||Tear||

17

╔═══════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════╗

Narrator's POV

"Honey I'm home!"

Not a minute later, a small figure whizzed out of the kitchen and pounced on him.

"Holy - Halmeoni! I could've died," the old, yet still young at heart and body, woman grabbed his ear and dragged his face down to her height.

"Well maybe if you came home regularly instead of staying with Taeyong majority of the time, I wouldn't get all excited when you finally do show up, tonto," the old woman's face was contorted into one of annoyance but her eyes gleamed with warmth now that her grandson had finally come home. Taehyung smiled sheepishly at his grandmother's childish behaviour, her fierce Spanish roots showing as she glowered at him.

"I'm sorry, but you know how university assignments can be." She finally let's go of his ear and crosses her arms in front her chest.

"That's no excuse to stay away from home for a month, I expected you back after a week and what did you do? Only came back 3 weeks later!" She wagged her finger at him, her index finger moving closer to his face until it met his nose.

"Boop!" Taehyung giggles at that. A pure, innocent giggle that makes his whole body feel warm. His beloved Halmeoni always had that effect on him. He looks down at the woman who's cared for him since before he could walk with eyes filled to the brim with love, respect and admiration.

He wishes his mother could've been the same, following in the footsteps of his Halmeoni. Her own mother. But Taehyung's mother wanted out of the life she lived, she hated being the daughter of a Spanish woman and Korean man, a half breed was what the people would call her. She hated it. And maybe because fate was in her favour, she fell in love with Taehyung's father, a Korean business tycoon, who was her only ticket out of her small village located in the suburbs of Spain.

"Come now, lunch is nearly done and I have a feeling I might need the company." She grabs his hand and drags him to the source of the wonderful smells, the kitchen.

She doesn't turn to look at him as she goes back to cooking, moving over to monitor the pot on the stove. She doesn't see the way Taehyung's lips pull down at the corners and how his eyebrows crease together.

"What do you mean 'company'?" The old woman doesn't turn around as she she hums lowly, tasting some of the sauce on the spoon.

"Isn't it coincidental? I made your favorite, Creamy Chicken and Roasted Asparagus!" She tries to divert the conversation, a weak attempt but still an attempt.

"Halmeoni," Taehyung warns, his eyebrows raising sternly as she turns around to meet his gaze with a sigh.

"He doesn't let me eat alone all the time, its just lunch that he misses. He likes to go out and play in the park, he even made a friend! Can you believe that?" Taehyung's gaze lowers.

"I saw," he grits out. He pulls out the chair from the table and sits, watching as his grandmother adds spices to the pot and turns the oven down.

"You don't don't sound too happy niño, don't you want your own brother to live a good life after all he's been through?" She asks casually but the weight of her words hit Taehyung hard. He never stopped blaming himself for everything that happened that one fateful day and he knows no amount of reassurance would make him think otherwise. All he ever wished is a good life for his brother, a life without him in it.

"Don't get me wrong Halmeoni, I am happy. I just wish that. . ."

"Maybe if you stopped blaming yourself, you'd find that he really does want to spend time with you. But what can he do? You're never around anymore. . .just like your mama." The old woman puts down her spoon, her arms leaning against the counter for support. Her face is turned away but Taehyung can tell there's tears buliding in her eyes. He knows better than to assure her with fake promises and soothing words, so he simply gets up and makes for the cupboard containing all the plates.

"But I'm here now, so let's make the best of it. Is the food ready? Because I'm starving!" He conjures a small smile as he places the bowls on the table. The old woman turns and looks at him dead in the eye, her slightly red rimmed eyes and dark orbs of obsidian stare into his own. Her mouth lifts into a watery smile and she nods.

~

Chaeyoung can hear the distant, blurry voices. They reach her ear, but just barely, almost like she's underwater, the vague sound muffled due to the barrier of water surrounding her. She tries desperately to pull herself out of the water so she can hear the words distinctly, she wants to hear and be heard, but you cannot hear or speak underwater and it suddenly feels like her last breath is being stolen as water gushes into every crevice of her being. She is being dragged down further into an abyss, the claws of her mind dragging her back down into the world between reality and dreams. She slips back into a state of unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, Jimin sits besides his sister, he hasn't even left her side to use the bathroom or eat. He stares at her with bloodshot eyes, his hair ruffled due to the innumerable amount of times he had run his hands through it, and his mouth set in a grim line as he holds onto her hand, willing her to come back.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry Chae. So unbelievably sorry." His voice cracks a bit as he says this. All his life he'd seen his sister fight, fight for almost everything in life, something he had the privilege to never do. He remembers how his parents would tell them stories about how Chaeyoung fought for her life as an infant, she had Meningitis as soon as she was out of the womb. Jimin would have been alone in the world if his sister didn't fight to stay with him before they even knew each other. He had seen her go to hell and back, and yet she'd never reached her breaking point.

Until he came along. He ruined her and broke her down, and all for his own selfish pleasures. Chaeyoung stopped fighting after that, she became afraid. What hurt Jimin the most was that he couldn't protect her, his own sister, he stepped into the shadows at that point and let his parents handle everything, and once they were gone too, he left her to fend for herself. If it wasn't for Yoongi, Jimin would've never stepped up to his responsibility as her brother, because he was afraid too.

That night, as the rest of the world was peaceful for the first time in days, a voice raw with emotion wafted through the hallways of the hospital. Everyone stopped to listen for a moment, patients were lulled to sleep and a few doctors and nurses basked in the tranquility of the transition of the sky going from day to night. A song that told tales of a boy falling for the stars, a euphoric feeling of giddiness, the epiphany of love and a realization of the cruelty of the world.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

A/N

It is I, the horrible author that barely updates XD

School started like a month ago and since it's my last year, things are becoming quite hectic so I'll try my best to update as much as possible. Also, just for interest's sake, the plot is officially taking off! Taehyung and Chaeyoung's relationship is going to progress a lot more but remember that this isn't just about them solely but also the people around them, it's complicated but it all comes together I swear.

I hope you guys enjoy Valentine's and spoil yourself if you don't have a Valentine(I'm gonna just binge on K-drama's while stuffing myself with chocolate because I'm a single bean for life)

-Arasi♡