Existing but not living.
Hearing but still not listening.
Looking but barely noticing.

Yeah, that's one way to describe the 20 year old who went by the name of Jeon Jeongguk.

The aforementioned was just in the second year of his college, who seemed to be living his life like any other student you might come across. But people who knew Jeongguk well would know better.

Most of the time, you would catch the ravenette scribbling away notes during his class hours and when classes were finally over, you could easily catch him at the library.



No, Jeongguk wasn't a nerd though he maintained a fair grade in all his subjects.

Yes, he wanted to avoid human contact.

He would go to any extent for that but he always knew to keep it subtle. He couldn't possibly live through his college life by being a socially withdrawn person, can he?

So he did what he does the best.

He puts his mask on.

A mask which had cost him a few precious years of his life and a lot of betrayals. But nonetheless, it was worth it. It had made the mask much stronger than it could have ever been; strong enough to let people be unaware of what it conceals.

Or atleast that's what Jeongguk thought until he met him.



..............................................................................


All he sees are colours.
Even on a dark night, even in the shadows.

He would always find colours.

And he would put it down.
On a canvas, or in his sketchbook, whatever he found close. But he would make sure he did. According to him, life was full of vibrant colours and to miss out  on them would be the greatest loss. And hence, he had embarked on his own little journey to capture all the colours his eyes could be a witness to.

The guy himself was too optimistic, or so people would say. You could catch him at any situation he might be in, but you would never miss out on the gentle smile. If you ever found yourself amidst trouble or perhaps you'd need a shoulder to cry on, he'd always be there. He may not know you, but he'd still be there.


And that's who Taehyung was.


But humans, yet again, were too harsh for their own good.
It took almost no time for his genuine goodness to be labelled as a 'facade'.
His little truth was lost in a thousand lies.

But little did Taehyung care, for he knew that somewhere, someone knows what his intentions are. And humans? Well, they are humans so the right to judgement is something they award themselves with without actually having any right to do so. But that's what it is. It's part of being human.

And since Taehyung understood that pretty well, he never found himself loathing the human race for what they did to him. Inspite of the thousand 'labels' he was provided with, he still couldn't find it in himself to hate them.
On the contrary, if anything, he always ended up loving them back.


It took him some time to finally see the humans for what they are.
He could now read them like the back of his hand. But he being himself, still didn't feel hate. They were just... different. Or atleast that's what he would call them.


Years of experience had taught him how to see through the countless layers of facades people hide themselves behind.
And just when he thought that there existed no one he couldn't see through at a glance, he saw him.

And that's how Kim Taehyung realised how wrong he was.



..............................................................................