Over the following days, Taehyung just continues to get worse and worse and as a result, he ends up sending a letter to his brothers back at Bangtan using his laptop and his dear mother’s assistance.
My dear brothers, I do not know when I shall return, unfortunately. My health just keeps getting progressively worse. Dad knows what is wrong with me, but he refuses to help, so I am kinda just stuck at home until we can find some sort of solution to this. It is a magical sickness, a family sickness, a family curse. I will be back as soon as I possibly can, I promise. Taehyung.
With that, the letter is finished and is sent to the others.
“I’m sorry, my son,” she says with a sigh as she places his laptop back on his desk with her magic, “really I am. Now do try to get some rest and holler if you need me. I’m going to find your dad, so we can find some resolution so you can get back to doing what you love.” With that, she leaves the room and goes in search of Taehyung’s father.
Meanwhile at Big Hit, RM opens his emails for the morning and soon finds the one from Taehyung. He then calls in the others to the main meeting room and they all read it together. As they read it, Jimin especially breaks down in tears. RM looks at the little Pegasus. “Are you okay, Jimin?” Inquires RM concerned. “How long have you known?”
“I’ve known for awhile,” sniffles the Pegasus. “Taehyung is the furthest thing from well. He’s told me everything. What he’s suffering from, it’s a family curse. His dad suffers from it too. It hit him earlier than expected. From what he told me, it doesn’t normally hit until the 30th birthday but that didn’t happen for him. It hit him early.” Jimin is in full blown tears at this point. “He’s told me how his dad refuses to find a way to help him, to find a way to mitigate his Tiger, control his Tiger.” With this, Jimin is completely inaudible in just a massive ball of tears.
Meanwhile back at his family house, Taehyung falls asleep but as soon as he does, the nightmares overtake him once more. These ones are different from the last. They’re of him in chains, even muzzled, held captive by his Tiger who refuses to let him go. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ Inquires the Taehyung in the dream. ‘Why do you torture me so? I never wanted nor do I deserve any of this.’
‘It is how it is,’ responds the Tiger of the dream with a maniacal cackle of a laugh. ‘Your father is who you have to blame for this curse in the first place, you know, foolish little foal.’ With that, Taehyung jerks awake absolutely sweating bullets. He soon hollers down the hall angrily.
“Appa! Appa get in here right now! Eomma! Eomma!”
Upon hearing their son screaming, the two unicorns come running. “What son?” Inquires the annoyed red brown unicorn. “What do you want?” He snarls.
“To explain why we have this family curse in the first place,” responds Taehyung absolutely in pain. “If I’m going to suffer with it, I deserve to know what it truly is.”
“Fair enough,” responds his father with a sigh. “It all started with your great, great, great, great, great grandpa when he made a deal with a zealous tiger spirit during the Early Wars. As a result, he got the ability to become a Tiger, but soon he lost control and the Tiger consumed him. It then continued down the family tree over the following generations, through each son. That is why your Tiger told you it was my fault, because in a way it is. That’s how vengeful spirits work.”
“Okay,” responds Taehyung absolutely dejected, “so there really is no escaping it. Great.” He plops down in his pillows defeated. “I’m stuck like this forever. I can never return to Bangtan and it’s all your fault!” He snaps at his dad. “Find a way to fix this, fix me, and maybe, just maybe I won’t turn my magic on you.” With that threat, his father leaves the room leaving Taehyung and his mother alone.
Meanwhile elsewhere, Jimin hops on the first train to Taehyung’s family home. He’s more concerned than ever about his best friend and soulmate and has just got to see him in person.
Back in his room, Taehyung sits still, hooves crossed, huffing, as his mother puts the magic dampener on his horn. “This is what you get for threatening your father. I get it was deserved, but it’s safer this way. You’re a loose cannon right now. I know it’s the Tiger speaking. It’s better to be safe than sorry, though. Please try to understand, my son. Please try to understand,” she continues to beg. Taehyung just sits there and stares at her blank faced. A few minutes later, he finally speaks again. He finally breaks down once more.
“I’m just scared, just angry is all,” cries Taehyung. “Tiger has no thoughts of letting me go, ever. In my brain, in my dreams, he has me trapped in all these cages, chains, muzzles, all of it. I just want to be rid of him,” he continues to bawl, “I just want to be rid of him for good before anypony close to me gets hurt.”
A few minutes after he says that, he hears a peep in the hallway. He looks down and sees his brother and sister now standing there beside his mother. “We’re worried about you, hyung,” says his little brother.
“Mmhmm,” adds his sister. They talk to him for a few more minutes before heading out for the day themselves. Upon their leaving, Taehyung is once again left alone with his mom.
“Eomma,” cries Taehyung, “do you think I’ll ever be rid of my Tiger? Or at least find some way to control him?”
“I honestly don’t know,” sighs his mom finally coming clean. “I’m sorry.” With that, she leaves the room once again leaving him completely alone.
Two hours later, the train arrives at Taehyung’s family home and Jimin flies off and up to the doorstep where he is soon greeted by Taehyung’s mom. “Hey Eomma,” he says as he hugs her, “long time no see.”
“Yeah,” responds Taehyung’s mom. “You’re here to see Taehyung, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” responds Jimin, “you know I hate it when he’s hurting. My poor, poor soulmate.” With a nod, Taehyung’s mom leads Jimin inside and to Taehyung’s room. She then lets him in and lets the two stallions talk.
“Hey Jimin,” says Taehyung wincing with pain. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah,” responds Jimin as he comes over to Taehyung’s bedside and puts his hoof atop Tae’s. “You’ve looked better.”
“Yeah,” responds Taehyung once more through the pain. “Fighting the Tiger is exhausting. The nightmares, the physical attack he does to my body every time I try to fight back. It’s a losing battle every time.” He winces in pain once more.
“Why the contraption on your horn?” Inquires Jimin concerned. “What’s that all about?”
“I threatened to shoot dad with my magic earlier,” responds Taehyung with a huff, “and it was absolutely justified. It’s his fault we even have this curse in the first place. It’s through his ancestral line that this beast cursed our family.”
“Where does it start? Are only stallions affected?” Inquires Jimin concerned.
“It started with my great, great, great, great, great grandpa,” groans Taehyung, “and yes, it only affects stallions, which means my sister got lucky. Me and my brother, not so much.”
“Is there any way to cure it or control it?” The little Pegasus then inquires.
“Yeah, if we could get me a special amulet like the one Appa has, but the sorceress who made his died years ago.” Taehyung lets out a dejected sigh.
“But isn’t there an enchantress in Ponyville that might have some idea of what to do?” Inquires Jimin. “That one zebra who is known for her magical remedies.”
“You’re right,” responds Taehyung. “I think the Princess said her name was Zecora.”
“We could try that,” responds Jimin. “I mean, you could. It’s worth a shot, right?”
“Yeah,” responds Taehyung. “It’s definitely worth a shot, but here’s the thing, Appa currently won’t let me leave the house, so we would need to sneak out sometime when he’s not here to even catch the train to Ponyville in the first place.”
“True enough,” responds Jimin, “but we’ll make this plan work. We’ll bring it to fruition. I promise.” The two do their little hoof shake to promise each other just like they have all the times before and with that, Taehyung falls right back asleep absolutely exhausted from fighting his Tiger off long enough for him to even get a decent word in with Jimin because for some reason, his Tiger is still trying to kill his best friend and soulmate.