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Yoongi left Korea at the end of his twenties.
He wasn’t sad. After all, it never felt much like a home.
He was a bit scared. Who wouldn’t be?
The country where he grew up, a place where everyone spoke his language, the place he once called home though it never felt like one, everything he knew - he left it all behind with no plan to ever return.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. Maybe that’s because Korea never felt like home. It was just a place. Yoongi didn’t have lingering attachments, so it was easy to give up his job, to sell his apartment, and most of the stuff in it. He didn’t cry when he boarded the plane, his heart wasn’t heavy as he watched how the airport became smaller and smaller behind him.
Quite the opposite, he felt excited - happy to start somewhere new. Far away from everything before.
But the beginning was scary, it was kind of rough. It’s not like he expected it to be easy either but it was a challenge.
Yoongi learned English in school and he practiced a lot before he came here but the first time he heard the Australian accent he thought they spoke an entirely different language. Communicating wasn’t easy at first. And obviously, everything was different from what he was used to.
The climate, the people, the food, the language, the cities - it took Yoongi quite a bit to get used to all of it. But he felt free. As hard as the beginning was, he felt as if he could finally breathe after years of being stuck in a small, dark box.
And then, when he least expected it he met someone. Someone just like him.
They hitched a ride from the same local towards another city, sitting in the back of the man’s bus next to each other. Taehyung was Korean as well. Brown hair with small streaks bleached lighter by the sun on top of his head. It was quite long, falling into his eyes frequently. His skin was tanned, and the slight redness of sunburn brushed over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Bright eyes looked at Yoongi with surprise before he had asked if he spoke Korean.
Their meeting was nothing more than a coincidence.
Taehyung spoke a lot.
He didn’t shut up for the entire ride but Yoongi didn’t mind.
Actually, he liked it a lot. Taehuyng’s face was mostly hidden behind the camera he carried around but Yoongi could still see the way he smiled so brightly, saw how his eyes sparkled, and he thought to himself how lucky he was to travel in the same direction as the other man.
And as if the universe wanted them to end up together, it made them meet again and again until they stayed by each other’s sides. Until they fell in love.
Yoongi often thinks back to how he got to know Taehyung, how it must have been fate. And every time he does, his stomach flutters with butterflies. He would have never thought he would find love when all he wanted to originally do was find a purpose in life.
Love really wasn’t something he was looking for but now, he couldn’t believe he ever lived without it.
He smiles to himself, shifting to get more comfortable on the bed as he pulls Taehyung’s laptop closer. It wouldn’t be long until Taehyung would return from the job he found for now.
They stay in a city for some weeks when they needed money, looking for small jobs to earn a bit before they would continue traveling. Yoongi has quite a bit of money after selling everything back in Korea but that also wouldn’t last forever.
Yesterday, Taehyung updated his picture folder on his laptop and Yoongi has been looking forward to going through it all day. His hair is still dripping wet from the shower he just took, small droplets running down the back of his neck and wetting the hem of his shirt as he goes through the laptop.
Taehyung doesn’t believe in sorting the pictures he took. They’re all gathered in one large album, randomly following each other. So, it’s always a surprise looking through them. Yoongi especially likes doing it, likes the small element of surprise, the excitement when he recognizes a place they’ve been to together.
And sometimes he finds pictures that Taehyung took before they met on the bus ride, before they decided to travel together. Pictures of places he’s never been to, places Taehyung promised to take him to when the time comes.
Among the beautiful pictures of landscapes, the cities, animals, and the sea there are quite a few pictures of Yoongi. They’re woven between all these other photographs as if they belong with all these beautiful sights and it makes his heart throb slightly.
Usually, Yoongi doesn’t like looking at pictures of himself. He feels awkward in front of cameras, he never knows what kind of expression he’s supposed to do, and then ends up looking weird. But maybe the way Taehyung takes pictures of him — even the ones where his expression is off — makes him seem kind of… pretty.
Yoongi squeezes his eyes shut, feeling a blush creep up his neck at his own thoughts. Is this how Taehyung sees him?
He glances back down at the laptop screen, skipping to the next picture and his entire face immediately flushes.
It didn’t even take him a second to recognize the place in the picture. He’s staring at his own face, settled in a slight frown with confusion drawn all over his skin. Oh, he definitely looks awkward here.
They met for the first time when this picture was taken. This was… Yoongi counts in his head and gives up almost right away — many weeks ago. Sometimes it feels weird how much time has already passed, how long he’s already been gone from Korea. He thought he would miss it more, would regret coming out here but Yoongi has never felt as happy as he does here. It’s as if the air is fresher, the sun is brighter, the weather is warmer, and all the colors seem much more vibrant. And above all, his heart is full.
A smile involuntarily settles on his face as he looks back down at the picture. It might look a bit embarrassing but that’s not what’s important.
He felt a bit lost when he arrived here, very much out of place - though that feeling wasn’t different from how he felt in Korea — But the day he met Taehyung, everything changed. And it was during that moment in the picture.
That very moment, when Taehyung called out his name and clicked the shutter of his camera the second Yoongi tore his eyes away from the scenery outside of the window to look at him.
It’s not the prettiest picture of Yoongi but it shows the moment he might have started to fall in love with Taehyung. Just a tiny bit. The first drop of water of what would become an ocean soon.
At that moment, he didn’t know yet, didn’t know how quickly their lives would become intertwined. He thought that the first time they met would be the last as well. After all, they were two independent travelers, just because they were both from Korea didn’t mean anything. Their paths would surely lead in different directions again.
And so, they separated when they arrived at their destination.
“Maybe we’ll run into each other again,” Taehuyng had said to him with a large smile, “You’re the first Korean I’ve met. I really thought I would have forgotten how to speak Korean after all this time.”
Yoongi had nodded. Honestly, he had felt the same though he hasn’t been to Australia for as long as Taehyung has.
“Anyway,” Taehyung had said, “It was really nice meeting you. I have a feeling we’ll run into each other again somehow.”
Yoongi had waved him goodbye with a small smile. “I think so too,” is what he said though he didn’t believe his own words. Taehyung had vanished between the locals and it was as if he’s never been there in the first place. There was nothing Yoongi had of him, nothing that could prove his existence to him.
Taehyung had a picture of him in his camera roll and all Yoongi had was the memory of that long bus ride.
At that time, Yoongi was convinced meeting him was just a coincidence that would never happen again.
Smiling to himself at the memories, Yoongi skips through more of the pictures. The next few were of a beautiful beach, majestic waves rolling onto the sand, drawing patterns. And then, there’s Yoongi’s face once more.
This time his eyes are wide with surprise, his own skin slightly red from sunburn, hair ruffled, dried wildly from the saltwater. He was sitting alone at a small table in a restaurant, a plate of food in front of him, and a fork in his mouth.
He also remembers that moment clearly.
It was three weeks after he met Taehyung for the first time and he had almost entirely forgotten the other. Meeting him felt like a dream he once had, only bits and pieces of the encounter remaining in his brain. It was easy letting go of that moment because Yoongi had been sure from the start that he would never see him again.
But then, he was enjoying his lunch when a familiar voice suddenly called out his name.
“Yoongi!”
And when he looked up, he came face to face with a camera, hearing the shutter as his heart lurched in his chest. Behind the camera, Taehyung’s smiling face emerged and Yoongi would have lied if he said he didn’t feel slightly relieved.
Because even if he had been convinced he would never see him again, a small part within him had hoped that the impossible would become possible.
“My feeling is never wrong,” Taehyung had told him then, settling in front of him as if they were old friends, “But I was still surprised when I saw you sitting there.”
Yoongi had felt the same.
If it were anyone else, he might have been uncomfortable. Especially because of how naturally Taehyung had settled down with him and started a conversation. He never asked if he could stay, just ordered himself some food as well and guided the conversation until Yoongi felt comfortable enough to talk just as much as Taehyung.
The next few pictures are all from that day.
Yoongi skips through them - on all of them he has the same expression. Surprise.
It’s because Taehyung always just randomly called out to him and clicked a picture the moment Yoongi turned.
On that day, they decided to travel together.
One of the best decisions, Yoongi has ever made.
He glances up from the laptop when the door opens. Taehyung is sighing loudly as he enters, his skin a bit sweaty from the heat outside, the top half of his hair tied behind his head, and his shirt sticking to his upper body.
“I need a shower, “ He groans, pulling off his shirt before he has even closed the door behind him, “I thought I died out there.”
Yoongi laughs, reaching one arm out towards Taehyung as the younger walks around the bed to leave a kiss on top of his head. “What are you doing?” He asks, glancing at the screen of the laptop.
“Just looking at your photographs.”
“Oh, I see,” Taehyung chuckles, wriggling his eyebrows, “You’re looking at my best pictures.”
“Shut up.” Yoongi lightly punches Taehyung’s shoulder who in turn, pouts playfully before straightening up.
“I’m going to shower. Have fun looking at my masterpieces.”
He watches how Taehyung vanishes in the bathroom, leaving the door ajar, and a few seconds later he hears the sound of water. Yoongi leans back against his pillow, adjusting the laptop before scrolling through the pictures again.
The further he goes through them, the more naturally he looks in the pictures. It’s - a little as if he’s watching himself fall in love with Taehyung through the lens of the other’s camera.
A picture of Yoongi eating ice cream, the first one still surprised, after that, one where he’s playfully glaring at Taehyung, then one where his cheeks are a bright red, the blush reaching almost the tips of his ears. And the last one is where he’s laughing.
Yoongi remembers how much Taehyung played around that day, trying everything to make him laugh so that he would finally get a picture where he was smiling properly. His chest fills with warmth and Yoongi swears he could hear the way Taehyung’s laughter had trailed through the air that day echoing in his head.
A few more pictures ahead, Yoongi is standing beneath a roof of green. The smile on his lips almost looks genuine, almost doesn’t look posed. It’s still awkward but so much better than the first pictures Taehyung took of him. By then, he had grown accustomed to the constant sound of the shutter, the call of his name, and the way Taehyung would always look down at the display of his camera after he took a picture of Yoongi.
It’s kind of embarrassing.
Taehyung usually takes pictures and never looks at them until he uploads them to his laptop. But when he turns the camera towards Yoongi it seems like he couldn't wait to see the moment he just caught on film. As if he needs to check if he caught everything he wanted. And he would always wear that adorable dopey smile on his lips.
The smile that makes Yoongi fall a little more in love every time he sees it.
The next picture might be the first one where Yoongi smiles genuinely. His heart beats a little faster as he sees his own face, sleep in the corner of his eyes, hair tousled as he’s wrapped in sheets.
It’s the first picture where he’s not surprised, where he doesn’t look at the camera but at Taehyung’s eyes through the lens.
Anyone who looked at this picture would see it - the love in Yoongi’s smile, the love in the way the camera is catching this particular moment for eternity.
He snaps his head up from the laptop when he hears Taehyung come out of the bathroom. A towel hangs around his neck, water dripping from his hair as he throws himself on the bed next to Yoongi. It doesn’t seem like he dried himself properly at all, the shorts he’s wearing has wet spots, and he’s dripping water all over the sheets but it’s okay.
Taehyung pushes the laptop slightly to the side, nuzzling his face into the side of Yoongi’s thigh.
“You have surprisingly many pictures of me here,” Yoongi laughs, threading his fingers through Taehyung’s wet hair.
“Of course,” The other looks up with a slight smirk, a teasing lilt to his voice as he says, “I only photograph beautiful things after all.”
It’s cheesy and Yoongi hates that he blushes so much at the younger’s words. He glances away from him, unable to hold eye contact when he’s embarrassed. To distract himself he skips to the next picture on the laptop and instantly bursts out laughing.
“You must really find your feet beautiful then -” Yoongi cuts himself off with a laugh, turning the laptop so Taehyung could see the screen as well. Taehyung’s feet are buried in the sand and a tiny, cute baby turtle is right next to them.
The younger’s face flushes as he sits up, closing the laptop quickly.
“Obviously, the focus of the picture is the baby turtle,” He whines, embarrassment evident in his voice as he wraps his arms around Yoongi, “I was trying to be romantic - Don’t tease me.”
Yoongi just giggles, leaving a soft kiss on his lips. His heart flutters in his chest. “But you’re so adorable when you get all embarrassed,” He presses the words against Taehyung’s lips, laughing even more when the other whines again in embarrassment.
Taehyung watches Yoongi from a little further away. He has his camera in his hands but waits for the perfect moment, the one moment he wants to catch on film forever.
Above them, the sky bleeds with all kinds of colors, bathing them in beautiful light. The light of the setting sun dances over the water, setting it on fire. And as Yoongi steps in the soft waves rolling onto the beach Taehyung raises his camera. His finger is hovering above the shutter when Yoongi turns around as if he’s already expecting the picture. He smiles and Taehyung presses down.
He’s been in Australia for a long time but with Yoongi by his side, he feels as if he’s at home for the first time.