SOLDIER // VKOOK

Chapter 2

Taehyung put on a gray jacket and threw on a cap. He tucked in his white shirt and slipped back into his shoes. The golden dog tags jingled next to each other, along with a dolphin trinket on his thin metal chain. He smiled faintly, remember the memory of his friend that he played with the most of his childhood years.

He sighed and exited the apartment. He went out of his cozy apartment and was greeted by the cold and icy air. He shuddered and stuffed both of his hands into the jacket pocket. The street was now much busier, that calmed Taehyung, he wasn't that used to the empty and quiet atmosphere, it reminded him too much of the time he was trapped in the cold ice, it was so quiet and alone. He took a shortcut, going to the small park where kids were playing ball, climbing trees and chasing birds. The adults were chatting, some walking their dogs and some were having picnics. Taehyung walked up a small hill, he presumed it as a short cut, since he could get to the front door of the museum pretty quickly. He climbed up the grassy hill and breathed in the refreshing smell of grass before heading down, he then trotted down the hill.

He arrived at the museum, the marble columns coming down from the huge and tall ceiling. Taehyung and his friend on the banners displayed at the front door. It fluttered in the weak wind and specks of snow dotted the marble steps and the edges of the wide roof. He turned to the banners, his friend smiling and doing a salute made him frowned a bit, the thought of his dead friend coming to mind. Of he was not so selfish back then he could've saved him from that fire. He gritted his teeth and balled up his fists in his jacket pocket. There were not many people queueing for tickets, so he quickly bought a single ticket and slipped into the museum soundlessly.

Ther were already people in his museum, checking out some of the historical facts displayed on the walls and boards. Taehyung looked at one of the boards and beside it stood the replica of his old room. A plain white bed with the sheets neatly tucked in and a bland nightstand and lamp. The sheets were never tucked in when he was at that time in the army, and the fact that the board stated something like " Kim Taehyung always slept alone in his small home" was really wrong. He slept with Jung kook many times, mostly because the other male wanted to crash with him for the night.

He chuckled and moved to where they introduced him fully, saying that he was a hero that saved the country. Destroying the Cipher bases and saved thousands of men. He turned and looked at a screen, where they showed Taehyung in his normal attire, a white tee, and long pants and then his suit. A black jumpsuit and gloves which had a magnet built into the leather glove. There was his belt which held a small gun and bullets, his collar had a wool mask and on his shoulders was strapped with a leather holder for his huge shield.

Taehyung tore his eyes away from the screen and he focused on the other case at the side of his own. He saw Jung kook's uniform, cargo pants, and a black tee. However, his dog tags were different it does not have the same on that Taehyung had. It was replaced with a steel dog tag, it seemed cold and distant. It does not have the scratches that the original had that Taehyung cut his fingers when engraving their initials on it.

"Jeon Jung kook, a man who was Kim Taehyung's best friend. They were inseparable in school and on the battle field. He was the only Commander that gave his life for his country. It was said that Jung kook had shaped Kim Taehyung to the hero he was then." An introducer's voice spoke. He took a peek into the video room, a clip of other of his older comrades talked about him and his doings as a leader and hero. He retreated from the video room and went to the other areas in the museum, his first shield and the guns he used in the fights was displayed proudly on the walls and glass cases.

He found a picture of Jung kook in a glass case, along with his old leather wallet. The edges were burnt and frayed, the color faded and Jung kook's face could not actually be seen clearly from the photo, the paper was clearly old, white lines and blotches all around. His wallet was left with his pictures of his parents and photo of him and Jung kook when they were younger.

"Jung kook..." Taehyung sighed, his fingers grazing the glass. He turned around, only to see a kid staring at him. His eyes wide and staring as Taehyung looked at him. Taehyung returned with a small smile and placed his index fingers on his lips. The kid nods slowly, clearly in awe that he saw the hero he dreamt meeting.

He cracked a bigger smile after that, turning around and leaving the premise, his hands in the pocket once again. He went out of the cold museum and got to somewhere secluded, turning into streets, alleyways and empty spaces. He reached a flower shop, he greeted the old and plump lady manning the register. The scent of the flowers was great for calming his nerves, he picked out a banquet of white flowers sitting in the corner. He paid fro the flowers, the old lady recognizing him right away. They talked about a few things regarding about life and Taehyung let out a forced chuckle once the old woman talked about him visiting the graveyard behind her shop too much. Taehyung threw in a coin for the tip box beside the vase of roses and left. He heads to the back of the small building and was met with a black gate where there were 3 prongs on the top. The lock was rusted over and the chains broke from holding the gates together. The snow dotted the green and brown grass and the wall of concrete surrounding the area.

Taehyung pushed opened the gate and it groaned open, Taehyung entered the graveyard slowly and closed back the gate behind him. He walked past the amounts of graves littered around the grassy yet cold field. He walked towards one which stood out to him the most, a large structure and tons of flowers surrounding it, ranging from yellow, pink to white. However, the top remained empty, as if it was waiting for him to put his share of flowers there.

Taehyung walked out towards it and placed the flower carefully at the top, the stone was cold as ice as his gloved fingers touched it slightly. He sat down heavily in front of it, his fingers playing with the frayed string on his jacket. He stared at it silently, trying to pick the right words to say.

"Jung kook, I went to the museum today... somehow... they kind of skipped over the fact that I slept with you..." Taehyung joked, scratching the back of his neck. "And they haven't found your dog tags yet... maybe you still have them when they found you..."

Taehyung gritted when he was reminded of the thought of Jung kook falling into the cavern below the speeding train. The few centimeters difference that Taehyung tried so hard to forget but he could not live with the guilt. If it wasn't for his careless throwing and reckless actions on that mission, Jung kook might now have fallen into the deep snow underneath the moving train.

Taehyung found his vision getting misty and his vision blurry. He found tear drops on his hand and he wiped it quickly with the back of his hand before smiling again.

"Sorry, was getting emotional," Taehyung said, his voice cracking. "I know, I know... I shouldn't cry. You'll probably scold me now..." Taehyung joked, his heart wrenching as he tried to force out some joy in his words. He looked up and saw dark clouds gathering above him. He closed and heard the wind whistling past his ears, he stood back up and straightened his outfit.

"I have to go now... It's good talking to you." Taehyung said sadly. He turned around and began to walk away before looking back and waved at the gravestone. " I promise that I will visit soon."