𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐒. 𝗄𝗉𝗈𝗉 𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗌

𝐁 𝐈 𝐓 𝐒 𝐀 𝐍 𝐃 𝐏 𝐈 𝐄 𝐂 𝐄 𝐒 | 𝐋 𝐄 𝐄 𝐓𝐀 𝐄 𝐘 𝐎 𝐍 𝐆

❝ b i t s  a n d  p i e c e s ;; ❞

lee taeyong

WE WERE DYING.

And I was wondering how calm and peaceful I was in this situation, when I am not supposed to be. At all. Any normal person would have tried to escape this fate, tried hard, after all no one wants to give up on life this easily but as my breath fell and my chest moved in a steady rhythm, I couldn't find the tears in my eyes to express the sorrow of giving up like a loser.

It wasn't anything new after all, I was a loser. I would never battle in a losing game. It was not like me.

Most of the times it was because I didn't have a reason to fight, except for myself but I didn't want to live for myself, I hated the man named Lee Taeyong, I hated myself. Although, I had a good reason to fight now, Jang Eunwoo. The young girl whose smile was as humorless as her eyes empty. Something about her made me want to fight like crazy but I did not do it. For the person that made me want to fight was a worn down arcade, hanging on the edges, waiting to be swallowed by death.

Like I said, I wouldn't battle a losing game so why will I battle for one?

Eunwoo had those big eyes, that made me wonder how much she had seen in the sixteen years of her life. A few years younger me, her facade was so innocent and innocence is a sin, an alluring one so it wasn't a surprise when I grew fairly curious of her. She had that charm that could make people interested in her, enticed by her.

She was a side character, like I was. Bits and pieces of our own stories. We didn't look at each other like that though, at least she didn't. She was a restless girl, her goals were set, her focus was elsewhere. She only stuck around us because of her sister, that was her goal. Her sister was her goal.

Eunwoo was very much aware of the sparks between her sister and my best friend and what went on behind the huge, dark wooden bookshelves and in the dusty corners of the old library – where nobody would eavesdrop. As much as Eunwoo hinted at her hatred towards our entire team, there was slight warmth lying underneath the thick layers of ice – but at the end of the day, she was only concerned by one thing. Her sister's safety.

That was exactly the reason why we were in this situation now, why we were hanging by a thread that was about to tear apart. Guess this time Merquito and Rosaline are taking the hit instead of Romeo and Juliet themselves, huh?

I would be lying if I said that didn't make me a little jealous. Those secret kisses behind the bookshelves, canoodling in the dark, whispering sweet nothings in each other ears, not worrying about tomorrow – he had them all, he still does but I don't, not when I also wanted to experience them so much, I wanted to live his life.

But Juliet had never quite looked at me the way she looked at her Romeo.

I had no one to turn to, but Eunwoo was there. She wasn't of tremendous help, seeing how she only snorted in my face and walked away. But she was still the help I needed at that time, she provided warmth with an icy lining on the perimeters of it.

I made lots of mistake at that time, I admit. Which is why I am paying the consequences now.

The guilt was eating me away and I couldn't just step out of the parade when things were starting to get worse. I had to help, I had to. So I did, I helped and here I am now, waiting to be shot in the head.

Any normal person would freak out, they would cry, they would scream, they would ask for help, they would ask for forgiveness. They would even willingly sell themselves to safe their lives, they would break whatever promise they made, to whoever they made it. Maybe they would be a little sorry about it but, if betraying your friend saves your life then why not do it?

Eunwoo thought differently though, she would rather die then have her sister go through hell. So would I, I would rather take the hit than have my best friend or the other members of the team go through it.

"Hey, Taeyong, you know, I remember this song." Eunwoo's voice cut through the heavy atmosphere, a smile creeping up on her face, "And it's a pretty nice song." She teased, smirking at me.

No, not now. I thought, but I guess both of us needed that. What could go wrong? We were going to die anyway.

"Start spreading the news," she started, looking at me through the corner of eyes before looking away, "I am leaving today. We are a great big part of it--"

"Madagascar? Seriously?" I snapped, looking at her with am incredulous look on my face, one eyebrow arched. "Out of everything else, Madagascar? And that too, when we're dying?"

"What's wrong with Madasgcar? I love it." Eunwoo shrugged, looking at me with big eyes again. She wasn't as innocent as I thought of her, but she was still a child.

She was still a child and that's when I realized, our story was made of bits and pieces of the worn down arcade, waiting to be abandoned and thrashed again. But we were still sticking together, as we sat behind the huge rocks that helped cover up when Romeo and Juliet fleeted away, waiting for the Capulets and Montagues to break hell loose and kill us.

"You never fail to amuse me, Jang Eunwoo." I spoke the truth, "I was amused by you the moment we met, I was amused by the way you walked and talked with authority, eyed me with warmth even though you looked like you wanted to kill me. I was amused by the amount of knowledge you held, I was amused by everything about you. I was amused by you in general.

And soon I realized I liked you," I chuckled painfully, "I liked-- wait no, love you so fucking much, Jang Eunwoo."

Eunwoo eyed me amusingly, whistling before breaking into a fit of painful laughter, "I can't kiss you right now, too bad. None of us brushed our teeth yet."

We both laughed out loud, not painfully this time. With everything finally off my chest, dying didn't seem so bad after all.

"THEY ARE THERE! SHOOT THEM!!"

And there it was. I am sorry Eunwoo, our love story ended even before it could start, all because of how much of a coward I was. But I want you to remember that,

"I love you, Jang Eunwoo."

The end.

[ A/N ] — Pfft, you people should thank my phone for lasting on 1% for like, 15 minutes or else I couldn't have finished it-

BUT anyway, it's over and done with.

And I am working on the request, this just popped up in my mind out of nowhere and I had to write it down or else the idea would yeet itself out the window.

Also, chile people, Taeyong isn't an oldie here so need to worry about ✨ certain things ✨

Taylor Swift's gold rush is an classy expensive masterpiece by the way so go listen to it 👏