SWEET HOME

CHAPTER 7

The air in the plant shop felt suddenly thin, as if the house itself were holding its breath. The trumpet vine placed in the shop seemed to choke the entire place with its creeping branches. The coldness barging inside the tiny place and the grunting of wild boars were piercing through the wind.

Taehyung inhaled heavily while looking at his empty but shivering hand and his throat became so dry. Yoongi had been with them for only one day, yet he had just found something very creepy about him. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird out of anxiety.

It wasn't just an odd behavior. It was predatory!

Taehyung didn’t think, he just stormed with his cold feet. His bare feet slapped against the cold wood of the foyer. The small sweet home, which usually felt like a sanctuary, now felt like a labyrinth of hiding spots.

He needed Jungkook. His husband was likely in the garden or the garage, blissfully unaware that they had invited a wolf into their home.

“Jungkook!”

He tried to scream, but it came out as a ragged whisper. He reached ImSoo's new room and found that baby sleeping peacefully, then back to terrace, his eyes darting toward the dense treeline where the old stone outhouse stood- the small, isolated cottage they had allocated for Yoongi. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the gravel path.

Suddenly his head started to spin when the door to the outhouse creaked open. His breath hitched. He expected to see the hulking, silent frame of Yoongi.

Instead, Jungkook stepped out. He was rolling down his sleeves, a faint, distracted smile on his face. He looked calm, terrifyingly normal.

He hadn't seen Taehyung yet. He just turned back to wave at someone still inside the shadows of the doorway before pulling the oak door open.

A cold sweat broke across Taehyung's skin. Jungkook came out from the same darkness he's afraid of which made his blood run cold. His anxiety piqued which left him barely breath.

Jungkook was walking toward Taehyung now, whistling a low, rhythmic tune. He looked so vulnerable, so completely unaware of the malice his husband had just uncovered. He looked like a man walking away from a ticking bomb, unaware that his clothes were already soaked in water.

"Jungkook!"

Taehyung finally gasped, stumbling toward Jungkook.

Jungkook looked up, his eyes instantly brightened with genuine warmth.

"There you are, Tae. I was fixing the water leakage in the outhouse. Poor man, he slept under a leaking roof last night."

Taehyung reached Jungkook, his hands trembling as he grabbed his husband's forearms, searching Jungkook's face for any sign of harm.

"Yoongi-ssi is a quiet fellow, isn't he? Hardly says a word."

Behind Jungkook, the single window of the outhouse caught the dying orange light of the sunset. For a brief second, he saw a silhouette standing perfectly still behind the glass, watching them. He didn't know what was worse, the monster in the cottage or the fact that Jungkook had just walked out of its lair with a smile, completely unaware that they're being hunted.

Yoongi stood in the shadow of the outhouse door, his large frame partially obscured. He wasn't moving. He was simply watching Taehyung with an intensity that felt predatory, a look so hunger filled and sharp, it felt like a blade pressing against the scared man's throat.

"Jungkook!"

Taehyung whispered, his voice trembling as Jungkook walked in, humming a tune from the radio.