COLOR RUSH || TAEGYU

CHAPTER XIV

By the time Taehyun managed to pull himself together and drag himself home, he was surprised to see the house empty. Yeonjun had left a note on the table. Once Taehyun had read it, he knew that Yeonjun hadn't even looked into his room to see that he hadn't been home. 

Went to the station. There's breakfast in the fridge for when you wake up.

-Yeonjun

He collapsed onto the couch, letting out a pained groan as he shivered. His head was pounding so hard, he thought his skull would split open. He inhaled and exhaled, trying to even his breathing to help lessen the pain. He lifted a hand to his forehead. His hands were too cold for him to properly tell if he was sick.

The more he craved seeing color, the more he would start feeling withdrawals and not be able to last a day without a color rush. But for now, it was a price he was willing to pay for letting himself indulge in his temptatious, selfish fantasies. But it wasn't just color he was craving. He longed for Beomgyu, to touch his skin, to hear his addictive voice drone on and on about color-

Taehyun snapped out of his trance, suddenly feeling sick at the way he had gotten lost in his thoughts so easily. He scrambled off the couch and hurried to open the window. The wave of nausea passed once the fresh, breezy air hit his face and he let out a sigh of relief. The cool breeze helped clear his mind. He went to the fridge and saw the leftover kimchi fried rice Yeonjun had left him and heated it up. As he waited, he realized that he was starving. His stomach clenched, as if he hadn't eaten in days. Before he could think about it any further, the microwave beeped and he went to eat his breakfast.

He felt better as he ate, warmth filling his cold body. He was freezing.

His mind drifted back to when he had received a friend request while on social media.

Monowife wants to talk to you!
Y/N?

He remembered thinking that it had seemed suspicious, and now that he thought about it, maybe it was. He quickly washed his plate and went to turn on his laptop. The person had continued sending friend requests after Taehyun declined the first one. He didn't know why he hadn't blocked the user yet. He accepted the request and the page reloaded to his chats. Taehyun could see the message the user had sent before he accepted their friend request.

Hello, Kang Taehyun. You don't know me, but I'm a Mono, like you and Jiwon.

At the mention of his mother's name, Taehyun sent back a message right away.

You knew my mother?

The user responded back almost instantly, as if they had been waiting for Taehyun's reply. It unsettled him.

We were friends from high school. The day she went missing was the day we planned to meet up with the rest of our friends as a reunion but I couldn't make it. I haven't heard from any of them since.

Taehyun's fingers twitched, about to respond, but he stopped himself. His mother had gone missing four years ago. Why was this Monowife suddenly reaching out to him now?

What do you want?

For you to attend a meeting tonight at Eternally.

Taehyun thought for a moment. Eternally was a bar. Why would an adult, at least he hoped Monowife was an adult, invite a minor to a bar?

I'm underage.

Don't worry about that. Just come by 11 tonight. We'll be waiting for you. Knock on the door twice and say the password. Blue Orangeade.

Taehyun waited a little while longer before realizing Monowife wasn't going to send anymore messages.

He closed his laptop. There was no way Yeonjun would leave him alone at night anymore if he could help it. Not after last night. Taehyun let out a sigh and flopped onto his bed, the mattress sinking against his weight. He stared up at the ceiling, waiting for his thoughts to overtake him.

But there was only one thought that he couldn't get out of his head.

What the hell is Blue Orangeade?

He laughed to himself and closed his eyes, falling into a much more restful sleep than the night before.

__

Beomgyu hummed to himself as his pencil stroked lightly against his paper. Since he met Taehyun, he hadn't touched his art supplies. That had been more than two weeks ago. He examined his sketch before touching it up. Details, he had realized long ago, could change everything.

When he drew pictures of people, he drew them without their facial features, since he was unable to see any. So he used other features he could recognize people with, the way they wore their clothes, the certain accessories they were, those were what made them stand out to him. He glanced over at the paintings of his friends. He had drawn Soobin with a pair of thin, silver wired glasses. He wore those glasses all the time. Huening Kai usually wore his school uniform unbuttoned and had his tie loosened, but Beomgyu recognized him by the silver chain necklace the younger always wore. One with a silver crescent moon and a small star. But the face he was drawing now, he didn't need any help identifying it. He could practically see Taehyun's face now, his soft jaw and wide eyes. He smiled softly as he added a hint of shadow to Taehyun's cheekbone.

Perfect.

Beomgyu suddenly heard something drop onto the floor. It came from the living room.

He opened his door and stuck his head out the doorway.

"Uncle Seowon? Is everything okay?"

"Beomgyu." His uncle's voice was shaky. "Can you come here?"

The boy did has he was told and saw his uncle sitting on the couch as he stared at his phone, his face looking pale, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Uncle Seowon?" Beomgyu's voice was quiet.

"I just got a call from Crown Orphanage."

The orphanage? But Beomgyu had been adopted for years. Why would the orphanage call now?

"Your birth parents... they passed away. There was a car crash..."

Beomgyu froze as Seowon trailed off.

The people who had given him life... the people who he had never been able to meet because they chose not to... were gone?

He loved Seowon, but he couldn't help but wonder what his birth parents were like.

His mom. His dad.

Tears stung Beomgyu's eyes. All the stupid, childish fantasies he had imagined, maybe being able to one day meet them... to hear their voices, to feel what it was like to have their arms around him, murmuring apologies for ever letting him go, maybe even being able to have a relationship with them...

None of it was going to happen.

"Would you like to go to their funeral?"

"When is it?" Beomgyu asked, struggling to keep his voice steady.

"Tuesday afternoon in Daegu. You'd have to miss school for a few days so we can leave in the morning but I'll call in and let them know it was a family emergency."

Beomgyu nodded. Seowon placed his arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Beom. I know you wanted to meet them one day."

"It's fine," Beomgyu said, his lip trembling. "Things happen. A-accidents... happen-"

Seowon reached for him again, but Beomgyu avoided his touch. He immediately felt guilty when he saw the hurt flash through his uncle's eyes, but he turned and went back to his room. Shutting the door, he slid to the floor, breaking into sobs.

His chest was heavy and his heart hurt.

It hurt from the pain of never being able to love and know his birth parents. And now he would never be able to have a future with them. It was too late.

They were gone.