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Two hooded figures.
That’s what we are, tiptoeing and tailing, hiding and lurking in the shadows.
It’s not easy, remaining inconspicuous, but we manage to watch, from a distance, as Victor leads my mother in to a brick building surrounded by crumbling warehouses and shutdown businesses. Once he closes the door, I sigh in defeat.
“How are we supposed to know what’s going on inside?”
Taehyung steps forward confidently, tugging my hand. “Follow me.”
“What?”
Taehyung leads us around to the side of the building which is scrawled with obscene graffiti and overgrown weeds, pointing to something on the ground. A door.
“There’s a basement.” He hooks his fingers over the handle which is obscured by a tangle of vines, indicating that it hasn’t been used in a while. I take one look at the dark gaping hole before me and shake my head.
“Nuh-uh. There’s no way I’m going in. No way,” I emphasize in Korean, but Taehyung is already climbing in.
“Come on, I’ve been down here many times, it’s not that bad.”
“Taehyung, your idea of ‘not that bad’ is my idea of ‘very bad.’ I’m not going to –”
Taehyung stretches out his hand, his eyes large and black. “Do you trust me?”
“Yah, who are you, Aladdin? What are you trying to –”
“Aria,” his voice is a low growl that makes me stop. “I said, do you trust me?”
This time he repeats it in Korean, and I bite my lip before answering. “Yes, I trust you. A lot.”
He cracks a grin. “Then take my hand.”
So I take it, letting him drag me down into the underworld. Good thing there are stairs, but when we reach the bottom, I notice that there’s something missing. Light.
“Stay close to me,” Taehyung whispers, pressing my to his side as we shuffle forward. I hear drops of water and the scuttling of insects, among other noises, and each time, I cling closer to Tae, wondering if this is all worth it, because I am starting to regret coming here. But then I hear it. Voices.
“They’re upstairs,” Taehyung states the obvious, and suddenly I see light coming from beneath a door. My eyes adjust slowly, and I scan the basement, a large area that is mostly empty, save for a few pieces of furniture and a cabinet. What is this place?
“We can hear them better from up here, come on,” Taehyung leads me to the door, and I gulp as we approach it, wondering if we would get caught, for it could suddenly swing open and all hell would break loose.
We press our ears to the cold wood of the door and sure enough, we can make out snippets of conversation between familiar and unfamiliar voices.
“What are they doing?” I ask Taehyung, and he frowns, a finger to his lips until he figures it out.
“They’re playing a game,” as he says that there is a round of raucous laughter, and I swear I recognize my mother’s laugh amongst it. I shiver.
“Did they do the same with you?” I ask.
“They do it with everyone. It’s a way of…testing them,” Taehyung replies a little ominously, causing me to grow concerned.
“Testing?” I echo. “To see if they’re fit to join?”
“No, to see if they are worthy.”
“That’s what I said.”
“But mine sounds cooler,” even in the darkness, I can picture Taehyung’s smug grin.
“Yeah, whatever.”
We are silent for a moment as we hear a deep voice speaking, a voice that isn’t Victor’s, and then another voice speaks, a voice of a woman, except, it’s not my mother.
“How many people are in the…gang?”
“It’s not a gang, Aria, it’s an organization,” Taehyung explains. “People come and go, so there’s no fixed number. But there are the original members, including…me.”
“You? You’re an original gangster? An OG?” I laugh, perhaps a little too loud, so it’s no surprise when Taehyung clamps a palm over my mouth, shushing me.
“Yes,” he removes his hand. “Don’t forget, these guys were like…friends of friends. I knew them outside of school. We got up to shit. Fooled around. But…”
“But?”
“It’s become more than just a bunch of teenagers doing stupid shit. It’s like…Victor wanted more. And every time he got away with something, it made him feel invincible, so he pushed the limits, doing more dangerous things because he loved that feeling. He is addicted to that feeling.”
“Were you…also…addicted?” I ask tentatively.
“I was. Even this year…I was. But then one day, I stopped.”
“Why?” I turn to face him, and in the slight glow of the light from the door, I can see him, the faint outline of his furled brow, carved prominent nose and deep eyes. He meets my eyes, blazing and dark at first, but I swear, I see them soften.
“Because I met you.”
Oh. I am reminded of that time when I first saw him outside of uni, that time when my mother was tipsy and we stumbled down the wrong road only to witness him and a bunch of nasty men hanging out. He looked so out of place, so lost, so…unhappy. I wonder, at that time, what things he had to endure, how guilty and lonely he must have felt. How desperate he was to have a group of friends, only to fall into the wrong group and not realize it until years later. How desperate he was to not be alone.
Before I can say or do anything to respond, we hear footsteps. Increasing in volume. Toward the door we are currently leaning against. Taehyung is the first to react.
“Quick, hide!” he pinches my wrist and we basically fly down the rickety stairs, shoving ourselves behind a random armchair. As soon as we do, the door opens, flooding the basement with light, and then shadows as people pile in. I try to peek out from behind the chair to get a good look but Taehyung yanks me back, causing me to fall into his chest. His chest rises and falls rapidly beneath me, as does mine, and for a moment we stay there, his arm locking me into place, his breath tickling my hair, until I break free, eager to eavesdrop on the newcomers.
“This is where we keep our treasure,” I hear a man say with a malicious laugh.
“Treasure?” I gasp as I recognize my mother’s voice, and I feel Taehyung instinctively grab my hand and squeeze it.
“Oh, yes, we love collecting many precious things,” Victor says. “For example, look at this beauty. Frankie, show her.”
There’s a sound of a case opening, and a gasp. “That’s beautiful.”
“It is, isn’t it? Frankie, show her the rest,” Victor orders, and there’s the sound of another case opening, and my mother’s reaction is exactly the same.
“You guys must make a lot of money to afford all of this.”
Unanimous laughter breaks out, and I try to gage how many people there are in the room. Seven? Ten? It’s hard to tell. All I know is that their laughter is mocking, amused at her naivety. Was this how they laughed at Taehyung when he first started hanging with them?
“Oh, you have no idea, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart?” I pull a face at Taehyung, who remains stoic beside me, listening carefully. There is shuffling about the room, and I can hear female voices whispering and talking, mingled with the low tones of murmuring men.
“This could be yours. All of this could be yours, Cherry, when you join us. So will you?”
A woman speaks. “We have lots of fun, don’t we, guys?” Everyone roars in agreement.
“There’s just one thing,” my mother speaks up. “What exactly do you do?”
“All kinds of things, miss,” a man answers. “All kinds of wonderful, exciting things.”
“Like what? Give me an example.” I stifle a laugh. The Eomma is jumping out.
“We go to a lot of casinos,” a woman replies. “Lots of casinos.”
“Is that all? You just gamble?” my mother starts to sound suspicious, while I start to grow anxious.
“I told you what I do, didn’t I, sweetheart?” There it is again.
“You did, but…isn’t it illegal?”
I can’t help but smile. Does this mean she’s thinking of backing out?
“It’s not illegal if you never get caught, sweetheart.”
Their laughter causes my skin to crawl. Why do they always laugh like that, in such synchronization? Or is it the mob mentality?
“Come on, you’ve got nothing to lose, I promise you, and we need a treasure like you to help us. I mean, we need all the help we can get,” Frankie chuckles.
“All you have to do is look pretty,” Victor says. “I’m sure that’ll be no problem for you, eh?”
“Of course, no problem at all.” And just like that, my mum is sucked in. Compliment her looks, and she will love you forever. “You know what? I’m in. I could use some money, and some more exciting nights in my life.”
Everyone cheers, and someone says, “You’ll have some exciting nights, alright! Bring in the champagne!”
“Let’s pop it for Cherry!” everyone laughs, followed by a pop and a hiss as champagne pours onto the floor, and someone shouts, “Get the glasses!”
I glance at Taehyung, feeling…betrayed. For real this time. But why does it sound like they’re just a group of adults having fun, and not a gang of scammers and thieves who never get caught?
“What do we do now?” I whisper defeatedly.
“Now, we wait.”
So we do, waiting for them to finish drinking and leave the basement so we could crawl out the hole we entered from, however, not everything goes according to plan, for instead of leaving the basement, they occupy it further, with some members slumping into the armchair we are behind, and others mingling about the table, which from a glimpse looks like a billiards table. They really do have everything down here.
“Care for a game?” I hear the familiar sound of billiard balls scattering, and the person occupying the armchair leaves, giving us a little more room to breathe. Taehyung dares to peek out from behind it to observe the scene before reporting back to me.
“They’re all distracted.”
“So can we leave?”
He shakes his head. “They’ll see us. We just have to wait a little bit more.”
I let out a heavy sigh, boredom settling upon my features. “They could be there all night.”
“You’re right, but…” Taehyung suddenly snatches my phone from my hoodie pocket, and I watch with my mouth agape as he effortlessly unlocks it and opens the message app, slowly typing something to someone. I lean over to see who he’s texting, but he leans an equal distance away while still texting, until he stops.
“Now just wait,” he tells me, so I do, and that’s when I hear it: that melodic whistle.
“Oh my god…I gotta go,” my mother sounds panicked, and I glare at Taehyung.
“What the hell did you text her?”
I need not wait long for the answer, as my mother is already explaining to everyone that her sister has had an emergency back home and needs her help.
“I’ll take you back, sweetheart, come on. Everyone, you can go home, this meeting is over.”
Sure enough, the basement is cleared as they all move out, leaving Taehyung and I alone. I reclaim my phone to read the message he sent her, and I almost choke on air.
“There’s a rat in the kitchen and I’m locked out of the apartment because I got scared? Seriously?”
Taehyung giggles, finding the whole thing hilarious. “Isn’t that what you’d do, though?”
“Uh, no! I would – okay, maybe you’re right,” I scrunch up my nose, imagining the whole scene. But is it really an emergency worthy of bringing my mother back home? I guess so.
“You’re creative,” I pat his head, which is still covered with his hood, and he continues to grin as we get to our feet, not noticing that there’s still someone left in the basement.
“Oi! What are you two doing here?”
We freeze. I don’t recognize the voice, but I notice the man squint at Taehyung as if trying to figure out who he is, so I move, grabbing his hand and running toward the exit. We can barely see, and I’m pretty sure I touched a spiderweb along the way, but it doesn’t matter because the man runs after us, demanding that we stop right there! Taehyung pushes the door to the outside world with one hand, and thankfully it opens, allowing us to clamber out, except when I look down, I see Taehyung struggling as the guy manages to grip his foot. I continue to drag Taehyung’s arm, helping him as the man’s grip is quite strong, however Taehyung suddenly lurches forward toward me as the man lets go with nothing but a shoe in his hand.
We don’t look back as we run, passing the side street where my mother and Victor mount his motorcycle, riding off with a rev of the engine into the ongoing night traffic. We catch our breaths once we are three streets away, leaning against a vandalized wall as a train zooms past above our heads. My heart feels like it’s going to burst from my chest and despite the cool night air I’m sweating, and shaking, and just overall a bundle of nerves, until Taehyung looks at me.
“Are you okay?”
His words transport me back to that night when we ran, just like this, and when he pulled me into his chest, just like this, letting me hear his frantic heartbeat while simultaneously soothing mine.
“I’m fine, but…” I step away from him, my eyes dropping to his feet. “Your shoe.”
He looks down and lets out a sigh. “My shoe,” he pouts, and it feels like déjà vu. Because he lost something that night too – his hat.
“It’s okay, you have other pairs,” I remind him, but he shakes his head.
“No, Aria, you don’t understand, these are special, because I designed them,” he points at the shoe he still has on, a shoe made of your typical converse canvas, except it looks as if someone doodled all over it with stars and words and emojis. Someone by the name of Kim Taehyung, just as it says on the bottom, just above the sole, in Hangul.
“Oh,” I feel bad, because we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me and my borderline obsessive need to keep an eye on my mother, and for good reason too. However, it isn’t worth sacrificing Taehyung’s beautiful artwork.
I gently slip my hand into his. “I’m sorry,” I mumble.
“It’s not your fault,” Taehyung cups a hand to my cheek, stroking it gently, and I nod, although I don’t believe it.
“Maybe we can go back and get it?” I suggest optimistically, but Taehyung disagrees.
“Too dangerous. Let’s just get you home.”
He adjusts his hood, and I do too, following him along the wall. We catch the next train, sitting in complete silence the entire ride back. So many thoughts and emotions boil within me, but I just let them simmer beneath the surface, wishing I could scream, or cry, or something. It isn’t just my mother that’s stressing me out, but uni stuff, especially since exams are fast approaching, and I only have a week and a half left of classes. I feel overwhelmed, scared, and overall like I’m going to burst into tears any second, but I hold it all in, keeping a notable distance between him and I as we walk back to my apartment. I also have to face a lie that he created, and since my mother will most likely be home before me, it will look suspicious.
“Aria, wait,” he snatches my hand, halting me in my tracks as we approach my apartment building. I spin around to face him with a stern gaze that softens when I see his expression.
“Talk to me,” he pleas, and I exhale a little shakily, avoiding his gaze.
“We need to go inside,” I mutter, but then he moves closer, gripping my shoulders in both hands and forcing me to look up at him.
“You’re not okay,” he states passionately, eyes blazing beneath the amber streetlight. “I can’t just let you go when you’re feeling like this.”
“I said I’m fine, so just let me go,” I twist away from him, thinking he would just give up, but instead he engulfs me with his entire being, holding me against him against my will, his low voice sending vibrations through my soul.
“You can talk to me about anything. I told you that, didn’t I?”
I nod, feeling numb, yet my senses are extremely heightened, his warmth spreading through me and squeezing my heart. His words make my lips tremble, and my eyes fill with tears, because he’s just so…caring. All the time. It never fails to amaze me, his endless compassion and ability to sense my mood, my sadness, my pain. He never feels burdened by it, and I never feel burdened by his problems, but now…there’s just too much to process.
And the only way for me to process it is to be alone.
“I…”
Words fail me, so Taehyung continues to talk, huskily, soothingly, affectionately.
“You’re not alone, Aria. I’m helping you through this, because I know how it feels. Aria,” he makes sure to lock eyes with me, “I’m here for you.”
A tear spills, and then another, as I gaze at him, wondering if it’s okay to feel this way. To feel so…protected. Loved. Not alone.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” I start slowly, and Taehyung tilts his head slightly before I finish. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I think I love you even more.”
His smile is inevitable, and I reciprocate it, sniffling. Suddenly, I am embraced with the tightest, warmest bear hug ever, and that’s where I release the rest of my tears onto his hoodie as he murmurs, “I love you so much, Aria.”
I let out a strangled sob, shoulders shaking with the weight I’ve been carrying, a weight of so many things that are insignificant apart, yet when piled all together, can put a toll on a person. And I feel it all now as he holds me like a child, so fragile and small, with a need to be protected.
Our moment is interrupted by the roar of a motorcycle, and we cling to each other as we watch none other than Victor climb off, followed by my mother, just ahead of us, thirty metres away. My mother stumbles slightly only to have Victor swiftly catch her by the arm, the two of them laughing over it like two teenagers as they head inside the building. I turn to Taehyung, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stares after them.
“We can’t go inside,” he states firmly.
“What? But I have to, she’ll think I lied –”
“But you did lie, didn’t you?” he arches an eyebrow. “Besides, you can just tell her you’re with me. Which isn’t a lie, is it?”
“Well, no, but –”
“Come on, let’s just go,” Taehyung starts walking, and I follow like a lost, confused puppy.
“Where?” it’s not hard to keep up with him since he’s only wearing one shoe, however, his legs are still longer than mine, so soon enough, I’m jogging as he crosses the street back to the train station.
“Anywhere but here.”
He’s said that before. Or something along those lines, once again, from that night when he walked me home after the film, that night when he gave me multiple heart attacks with how close he got, how he stared at me, touched me, protected me, and then left me. But this time, I’m coming with him.
“Are you going to walk with one shoe all night?” I giggle, feeling giddy as we board the train heading the opposite way again. He looks down, then looks at me.
“Should I take it off?”
“I mean, you don’t have to –”
Without blinking, he rips it off, dropping it onto the train floor. I gape at him. “Are you crazy?”
He shrugs, toeing the shoe underneath the seat so that it is hidden. “I can always design another shoe, right?”
“You’re crazy,” I shake my head, smiling, and he leans back, closing his eyes.
“I’ve heard worse.”
My smile immediately drops as I recognize those words. I say them a lot, jokingly, yet deep down, it’s true. Everyone’s heard worse, but we keep it buried inside, because we don’t need to bring up those old painful memories of old schoolmates who didn’t know how to shut their mouth.
I don’t linger on it, though, because right now, we’re on a night train, heading somewhere, anywhere but there, a place that isn’t home to me, and it never will be, no matter how long we spend there.
I just need to forget, just for one night, even if it means I am incredibly exhausted tomorrow, because I still have classes to go to, and work to do, but for now…it doesn’t matter. Nothing does.
I need to feel okay again, just for one night, I need to feel like I don’t have all these things on my mind.
I need to let go, completely, utterly, inevitably, and if Taehyung could take off his shoes, perhaps I could take off my worries, just for one night.
【★】
Let the night begin ≋★
I’ve published the *teaser* for Destined, the next part of this AU series dedicated to Kim Namjoon. I’ve had it prepared for two months but I think now is a good time to tease its release since I might start writing it soon! I will still be writing hooded of course but I would love to know how many of you are as excited as me about the next story!
Dedicated to @ArasiGQueen for being the 500th vote thank you for reading! 💖
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