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Taehyung's apartment is cluttered with boxes, stacked high to the ceiling. Dishes, clothes, and furniture are wrapped and padded to prepare them for the moving truck. Nearly everything has been taken care of, with just a few odds and ends hanging around.
Taehyung hums softly to himself as he cheerfully grabs the last few items from his closet shelf. One box left with some shoes he should probably toss, as he hasn't worn them in years.
He tilts the box to retrieve it, but unbeknownst to him, another box was tucked away on top. The box crashes onto his head, the contents spilling out all over the floor. Taehyung sighs, rubbing his head and glancing down at the mess.
His heart stops. He had forgotten this box. All around him scattered are photographs. Two near-identical boys grinning with an arm around each other. Silly faces from awkward angles. Photos of strange sleeping poses taken with the flash on. A ratty old couch.
Shaking, Taehyung kneels to the floor, slowly collecting each photo and stacking them carefully back in the box.
There are other things inside. An older camera, long unused. An ad for a seedy apartment with no furniture. A silver ring and a note yellowed with age. A police report from years ago.
He has never shown you this box, unable to explain why he kept it he had hidden it away.
The boy with blond hair and innocent, sparkling blue eyes is long gone. He knows this. He himself killed that boy.
Taehyung wipes his nose on his sleeve, still clutching the box in the other hand. There was no body, nothing left from...then. This is all he has. When he was being chased, when you were in danger, his only thought was to protect you.
Now, in safety he wonders if things could have been different. If they could have been protected, too.
"Taehyung, the movers are here!" you call from another room. Hastily Taehyung puts the lid back on the box and shoves it into a waiting trash bag. After a moment, he quietly pulls it back out, taping it up and stacking it with the other boxes.
"Ah, there you are!" you chirp, grabbing his hand. Taehyung rests his chin in the crook of your neck, holding you tightly for a heartbeat.
"Let's go," he murmurs, pulling you out the door and leaving the memories inside.