taehyung blinks down at his wiggling toes digging into the soft sand, relishing in the texture of the individual grains slipping and sliding against his skin.
a small smile graces his features as he glances back up into the deep, dark night sky stretching on as far as the eyes can see, punctuated by millions of sparkling stars surrounding a bright white moon suspended high above the horizon.
taehyung can smell the salt hanging heavily in the air as he inhales a deep breath, eyes fluttering shut in his attempt to relax the tension in his muscles. instead, he focuses all of his concentration on the sound of the crashing waves, the briny smell of the sea, the grooved lines of the wooden porch rails underneath his fingertips as he hangs his weight back.
it’s moments like these he truly misses, the peace and calm of standing still for just one second, the rare opportunity to clear his thoughts and reevaluate everything that has happened in his life so far. and taehyung realizes just how much he’d always taken the simple things for granted.
because, in the rush and hubbub of their constant back to back schedules, the chaos of being shuffled on from one location to the next with their minds still a few paces back and unable to catch up to the present, taehyung sometimes forgets that he still needs to breathe.
they all do.
they all need to remember that they’re still human, and they need to take deep breath every once in awhile.
to clear their thoughts.
to reassess their lives, and remind themselves to slow down just a little bit.
because, in this fast paced life they live, it’s only too easy to jump from one moment to another, time slipping through their fingers in the blink of an eye, like water trickling through cupped hands.
and before he knows it, a day becomes a week, becomes a month, becomes a year, becomes many.
time loses its meaning as the days begin to blur, like a whirlwind of shapes and colors passing through his line of site. and taehyung feels winded, breathless.
“hey,” a soft voice breaks through taehyung’s aimless train of thoughts, warm hands sliding across his shoulders and pulling him back against a strong chest.
“hey,” taehyung leans back, resting his head on hoseok’s shoulder to stare up into his smiling face.
“why aren’t you sleeping?” hoseok asks, lifting a hand to tuck some of taehyung’s flyaway hair back into place.
“couldn’t sleep,” taehyung closes eyes again, concentrating on the rhythm of hoseok’s heart beating into his back, hoseok’s warm breath blowing softly against his cheek. “you?”
“me too,” hoseok replies, shifting from foot to foot as he sways their bodies along with the sound of the waves. “we need to try though. big day tomorrow. later today, actually.”
“yeah,” taehyung sighs, already so relaxed and at peace with the world. “can we just stay out here for a little bit?”
“sure,” hoseok smiles, tightening his arms just a little bit more.