Sooyoung slowed down, his jog slowing into a fast-paced walk as he approached his destination; the rooftop of the school. Taeyeon’s back was facing him as he stopped. Taeyeon was looking at the sky, standing on the ledge with his hands in his pockets. The night breeze wafted past his face, blowing at his fringe lightly.

“There are no stars tonight,” Taeyeon stated matter-of-factly, but Sooyoung could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“What did you call me here for?” Sooyoung asked, slightly breathless.

Taeyeon got off the ledge, landing agilely in front of his younger brother. Sooyoung struggled not to envy his brother’s outstanding agility. It had been a while ever since he had managed to move that fast. His discoloured eyes faded into a pale red and remained that way as Taeyeon spoke, not the least fazed by Sooyoung’s change. That was the beauty of being with one another; they didn’t have to hide their true selves when they were together.

“What game are you playing?” Taeyeon asked in turn, his own onyx eyes morphing into a shade of red similar to Sooyoung’s.

“I don’t understand,” Sooyoung lied, trying to remain nonchalant.

“Liar,” his brother breathed, and white mist formed when he spoke. “I know you better than you know yourself. What game are you playing with her?”

Sooyoung had been defeated. “You don’t understand.”

“Nobody does. Why are you giving her hope even when you know that you will only break her heart in the end?” Taeyeon’s earnest eyes bored into Sooyoung’s soul, searching for the answer that was unknown to Sooyoung himself.

Sooyoung was silent. But that only made Taeyeon more agitated at Sooyoung’s honest response.

“Because—”

“Because she reminds you of Soo-Yeon? She’s not Soo-Yeon, and we aren’t the same anymore. We’re different now. You know that trying to love her will only kill her in the end,” the rain began to fall, drenching both Sooyoung and Taeyeon, but they stayed in their heated conversation.

“I don’t want to follow you, Taeyeon,” Sooyoung muttered quietly, but the older one was able to hear Sooyoung perfectly well over the loud rain crashing down on them.

Sooyoung kept his head down, not wanting to see Taeyeon’s expression. He could feel his brother’s anger, his contempt and his burning will to convince Sooyoung to stop.

“You know that. You know that trying to love her will only break her heart,” Sooyoung’s head only dipped lower at Taeyeon’s words. It was a silent confession for him; his body language did the talking for him.

“Why are you doing this?” Taeyeon asked softly.

“I want to love her again. I want another chance to love Soo-Yeon,” Sooyoung admitted and thunder crackled over them.

“But you know that she isn’t Soo-Yeon.”

“When I’m with her, my heart feels as if it’s beating again. When I’m with her, I feel as if I was back in those days when we were angels. When I’m with her, I…I forget the demon I am.”

“You’re attempting to love her in the shadow of someone else! You don’t love her; you love Soo-Yeon only!” Taeyeon roared, his gloved hands reaching up to punch Sooyoung.

But those hands stopped short of their target. Sooyoung didn’t move from his spot and braced himself for the hit that he knew he deserved. He waited, but didn’t feel the stinging pain of his brother’s punch. He opened his shut eyes and saw Taeyeon’s fist inches away from his nose.

“Why are you waiting? Hit me, I deserve it,” Sooyoung said through gritted teeth.

“No, you deserve to suffer,” Taeyeon removed the glove of his left hand and touched Sooyoung’s forehead.

Sooyoung’s vision went red as he went through agony. He was reliving Taeyeon’s past, feeling all his pain that had been multiplied by a hundred. In his mind, he could see pictures of Taeyeon’s past. He could see the pale Mi Young and the weeping Taeyeon. He could see the time when they had woke up and lost their tears, dreams and love. His knees buckled and he had to grab something for support; which turned out to be Taeyeon’s shoulder. Taeyeon left Sooyoung panting, grabbing him for support as he withdrew his hand from his brother and gloved it.

“I’ve become her guardian…my eyes…they have suited themselves in accordance,” Sooyoung panted tiredly.

Taeyeon froze, and pried Sooyoung’s fingers off his shoulder. “We have lost the right to do that.”

“Liar,” he heard Sooyoung say. “Your eyes…I can tell you have found someone else as well.”

“I don’t toy with her feelings like you do, little brother,” Taeyeon snarled as he turned his back on Sooyoung, hair plastered to his scalp and his clothes soaking wet.

Taeyeon leaped off the building, leaving Sooyoung alone, wet and cold, in a world that was only his alone.

Readers’ Note:

Some brother conflict here. Taeyeon is confronting Sooyoung for trying to love, stating that Jessica will only get hurt in the end. Like they say, don’t play with fire, you’ll get burnt. Well, I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and one last thing…a little explanation about Taeyeon’s ‘mystifying hands’. When he lost Mi Young, his pain was so unbearable that it consumed and became him. The corrupted Taeyeon then seeks revenge because Sooyoung didn’t get punished fairly. You’ll understand why later on. Yes, Taeyeon is Tiffany’s guardian ‘angel’.  Let’s just say that Taeyeon knows what Redemption is, but is afraid to claim it. He doesn’t want to be purified to be an angel again, because he hates the angels for giving him an unfair punishment.

Thank you for reading!

Yours Faithfully
Jazzign