Tales of the Unspoken

두 (Two)

The thought didn't bother him up until that point because it didn't feel off but since the moment the car pulled up in front of the café, Taehyung began gulping nervously. There was a lot of love and a lot of hurt inside of him. No matter how he tried to let it go and continue his life in its very un-normal way, there had always been a human crave for a breadcrumb of normality. Were there times when he wanted to be able to completely change the outcome of his situation? Yes, but at the same time... what else could he do? He was born to be who he was and live as he was and he was thankful for it.

He had to walk up mountains and down in valleys of being a born singer. Walk and run until his feet bled his exhaustion all over the coldness of pebbles. Run, run, run...

He zapped into the place like a silent and fast superhero, hoping that nobody recognized him in the process. Naturally, the head of staff had been informed of his arrival and he was waiting to instantly open a door for him without gathering any attention from the group of friends which chitchatted merrily at the opposite side of the café or even the blue-haired girl writing on her laptop and sipping a cappuccino.

Mission partly accomplished. Nobody saw him.

Ironic - how he stood on stage, in cranes and platforms for people to see him in concerts and how he ended up hiding like a rat while he was on the streets or in bars, all because of too much love which turns to obsession.

He got accustomed to the lifestyle and it didn't bug him on a day to day basis anymore but from time to time, it sucked. He put the thought aside and bowed slightly to the manager as he asked him if he should move forward. His bodyguard casually stopped at the counter and ordered himself a frappe which he sipped as he sat at a table near the entrance. To an untrained eye, he looked just like any other customer as he started scrolling through his phone. The blue-haired girl smiled at him absentmindedly before returning to her work.

Nothing uncommon.

No international idol present on the other side of the door, making his way to a small room with nice decorations and a little table with a couple of chairs.

A high pitched sound filled the room followed by the soft bark of a dog and a couple of chuckles. Taehyung took off his mask and he stared at his father who opened the small cage door for Tannie so the pup could escape and greet the boy.

"Ok, ok... Tannie... just stop making a fuss." Tehyung's father said with a warm voice as the dog jumped into Tae's extended arms. The pup whined when the boy simply patted him excitedly a couple of times before picking him up and focusing his eyes on the person in front of him.

"Hello, appa..." Tae said with another small bow. His eyes blurred but he didn't allow any tears as he took a couple of steps forward and put his free hand around his father in a tight but slightly off-balanced hug.

His mind went into over-analyze mode to decipher whether or not he felt a bit of pressure from his father's hand if he returned the hug. His hope decided that it was real and dared to think that his father also smiled at him but he was unsteady in his conviction, to say the least.

"Hello, Tae." His father replied with a smile. "Do you have time? Can we sit?" He signaled to the chairs and Tae did not protest. Actually, he nodded feverishly as he took a seat still holding a wiggling Tannie in his arms.

His father looked at him and Tae felt small. He noticed how his dad pressed the button which called the waiter and then took out his cigarettes from his pocket. He set them down and immediately sighed.

"Oh, force of habit. I keep forgetting they banned smoking everywhere..." he chuckled and fiddled with the pack only to put it back in the jacket once a waiter arrived to take their orders.