The Red of the Rose | Taeyong

15 | Tell the Sunset

From that day onwards, Taeyong showed up to every session that Doyoung had scheduled for Miah. Sometimes, he would show up early, before the other two had even arrived, other times a little late, but he would always be there. In those sessions, he didn't do anything in particular. Mostly, he would lounge around, while Miah and Doyoung studied. But at times, when he was more active, he would sit at the same table, go through Miah's notes, constantly fiddle with her things, and, sometimes he would even participate in discussions when he felt what Doyoung was teaching her was wrong.

Having Taeyong around was a distraction, but Miah also found his antics cute. Whenever he would get tired, he would lean his head on Miah's shoulder and shut his eyes. Or, when he was hungry, he would go through her bag to find something to eat, which he would also feed her, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Doyoung however, was entirely irritated. Not only did he have to teach Miah amidst the chaos of Taeyong's shenanigans, he was also having a hard time controlling his disdain towards Taeyong being flirty with Miah. He knew of Taeyong's intentions, hence all those antics, which Miah was finding cute, he found repulsive. But he had to remain calm. He didn't exactly want to say anything in front of Miah; besides, he knew very well that if he reproached Taeyong, the effect would only be the opposite. So, Doyoung decided to brave through it and focus entirely on the task at hand, which was to get Miah up to date with the syllabus of the course.

Today was another such evening. Doyoung had scheduled a session in the library after classes and just like every day, it was him, Miah and Taeyong in the library.

It was a particularly boring topic. Miah was finding it hard to concentrate. Even Doyoung, himself was bored. Taeyong was on his phone next to Miah.

'Oh!' Doyoung stopped suddenly. 'I left half of my notes in class.' He got up from the desk.

'Do we need them right now?' If Miah had to wait for Doyoung to get the notes, she knew she would surely just fall asleep.

'Yeah. Let's just complete this topic today. I'll go get them,' Doyoung said and left.

Miah sighed and stretched her neck and back.

Seeing this, instinctively, Taeyong extended his hand to rub the back of Miah's neck.

Miah's body shuddered at his sudden touch. It was not the first time Taeyong and her skin had made contact. Only yesterday, Taeyong was sleeping next to her, leaning on her shoulder. But this touch was different. It was gentle, and it carried with itself the intention of care.

'How much more are you guys going to study?' Taeyong asked.

'Uh, probably half an hour more. Till the sun sets.' Miah looked out of the window to look at the slightly blueing sky.

'Aren't you bored?' Taeyong asked directly, retrieving his hand from her neck.

'Very.'

'Let's go somewhere.' Taeyong leaned forward, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

'Right now?' Miah asked, incredulously.

'Yes. Now.'

'But... Doyoung. We can't just leave.'

'He'll be fine.' Taeyong got up from his chair and offered her his hand.

Miah could not believe Taeyong was actually proposing they leave everything and just go somewhere. What she could not believe more so, was that she actually slid her hand in his and asked, 'Where?'

'Aha!' Taeyong exclaimed triumphantly.

'Just a second.' He tore out a small piece of paper from the notebook and wrote something on it.