Mercy - Taehyung (BTS)

Chapter 3

I ran home, scarcely stopping to glance behind me while my heart thumped as if it was ready to pop out of my chest. I was terrified of what Leo would do to me once he saw me. He had always been very protective of me and I had always known that this was linked to the disappearance (and death) of my father.  I had done exactly what Leo had told me not to. I had wandered off on my own the moment that Leo had let his guard down. I knew that when I returned home; I would face the consequences.

I paused before the iron gates, my breathing was rapid and I was ready to collapse. I bid farewell to the sunset and to a world which I never thought I would lay my eyes on again. I sighed in relief that the gates had not yet been locked because that meant that my class had arrived not much before me. I signalled for the guard to open the heavy gates when I could not open them. I feared that I would find myself in trouble with the council for my late arrival and separation from the group. The guard opened for me, clearly too lazy to alert the council, as he let me sneak past.

I walked down the path and through the centre of the village, praying that no one would recognise me. Our village was structured in a way that the centre of the village was the trade centre, where everyone would work or find some source of entertainment. The housing area surrounded the centre and every house was exactly the same. Every house was made out of wood with a thatched roof to provide some warmth during winter. Each house had one window per bedroom and they went from one bedroom to three at the most, this was to discourage people from having large families. They were built the same in case of an invasion. Having houses that had no individuality made it a lot easier to leave. I walked towards our small house. Our house was one of the smaller houses as my family was smaller compared to most.

Leo was waiting by our front door, his eyes were narrowed and he definately was not pleased. He sat with his head rested on his knees; evidence of crying was present on his face. As I approached him, Leo did not scold me but he embraced me in a hug. Although he was seen as being intimidating ( and I could not deny that he was) he was fragile when it came to family and those he loved.

Leo held on to me and whispered as of he was afraid that I was not there,  "When we arrived home you weren't with us. I ran around the town looking for you and I tried to go back outside but the guards would not let me." I patted him on the back as he carried on "I thought you had had the same fate as our father. I'm sorry Eli I should never have left you. I promised to stay by your side while we were outside yet I left to walk alongside Hakyeon. I don't know what I would have done if you did not return home."

"I am sorry for making you worried, Leo I got lost because I was so intrigued by everything around me that I wandered off. You don't need to worry about me, I will not have the same fate as dad. I will be strong for you and mom and I will try harder to fit it with our village so that you do not have to constantly be with me. You have your own friends and I want you to make the most of your life." I let go of Leo and faced him " if you spend all your time worrying about me then you will never be happy. If anything ever happenes to me, you must know it is not your fault but rather my own stupidity."

Leo glared at me with his eyebrows furrowed before sighing "There is no use arguing with you, come inside, mom will be home in half an hour. I'll make you some coffee while you change into warmer clothes."

After mum had returned we all sat on the worn leather couch that had belonged to my grandparents when they were young and when the monsters had not taken over. We say on the couch and are our dinner, which Leo always made. We spoke for hours and It made me realise just how much I appreciated my family and all that they did to protect me. Leo and I slept on the floor in the loungethat night, huddled together for warmth while mother fell asleep on the couch. Little did I know that that would be the last time we were ever together as a whole family.