Warning: this is angsty….

            Taehyung’s legs felt heavy as he approached the front door, carefully he unlocked it, and creeped inside of his studio apartment. He was instantly welcomed by the darkness of his home, and as soon as he was inside of his room, he sat on the edge of his bed and whimpered lightly. He hugged his legs to his chest, and whimpered softly. Jin had fallen asleep on the couch, but he woke up when he heard his brother walking in. He slowly stood up, hesitating as he headed into the younger’s room, and he stopped when he saw his little brother crying deeply. “Tae...hyung?” he was careful as he approached him. He sat beside him and looked at him as his heart broke. “What happened?”

            “I did it again.” he sniffled as he wiped his tears away furiously. “The stupid jocks gave Jimin something- drugs, I don’t know how much! They spiked his drink and he was dying, Jin.” he gasped for air as he looked at his brother with red, sore eyes. “Jungkook was crying so hard- I- I had to help, Jin. I had to. I was so mad, I didn’t really think about the consequences.”

            Jin wrapped his arm around his brother and he pulled him close. He swiped his hand over the crying boy’s fringe as he whispered. “Calm down, Tae. Relax, please. So you saved Jimin? Is that what you did?” Taehyung nodded as Jin exhaled deeply before he spoke again. “...Did he die?” Taehyung shook his head and Jin breathed in relief.

            “Almost.” Taehyung whispered. “He was almost dead, but I didn’t think about that….Jin, I didn’t think about whether or not he was gone. I just wanted Jungkook to stop crying.” Jin hummed in response, he was lost in his thoughts as he stared off to the side. He listened to the way Taehyung cries faltered the moment they embraced each other tightly. “I could have...done it again.” he whispered carefully. His eyes growing wide as he started to tremble. Jin wiped away his own silent tears before he shook his head and hugged Taehyung tightly.

            “But you didn’t. You saved a life, Tae and that’s what matters.” his voice shook as he squeezed his eyes shut. He pushed Taehyung back so their crying eyes could meet, Jin cupped his jawline as he spoke carefully. “Listen to me, Taehyung. You are not…” his voice drifted, he was holding back even deeper cries but he forced himself to say it. “You are not beastly. Forget what they said about you. You’re kind, and you have a heart made of gold. I care about you, Tae and Jungkook cares about you too… Now he knows what you can do- maybe you should explain to him, and if he truly cares, he’ll listen.” Jin spoke softly as he rubbed his brother’s back carefully.

            Taehyung’s phone had been blowing up with messages from Jungkook, but he was too afraid to look. Jin noticed, but he decided to not pry so he focused on comforting the younger instead. Taehyung didn’t believe Jungkook could understand what he was going through- hell, he hardly understood what he was going through. The doorbell rang shortly which startled Taehyung, he lifted his head from Jin’s shoulder and stared out of the room with hesitation in his eyes. Jin looked at him, “I’m going to let him in, and you’re going to talk to him-”

            “But-”

            “No, don’t do this Taehyung. Don’t do this to yourself. If Jungkook is outside, I’m letting him in and you’re going to talk to him because you deserve this- you deserve to be happy.” Jin spoke carefully, he slowly left Taehyung’s side and the latter suddenly felt cold as he sat by himself on his bed. He slowly stood, scurried to his window and sat on the floor near it. He opened the curtains a bit, so the stars would light up his room because he didn’t dare turn on the lights. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see the way Jungkook would look at him. He was sure he wouldn’t look at him the same way as before.

            Jin opened the door slowly, and he smiled sadly when he saw Jungkook’s pale expression; the younger was breathing heavily, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked up at the elder. Jin bit his lips together, unsure of what to say exactly, but the younger mumbled, “C-Can I come in?” his voice was timid. He tried to peek past Jin to see if Taehyung was there, but all he could see was darkness emitting from the studio apartment. There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but they were caught in his throat.

            Jin moved to the side, “Come in, please.” he watched the younger as he slowly walked inside, his head moving as he looked around hoping to see Taehyung, but also nervous to confront him. Jin cleared his throat, “Jungkook…” he started, his voice weak as he struggled to find something to say. Jungkook looked at him, he noticed how stressed Jin looked. “Just listen to him, please.” he pleaded before he swallowed dryly and whispered. “He’s been through a lot.” He smiled sadly at him when Jungkook only nodded in response. Jin grabbed his car keys that had been left forgotten on ground near the door before he walked out of the apartment and headed to his car. Jungkook was frozen in the same place, his heart beat palpitating, his palms sweaty, and he forced himself to take a deep breath before he moved towards the room. His steps were light, careful, but the moment he saw Taehyung sitting on the ground he approached him without another thought.

            When Taehyung saw Jungkook sit in front of him he could of sworn his heart had stopped beating. He was shaking for hundreds of reasons and one of them being because he knew the younger deserved to know. He deserved to know the truth why Taehyung had to stay away from him. The realization made Taehyung break down even further, and he covered his face with his palms as he cried deeply.

            Jungkook’s heart sunk as he heard his weak cries, and he instantly- without any hesitation in his mind, he leaned closely, wrapped his hands around the elder’s wrist as he whispered. “Don’t. Please, don’t cry.” he begged. Tears welled into his eyes as he pulled the elder into his arms, cradled him lovingly as he pleaded for him to stop crying. Taehyung buried his face in the younger’s neck, he wrapped his arms around him as he quivered. Jungkook held him tightly, and they remained in that same position for what felt like hours because neither of them knew what to say exactly. Taehyung’s head throbbed, he breathed slowly as he wrapped his arms around Jungkook’s waist. The younger rested his head on top of the elder’s and he rubbed his back as he patiently waited for him to speak.

            Taehyung had never felt so at peace like he did in Jungkook’s arms. He breathed slowly as he whispered. “I should have told you….” his voice was barely audible, and if it wasn’t for the deafening silence in the room, Jungkook wouldn’t have heard him, but he did. He heard him clearly, and he shook his head in response. Taehyung nodded, his arms clutching onto the younger’s waist as he closed his eyes, “I should have…”

            “I don’t understand…” Jungkook began in a small voice, he was carefully choosing his words because he didn’t want Taehyung to feel forced to open up to him even though he desperately wished he would. His mind had been spinning with the endless question- he was beginning to convince himself that he imagined everything. “I don’t understand how you did...what you did, but you saved Jimin’s life. That much I know-”

            Taehyung shook his head, he squeezed his eyes shut, “You don’t…” he paused so the words wouldn’t harm Jungkook. He was afraid to say something wrong so he tried again. “It’s something not easy to understand.” he sniffled. “I could have seriously harmed Jimin, but I didn’t think about that. The only thing I knew was I had to help you.” Jungkook froze as he listened to him carefully.

            “I don’t understand.” Jungkook repeated once again, his head only spinning even more from confusion. “Please, Taehyung- i-if you don’t want to tell me everything, you don’t have to. I won’t force you, but just give me something.” He pleaded. “You...you can make people...do things?” he asked, breaking each time from how unbelievable his words sounded when he asked them out loud.

            “I’ve been able to control someone with my words since I was able to speak them.” Taehyung pulled away from Jungkook, the warmth being replaced by the coldness of the room. Tae sat against the wall, he stared off to the side wondering how long it would take Jungkook to run away from him. Jungkook’s eyes slowly widened, the words being as clear to him as they were confusing, but he decided to be patient and wait for Taehyung to continue. The elder grew cold, his pain numbing him to the core as he was unable to cry any longer; his eyes stared in front of him, staring at nothing in particular as the memories took over. “I did something bad…” his voice drifted. Jungkook’s eyes widened, his heart racing as he saw the way Taehyung was frozen by the pain.

            And then Taehyung started telling Jungkook why he was a monster. He confessed to him every detail of why he was known as beastly.

*~*~*

            The moment Taehyung could form words, commands would roll out of his tongue without a single thought. His mother, loving as she was, loved him with every bit of her soul, but when Taehyung would say “Umma, kiss me!” her body would jerk in response and she would plant a kiss all over the laughing boy until he stopped asking for one. The innocent boy never thought twice about it, and his mother never thought about it either since the words would sink into her mind without a single thought.

            Taehyung’s father had noticed, and when he panicked his wife was there to calm him. She insisted to Minjong, countless times that her baby boy was nothing like his father was, “He’s a good boy.” She repeated hundreds of times while she held her husband’s hands in between hers. She smiled sadly at him, wiping his tears away before cradling him in her arms because she was the only person that truly understood the hell he had gone through as a child.

            When Taehyung was three years old, Jin was six years old. They were inseparable even if Jin was at times forced to do the things Taehyung commanded for him to do- but his brother was kind, that much he knew, so he never thought less of him. One afternoon, when the brothers played around the park something strange had happened. Someone had hurt Jin- whether or not it was an accident was unclear to Taehyung, but really he didn’t care. Taehyung hurt the boy, his words piercing into the little one’s ears. It was at that moment that Minjong and his wife, Yoona, rushed to Taehyung and dragged him away from the park before someone noticed what he did.

                                 When they made it home, Taehyung was screaming through his father’s palm clasped tightly over his mouth. “Don’t say anything, Taehyung!” his father screamed, his eyes were wide, perspiration decorated his forehead as he panicked. Yoona tried to calm him, she knelt in front of Taehyung, gently grasped his arms and smiled sadly at him, “Sweetheart, we need to talk.” When Taehyu