Credit: Command

Author’s note: Chapter requires edit. Please read with caution.

Part 5

April froze in her spot and her heart dropped, as if she had just witnessed a supernatural occurrence. It felt like a false interpretation of the real world that April had fallen into. She frowned at the man in front of her, the man who she thought she knew.

“So you knew who I was?” April said in barely a whisper. Her voice was quivering, still stunned by the swift event that just took place.

Taehyung tilted his head to the side, the gleam of mischief in his eyes did not vanish. He just blinked slowly, his long eyelashes crowning his almond shaped eyes. There was a few second of silence that ensued between them but his eyes were shouting unspoken words to her. April frowned again.

“What, you didn’t think I recognized you?” Taehyung muttered in his intense, deep voice. His eyes shifted from April’s eyes to her nose and down to . Then he returned back to stare at her.

“Who are you?” April asked in a curious whisper. She knew who he was and she was sure this was the boy who she befriended 13 years ago but something was not right.

Taehyung chuckled. He the bottom of his lips as though April’s question was a strange thing. April felt his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath on .

“My name is Taehyung,” he answered without restraints, not breaking their eye contact. “But I don’t think you know me.”

Another pause. April’s frown continued to borrow on her forehead. She could not make any sense of this. Taehyung watched her display of dubious reaction and so he continued to confuse her with his words.

“My name is Taehyung, yes, and you do not know me,” Taehyung started again. “We do not know each other. We live in a separate world, you and me. If you want to survive, you better leave it that way.”

April saw a mean glint in his eyes just as he spoke those last words, as if he was threatening her. She wondered whether it was just her imagination but the air around them was so tense, she could cut it with a knife.

“I don’t understand,” April stammered, still confused out of her mind.

Taehyung stayed silent and pulled away from her. He took a few steps back and placed his hands back in his pockets as if he was done his business. April stood there feeling slightly breathless, as though his little provocation the air out of her.

“If you want to survive in this little hell hole Jisoo, you will have to pretend we don’t know each other.” Taehyung turned his head to the side and continued. “Unless you want me to reveal all your secrets.”

Secrets…

April blinked her eyes, unable to comprehend his words. He looked at her strangely, almost condescending. Then she realized what he just said and as if it stunned her more than she thought, her mind started to race.

“Secrets?” April thought out loud and started to laugh. “What secrets?”

Taehyung finally loosened up his expression. A knowing look plastered on his face and the corner of his mouth curved into a sinister smirk.

“You really don’t know what I’m talking about?” Taehyung questioned without a hiccup.

April searched through her mind to figure what exactly he was trying to pull. In her memories, the relationship between them was never sour. She tried to remind herself what exactly he was talking about. A few flashbacks went to mind. The moments when they were both were both happy that they got into the same class. She remembered taking Taehyung to the nurse room when he was sick with a fever. There was also a time when Taehyung got bullied for being weak, and she stepped in to defend him.

As she was trying to look back into her past, Taehyung had begun to turn his back towards her and started to walk away.

“Yah, Taetae!”

Taetae! Taetae!

A small little flashback went through Taehyung’s memory and it hit him in more ways than one. He froze in his spot as he recalled the sound of his young high pitched voice calling out Jisoo. He remembered how her face would lit up whenever she called his name and that smile that was like sunshine in his life.

Taehyung fell back but he didn’t turn his head to look at April. That was his nickname. That was April’s nickname for him. With a small pause, Taehyung glanced back slightly, staring at her from the corner of his eyes. April felt the sudden tension in the air thickening.

“Don’t ever call me that,” he said in a low threatening voice. His eyes were so dark, so vicious, as if April had done something so vile that it hurt him this badly.

What is wrong with him? April wanted to scream out loud but she couldn’t say a word. Nothing came out of . It was like Taehyung’s words shut every inch of and she hated feeling so helpless like this.

“When I walk out this door, we are both strangers. I don’t like to be associated with anything of the past.” Taehyung finally finished his words and started to walk away. April held back for a few seconds before she realized she needed more answers from him. Just as the door was about to close behind him, April took a step forward and reached out to call for him.

What did I ever do to you? Why are you acting this way?

“Taehyung! Wait!”

It took a few seconds for her to open up the door of the women’s locker room only to knock over someone she didn’t see walk by.

Stumbling forward, she felt a hand on her shoulders holding her back from falling. They were strong and careful that her body sort of floated into their arms. Blinking, April looked up in surprise to find a familiar face.

“Oh,” she said and gasped, placing a hand over .

“Are you okay?” Jimin asked with a worried expression on his face.

Realizing that her body was so close to his, April immediately straightened her stance and their bodies parted. She felt a flush on her cheeks, rising in embarrassment as Jimin’s strong eyes looked straight at her. With a bit of a panic she started to laugh nervously.

“I’m sorry I was just-“

April suddenly remembered why she left the room in a hurry and looked around to search for Taehyung. There was no sign of him. It was as if he dissipated into thin air. April groaned and rubbed her temples, cursing to herself in her head.

“Were you looking for somebody?” Jimin asked curiously.

April perked up and as though she was caught doing something bad, she straightened her back in a polite manner and bowed apologetically. “I am so sorry for that,” she stammered. “I was looking for someone.”

Jimin’s eyes shifted to the end of the corridor leading towards the rooftop and he smiled. “Were you looking for Taehyung?” he asked amusingly.

“Yes, how did you know?” April asked with a curious look on her face. “Do you know him?”

Jimin stood there speechless for a few seconds before he bursts out laughing. “Yes, something like that,” he responded with a smirk, feeling quite amused at how oblivious April was.

“He probably went back to the studio,” Jimin answered back and gave April a charming smile, which made her blush in return. “Are you filming right now? Did you want to grab a coffee?”

April found herself in a rather strenuous position. She wasn’t sure who the man was in front of her but he was so good looking. Her eyes wouldn’t stop looking at his charming eye smile and his cute nose. His voice was also pleasant to listen to that for one second she fell into a trance.

“I didn’t mean to go out, there’s just a small café down stairs in our building if you want to grab a coffee,” Jimin said, trying to pull her back to reality.

And April did so. She blinked a few times and found herself staring at him. She blushed even harder, pushing blood towards her cheeks. “That would be nice,” she answered.

---

Taehyung stood behind the corner of the wall as he listened in on Jimin’s conversation with April. He felt a knot in his throat and he looked down at the white porcelain floor in a daze. The grip in his heart told him that his recent action towards April was uncalled for and he knew she would be asking a lot of questions.

Did he take it too far? Was he being too harsh on her? These words kept circulating in his mind. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cold marble wall. Taehyung heaved a huge sigh and recalled the terrified look on her face when he threatened her with his words.

No, this has to happen, Taehyung thought to himself. It’s for the best.

Opening up his eyes he then made a face, as if he just had an epiphany.

“Why should I feel worried for her?” he said to himself and waved his hands in front of him. He frowned and looked up to the ceiling, thinking deeply. “But who was she to suddenly show up like that? Like out of the blue, just suddenly like that.”

Without Taehyung’s notice, two new female staff walked past him. They turned to each other and whispered excitedly.

‘Is he talking to himself?’ one of the whispered to the other.

‘I heard he likes to do that. Talk to himself.’

Taehyung barely noticed anything as he stood there with his mouth opening and closing, as if he was talking to himself. But all the while he was thinking very deep thoughts, trying to figure out the best possible way to behave in front of his new partner.

---

“Taehyung, your next filming will be tomorrow,” Sai called out to Taehyung as he was about to go downstairs to grab a cup of coffee.

Taehyung saw her walking towards him and he gave her a soft smile which was returned with a blushing Sai. “Are you going to treat me for a cup of coffee?” he asked playfully.

Sai gave out a small cute laughter, putting a hand on his shoulders and gently caressed it slightly, making Taehyung’s smile grow cold. He pretended to be okay with the little action and gave her a huge smile.

“You’re like an angel when you smile,” Sai said and grinned. “A sunshine that brightens up my day.”

“Ah you’re too kind Sai,” Taehyung said as he walked along with her. He nudged his shoulders a bit,