[COMPLETED | MAIN STORY] Zero O'clock Warfare (TaeKook)

Chapter 16: Butterfly

In fairy tales, if the villain died, all live happily ever after. But none of that compares in real life. If a certain villain in your life story dies, you get to feel empty and feel guilty. Fairy tales didn't mention the pain you'll get to have after all of that. Kim Taehyung is a human afterall, he's no prince or the protagonist of some fictional story.

He is a real, breathing human being.

Taehyung stares at his naked self in front of the bathroom mirror. It became an ugly habit mostly when he is alone in his room, him staring at the mirror full of self-pity and hate for himself. The rest of the BTS members doesn't know any of this, even his soulmate, as far as he knows. However, Jungkook always asks him if he's feeling ok or not, maybe he is sensing Taehyung's anguish too even if Taehyung knows he is good at hiding it to everyone.

"You're disgusting." He said to the man staring right back at him in the mirror.

There is no doubt that he is loved by his hyungs, his bestfriend, and his soulmate, but how come he can't see what to love in him?

Taehyung runs his fingers in his dripping wet hair, brushing it up, and he caught a glimpse of his healing but ugly slit in his wrist. He touches the hideous lines and looks at it with full of shame and disbelief. He did that horrible thing several weeks ago after the Yashimoto fiasco. He just mindlessly did that hoping for the pain in his heart to stop, but it didn't. It's just a foolish thing to do, seeking physical pain to cover his emotional pain.

That time, he felt like he'll faint anytime due to a quick blood loss but fortunately, he missed his artery and it's still treatable. He took care of it right away, applying pressure to the wound and sneaking at Seokjin's room to gather medical tools to stitch and bandage the deep cuts as hurriedly as possible. He's just as glad that he knew how to stitch a wound thanks to Dr. Kim's occasional knowledge transfer about it. He's just as glad that he came to a family of doctors, and he knew how to mend himself. He's just as glad that Jungkook isn't there since Seokjin was tending to his wounds that time in an operating room five floors down.

He regretted doing it ever since. He regretted the way he became so scared after doing that, scared not because he might actually die right there and then, but because he'll die a coward.

He hated it and he's not very proud of it. And now he is suffering the consequence of hiding the scar to his BTS family.

Everything comes at will and leaves without even saying goodbye. And Taehyung doesn't want to die, not yet, leaving his newfound family in a snap just like that. With that stupid mistake, he realized that he needs to do better. He is afraid, no, he is terrified because he loves his hyungs, his bestfriend, and his soulmate too much. Too much that he doesn't want to part with them, and to put it simply, he wants to be with them forever. Thus, he decided that he needs to do something that can help them instead, and not be a useless cargo to them as he currently feels right now.

Now that he gathered his thoughts of not hurting himself anymore, he decided to make himself learn something that may help defend himself in the future without really relying on his hyungs or his soulmate.

He quickly put on a clean long sleeves shirt and pants, dried his hair with a blower, and applied a lip balm to his chapped lips.

All set, he makes his way out of the bathroom door, tiptoeing but Jungkook quickly noticed him.

"Where to?" Jungkook asks, peeking at the ajar door while handling papers to Namjoon who is currently sitting in the study room, typing seriously on his laptop.

Jungkook has been working now although Namjoon is still the proxy leader who supervises most of the socializing and outside shenanigans. Ninety percent of Jungkook's day is always Taehyung-centric while the remaining ten is tending his 'work'. Taehyung doesn't mind though, he is glad rather. Jungkook is keeping his promise to never leave him alone, and although it may seem possessive and overprotective, Taehyung doesn't really mind. He is his soulmate after all, and he can't feel any loneliness and boredom whenever he is with Jungkook.