liงiຖ' ຟith thē ēຖē๓ฯ

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This morning, unlike the others, doesn't come with a rejuvenating vitality. Instead, it is dull and gloomy, but most importantly, it feels incomplete.

You don't hear the crinkle of utensils your mom usually makes while preparing breakfast for the family. Neither do you hear the splish and splash of running water from your father's car washing session? And the loud, annoying ruckus your brother makes in the shower, where is that? All you hear is silence.

You lie on the bed, nicely tucked under the covers but you are wide awake. Your eyes roam over every nook and cranny of the bland room but your mind doesn't acknowledge any of the view for it is far too distracted to concentrate.

Is this how it's gonna be from now onwards, silent and lonely?

Staying was your choice, now dealing with this solitude is a consequence you have to face. No matter how much it hurts you, risking your family's safety is not an option and it's never going to be.

The clock strikes nine already but you don't feel any urge to get out of the bed, abandoning the comfort of the soft mattress against your skin. Why will you when there are no more commitments for you to address? It's not that you are returning to school anytime soon. So what's the point of getting up anyways? You have 24 hours but you got no pending tasks up your sleeves. You practically have all the time and nothing to do. Is it good or bad? You don't know.

You thrash around in bed, digging your hands under the pillow in search of your phone, but then you realize something. You had dropped it in your backyard when Taehyung kidnapped you a day ago.

How did I spend so much time without my phone?

Oh yeah, vampires....

As more minutes drift away you grow more and more bored, to the point where you'd rather do a math problem than just sit idle. Without your phone or any other gizmo to provide entertainment, small seconds feel like eternities. Not to forget the anxieties that the infuriating silence brings.

This is so fucking annoying...

The bed no longer provides a comforting warmth to your skin, instead it feels parching and bothersome. You drop down from the mattress, quite literally, and stride your way to the closed door, ready to do whatever it takes to make this abundant time you're henceforth forth cursed with, run fast.

Its now 9.30 and you are already done with your morning chores. Lucky for you there's an attached washroom in the vampire's den and you got to clean up before you have your encounter with the aforementioned. Its not that you care about your appearance in front of Taehyung or something, you just prefer to always freshen up before you start socializing for the day.

Lets see, what do prisoners do in jail? Umm.....yes, they do chores. I can't believe I'm saying this but right now, even doing chores seems better than doing nothing......

Unlocking the shabby-looking shoji doors (traditional Japanese sliding doors), you walk up to the living room only to be greeted with an unexpected panorama. Taehyung is sleeping on the dusty old couch, his body all crunched up in uncomfortable angles and his feet dangling from the edge. He is too big for the chair.

It is absurd because the condominium has three distinct bedrooms, one that you spent the night in and two other right across the hallway. Though those two has remained locked ever since you got here, Taehyung, being the keeper of the place, must have the keys. Then why didn't he crash into the other room instead of making himself fit into the sofa?

The apprehensive look on Taehyung's face from sleeping like that kindles some pity in you but you don't pay much heed to it. After all, he is a vampire, a broken rib is as puny as a paper cut to him. What harm can sleeping on a couch even do?

Ignoring the snoozing boy in the living room, you make your way into the kitchen. You haven't eaten anything in the last couple hours. If you don't put anything inside your stomach very soon, it might come out and revolt. Thus, despite the place being far away from hygienic, you overlook all those minuscule details and walk straight to the refrigerator.

Let's see......wha-!?

Contradicting the rest of the kitchen, the fridge remains astonishingly clean, sarcastically speaking. Apart from a few expired beer cans and a bunch of water bottles, the only other thing that procures its presence in the refrigerator is a half-eaten sub that luckily doesn't seem ancient.

This just keeps getting better and better...

Sighing deeply under your breath you look around in search of anything that you can work with but there's none. The Leaning Tower of Pizza beside Taehyung's couch now makes much more sense.

Feeling defeated and extremely hungry, you march straight to the sleeping vampire cause you are left with no other choice. On reaching the couch. You tug on Taehyung's sleeve to wake him up. Nonetheless, your efforts go futile when the latter lets out a loud snore before turning around and nudging his face into the soft backrest. You tug harder and even try to shake him awake but nothing seems to work and Taehyung continues to sleep like the walking dead he is.

With your every attempt scoring failure, a brilliant idea then suddenly graces your mind.

Taehyung in his sleep had his mouth slightly open. And you use that to your advantage quite judiciously. You take a quick detour to the kitchen and grab a chunk of ice from the freezer before running back to the snoring vamp. You hit the ice to the floor breaking it into parts, one of which is a tiny but pointy shard. You pick that very piece up and very quickly prick your finger with it, drawing out a few drops of blood. Once you've gotten like three-four drops, you pour drop by drop the crimson liquid into Taehyung's mouth.

The puddle of gore seeps down Taehyung's tongue and you watch as the vampire unconsciously drinks the liquid before jolting awake, his face severely contorted because of the bitter taste at the back of his throat.

"Yuck, what was that? What did you do?"

Though annoyed, his languid voice gave away glimpses of his lingering exhaustion and his slurry whines made him sound like a child deprived of his dear nap.

"Nothing, just fed you my blood" with a feigned innocence you coat your gestures, eyes blinking with a feigned gullibility that in your head is actually non-existent. With that, you place your finger inside your mouth to seal up the would faster. 

"Why?" asks an offended Taehyung only to be hit by your nonchalance.

"To wake you up....duh! Its not my fault that you didn't wake up when I called you like a civilized human being" you shrug indifferently making Taehyung look at you as if you are an alien.

"So you decide to pour some nasty liquid into my mouth!? You could have just used water"

"That didn't seem evil enough"

"What about the beer in the fridge? That's bitter too"

"That's expired dude-"

"So am I!"

"Oh yeah.....I forgot about that" you let out a slightly embarrassed giggle, clearly amused by his antics.

"From tonight onwards, I'm sleeping with a face mask on" Taehyung's deep sleepy voice have already went up a few semitones, the slumber in his eyes mostly gone.

You choose to end your fair share of argument but not before ridiculing the annoyed vampire. You mock his upset actions by moving your mouth to imitate his words which by the way angers him even more but he lets it go with an eye roll. Mockery is the last and most effective weapon in most arguments and now that you've used it against him, poor Taehyung found nothing else to say.

"Well, now that you are awake, get me some food, I am HUNGRY!" after some moments of a distracting silence, you finally get to the point. Taehyung had just turned around to probably go back to sleep but with your words, he swivels right back and gives you an 'are you kidding me' look.

"If you are hungry then go back home and ask your mommy to make you food-"

"You know I can't do that.....please......I'm so hungry, I didn't eat anything since you brought me here!"

For a second there you see something twitch in his eyes, some sort of emotion. But before you can decipher what it is, Taehyung efficiently hides it. A bored pout sits on his lips as he glares at you with apathy, no words spoken.

You stare at him right back, but your gaze, unlike his, holds urge. You are well aware that your presence is not appreciated here. You know you are barging into Taehyung's privacy. But you are doing this for your family, the people you care for. And after the love and support they have bestowed you with over the years, you are willing to bear the humiliation for them. In fact, if it ensures your family's welfare, you'll readily lose your life in Namjoon's hands.

Maybe that's what I should do, problem solved right?

Taehyung doesn't say anything else, he just looks away refusing to lock eyes with you. Judging from his actions you sigh deeply, believing that he isn't going to help. However, just as you are about to dejectedly walk into the room, his baritone voice booms from behind.

"Do you want me order a pizza?"

No, you don't want pizza but the fact that he asks makes a smile involuntarily appear on your face. Maybe he is not that bad, after all.

"NO.....I don't want to have fast food, it's unhealthy and it's expensive.......just take me to the grocery store and I'll get something good" you shrug excitedly, already planning in your head what you might cook. His next words put a stop to it.

"I am not taking you anywhere"

"Why?"

"Because I don't wanna deal with Namjoon, right now" he grumbles matter of fact-ly.  He's right though to not take you with for it'll ensure your own safety. And you understand that quite well.

"Fine.....then you go get me some......bread, eggs and milk......and yeah, salt and sugar......and also some oil......you seem to have nothing in here" you put on a pout while peeping into the kitchen to assess your speculation. That place sure is a mess.

"Jeez woman, how much food do you need?" Taehyung grants you a judging look before he reaches for his wardrobe inside the bedroom and grabs his wallet.

"It's not just for me you know..." you mumble as a response but the faraway Taehyung barely catches it.

"What was that?" he asks but you just shrug him off.

"Nothing"

"You are weird.......I'll bring you the stuff but don't forget, you owe me for this"

"Big time"

Taehyung disappears behind the door leaving you alone in his apartment once again. You look around and heave a raspy sigh, the next chore knocking at the door.

"This should be fun..."

└──» To Be Continued ✎ 。