BTS Prologue Part One- Before
BTS Prologue- Before and AfterThat was more blood then he ever expected. He had seen blood before; small things like cuts and scrapes, or even the vials taken at the doctors office during those irritating annual checkups. The most he could remember seeing, as he sat in that alley, staring at his hands stained burgundy, was when his cousin was in the hospital and had a bag of blood being slowly transfused into her; "Like a vampire" TaeHyung remembered thinking.
But this was totally different.
It was warm. You don't ever really think about how warm your body is, do you? And how warm that must mean all the things packed inside of you must be, too?
Blood is so warm.
But blood is also so sickening.
V began to turn his hands over, examining the red liquid, and suddenly felt nauseous. This wasn't just blood; it was a
persons blood. His fathers blood. Which made it his blood. He grabbed for the water bottle so quickly that he almost knocked it down in his haste. He thought about what he would have done had he lost the precious contents of that bottle. Probably would have thrown up. Although who know; maybe that will end up happening anyways.
Hands shaking, he tipped the bottle over and started to rub at his face, his hands, his neck, his chest. Anywhere he could feel it, he rubbed. The feeling became overwhelming.
Murderer.
That word wouldn't stop bouncing around his skull no matter how much he tried to justify the action he had just taken, and he thought he was going to go insane. Although, he had murdered someone; maybe he already was. The sobs began to rack his body and he held himself tightly, screaming in his head what should he do next.
Jin.
He needed Jin. He pulled out his phone and wiped at his face where his tears had made trails through the dirt and blood. With what would be no memory the next day of how he managed to dial Jin's number(his hands were still shaking so much that the fact that he was able to call him seemed impossible), he waited for Jin to pick up. With each dial tone V's throat constricted a little, as he didn't know what he would do next if Jin didn't answer.
When Jin's voice finally came across the line in greeting, TaeHyung could hold it back no more. He felt the tears roll down and trickle off his chin.
"Hyung-" his voice was so low that Jin was struggling to understand him. V tried to find the right words. His bottom lip trembled as he could only think of one thing. "Hyung... I want to see my friends." He finally got out before another sob racked his body and the phone slipped out of his wet hands.
Jin sat on the edge of his bed, phone still pressed firmly against his ear. "TaeHyung!?" No response. "TAEHYUNG!?" He yelled into the phone, needing something, anything, to tell him he was still there. Still alive. Still breathing. The tears that had welled in his eyes threatened to spill over and he still refused to even dare to hang up. That would be the equivalent of giving up, and that was something he had decided he would never do.
Not again.
-
"TaeHyung, don't move. Just stay where you are. Stay wherever you are." Jin instructed, phone still held up to his ear. Although he didn't know whether or not V could hear him, he could still hear V's muffled and tears, and that was enough for Jin. "I'm going to find you. I'm coming, I swear I'm coming, just wait for me- just wait."
He didn't dare think about anything else. He didn't dare think of the other boys.
The other 5 dead boys.
The other 5 dead boys that he had let down without even realizing it.
Maybe he was actually thinking about them. Maybe they were the force behind him as he sped down street after street, highway after highway in search of the only piece of happiness he had left. They had to stick together now that it was just the two of them. That's what they had said after the last service they went to; Jimin's. At least they had a body for the showing. As it turns out, drowning yourself in the bathtub doesn't do nearly as much damage as burning yourself alive.
Yoongi's family couldn't even have a proper service.
He was so lost in thoughts of Jimin's pale sleeping face that he had said he would never think of again, that he almost missed seeing TaeHyung's form slouched against a wall at the end of a dark alley.
His tires squealed loudly, echoing off the walls as he slammed on his breaks. Jumping out of his truck without even bothering to take the keys out of the ignition, he nearly tripped over his own feet twice as he ran to V's side.
He was still breathing.
"Hyung..." V mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, hair in his eyes as he squinted at Jin's concerned face.
Jin's hand rose to cover his mouth in shock when he saw the blood soaking the front of TaeHyung's shirt. As soon as he registered what blood could mean, he reached forward and began to gently press his fingers against V's torso. "Are you hurt!? Are you bleeding!?"
"No..." V used his hands to half-heartedly bat away Jin's.
He didn't understand.
If it wasn't TaeHyung's blood, whose was it?
Making the quick decision that that would have to be a question for later, he put his arm under TaeHyungs to pick him up and drag him to his truck.
-
Getting V's limp form through the front door, especially without anyone seeing him, was like a game. Finally succeeding, he dropped V onto his bed and he began to take V's clothes off. He pulled off his shoes, his socks, his jacket, and finally his white blood stained shirt. Throwing them away, he then left V to rest and found himself falling asleep on the couch.
What only felt like seconds later, Jin awoke to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. He could see the light on under the door. He smiled to himself; good, TaeHyung is up and feeling well enough to showe- his positive train of thought was derailed the moment he remembered the state he found TaeHyung in. His eyes focused on the trash can that contained the bloody clothes TaeHyung had been wearing.
"Jin Hyung." Jin's body jolted involuntarily in surprise as V was suddenly standing beside the couch, dressed in what Jin recognized to be his clothes.
He immediately sat up. "What the hell happened, TaeHyung!?" He couldn't hold back the words any longer.
"I-" The words caught in his throat. Saying it out loud seemed like an impossible task. "My father-" he tried again, but his voice abruptly cut off again.
Jin didn't need it spelled out for him; he knew how violent V's father had always been.
He shuttered silently as his mind so easily used a past tense already.
He nodded slowly, and with his legs spread apart, elbows resting on his thighs and his hands held together in front of him, he thought.
"Was it self defense?" He finally decided to ask. It vaguely crossed his mind that if the answer was no, he could be an accessory to murder.
"He was attacking my mother." V stated blatantly, a tinge of the rage from before coming back as he thought of the scene he had walked in on before taking one of his fathers many beer bottles and-
V closed his eyes and focused on trying to release the fists clenched at his sides. He couldn't remember it; didn't want to remember it.
"...okay." Jin again nodded understandingly. He wasn't sure if this was something he could deal with right now. All he knew was that he ached to see his friends again. He needed as much help as V did.
V, too, ached for the others. He began to wonder, to hope, that he might get the death penalty. Maybe if he just goes to the police now... Confess to it all... "-does that sound?" The tail end of Jin's word just reached V, snapping him out of his plans.
"Huh?"
Jin managed a laugh. "How does that sound?" He repeated.
V had apparently missed more then he realized. "Yeah, yes, sounds good." He nodded. Whatever it was would be fine; he just needed to get back to his thoughts.
He needed to see them again. He needed his friends.
He just needed a way. Any way.
"Let's go, then!" Jin stood up and grabbed the keys. Mindlessly following, V slipped on his shoes as they left Jin's apartment.
-
Jin parked at the end of the concrete pier that overlooked the water. The ride here had been silent, but that was okay.
They both had things to think about. Important things.
They still walked in silence as they went down the pier. V looked at the edge where it dropped to pure blue water.
He half expected JungKook to appear from between the waves as he had when they came in the summer; he would always try to scare them all. V was almost surprised when he realized that he was actually smiling. That was a memory he would hold onto for the rest of his life; even though that might not be very long.
It would help him.
Keeping his distance, Jin watched as a ghost of a smile crossed V's lips. He wanted so badly to know what he was thinking of and to have something to smile about, too.
What he wouldn't give to have something to smile about, too...
Putting his hands in his coat pockets, his hand brushed something smooth and hard. He pulled out the old camcorder from adventures they used to have and the smile he had been wishing for finally made an appearance. As he realized this, the smile grew wider, until finally he was almost laughing as he took a seat next to where V sat on the edge, kicking his feet at the air.
"Remember when we would sit here and JungKook would-" V began to remind Jin of the memory they shared but again couldn't finish the thought. He almost sarcastically questioned how long it had been since he finished a sentence. But Jin nodded and laughed, understanding V perfectly.
The ache in V's chest increased.
"Look what I just found." Jin held out the camera, showing TaeHyung the treasure. Jin turned it on and began recording the setting sun and waves as they lapped against the nearby shore. "V, look-" he turned to point something out to TaeHyung but didn't get the chance, as V was no longer next to him. For reasons he'd never understand, he instinctively looked up at the tower of scaffolding next to where they sat at the end of the pier.
His heart stopped.
For some reason, he couldn't do anything. Couldn't speak. Couldn't move. He was frozen in place as he watched TaeHyung climb to the top of the scaffolding. Then, his arm twisted without even realize it, angling the camera up, focusing on TaeHyung's black figure against the still setting sun.
"No." Words finally escaped him, but at no more then a whisper. He couldn't find it in himself to say them again.
For a long time, V stared straight ahead, studying the sky. He wondered if that was where he would be going. All he knew was that wherever it was, his friends were there.
Waiting.
Calling.
Jin's hand never wavered. He steadily filmed V, saying silent prayers. His breath hitched when TaeHyung turned and looked down at him.
For a long time Jin would only remember that eye contact and the quick but apologetic smile that he swore crossed TaeHyung's lips before he turned to look back at the sky to run towards it.
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