Work Text:
Flight 4370 boarding soon
Yoongi is gently shaken awake by his manager, his flight was boarding soon. He removes his overly large sunglasses that had been obscuring his vision, rubbing his eyes and yawning groggily. Mid-afternoon flights was such a bitch for it was the peak hours and also, a little too early for Yoongi, who had been jetlagged from America. He had just finished his American leg of his tour and was slowly adjusting to the hours of Seoul when he is whisked away to continue his South-East Asia leg.
“I’m just going to take a short walk,” he mumbles to his manager who was checking his phone with a frown on his face.
“Be back here in five minutes,” he reminds as Yoongi stalks off. Yoongi was thankful for Park but there were some occasions where Park gets paranoid over his schedule. He’s glad to take a breather for once, to walk around the airport without being noticed by fans. Being a world famous rapper, it was no surprise that he had many fans, especially female fans- which was a pleasant surprise to him. Although he made music and rapped in his motherland, he rarely gets noticed by his fans in Korea. Sure there was the occasional few fans who bump into him on the street where they ask for a photo- which he has to politely decline due to his contract- but other than that, not much fan interaction which was a relief for someone introverted like him.
He shoves his hand into his warm blue pea coat, pulling his black face mask over his mouth until it covered his nose and began walking around the waiting area. He people watches from a distance; couples hand in hand, sharing headphones and listening to music together; children playing around their parents whilst they share a sweet kiss when their children aren’t looking; lone travelers with their heads bent over their phones or studying a map. He feels a slight pang in his heart when he watches a couple share a drink from a distance in the airport café, a painful memory slowly creeping to his conscious thought.
He shakes his head, tearing his gaze away from the couple to prevent that memory from consuming him. It was not just a single memory, it was a collection of them in which he had kept locked away two years ago, all poured out in an unreleased album. That album sat on his laptop, finished but untouched ever since that day.
Yoongi glances at his watch, a flashy Rolex he had splurged on, five minutes was up. He walks back to the boarding area when he bumps into another man, dressed in a light grey hoodie with a light washed denim jacket over. His bottom half of his face was covered by a face mask, so Yoongi could not get a good look at him. He looks up, about to apologise when it hits him.
Golden brown eyes.
The memory that had previously tried to escape had successfully broke free and consumed his mind. Taehyung. Kim Taehyung. A name Yoongi had tried to forget, and successfully did for a whole goddamn two years until now. The memories that he had tried so hard to keep locked away were consuming his mind to a point where he was unable to process what was currently happening.
He knew Taehyung knew it was him. How can he forget the golden-brown eyes that he had gazed into for years? How can he forget how beautiful those eyes looked when they were shut, enthralled and locked in a kiss? How can he forget the pair of eyes that made him who he was today?
“Hyung,” was all Taehyung uttered, the word coming out in a forced and choked sound. “How have you been?”
How have you been? Was Taehyung fucking joking? Was all he could muster a pathetic ‘How have you been’ after leaving his two years ago, without a single fucking explanation? Not to mention, Yoongi spent an entire month contacting everyone who had a connection with Taehyung, his parents, his extended family, his boss, hell even the dog owned that allowed Taehyung to pet his dog on every Sunday walk – but all he got was nothing. Yoongi had even placed a Missing Persons ad, only to find the poster to be torn down every single day.
It was not until a year later when Yoongi found out Taehyung was still alive, but not in the way he expected him to be. Taehyung had debuted as a solo artist, in the heart of Seoul. At that time where they had been together, they were simply two Daegu boys with the dream of becoming musicians in the future. Guess Taehyung had managed to fulfill his dream first. Yoongi watched him enviously through the television and through videos, not envious of his success, but envious of the people who were surrounding him. Eventually that envy turned into jealousy and resentment, and eventually Taehyung became a 3 minute 45 seconds song on his laptop in which he used to sign a contract with a company who had been thoroughly impressed by his emotions.
“How have I been? Is that all you can say after leaving me for two years?” Yoongi spits, mustering all the venom he could, but knowing his tired state, it probably came out in a soft tired tone.
Taehyung flinches, guilt crossing his eyes. Silence falls upon the duo, who were alone for the first time in two years, the first time since Taehyung left him. “I’m,” Taehyung begins, his voice caught in his throat. “I’m sorry,”
Yoongi snorted. “You’re sorry? Really?”
Taehyung opens his mouth when his own manager sighs in relief and calls out his name. Instead of a male manager, Taehyung has a female one, who by the worry lines creasing her face, had been searching for Taehyung for a long time. “There you are Taehyung! Hurry up, your flight to New York is boarding right now!”
Taehyung glances at Yoongi, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I, I have to go now. I’ll explain everything when I come home, I promise,” he says.
Yoongi remembers the day before Taehyung left. He had been jittery, clearing his throat every few seconds and fidgeting more than usual. Yoongi went to bed that night, not thinking twice about Taehyung’s odd behavior until he woke up the next morning to find Taehyung’s spot bare and half of his clutter hastily taken away. There was no note explaining anything whatsoever, just a curt and short text message sent at 4AM.
Have to go somewhere. Will explain everything when I come home, I promise.
That was the last form of contact Yoongi ever had with Taehyung. He dialed the number later in the day to find that it has been disconnected. The call center had no records of Taehyung either, and neither were his parents able to locate him – or had been lying at that time to protect their own son. Either way, Yoongi had never been able to make promises with anyone nor was anyone able to make a promise to Yoongi, for he will always remember that fateful day when Taehyung left.
“Before you go, I have something to say,” Yoongi grabs Taehyung’s wrist. If he didn’t say it now, when? “You changed me, in ways I never thought I could have been changed. You gave me faith in my music. You made me who I am today and I can never thank you enough for that. You will always remind me of that caramel latte that you split on me when we first met – I don’t drink caramel lattes anymore, not because they are too sweet, because it goddamn fucking hurts to see golden brown swirls and think of you and your ridiculously golden brown eyes and hair. It’s bittersweet to drink a caramel latte now. And yea, you know what? It fucking sucks. It fucking sucks that I can’t be with you anymore.”
Taehyung’s manager didn’t seem fazed by Yoongi’s relatively long speech instead taps her watch huffily to remind Taehyung of the little time he has left. “Taehyung, your flight is literally in a minute, we have to go.”
“I’m sorry I never gave you an answer. The truth is, I didn’t want to break your heart. I knew how much it would have crushed you if you knew that I had received an offer to become a singer and you were still working your ass off to become a producer. And yes, it was stupid of me to leave without a reason, but I thought that if I left you on that note, you’ll just resent me forever to a point where I’ll disappear from your memory. Guess I have not,” Taehyung responds, playing with the ring on his finger, eyes still locked on Yoongi’s.
“Sorry to break your sweet moment short, but Taehyung, we have to go. Now.” The manager demands and Yoongi releases his grip on Taehyung’s wrist.
“I love you Taehyung. Always have.” Yoongi utters before Taehyung leaves. Taehyung freezes in his steps and turns back to Yoongi.
“I love you Min Yoongi. Never have stopped.”
Yoongi watched as his blue figure eventually faded into a tiny blue dot amongst the others who were boarding that same flight. The truth is, it was not the most ideal closure Yoongi would have wanted, but it was closure anyways. He turns his back against Taehyung and walks towards his manager who had already been up from his seat when his phone buzzes.
I see you’ve never changed your number. I’ll be home soon, I promise. – T
And for once, maybe Yoongi will give chances to making promises.