Jin made his way up the stairs, tears still streaming down his face, silent cries escaping his lips as he made his way through the dark hallway. He took small steps as it felt like his legs would give way, and it was hard because every part of him hurt. It hurt for Taehyung.

His hand felt the cold wall as he scanned the picture frames displayed right in front of him, all of the pictures showing all of them, but no Taehyung. There was no sign of Taehyung.

He gathered all his strength and continued to examine all of the pictures, showing his father with his glasses on, smiling, mirroring his mother’s smile as she embraced a young Seokjin in her arms. Jin had his glasses on, too, but his smile lacked something. Maybe because he was the only child and he was lonely.

He could only imagine how lonely Taehyung was ever since the beginning. He, too, was the only child, but Jin thought, as Taehyung lost his parents, he must’ve felt more miserable inside, like his world was crashing down around him, like the world was ending because he had no one – he lost his parents, the only people he ever had.

Somehow, Jin wanted to remove all the picture frames from the walls because they didn’t feel right – there was no Taehyung. His heart dropped seeing all the smiles in those photos; it was unfair that they were smiling while Taehyung, that time, was mourning over his parents, grief-stricken. Taehyung must’ve blamed himself for what had happened. He must’ve thought that it was better if it was him who died, and not them.

That thought broke Jin into a million pieces as he tried to wipe his tears away, but failing as they continued to fall, cascading down his cheeks like vast waterfalls. Jin felt Taehyung’s pain, without Taehyung explaining it to him. He didn’t need to explain. You could sense how much Taehyung suffered just by seeing his sad smiles.

Without knowing it, Jin was now in front of Taehyung’s door, his crying steadily worsening. Reaching out to the door handle, he froze, not wanting to go in, yet, he needed to. He wanted to. Jin didn’t even bother to knock because his mind couldn’t even comprehend why he was crying, what more thinking if he really should knock or not? His tears blurred his vision, his cries echoed in his ears, and his clouded mind confused him as he grabbed the door handle, the cold now reaching his body, and he couldn’t help but worry if Taehyung felt cold, too.

The moment he went inside, the smell of vanilla candles reached his senses as he tried to search for his younger brother. He found a sleeping Taehyung near the window, under the thick sheets, covering himself from the cold. A part of Jin wanted the candles to be lit so he could see Taehyung better, but eventhough they weren’t, he thanked the moon’s light that seemed to land perfectly on Taehyung’s face. Closing the door, he walked surprisingly fast over to Taehyung’s bed, scanning his younger brother’s peaceful face before his body took over and now he was taking the sheets off of Taehyung’s body, hovering over him.

At first, Taehyung was shocked, seeing as how his sleep was being disrupted, his sheets thrown all over the place, all over his bed, on the floor, and now, warmth was taking over as Jin closed the gaps between them. He didn’t even know a second would make a big difference, not until Jin leaned in, his face inches away from his own, his warmth breath reaching Taehyung’s face, his neck, and it sent shivers down his spine.

Taehyung squirmed under him, surprised to see Jin looking at him intently, not letting Taehyung escape that easily. Jin just popped out of nowhere, taking his sheets away from his body, and now he attacked him all of a sudden – that was enough for Taehyung to try to kick him in the stomach, and Jin groaned, his face contorting in pain. Confused, Taehyung continued to squirm under Jin, wanting to escape, and there, he thought he underestimated Jin’s strength because now, Jin pinned him down even harder, and it was Taehyung’s turn to hiss. As a last resort, Taehyung opened his mouth to scream, only for Jin to clasp a hand to his mouth.

“Shh,” Jin shushed him, and for a moment, Taehyung calmed down, but the weird feeling in his stomach didn’t go unnoticed as his heart beat faster than ever and his breathing turning into panting. His eyes were focused only on his older brother and there, their gazes were fixed on each other. Jin’s eyes were dark, yet, he seemed to have a hint of worry somewhere in there and Taehyung immediately felt it – Jin was worried about something; something he couldn’t pinpoint. Reaching down, Jin, slowly, secured Taehyung’s hands in his own, intertwining their fingers together, hoping Taehyung wouldn’t hate what he was doing to him. “Tae…Tae…calm down,” Jin leaned down and breathed in Taehyung’s scent, and Taehyung couldn’t help but close his eyes, this feeling all new to him. He let Jin’s fast heartbeat resound in his ears along with Jin’s breathing that seemed to take over him and he felt like he was losing his mind.

Jin, letting go of Taehyung’s hands, reached down, even lower, to search for the hem of Taehyung’s shirt, and Taehyung panicked, his heart flipping, his legs shaking, and his brain shutting down.

“Jin hyung- what are you-” Taehyung held Jin’s arms to stop what he was doing, but he couldn’t even finish before Jin placed his hands under Taehyung’s shirt, and there, Taehyung just couldn’t take it anymore. Jin’s fingers were so warm as they caressed his skin, and Taehyung felt a spark and his heart beat increased even more, if it was still possible. “Jin hyung-”

Jin then brought his shirt up, just enough for it to showcase Taehyung’s stomach, his waist, and all the other black and blue marks that he’s been hiding.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jin spoke, his voice low and serious, referring to the bruises that were on Taehyung’s skin. Jin just wanted to wipe them off since they weren’t supposed to be there, on his younger brother’s flawless skin, snaking their way up from his lower abdomen all the way to his chest, to his sides, and as Taehyung desperately tried to cover himself up, Jin held his shirt tight