Chapter Text
It was dark already. Taehyung sat at the back of the bus fidgeting with the wire of his headphones, even though he is exhausted. He’d been running errands all day and all he wants is to get home and cuddle with Jimin while watching a Studio Ghibli movie. He raises both knees to his chest, leaning his head to the window, and looks outside. His head was bouncing uncomfortably against the glass but he was too tired to actually care, closing his eyes as he focuses on the lull of the singer’s voice coming from his headphones. The streetlights look like shooting stars from the inside of the bus, melding together and forming a continuum of light. The warmer weather is starting to bring more and more people to the streets, which blooms full of life with the mixture of people’s laugh. He smiles.
The bus suddenly came to a halt when it arrives to the next stop, startling Taehyung. He watches as some of the passengers got off. While an old lady was paying her bus fare, he notices a dark figure hovering behind her. He raises his brows. The person—a man, maybe in his mid-twenties—is dressed in all-black, facemask included, and the hood of his oversized hoodie hides most of his face, only revealing his nose to the world. Once he has also paid his fare, he walks down the aisle and sat just in front of Taehyung. He is hunched forwards, scribbling on a notepad and even with his headphones Taehyung can figure out what he is listening to—loud rap music, like the kind Namjoon hyung listens when he's feeling bold. He smiles at that. He is tempted to ask who he is listening to, but judging by his body language, the man won't like to be disturbed.
He returns his attention to the scenery outside, grabbing his phone to take a picture of it. The constant moving of the bus makes it all blurry, and it makes it all seem more artistic than it actually is. Once he is content with the results, he sends one of the photos to Jimin.
Me:
>[attachement]
>we are watching spirited away once i get off the bus
Minnie:
>lol
>get here already, jinnie hyung is making samgyeopsal tonight
Me:
>I’ll be there in 10, I think?
>see you later <3
He smiles and closes his phone off. His lock screen—a picture of him and Jimin that had been taken when they celebrated his birthday—makes him want to get home as soon as possible. He yawns, triggering some tears at the corners of his eyes caused by fatigue, and he stretches his arms. He looks outside again, and he realises he is pretty close to his stop. He gathers his stuff and proceeds to get up, getting off the bus as soon as it stops. As it leaves, he raises his head, and makes eye contact with the guy sat in front of him, who is still sat inside the bus and who has pushed down the hood he's wearing, revealing a small, round face. His eyes are small, cat-like, and a halo of black hair frames his face. He has a feeling he knows that face, but he doesn't know how he knows that. As the bus leaves, it suddenly dawns to him.
He has to get to the shop.
Me:
>forget spirited away, go to namjoon’s shop asap
Minnie:
> taehyungie? You’re scaring me
> What’s wrong?
Me:
>I’ll tell you there, just go
And he starts running as fast as he can.
The shop isn't exactly near his house, and he is sure his legs will give out at any given moment. Nevertheless, he continues running and running. Once he gets to the shop, Jimin is already at the door, waiting for him. Taehyung stops for a minute, trying to catch his breath and still his heart.
“Taehyung, are you okay?” Jimin sounds worried, and he can't blame him. He’d be too, if their roles were reversed.
Taehyung nods.
“You scared me with that message,” he faintly smiles, but that smile disappears when Taehyung takes Jimin by the wrist and pulls him to the shop’s door.
With a push, they are inside. It isn't, by any means, a big shop. It's all cramped, with floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books and glass bottles and vials. At the front there is a desk with a cash register, with its entire surface filled up of paper sheets covered by names and recipes, and receipts. On one of the sides of the shop it sits a small round table, separated by the rest of the shop by a velvet curtain. They do the readings there, but the shop is technically closed at the moment, so Namjoon is now making some kind of potion there. Taehyung practically runs to him.
“Namjoon hyung,” he breathlessly calls.
He looks up, startled. Once he recognises the newcomers, his expression relaxes.
“Taehyung, Jimin,” he acknowledges them.
“Hyung,” Taehyung calls again, urgency evident in his tone. Namjoon’s face features darken once it dawns to him that he's being serious.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, looking at both of them.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to understand, but he’s being cryptic and won’t tell me what’s up,” Jimin says, frustrated.
“Hyung!” Taehyung’s voice echoes inside the shop. Now, both Jimin and Namjoon are looking at him, expectantly. “I’ve found him.”
“Who?” Jimin asks.
“The Moon”
The glass bottle that Namjoon's still holding clatters when it crashes on the ground.