Work Text:
Taehyung gazed at the train tracks, vision blurry. In a daze, he stumbled forward, knee-deep in snow. He caught himself before he fell face first, reaching out to grip the rails. He shuddered, grip hardening.
"Daddy!" Childish giggles erupted. Snow crunched under two pairs of feet, one leaving behind bite-sized footprints. "Daddy's gonna get you, Tae!"
The child, Taehyung, grinned, running as fast as his small legs will carry him. His mother watched with caution, stepping forward every time her husband almost caught her son. Her gaze caught his, and she pursed her lips. She stepped back and let them play tag.
'He wouldn't hurt him,' she thought. Anxiety clawed at her chest and she willed her fingers to stop tapping her knees. 'Tae will be fine. Who would hurt a five year old?' Taehyung's laughter increased as his father tackled him to the snow, continuously tickling him. She relaxed, if only slightly. 'Right. No one hurts children.'
Taehyung leaned closer to the snow and rested his head on the rail. He released a breath, closing his eyes. His eyes burned with unshed tears, chest tight with pent up emotions. His lips wobbled, and his body shuddered with the need to cry. 'Pull yourself together.'
Taehyung's heard a lot of sounds, as he should if he wants to be a saxophonist as a potential future career. He knows it won't happen, but it's worth to have at least one dream. The first time Taehyung heard glass break, he thought the sound was pretty. To him, it sounded like the jingle of bells during Christmas, or sweet wind chimes when the wind flew past. Over the years, he learned otherwise.
"That boy of yours failed his English exam! Punishment is what he gets, that boy knows nothing!"
"He's just a child, you can't—"
"No children of mine are failures."
However, the first time Taehyung heard his heart break, it screeched high in his ears. His chest constricted, and he found it harder to breathe. "Kim Taehyung, show yourself!"
But the most ugly sound he's ever heard was crying himself to sleep after beatings.
The vibration of the rails alerted him of an oncoming train and he was tempted to stay still and hope for the best. He was tired. So very tired. He can afford a few seconds of sleep before he narrowly misses his death, right?
"Kim Taehyung, if you die I will murder you!"
Gentle hands grabbed him from his arms and pulled him into a hug just as the train sped past. Taehyung's heart raced, wrapping his arms around the boy's torso. He could hear their ragged breathing, and finally, he cried.
He cried for his childhood, lost to the snow and the wind. He cried for his parents, wishing for a time where not everything involved poisoned words and bruised skin. He cried because he almost died, knowing he had six people with him.
"Kookie," he whimpered. "I'm so sorry—"
"Shh," Jungkook whispered, rubbing his back softly. "We're here now. You'll never walk alone, yeah?"
Taehyung smiled. "Yeah."