VHope Fluffshots

The Monster

It was a fieldtrip with my school to go see a freakshow. I'd never been, so of course I went.

We walked through the corridors, looking in all the rooms to see the different freaks. There was a beautiful creature; half-cat half-human. He purred and walked up the bars, wrapping his small fingers around it. "Hi, I'm Jimin. Who are you?" he asked curiously. "I'm Hoseok," I replied, staring at him. Jimin nodded and smiled, then a scream was heard further down the hall. The hybrid sighed and shook his head. "They've made TaeTae upset. Poor demon..."

My mind short-circuited. "Demon?" I asked, looking at Jimin inquisitively. Jimin nodded. "Taehyung's a demon. He came to this world, and then they captured him. He didn't have a choice to be in the show, like I did. I like the positive attention, but Taehyung... They call him The Monster. Everyone's so mean to him."

I thought about Jimin's words. The way Jimin described the demon... He didn't seem so bad. He just wanted to go back home. "You seem very sweet, Hoseok. You don't talk to me like I'm stupid. Maybe you can make TaeTae happy again. I miss his smile," Jimin said to me, reaching a hand through the bars. He took my hand and kissed it in gratitude before pushing me away from the bars. "Enjoy the show!"

The next room held what looked like a rabbit-human hybrid. He was curled up in the corner, tears streaming down his face. "Hello," I said, crouching down to his level on the other side of the bars. "M-make TaeTae-hyu-hyung stop yelling," the boy said, sobbing harder. "Can you come here?" I asked, holding a hand out to the boy. He nodded and crawled over, shaking my hand. "I'm Hoseok." He smiled at me a little. "Jungkook," he replied, an ear twitching as another pained yell ripped through the halls.

"Hoseok, come look at The Monster!" my friend, Min Yoongi, said from behind me, pulling me up and pretty much dragging me from Jungkook, who looked after me curiously.

The lonely hall was occupied by a crowd, eager to see the thing in the room. I looked around the room through the bars. Scratches were all over the walls, large black feathers littered the ground. In the center of the room seemed to be a giant pile of feathers, which moved up and down, like breathing. I looked a little harder, seeing human legs and blonde hair, with human arms spread above the head of hair. The hands had what seemed to be claws.

People were throwing insults left and right, calling the 'Monster' evil, bad luck; that it should be dead. "GET OUT!" the 'Monster' yelled, sending a cold chill through everyone, even me. I had to sit down against the wall across from the bars as the crowd dispersed and everything went back to normal. Now, it was just me and the thing behind the bars.

"A-are you T-Taehy-Taehyung?" I ask after a few minutes of silence. The thing lifts its head, revealing a gorgeous face, large blue eyes, thick lips. It was a boy. His ears were pierced; small silver studs. There is an iron collar around his neck, and I notice the chain connected to the wall. "Why would you care? I'm a monster," he says, his deep voice catching me off guard. His eyes show pain as he says those last words.

I scoot closer to him, but still at a good distance. "I care because Jimin was upset that they were hurting you. I care because poor Jungkook was curled up in his cell crying because you were in pain. I care because I don't see the monster everyone else sees. I see a prisoner who shouldn't be in there," I say honestly. The expression on his face softens, and his eyes fill with disbelief. "I...I..." I smile at him and scoot even closer.

"Let's try this again. I'm Jung Hoseok. Are you Taehyung?" I ask, looking at him with a soft expression. He sighs and nods, looking down at the ground. "Yes, Hoseok. I am Taehyung. I'm sorry, Jimin. I'm sorry, Kookie," he yells the last words so that his friends can hear him.

"Hoseok, I'm dangerous. You shouldn't be this close." Taehyung looks scared and nervous. "You'd hurt me if you wanted to, wouldn't you?" I simply reply. Taehyung nods and scoots forwards; the chain is long enough to bring him to the bars without choking him. He gives me a small smile, nice and boxy.

"Do you have any food on you? I'm so hungry," Taehyung asks, looking at me with pleading eyes. I nod and pull my bag over to us. I pull out my lunchbox; the few pieces of kimbap were still in the cooler. Taehyung stretches his hand out of the bars, claws displayed menacingly. I set the kimbap in his palm, and he hastily chews the pieces down. "Thank you," he mumbles when he's finished. I smile and shrug. "It's the least I can do."

We're silent for a while, just staring at each other fondly. "You're beautiful," Taehyung says, his boxy smile crossing his face. I blush and shake my head. "No, not nearly as beautiful as you. You're so beautiful," I reply, making him smile. "No one's ever called me beautiful before. Thank you, Sunshine." I send him a confused glance at the pet name, and he blushes. "I'm sorry. It's just... You're like a ray of sunshine. You radiate warmth and positivity," Taehyung explains. I nod in understanding.

"I have to go now, Taehyung. I'm sorry," I say an hour later, during another one of our silences. Taehyung's eyes fill with fear and he grasps the bars. "No! Don't leave me! They'll hurt me! You can't go! Please don't leave me!" He's frantic; tears streaming down his face as he repeats his words over and over. I shake my head and each through the bars to cup his face in my hands. My thumbs caress his cheekbones and wipe his tears. "I must go, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I promise I'll come back as often as I can, and I'll carry a first aid kit and fresh meat for you when I come. If they hurt you, I'll clean your wounds and make sure you don't starve. You'll be okay until then. Hold onto the thought of me, because I'll bring you hope and sunshine. I'll be your angel, I promise Taehyung."

As I stand up and move away from him, his hands try to hold onto my arms as long as he possibly can. "I'll wait for you!" Taehyung cries out as I make my way down the corridor, his voice bouncing off the walls.

I hope you like this. It might have 3 parts. Happy Days!

- Tae