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justoneday-namjoonii · 6 years

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Color Me Moonlight. IV

☾ • I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII ☽

› Summary: Some flowers are not to be plucked, for their thorns are far too sharp for any hand to graze, yet, she was touched. She was soft, delicate, she didn’t know it, but something so beautiful could never be bad. She grew up in a garden of loneliness, does she have a place to bloom? He gave her a place, and they bloomed together.

“Let me get this straight...” The chief pressed his temples, “you lost her at a red light!?”

Jeon cringed at the embarrassing circumstance for an agent of his caliber. “Chief, I don’t know what to tell you. She was in the car and when I got on the phone, she just ran.” He rustled his hair, a deep sigh leaving his mouth.

“What do you want me to tell senator Greene? He is expecting to hear that we’ve cleared all regions. That girl shouldn’t have been able to outsmart you, Jeon.”

He was silent. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do sir-”

The Chief's phone rang. Senator Greene.

Sweat built at his brow before he hesitantly picked up the phone.

“Hello, Senator,” Greene spoke, it sounded like faint whispers to the agent. “To be honest with you sir, no, not yet.” He narrowed his brows. “Just one. A female, sir.” He nods in an acquiescent manner. “We will sir, definitely. Goodbye.”

Jungkook swallowed. “What did he say?”

“That girl is our first priority, and it’s up to you to find her and get her to the SRMA. Immediately. They think she might be the one they’re looking for.”

“Yes, sir.”

He woke up first, eyes fluttering open slowly at the feeling of warmth under his arm. He sat up, trying to recall the events leading up to this situation. His first thought was, why am I here? And more importantly, how did I get here? He looked down at you, there was tranquility about you that he has yet to witness until now. There is something about your presence that just draws him in, like a light in the dark. In efforts not to wake you, he slowly gets out of the bed, feet touching the cool floor before tiptoeing to close the door and let you sleep.

It was oddly comfortable, and smelled like a loving home – this couldn’t be your room.

You yawned, stretching your arms and legs as you took in your surroundings. The things that happened last night unveiled in your mind like preserved memories embedded in your consciousness. You revealed your secret to and was convinced that the two of you are birds of a feather, creatures of the same creator. Yet, you’re still wary of him. Trust isn’t something you’re entirely used to – it’s just difficult for you.

The control you once had over yourself is slowly faltering. The energy once tightly concealed inside of you is threatening even the smallest of things. You literally had to consciously steady your breathing, force your hands to stay still, and keep your thoughts from flying all over the place.

You could hear a whisk bumping up against a plastic bowl, you smelled vanilla waffles baking, his low humming to the jazz playing from a Bluetooth speaker.

Barefooted, you shuffled to the door and peaked out—nope, you weren’t alone. Taehyung stood at the refrigerator and it looked like he was cooking. For some reason, that sight made you smile, even a fancy CEO can appear wholesome with his heart slippers. You walked out of the bedroom, shyly making your presence known. He glanced back at, a grin coming to his lips at the sight of his baggy clothing hanging on you. You noticed his eyes were back to that artificial brown again.

“Good morning.” He smiled.

“Morning...”

“I made eggs, bacon, and waffles. If you don’t eat that, I have yogurt and fruit, also coffee and tea...” His hair was messy looking, it was endearing to see him in clothing other than a suit his hair looking far from tidy.

“Do you want me to make you a plate?” You inhaled deeply and a pleased expression came to your face—he took that as a yes and he started to make it.

“Thank you, everything smells great... You watched as he sat the plate at a seat right next to his own. You can’t even remember the last time you’ve awoken to a home-cooked breakfast, let alone meal in general.

He sat down right after you, a cup of juice in hand, “Do you have any plans for today?”

“No...” You cut a piece of waffle, rubbed it in a puddle of syrup, and ate it. “I would’ve gone to work but the word probably already got out about me.” You swallowed.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay here for a day or so- Just until I can find somewhere to go, then I promise I’ll be out of your hair.” You pressed your lips tight, your hands retreating to rest snug in your lap, purposely avoiding eye contact. You thought about it, you felt burdensome for staying here. “Or I can run to my place and-”

“No, I’d feel better if you stayed here. It’s not exactly safe for you out there, have you seen the news?” You shake your head no.

He slid his phone over to you. “I think you should expect to stay here for a little while.” He put a forkful of food into his mouth.

You picked it up and the first headline said—Suspected Sato Experiment On The Run. The article vaguely described your appearance and your heart began to throb and goosebumps erupted on your skin. You sat his phone down and let out an exasperated sigh, your face was burning at the thought of being wanted. He could practically feel your blood pressure rising, your chest straining in anxiety.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” He placed his hand on top of yours, a startled flinch from you made him recoil a bit. “If they try to take you, which I won’t let happen, they’ll have to take me too, yeah?”

“I guess so...” You slid your hand away so you could finish eating, and that’s when you realized you were sitting next to someone just like you. You two were sewn from the same thread, you were the same kind. There was no need to be fearful around him, you could trust him, right? You revealed your most cherished secret to him—that had to mean something.

“If you're done, pass me your plate, I’ll put it in the dishwasher.” You hurriedly grabbed your plate so he could set it in the dishwasher. Even from only staying here for a number of hours, you admired how well he functioned in a domestic and organized environment. It seemed like he had a place for everything and everything had a place. As he tended to the dishes, you eased up next to him at the sink—helping him with this seemed like the least you could do.

You grabbed the empty pan that he used to make eggs and looked for the dishcloth. “Can I use that?” You pointed to the cloth on the counter to his right. He looked down to see your hands in the bubbly dishwater.

He smiled at your efforts. “You don’t have to do that, I can get it-”

“No, I want to.” You were not about to be waited on hand and foot, especially considering he was doing you such a huge favor.

“The rag, please?” He nods, pursing his lips at your insistence. He handed you the dishcloth and you continued to clean the pan. He took the clean pan from you, and to your dismay, he started to dry it for you. Just as you were about to clean off the dining table, Taehyung gently grabbed your arm.

You paused, staring up at him. “Yes?...”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, sort of.” You paused. “When you came into the room last night you didn’t try to do anything so I don’t see why I shouldn’t trust you...” You muttered quietly, tearing your gaze away from him in remembrance.

He couldn’t hide the blush on his cheeks at the reminder of what he did in the absence of his mind. “I’m sorry about that, I honestly don’t know how I got there.” Scratching the back of his neck, he pressed his lips in a straight line. “I assume our connection has something to do with it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help it going forward, I’m just drawn to you,” He smirked, brushing his fingers over the shell of your ear. “even in my sleep. Just lock your door and I’m sure that’ll solve the problem.” You both laughed, bridging that awkward gap of silence.

You weakly smiled, drying your hands off with a paper towel. “Why do you wear your contacts inside? No one can see you here.”

“It’s a habit,” He never thought about it until now, “and anyone could knock on the door and I’d have to rush to put them on, it’s just easier to put them on as soon as I wake up.” That made sense. You both eyed each other, a mutual comfort being the reason you hadn’t walked away. He was all smiles when he looked down at his phone, but his eyes widened and the smile vanished.

Had the time flown by so fast?

“Sorry to run but I gotta get ready or I’m gonna be late.” He ran off to his bedroom and you went to the opposite side of the house, where your room is.

For the first time in a few hours, you checked your phone. You had a few missed texts from Hoseok.

[10:14PM]: Hey, can I still drop your book up off in the morning?

[8:20AM] I have your book, I gotta head to my 9 o’clock meeting in a little bit

[8:31AM] Y/n, you normally check your texts pretty fast so I’m getting kind of worried tbh

[12:43PM] I’m on my lunch break, can you text me to let me know you’re okay?

Your thumbs went at your keypad immediately, attempting to type something to let him know that you’re alive.

You: I’m so sorry I missed your text and I’m sorry not showing up this morning, I’ve kind of been caught up with some personal stuff. Please don’t be worried, I’m okay, I'm just spending time with a friend for a little bit :) Thank u for checking on me Hobi, it means a lot. P.S u can keep the book for a little longer

You set your phone on the nightstand. Never having crashed at someone's place before, it was natural for you to feel like a bit of a burden. Do you just stay here while he’s gone? What if you get hungry and eat something that you weren’t supposed to and he gets mad? What if someone with a key to his place comes to pick up something?—It was all too much to think about.

“If you need anything, just let me know,” Taehyung spoke loud enough for you to hear.

It’s not long before you hear the front door shut and lock, he’s gone and you’re here alone. Might as well see what the world is up to, you flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. As soon as it turns on, the news pops up.

“Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the 12 o’clock news. I’m Priscilla Moore, and today we are joined by a very special guest, Senator Nelson Greene. Welcome, Mr. Greene and thank you for being here.”

“Happy to be here Priscilla.”

That voice.

That’s the voice you heard on the agent's phone, the person who wanted to check you personally. It’s sickening, utterly appalling to know that you are in this situation and you don’t have many options. For one, you don’t know why he wants you specifically. Maybe he doesn’t trust the examination process and does it himself from time to time. You found this whole ordeal unsettling.

November 14th, 1995.

“She’s due in 4 months,” Jane sat in her office, doing some things on the computer, “do you have a name picked out?”

Mai, Jane’s close friend and colleague sat across from her, filling out files and forms for her.

“You’ve been calling her Yves ever since you found out about her, I’m kind of used to it now.” She smiled. “It’s quite fitting.”

“I’m honored.” Jane grinned. “I’m not gonna lie, she is one of my favorites.”

“You haven’t even met her yet!” Winnie laughed. “How could you know if she’s your favorite?”

“I just know. Thanks to you Winnie, she has the most potential to excel. She is the purest form...” Jane had explained to them countless times that Winnie is one in a million case. As soon as Winne found out she was pregnant, she and her husband made the decision to give their child life like no other. “The most prominent supernatural gene is flowing through your blood and with the proper procedures, it can be awakened.”

“You know that one of the mothers is due into two months and her baby has attributes like Yves, he has similar gifting of life and energy, I’m not sure in what way yet though. But his mother has had symptoms like you; feeling extreme highs and lows in energy, the heightening of the senses, things like that.”

“When will we know what she can do?”

“I’m not sure. The process has thousands of layers, we could think she’s gonna come out one way but she’s something completely different. What I do know is that a large-scale mutation, we’re modifying everything. A nucleotide is added and taken, her genus is like a puzzle.”

“Are you forgetting something, my love?” Winnie’s husband walked into the room.

“We agreed that our first child if it was a boy, he’d be named after my father, and if it was a girl, she’d be named after your mother.” He shook his head, Winnie had a habit of going with the flow of things like this but that’s because she wasn’t a huge tradition person.

“Oh yeah.” She pouts. “Sorry, Jane, she’ll still be Yves in our hearts but her birth certificate will be my mother's name,”

She placed a hand on her stomach gently, “Y/n.”

“Good morning Mr. Kim, you’re coming in later than usual.”

Margaret couldn’t help but notice the change in her bosses tendencies, rarely did he ever come in late early in the week.

“Yeah, I slept a little late today. What’s on my schedule?”

“The Venet group emailed their presentation draft to you this morning, they’re waiting on your critiques. Oh, and you have a message from the SRMA, I left it on your desk.”

“Alright, thank you.” He made his way into the office, eager to get some coffee in his system. He pressed a button on a remote to open up his automated blinds to get some light in the room. The view was also somewhat of a stress reliever for him, it had a calming effect.

Even being away from you for a little over an hour, his thoughts are starting to drift to you, which unfortunately prohibits his ability to work efficiently. As difficult as it might be, he had to single his thoughts on work, then you. He grabbed the mysterious envelope from the SRMA and opened it up.

His eyes skin over the letter, his brows furrowing. The letter is informing him that all of his employees have been cleared, which is odd because that’s not true. You were the reason why he was receiving reminders 24/7, but now all of a sudden the messages stop?—This is suspicious. He knew for a fact you hadn’t gone to the SRMA for anything and weren’t planning on it either. Thinking it was just an error, he stuffed the letter in the drawer and chose to further investigate it later.

He clicked on a file that said ‘Personal’ and when it opened up, he smiled. The final photos that he took a few weeks ago got framed and the company sent photos of the finished product. His love for art and photography makes up for the stress that comes with this job.

An hour or two had gone by and he was completely immersed in his calls, tasks, reviewing schedules – he almost didn’t notice the knock on his door. He glared at the door, Margaret didn’t say he had an appointment or that anyone had walked in.

“Come in.” He spoke with a slight hesitance but when the door opened, he realized it was just his dad. “Dad, I didn’t know you were dropping by.” He looked back down at what he was doing.

He took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. “I thought I’d stop by for my lunch break, see what you were having.” He smiled, happy to see Taehyung was working so hard.

“Margaret ordered something, it should be here shortly. Let me wrap this up and I’ll be all yours.” He quickly finished typing up the month's marketing schedule sheet and pressed save. Finally, he sighed, leaning back to stretch his neck and arms. Taehyung gazed out of the window with half-lidded eyes, judging by the look on his face, his dad knows when something is different.

“Is there something on your mind Taehyung, you look like you’re in deep thought.”

“I might as well tell you.” He inhaled, exhaling before looking at his dad. “It’s about the girl I told you about.”

His father had a tinge of joy in his eyes, assuming his son had made this girl a girlfriend of some sort. “Oh?” The thought alone made him smile. “Have you decided to introduce me to her finally?”

“Well, she’s special...” He spoke softly, eyes looking down at his fingers. “She’s like me.”

“Like you n what way?”

“In a biological way...”

“Biological? You mean- You’re saying she may have been a part of the 1989 project...” Tae nodded. The man's eyes widened, his thoughts singled in on what Taehyung meant by that. If he was speaking in terms of biological similarities, given Taehyung is the only child from his biological parents, that would only leave one option – she must be a product of Jane Sato.

“How do you know this?”

“I had met with her a few times and I could feel that there was something about her. There’s this connection we share, it’s hard to explain but when I’m around her I feel this energy emitting from her, but she acts unaware of it. I can feel her emotions stronger than I have with anyone. And dad, when I look at her, she doesn’t always have an aura of color around her...” He stressed that unusual fact, “and when she does, there’re shades I’ve never seen on anyone before...”

“It took a while to get her to admit it because she’s been hiding it all her life. She was kicked out at 18 for what she is and she’s been alone ever since.” Taehyung mentally recalled the story you had struggled to tell him last night. “She said she’s never told anyone before, just me.”

“So she knows about your eyes?”

His fingers lightly touched the skin under his eye. “Yeah, I showed her...”

“Does she have that same trait?”

“No- Well, when we were-...” He hid the blush on his face, trying to figure out how to word this correctly. “–Talking, her eyes changed for maybe 5 seconds, then they went back to normal, that was the first time that had ever happened to her.” His father nodded, what Taehyung was telling him only confirmed the suspicions of who you really were.

“How old is she?”

“She’s around my age,” He didn’t see the significance of your age but he answered nonetheless, “maybe a few months younger.”

“Oh,” He sighed, “I see. Then she must be the girl they’re looking for.”

Taehyung swallowed. “Yeah, I’m letting her stay with me. She avoided checkups until they made it mandatory. When she didn’t go, an FBI came to her house and tried to take her to the SRMA. She said the man on the phone with the agent said he wanted to ‘check her’ himself. That’s when she made a run for it and ended up at my place.”

“Has she gotten checkups or tests done before? When you were growing up I always made sure to examine you and make sure your gifting wasn’t interfering with your everyday life.” He was more concerned about your health and well-being more than anything now. “She may need supplements to fill in what her abilities might be taking for energy.”

“She avoids any type of medical treatment altogether, she’s afraid that they’ll find out what she is. I don’t blame her.”

There was a knock on your door. “That’s probably the food.”

He got up and sure enough, that was the food from his favorite sushi restaurant. He grabbed the bag and took it to his lounge area near the coffee machine. “Let’s eat.”

Taehyung took out the chopsticks as his dad walked over to sit across from him. “You know, I think you should meet her. It’d be good if she could get medical attention or just get to know someone who cares about her well-being/”

“I can come over tonight. I’ll bring some of the supplements that you used to take just in case she needs it. I have a million to ask her.”

“I don’t know if she’ll be okay with a lot of questions, she doesn’t care for people prying into her personal life.”

He’s learned that the hard way.

September 12th, 1997:

A massive fire broke out.

High pitched speakers blare from every corner of the facility, people were fleeing from the raging flames and deadly black clouds seeking to devour them. Bone-chilling shrieks from stranded patients could be heard as people were fending for themselves. The fire broke out in the volunteer experimentation residence.

“Get out of there!” Dr. Fai yelled as he ran down the halls towards her, his coat over his nose and mouth, black soot dirtied his hands and glasses. He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the hallway leading to an even larger fire – why was she trying to run down there?

“No, I have to get them out. They’re gonna die-” She yanked her arm away but the smoke was getting to her, she could barely stand straight.

“The volunteers and 4% are fine! There’s is no one else! Let’s go before we both get killed!”

He didn’t know about the babies.

Two other people from the facility, including Dr. Kim, were in the midst of crying toddlers and infants, trying to calm their state distress. A majority of the mothers were gone aside from maybe one or two.

“Everyone listen.” A lady he had never seen before held a child in her arms and spoke to the few adults in the room. “Grab them and follow me, we need to take them to the pediatric hospital.”

Dr. Kim didn’t question it, he grabbed two children, he held a little boys hand and held a quiet 1-year-old girl in his arms. Oddly, the child holding his hand was one he often helped test with Jane—he had the most stunning eyes.

When they transported the children, the woman leading this escape escorted them all to the private emergency floor. The little girl in his arms was now with a nurse, being fed a warm bottle and the little boy was in the playroom along with some of the other children

“Dr. Kim.” The nurse practitioner, Millie, walked over to him. “Can I have a quick word with you?”

“Of course.”

She sighed. “So, I’d thought I’d give you some background on who I am and how I knew about The Flower Garden. I work with mothers and children in this sector of the hospital, I was alerted by Kelly that no one was coming to help with these kids, presumably because they didn’t know about them. I knew about the project, I helped for a while, especially with childbirth.”

She wrote something down as she continued. “Anyways, these children will all have to be examined and if all goes well, they’ll be put in the foster system. But as you know, these children are not normal by any means,” The stood in front of the playroom window, watching the kids play with multicolored toys. “I don’t know what they can do. For the safety of society and themselves, I've arranged to have them transported to families all over the world who are willing to raise them as their own.”

His eyes widened a bit, he was taken aback. “Why all over the world?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but a select few of them have the M2-gene, they are the purest form of molecular, biological, and cellular mutation. They’re not regular human beings. As they get older, we can’t risk having them in one place for the government to poke and prod at, it’s just not safe. And God forbid they grow up and procreate, that’s what Jane wants eventually. But her plan isn’t full proof, she created a breed of something that we have no idea of their capabilities, anything could happen to them. This is the best option for them in the long run.”

These children are Jane Sato’s life project, all she’s ever wanted to achieve but it’s all over now. He processed the fate of those poor children, wondering how long she had been planning this. “All of them will go?”

“Well, there are a few being handed over to family members, maybe two. But other than that, yeah.”

“What about him?” He pointed to the sweet little boy with gorgeous eyes.

She looked to where he was pointing. “Oh, little Yuuma. his mother resigned from the program when he was 2 months, he’ll probably stay here due to his more noticeable traits, he’s a sweet child but I don’t think he’ll blend in very well with society...”

“I want to adopt him.” He spoke with not a hint of hesitance in his voice.

She recoiled, surprised that he’d consider such a kind and difficult thing. “Are you sure Dr. Kim? That’s quite the responsibility, and you’re at the height of the practice-”

“Absolutely, I have an older daughter. And besides, I know the child, I helped care for him from time to time.” He took quite a liking to the child, he felt as if he could raise him as his own. Especially with the knowledge he has of the system Jane had in place, he could do this. “I’ve taken quite the liking to him, he’s like my own.”

“Alright then, I’ll get those adoption papers for you and you can take him home first thing tomorrow morning.”

She went on her way, leaving Dr. Kim to monitor the child from the window. The most striking feature of little Yuma had him wondering what his gifts were, why he had physical manifestations of what he was capable of. Then again, it could just be a birth defect due to the cellular treatments. He walked into the little room, and just as he expected, Yuman ran right up to him – well, more like stumbled.

“Well, hello again.” Dr. Kim smiled, finding that the child seemed to be made for him. “I’m happy to see you too.”

“Look!” The child grabs him by the hand to show him what he had drawn with the crayons that were no bigger hand than his tiny hands.

“Here you are,” She came back, handing him the papers, “his official birth certificate says Yuma, with no last name. You’re welcome to change that.”

“Well, I’ve always loved the name Taehyung.” He looked at the kid, seeing that he was focused on his second drawing, “I think it fits.” He gazed loving at little Taehyung. “When I look at him, he’s proof that all honest wishes come true and everything will be alright even when facing difficult times.” He grabbed the paper and pen. “Kim Taehyung...”

You rummaged through the closet, finding a few things you could slip on as a disguise. “This should work...” You put the baseball cap and face mask on so all that can be seen is your eyes. It doesn’t seem like the best decision the leave his place but if you want to stay here for another day, you need your own stuff. His lotions and soaps are very nice but you prefer yours.

You put on a t-shirt and what you were wearing yesterday, and you were ready to go.

For some reason, your hands felt icy cold—nothing too new. But as you clenched your fists, hoping to get some good circulation, they warmed up a little. Due to your unconscious suppression of what you assumed to be your energy, you always felt a drastic change in temperature.

“Go and come back.” You exhaled, that’s all you had to do – not so hard. You went to the front door and walked out, on a mission.

You made the decision to call a cab to get to your place because if you were to walk it’d be midnight before you got there. You got into the cab that you had flagged down and gave him an address near to your home.

On the way there, as you tried not to appear anxious or suspicious, you got a text from Tae. ‘I’ll be heading home soon, do you need anything?’ You exhaled in relief, you thought he found out that you left for a second there. ‘I’m ok, thank u tho’

With that quick response, you tucked your phone into your pocket.

“We’re here miss.”

You looked up to see you were at your intended destination—finally. You thanked and tipped the guy before going on your way, the cafe not far from your home. You walked the distance, feeling your nerves tense at the realization that you’re walking around as a wanted civilian. All you could think was, this is so stupid, but also, I need clothes.

You tiptoed into the elevator, thankful you hadn’t run into anyone as you shoved the door closing button. Get your stuff and go without interruption, that means avoid Jan. She’s probably already gathered that you weren’t home last night, if she catches you, the questions will never cease.

Luckily, you made it to your apartment and quickly went inside, locking the door behind you. You went to your room, grabbed one of your weekenders, a backpack and started stuffing them with as much stuff as you could. Toiletries, clothes, your computer, and a few personal necessities. You only hoped Taehyung wasn’t coming home early if you could remember your office hours correctly, he shouldn’t be headed home for another 20 minutes.

“You’re getting off rather early for a Monday sir.” Margaret peeked up from her typing on the computer, seeing Taehyung exiting his office.

“Yeah, I’m going to get some rest. I might be traveling to Saipan or Milan tomorrow, not sure yet.”

“Oh, for the sales pitch at the luxury resort.”

“Yeah,” He waved, “I’ll see you tomorrow, goodnight.”

He made his way to the elevator, sighing deeply. His father had left not too long ago so he could meet Taehyung at his home with medicine and some things that he thought might help you. It was comforting to know that despite him not knowing you, he trusted Taehyung enough to trust you. Heck, even if you said you trusted him, he knew you were still wary about him. But when you had shared that kiss last night, he knew at that moment that you had never let your guard down before. He couldn't stop thinking about it, how could he? He’s lived his entire life assuming he was the only person like him. To know that you exist gives him a sense of hope.

He pulled into the garage and in a moment's time, he was walking to his front door but he stopped in his tracks—something wasn’t right. The fervor, sweet energy wafting off of you and into him as he approached you, it wasn’t there. He couldn’t feel it and his heart sank.

She’s not here. He didn’t have to unlock the door since it was already unlocked, stepping inside and just as he expected, you were nowhere to be seen.

He took out his phone and called you, it went to voicemail almost immediately. His initial response was to panic, you could be anywhere, you could’ve been taken, anything. He quickly removed his suit jacket and pushed his hair back, he wasn’t sure if he needed to go look for you, call you or-

The door began to creek and you peeked from behind it, a good bit of luggage in your hands and a condemned expression on your face.

You struggled to pull your bags over the lip of the door, but when you did, you staggered.

“Hi...”

“Where have you been?”

Pulling off the mask, you walk your luggage to your room as he follows. “I needed some of my things.” You lifted your luggage to lay flat on the bed so you could take some of your things out. “I didn’t think you’d be back for a while so I went to my apartment.”

He stares in disbelief. “There are people probably willing to hurt you if it means taking you to the SRMA, and you thought it was a good idea to just go out?” He was pacing—his agitation permeating the room like a heavy humidity that you didn’t want to be around.

“Nothing happened, I was careful not to come into contact with too many people. You shouldn’t be upset with me, I just needed some clothes...” You pulled out your pajamas, setting them on the nightstand with your toothbrush and toiletry bag. Honestly, he didn’t know if it was worth arguing about since you clearly saw no problem with it. But he would be lying if he said he wasn’t fearing that something bad had happened to you.

“I understand.” He wrapped his arms wrapped around you from behind, his chin resting against your head gently. “I’m just glad you're okay.” He inhaled your scent, exhaling near your ear soothingly—his breathing made your legs tremble. He nuzzled his head against yours. “You’re worried...Why?”

You turned to him. “You’re worried that I’m worried,” You grab his hand from their comfortable place on your back to go back unpacking your things, “I don’t need a supernatural connection to know that.”

He leaned against your bed. “So, what’s wrong?”

“I’m technically unemployed now...” You confessed. The realization that you hadn’t been to work or contacted your manager, you felt you surely weren’t still on the payroll anymore.

“I haven’t contacted my manager or anything, and I haven’t checked my emails.” You shake your head. “If I’m not doing any work, I don’t have a job. That’s just basic logic.”

“You’re forgetting I’m the CEO.” That was true. “I’m moving you up. I’ll contact your location and let them know what I decided. You’ll be an assistant consultant for camera testing at HQ, it’s a pretty lonely job but it’s not bad, I’ll pay you well.” You were a bit stunned, he’s offering you a job at his office, he’s giving you the opportunity to be at the top of the company, with him.

“Really?” You were surprised.

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you, Taehyung-” You pause at the sound of footsteps, jingling keys, your brows furrowing in concern.

“Are you expecting someone? Someones coming to the door...” You shy away.

“Um,” Fearing your reaction, he pauses, unsure of how to tell you, “I invited someone over.”

“Who?” You backed away subconsciously, and Taehyung could feel you bracing yourself—the air around you dropping to a startling temperature. You scrunched your nose, “They have a bag of bottles-...Pill bottles or something.” Your suspicion grew as he walked out of your room, you followed him.

“It’s my dad, I asked him to come over and meet you. Are you okay with that?”

Is he serious?

“Why would I be okay with that Taehyung?“ He cringes at your tone. There was a knock on the door, two the be exact.

“I don’t know your father, and I don’t appreciate you not asking me if I was okay with this beforehand. Why does he need to meet me?”

Instead of answering your question, he went to open the door and you quickly retreat to your bedroom, furious. You push the door closed and lock it—how dare he. You couldn’t believe it. What made him even consider that’d be okay with this? His father is a doctor for goodness sake. And you do not like doctors. You trust Taehyung, you feel the connection and everything, you know he’s one of you but

He sighs, letting his father in with a frustrated roll of his eyes when he got a sense of your aura turning foul, brisk – unpleasant entirely. And he knows you’re doing it on purpose, your trying to have an attitude about this to show how upset you are about him not asking beforehand. Like he would tell his father not to come over.

“So, where is she?” His father looks around, confused as to why this mystery girl wasn’t there to greet him.

“She’s afraid to talk to you.” Admittedly, he had foreseen this happening but he was hoping for it to be wrong.

“Did you tell her I was coming?” He could understand your reaction if you were unaware of the arrangement.

“Well,” He tilts his head, “no, I didn’t think she’d have a problem since she knows you’re my father and all, maybe I should’ve said something beforehand...I’ll go talk to her and see if she’ll come out.” His father nodded as he walked to the guest bedroom that you spitefully locked.

He knocked.

“Hey, he just wants to talk to you. He’s not here to hurt you, ok? Just come out, please.” There was a long pause of silence, then he heard low footsteps approach the door and the jiggle of the doorknob. Slowly, you opened the door and looked up at him.

“I don’t know him...” You frown, arms crossed in defense.

“He just wants to help, and he came all this way for you, just give him a chance.” Taehyung flaunts his big ole’ puppy eyes, practically giving you no other option than to sigh and comply.

You didn’t know if you’d regret this later but it’s not like you had much to lose. Groaning in defeat, you start walking. “Fine.”

You walk past Tae and when you enter the living room, his father instantly stands, eyes landing on you. He stares curiously at the sight of you, just as he anticipated, he can feel a change in the air and it has to be because of you.

“I’m Y/n,” You awkwardly extend a hand, clearing your throat, “it’s nice to meet you...”

“I’m Taehyung’s father, Kim Taewoo.” You two shake hands’ briefly, and you’re eagerly taking a seat far from him. Taehyung opted to bridge the gap by sitting by you and by his father who was in the armchair.

“So,” Your tone is unsure but to the point, “what do you want to know about me?”

“Well, firstly, how is your health? I was a bit worried, Taehyung told me a bit about your story and he says you haven’t received medical treatment for your condition.” He spoke like a true doctor, it made you regret agreeing to this.

“I don’t have a condition, I’m not sick and there’s no cure for what I am. I’ve been called a monster...and if I go to the doctors, they’ll treat me like one...” You rubbed your hands together, antsy under the man's scrutiny.

“You’re not a monster dear, just like I’ve told Taehyung his entire life, you’re not a mistake or an accident...You’re a gift. ” You blinked at his odd father like words, those were words you weren’t used to hearing from anyone. He pressed his lips in a straight line before speaking again. “So, you found out when you were around 10?”

You nod.

“What did you notice first?”

“My hearing, one day I realized I was really sensitive to sound, it caused some problems in school...” Your eyes followed his hands as they reached for a notepad and pen, you gnawed on your bottom lip in curiosity.

“Oh, sorry,” He noticed your sudden confusion, “I’m just writing down what you’re saying dear, is that okay?”

You nod. “That’s fine...”

Taehyung glanced at you, taking a moment to slide his hand into your own, catching your lowered gaze. It was as if he was absorbing you and giving you bits of him to soothe your mind.

“Do you know what your powers are?” You had never had anyone call what you have powers—you never thought of what you have as a power, it’s just a part of you that you try to suppress.

“No, I just know my senses are heightened and I have an attachment to energy, I don’t know how to explain it...” You were starting to get uncomfortable given you had never talked so openly about this. “I guess I conduct it or something, when I touch things or if I’m upset.”

He looked at you, his eyes sweeping over your familiar facial features. There was something about your eyes that bewildered him, there was a softness—a gentleness in the air around you.

“Y/n, does the name Yves sound familiar to you?”

Your ears perked at the name, so did Taehyung’s.

“Well, Taehyung had...” You leaned in to speak to Taehyung. “I thought it was maybe a mistake or he was just sleep talking but-...” A heat came to your cheeks at realizing what you were about to say to his father, “Taehyung called me that in his sleep.”

Taehyung recoiled, a blush on his cheeks—why didn’t you tell him sooner and what was the cause of him saying that name?

“I did?” He scratches the back of his neck. ”That’s funny, that name isn’t familiar to me at all.”

“Well, that’s what you said.” You look up and realize Mr. Kim is in deep thought.

“Mr. Kim? Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost...” Uneasiness began to buzz in your stomach, you weren’t sure what he was thinking.

His mind was racing. For years he believed Jane would never be able to get two of the M2-gene carriers in one place—he hoped it would never happen for the carrier's sake. Never had he even dreamed of meeting another child like Taehyung. Jane Sato would kill to have the two of you, she’d do anything to get you two. Her two favorite creations, pretty little Yves and sweet little Yuma.

“Taehyung,” He looked to his son lovingly, solace in his eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner...”

“Told me what?”

“Where you came from...” His aura seeped with affliction, so much so that Taehyung felt physically affected by it.

“You told me, an experiment by Jane Sato...So is Y/n, right?”

That’s what he’s been told all his life, was it not the truth?

“Yes, but you’re not like Zoe Akasma Hawn or the mutants you see on TV, you’re very different –” He thought about the most fitting term to use, “special. You didn’t undergo mutation as an infant, you were mutated on in the womb not long after conception, both of you.” You were both silent, your ears fixated on his words, and eyes furrowed in shock.

“Jane was a very close friend of mine. She had a classified project called the Flower Garden. I was one of the only few people who knew about it...”

- Flashback -

“This is the Flower Garden, that’s what I call this place. In each of these rooms, there’s an expectant mother. They have willingly given up their unborn child to be a part of something bigger, something that will change the course of genetic evolution and human mutation as we know it. Each and every patient allowed me to experiment on their children 3 weeks to 2 months after conception. These children, my children, will be the most beautiful creatures to grace the planet. I was able to reverse any type of genetic imperfection that the baby may have and bend it to my will, replace bad genes with perfect ones.”

“You look shocked, say something.” She sighed, already seeing the disdain on his face.

“Jane, you-” He lightly grabbed her arm, taking her to a secluded corner.

“You’ve been genetically altering unborn babies? Are you serious? Doesn’t it harm the mother?”

“I have a Ph.D. in any science and medicine you can think of, I know what I’m doing. The baby’s state is not dependent on the mother, these are the purest form of my project, they’re perfect. And Dr. Kim, some of these babies would be parentless if it weren’t for my program.” She was starting to get upset now. “I have a woman here, she wasn’t prepared for a child, at all, she didn’t know what to do and I gave her a second option. Her child, he’s showing the most signs mutation. When he’s born, he’s going to be stunning, I can already tell.”

“How were you able to get this past the medical board or the government? These are fetuses your playing with Jane.”

“First of all, I’m not playing with them. They’re like my own flesh and blood, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt them. And second of all, a government official signed off on the program, he’s helping fund it.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I just- I don’t understand it.”

“Come with me, I want you to meet one of the mothers, she comes every other week.” She grabbed his hand and took him to one of the rooms. With a light knock, they entered the room.

“Hello, Dr. Sato.” The woman smiled, she looked about 4 months along.

“Hi, this is Dr. Kim, I wanted him to meet you.” She smiled, Dr. Kim greeted her politely. “I thought you’d be the best person to explain why you’re doing this, he doesn’t quite understand it.”

“Well, it’s simple really. I’m young, I didn’t expect to have to deal with a baby at 21, I didn’t want to get rid of him, that’s just not who I am…So, I went to an adoption clinic, that’s when I met Jane.” She paused. “She told me that he could live a life unlike any other. I didn’t understand then, but in my third trimester, I met a two-year-old who could calm anyone, with just a touch. It was unexplainable, and I thought, I could give my child a gift that some would change the course of humanity. That’s all it took for me to believe.” She smiled in content, a glimmer of joy in her eyes. “Jane’s doing something that nobody else has dared to do, and I trust her, all of us do.” Jane beamed with pride, she had built a connection with all of the parents.

“Little Yuuma is due in December, we’re thinking he’ll be a new years baby, but December 30th is the plan.”

- Flashback end -

Taehyung wore no expression, not a hint of emotion on his face and it made you feel awkward. He knew his birth mother was young and gave him up for adoption but he never knew the details. You were taken aback by his fathers words as well, the whole idea of a program based around experimenting on babies turns your stomach. You could see his confusion, it was hard to process all of this, you understood that more than anyone.

“So,” You interjected, “d- Did you know my parents? Their names were Winnie and Jun...”

Mr. Kim smiled. “Oh yes, they were good friends of Jane from college, they were two of the few the doctors and scientists willing to help with her research. They believed in her belief that through technological advancements, the idea of physical imperfections, chronic illness, genetic disorder or even the common cold can be made history through rigorous genetic and biological alterations. Mutating ill patients was phase one, phase two was taking hundreds of volunteers and testing on them until she gathered enough participants with the M2-gene.” He glanced at his son, then back at you.

“What’s an M2-gene?”

“It’s a genetic trait passed down to a handful of humans, it’s a sign of supernatural gifting if you will. Jane devoted the final project for her doctorate to prove it’s existence. All of the children in the Flower Garden had at least one parent who possessed the gene, and if not, if she caught it early enough she could create a synthetic replica of the gene and attach it to the fetus’s DNA strand.” He looked at you. “And Yves, that’s what your mother and Jane called you even when you hadn’t been born yet. But both names should be on your birth certificate. And Taehyung,” He looked at Tae who was off in his own world but looked up at his father,

“Jane had named you Yuma, a name I actually grew fond of when I’d come help take care of you on my off days.” He beamed at the lovely memory of Taehyung as a toddler. “But when I adopted you, in order to shield your identity, I had to change your name. She named all of the children actually, most names corresponding with the power they possessed.”

“All of them?” You furrow your brows. “How many of us are there?”

“Maybe 10, I never got the exact number. But the rest of them were sent all around the world with parents assigned to hide their identity, your the only known two in this country right now, at least that I know of.”

“Do you know what we’re capable of? Or why we’re connected? Because the more we’re around each other, the more I feel like our meeting isn’t a coincidence.” Taehyung was adamant about you and him having a connection, he could feel your energy, it gave him a slightly euphoric sensation—a sense of tranquility.

He made a thoughtful expression. “I don’t know, Jane said you two shared similar powers, your mothers had the same symptoms during their pregnancies. When you were born though, I used to hold you Taehyung, and I’d feel a calmness, Jane said it was one of your gifts, to emotionally influence. And Y/n,” He looked at you, “Jane kept you very hidden, so I’m not completely sure what you can do, I don’t even think she was that sure...” He spares Taehyung and you a sympathetic glance.

“I’m sorry you had to live so long without knowing son. I thought maybe keeping you from it would help him mold into society better, I wanted you to live a normal life.” Taehyung looked at his father, his aura was dim, his heart was heavy with remnants of guilt from keeping this from him. “I love you Taehyung, I just wanted to keep you safe.”

Taehyung was understanding, he was grasping this in the best way possible but you were a different story. He could read your emotions, it was like you didn’t know how to process it – you were in shock. He considered holding your hand to comfort you, but there was so much tense energy around you that he was afraid of what might happen if he touched you.

“I’m sorry Taehyung-”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You adopted me and gave me a life that I’m lucky to have, I’m thankful for you.” He touched his father's shoulder. “I wouldn’t have known what to do if I were in your position but I do know I wouldn’t be here without you.” He wore a kind, understanding smile that skillfully masked his current concern for your well-being.

It’s all sinking in.

Your parents, the two people in this world that were supposed to protect you and love you, gave you up for the love of their careers. How could anyone give up their unborn child to a project full of outlandish ideology and uncertain experimentation? You had always thought about your parents, in your mind, no matter what your uncle said, they had to have loved you. Every fiber of your being wanted to believe that they wanted the best—but how could you believe that now? You clenched your fists, were struck frozen with thoughts of your future, your past, even at this very second.

“Y/n,” Dr. Kim cleared his throat, relief in his calm expression. At the short bit of silence, glancing down at the of bag medicine he realized one of the reasons he came here. “I brought a few things for you.”

You’re eyes trail down to his bag. “I made these for Taehyung when he was young, they’re supplements. When he was a child, he would get overwhelmed and unable to control his abilities. Sometimes he’d get deficient in vitamins and other times his power would keep him up for no reason, he’d say he could see lights, even in the dark, he couldn’t control his ability then. I thought you might have a similar issue so I brought medicine that helps steady the heart rate.” He extends the bottle to you.

“Um,” You reach out your hand but hesitate, biting your lip, “I don’t see auras or anything like that, I think I’m okay.” That was a half-truth that Taehyung could easily see-through. “Thank you though.”

“I think you should try it, at least once.” Taehyung grabbed the bottle and sat it on the coffee table in front of you.

“But I’m not a child, it might not even work for me and I don’t have any trouble controlling my abilities.” Now that was a lie. Concealing your powers are not controlling them, the two are very different.

“Double the dosage.” He suggested. Your eyes cut to Taehyung, secretly despising his excessive attention to you and persistence.

“Alright then,” Dr. Kim stood up.

Yes, he’s leaving, you thought.

“I’m here if either of you needs anything, alright?”

“Alright, thank you.” You bid him farewell and Taehyung walked him out.

“Thank you for coming over,” Taehyung stood outside of the door to talk to his father in private, even though you could probably hear him, “and telling us all of that.”

“It was long overdue. After everything she’s gone through, I’m just glad she’s not alone. She seems like she’s had it pretty rough in life because of what she is.”

You walked into your bedroom, and you could still hear them talking but turned a deaf ear to it out of courtesy, it’s the polite thing to do. Today was quite an adventure. You went out into a city where the FBI is looking for you, just to get some clothes. You come back to Taehyung’s place to be met with his father who thought it was a grand idea to bring you some drugs. You rarely take medication, if ever. The occasional ibuprofen for a headache or tea and vitamins for a cold is fine, but drugs with words you can’t even pronounce? Not your forte.

There was so much going through your head right now. This is the first time you’ve ever heard the truth. The real truth. The truth about Jane Sato, your parents, and about how you came to be. You didn’t know if you were angry, sad, or just plain confused, it was a lot to take in.

Taehyung was still outside so you decided to go wash the day off of you and jump into your cozy blue PJs. You walked into the bathroom, cracked the door, and discarded your clothing. You threw your clothes into a small pile and hopped in the shower, letting the warm water run down your body.

Your eyes squeezed shut, you tried to push back your angry thoughts. You were feeling hurt, confused, flat out abandoned. The parents you had idolized, wished you had the chance to spend time with were the ones responsible for what you are. How could this be a gift? All it’s ever done is to bring you pain and suffering. It’s gotten you kicked out of your own home, fired, almost assaulted—and they thought making you this way was a gift? You couldn’t understand it. You’re not all human and the older you get, the more obvious that is.

When the front door closed, you heard Taehyung walk to his room and close the door. Not long after, you heard the water running in his shower. It was then that you realized you had been standing in this shower for quite a while, it’s about time you get out.

You reached for the shower nozzle to turn the water off, but your hand rested there for a few seconds before turning.

“Ah!” You jerked back and at the same time, you heard a shriek coming from the far end of the house and you cringed at the sound. The water went scalding hot all of a sudden. Dumbfounded, you quickly wrapped a towel around you and eyed the shower.

“What the heck was that...” You mumbled, going over to the counter to get your pajamas on. First the light bulb, the subway car, then this? Maybe I do need to take something... If you keep having incidents like this, there’s no way you can go out into the city and not get found out.

You walked out of your bedroom and walked up to his room door and knocked. “T- Taehyung?” Again, you knocked and the door opened.

You looked to see him in a dove white robe and he was patting his hair dry, his contacts were out too. He grinned. “Come in.”

For a moment, you just stared at him and it took a few seconds for you to hear him tell you to come in. When your feet started moving, that’s when you finally got a good look at his room—and you thought your room big. His room made your room look like a coat closet.

“About the water,” You stood awkwardly, trying not to look as he was slipping some clothes on with the bathroom door slightly open, “I heard you shout when the water got really hot,” You nibble your bottom lip, “I didn’t do it on purpose, I’m sorry.”

“That was you?” You nod. “I figured as much.”

He idly buttoned up his pajamas. “That’s not your fault, I’m sure it burned you too.” You went to the cozy love seat near the window where he had a brewed cup of herbal tea on a little table beside it.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I didn’t want to tell your father but ever since we met, I haven’t been able to control myself like I used to.” He reached over to the coffee table to get his tea and you suddenly stood up, standing in front of him.

Your brows knitted tightly. “Is the same thing happening to you? Because you don’t seem to have any visible problems.”

He took a seat on the edge of his bed. “I get an occasional migraine here and there, but other than that, I feel like having you around has actually been beneficial for me. I wish it was the same for you...” He took your hand, bringing it up to his lips.

“I’m feeding off of your energy and your powers are reacting.” He gazed into your eyes, drawing you into the abyss of his captivating orbs.

You scorn at the term, ‘powers.’

“Taehyung,” You frown, “you’re so content with all of this. I just found out my parents gave me to some sick doctor who made me- Made us into- I don’t even know...” You step away from him to sit on the edge of his bed.

“I don’t know how I feel about myself, I want to be okay with it but I’m not,” He turned to join you, laying across his bed, supporting his head with his hand.

“Out of all of your time knowing you had these abilities, did you ever once love something about it?” He grinned when you dropped on your back, laying a shy distance away from him.

“Love? It comes in handy sometimes but it used to get me in a lot of trouble. Movie theaters are a pain, I haven’t gone to one in years because all of the sounds hurt...Bright lights, smells, touches, it’s all amplified for me. I’m just lucky I can control that most of the time now. If I’m not careful I can burst light bulbs, mess with temperatures like I did to the water here, it’s kind of scary to live with because it’s so unpredictable, so I suppress it.”

He studied you with half-lidded pearly eyes. “You’re hypersensitive...I am too but it’s mainly just my sight.” For a split second, his eyes glimmer, almost intensifying the already luminous tones in it.

“Do you want to know what color you’re emitting right now?... You’re purple,”

He tight-lip grinned, eyes squishing from his happy cheeks, “I’ve noticed that whenever you’re relaxed, happy, or if you have one focused emotion, you’re this purplish hue. I’ve never seen it on anyone else before but I’m really drawn to it.” He rolled on to his stomach and crawled over to you slowly, not getting too close, he kept your personal space in mind.

“I have to be honest with you, I want to feel your energy in every way possible...” His wording was so very honest, it made you flush a little. “And it's amplified at night.”

You gulp. “I- I don’t think it’s smart to be near each other than,” You sheepishly confess, “we don’t know what could happen, y’ know? Like, um, because of our energies and everything... ”

“On the contrary, I think it would help us.”

Of course, he thinks it would help us.

“Of course you do.”

“No, I’m serious,” He whines, “when you’re asleep, your presence is blissful, it calms me.”

“You’re over-exaggerating.” You got up and stretched your arms. “I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Yves.” He purrs, a smirk ever so present on his lips. You abruptly exited the room, and to your distaste, he followed. Heat began to rise up to your cheeks and to the tips of your ears. You weren’t sure if it was from the annoyance of the name or the fact that your body’s out of whack—either way, you didn’t want to hear the name again.

You pause in your tracks, glaring back at him. “Don’t call me that.”

“That’s technically your name.” You didn’t even respond, what were you supposed to say? Legally, you aren’t even supposed to be in this country, so why go by technicalities?

You stand there, not breaking eye contact—for his eyes could possess you if you weren’t careful. You’d never admit it, but when you look at him, you can hear a little voice telling you to let go and let him in. You hate it and force yourself to ignore it.

“Y/n, I’ve been thinking and I want you to know that-”

Before he could finish that sentence, you were in your room with the door shut. All he could do was sigh, and stand in his living room. He was determined to be with you, to feel your energy even if you didn’t think you wanted it—he knew you were hiding it.

You sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed and lazily slipping your bunny bedroom shoes off. “Hugh...” Finally, some peace and-

Taehyung suddenly barged into the bedroom and you jumped back in surprise.

“You’re being rude.”

“What?- Rude?” You rise to your feet.

“Yeah, I was talking to you and you just walked away.” He up walked to stand right in front of you. “What is the matter with you?” For a moment he just stares at you as if to pry into your soul and uncover your secrets, he’s planning something, you can sense it.

During that stare off, you can practically see a light bulb come to his mind and you brace yourself. Thinking this night could hide no more surprises, you see him fiddling with the buttons on his pajamas. You panic of course – nononono, what is this — what is he doing? Your eyes widen to the size of saucers when he walks to turn the light off.

“Um, hey, Taehyung – what’re you doing? Tae,” You try to shield your eyes but your curiosity brings you back to his perplexing actions, “Oh my g-” His chest is now exposed and your cheeks go spread with red like a cherry bomb, “keep your shirt on, we’re not-” You stutter as he comes closer, “I-I’m not-”

“Shh, it’s not like that,” His tone is calm as he gets to the third or fourth button and stops, “you need to see this.” You’re still sitting on the edge of the bed as he towers above you, his gaze making you shake anxiously.

“W-what-...” He takes your hand and places on his warm, bare chest. And just to make sure you don’t move it, he kept his hand on yours. “I- I don’t understand.”

“Shh...” He shushes you for the second time and you finally get the memo to save your questions for later. His eyes fall shut with a breathy sigh, and when you finally take a peek your hands on his chest, you nearly leap out of your skin.

“Oh my god!” You squeal, “Oh my god, oh my gosh-” Luminescent veins began to brighten up from your fingers up to your wrist and so on, “What's happening?” You try to yank your hand away and that’s when his eyes opened, burning more vibrant than ever. Rather than telling you what was going on or releasing your hand, he uses his free arm to pull you against him.

“C- calm down and don’t move, please...” His voice trembled as if your movement pained him.

Your eyelids flutter shut and you fall limp in his embrace, you lost a fight to deep sleep. Not long after that Taehyung falls to sudden fatigue and drops back on the bed with a low thump to the mattress. Your still, unconscious form lying quietly on his chest.

Darkness.

Your eyes shoot open at a pang in your chest, you’re flat on your back and all there is to be seen is obscure nothingness.

You slowly look around as you carefully stand to your feet. Where am I. Physically, you felt no notable change but your mind felt as though you had transcended to another plane?

“H- Hello?” You flinch at the booming echo of your voice. You peered down to see you were still in your pajamas and barefooted.

“Where am I...”

With a bit of hesitation, you begin to walk around, still grasping on the sleeves of your top for dear life—that’s when you heard a voice that was definitely not your own. Hello?

You freeze dead in your tracks at the sound of a familiar resonating voice. His voice sounds as if it were a part of your consciousness. Where are you? His voice draws nearer and you start walking to where it might be coming from.

“Stay where you are,” You’re running now, eyes darting everywhere but the path in front of you. “I’ll come to you!-“

A force slammed into you at the same speed and you Taehyung. This is his fault. is suddenly in your line of sight and you quickly get up.

“What did you do?!”

“Why are you blaming me? I didn’t do this.” This felt weird, it was like he was floating but grounded on to something solid and it was holding him down. He frowned, he was just as surprised as you—he had intentions but this wasn’t one of them.

You couldn’t stop yourself from rolling your eyes at his profession. “Then why were you holding my freakin’ hand and body on your chest against my will? Huh? Explain.”

“I don’t know, I’ve never done this before.” He looked around, just as confused as you. He breathes, tilting his head at what he sees. “I just wanted to tap into your emotional psyche. You’re so tense sometimes and since I can feel it, and it’s uncomfortable, my intention was to level with you, relax you a little bit...” His words trail off. “Not do this, whatever this is...”

“I don’t like this...” You mumble arms wrapped firmly around yourself. At the shift in the air, you realize that he’s not as calm anymore.

“I think we’re in an alternative consciousness, a dream or something...” He walks past you, eyes focused on something behind you.

But there’s nothing behind me-

You gasp at the drastic switch in the once bleak scenery.

It’s an eerie room, dull green lights, bushels of flowers lining the newspaper-covered walls. Ivy hung loosely on the two windows with views you had never seen before. A little old television was mounted to the corner of the room and it glitched, nothing but a continuous replay of a distorted picture.

Cold. It’s ice-cold—freezing.

You’re standing in a shallow little body of water in the center of the room, it seemed bottomless, dark. Taehyung knelt in front of the small pool, dipping his hand in the water as if it were familiar. It’s coming to him now, the melancholic flowers, the oddly placed body of water—he’s seen this in a dream before.

“I’ve seen this before,” He stands to his feet, “in my dreams...I’ve been in this room.” You swallow, heart rate suddenly at the will of his words—his voice.

“Your dreams...” You repeat his words as you cautiously stepped out of the water, shivering at the cold surface you’re now standing on. “T-Taehyung, h- how do we get out of here? It’s freezing...”

“You’re cold? I feel fine.” He sounds surprised, but you were more shocked that his teeth weren’t chattering like yours. He walks to you to investigate, touching your goosebumps-covered arms. Concern etched into his expression. “You’re like ice...you’re trembling.” He wraps his arms around you, hoping to supply some type of heat for you. “Is that better?”

“Why aren’t you cold?-“

You let out a high pitched shriek of sheer agony and fall out of his embrace. The sound of glass shattering erupted in your ears like a bomb and you collapsed to your knees.

“I-it hurts!” Tears begin to well up in your eyes, “it hurts, it hurts!” You cover your ears with both hands, trying to shield out the sound, but it did little to nothing. You just cried and cried, begging for deliverance from the pain, “Make it stop!”

“I know it hurts,” He tries to remain cool and collected, “but we need to emulate what we did to get here in order to get out.” He tried to keep you still but you steadily rocked in a panic.

“Do you hear me?” You nod weakly before giving him your hand. Just as he did before, he placed your hand on his chest and pulled your bodies together in an embrace. He sensed your inner turmoil, your confusion for life, and the constant suppression—it’s trying to eat you alive.

“You need to breathe and relax, stop bracing yourself.” At this rate, it was about time to switch into a different gear and bring the pressure. “Calm down-”

You cry out. “I’m trying!-“

“No, you’re not!” His tone gives you unwanted chills. “I don’t want to force you to let your walls down, I’m trying to give you the freedom to do it yourself but you won’t do it. Do you want me to force you? Is that it? Because I swear I will if I have to, Y/n.”

Your blood is boiling at this point. It’s not easy to control yourself and he knows that.

“I am trying! It’s just not working!” You shoved him away and got out of his hold.

“This is unfair! How can you expect me to get out of here? I can’t control it! I don’t even know what it is!”

That'll do it.

Unbeknownst to you, your eyes speckled with fiery saffron and amber, a color change he had never even seen on himself. Warm energy began to course through his veins and engulf his senses, you’re close.

“That's good,” He praises you, “take that feeling and use it to focus on waking yourself up.” Despite your unstable state, he wrapped his arms around your waist. “We’ll do it together.” He swipes a finger across your jaw and you lean into him, eyes fluttering as you breathe in.

Heeding his instructions, you shut your eyes, concentrating all of your energy on breaking out of this.

Light.

You feel the warmth of soft light and you reach out to it—your eyes shot open and you're laying on Taehyung, who is still holding onto your hand for dear life. You breathe in relief, pressing your head against him in search of physical proof of your arrival back to the real world. Sure enough, Taehyung's heart is beating and he exhales lowly under you. If you're honest, you're very thankful for him right now. If he wouldn't have pushed your buttons the way he did, who knows how long you could've been trapped in there.

"Taehyung." You pulled your hand out of his grasp and shake him lightly. "Wake up, I'm back, it worked." His eyes remain shut, you start to panic a little.

"Hey, wake up! I didn't come back here to be by myself. Come back, can you hear me!?" You pat his cheek lightly.

"Ah, don't do this to me. Are you seriously still in there? How? Wake up! I can't go back in there so I need you to wake up so I don't want to do something stupid to get you up. Please."

Nothing. He's as still as a log and you're faced with two choices; try to go back in there with him, or do something to him to wake him up.

"I'll splash you with water," That might work, "yeah, that might wake you up-" Just as you try to leave the bed you're pulled back and met with his goofy smile.

"You were trying to wake me up so you don't have to be alone,” He coos, “you do have a heart."

"I can’t believe you- Taehyung, we're not doing that again." You’re half relieved and half disappointed that he’s back.

"Are you kidding? We have to understand what it is. It must be unique to our bond so eventually, we should go back." He speaks so casually about it.

"Well, not any time soon." You shake your head. "Go back to your room Taehyung," You dismiss his teasing and crawl up to get under your covers.

"No," He gets up close to you, "you know if I leave, I might eventually come back. To avoid the trip, I'll just stay, if that’s okay..." Disregarding your wishes to sleep alone, he crawls in bed beside you.

"You don't have to pretend like you hate it, I can feel your feelings, you’re relaxing because I’m close to you." He pulls you to your side to face him. He can feel your feelings. That should have crossed your mind given how many times he's said it but it hasn't. It made you wonder, how do you make him feel? Though you hide it, you do care for Taehyung and you have feelings for him, but they're feelings that connect you to him against your will, that's why you fight it.

"Is this okay?" He had to ask, "I do want you to be comfortable with this..." Your heart lurches at the thought that he wanted you to consent to this above all.

"Y- Yeah, it's fine..." He soothes a hand on your head, "This is something-" You pause, scratching that sentence. "Nevermind..." You trail off.

"No, don't do that, talk to me," His eyes soften, "I like when you talk to me about how you feel, it makes me feel closer to you..." He bats his lashes sleepily, "You were saying?..."

"This is something I've never experienced before, being emotionally and physically close to someone...You seem to be adjusting fine but I'm a mess. And even though I try not to show it, I want to connect with you. I try so hard to ignore it but I feel like I shouldn't anymore, after what just happened..." His lips parted, eyes not leaving you for a second. "I've been unfair to you, and I'm sorry. This is new for you too and you're just doing what's instinctive in your DNA." You shy away from his intense eye contact, it made you nervous.

"I- I've always been lonely,” You stutter, “my whole life, and no ones ever showed me this much attention before.” The more it comes to the light, the more you realize how misshapen you are the aspects of human relationships. “You’re the closest thing I've ever felt to love..."

“Then I want you to always remember this...” He firmly presses his lips to yours, he moves to cup your jaw and you twitch. He’s warm, intoxicating, everything he longed for you to feel—you were feeling it right now.

The proximity alone was enough to have you melting into his touch. He slides his lips against yours with an audible sound and cocks his head to the side. The mutual feelings in the air added to the intimacy, the tight coil building up in your chest as you smile into the kiss. He's leaning into you, tasting and cherishing the shy nibbles you take on his bottom lip. A thumb swipes a stray tear from your cheek and you gently pull away, eyes finding his with a timid glance. He presses soft kisses under your ear, hands snaking around your waist as he erupts in a sweet fit of giggles. Abashed, you clear your throat and divert your eyes.

"Look at me,” He sees the weary look in your eyes and quickening of your breath. “I'm just happy we're together, I feel like I'm complete with you. You’re the part of me that I've been missing my whole life, and that's not just my genus talking, we're meant to have each other and there's no doubt in my mind that I'm really starting to love you..."

His words were entirely sincere. Even for the considerably short time, he’s known you, he knew he never wanted to go another day without you. The burning desire he had for you would not allow him to go on without you. He wanted you to know, that even after the arguments, tension, painful sentiments, he could say those three words—I love you.

To say it so loosely might ward you away so he held back, but it came out, not caring about your reaction. You can't lie, you tend to doubt a majority of things that seem too good to be true. But this is different, he has proven himself trustworthy and that soothes your worries more so than anything else. Taking was a nice change, you had never done that so much before getting involved with Taehyung. But it makes you feel lighter. Like the weight of your troubles weren't pounding on your back, it's freeing. Being with him is freeing, it feels natural to have him near you. You're meant to be together and your body's responses prove that.

The electricity coursing through your body only amplifies when you're with Taehyung. Even though you don't know much about your powers, it becomes painful the more you try to suppress it, especially around him. Since he said he basically feeds off of you like a source of energy, that might be why it's getting harder to suppress it, he's drawing it out.

The heart monitor beeped, the constant sound becoming a part of the white noise. The patient laid peacefully, lashes fluttering at the cool air coming from the air vents. She turned off the light, leaving the room with a quiet shut of the door.

She went back to the office, dreading a load of files to sort through. When she walked in, it was clear by the stack towering as high as a foot that she'd hand this off to an intern or something. She has better 'things to worry about than dosage instructions. Like she's done many times before, she begins to sort through the patients and put them on the hand-off table in the corner.

Knock knock. There's a knock at the door, "Who is it?" Before she can grant entrance, he casually walks in, that gray suit being as recognizable as wine on white.

"Jane." He smiles.

"Nelson," She relaxed at his arrival, "I thought you were gonna drop by in the morning, this is a surprise."

"I was in the area so I thought I'd pay you a visit." He slid a hand into his pocket as she walked over to take a seat on the little couch by the window. "How are you?"

"Fine." She replied simply, not looking t elaborate any further— the small talk was never a favorite of hers.

"Did you see the news from this morning?" He went to sit across from her. "I had an interview."

"I did, but I only caught a few minutes of it, your interview was good."

"Yes, it came out well. Have you read any articles or tabloids about the project?"

"I try not to read about it too much anymore, it just disgusts me how they distort my work the way they do, I can’t bear to read it anymore."

"That's understandable." He nods, eyes trailing from his hands to her gaze that's on the window. "But, there's something I know you’ll be happy to hear. We found one, a child of the Flower Garden."

She freezes, eyes glued to the image of the skyline through the window. He's said this before she got her hopes up, and they were wrong. She saw it foolish to take his word for it this time.

"You've said that before Nelson, I'm not getting my hopes for nothing-"

"We have proof, Jane. She works for one of the fortune 500's, and since those big companies have a list of policies regarding SRMA clearings, we were able to weed out suspicious people. She has never gotten cleared, in fact, she ignored all of the cities warnings to get cleared. As a result, I sent a federal agent out there to make sure she got cleared but she ran from him."

"That still doesn't prove anything, if they scare anyone I'm sure that person might run..." She wasn’t buying it.

He feels through his pockets for a moment, then shows her a photo. “This is her.” There you stand, smiling for an ID badge and she nearly loses all ability to comprehend. She inspects the photo with a hand on her chest to keep from tearing up, it can't be.

Yves, her life's work lives.

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