A World Without Them: Final

"Taehyung!" Manager Eun called out, barely keeping up with her high heels and limiting skirt.

Taehyung swung around and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I...I just wanted to say, good luck. All of us know how much you wanted this tour," she said breathlessly. Her cheeks were tinged with a slight shade of pink, and suddenly she felt like she couldn't look Taehyung in the eyes, darting away to the side.

Taehyung smiled softly, the corners of his eyes creasing. A soft, melancholic smile, sending a jolt through Manager Eun's heart.

Dazed, she walked his solitary back as he walked away. Somehow, she felt something wasn't right. Almost as if that back was supposed to have someone else along with him, walking up to the stage with him. Performing with him.

She had never thought of this before. But, Taehyung had never looked as lonely as he did now, walking along with his straight back and electric smile. To others, he looked perfectly normal. To Manager Eun, who had stayed with him for many years, she could feel the microscopic difference.

His posture was too stiff to be natural, his smile holding a tinge of sorrow. But what truly gave him away was his eyes; the pain and yearning that he tried so hard to hide but was apparent to her eyes.

Did something happen?

Maybe it was the many years of being alone? Taehyung never dated. He had no dating scandals, hell, he didn't have any scandals at all. He was picture perfect and glowing, a god in the mortal realm.

He seemed less god-like and more human now.

Taehyung tried to still his furiously beating heart, thumping hard in his chest. Performing at Citi Field, without the people he wished was with him. He could hear the chants, the screams, the feverish excitement of his fans, gathered right above him.

Several staff members rushed around him, ushering him onto a platform that would rise up onto the stage.

"Starting in 5 seconds. Good luck," a nearby staff member informed him.

Taehyung smiled his thanks and nervously adjusted his microphone.

Above his head, he heard the familiar tune of his song, Stigma, begin to play. The stage floor above him slowly opened up, and the platform rose.

Taehyung got into position.

The bright lights of the stage shone into his eyes, blinding him slightly. But even that could not stop him from seeing the sea of lights in the distance; twinkling like the sea of fluorescent fireflies within a dark night. The stars could not be compared to them, for they were brighter than the stars.

Tens of thousands of eyes were upon him.

Taehyung took a deep breath, and started singing.

"I've been hiding it."

The lyrics seemed truer than ever at this moment in time; the truth searing at his heart. Yet there was no one he could tell, for who would believe his words? Yes, he was hiding this secret of his. He was not the Taehyung these fans knew and loved.

"Now I can't endure it anymore."

Taehyung's voice trembled slightly at the end. Luckily, it was barely noticeable, and he pushed on. But how much longer could he endure this heavy burden?

"Now cry."

The familiar sting in his eyes; the crushing weight on his chest. Blinking hard, he suppressed his own tears.

He had to be strong.

"It's only that I'm very sorry towards you."

Deep in his heart, Taehyung was sorry. Sorry for taking away the joyful experience that his fans were supposed to get. Instead, they got a Taehyung who was broken and lonely; a Taehyung who replaced theirs and didn't belong in their world.

"You who was punished in my stead."

Why was he the only one left? Why was he the one left alive? Were they punished, in his stead?

Hoseok's smile, he would never see again.

Jungkook's pranks, he would never experience. Namjoon's leadership, he would never be able to follow again.

"Even if I try to hide it. Or conceal it, it can't be erased."

What happened when they find out the truth? What would happen to him?

"Please forgive me for my sins."

This must have been his fault. Taehyung's eyes stung and his bottom lip quivered. His nails dug into his skin, hoping the pain would help him resist.

Upon the final "Please" that fell out of his lips, a single tear fell from his eyes. Mixed into the sheen of light sweat, it was barely noticeable.

It had only been a day.

Taehyung took a deep breath and cleared his thoughts, focusing only on the concert and nothing else. He still had a duty to uphold, as an idol to his fans in this world.

Like this, the rest of the concert went by smoothly.

The sea of fluorescent lights calmed Taehyung's restless mind. The waves of anxiousness that had unconsciously haunted him for the whole day ebbed away. The chants eased away the stabbing feeling within his heart.

By the time the last song had ended, Taehyung smiled softly.

"Thank you, ARMYs."

The lights dimmed down, and Taehyung left the stage. Numerous gifts littered the platform, from roses to soft toys, which was gathered by several staff members.

Backstage, Taehyung gratefully accepted a bottle of water and a towel from a staff member. He smiled at the stuttering staff member and sat down on a nearby couch.

"Good work, Taehyung," Manager Eun said.

He nodded.

"It's getting late. We'll go back to the hotel now," she continued speaking, swiping through her iPad, "Tomorrow is just as busy."

Taehyung stood up. "Alright."

The ride back to the hotel was a short one. Taehyung stepped into the room, going straight to the window to admire the city lights at night.

Manager Eun's head peeked through the door. "Good night."

"Good night."

The door closed with a soft thud.

Taehyung took a shower, the steam clearing his head and shaking him from his muddled state of mind in the car. He collapsed into bed, ignoring his still wet hair.

Slowly, he drifted off into sleep, the warmth comforting and beckoning him.

Within his mind, a helpless voice cried out.

"Taehyung! Where are you?"

Was that...Yoongi? Where was he? How was he doing? Where was everyone else?

Taehyung was frantic, but he couldn't move his body. He tried to call out to Yoongi, but to no avail. Yoongi's desperate voice slowly faded away.

Another voice broke through, ringing clear in his head. It was a female's voice, melodic yet taunting at the same time.

"Do you want to find everyone else?" the voice dared Taehyung; telling him to jump into this unknown trap.

Taehyung couldn't reply, but he knew his answer inside his heart.

To find everyone else, even if it was a trap, it would be one he gladly walked into with both eyes open.