Three weeks went by slowly for Taehyung, quickly for Jungkook.

The younger had an overloaded schedule with interviews, rehearsals, and concerts making up most hours of his days. On the contrary, Taehyung's days were relatively free. With most of Big Hit's team on the tour - including Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok - he didn't have his typical singing and dance practices. The remaining staff at the company was convinced V's own tour would be canceled, so they weren't invested in helping the artist prepare.

That left too much free time for the elder.

Jungkook called each and every day, even if he was exhausted and completely burnt out. Some of their conversations were quick, with the younger practically falling asleep before Taehyung's eyes. On rare occasion, the two boys talked for hours on end, easily picking up where they left off. Those times were few and far between, as Jungkook was often being pulled into another obligation.

On top of his mandatory schedule, Jungkook spent a lot of time interacting with his fans on the live web application he was ordered to use. He truly did love interacting with the massive amounts of people, however. He even found a few inside jokes from Taehyung posted in the comments section, which always made him smile like a fool. It made him want to do the best job possible knowing the elder was watching him.

Despite the exhaustion and limited amount of free time, Jungkook loved being on tour. Traveling to new cities, performing in front of thousands, and continuously evolving his craft . . . it was an experience like no other. It was the product of his dreams becoming reality.

It was everything he used to pray for.

But it did nothing to fill that missing piece of him. The excitement and energy never erased his thoughts of home. Of who his home was.

Unconsciously he'd look to the wings during a performance, hoping to see Taehyung there.

He never was.

Jungkook wondered when they'd reach the eye of the storm so the other half of his heart could be by his side again.

Over the three weeks that passed, the scandal didn't die down as everyone hoped. Jungkook evaded the media's relentless questioning, but that only seemed to add fuel to the fire. Everyone was focused on cracking the mystery and it was physically tolling for Jungkook to keep up the charade. He'd often call Taehyung complaining about it all, with the elder being supportive and understanding as usual.

But Taehyung was still having a hard time.

He knew his stint as V had come to an end. Even if Big Hit waited to cancel his contract officially, he knew in his heart that his career was over. His fans hated him and he didn't blame them. They put up with so much of his shit over the years and finally decided enough was enough.

Taehyung deeply regretted never showing them who he truly was. If he had the opportunity to do it all again, he'd introduce the world to Taehyung and not V.

Dwelling on those thoughts weren't helping him, so Taehyung tried his best to be productive. With his new source of free time, he spent hours writing new music. Countless lyrics poured out of him, dedicated to a career he never really put effort into. He could only spend so much time on that, however; it was saddening to write words he'd never get to share with the world.

Outside of those quiet moments writing - where his mind went blank and he poured his emotions onto the page - his mind was running rampant. There was too much alone time, with only unhealthy thoughts keeping him company.

With no one to distract him, he realized just how heavily he learned to lean on Jungkook during those moments. Relying on the younger wasn't a bad thing, but Taehyung needed to be able to stand on his own. He needed to be able to pull himself out of his shadows.

So he made what he hoped to be one of the smarter decisions of his life.

Taehyung sat in a serene office, relaxing his limbs as much as possible. He didn't know what to expect and his heart was racing as a result. He liked knowing the outcome of things before he embarked on them; he liked having control over all situations.

Hopefully this new journey would help him become more tolerant of change.

"Kim Taehyung?" A kind voice broke the room's silence.

Taehyung turned to meet the gaze of a man in his mid-thirties, a friendly smile on his face and round glasses perched on his nose.

"I'm Lee Hyun, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"You look too young to be a therapist," Taehyung remarked, expecting to meet with a wrinkled, senile man.

The man smiled broadly at him. "What can I say? I have a great skincare regime."

The younger laughed, running his hand through his faded blue hair. The strands had grown longer, hanging just below his eyebrows. Since he wasn't in the public eye at the moment, he had no desire to maintain his current look.

"Let's talk about why you're here, Taehyung," the elder said, propping himself up casually against his desk.

A few beats went by as Taehyung looked down at his hands. "I guess I don't know where to start exactly."

He expected a lecture or dull verbiage about the power of psychology, but instead, the therapist chuckled and regarded Taehyung with a smile.

"I find starting at the beginning always helps. Tell me about your life before becoming V."

At first, Taehyung wasn't sure how to open up. However, after some probing questions from the therapist, he slowly revealed more and more about his home life when he was younger. He started as far back as he could remember, sharing story after story of his parents' neglect.

All the while, the older man listened intently. He jotted down notes and circled back to ask more questions. He was an active participant in the conversation, making it seem like Taehyung was talking to a friend rather than being interviewed. It made it that much easier to explain some of his most painful memories.

He never expected how cathartic it'd feel to share his history with a complete stranger.

An hour went by of the two talking, with Taehyung reliving details of his abuse that he never thought he'd bring up again. But he realized he felt so much better after. It was like a muzzle was removed from his mouth at last.

They focused purely on his home life, not having nearly enough time to delve into Jungkook's involvement or his life as V. The man reassured Taehyung that they'd get there eventually; he didn't want to rush the process.

"We covered a lot today," the man said at the end of the session. "How are you feeling?"

"A mix of emotions," Taehyung responded candidly. "Free of some of the weight, but also sad. Sad to relive what the younger me endured."

"That's completely natural," the therapist nodded. "We can't expect to just talk about something and then have it be all fine and dandy. It will take more than that. It will take a lot of effort to accept that what happened, happened. But the good news is that it's all in the past. And we can use those experiences to make us stronger people for the future."

Taehyung hoped he was right. He wanted to be able to move on. The feelings he harbored for so long were not healthy and they needed to be expelled once and for all. And therapy seemed like the best way to do it.

"Are we able to meet everyday?" Taehyung asked, knowing he had nothing else consuming his schedule. "I'd like to continue on with this."

The elder nodded. "I'll make my schedule work."

"Thank you," the younger smiled at him, feeling grateful and hopeful.

"You are most welcome. One last thing before you go, Taehyung."

Taehyung waited as his therapist went to a bookcase, grabbing a leather book from the top shelf. The item was handed over to him, and after flipping through the pages, the younger quickly recognized it to be a journal.

"Today's homework is to write a letter to the boy you used to be, the one who experienced pain from the ones meant to protect him. It can be whatever you want it to be, as long or short as you see fit. Empty your mind and write. That's all."

He thanked the man one final time before heading out. Upon entering his car, he leaned back into his seat and opened to the first page of the journal. There was a renewed energy coursing through his veins that had been missing for a long time. It was refreshing yet oddly intimidating.

With a pen pressed to the unlined paper, he did as was instructed and emptied his mind. He began writing.

Dear TaeTae . . .

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

》《