Dearest Hope || Completed

Lie

It had been a week since he returned from the best trip of his life. Taehyung had never experienced such a drastic change in spirit, as he had done that week. Life away from his parents was in itself a nightmare, and his aunt and uncle did nothing to make things better. It was almost as though they had asked to keep him so that they could make use of him. They made him do menial tasks, and constantly nagged at him, always finding faults with him. There were good times, when the three of them sat together at the end of the day and his aunt told him stories from when she and his father were kids. They had, incidentally, been best friends and neighbours. Sometimes, his uncle would talk about his sister, Tae's mother, and how they had climbed trees and run through fields together. But such days were few and far between.

If he wished, he could have told his parents about it, but he didn't want to bother them. Their current project required a lot of traveling, and whenever he spoke to them, he could practically feel the stress and worry they were under. He did not want to be an imposition on Jimin's family either. So he kept quiet, and decided to bear his suffering in silence. After all, this would only last for a couple of months.

Then news arrived that the plane his parents were taking across the North Atlantic had disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. Taehyung had always been skeptical about rumours of the 'Devil's triangle', but having fallen victim to its treachery, he began scrapping up all the information he could. When school reopened, he was constantly in the library during breaks, Jimin at his side, reading about the God forsaken region of sea. Jimin and his parents had no idea about this and he didn't bother telling them. He refused to be a burden to others. His stubbornness only paved the path towards his doom. He grew quieter, and the cute, box smile was rarely ever seen adorning his features. He began saving as much money as he could, with the intention of joining the investigatory team of the mysterious aircraft disappearance. His uncle insisted his parents were gone, but something deep down told him that that was not true.

Jimin tried very hard to get his old, cheery Tae back. He followed him everywhere. He tried to ask his uncle to let him sleep over, but he was bluntly refused. According to Tae's uncle, their relationship was disgusting and that now that Tae was under his supervision, he would not allow him to spoil himself by interacting with toxic characters. Jimin didn't care for his opinion, but what really jabbed at his heart was the fact that Tae had no voice left in him. Three weeks with his extended family had left him broken, insignificant in his own house. He vowed to take care of him, just as he had been taken care of.

***

That year, they were asked to choose an elective subject for extra credit points. Jimin chose dance, while Tae chose Literature. They each made friends with their respective seniors and began to grow slightly distant. But Jimin, being the angel that he was, clung on, taking every opportunity to meet his Tae and talk about anything and everything under the Sun. Anything and everything except whatever was bothering Tae. No matter how hard he tried, he could never figure out what had gone wrong in his boyfriend's life that had caused him to become a mere shadow of his former self.

As for Taehyung, he began to believe that he was responsible for for his parents' misfortune. He convinced himself that anyone who became close to him, would suffer. He did not want to lose Jimin, so, rather ironically, he began to distance himself from him.

Jimin had a senior called Hoseok in his dance class. This boy was the personification of happiness and sunshine. Whenever he saw any schoolmate with even a hint of a frown on their face, he would go to great lengths to lift their spirits. He did so with his best friend, a senior called Yoongi. He did so with Taehyung as well. However, after a few attempts, Tae just pushed him away with incredibly mean words. Jimin begged Hoseok to continue to try and cheer Tae up, but the older boy just shook his head in disappointment. Later, for Jimin's sake, he did take Tae out for coffee or video games, but by then, he had lost all hope.

***

One person who Tae did become close to was Namjoon, another friend of Hoseok's. Namjoon was the best Literature student, and he had offered to tutor Taehyung when he saw the latter struggling. Tae really looked up to him, and the only time one saw him smiling was when he said or wrote a good answer that won an approving nod from Namjoon.

Jimin saw this deepening bond, and he couldn't be happier. Many people warned him, saying that he ought to beware of Namjoon stealing his boyfriend, but Jimin had no such worries. He was convinced that Namjoon was straight, and he was confident in Taehyung's love for him. If the senior could make his beloved happy, who was he to put a stop to a growing friendship?