With his lips pressed together and a frown that screamed pain, Taehyung made a wan attempt to get back on his feet. Breathing heavily while struggling, he somehow managed to pull himself off the cold floor and open the door so he could get the hell out of there.

His head was still spinning from the abrasive bang as he swayed his way out of the building. He almost toppled over from the continuous hammering he felt, but with a few deep pulls of air, he contained the pain and his heart decelerated its rapid pulse.

He ran a soft hand through the abused spot and sighed in relief when he didn't see blood on his fingers. I'm okay. It's gonna be okay.

Taehyung always reassured himself like this since he didn't have anyone to do it for him. His hyung who was supposed to protect him from every evil was the reason for his suffering, and his parents who were supposed to do the same didn't even concern themselves with him.

He couldn't tell them anything, anyway — Jongwon's threats were always so terrifying they didn't give any other choice to the young boy except for complying with his every word.

He could only rely on his friend, his best and only friend he knew since high school. Jimin had moved to Seoul from Busan then, and he instantly bonded with him. Although Taehyung was a bit distant at first, Jimin turned out to be a loyal, supportive friend, and he couldn't be happier about it.

Jimin was there in everything he went through and always tried to help him as much as he could. He had met Jongwon as well, and even though he wanted to beat the shit out of him, he couldn't. Jongwon was almost double his size and only his glowering stare was enough to scare him to the bone. He hated it so much that he couldn't do anything to help him get out of this living hell, but he made sure to always give him comfort and be there for him.

After a long ride with the bus, Taehyung arrived at the cafe he was supposed to meet his friend. He spotted him a few seconds later, sitting at a table far away from the entrance. The corner of his lips twitched into a weak smile as he made his way to him. "I'm sorry for being late," he breathed out as he wrapped his arms around him.

"Don't worry about it, Taetae." Jimin smiled fondly as he returned the hug. "Are you okay, though? You don't seem okay."

A sigh escaped his lips as he sat across from him, his expression becoming gloomy rather fast. "Jongwon."

Jimin could only give him a sympathetic, sad look at his plain statement. "Why did he hit you this time?"

"He told me to clean the house, go grocery shopping, and cook tomorrow, and I said that I don't have time to do all that because it's my first day at work tomorrow."

"I don't understand why he can't just clean himself. He's the one who always makes the living room a mess. You don't even sit there at all!"

"I don't know either." Taehyung cast his gaze down, fiddling with his hands. The server flashed up in front of them a few seconds later, and after placing their order and thanking him, he trod away.

"I should have asked him for some ice. My head is killing me," Taehyung murmured as he squinted his eyes at the sharp pain that pierced through his head once again.

"I'll be right back." Before he could even protest, Jimin was on his way to the bar, and as he said, he was right back with a few ice cubes wrapped in a towel. "They didn't have anything else."

"That works fine, thank you." Taehyung smiled warmly as he grabbed the towel and placed it on the throbbing spot with gentle moves.

"So it's your first day at work tomorrow. I forgot about it."

"It's reasonable. Even I almost forgot about it." A few soft chuckles were heard from both. "They were renovating the place for almost three weeks and it opens tomorrow."

"Oh, so there's gonna be some grand party or something? Should I come?"

"Of course! But I'll be serving so I won't be able to sit with you."

"It's okay. I'll call Taemin."

A wave of discontent flashed in his eyes at his remark. "Not this again."

"What? He's a nice guy," Jimin defended him, crossing his arms as his bottom lip peeked out in a pout.

"He's an asshole."

"Just because he ignored me once or twice—"

"The word you're looking for is countless—"

"Shut it." Jimin pouted even harder, looking away from him.

"Chim, you know I love you, and I can't see you follow him around like a puppy. He doesn't care. He only calls you when he doesn't have anyone else, and you know he just wants to get in your pants. You'll always come second to him no matter what you do, and it's not your fault. It's his. He should man the fuck up and let you go instead of playing with your feelings, and you should stop tolerating his awful behavior towards you."

A sad frown was etched on Jimin's features as he listened to his friend, and even though he hated it, he knew he was right. "I know, okay? I just... I finally want to find someone. I miss being in a relationship."

"I get what you're saying, really. But Taemin isn't that someone. Please stop because you'll end up hurt, and I don't want you to suffer because of him. You deserve someone who'll put you first. Someone who'll be crazy about you and not just for your body."

A short silence followed as Jimin gave him a soft smile. "Thank you for always being so honest. I'll ask the guys from my dance group if they wanna join."

"I know I'm harsh at times, but I just wanna protect you." Taehyung's voice dropped slightly as the server appeared with their drinks. "Thank you," both boys said kindly.

"Enjoy." With that, the server disappeared, leaving the two alone again.

"It's after seven and you're drinking coffee," Taehyung stated with a faint chuckle, shaking his head.

"You know I like coffee. And because we practice for so many hours, I don't have any problem sleeping at night." Jimin shrugged and took a sip, then smacked his lips, tasting the bittersweet brew. "They make good coffee here."

"And they make good iced chocolate." Taehyung giggled and slurped his drink, his cheeks pulling entirely inwards since the substance was thick and frozen.

Jimin chortled as he snatched his phone and took a picture of his adorable friend in no time. Once he just glanced at the results, he burst out laughing, almost folding in half as he slapped his hand on the table.

"Yah! Stop making fun of me." Despite his huffy tone, he placed his drink down and grabbed his phone to look at the picture. And they were left laughing about it for a little while, and Taehyung felt once again so grateful that he had a friend like him.

"What time is the opening tomorrow?"

"At three. But we have to go two hours earlier because the boss wants to talk to us."

"We finish practice at five tomorrow, so we'll come around seven if they're in."

"Yeah, that's great." A grin popped up onto Taehyung's face as having his best friend there would be a big support for him since he was nervous.

"You'll do great, Taetae. I can feel how worried you are, but please don't be. It's a good opportunity to meet new friends as well," Jimin pointed out with hopeful eyes. He loved being Taehyung's best friend, and he would always be his best friend, but besides him, he didn't have anyone else. And if for whatever reason he couldn't be there at a moment Taehyung would need him, he didn't want him to be completely alone.

"I don't like meeting new people," Taehyung mumbled with a sigh as he lowered his hand with the ice and left it on the table.

"Just be open if someone approaches you and try making small talk. You'll be working with them, anyway. And maybe you can even find a boyfriend," he sing-songed, a suggestive smile dangling on his lips.

Taehyung snorted bitterly as he dragged his eyes down that filled with gloom in a heartbeat. "How can I even trust someone after what Hosun did?"

"Come on, just because he cheated on you doesn't mean everybody will. It was his problem and not yours. He was a piece of shit."

"He was cheating on me with my former best friend. For over a month. He was saying he loves me, and then he was fucking Dejon." Anyone would be able to discern the hurt in his tone and gaze. That happened two years ago, but still, the deep, bruising scars he had left behind when he dumped him haunted him and even impeded him from trusting another human being that easily or overall.

"I know, I was there. I remember how devastated you were, but Taetae, not everyone is like him. There are a lot of assholes. I'm even dealing with one right now"—a heavyhearted chuckle slipped out of his mouth—"but that doesn't mean there aren't any good guys out there. We just have to be patient, I guess. Even if you don't admit it, I know you want to find someone and—"

"Yah, I don't."

"You think you don't because you don't want to do everything all over again," Jimin softly said, giving him a comforting smile with his words. "You don't want to meet someone, fall in love, give him your trust, and have your heart broken again. But not all relationships end in the same way. Just because your ex cheated doesn't mean the next will do that as well. You can't know what will happen, but if you don't try, you'll never know.

"Do you want to be alone forever just because you're afraid of getting hurt again? You have to get hurt and make mistakes so you can learn and grow and become stronger. But you shouldn't let your past experiences stop you from trying new things and meeting new people and falling in love. I'm just saying that if you don't try, you're gonna be alone forever. And I know you don't want that."

The fluffy-haired boy let his friend's one hundred percent true words wash over him in silence. But even though he was right in everything he said, did Taehyung really have a place in his obliterated, dolorous life for love?

⚜✳⚜

A short chapter for you to know more things about Taehyung's background✨

I really want to get to the good stuff so I'll publish another chapter later to get a bit closer😊