#taexreader

Rose was up quickly and clambered after the retreating figure cloaked in black. He melded into the dark shadows of the dimly lit backstage area of the opera house. Jungkook came scrambling up to our door asking what was wrong.

“There was a man in here!” Lisa and I cried out together while we all clung to our bedmates for comfort. Some girls were crying from the fright and the rude awakening.

Jungkook’s eyes widened in shock as he shouted for Hoseok and Namjoon. The two older men emerged from their respective chambers blearily blinking sleep away.

Jungkook shouted at the older men and tried to find where the intruder had run off to, when they heard a door slam open. Once the older men heard the gist of the abrupt end to their slumber, Namjoon was rushing up to check on us and Hoseok was rushing out with Jungkook to try and tail the intruder.

Jennie was comforting me, telling me that if anyone could put the intruder in his place it was the pair running after him. I nodded. I knew that she was right considering the hushed rumors of the two that I had heard over the last 8 months.

I hadn’t thought to entertain them though, knowing that nothing good ever came from gossiping. I just kept my head down and worked on refining my skills and keeping my Master pleased. A thought creeped into my mind now, did Master know that there was an intruder in the opera house this morning? I had no way of knowing. Would he praise me for raising the alarm or... was that my master that I briefly saw?

I wasn’t stupid. I also heard the murmurs and hushed tales and the famed Opera Ghost. A mysterious man who often caused strange accidents (most were little pranks to get a rise out of the current leading soprano Francesca). Usually, these little pranks were coupled with a note from “OG”, it hadn’t taken long for me to put two and two together. I never brought this up to my Master, fearing he would think I believed in the gory tales that were whispered at best or acted out to frighten the rest of the chorus girls from time to time by the older, alcoholic stage hand that Jungkook worked under at worst.

Namjoon did his best to comfort us as we waited for Monsieur Hoseok and Jungkook to come back. We waited with bated breaths; eyes glued to the door frame. Jisoo and Rose had made their way to sit on the bed I shared with Jennie. We sat huddled under our blankets and leaned on one another for support. Lisa sat at the edge of the bed ready to attack should the intruder decide to come back again.

After what felt like eons, the two silhouettes of Hoseok and Jungkook filled in the door frame causing us all to relax.

“Did you find him?” Namjoon asked the question that was burning in our minds.

Hoseok shook his head, “No, he got away, we stayed out to circle around the opera house, we couldn’t find any trace of him, or of where he broke in from...” he trailed off, deep in thought.

Most of the rest of the opera house was waking up from their slumber by now, continuing to work on their projects, blissfully unaware of what had transpired. “We’re going to have to tell Jin and Yoongi,” Namjoon sighed rubbing at his temples with his slender digits from his perch on the wooden stool.

“Kookie,” Hoseok started but then paused. “Never mind, just uh,” he glanced around the room and back at the doe-eyed young man. “Just go get some breakfast, let the cook know we’ll be sending the girls down soon.”

Jungkook nodded and was off without complaint.

The rest of the day passed without incident, even the Opera Ghost didn’t come out to taunt Francesca when her singing got especially nasally. The girls were always near, Jennie and Jisoo opted to staying near me, the intruder had seemed intent on getting to me according to their version of what happened this morning.

I just couldn’t wait for night to fall for it to be time for me to meet with my Master.

Unfortunately for me, the day insisted on dragging on for some unknown reason. I did what I could to keep my mind busy and my thoughts distracted from the events of the morning. Today though, God brought me a different distraction.

“Soul-ah?” I heard the soft, curious voice from behind as I mentally ran through the steps of the dance yet again.

I turned in surprise, not paying attention to who was calling my name, “yes?”

Jimin was staring at me, eyes wide with shock. “Soul-ah!” he ran for me and lifted me into his arms easily. I was startled to say the least. My cry tore from my throat causing others to stop and stare. Jimin then seemed to remember that we weren’t alone and set me on my feet gingerly. “I didn’t mean to startle you, my apologies.” Though his eyes were alit with mischief.

I scoffed and playfully smacked on his shoulder causing others to gasp and Francesca to go red in the face. “You absolutely are the worst liar, Jiminie,” I chided.

My dongsaengs watched with interest as the banter flowed between Jimin and I easily. Monsieur Hoseok took his time making his way over. I blanched and lowered my head when I saw him from my peripherals and realized how it must look to the others.

“Soul-ah,” Hoseok’s soft voice was so gentle, “please go and practice your stances 50 times.”

I nodded and with a curtsey, excused myself to find the bar furthest from Jimin and Francesca to avoid further punishment.

“You didn’t have to send her away,” Jimin chided softly to the instructor.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t distract my dancers,” Hoseok smiled at Jimin politely.

Jimin’s eyes flashed with something and looked over Hoseok’s shoulder at the one dancer he was interested in. “She’s my noona—I haven’t seen her in 6 years.”

Hoseok’s eyes softened in understanding. That wasn’t the witty banter of lovers bumping into each other, he realized. It was the genuine reunion of siblings. “Still, there is a time and place for this kind of reunion,” Hoseok smiled clapping the younger man on his shoulder lightly. “Also, I’m not sure Francesca can stand not having your attention,” the older man added under his breath for only Jimin to hear. "You wouldn't want to cause your noona trouble, would you?"

Jimin nodded and made his way to the lead soprano to finally greet her, making sure to put in more effort today. He didn’t want his momentary lapse in judgment to cause his noona any more trouble with the lead singer especially since there were rumors that his noona would one day take her place.

After finishing my sets as Hoseok instructed, I took my place beside Jennie and we continued with practice. Hoseok watched us all closely. He was going easier on us considering the scare we all experienced this morning, but he still expected us to give our all to practice.

When the owners of the opera house had heard the news, rumors spread throughout the company quickly speculating about what this would mean. Jin and Yoongi had immediately sent out Jungkook to find some more young men that would stay watch for us to get added to the staff as stage hands. It couldn't hurt to have more eyes around, it was decided. A few hours later, Jungkook returned with two boys, Hyunjin and Han, they were introduced to the entire staff and performers. Yoongi interrogated the two to ensure they would be the right fit.

Then Jin swopped in and calmed the two young men easing their fears and they were led away by Jungkook to show them their sleeping quarters. Suddenly, it seemed that Hoseok was sending us off for dinner. I was happy to finally rest and couldn’t help the stirring butterflies that seemed to attack me now.

I ate quickly and told the girls I would be going down to pray for a few hours. They nodded and bid me a good night before giving me brief, strong hugs to send me on my way. I slowly made my way down into the chapel and lit a candle to help brighten the room a little and even said a prayer for the candle I lit.

“Angel,” his voice was clearer today.

“Master,” I beamed, the assault on my nerves deciding to finally settle at just the sound of his voice.

“I’m so glad that you’re safe,” he sounded as though he were right behind me. I nodded and clasped my hands together nervously. My senses heightened at the prospect of potentially seeing my master tonight. What a glorious end to the day that would be! I felt the smooth of fabric against my bare arm and stilled at the contact and then relaxed, knowing that my Master would never hurt me.

I took deep steadying breaths and turned quickly to look behind me to be met with the cold unfeeling stone wall. My heart sank. “Master?” I called out, the hurt clear in my voice.

“Today is not the day, My Angel,” he sounded further away again. Much like the distant deity that I thought him to be once more.

I couldn’t stop the cries that came then. I fell to my knees and cried at his rejection. I prayed that The Merciful Lord would reach down and smite me to end the pain. The torment and stress I had carried in my body all day finally broke me and I sat there in a crumpled heap, crying.

I didn’t hear his footsteps like I sometimes thought I could faintly hear in the past. I just felt strong arms and his distinct scent encircling me and pulling me close.  I clung onto him desperate to revel in at least this. Man, or ghost, I no longer cared. It was him. He was the one who inspired my voice and helped me to fly like I did was all that mattered to me. I didn’t try to turn to look upon his face again afraid that whatever dream my mind had concocted would end once again.

“Take all the time you need,” he hummed in my ear as he rocked me in his lap.

I don’t know how long we sat like that, or how long it took for my sobs to die down. All the while, he stroked my hair and held me close against his chest, calming me and giving me all the comfort and support that I needed to slowly build myself up again. I studied the sleeves of the coat that he wore now that my tears had stopped.

The cloth was fine, the weave was intricate. When the light of the candle caught the fabric just right, parts of it shone revealing a subtle pattern.  I took deeper and deeper breaths trying to memorize the scent of the man wrapped around me. “Take me with you,” I suddenly asked. “Wherever you go during the day, let me be part of that world.”

There was a soft sigh behind me. “You already are,” he hummed I felt him press me closer to his chest. “You need to sleep pet,” he softly reminded.

I nodded and reluctantly allowed him to detach himself from me. I waited until I was sure that he had left so that I could say my prayers and made my way slowly up the steps to the bed chambers. Han was at the door and allowed me to pass by wishing me a good night.

I thanked him and slipped through the door shutting it behind me. I fought sleep as I changed into my night shift after shutting the door softly and landed on the bed to let sleep take me. The crying took more out of me than I thought possible and the next thing I knew, I was in dream land.

Go B a c k | Turn P a g e | M. L i s t

As we were settled in with a plate of food my phone lights up with a skype call…from Jin. Me and you both panic because there was no way we could let it just ring (they would get suspicious) but we clearly weren't in our house. You quickly run out of the room and come back with a massive duvet. You throw it over our heads and tell me to answer the call. All the boys are huddled around Jin, staring into the screen with our darkened faces visible. When Rm questions our setting you calmly explain that we had made a fort and that we were currently in it. The duvet covered any evidence that we were elsewhere and they seemed to believe us, though at one point a malta ad for skincare blasts loudly from the tv and I had to make a dive for the remote. They just wanted to check on us before they slept ready for their flight and we assured them that we were both perfectly okay. You kept looking at V who had a glum expression on his face. You knew that he had to join later on the trip and you wish you could be there to comfort him as he dealt with family problems. J-hope asked what presents we wanted from malta and we played along, asking for shells and loads of pictures. Jk promised to get us all matching malta tops and Jimin said he would try to smuggle malta food through the borders. Everyone eventually and regretfully said goodbye, leaving suga with Jin's phone as he went to the toilet. He makes sure no one is in the room before bringing the camera closer to him and whispering “I know where you really are”. The look on our faces makes him laugh and he says quickly that since the crew weren't inside the BTS house 24/7, they needed someone on the inside to make sure none of the other members found out. He reassured us that no one else knew and goes back to a normal conversation just as Jin walks in to get his phone back. We’ve had a tad to drink and it's gone straight to our eyes so we leave the call and head off to bed. We put everything in room 4 for the time being and sleep there until the boys arrive. The next morning we are up bright and early to get some food to stock up the fridges. The boys get an allowance for things like food and everything but we don't have a budget, so we decided to help them out on things we were certain they wouldn't consider buying like washing up liquid and shampoo. We also travel to a big outlet for a few more clothes since we don't anticipate the heat of malta and knew that dragging 7 males around a shopping centre would be absolute chaos.  ————TIME SKIP ————

We get the news that the boys have touched down in malta and try to think of a plan to surprise them. Since V isn't with them, you decide to save your ‘surprising’ for when he arrives, meaning that you come up with a simple way to surprise the other lot. You call suga secretly when you know he’s away from the others and tell him to get Jin into room number two where I’ll be hiding and waiting. Rushing around, we clean the house up so that it's not obvious someone is already there and when we hear the sounds of voices outside the hotel we get into position. I hide in room two and you wait on the porch out of sight. In our places, we hear the boys enter and their voices echo around the large living room. We’ve been with them so much that we can tell that its j-hope who leaps up the stairs and jimin that follows with lighter steps. They inspect every single room except from room 4 which they are told is the staff's room and off-limits which they respect. Suga lingers a little longer in each room to see if he can spot either of us but even he can't see any trace of us. After they have excitedly run around the whole house, they gather in the front room to decide on who sleeps where. When you know the coast is clear you sneak into the kitchen and boil the kettle. None of the boys seem to notice the sound from the front room and you get ready for your surprise. You wait a few moments then in your most casual voice ever you call out “who else wants a tea?”. The boys freeze in their places. They were used to you calling that back at home but there was no way that they all imagined it in their heads at the same time. None of them move, they are actually a bit scared that it could be a ghost. When no one replies to you, you smirk knowing how scared they must be. Since no one wants to check the kitchen for ghosts Jk decides to reply as a joke “ Me please?”. When you shout back an “okay!” Everyone in the room loses their shit. J-hope jumps into Jks arms while jimin, who is sat closest to the kitchen stares motionless at the source of the voice. Rm is counting staff and tells everyone that it's not a staff member as they are all present. After a couple more minutes you give in , too excited to keep the secret and walk calmly into the living room. “one or two sugars?” you ask calmly and everyone roars in surprise. J-hope and Rm run up and tackle you into a hug. Jk claps in pure surprise while suga laughs hysterically.

 No one can really formulate a sentence other than “What, how, why?” as they stare at you in disbelief. J-hope clings to his chest and in fake annoyance tells you that he legit thought he was talking to a ghost. You perch a seat next to him and giving a knowing look to suga who explains he was in on it. Among all of this, jin looks around as though searching for something or someone. You put on your acting head again (you’re surprisingly good) and look sadly at him. “Faith really did want to come,” you say comfortingly “But there were too many things going on”. He smiles kinda sadly but insists that he understands, after all you’re there and that's amazing! They try and get you to tell the story of how you got to malta but, knowing that you cant without mentioning me, you suggest they pick rooms now and you can talk over dinner. You also make them swear not to tell V and they all pinky promise. Jin is a bit quiet and you lot all try to get him to perk up. Suga tells him that maybe room number two is the best option for him so that he can stay up later in peace to skype me at night. It seems to have worked since he takes the bait and chooses room number two. I've been hiding in the wardrobe for a little over an hour now and you’ve had to come in with some cut up apple so that I don't die in the heat of the cupboard. As Jin sits on his bed with his back facing me I quietly creep up behind him and put my hands over his eyes. He obviously thinks my hands are jimins and lets down his guard for a brief moment to tell “jimin” that he wished I was there. It's only when i let go of his eyes that he turns around and his jaw hits the floor. He looks at me then to the, now open, wardrobe with bits of apple inside, then back to me before engulfing me in a huge bear hug. He is totally silent and we stay there for a while in a big ole hug. RM comes in to check on Jin and when he sees me he shouts “NO WAY!”. You hear this and gather that I've come out of hiding so a hint that the boys should go to Rm.

 For the second time, the guys are dumbfounded and super excited. Jimin slings an arm around you playfully and ruffles your hair with his hand (He is the ONLY one that can just about get away with this for you). Jk joins in with mine and jins hug and tips the three of us over on the bed which creates a massive bundle with everyone. We all sit up, now all on the double bed overlapping limbs and i notice Jin secretly wipe a few tears from his eye but his smile tells me those are happy tears. We stay on the bed for the whole story of how we ended up in Malta and tell them that room 4 was actually our room. Suga makes a joke about how I may as well move my stuff to room 2 with Jin and you stay in room 4 to share with V which makes the three of us (excluding V obviously) blush slightly. But Jin says its a great idea and I can't help but grin that the male i have feels for actually wants to share a room with me. They are filled in on the rules that we are not to be filmed as best as possible for safety reasons and that the editing team is good enough for us to still join in and be edited out later on. No one has really noticed that time has passed so drastically until Rm, whose shoulder you are leaned on, looks out the window to see the Sun beginning to ever so slightly set. It triggers a wave of hunger in all of us and as we get up and stretch, we divide jobs up in order to make dinner. With it still being light outside you , Jimin , Jk and Suga go and explore a bit and get some fresh air while me , j-hope ,Jin and RM go in another direction to get food for later.

Taehyung held back his laughter as much as he could as he watched his little pupil stare defiantly into the air as she demanded that she see him. He couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread in his chest at the sight of her. He had tried to make her understand, he wasn’t like other men.  

He frowned a little, she didn’t think he was a man. She thought he was a deity. He sighed in awe of her raw innocence despite how old she was. Perhaps it was her Catholic upbringing and her uncanny luck with having next to no encounters with the evils of the world. Taehyung had been grateful for that. He had thanked his lucky stars and The Lord and God above that no real harm had ever come to her.  

Sure, she had her share of tragedy, she was an orphan now, and at such a young age. He learned this just the day before when he heard the stage hand asking a chorus girl what had brought the new girl into their midst. His heart had ached for her, but he knew that she wouldn’t know another moment of sadness as long as he was in her life. He would make sure of it from now on.  

He forced himself to not let his mind wander so much to just savor these moments that he shared with her and called her back to get into position to resume her training. Taehyung saw how she was just about running out of energy to continue with her lessons. Hoseok hyung had probably pushed the girls much harder today. After a few more exercises Taehyung dismissed the young woman to go up to bed.  He moved to a different part of the small chapel so that he could speak softly into her ear.  

He saw the moment she sharply took in her breath, surprised by how closed he seemed he watched the rise and fall of her chest as though he were entranced. If only she knew, he mused.  She huffed and told him her thoughts candidly, he smiled glad that she truly wanted to see him for her own reasons. Not because she wanted to gossip to the chorus girls about how he looked.  

Taehyung was infamous in the Opera House, having many names given to him by the patrons and those who worked in the theater. Opera Ghost, Phantom of the Opera, OG, Genius, Maniac, Psycho, the list went on. He was pleased to hear that she didn’t listen to those rumors of heinous deeds that sure he had committed, but she didn’t let that cloud or obscure her image of him.  

Taehyung finally agreed, he’d see her one day when the time was right and when she was completely under his spell, though he kept this part form her.  

She had urged him to promise her that this would happen and he couldn’t help to comply with her demand. His smile was wide and boxy as he watched her happily jump up and fly up the stairs faster than he thought possible considering how tired and overworked she looked only a few minutes before. Taehyung heard her quick little gasp and heard her clamber back down into the chapel to only kneel at the little alter to say her evening prayers.  

Taehyung was glad that she was a verbal prayer. A trait that even the most pious followers of her faith lost along with their childhood. He stifled his giggles at her little plea to The Lord to forgive her for almost forgetting to say her evening prayers. She talked about him. His chest puffed with pride as he heard her voice sound reverent when it came to him.  

He listened to her gentle voice as she prayed, Taehyung readied himself to quietly follow her as she made her way to her shared bed with Jennie. He knew it wasn’t likely for anything to be amiss, but he felt it was his responsibility to watch over her. He was her teacher, and his vow to keep her safe was not one that he took lightly.