Taehyung woke up from the coldness he felt on his bare thighs and realized he had probably kicked off his blanket sometime in the night. Instead of going back to sleep, Taehyung padded silently across the room to reach his bag beside the dresser and pulled his phone out, and switched it on. After a few moments, it rang with two voicemails from his mother and two text messages. Taehyung decided to delete the voicemails without listening to them. One text was from Lucas asking what was this all about and they should talk it out.

Taehyung wasn’t surprised by Lucas’ coolness at all. The guy was always the type of upper-class man who was rarely rattled by anything. He’d enjoyed an education that gave him a strong sense of entitlement and the expectation that everything would work out well in the end. After all, it always had, so there was no reason for him to believe that Taehyung’s sudden flight was any different. He was probably rolling his eyes and sighing, in the same way his father shrugged off his mother’s foibles. The other text was from his sister:

“Holy , Tae. Mom’s gone ape. I can’t believe you actually did it. Please call me soon, okay? I wanted to know how you’re doing”

Taehyung switched the phone off and walked over to the little balcony of his room. He breathed in the damp morning air. It had been raining since last night after they had their dinner. From his balcony, he could see the lighthouse that serves as a guide to the sailors bracing the sea. Said body of water was as smooth as satin, the rocks seemingly benign in the peace of the awakening earth. The silence was a novelty for Taehyung, who was used to the noise of the city, but he felt it creeping over him, as soft as down, and for a moment he lost himself in the landscape. His thoughts wandered back to last night’s dinner. It was uneventful to say the least. His grandfather was just like his mother, always so composed as if talking to his subordinates and not his family. His cousin, Min Yoongi, is shorter than him in height with his feline-like features and skin as white as snow, Taehyung knew that he’s not someone you can just simply cross with. Contrary to his grandmother’s cheery personality the two were more reserved and barely talked during the dinner but Taehyung can feel the comfort in the atmosphere and he supposes it’s not that bad.

A shiver rippled across his skin. He wasn’t sure whether it was caused by the cold morning air or the excitement at having run away. It didn’t matter. He felt free from duty at last. He had pleased his parents for the first thirty-three years of his life; now, finally, he was at liberty to please himself.

After some more minutes just basking himself with the fresh air, Taehyung heard clattering from the kitchen probably the house helpers, and decided to head downstairs for a coffee or tea, whichever is available. But please let it be tea.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Taehyung noticed that his grandfather is already sitting at the living area with the daily newspaper on his hold. Eyeglasses perched on his nose, with a freshly brewed coffee on his side. The old man is sitting right in front of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking their backyard with the view of the ocean as its background.

“Good morning, halabeoji”

“Good morning, son. Your Grandmother’s in the kitchen.”

The old man answered without sparing him any glance as he continues to read the headlines in his newspaper. Taehyung didn’t even falter for the lack of attention as he was used to having his mother doing the same.

In the kitchen, Grandma Min was sitting at the dining table reading a book that Taehyung didn’t recognize over bread and coffee. Taehyung noticed a menacing-looking bird perched on the back of her chair. It was black as charcoal with eyes as pale as aventurine.

“Good morning, halmeoni” Taehyung greeted as he takes his seat “I suppose he’s a friend?”

“Oh, Good morning to you, too and yes, that’s my little jackdaw,” Grandma Min gushed

“Yoongi found him last winter and he’s lived with us ever since. I try to shoo him away but he always comes back. There’s no getting rid of him” She laughed and Taehyung knew that his Grandmother didn’t really want him to fly away. “Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?”

“Tea please, thank you” The jackdaw watched him warily.

“What’s he called?”

“Jack,” Grandma Min replied, then laughed. “Not a very inspiring name, but Yoongi insists it suits him.” At the mention of his name, the bird flew onto the table to peck at the biscuit crumbs the woman had left for him. He was so bid he dwarfed the biscuit tin.

A house helper then placed a cup of spearmint in front of him. The smell of freshly brewed tea made Taehyung inhale deeply, accompanied by a sigh in the end.

He had felt so comfortable in his grandparent’s dining area it might as well have had arms to embrace him. Back home, his parent’s dining area was Mrs. Heidi’s domain. The family ate in the dining room and Mrs. Heidi cooked and cleared away. Being old, the woman was of the generation that had grown up with the green baize door, which since the eighteenth century, had been a feature of every staffed house, and as a consequence, she was perfectly at home in her domain behind it. Besides Mrs. Heidi, there was Mrs. Ronald, the housekeeper, who lived in the basement flat, and Madeline, a surprising girl straight out of university who was his mother’s personal assistant.

Just then, a sleepy-looking Min Yoongi stepped in the threshold of the dining area with his eyes half open and hair disheveled. His cousin is still wearing his pajamas and his fluffy sleepers. The smell of fresh mint follows him as he walks past Taehyung’s chair and reached their Grandmother’s to place a kiss on her cheek as his good morning greeting, immediately taking the seat across Taehyung afterward.

After finishing his own meal, Taehyung excused himself to his room. As soon as the door closed, he plopped his body into the bed and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. He knew he owed Lucas more than a text – and he should really have been clearer. “I need to get away and have some time to think” was not synonymous with “I don’t love you so I don’t want to marry you.” The date of the wedding was set for June, almost five months away. The Church was booked for the 22^nd and the reception was already decided from the venue down to the guest list. Everything about the wedding preparations is now set and ready to go. His mother had always been for a lavish celebration, not settling with less. While Taehyung on the other hand prefers a simple but memorable celebration. But his mother immediately dismisses him.

At the thought of his mother he moved away from his bed and lifted his phone out of the bedside table. He switched it on and waited for a few seconds before his phone pinged non-stop. His heart began to race and the anxiety he had felt back home returned to dispel the peace he had enjoyed before. He began to sweat as notifications pinged in: texts, emails, missed calls, voice mails. News must have spread, he deduced. He glanced at them fearfully. Lucas, his mother, his father who usually remained detached from domestic strife, his sister, his best friend, and even some of his old college friends had all tried to get in touch with him one way or another. He felt a wave of panic. It was overwhelming. This is what he had escaped London to avoid: people, countless people, telling him how he should live his life. He wished they’d all go away.

With a rising sense of claustrophobia, he hurriedly pulled on his hoodie. He his phone into the front pocket and ran down the stairs, two steps at a time. Ignoring the questioning glance of the house helpers he passed by, Taehyung wriggled his feet into his converse and ran to the front door. Once he was outside, the cold air hit his face and burned his lungs, bringing him to his senses with a jolt. Why hadn’t he done this earlier, he asked himself crossly.

The faster Taehyung walked the better he felt. The air was bracing and his cheeks grew red and hot. He reached the lane and crossed it, taking a path that cut through the long grass down to the sea. An abandoned stone cottage stood forlornly beside the damaged remains of a fence. Shrubs and weeds flourished on its roof and seeded themselves in the gaps between the stones on the walls. In the time it would return to the ground it came from and the waves would wash it away. One day everything would be gone, he thought philosophically, because nothing material lasts. That’s why I have to live the life I want to live, because one day I’ll be gone, too.

Right now, the tide was far out, leaving a wide beach of pale-yellow sand. Black rocks were scattered here and there, like sleeping seals, and white gulls hopped about the shallow pools in search of food. The windswept through the abandoned lighthouse - like ghosts playing among old bones, and he took a deep breath, right into the bottom of his lungs. As he exhaled, he felt the tension slip away and his shoulders drop. The vision of endless sea and sky lifted the heaviness that weighed upon his chest and he felt a wonderful sense of relief. He walked over the san, not caring that his shoes were getting wet, and marched on towards the ocean. As he neared the water, the roar of the sea grew louder. It was a pleasant sound, nothing like the roar of traffic, and he inhaled the salty air. The wind whipped his hair, sending a shiver down his spine. Without a moment’s regret, he pulled his phone out and threw it as far out to sea as he could. It landed with a plop and disappeared.

With that Taehyung felt an immense sense of freedom. Gone were the harassing messages. Gone was all contact with London. It was as if he had thrown his mother and Lucas, his sister and friends – in fact, his entire life – into the water. They had all sunk with that expensive device and there he was, standing alone on an empty beach, liberated at last from duty, responsibility, and the dreadful mold that had imprisoned him. He had crossed a bridge and destroyed it in his wake. Now, he would be anyone he wanted to be. Taehyung smiled with satisfaction and let the wind take his past. Gazing out at the vast expanse of the sea, he realized the world was full of endless possibilities.

Taehyung walked back up with a bounce in his step, across the lane and up the hill where the sheep were quietly grazing and the donkey was standing alone, staring out to the sea. When the house came into view, he saw two new cars parked just outside the front lawn, cars that belong to neither his grandparents nor his cousin.

As he opened the door, Holly, his cousin’s dog came bounding into the hall. He patted the little ball of fluff then took off his shoes. Voices resounded from the living room, most notably deep, male voices. Taehyung wandered in shyly.

“Ah, there you are. Come and meet Yoongi’s friends.” His grandmother beamed at him happily. There, occupying his grandparent’s expensive set of sofas, were three men, including his cousin, dressed in casual clothing. Taehyung stared at them in astonishment.

“Yoongi, darling. Mind introducing your friends? While I go check what’s for lunch later.” Grandma min said and padded her way into the kitchen where the head cook and some of the house helpers were busy preparing whatever meal they’ll be having later on.

“Well, these are my friends from College: Hoseok and Namjoon. And guys, this is my cousin, Taehyung. He came from London.” Yoongi finished introducing them and both guys stood up to greet him with smiles on their faces. While the taller of the two had deep dimples that Taehyung is jealous of, the other one has a heart-shaped smile gracing his lips. Both of them looked like they came from a magazine with how the way they carry themselves. No doubt came from rich family background.

Taehyung made a conscious effort to collect himself and bowed his head politely to the people in front of him. Being in his mother’s presence constantly had trained him to hide his feelings. He could always find refuge in good manners when an unfamiliar situation threatened to unbalance him.

“How about you three take a seat and talk like normal human beings?” Yoongi said and Taehyung bashfully lowered his head and took a seat beside his cousin, the other two following suit.

“So,”

“We’re not normally here in the mornings, we just wanted to see you since Yoongi-hyung here said he has his cousin staying here and can’t go horse riding with us,” Hoseok said as he made himself comfortable on the sofa. Namjoon grinned in response as he munches on the cookies placed at the coffee table in front of them.

“Why won’t you go with them, Hyung?” Taehyung asked.

“Halmeoni is going out after lunch and she said you have no one to be with when you decided to roam around,” Yoongi replied with a shrug.

“Grandma Min said you’re a writer,” said Namjoon. “That’s grand.”

“Well, yeah. I’ve been into writing since I was a kid and thought why not make money out of it?” They all laughed heartily. The awkwardness lifted.

“What do you write about?” Hoseok asked.

“Novels, you know, mystery, relationships, life,” He replied importantly. “I saw a photograph of a huge house upstairs and halmeoni said it’s near here. That sounds like a good place to base a book.”

“You can come with me and Hoseok today if you like. Yoongi hyung should tag along too. We work up there. I’m an estate manager. The owner is a family friend of Hoseok’s.” Namjoon said.

Hoseok then turned to him and jokingly said, “There are plenty of ghosts up there for you to write about.”

“There’s not a lot for you to do up there, though,” Yoongi added. “The manor is locked up except for the first floor and Mr. Jeon’s in Seoul most of the time.”

“I’d love to see it,” Taehyung said, longing to extricate himself.