Not meant to be

He mimed a ring on a finger, and raised brows in little mischief, eyes never leaving Yoongi’s. The small nod of confirmation from Yoongi came, unshed tears hiding the agony behind it.

In response, Taehyung wore his trademark broad smile, using every ounce of strength left in him. His hands came up again and then together, forming a heart and complimenting the couple. “A perfect match” his gestures and lips seemed to say, even as his soul felt like it left the body for now.

Jinho returned the smile sweetly, oblivious to the pain Taehyung’s smile hid. Yoongi’s eyes stayed glued on Taehyung, regret and pain mingled. Taehyung bowed for a final time and stepped outside, onto the steps, in the rain. Struggling to open his umbrella, he let the tears fall as the rain masked his face.

Emotions inside him were as fierce as the storm on the outside, winds and raindrops lashing on his face. He gave up on the umbrella and started to walk away from the guesthouse. Suddenly, he felt the raindrops not fall on his face anymore. Yoongi was there, holding an umbrella over him. Taehyung jolted as if lightning had run through him. Pulled by an invisible thread, Yoongi ran behind him calling “Aehyun” but to no avail. As Taehyung reached his bicycle, Yoongi held onto his arm which he jerked away, tears covering his face entirely. They stood there, in the middle of the road, under a single umbrella.

“Why?” Taehyung’s eyes questioned him as his heart felt like it would explode out. He stood there, pointing to the car, probably the one Jinho came in, gesturing the ring, miming that she was beautiful, educated, and rich, just like Yoongi. And what did he have, A broken umbrella, a torn jacket, a stitched-up shoe, and a tattered bicycle? His gestures were much louder than they had ever been, clearly communicating the frustration and pain.

“Look at you, look at your life…” Taehyung signed, calming down a bit. “Of course, why should you and why would you choose me? I will never understand what you talk about, I will never read the same books.”

Suddenly, Taehyung made piercing eye contact, forcing Yoongi to make one and stay there. “Why then? Why did you kiss me? Why did you give me hope?” His hands and body shook with each word his hands spelled out—anger, sorrow, and heartbreak taking up the space between them.

“Aehyun..” Yoongi wanted to just comfort him, say something. And that didn't help much. Taehyung’s dam broke the entirety of emotions, taking over, and the tears pent inside finally found a way out. He stood there with his bare soul, while Yoongi could only stand and watch him crumble.

Yoongi’s hand fell from Taehyung’s shoulders as he turned and walked away. Walked away from Yoongi. The hands, which said everything with fervor a while ago, now hang limply by Taehyung’s sides. His fingertips still moved, very tiredly, maybe with an inner monologue he was having. He dared not to look back, where Yoongi still stood, more like rooted. But Taheyund did. He did look back.

“Be happy, Yoongi. Always be very happy.” Taehyung whispered to himself, words unspoken but felt. He willed Yoongi to feel these words.”Find joy in marriage and life.”

With rain as his only companion, Taehyung rode on, the image of Yoongi still etched in his mind and a beautiful love story in his heart. “I will maybe have a good story to tell the village kids one day as their Ajhussi.” Taehyung smiled to himself as he headed towards his home.

That rainy night, as he crossed the Jeon estate, Jungkook stood in the window, mesmerized by the dance of raindrops against the glass. He had been standing there for probably hours; he never really had the sense of time for that one. With a snow globe in his hand, he kept inverting it and then saw the snow settle in the snow globe against the backdrop of rain. At one point, he saw an inverted image of a man riding a bicycle. As Jungkook moved the snow globe away, he saw Taehyung. He kept following the bicycle till his vision allowed and when Taehyung moved away from his vision, he moved back to the snowglobe.

It was nearly 10:30 pm and Taehyung’s dad was fast asleep. Taehyung himself had a bunker bed for kids on the mezzanine floor built to give some sense of space to the other’s house. Instead of crawling up to his bed, he crawled next to his dad. No questions were asked as his dad gave him a tight hug and he slept with his head on Sunghun’s chest.

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