Perpetual Rain ✓

Thank You

"Excuse my interruption, but my name is Taehyung." Within his left hand, he held an arrangement of flowers as he quickly shot his right out toward your father. "I was a friend of Y/N's." 

What was he doing?! You knew he was capable of interacting with the physical plane but, you never asked him to do this, you never expected him to do this! This was surely breaking a few laws. Your heart fell to your feet with worry as you watched your father extend his hand out and take Taehyung's own. He gave it a firm shake, so tight in his grip you could see Taehyung's eyes flinch in slight pain at the sudden gesture, he tried not to let it show. 

"Nice to meet you." Your father gave a curt reply, which was a given who he was. Despite the sentimental words he had just been spouting, he quickly reverted to the professional and stoic nature that was bestowed upon him naturally. He pulled his hand away and stuffed it into the pocket of his slacks, he was still dressed in a suit and tie. He had come straight here after a day at work and not bothered to change. Your grave was his first stop before heading home. 

He was sizing Taehyung up, it was clear. The encounter took him off guard seeing as you didn't have a large circle of friends, rarely brought anyone over to hang out or even ventured far from the house after school. He was staring at Taehyung with a questioning gaze, though didn't want to express his doubt and sully a friendship or come off brash while standing at his daughter's grave. 

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sir." Taehyung offered a kind smile as he brought his throbbing hand back to himself and used it to help brace the vase of flowers he carried with him. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances..." 

Your father cleared his throat and averted his gaze, not wanting to dive back into emotional territory with an unknown stranger who claimed to know his daughter. He was closed off, even to those who had known him for years. It was how he was and you knew that but, Taehyung... 

"Excuse me." Taehyung said softly as he stepped beside your father and took a moment to set down the flower vase beside your grave, careful not to upstage your father's offering of flowers. 

"How long had you known my daughter?" Your father questioned, you could almost hear the protective instinct taking hold of his tone with a vise grip, even in death he was being a protective papa-bear. You couldn't help but stifle your laughter. 

"I only knew her for a few months." Taehyung dusted off his hands as he moved to stand back up, facing your father as he kept his head held high. You studied his face, still trying to figure out what the purpose of this was. "But, she meant a lot to me." His words caused your heart to weigh down further. Breaking away your gaze you cast it to your feet. 

Your father perked a brow, genuinely curious now as to what the strange boy meant by that but wasn't vocal enough to actually question his words aloud, his expression did the talking for him. Your father glanced down at his side, looking over the vase of flowers that Taehyung had placed beside your tombstone before letting his gaze drift back to him. You could tell he was trying to figure out what connection this man had with his darling daughter. 

"We went to school together." He lied, your father's hard stare starting to make him feel unsettled. Taehyung clasped his hands in front of himself and let them ring in his nervousness. "She really... helped me out of dark place." His long lashes fluttered as he tried his best to remain strong in the face of such a stone cold man. 

"That sounds like Y/N." Your father's voice softened, trying to calm the intimidating beast that concealed his heart.  You raised your eyes up, letting your hues bounce between each of them with a fickle of worry. 

"You raised a remarkable woman, Mr. Bowers." Taehyung contained his smile to try and convey the genuine nature of his words. "She was fun and spunky. She was stubborn but independent. She didn't like to take help from others, and she was a free thinker. She had a way about her that made me want to trust her when I didn't think I could trust anyone, but she was so precious to me that..." His eyes cast from your father and drifted off into the distance. Your father didn't know, but he was staring at you. His eyes burning as they connected with your own. "I wanted to protect her."  

You've pinched your lips together and broke from his longing gaze, you could feel your cheeks heating under his stare that he quickly averted back to your father. "She told me that some of the traits she had gotten from you, that she got her caring personality from her mother." He broke his will to contain his smile and let it drift across his pale pink lips. "She told stories about her family, cherished memories." He took in a deep breath and let his shoulders shrug, he was squirming under your father's intense gaze. "I know she had her issues, she expressed that there was some kind of conflict with her and her family the last I saw her..." 

Your father quickly broke his gaze away at the sensitive subject that Taehyung had so carelessly touched on. Your eyes shot back to him, brows knitting as you became a bit irritated. Was he trying to make things harder for you? For your family? You took a step forward, ready to try and stop him when his words halted your movement. 

"My dad and I might be at odds right now, but it's temporary, it always is." Taehyung quoted as he went continued on with his point. Even though those were words spoken after your death, your father would never know that. "I don't know if you two were able to work out your problems before..." He cut himself off, feeling as though there wasn't a point to state the obvious that was carved into stone. "I know that she loved her family, and I may be overstepping a line here but... I felt like that was something you needed to know right now." 

Your father rushed a hand to his face, rubbing at his jaw as he visible fought against his emotions once more. He rubbed at his face before swiftly brushing his fingertips over his eyes. Taehyung looked the other way as he took a moment to compose himself, out of respect. The graveyard fell silent, the sound of the rain tapping against the many slabs of stone that littered the ground echoed around the three of you. It was a moment of silence, gifted just for you. 

"Thank you." Your father finally spoke after a long moment, taking in a deep breath as his head turned back toward Taehyung. "I appreciate you telling me that." He added, offering a nod of gratitude toward the strange young man he had never met. You could see the glisten in his eyes. His shoulders raised a bit higher as if a weight had been taken from them and the way he breathed almost seemed easier. 

"Of course." Taehyung uttered simply, his eyes falling as he noticed your father's hand extended out to him for a second time. He pulled his hand up and wrapped it around his, giving it a firm squeeze while noticing the older man's grip had softened. He conveyed his compassion in that lasting handshake before pulling back and letting his own limp fall back to his side. 

Your father took a step out, starting back down the same path you had walked to arrive here. He stopped, however, glancing back. His eyes hit your gravestone first, giving it one last long look before flashing his gaze up to Taehyung. Your lips spread thin as you couldn't help but smile brightly at the interaction. Not only had a weight been lifted from him, but that weight had rid itself of you as well. 

The two of you stood quietly, watching your father wonder out of the graveyard and to the parked car on the side of the street. It was Manny, your car. You knew now why your own car had kept going missing from your home, why you had never seen that old Buick again. It was a painful fact but you realized. You watched him drive away, heading east as he started on the journey back home. 

"You didn't have to do that." Your voice finally broke the silence as you rounded your headstone to inch closer to Taehyung. The tears had stopped, though your nose and eyes remained tinted a bit red. You licked at your lips, removing the salty after taste as you took your place in front of him. 

"I know I didn't." His eyes rolled away from the street to meet your gaze as you stood before him. "I wanted to." His soft smile mimicked your own as he stared down at you. He leaned forward to take your hands into his, letting his thumbs glide over the back of your palms as his eyes stared at your clasped palms. "Though, I wish I could have told him one thing." 

"And what's that?" You questioned, flicking your gaze from your hands up to his face as he raised his head back. Your head tilted softly to the side in curiosity, you squeezed his fingers. Your eyes bouncing between his own, seeing if maybe you could find the answer yourself before he told you. 

"That I'm in love with his daughter..."