Chapter Text
“You found parts of me I didn’t know existed and in you I found a love I no longer believed was real.”
They say you only fall in love with three people in your lifetime.
Taehyung thought about it a lot when he was younger, his mother being the first to tell him about it as she helped him lace up his boots for school. He was nine then, unknowing of the different kinds and depths of love that could exist within a person’s heart.
What he did know of love was the love that prevailed in his family, the love where he loved everyone and everyone loved him. That love was warm and fluffy and everything Taehyung needed to sustain him for the rest of his life.
What he didn’t know of love was everything else and all the things in between. He was unaware of the sacrifices that can be made when it comes to love, the danger of giving yourself and your heart away to someone else, the vulnerability that could make or break you.
Taehyung was absolutely clueless, but he was full of love even then. He blessed everybody with a smile, brimming with so much happiness and joy that nobody could resist smiling back at him no matter what. He pet every single animal he walked past with no hesitance, made friends with all the neighbours in the building he lived in, made sure to greet whoever he met, was gracious and absolutely adored by everyone.
Even at the tender age of nine, Taehyung was already the epitome of lovely - a little boy with everything good in the world bundled up inside of him. Many praised him, speaking highly of him whenever asked. Everybody said that he’d grow up wonderful.
The first time Taehyung felt pain because of love was when his grandmother passed away. Namjoon held him throughout everything, his older brother understanding of the special bond only his younger brother seemed to have with their grandmother.
Everyone around him seemed to tell him the same thing, petting him on the head or back with eyes full of pity and concern. They all told him that his grandmother had gone away and that she went to a better place. Taehyung recalls asking each one why the place ‘heaven’ wouldn’t take him too. All of them were too struck with shock and uncertainty to answer.
Taehyung was only 10 then. He cried for days.
“Poor boy,” his father had mumbled to his mother, shaking his head with sorrow. The both of them joined their sons in their shared room after, hugging the both of them tightly as their bodies wracked with sobs. The last thing Taehyung heard before his eyes closed shut from exhaustion was his mother murmuring incessantly. “Oh baby... Our babybear… You’ll be okay.”
That night, Taehyung dreamt of his grandmother. They held hands for what seemed like hours, and his grandmother promised that he’ll find someone who’d love him just like she did. Taehyung woke up gasping and drenched with sweat, fresh tears spilling out of his eyes. His hand repeatedly rubbed the spot on his forehead where his grandmother had kissed him goodbye in the dream. It felt like it was burning. Namjoon held and swayed him till he finally went back to sleep. He didn’t dream the second time. Part of him wished he did because he already missed his grandmother, but another part of him was relieved that he wouldn’t have to go through the pain of only being able to see her when unconscious.
Since then, Taehyung learnt that hurt comes hand in hand with love. He was never the same after that.
It was raining the first time Taehyung saw Jimin.
It was a Sunday and Sundays were grocery days for the family. Taehyung was seated in the metal cart, face scrunched up in bubbly laughter as Namjoon zoomed them through the cereal aisle, parents long forgotten at the meat section.
Once, his teacher at school had told the class that happiness could be found in the simplest of things. It was then, when Taehyung was being pushed by his older brother, hands gripping the sides tightly, giggling with absolutely no care in the world, that he realised his teacher was correct.
Namjoon lost his breath at the snacks aisle, stopping abruptly for a rest. Taehyung didn’t mind, letting his eyes wander to take in his surroundings instead. The shelves were filled with what seemed like millions of things, making him feel small all of a sudden. Pulling his knees to his chest, his eyes moved to the only two people there apart from them.
A mother and her son. At that, Taehyung found himself smiling. The little boy walked in pace with his mother, his short and stubby legs doing their best to keep up. With his hands clasped tightly with his mother’s, Taehyung watched as the boy’s eyes widened at the sight of all the sweet things stacked up on the shelves - they seemed to sparkle with awe. Cute.
And then their eyes met. It took a few seconds for Taehyung to realise that he’d been staring unashamedly at the boy, who was now walking in his direction with his mother. Chuckling nervously, he threw a smile towards the boy before tearing his eyes away.
Taehyung’s parents had called for them before he even had the chance to glance at the boy again.
All of them collectively sighed when they stepped out of the supermarket and into the rain. Namjoon hurriedly helped the younger zip up his jacket before they all ran towards the car. As rain pelted down for hours that day, Taehyung couldn’t stop thinking of the boy with the sparkly eyes.
Contrary to Taehyung’s belief that it'd be the only time he'd meet eyes with the boy and feel such spectacular things in his heart, they met again after that. Several times. Many times.
They say you only fall in love with three people in your lifetime.
But they didn’t say one person could embody all three.