Lunacy and Other Fairytales ; tk | ym

7.

TW: implied suicidality

~

Taehyung only leaves the bathroom to get his leather bag with his writing utensils. Jeongguk is standing in the middle of the room, walking back and forth, frustratedly running his hands through his hair. He approaches Taehyung as soon as he spots him.
"You can't do this," he hisses, "You can't fucking — let's go home, Taehyung."

But Taehyung only lifts his hand to stop his rambling.

After Jimin has finished treating Yoongi's wounds he gets up, ready to leave. Yoongi grabs his wrist, a hopeful look on his face.
"Jimin-ah..."

Jimin glances at him, then at his hand. A soft, sad smile plays around his lips. He turns away and leaves, his wrist slipping from Yoongi's loose grip. The man swallows heavily, lowering his head. He moves from the edge of the bathtub to the floor; Taehyung sits down on the cold tiles opposite of him.

"Are you alright?" he asks, wondering if the question is superfluous. Yoongi shrugs. He pulls his knees up to his chest, glancing at Taehyung in an almost timid way. Maybe he is ashamed. Taehyung makes sure to relax his body as good as possible with the shock of the previous events still sitting deep in his bones.

"I will be," Yoongi mumbles, busying himself with a loose thread on his pants.

"I'm sure of it," Taehyung says, "Do you... want me to ask questions or will you be alright on your own?"

Yoongi considers his words for a few moments. He shakes his head.
"I got it, I just... need a moment to sort my thoughts."

Taehyung gives him all the time he needs. For the first time since he has met Yoongi, the man seems rather calm than on edge. His eyes don't dart through the room, he doesn't chew on his fingernails, doesn't bounce his legs. It's probably due to the exhaustion that has worn him out but it's a sight that Taehyung welcomes to see.

"I saw one of them for the first time when I was at the hospital," he starts, staring at the white tiles, "I was asleep, then woke up in the middle of the night because I had to use the bathroom. When I returned to the room there was someone standing in the corner by the window." He halts. "It looked human although it obviously wasn't. I don't really know how to explain it. It was just a dark silhouette, bald and thin, long limps. But it would have been fine if it wasn't for the eyes. They were... they were glowing. Like... white. Just staring at me without blinking. I don't — I know it sounds stupid—"

"It doesn't," Taehyung interrupts him because it really doesn't. He peers down at his notebook. "Would it help you to draw one of them?"

Yoongi considers his words, then nods slowly. Taehyung hands him the notebook and the pen. For a few moments neither of them speaks, only the scribbling of the pen against the paper can be heard. Taehyung waits patiently until Yoongi is done and hands the book back to him.

Taehyung furrows his brows. Yoongi drew a creature just like he described back in the café: humanoid but not really humane. The arms are skinny and long, allowing it to use them like legs just as a monkey would. The legs are similarly thin and long, the knees boney. Its ribs and hipbones show; it looks starved. The fingernails are a few centimeters long and sharp. But the most terrific thing is the face.
Taehyung remembers another detail Yoongi mentioned — "They don't really have skin. It looks like muscles. Just... muscle mass, as if someone skinned them."
Its eyes are huge and round and white with small irises and pupils. It looks like someone who opens their eyes really wide, just a bit more extreme, and a shiver runs down Taehyung's spine as he realizes that it is because it doesn't have eyelids. It doesn't have any skin for that matter, just like Yoongi said. All its human teeth show, covered in blood and flesh.