Chapter Text
Taehyung is running and he can’t stop. Won’t stop.
Taehyung is running from his life: his family and his home.
Why, might you ask? Because he’s tried, he’s finished with all the beatings and the fights. He’s done with the ‘shut up, you don’t know anything’ and ‘you’re going crazy'. He doesn't want to feel scared anymore, he doesn’t want to hurt anymore, doesn’t want to hear another argument or another cry.
So he’s running.
And he won’t stop.
****
He’s forced to slow down when the bag rubbing against his back gets too heavy and his skin starts to burn from the constant scraping. He’s breathing rapidly, his throat hurts and his legs and feet are sore, but if he stops moving they might come looking for him and that thought alone makes him pick up a light jog.
He’s always had good endurance when it comes to running and exercise and an hour into the escape he closes in on the forest. He likes this forest, it’s cozy and warm. Many people called him crazy when he would come here at sunset or sunrise to see the re-birth of every small creature; but he finds comfort in the quiet.
He was told to never venture far into this place; too many places to get hurt and lost, so he didn’t, but nothing is holding him back now. When he reaches the barb wire fence he jumps over and lands with a thud, scurrying some nearby birds.
His whole body tingles as he takes this moment to just… breathe, lose some of the tension in his body — it’ll be a good hour for anyone to catch up to him now and that thought helps him keep a wandering pace through the forest, being careful of any loose ground or low tree stump he could twist an ankle on.
He takes a left at the big oak tree where some foxes like to sleep. He’s never seen them but he guesses having a good nose comes in handy sometimes. That tree was where he'd normally stop and turn around or lay down by it for a bit. He can still see the surrounding area of the forest so his parents never minded, but today nothing’s stopping him so he carries on.
At hearing an owl call, he looks up from the ground and pauses. It’s getting dark. The trees create inhuman-like shadows and shapes. A shiver goes down his spine as a chill breeze runs through his body; he borrows more into his jacket and continues walking.
He never really had a full plan for his escape, all he knew was he had a two-minute window of opportunity and he had to take it. He quickly packed his most precious belongings, some food from the kitchen and two bottles of water; stuffed them into a backpack already filled with clothes and things he couldn’t bear to leave. No proper plan and no thoughtful thinking were involved.
The sun is setting and the air is getting colder and colder by the second so he starts looking around the forest for a place to rest. He thought he’d be more scared right now — being in a creepy place with the unknown hiding behind any tree, but for some reason he feels completely calm and unhurried. Taking refuge in the fact that he could easily hide if he needed to, the only bad thought in his mind is whether or not they’d find him or if he’d find a way out of this place. He’s going purely off instinct and what feels like the right way to go; he has no idea if that's the best thing to do, but nothing else is going to happen, so, what’s to lose?
He finds a little hiding spot at the base of a tree and makes a celebratory cheer at the lucky find — this will be perfect to sleep in, the small area covered by the branch that will protect him from the elements. He shines a torch into the small space, sees it unoccupied, and smiles. Shrugging his bag off his shoulder, he takes out a blanket and wraps it around his body. Torch clamped in-between his teeth, he clambers into the hole.
He grunts as he tries to get into the most comfortable position possible when sleeping in the outdoors, his large blanket is able to wrap around his whole body helping a little with the comfort. He reaches for his bag and wraps his arms around it in a hug before leaning his head on it, as if it were a lumpy pillow.
His body is achy and tired after running for so long and his eyelids feel heavy as he fully relaxes his muscles. He sighs in relief at being able to completely stop moving and he slowly drifts off into sleep.
****
Taehyung wakes up with a tickling sensation on his face; he breathes in deeply and smells a rabbit. He opens his eyes and sure enough, a small brown rabbit is sniffing curiously at him, so close to him that Tae has to go cross-eyed to see it. He blows out a breath and the rabbit squeaks before bolting off. He huffs out a laugh at the scared animal — rabbits can be too curious for their own good sometimes.
Taehyung shifts his legs and groans at the soreness shooting up his body from complaining muscles, he rubs at his sleepy eyes to get a better look around him. The darkness last night wasn’t the best way to see what he was doing or where he was. Even now there’s not much to see, thick forestry and loose twigs and rocks everywhere. His head has shifted off his bag at some point in the night but his body is still cocooned in the blanket and the warmth is needed — the rising sun not yet providing much heat.
His stomach growls unhappily and Taehyung realises he hasn’t eaten in a long time — he was much too worried about the escape that he couldn't bring himself to eat more than a few mouthfuls of his mother's cooked meal. He crawls out the small hole, trying to ignore his sore body, and sits down on the ground, with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders and the tree supporting his back, as he rummages through his bag for some form of food.
He smiles slightly when he finds a protein bar. He didn't pack much food but he did get the healthiest things he could find, he just hopes it lasts him until he finds somewhere to go. He unwraps his meal for the morning and sighs in relief as he bites into it. He didn’t realise just how hungry he was until he actually ate something.
He soon finishes the bar and drinks some of his water, his throat finally getting some relief — no longer scratchy and dry. His plan for the day is about the same as yesterday: just wander where feels right until he can find a town or someone who will help him.
He gets up with a grunt, deciding that now is a better time than any to begin his journey for the day. He keeps the warm blanket around his shoulders as he puts his bag on, over the top of the fabric. He’s surprisingly not that tired and he thinks the fact he feels so comfortable in the forest has something to do with that.
The crunch under his feet accompanies him, as well as some birds flying for their breakfast. He goes at a slow walking pace, no longer feeling the need to hurry away. He finds himself losing himself to his thoughts.
Taehyung was never the popular kid in school. Everyone used to call him crazy and strange but he never minded much. He has his own circle of close friends that he likes and gets along with well. He wonders what will happen to those friendships now he’s no longer at home; he's brought his phone and charger but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay in contact. There’s a lot that he doesn’t know right now that he tries not to think too much about, questions he doesn’t know that answer to. Will he find somewhere safe? Will his parents find him and take him back home? Will he even survive?
At the last question, he feels a pit in his stomach and he shakes his head. A full-body tingle goes through his bones as he looks to the right.
He goes right.
His mind goes South as he thinks about his parents. They were never nice. Evil people filled with ugly things he never wants to be on the other end again. The side of his face tingles with the memory of last night.
His dad never liked him coming out to the forest or mentioning anything about it, and Taehyung's never understood why but he was too scared to ask. He still has a lot of questions for his parents that he never asked, like why have they stayed together through these years when they clearly hate each other? Why do they take out their anger on him? Why do they make him out to be crazy?
Is he crazy?
Taehyung huffs out a laugh. It’s not like he’ll be asking them anytime soon.
He hears rustling to his right and looks to see a rabbit eating some berries nearby, and his stomach growls at the sight, he cringes and mentally scolds himself. He shouldn’t be thinking about killing this innocent animal when he has good enough food in his bag. His parents raised him vegetarian and that’s the only thing he hopes to carry on from their teachings.
He bares his teeth at the small creature and growls lowly, the rabbit looks up, spots him, and hurries off. If he can’t see, smell, or hear the rabbit then he can’t eat it.
****
Around two hours pass, but Taehyung can’t know for sure, unless he takes his phone out, but he can’t be bothered. It doesn’t really matter anyway, all he’s going to be doing is walking.
He sighs, this was a really dumb idea (if you could even call it an idea). He should have just stayed at home. His feet wouldn’t be sore from the rough ground and his thighs wouldn’t be aching from stepping over so many fucking sticks and climbing over so many shitting rocks.
He lets out a frustrated combination of a growl and groan. He takes off his blanket and shoves it back in his bag, feeling the heat from the risen sun, and wonders when in the fuck this forest ends, because he’s been walking for about three hours now and there’s been no tree line or fence in sight.
He runs his dirty hands over his face and he turns his head to the right and pauses.
Thank fuck for that.
A wooden fence. He smiles like a crazy person as relief flows through him and moves toward it to get a better look. It’s a typical farmer’s fence, surrounding a generously sized field.
Someone nearby must own it — someone that could help him. With that thought, he climbs over and lands with a thud on the floor. Taehyung sees that the land owner has cut straight through the forest, carving it in two; the horizon is visible to both his left and right. The woodland directly ahead looks like a separate, looming entity, making his skin prickle with an ominous emotion.
He’s so distracted by the feeling that he doesn’t hear the heavy footsteps coming his way. Hearing a loud snort, he yelps and turns to his left to see a massive bull running at him. he gasps at the large animal sprinting towards him with clear ill intentions. He doesn't even need to think before he’s running towards the rest of the forest. His heavy bag and sore feet don’t help his situation as he legs it, full pelt.
“Hey kid!”
He barely registers the person yelling for him and he turns his head backwards to see the bull still running after him, behind him a farmer holding up his arms in alarm.
“Don’t go in there!”
Taehyung goes in there.
He jumps the fence with as much grace as a newborn foal and lands on the other side with a bang. He groans in pain, trying his hardest to get up again, only just managing to stand to see the farmer guy grab the bull (impressively) and the male cow just stops.
Just like that, with one touch from the man.
Then the man begins walking to Taehyung and a wash of dread and fear goes through him at the look on his face. Anger. Tae scrambles back and falls on his ass once again but he swallows his grunt. Terrified, he tries to get back up but fails again as the guy gets closer and closer. He crawls backwards on his hands, staring helplessly up at the guy reaching the fence.
“What do you think you’re doing out here, kid? Come with me.”
Looking back, Taehyung will realise the guy’s tone is friendly and not at all threatening but the only thoughts running through his mind right now are: 'he’s gonna hurt me. Run, run, run. He’s mad; run before he can get you.'
He scrambles back more and yells, “no! Please get away from me!”
The fear turns into icy dread when the farmer climbs the fence to get to him, Taehyung can only stare in horror. “I’m not gonna hurt you, trust me,” the man explains and reaches out a hand. It snaps Taehyung out of his frozen state and he springs to his feet, running as fast as he can and not looking back.
****
Ten minutes later and he’s still running; the man’s angry face as he went to get Taehyung helping his legs carry on, his chest heaving and body sweating; he looks behind himself and his panic begins to settle when he sees nobody following him. He rests by a tree and leans on it as he tries to get his breathing back to normal once again. Full-on sprinting for ages hasn't done his lungs any favours.
He doesn’t get to relax for long.
Behind him, he hears a low growl, and he whirls around to see a grey wolf, so big it reaches above his hip, its body positioned in a hunch, ready to pounce if Taehyung were to make the wrong move, with its ears back and teeth bared. He instinctively looks into the eyes of the angry wolf. Instantly, his whole body freezes, and he blinks back the daze of shock only to feel nauseous and light headed.
Now is not the time to faint.
Through his confusion, he hears someone warn:
‘Get back.’
Tae tenses at the voice. “Who’s there?”
In front of him, the wolf seems to relax a little — its ears coming up to a relaxed position. Its teeth are still showing slightly, but it definitely helps sedate Taehyung a little, giving him the courage to look away from the animal and glance side to side in hope of finding the person who spoke to him.
Only, there’s nobody around.
“Hello?” he calls, his confusion overriding the fear deep in his body at the lone wolf only meters in front of him.
‘You can hear me?’
Taehyung yelps, whirling his head around in bewilderment. He takes a quick look at the wolf to see it completely relax and showing no sign of the previous vicious animal. The wolf looks almost curious and Tae makes the mistake of meeting the predator’s eyes again, and as a result, he staggers back when a dizzy spell hits him full force.
He yells, “fuck! Who’s saying that?”
The fear has completely left his body now and he’s just feeling confused and angry. Why is looking at the wolf making him dizzy? It makes no sense to Taehyung and it’s making him angry because he should know why!
‘The big bad wolf in front of you, idiot.’
He looks at the wolf (well, at its nose, he doesn’t want to faint anytime soon) and then it all makes sense.
He’s dreaming.
He has yet to wake up and this is some sort of weird story his own strange brain made up. If you ask Taehyung, he’s quite proud of himself that he knows he’s dreaming now; he can do whatever he wants without any consequences.
“Ah, I see, it’s you,” he begins, pointing at the wolf — the animal wags its tail slightly in response. Tae looks around and sits down by a tree near him before continuing, “is this your home?” he asks the dream wolf.
The animal doesn’t move any closer to Taehyung but does respond, ‘yeah, it’s up South.’
Tae is about to respond when the wolf tilts its head slightly and sniffs the air, its whole body tenses and it snaps its gaze up to Taehyung. ‘Who are you?’
Real life Taehyung would be scared right now — the intimidating tone the animal is using would make anyone on edge, but, because it’s a dream he stays relaxed; he's still unable to make eye contact for some reason. He shrugs one shoulder and answers, “Kim Taehyung. Who are you?”
The animal’s body tenses even more (if that’s even possible). ‘Who are your parents?’
Tae tilts his head and frowns. Why does this wolf care? His answer comes out tense, this dream is way too weird. “Kim Byeol and Kim Jae-hyuk…” Even saying their names sends a shiver through his body.
At hearing their names, the animal jumps into a pouncing position, snarling and baring its sharp teeth at him once more. Taehyung’s muscles coil up at the unusual reaction. He realises with such horror he gasps: this isn’t a dream, and this very pissed off wolf is real.
He rushes to stand up and slowly back away, making sure to keep the wolf in his vision, numbing fear running through him as he squeaks out, “what? why?” He doesn't understand why saying who his parents are has caused the wolf to have such a drastic change in behaviour. He knows they’re not very nice people but they couldn’t have wronged a fucking wolf, right?
The questions seem to piss the animal off more and it begins crawling towards him to Taehyung’s utter horror. ‘Leave.’
Well, that doesn’t answer Taehyung’s question, but he’s not about to stay and chat with this wolf so he turns tail and runs as fast as he can, praying the animal doesn’t follow.
About a minute later, the wolf thankfully hasn’t followed Taehyung, but he’s no less confused. He doesn’t understand anything right now. Why did he get dizzy when he looked the animal in its eyes? Why does it know his parents? And finally, why did it not like his parents?
He glances left, feeling a tidal wave of tingles run through his body — his fingertips almost becoming numb with the feeling. It doesn’t register that he’d looked south until much later...
****
About an hour or so later, Taehyung remembers with a jolt that he hasn’t eaten anything since sunrise. It must be already around two o’clock when his stomach rumbles, maybe this is the reason for him feeling so tingly and strange? He reaches into his bag and gets out a packet of rice cakes and a bottle of water.
He feels the need to keep walking so he does just that as he munches on his lunch. He groans softly at the amazing feeling of his water going down his throat; he didn’t know how thirsty he was until he drank something — the long journey making his throat dry.
The aura of this side of the forest feels different, he can’t really describe it. Before, the air felt calm and relaxed but here it feels almost charged. It feels like the calm before the storm — something is going to happen. But unusually, Taehyung feels protected and secure, certain that nothing is going to hurt him. It’s as if his body is in search of something, and when he finds it, the forest will relax; like he’s connected to the trees surrounding him.
Or maybe he’s going crazy.
He feels his phone vibrate in his bag and frowns as he fishes it out. How is he getting service in the middle of a forest?
12 missed calls from: Mum
23 missed calls from: Dad
His face turns pale when he reads his notifications, his heart rate picks up and his phone almost slips from his grip. He stupidly didn’t think of them calling him.
He opens his messages and almost faints when he sees the tonnes of unopened messages from them. He debates whether or not to open them; he’s quite far away from them at this point and then if he opens it he can block them.
He first opens his mum’s messages:
Mum
Yesterday at 9:34PM
taehyung? Why aren’t you in your room?
Where are you?
We’re both worried
Answer our calls taehyung.
Today at 1:22AM
You’re in so much trouble when you get home.
Come back now.
Today at 6:02AM
We both didn’t sleep because of you. Get home.
Today at 9:29AM
Answer our calls Taehyung.
Tae doesn’t bother reading the rest. It’s going to be all the same. He hits the block button for his mum’s contact and feels some bittersweet feeling run through him — it stitches in with the empty fear and makes him grimace.
It doesn’t last long when he sees his dad’s last couple of messages:
Dad
Today at 1:43PM
Left your location on.
Silly boy.
We’re coming to get you.
His fingers turn numb with the feeling of panic, he can only stare at the screen; breaths already turning wild.
We’re coming to get you.
We’re coming to get you.
We’re coming—
You’re dead.
He finds it in himself to check the time on his device. Hoping, praying, that it’s enough time for him to get away.
2:32PM
How is it that time already? Only a dash of relief slides itself along with pure unadulterated fear and helplessness, because if they find and catch him, he—
Might not survive…
That thought alone has him dropping his phone and running as fast as he can.
Run, run, run until you can’t anymore.
Run until you can’t feel your legs and feet.
Run until your lungs hurt and your heart almost gives out.
Run until all you can feel is the grinding of your bones.
Run until you collapse...
The thud, thud, thud of Taehyung’s feet help him keep moving. The twigs snapping and the harsh cut of the plants against his legs carry him through the forest anyway he can go. He lets his body lead the way; because he has no idea where he is. His frantic breathing the only sound able to reach his ears through his panic.
His legs catches on a low tree root and suddenly he’s not moving anymore. He’s falling with a helpless yelp and he crashes into the ground with a grunt, a flare of pain shoots from his ankle and fizzles in his hands.
It takes him a minute too long to come back to himself — much too confused as to what just happened and why he's not moving. Then the text comes through his cloudy brain and the pain doesn’t matter anymore. None of it fucking matters because if they get to him his ankle won’t be the only thing hurting.
He’s quick to get up and step forward on his hurting foot, but his leg gives out and he’s forced to kneel, gritting his teeth at the ache coming from his foot. But he can’t not be moving, he has to run. He struggles up, takes a step on his other leg and closes his eyes, preparing for the expected pain as he steps on his injured foot — he throws his head back and groans lowly.
Fuck it hurts so bad.
We’re coming to get you.
Taehyung breathes through the throbbing and looks down at the offending injury. He didn’t know he was shaking until he sees his tight fists shake with the effort to just keep standing. Running for miles in the past couple of days hasn’t done him any favours and everything hurts.
We’re coming to get you.
He slowly limps forward and surprisingly manages to stay upwards. He smiles at himself slightly; at least this means he can get moving again, no matter how small his steps are.
****
Around fifteen minutes later he’s sweating more than he was when he was sprinting. The amount of effort it’s taking to take a step is so large; he’s only moved around fifty metres, and if he turns around he can still see the tree root he tripped over
But the only thing he can do is clench his teeth together and carry on.
****
It’s been an hour.
Taehyung can feel every single weak muscle shift and groan under his skin with every unsteady step. His throat feels raw and his lungs feel cold from all the harsh breathing he's doing. His feet have never felt more sore and he’s had a cramp in his uninjured foot three times already; his palms hurt and are dirty from the fall and he’s sure they’re bleeding but he refuses to open them to check. At this point, all he can do is lift his aching right leg and ease it onto the crowded floor.
But he can’t stop.
He knows his parents are on their way and even though it took him a day and a half to get here, he knows they’ll walk or run until they find him. They won’t pause to sleep like Tae did, so he’s sure they’ll find him in half the time it took him to get here. That’s not even taking into account his injury, it’s slowing him down so much and the fear bubbles deep on his stomach, rearing its head at every twig snap or rustle behind him.
He’s gotten quite far at this point but it’s not enough.
He takes a deep breath in and holds it for a count and releases, he can smell so many different things now that he’s paying attention: rabbits, foxes, badgers, wolves, birds—
Wait…
Wolves?
Why the fuck can he smell wolves?
He takes another breath, focuses his whole body on that scent and tries to figure out which direction it’s coming from so he can get the fuck away.
Only…
It’s everywhere.
The scent is surrounding him and for a panic-stricken second he thinks he’s being circled, but he can’t hear anything. He tries to remember which way he ran because the wolf he ran into said its home is South, and he really, really doesn’t want to run into it again, not with the haunting image of its angry eyes and teeth; but he can’t remember a thing, he just ran.
He lets out a frustrated sound and limps on.