Voodoo Doll ➟ Taehyung

XIII

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XIII - Violence
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Day in and day out, Taehyung sat in the room as he weaved the needle in and out through the pieces of fabric. He had enough experience from stitching himself up after one of his mother's drunken fits. The difference this time was that he needed to sew fabric together rather than skin.

The girl, Minae, hadn't suspected Taehyung of creating a voodoo doll of her while he was cooped up in his room. She instead had decided to ignore him. The two lived in peace, ironically it wasn't Taehyung avoiding her, but rather her avoiding him. After the episode in the room neither him nor her had brought the incident up. Taehyung instead felt sick before he went to sleep at night - anticipating the night ahead and whether he would see the sun in the morning.

Although the real problem for Taehyung was something else entirely. It had begun on one fine school day.

He sat with his head buried into the crook of his arms. He attempted to catch a few winks of sleep before the teacher would inevitably come into the classroom and begin the school day.

"Taehyung!" The voice pierced his ears. He didn't look up, ignoring the energetic voice of his friend, and he continued to "sleep". He heard the voice of his friend again, but gave no response.

"Shut the hell up!" Taehyung heard one of the voices around him exclaim, along with a muttered intangible apology being muttered. A few moments later, Taehyung felt a pair of hands shaking him.

"Tae, wake up." He knew Hoseok was pouting from the tone in his voice. He shook his head in his arms, hoping he would leave.

"Fine, have it your way." Taehyung heard him comment, and he let out a sigh of relief at the thought of being left alone. But the peace did not last long. He felt a pair of hands sneak their way onto his stomach and the fingers begin to dance on his shirt. Taehyung fell back, laughing as he tried to swat Hoseok's hands away while he was tickled.

"S-Stop, Hoseok." Taehyung panted, his sides aching as stitches began to form. Hoseok slowly retreated, happy that he managed to make Taehyung laugh and smile. Taehyung balled his hands into fists as he wiped the tears from his eyes, catching Hoseok's attention.

"Tae, you look like you haven't slept in days." He commented as he noticed the dark bags under Taehyung's eyes. Taehyung flushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I've been busy with school work this week." Taehyung tried to stifle a yawn, but failed, covering his mouth. Taehyung noticed that Hoseok stared at his hands. He felt his eyebrows furrow as he self-consciously looked down at his own hands. The unfortunately-rainbow band aids on his fingers and hands stuck out like sore thumbs.

"What have you been doing, Tae?" Hoseok held his hand, afraid to hurt him as he inspected the band aids.

"Paper cuts." Taehyung fibbed. It would be unusual for him to sew and Hoseok would suspect him if he had tried to tell the truth. Hoseok instead nodded his head, his mind elsewhere as he let go of his hand.

"You can talk to me about anything, okay?" Hoseok's voice just above a whisper.

"I know." Taehyung smiled. Hoseok returned the smile before their moment was ruined by their teacher's entrance. Hoseok rushed to his seat behind Taehyung, but he didn't appreciate the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was worried about Taehyung. He was worried that he wasn't telling the truth about what was happening. He respected his privacy, but it had been happening for weeks. He had grown distant. He wasn't smiling like he did. They didn't talk as much. Hoseok only wanted to be sure Taehyung was all right.

At the end of the day, Hoseok had decided to stay after class and watched Taehyung leave the classroom alone. He followed Taehyung a few minutes after he had left, and watched as he left the school grounds. The fact that Taehyung had headed in the opposite direction to his house unnerved him. Hoseok left the school grounds, running after Taehyung. He looked down the road that Taehyung had turned to, but he was no longer there. He ran along the brick pavement, his heart beating in his chest as he had a shred of hope that he'd see Taehyung. To his dismay, as he reached the bend in the road, there was no Taehyung in sight. He felt his heart drop as he bit his lip.