delicate | K.TH

28

AMIN

A gasp leaves my lips.

The person's head turns the moment he hears me. And the moonlight slants on his face, eyes shadowed with the angle.

His lips tint with a smile.

"Taehyung." I whisper, voice weak as I rush over to his arms. He pulls back his hood, crushing me to his chest.

"I—I...thought you weren't going to come back for another month....?"

"It's your birthday, Noona." He murmurs, those beautiful eyes glinting in my direction. And it's like he's gotten even more gorgeous than before, except...

"Why do you look so tired?"

He kisses me on my cheek. Remembering that we're still outside the door, I pull him in and take him to the couch.

The shadows I'd seen earlier hadn't all been from the angle of the moonlight.

"It's just work." He says lowly, lips never leaving mine for more than five seconds. "And you. I haven't seen you for so long that I thought it would kill me."

I laugh out loud.

"Kill you?"

"I'm not joking." Taehyung whispers, hands pale on my face. "I couldn't fall asleep, Noona. It felt so wrong that you weren't there."

And then his eyes flicker urgently to the clock.

"Happy birthday." He smiles softly, and I nearly melt at the warmth of his voice. "I'm sorry— I saw your calls and everything just a few minutes ago."

He pouts.

"You have no idea what I went through to get here today. I was so scared I'd miss your birthday entirely."

And I can't stop smiling as I press myself closer against his body, voice playful.

"Why? What happened?"

He starts telling me, voice dipping and rising with annoyance. He'd apparently lost himself on the way to the airport, and had to take the next flight— which had been delayed because of weather.

And when he'd arrived here, he'd taken a bus that had actually headed the opposite direction from where we were.

By the end of his story, I'm laughing so hard he's staring at me accusingly.

"If I hadn't messed up so much, I would've been here by early afternoon." He sighs into the crook of my shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

And I'm about to say it's nothing when he shifts off of my body, burying his face in his hands.

"I can't believe...did you at least do something today?" He says, expression hurt. "I had so many things planned out for your birthday, and it was all for nothing. I can't believe it."

His lips are soft as it presses against my forehead.

"I— I did celebrate with Shilla and Jungkook."

His concerned features loosen a bit.

"Good." He whispers, hand coming up to shift my hair over my shoulder. Then his voice fades, with every word. "That's good, Noona."

"Tae?"

"When...do you need to go back?" I ask, tone hesitant. There's some part of me that hopes, that maybe they'd let him go to stay here.