Louder than Bombs

Flying

Taehyung could remember everything like it was yesterday. As he glanced around, at the faces of people younger than him, he was aware that some of them had only read about what he had gone through. They had never had to experience what he had. It was a comforting feeling, but it came with a twinge of jealousy.

All his life, he had fought a losing battle. But now, he had finally won through and cleared it. He could finally sit back and say that everything was alright.

There were some that were in awe of him. Awe at what he went through, in awe of his supposed heroism and bravery.

He didn't know what to do or say. Sometimes, he talked about his experiences. He talked about what it was like being involved. He talked about that day, the day when they were sent out and told to capture the city. He talked about the fear that cursed through him then. He still got scared when he thought about it now.

Taehyung marveled at his younger self. He was surely a resilient person.

He talked about all the friends he had lost. First Moon, then Jae, and Kyungsoo. Then Jimin. Jin. Jungkook. Then years after everything ended, Namjoon. The list went on. He had lost more people as the years had gone by. But he would never forget them.

He would never forget how smiley Jimin got when he talked about dance. Or when Jin got shy about himself when they all encouraged him to sing. He remembered Jungkook's jokes and pranks. Sometimes he feared that he would forget, or perhaps, had already forgotten. But in moments of quiet reflection, everything would come back to him. Every single little piece of it.

He only had Yoongi left with him now, but they barely talked. Time had pulled them apart. Yoongi lived far away. Taehyung lived nearby.

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Taehyung nervously smiled at the audience as they clapped for him. He had just finished his presentation and he was glad that they were enthusiastic about it. They clapped and clapped. He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. He kept his broad smile on his face.

His voice had quivered in some parts. It was okay. He had kept going. He had sounded strong and put together during most of it. That's what mattered.

As the applause slowly died down, he was hurried off the stage. A staff member came up to him.

"Mr. Kim, someone wants to meet you."

Taehyung whirled around. "Yeah?"

The staff member smiled. "He says that he wants to reconnect with you."

"Oh?" Taehyung nodded. "Sure thing, just give me a moment."

"Sure."

He got another nod from her before he hurried away. This wasn't a big fancy stage or anything, it was just a modest hall which could fit about forty people. The backstage consisted of just three small rooms. Taehyung took off his suit jacket when he got into the one that he had put all his stuff into. All that time he wondered, who could possibly have wanted to reconnect with him. Was it Yoongi maybe?

But that couldn't be. Years ago, he had said that he never wanted to come back to that little city. It brought back too many memories, he said.

So it couldn't be him then. Unless he had changed his mind. If he had then Taehyung wouldn't know - he hadn't messaged him anything.

He took a deep breath and stepped out of the room.

The staff member was waiting outside.

He followed her to the lobby, where people were mingling around and chatting to one another. When Taehyung walked by, many of them nodded and acknowledged him.

Taehyung was led to the very front, right near the windows. There was a small table. There was a very well-dressed man sitting there, his hands clasped together tightly. At first glance, Taehyung didn't recognize him at all.

Even when he turned his face and grinned, clearly recognizing him, Taehyung had no clue who he was.

"It's nice to see you again Taehyung."

Taehyung blinked. The scratchy deep voice, one that was filled with personality to the brim, combined with a heart-shaped smile and sharp angular features were so familiar. Everything had faded a bit over the years. Taehyung smiled. The man's name was on the tip of his tongue.

"How have you been?"

Hoseok. Taehyung's breath caught in his throat. It had been so long. The last time Taehyung had seen him was back when Hoseok had been a teenager. He certainly wasn't one now.

"I-I've been good," Taehyung stuttered.

"Good."

Hoseok smiled that oh-so-familiar smile again and Taehyung felt more at ease. He had been right, everything had turned out to be okay.

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rip to the people affected in the crowd crush incident in korea :(

also, rlly sad to hear about all the violence going on in iran

❤️

800 words