chapter fifteen. [unedited]

  jeongguk awoke by the rays of sun as they peeled through the small man-made windows of the treehouse. he had never slept so well in such a small, compact area on a hard floor. the blankets cushioned him, but he did have a slight crick in his neck. he stretched his arms upward and turned to his left, keeping his body up by leaning on one arm.

  taehyung was still pressed against the pillow, his lips puckered open as he hugged onto part of the blanket. the sun had not affected him yet. jeongguk looked around in curiosity. the treehouse was well kept, although it seemed to scream "taehyung's treehouse!". he flopped back down into the pillow mound and threw his leg over the sleeping boy. taehyung stirred along with this added weight, his eyes opening and squinting due to the sunlight glaring at him.

"mm, it-it's so early." jeongguk watched patiently as the tired taehyung slurred over his early morning words. he would protest the idea of rising from the covers and being productive, and jeongguk found it endearing to say the least. "go back to-" a long pause. "sleep."

  jeongguk sighed, looking out of the window once more. sure, it was early and his brother must have been worried sick- his brother! jeongguk stood up quickly, almost losing balance if it weren't for a speedy hand grabbing ahold of his leg to help guide him upwards. taehyung lazily and groggily turned onto his back, hands finding their way behind his head as he watched jeongguk flail to get going.

  "where are you off to?"

  brother worried. jeongguk signed quickly, and taehyung frowned at the first word. he had not known what that meant, but he knew that someone jeongguk knew would be worried. "you hardly know your way here, let me take you to a bus stop at least."

  jeongguk paused to think, then he nodded. the black haired, mute boy grabbed taehyung's hand and pulled him from the treehouse. the sleepy boy stumbled down the ladder and jogged through the thick woods to keep up with the fast jeongguk. taehyung smiled lazily as he watched jeongguk run in the woods. it was almost freeing, the wind in his hair as he leapt over a thin creek.

  "wait up!" taehyung ran to catch up with him, enclosing their hands together and running at a more, slowed pace now. jeongguk eyed the boy dangerously, his eyes narrowing into slits. "you're so-" a heavy pant, "so fast to leave. you didn't even consider on which way you need to go to get out of this place." taehyung's chest heaved, clearly exhausted from all the exercise. it made jeongguk smile softly.

  you're right, i'll enjoy the moment, with you.

  jeongguk felt sneaky arms wrap solely around his waist. the air cold and bitter around them, the wind lightly dancing on their peach colored faces, more tan now due to the sun. taehyung felt something pull, more like a gravitational pull towards the pretty red faced boy in front of him. jeongguk's lips parted, almost expectingly. taehyung slid his hand up to the boy's neck, feeling his muscles tense underneath his delicate touch.

  it's like his touch held some sort of remedy, a healing power, that felt like he was making everything better. taehyung exhaled, pulling the boy from his neck and forward to his lips. they connected for a blissful second or two, before parting again to stare at each other.

"it's always good to stop and appreciate the beautiful things." taehyung mumbled in the cold air, pulling the boy close. "and as beautiful as you are- i would never miss that opportunity. i'm sorry if i'm coming on too strong. i just, i really like you jeongguk."

  i like you too.

  taehyung drew back a little, a smart smile crossing his features. "really? i figured you just kissed me cause' you felt bad for me!" taehyung laughed out loud. jeongguk hit his chest playfully and shook his head, leaning in to connect their lips again.

-

  when jeongguk knocked upon his brother's apartment door, he was lunged at immediately. the air was knocked out of his body as he fell back into the wall. "oh my god! you fucking rebellious teenager! you scared the shit out of me." yugyeom curled his hands around his brother's face and pulled his close, closer than he usually hugged him. "besides you're almost late for your appointment."

  
  jeongguk knew what yugyeom was talking about, this dumb speech therapy counseling session that he had signed his younger brother up for. it was not the most exciting thing in his life at the moment, there were many others. like kissing taehyung in his treehouse, or kissing him in the woods. yet if he could finally speak a single word to taehyung, he would be thankful for the sessions.

-

  the session was held in one of those facilities that looked like a maze. yugyeom held his hand as they marched onward toward the reception it looked like. a lady sat there patiently, smiling up at them with white mirrors for teeth. yugyeom hurriedly signed him into their system itself so he could schedule later appointments. jeongguk looked around, and everything was merely simplistic to say the least.

  when they finally brought jeongguk back to one of the offices, he was allowed to sit in a leathery, red colored chair. it surely was a fancy and futuristic place in his eyes. "hello, jeongguk. i will be your doctor for these speech sessions. i'm dr. park, but i prefer to go by jiyeon." she'd smile widely, sitting down behind her own desk. "now, if you'll either sign it, or write it, i wish to hear all about your backstory. perhaps we can discuss the memory of your scar appearing? or perhaps the events which led to that point- if it's too traumatic for you to write, we can just skip to the lessons. i just like to learn my patients to cater to them better!"

  jeongguk nodded, lifting a blue ink pen and began to scribble down how it all happened.

i was quite young, and i wasn't expecting any of this. it was a normal day, and the only difference being the absence of my mother and my brother. i was brought along by my father, during the night. it was raining and storming that day. i remember that so clearly...

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