Boy By The Sea • taekook

Twenty Five

Taehyung sits in the backyard at home, and listens to the ruffling of the trees surrounding him. The sky is cloudy and grey, the threat of rain drizzles is palpable in the air. Chim Chim is licking his paws next to him.

The air feels stale, and no matter how tranquil the backyard feels with the field of elm trees in shades of muted greens and earthy browns, Taehyung catches himself reminiscing the view at the last house. The endless blues, the distant echoes of the waves, and the smell of the salty breeze, it's all gone.

Maybe it's all in his head, but even Chim Chim seems a little lost here. The fences are modern wooden panel styled, seamless with no gap at the bottom. And there was special provision made prior to them moving in, a ring of bricks buried right underneath the fences, to prevent Chim Chim from clawing his way out.

For his safety, he said.

Sorry, Taehyung eyes the cat lounging lazily on the tiled floor, and whispers wordlessly on his mind. He picks up the tumbler of scotch by the end table next to him and takes a swig. The burn of the ember liquid as it slides down his throats jolts him awake a little.

A sudden ringing startles him, as Chim Chim looks up with shining eyes. It takes Taehyung a moment to snap out of the trance and head to the front door to check.

It's Hoseok, smiling and with a bag full of takeout food in hand. Red bomber jacket, black sunglasses with rose gold rims, and when he removes the glasses, Taehyung sees the familiar warm gaze with kindness gleaming.

"You haven't agreed to come out for three weeks now, so I figured either you're dead, or some sort of intervention is in order." He speaks nonchalantly, as he follows Taehyung back into the house.

Taehyung doesn't respond. They walk past the dark living room with all the curtains drawn, past the kitchen with nothing on the counter saved for some takeout boxes, before heading to the backyard. There's melancholic music drifting in the air, but the atmosphere is quiet and almost eerie, devoid of life.

Chim Chim meows when he sees Hoseok in the backyard, and steps towards him and nudges him on the leg affectionately. Hoseok reaches down to rub him on the head, before settling down on a chair next to Taehyung and slowly pulling out all the takeout food onto the table.

"This place always feels so different than Malibu." He comments.

"Yeah." Taehyung responds. There's definitely more concrete and sharp edges here compared to the laidback seaside abode they had before. "He wanted a place closer inland, ever since the Ventura trip. For my safety, supposedly."

"Hmm, I suppose." Hoseok lays out the packet of fries and grabs a piece. He glances at Taehyung and sinks into the chair before continuing, "so, were you ever planning on answering my calls?"

"Sorry." the word is flat and dispirited. Something is on Taehyung's mind, from a dream maybe, he can't quite put his fingers on it.

Hoseok sighs, "I can take the rejection, that's fine, some days, none of us wants to socialize. But Tae, you need to tell me what's going on. I'm worried about you."

Taehyung pulls himself out of the trance, "nothing to worry, I'm just a bit...out of it, it'll pass." He flutters his hand and forces out a tiny smile.

"Will it?"

Taehyung spots Hoseok's gaze surveying his wrist, he pulls on the long sleeves of his wrinkled shirt and covers up the black butterfly tattoo.

Hoseok continues, "you don't look well, have you lost more weight?" His hand reaches out and touches Taehyung on the arm. The presence is warm, yet Taehyung feels irritated, like something is gnawing at his heart, making it hard to focus.