PERSPECTIVE: The Unheard

Chapter 16 || Temper

"tae, i—"

"no, hayeon. i don't get why you'd let that man touch you!" taehyung roars in anger, glaring at his girlfriend who flinches at proximity and the harsh tone of voice. it's more than just obvious that taehyung didn't like the way jungkook was so close to hayeon, and he is not even trying to hide it.

hayeon lowers her head, eyes shut tight as tears slip down from the corners and she lets out a whimper, "i'm sorry..." her voice comes out like a whisper against taehyung's heavy breathing. she can swear on her life that she has never seen taehyung so mad about anything. he just came today in the morning, saw jungkook, and is already bothered by his friendship with hayeon.

she didn't understand what was so wrong in slight hugging and harmless jokes, if she made some with jungkook. isn't that normal between friends? jimin is a friend too and they all are close to each other, taehyung himself tells jimin to stay back with hayeon, to look after her and take care of her when he is not present. is it all because jimin is taehyung's best friend? being a close friend of taehyung gave jimin rights to speak to hayeon and have her listen to him in her boyfriend's absence?

hayeon doesn't understand what's so wrong that taehyung is lashing out at her like this because of a guy, when he usually just scared away the men who tried to flirt with her. jungkook didn't even do anything wrong, he didn't make any absurd comments or inappropriate jokes that might put the boyfriend off, yet for some reason taehyung seems to be on the verge of losing temper at the mere sight of jungkook ever since he arrived.

it's weird how taehyung thinks it's hayeon's fault, scolding her for letting jungkook get close to her and apparently letting him 'touch' her. it doesn't take long for his tongue to escalate from there, leaving hayeon shocked and too scared to react when the words rolled out of taehyung's mouth like they meant nothing.

"you let him get close to you right in my face. god knows what you do while i'm away."

it's a tight slap to hayeon's face, each word that settles down in her head and keeps resounding over and over again until she knows exactly what her boyfriend meant by it. she looks up with her pupils shaking, lips parted to say something but taehyung's faster. he steps forward with a firm glare, his hand sliding up her body to her neck and grabs her jaw in his large hand, not too tight, but not a gentle hold either, just enough to restrict her movements if she tries to pull away.

"only if i knew that guy is here, living under the same roof as you, hayeon. i would've taken you back way sooner." he shakes his head, voice dipped down as he's not yelling anymore. "but nevermind. you're going with me right now. enough of all this."

hayeon's eyes widen and she shakes her head, trying push his hand away, but taehyung hums deeply, giving her warning gaze, "don't piss me off any more. if i said you're going wth me, means you're going."

"i don't wanna go..." hayeon lets out, pulling her head back, wincing when his grip tightens, "you're hurting me, tae... let go, please..."

"why are you not listening to me, princess?" taehyung sighs, letting go off her and sits down on the bed, pulling her on his lap, staring at her pretty face that has tears running down. "i'm sorry. but for real, listen to me. i'm doing this for your own good, hayeon. jungkook isn't a nice guy, and it's better if we stay away from him."

"i don't wanna go," hayeon mumbles, never looking at his face and pulls her head back when he tries to cup her face.

"i'm sorry, baby. i was just a bit mad because of jungkook. y'know, i would never hurt you, right?"

hayeon stays quiet, staring down at her lap as she doesn't even dare to move from his lap, afraid that she might make him angry. of course, she knows taehyung wants her to go back with him, but what just happened makes her question a lot of things. the boyfriend who always claimed to love her more than anything, who got worried if hayeon faced the slightest inconvenience, who stayed up all night with her if she couldn't sleep, the same boyfriend was about to hurt her today all because she laughed and joked a little with another guy?