To Find Something True

※ fifty-three

A/N: [italicized – past event]

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It was supposed to take him less than thirty minutes to reach the Esplanade Park from the Marina Bay Sands by walking. However, with the slow paces he took after he exited the hotel, it took almost an hour to reach there.

The park was free from a crowd. Only a few had just passed by him and did not seem to realize that he was a foreigner. The grayish river gently flowed, sparkling under the bright, orange sun. A soft, musty breeze of the evening caressed his porcelain skin, lightly tousling his crimped hair strands. A soft buzz from the ship and ferry tempted to break the calming silence. A linear row of trees stood tall behind a line of concrete benches, shading him occasionally from the setting sun.

Alone and surrounded by stillness, that was all he needed. Lost, hopelessness consumed him. Upon hearing the news, his world shook furiously and drowned him in emptiness, confusion, regret, and despair. What more word could he use to describe his agony? All dark words came surrounding him, playing unmercifully.

All the words were blaming him. Blaming him for not stopping Jiwoo, for allowing Soohyuk to take her away. If he had stopped her that day, the boss position would not have been handed to Hoseok, Jiwoo would still be with them, and the mess between Hoseok and Seokjin would not have happened.

His world painfully crawled. Gradually, each step he made felt heavier, forcing him to stop. His gaze fell aimlessly to the ground as he felt numb.

Soon, light water droplets poured down, but the chaos in his mind could barely register the wetness. Only after a few seconds, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour, sending other visitors running out of the park. On the other hand, his feet rooted to the ground, refused to budge.

What happened a few years ago flashed before his eyes, vivid and unrelenting.

That time, Hoseok, Jiah, Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung, Wheein, Jisoo, and Jungkook weren't part of Bejiwoo yet. Those days were way calmer. After years of working for Bejiwoo, those times were also when he was considering his feelings for Jiwoo.

But Soohyuk presented in their lives, forcing Yoongi to stop.

**********

As usual, Yoongi came early to work despite the hangover because of yesterday's hangouts with his friends from the alma mater. His walk to the boutique was sluggish, his face bloated.

His hair still knotted as he did not think of combing it. Comb it or not, his hair would remain tangled anyways. There was nothing he could do since he was born with that hair. Straightening it made it even more useless as it would not last long.

Shoving his hand into his favorite denim jacket pockets, he fished out a bunch of keys as he got closer to the boutique. However, just as he was a few steps away from the entrance, his steps stopped. He looked at the glass display to see the curtains were still there.

Suspicious, he carefully sauntered to the unlocked door. He tried not to make his footsteps loud as he entered the premises. He went to check the clock to see if there were staff who had clocked in earlier, but he saw none of the cards had new marks.

One of the office doors screeched, indicating that someone was around that area. He took a cloth hook, positioning it to one side with both hands. Once he stood behind the divider, he took a peek. His eyebrows furrowed as the stick was placed on the ground, resting it on the wall. Striding to Jiwoo's office, he saw Jiwoo bending down to look for something on her table.