Prince Pauper || KTH

8. Think of Me Highly

Throwing on a hoodie and putting the hood over his head, Taehyung decided to take a walk to be alone with his thoughts. He didn't wanna feel trapped in the house. He was used to going out every day to being a lazy bitch inside those walls. Though he gagged from the smell lingering across town, he had to suck it up if he had to travel by foot or bus.

After putting on a pair of joggers, he puts on his sneakers. "I'm gonna head out and take a walk." He told Halmeoni who was washing dishes.

"You're not gonna escape again, are you?" Halmeoni half-joked, half-not.

The prince rolled his eyes and chuckled lowly, "Don't worry. I'm not. I just need some time out of the house." His grandmother nodded and he headed out the door. He reached the sideway, beginning his walk.

He didn't know where he was going or where things were, but that was the beauty of spontaneity. It somewhat excited him, finally having some form of adventure from the drought that is his life for the past weeks.

The indigo hue of the sky melted in with the thin string of orange as the setting sun disappeared to slumber. His agitated mind stepped into the serenity of manure-scented air, washing him away from his stressful thoughts. The buzzing sounds of crickets resonated from the grass he walked beside.

Most of the Imuwaians were back inside their homes after long days out. He spotted a couple of them sitting outside, murmuring amongst themselves. Some noticed him and watched the prince walk by. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to be seen by people.

To make things interesting, he crossed the street and turned left. He's never been to this part of town before so why not explore?

His surroundings were coming dim, barely having the far-sighted vision to see people. He hoped he didn't face any danger, although it was quite ironic since he looked like that stereotypical person in a hoodie with his hands in the pockets and a death glare hanging on his face.

He didn't hear any dangerous activity lurking about Imuwa, he would have known about it in the first week being here and had to be careful.

The street he entered had little to no houses. It was more of an open field and noticed a nearby park since he spotted a jungle gym. He decided to make a quick stop and investigate it.

The last time he's seen a playground was when he was younger, in the backyard of Namjoon's mansion. It was a top tier top-notch quality jungle gym. It was two stories high and durable. But obviously, his family had to take it down since Namjoon fell down and broke his arm.

This one...was nothing like his memory. The discolored bars were rusted and the texture was coarse. The kid-sized slide was tarnish for its old age while hints of mole polka-dotted around. If someone were to play on them, it would break at the touch.

The only thing that seemed to be in working condition was the single swing. Taehyung was surprisingly impressed by how clean the seat was, not a trace of dirt, stains, nothing. Each chain link was glossed silvery and felt cold as he grazed his long fingers on them.

He decided to sit on the swing to test it out, curious about what will happen considering these were meant for children. As he put his weight in, it was strong enough to hold him up. There he swung lightly with his feet barely touching the ground.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Though he thought he sat alone in this park, his vision begged to differ. From a nearby distance, he saw two darkened figures facing each other. He squinted his eyes to get a clearer look.

The two frames kept looking around their surroundings, almost tense if they spotted another person. Hopefully, they didn't see Taehyung. It seems that they were doing some kind of exchange to which the prince wondered what. They both had something in their hands and their hands were quick to notice as they swapped the items.