It’s a new morning at V’s family home, when he wakes up to a throbbing shooting from his horn all across the rest of his body. “Mom, dad,” cries the red unicorn stallion in pain, “what is going on with me? Why does everything hurt so bad? I can’t even move it hurts so bad.”
“It’s happening early,” says Taehyung’s dad to his mother, “the Tiger Curse.”
“The what?” Inquires Taehyung still in pain.
“The family curse, the Tiger Curse,” responds Taehyung’s father, a wiser older unicorn. “Normally it hits come the 30th birthday, so I don’t know why it’s hitting you so early. The Tiger, it’s trying to escape, trying to take over you, that ravenous beast.”
“That explains the voice I’ve been hearing in my head these last few months as well, I take it?” Inquires V through the pain and tears.
“Yes,” responds his father. “It all starts with that voice and gets progressively worse from there.”
“So what am I to do?” Inquires V absolutely bawling at this point. “I don’t want to disappear from Bangtan because of this. I don’t want to hurt them either. How do I contain it? Can I contain it?”
“Containing it is near impossible, my son,” sighs V’s father as he comes over to his son’s bed. “The Tiger is too stubborn. It will fight to get out of the cage, out of your body.”
“You talk from experience, don’t you, appa?” Inquires V.
“Yes, my son,” responds Taehyung’s dad as he sits down in a chair at the foot of his son’s bed. “I do talk from experience. I was thirty when the Tiger took over me. It was present out in the open for near ten years before I finally got it back under some level of control. The amulet I wear, it keeps it at some level of bay, but the sorceress who made it, she’s long dead and gone at this point.”
“So am I to suffer?” Cries Taehyung. “Am I to worry constantly that I might hurt my groupmates, my friends, my brothers, Jimin…”
“I’m sorry, my son, really I am,” responds Taehyung’s father. He then leaves the room with his wife leaving Taehyung alone, in pain, once more.
Once in the hallway, Taehyung’s parents begin to argue. “Your tiger has been dormant for so long, my love. Please give our son the amulet. Can’t you see he’s hurting?! Can’t you see he’s in pain?!” She begins to cry as she continues to shout at him. “Please give it to him, help dull his pain at least a little bit. I beg of you!”
A few days ago, at Big Hit, V begins to hear a voice in his head yet again as a small tinge of pain presents in his horn. “What’s wrong?” Inquires Jimin as he walks past Taehyung, seeing his soulmate in pain as he itches at his horn. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been acting stranger than normal.”
“There’s this bizarre voice in my head, constant throbbing in my horn, I don’t know what’s going on,” responds V finally coming clean. “I’ve been to doctors but they haven’t been able to give me an answer, so I’m going home later. Going to ask my dad. Surely he has answers.”
“Okay,” responds Jimin, “just take of yourself, I worry about you, ya know?” He then flies off while V goes off in search of RM. A few minutes later, he finds RM at the seat in his studio and knocks on the door with his hoof.
“Come in,” responds the beige unicorn as he hears the knock on his door. V obliges and enters the room. Once Taehyung is in the studio, RM shuts the door behind them with his magic. “What’s up, Bear?” Inquires RM. “You don’t look too good. Are you okay?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” responds V. “I’ve been to doctors and they have no idea what’s wrong with me, so I was about to go home because I know my dad surely has answers of some sort. I have a feeling this may not be a medical thing but a magical one.”
“That would explain why the doctors are clueless. You’re right, Bear,” responds RM. “Go on and go home. I’ll tell the others.”
“Thank you,” responds V. He then opens the door with his hoof and leaves the room as his horn is still throbbing in pain. He then goes to him and Jimin’s room and begins to pack. As he’s packing, he hears that familiar peep in the doorway. It’s Jimin.
“You’re about to leave out, aren’t you?” Inquires Jimin of Taehyung. “It must be bad if you don’t even feel up to practicing.”
“Yeah, it is,” responds Taehyung as he continues to pack his bag. “Hopefully I can get this resolved soon and be back within four days. That’s the goal at least. It may be worse than I’m imagining and I might be gone longer than that. I don’t know for sure yet, unfortunately.” He lets out a sigh. “I hate being this kind of sick. It’s worse than anything else I’ve ever been through, and I just wish it would just go away, but I have a gut feeling this time, that that is definitely not going to happen. Not this, not this time.” He begins to cry. “I have a feeling that I’m very, very sick, Jimin and honestly, I’m very very scared.” He then finishes up with his packing and Jimin helps him to the train station. He then stays there and watches as Taehyung gets on the train back to his family home. He can’t say he’s not worried about his soulmate because he absolutely is and saying otherwise would be the furthest thing from the truth.
Two hours later, the train arrives at Taehyung’s home and he hops off and goes inside where he is soon greeted by his little brother and little sister. “Why are you home, Taehyungie?” They inquire of the red unicorn.
“Where is, where is appa?” Inquires Taehyung in absolute pain. “Is he home yet?”
“Not yet,” responds his sister. “But at least let us help you to your room. You need to get off your hooves.” Taehyung nods and lets his siblings carry him to his bed. They then tuck him in and assure him that their dad will be home soon enough. Before his dad even gets a chance that night to talk to his son, Taehyung is already passed out exhausted from all the pain by the time the old unicorn even gets home.