Chapter Text
The days were getting shorter... Namjoon sighed when he picked up his steps. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, but it was harder to walk through the woods when he needed a flashlight and it was also getting pretty cold already. In his hurry, he had almost missed it. But his eyes were trained to find beautiful pieces of wood on the forest floor, wandering around involuntarily when he spotted it.
A hand.
At first he thought it were just some animal bones, nothing unusual. The forest close to Namjoon’s house was secluded, except the occasional hiker and mountainbiker. Dead animals decomposed where they were left after all. But the sheen was different, it didn’t shimmer like naked bone. And when Namjoon noticed it - he gasped, dropping his collected pieces in his haste to run over.
It wasn’t the first time he had found evidence of someone, someone who had come to the woods to end their lives. A lost shoe, a backpack, wrapping papers. But never this, never like this.
Without thinking he wiped away the leaves around the hand, digging into the dirt. If there was the slightest chance this person was still alive he wouldn’t let it pass. It didn’t take long for him to find the rest of the body, just a few inches deep in the dirt. He cleaned off the face of a young man, not decomposed, perfectly pristine.
“Hey,” Namjoon said, while he continued digging. “Hey, can you hear me? Are you still here? Please, please don’t be dead-“
There wasn’t much of a chance, and he knew he had to call the police and make sure the body was protected from animals and he wondered how he would transport it back to his house, just not thinking about the reality of what has happened here when... when he noticed that the man had opened his eyes.
“Oh thank god,” Namjoon sighed, falling back on his butt . He tried to get his heart back under control, giggling softly under his breath. “You’re alive. How are you?”
The young man looked at him and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He frowned, and his hand twitched, as if he was fighting to move it.
“I can help you,” Namjoon said, but the moment he reached out the young man grunted, jerking his arm a bit to the side. Namjoon stilled. He wasn’t sure what had happened, and the young man seemed confused. He didn’t want to scare him, so he leaned back, waiting for him to get his senses back.
The young man grunted again, pulling on his other arm, a few times until he freed it from the dirt. He stared at it in awe, moving his hand around, and when he seemed satisfied with what he had found, he abruptly sat up. Looking back at Namjoon, he tilted his head, as if trying to assess him.
“Hello,” Namjoon said again. The young man had a faraway gaze, nodding softly. He was trying to pull himself out of the dirt, but the soil on top of his feet was heavy and he struggled. Namjoon carefully reached out, starting to remove the dirt and the man let him, only watching him carefully until he was able to pull his legs out.
“Are you okay? Can you talk?” Namjoon asked again. The man was naked, but he didn’t seem flustered, or even noticing it at all. He was only looking at Namjoon with wide eyes, his lips softly twitching into a smile.
“Okay,” Namjoon muttered. It must have been traumatizing, whatever had happened, but he seemed unharmed and not willing to run away. That was good. “Let me help you up.” He held out his hands, waiting patiently until the other grabbed them. They were cool, a bit squishy. Maybe softened up by lying in the soil for who knows how long. Maybe it hadn’t been stacked properly and he had been able to breathe through it...
The other was a bit wobbly on his feet, rubbing over his arms as if to warm himself up. Which was when Namjoon realized that it was actually autumn and shrugged off his jacket. “Here, take it.” The other eyed it but didn’t move, so Namjoon simply draped it over his shoulders. The young man stared at him with big eyes, and Namjoon decided it was good enough. It wasn’t far back to his house, and he could get help then. The moment they started walking though the jacket fell down. The man hadn’t held on to it, only looked at it lying on the forest floor.
With a sigh, Namjoon picked it up, holding it out for him to step into it. When he didn’t, he carefully pulled on the other’s arm, and he let him guide it into the armholes. At least something. He didn’t seem scared at all, just confused, and definitely still alive, so Namjoon shook off the bad thoughts crawling into his brain and just grabbed the other’s hand to lead the way. He was stumbling at first, uncoordinated and slow, but after a few steps he seemed to remember how walking worked and he followed along.
“What’s your name?” Namjoon tried to ask casually, but the other didn’t react, of course. So they spend the rest of the walk in silence and reached Namjoon’s home right when the sun set. The other didn’t protest when Namjoon sat him down in his kitchen, reaching for his landline phone. Reception was so bad in this place...
“I’m going to call the police, okay? I don’t think you’re hurt,” he muttered, eyeing the man closer. No visible wounds, obviously he was mentally not quite up to it but he doubted it needed immediate attention. But there had to be family missing him, and the sooner they were reunited the better.
“They will help you get back home. Maybe find out what happened to you. It just takes a while to get here...”
The other moved his head to the side, his gaze gotten sharper and more alert. That was good. Maybe he could tell Namjoon his name soon. Namjoon smiled hesitantly but right when he was about to type in the number the other made a gurgling sound and Namjoon immediately dropped the phone, kneeling down at the other’s side.
“Are you okay? Are you in pain?”
The other gurgled again, before he took a deep breath, focusing, and said “Fine.” It was rough and scratchy, and Namjoon had trouble understanding him, but the other frowned and said it again - “Fine. I’m fine. I’m fine!” He smiled, and it was so pretty and sweet that Namjoon involuntarily laughed.
“You are fine? That’s great news! I’m so glad!”
The other leaned into Namjoon, as if he wanted to be praised, but Namjoon wasn’t sure if he should touch him like that. A bit startled, he got up and almost regretted it when he saw the look of disappointment on the other’s face.
“Anyway, uhm, let me call the police, they will take a while to come over here anyway...”
“But I’m fine?” The other said, confusion written clearly over his face but it didn’t matter. Namjoon didn’t want to be responsible if something happened to him.
As it turned out... police was understaffed and too far away, asking him to drive over himself. Which Namjoon, notoriously bad driver, was not going to do when it was already dark over the bad roads leading to his house, which meant... the stranger would stay the night. Since he hadn’t done anything besides sitting quietly and looking around the room it seemed safe enough, for both of them.
“Hey,” Namjoon said, kneeling down again. “We’ll get you help tomorrow. Is it okay to stay here for tonight?”
The other looked at him for a long time before he said “Yes.”
“Good. That’s good. Uhm... do you want to shower?” There was a thin layer of dirt all over the other, and Namjoon plucked out a leave from the other’s hair, still careful not to startle him.
“Don’t... know how?” The other said, and when Namjoon didn’t react, staring right back, he said “Help?”
He wondered if it was appropriate. He wondered if the other would tell police that Namjoon had forced him to do it, had touched him in the bath and immediately stood up, feeling heat rush to his face. But the open, honest expression from the other made him melt. He had been buried in the ground, and Namjoon doubted he had done it on purpose. If he was willing to trust so easily... it was better if Namjoon helped him.
“Okay. Come, then.”
The other sat on the toilet while the bathtub filled with water, the sound deafening between their silence.
“So... do you remember your name yet?”
“Name?” The other said. “Name... hm.” He leaned his head from one side to the other, rubbing his arms again, when he suddenly stopped. “Tae.... hyung. We... I... are called. Tae... hyung.” He nodded, satisfied.
“Taehyung? That’s good. It’s good that you remember.”
“You... are?”
And Namjoon realized that in all his worrying he had completely forgotten to introduce himself. So he quickly got up, bowed down and said “Kim Namjoon. Glad to meet you, Taehyung-ssi.”
“Only Tae-hyung,” the other said slowly. “Nam-joon. Namjoon. Hello.”
“Hello,” Namjoon said softly, smiling. “Hi. Welcome.”
This time, the silence wasn’t oppressing anymore. Namjoon hummed under his breath until the bath was filled, and when it was done he helped Taehyung out of the jacket and into the tub. He hissed when the water touched him, stuck between sitting down and getting out again, but after a moment of consideration he finally fully submerged.
“Not... hurting?” He asked, and Namjoon nodded.
“No. It’s not going to hurt. I promise.” He carefully reached out for the sponge, dipping it into the water before he rubbed it over Taehyung’s arm. It smelled musky, a bit like dried leaves and wet soil. Which was not surprising, probably. The dirt was coming off on most spots, on other’s it was baked in, but Taehyung didn’t seem to mind.
“You can wash the rest of yourself while I do your hair,” Namjoon said when he was done with Taehyung’s arms and neck. Taehyung took the sponge, squeezing it in his hand and watching the bubbles, but he did start to rub it over his chest.
When they were done, the water was brown and Namjoon wet, but Taehyung looked... otherworldly, clean and cozy in Namjoon’s bathrobe. Like an angel.
He huffed, making Taehyung look up at him but it wasn’t important. He picked out some clothes for him, helped him into it and started dinner.
Taehyung barely ate. He took a few sips of water. He cuddled up to Namjoon on the couch who wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of the day, but it turned out that after trying to watch TV Taehyung seemed a lot more comfortable with Namjoon reading to him. He seemed like a lost cat when Namjoon tried to make him sleep on the couch, and even though the little voice in the back of his head told him to be careful, that he didn’t know this person and if he could trust him, he still... let him sleep in his bed. Taehyung immediately clung on to him again, as if seeking the warmth. He was a bit cold, and lying in the ground in autumn had probably been bad for his body temperature. His bad conscience sufficiently soothed, Namjoon buried his nose in Taehyung’s soft hair and mumbled ”you smell like leaves.”
And Taehyung huffed.
The whole trip to the police station had been a disaster. Namjoon hated driving, so he was already in a bad mood to do it outside of his usual, planned trips. Taehyung hadn’t been too happy to get into the car either, whining and telling Namjoon he’s fine, but of course he couldn’t just let him stay. He needed to go back to his family. They were probably worried sick.
Only to end up with a police officer who obviously didn’t want any extra work. Taehyung told him he’s fine again, even managed to say he didn’t need help, and the officer, despite having been told that Namjoon had found Taehyung in the ground, had shrugged it off as a prank.
“If he doesn’t need help what am I supposed to do?”
“I can’t just take him back with me!” Namjoon hissed, not wanting Taehyung to hear it.
“He’s an adult. Leave him here. He’ll call home when he gets bored.”
And that had been the end of it. Namjoon had been angry, getting back into the car before he followed his instinct to scream the place down, and Taehyung had followed him. Not given any indication of his unhelpfulness, not trying to explain why he obviously didn’t want to go back to wherever he came from.
All he did...
“We don’t have family, Namjoon. We don’t have anywhere to go.”
“So what do we do now?” Namjoon had asked, and Taehyung, sitting with his hands clasped in his lap, with Namjoon’s clothes too big on him, and said “I want to go back. Please.”
And yes, Namjoon was aware of his shortcomings as a person, he knew he wasn’t thinking things through, but something in Taehyung’s voice, in his eyes that looked so much older than he was, decided that it was fair to let him recuperate a few more days in Namjoon’s house.
So with a sigh he took him back, but the genuine, wide smile he received as a thanks was maybe worth it.
Taehyung was a peculiar person. He started talking more with the passing days, but his way of speaking was... odd. He didn’t eat much, but he liked tea. Though he started eating the tea bag, and when Namjoon didn’t manage to stop him from doing it he figured a few leaves weren’t going to hurt him. He liked being held, being warm. He was strolling through Namjoon’s extensive garden a lot, especially the old oak tree was a favorite. Namjoon thought he had seen him talk to it, but of all the oddities, that one was the most reasonable one.
And of course he enjoyed watching Namjoon work in his shop. Building furniture and art pieces from the old wood he found in the forest.
Namjoon couldn’t pretend that he minded the company. Sure, he was still worrying that he kept Taehyung from going back where he belonged, but he seemed fine. Happy, even. And Namjoon had been living on his own for so long that a roommate, even if he only stayed for a short while, was more than welcome.
“What are you doing?” Namjoon looked up from his cooking, just to see how Taehyung was snacking on the peels Namjoon had put in the compost. “It’s almost ready. You don’t have to eat the trash.”
“Not trash. Food.” Taehyung took another potato peel, putting it into his mouth to chew it slowly. “Energy.”
“I think those are toxic...” Namjoon mumbled, reaching out to put the little container for his compost out of reach. Taehyung didn’t bother much. If he didn’t reach, he didn’t eat. He was a beautifully uncomplicated roommate.
“They aren’t toxic for us.”
“For you and all the other ones living inside you, eh?” Namjoon said, giggling about his lame joke. But Taehyung only eyed him curiously.
“Yes. All of us. Taehyung and... all of us.”
Namjoon waited for a moment, to see if Taehyung wanted to elaborate, but when he turned around to draw doodles on a notepad, Namjoon had one of those moments of immense guilt. This had to be some kind of mental illness. And he didn’t... do anything about it.
“Look,” Taehyung said, showing Namjoon a doodle that looked like an explosion, or a very chaotic spider web. “It’s us.”
“You and me?” Namjoon asked.
“No. Us.” Taehyung pointed at himself. “Us. You are...” He made a little dot next to the explosion. “This.”
“Did you just insult me?” Namjoon tried to joke, as if it was maybe showing a rich, inner world and Namjoon was just that uninteresting, but Taehyung looked at him seriously and said “Of course not, Namjoon. Just different. I used to be-“
He stopped, his eyes widening, but the moment passed and with a grunt he turned around and doodled some more.
Taehyung was... peculiar. And Namjoon wondered if he shouldn’t be more concerned.