues that he had found. He packed his assets in his old backpack and slung it over his now broad shoulder. Taehyung placed a chair against the oak door when he exited his room to ensure it would not be overrun. Then, Taehyung walked around for hours in search of another clue until he finally saw something.
"Here it is again," Taehyung murmured to himself, readjusting his backpack on his shoulders. He extended a long, svelte fingertip and touched the gray-blue paint that was in the form of an eye. It was very sloppily drawn. It was old and weathered from the years that it had been painted. Taehyung put his back up against the wall and slid down. He opened a can of backed beans. He had gotten used to eating them without cooking them. He was limited to only one can of food a day and it was almost noon.
"Fuck!" Taehyung dropped most of his meal on the ground when a loud noise startled him.
A zombie slowly stumbled towards Taehyung. Taehyung was motionless, he remained completely still until it was necessary for him to leave. Calmly, he set his finished food on the ground and got up. Taehyung threw the can at the disgusting being and waltzed off. He was unfazed by the walking dead. They seemed to continue their endless search as Taehyung was. Taehyung shoved his hands in his pockets so they would not become red with cold. He realized too late that someone was running up to him. Taehyung received a clean punch to the jaw that sent him down. Hurriedly, Taehyung crawled away from his attacker.
"What the hell, Namjoon! Stop it, Namjoon!" a person ran up to protect Taehyung. The unknown person's hands flared out in a protective manner. The man who punched Taehyung kept trying to move towards him.
"He's an outsider in our territory!"
"I didn't know! I'll leave."
"Namjoon, I know him!" a quiet hush crept over them. The tall man who Taehyung presumed was 'Namjoon' pulled out his gun swiftly and aimed the matte weapon to his head.
"Do you know him!?" dimples were deeply pressed to the side of his mouth as he berated. Taehyung looked at the back of the small man before him. He did not know anybody. He had not talked to anyone after this happened. The first thing Taehyung did was look at his eyes. And they sparked Taehyung's memory.
"Shine?" queried a wary Taehyung, sitting up straighter. Namjoon shoved him down roughly.
"What the fuck is 'Shine'?"
"It's our past. Hey, Silver." His accent had completely vanished from his vowels.
"Jeongguk, what the hell is this?" Taehyung guessed that 'Shine's' real name was 'Jeongguk'. It actually fit him quite well.
"He's keeping his promise. So get off him!" Jeongguk put his small hands on Namjoon's broad shoulders lightly. His movements were a complete contrast to his tone. Taehyung had a feeling that Namjoon was a leader of some sort. He squeezed his eyes shut as a gun fired. One of the men shot a zombie Taehyung was unbothered by. Namjoon slowly put his gun back in its holster and extended his hand to help Taehyung up to his feet. Taehyung accepted his hand.
"Are you going to come back with us?" Namjoon asked vowels lost within the swirl of disinterest. Taehyung glanced towards Jeongguk who nodded.
"Uh, sure," muttered Taehyung, uncertain.
"Then keep up." Taehyung had no idea why he said that. They walked the whole way. Jeongguk lagged behind the others to talk to Taehyung.
"So, you were finally able to bury them?" It was an odd first question, but it held so much validation. That was the sole reason Taehyung did not leave with him.
"Yeah," Taehyung took his time to admire Jeongguk. He had a clean face, long wavy ebony locks that fell just above his eyelids, and he still had those enormous, innocent doe-eyes.
"It's nice to see you. I thought you ... weren't among the living anymore." Taehyung tensed as Jeongguk latched onto his strong arm, and soon enough his body relaxed. Taehyung missed him.
"It was the same for me." He laughed.
"Didn't you know I'm invincible?" A small smile tugged at the corner of Taehyung's lip. He did not want to come out of the apartment today, however, if he had not, he would have never bumped into an old friend. Jeongguk was called to the front of the group by Namjoon and was held tightly by his forearm. Namjoon whispered something into Jeongguk's ear harshly. He was an older man from his body language; anyone could tell that he was protective over Jeongguk — maybe not protective, perhaps more territorial.
"Open the gates!" it was not an actual gate. It was cars piled on top of each other and two heavy metal doors that were pulled open by five men with a rope from the inside. These people were all living. The gates opened and Taehyung saw little children with their parents. There were people laughing and living their lives as though there was not apocalypse just outside these 'gates'. Taehyung watched the gate close loudly behind them.
"Silver, come here!" Taehyung turned to look where Jeongguk motioned for him. His heart accelerated subtly when Jeongguk laced their hands together. Jeongguk gave Taehyung a tour of the community and what buildings were what. Taehyung however had not been paying attention. He missed being close to people — actual living, breathing people. "Here's the food-hall and the showers." Taehyung's attention immediately snapped towards the showers. Jeongguk giggled, "I thought you would like that. Would you like to take one?"
"Yes, please," Taehyung nodded eagerly. Jeongguk lead him into the building that turned out to be a gigantic communal shower. It was renovated to have at least twenty stalls around the perimeter. Then, another room the two had passed by that looked to be a small pool turned bath — most likely for kids.
"You don't talk much."
"I like to observe my surroundings," Taehyung retorted. Jeongguk hummed. The entire shower room had been vacant.
"I'll be back," Jeongguk smiled, before disappearing out of the room. Taehyung heard the door shut and lock to prevent someone from entering. Taehyung dropped his bag to the ground. He stripped himself of his filthy, ragged attire. His shoes were probably the most worn. Taehyung did not even know how long he had, had them. And he also had been unable to find socks.
Taehyung stood under the shower head and turned on the water. It was extremely cold. However, he did not pay any mind to it. Then, the water gradually began to warm up to the point where it made his skin burn. Taehyung could not bring himself to turn it down until he hissed in pain.
"This is amazing," he whispered to himself. His hands were against the wall as he let his head hang. Taehyung watched as the grime rolled from his body and swirled down the drain. Taehyung did not think his skin has ever looked this pale.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Taehyung looked over at Jeongguk. A rosy hue rose to bubble upon the ebony-haired boy's cheeks at Taehyung's nudity, the elder remained passive. Before the water went out, Jeongguk and Taehyung showered together. Taehyung recalled asking him to wash the soap out his eyes.
"How long have you been here?" Taehyung inquired. Jeongguk set a pair of new, branded clothes down on the bench along with a towel. He sat with his back turned towards the elder as Taehyung washed his body with soap, real soap.
"Since the beginning, about a week after I left you, Namjoon found me and took me in. I was a stupid kid. I made a lot of mistakes. Leaving you was one of them. I would have been safe with you," answered Jeongguk solemnly. Taehyung turned around in time to watch Jeongguk rub under his shirt as if his shoulder was injured.
"You were a smart kid. You were smarter than me. You carried a weapon," Taehyung comforted. Then, a long hush crept over them. Taehyung used that time to wash his hair and felt the hot water streak down his perfectly angular visage.
"Do you still believe they're human inside? That if someone were to get the sickness and be revived, they would still be the same person they were before?" Jeongguk sounded as though he was about to cry.
"I don't know anymore."
"You sound so mature. Your voice has gotten a lot deeper and you've grown taller, and broader. We were almost the same height back then," Jeongguk said as he examined Taehyung. The elder chuckled.
"I was twelve then."
"I still thought you were handsome." Taehyung stared at the boy's back. The water suddenly stopped. Taehyung had rinsed his body and overall just enjoyed it. He guessed it was probably set on a timer. Jeongguk threw a towel in Taehyung's direction. While Taehyung had been drying off, he went beside Jeongguk to put his new clothes on. Taehyung swiftly hauled his new underwear and pants on before Jeongguk turned around. Jeongguk stood up on his tippy toes and threaded his skeletal fingers through Taehyung's overgrown hair.
"I can cut it if you want."
"Yeah, thank you," Taehyung nodded. Jeongguk walked to get a pair of scissors. Then he told Taehyung to sit on the bench with a leg on each side. Jeongguk gently placed the towel around Taehyung's neck. Then, Taehyung listened to the younger's movements. The sound of scissors snipping through his hair sent an uncomfortable chill down Taehyung's spine.
"So, you and Namjoon ... what's up with that?"
"Um ... I don't know. I guess you could say he's my caretaker. He respects my boundaries but sometimes he becomes too friendly. He understands that he's about twenty years older than me though. I'm still a kid to him," Jeongguk explains. Taehyung watched as his charcoal locks fell down in chunks as Jeongguk continued to cut. "What about you? Anyone you travel with?"
"I hung out with this girl. She tried to kill me in my sleep."
"How charming," They shared a laugh. "I might have to shave part of your head. It's a bit patchy on this side. Zombie got you?" asked Jeongguk.
"Nah, chewing gum," answered Taehyung. Jeongguk stifled an outburst of laughter.
"I can fix it, I'll give you an undercut," Jeongguk said as he went to fetch another piece of equipment to clean Taehyung up. He returned with an old fashioned barber razor.
"Is that what happened to you, a zombie?"
"Sort of, I have a scar that doesn't allow hair to grow and it annoys me," replied Jeongguk irked. He used the razor now and his movements were so soft, gentle.
"Where'd you get the scars from?"
Jeongguk came to sit in front of Taehyung. He moved as close as he could. His knees were pressed against Taehyung's forcing both men's legs open. He was intently fixing Taehyung's hair, switching amid the razor and the scissors. He ended up shaving an undercut on both sides. However, he had not answered Taehyung question.
"There," he looked at the scruff of Taehyung's defined chin. "Do you want me to fix that too?"
"Sure."
"Look up," Jeongguk tilted Taehyung's head up with two fingers below his chin. Then, he began to delicately run the razor across Taehyung's skin without cutting him. Taehyung was completely mute. He did not want the younger distracted when he had a sharp object so near his throat. After approximately ten minutes Jeongguk had finished the job successfully.
"Thank you."
Jeongguk set down the razor behind him, eluding his gaze.
"No problem."
Taehyung extended his large hand and slipped his long, svelte fingers beneath the boy's chin wordlessly. He inched closer as he tried closing the distance amid their lips. Taehyung would not lie, he had thought about this — quite a few times. Jeongguk's small hand went to Taehyung's firm chest to stop him before they actually locked lips. "Silver ... I-I—" Taehyung then realized that Jeongguk did not even know his name.
"I'm T—" Jeongguk sat up abruptly when the door flew open. It was not Namjoon. It was another man.
"Gguk, Namjoon's looking for you."
"Thank you for this." Taehyung did not dare touch the boy in any way. He did not want to push his limits.
"Like I said, 'no problem'," Jeongguk whispered before he left Taehyung. The elder finished dressing himself. He even got a new pair of socks and shoes. Neat! He grabbed his bag before going outside. Jeongguk thought of everything. Taehyung looked towards the gates where he saw Jeongguk arguing with Namjoon.
"No, Jeongguk! You stay here."
"This is bullshit!" Taehyung walked towards them awfully calm.
"What's going on?" asked Taehyung. Namjoon poked his finger to the middle of Taehyung's chest.
"Don't bother yourself, outsider," Namjoon said through gritted teeth before turning his attention back to Jeongguk. Namjoon tried calming his voice. "You're safe here, Pet, and you will stay here. Do you understand?" Jeongguk's lanky arms were woven across his chest.
"Then I want someone else to go," Namjoon sighed, hazel irises examining Taehyung.
"Give him a gun and let's go."
Another man handed Taehyung a gun. Taehyung had never held a gun before.
"What? No!" Jeongguk exclaimed pulling Namjoon aside as they spoke in hushed tones. Taehyung observed them and watched as Namjoon left Jeongguk dumbfounded.
"Come on," Namjoon jerked his head in the direction of the gate. Taehyung followed after the older man.
"Wait, Silver," Jeongguk grabbed Taehyung's wrist. Taehyung was an arm's length away from him. "Don't pretend like you know what you're doing. If you get in trouble, get out as quickly as possible."
"Of course," assured Taehyung and Jeongguk let out a sad laugh.
"I don't even know your name."
Taehyung took the opportunity. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Jeongguk's. Taehyung felt the diminutive's hand snake around his nape. He broke away from the amorous gesture after a couple seconds. Jeongguk's nonplus irises fluttered open.
"I'll tell you my name when I return," Taehyung could not help the boyish grin that crept up to his face when he walked backwards. Jeongguk's hand clasped over his mouth and Taehyung could tell the rubicund boy was smiling because the corners of his eyes creased slightly. Taehyung ran after the group.
"What took you so long?" Namjoon was livid, yet Taehyung believed the older man had not percieved the kiss he and Jeongguk had shared only moments ago.
"Nothin'," Taehyung assured.
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How was it?
They really be out here kissing and stuff and it's only the second chapter. Smh.
＿＿＿＿꒰࿐chapter question:࿐ྂ꒱＿＿＿＿
Will Tae return and tell Gguk his name?
Also, please remember to vote and comment your thoughts (:
Stream:
● Interlude: Shadow (BTS)
● Black Swan (BTS)
● Answer (ATEEZ)
안녕히 가세요, 모니 보라해요~💜