Bittersweet Silence |KTH Fanfiction|

63

Thank god.

I managed to make it through a whole day without pissing someone off and getting sent to the principals office.

Leaning your head against your bus seat and exhaling a soft sigh you cut your eyes over to Taehyung who gently hums while watching the scenery pass him by, his fingers pressing against his ears plugging them shut.

I wonder why he plugs his ears like that...he only does it sometimes...

Once the two of you step off of the bus your heart jolts with excitement when you see the shiny car parked in front of Taehyung's house, your smile growing wide when you look over at the boy and signal him to follow you.

I'm so excited!

This will help Tae so much with his schoolwork and everything!

I'll be able to communicate with him so much easier as well!

This is the first step into him having a better future...we just have to-

Suddenly your thoughts are interrupted when you feel your shirt tugged by the boy behind you, your body twisting around to see Taehyung standing with his hands clasped together, his fingers nervously reaching in his bag to pull out his board and marker.

Why did he stop?

"I'm nervous."

Nervous?

"Why are you nervous Tae? This is a great day!"

"What if the teacher thinks I'm stupid?"

Parting your lips lightly after reading the boy's statement you step forward and place your hand on his arm before you begin writing on your board again, Taehyung's neck stretching out so he can see what you're writing.

"He's a teacher Tae, he knows when he comes to teach people that they won't know anything! I don't know anything about sign language either, so we can both learn the language together!"

Holding your board in front of you with a happy smile on your face you watch Taehyung's shoulders gently relax before he gives you a nod, his hand out stretching towards you with small misty tears welling in his wide doe eyes.

I didn't even think about how Tae would feel about all of this...I bet he's so nervous...to the best of my knowledge he's only seen that horrific school and the people that bully him...I would be scared too...

Stretching your hand out and clasping his fingers between yours you give him the best comforting smile you can muster, his response a full faced blush and his eyes sending themselves to the dirt road beneath the two of you.

It's alright Tae...you don't have to be scared...this is someone outside of this place...this is someone that wants to teach you how to speak in the world...

You can embrace this moment...and allow yourself to learn...don't be scared...

Because I'll be beside you...

................................

"Hello?..."

"Ah, come in."

Stepping into Taehyung's home at the sound of a man's voice you keep ahold of the boy's shaking hand, the two of you met with a man in a suit sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

He can talk?

"I believe the owner of this home let me in, hello I'm Mr. Lan, and you are?"

"Ah, I'm Y/N and this is Taehyung, he's the one who lives here..."

"Nice to meet you."

Stepping forward and extending his hand out to both of you you gently shake his hand and retract your arm, your mind swirling with questions and thoughts as the man grabs a briefcase and pulls out papers and other random supplies.

These must be the lessons...but how is he going to introduce himself to Tae if he can't-

"Hello Taehyung, I am Mr. Lan and I will be teaching you sign language. For now I will communicate with you on this tablet until you get a better understanding of sign language."

Wow...

Looking over at Taehyung curiously your heart brightens when you see his lips twitching with a grin, his arm reaching out to shake the teacher's hand timidly before returning it to his side.

"I will be here three times a week after you get out of your classes, for two weeks we will practice the alphabet and then we will start on some simple phrases. However it all depends on your progress, we can go as slow as you need or as quickly as possible if you are advancing at a faster pace. Does that sound okay?"

Taehyung nods at the teacher before shyly pulling his board back out of his bag with his marker, his fingers fluidly moving across the slippery surface until he finally spins it around towards the man calmly standing up.

"Yes sir, that sounds good."

"Now, I heard you will be joining in on the classes as well?"

"Eh? Uh...yeah..."

"So I take it you help him around quite a lot?"

"Yeah..how did you know?..."

"I had a friend kind of like you back when I was in school, she's actually the one that inspired me to become a sign language teacher so I could teach other students how to speak properly."

"Wow...she must have been pretty amazing..."

"She is. She's my wife now."

Widening your eyes at the grinning man your entire face suddenly erupts in a deep blush, your feet shifting uncomfortably underneath of you.

His...wife?...

"So..h-how...can you...if you...I don't.."

"How can I speak?"

"Y-Yeah...."

"I have a cochlear implant that allows me to hear, it isn't perfect hearing such as yours but I am at least able to hear."

Cochlear implant?...

"So you can talk normal?..."

"Sometimes I prefer to use my sign language, especially around others because I'm sure you have noticed I have a slight draw or accent to the way I speak."

"Will Tae have that too?"

"He could, if he ever decides to talk. Has he ever spoken before?"

"Yes actually...he spoke once but it was only one word..."

"Mmm...he could know other words too, he could just choose not to speak."

Letting out a tiny squeak beside you your eyes shift to Taehyung who tugs at your shirt shyly, his eyebrows furrowed together in a small frown.

Hmm?

"Everything we say into this tablet is being typed out on this tablet so Taehyung can be a part of the conversation, he must not have liked what you said."

Looking down at the tablet typing out the words for you your jaw practically drops, your lips stretching out into a nervous smile when you look at the pouting boy beside you.

Sorry Tae...I'm not sure why he would be upset with me telling the teacher he spoke...

Does he not like speaking?

"Alright then, shall we get started?"

"Y-Yes sir!"

(A/N): I'm sorry this took me so long 😩 I have the focus of a goldfish I'm not even sure if this chapter is good 😩