𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒 𝗇𝗂𝗇𝖾

Chapter 20: A Mad Dash

He smiles so broadly at the realization that they are, in fact, on their very first date. The date you tell your children about. The date you celebrate as an anniversary. She smiles back at him curiously.

"You haven't tried the cheesecake yet." She turns back to the sweets and scoops up a forkful, lifting it up to his mouth to offer it to him. He watches her eyes closely, getting lost in them and all the possibilities he sees now. He opens his mouth and she gently feeds him. He closes his lips around the fork, watching her eyes stare at his lips as she pulls the fork back. He takes the opportunity to place his tongue at the corner of his mouth to lick a small bit of the cake into his mouth. Her eyes open wide and she blushes, turning a soft shade of pink, and he grins, feeling as though he's gotten to her a little, finally.

"Can I take you home?" he asks softly, watching her closely. She seems very focused still on his lips. She snaps out of her trance and smiles.

"I'll ask them to wrap this up." She stands quickly, taking the plates and walking to the counter. He grins to himself, feeling as though the connection is finally made for her. This is the beginning of everything he'd hoped for.

She carries the plates back to the counter feeling very flushed with excitement and unsure exactly what will happen next. She sets them down and waits as the staff, who are huddled together, turn to look at her. They whisper among themselves before one of them steps up to her.

"Hi Dongwook, can we get these wrapped up to take away please?" She asks. He leans in.

"Hana what are you doing here with Kim Taehyung?!" he asks in a loud whisper, looking back at the other staff still huddled together watching them. She looks at him confused.

"How do you know him?" she asks curiously.

"What are you talking about?! Everyone knows him. He's famous all over the world." She looks back at him blankly. "Do you really not know who he is?!" He shoots a look at the other staff and then turns back to her. "He's in BTS, the biggest group on the planet? Are you serious?" She's embarrassed at her ignorance and at the implication that she should definitely know who he is. She nods trying to pretend she knows something, anything.

"He told me he was an artist, a singer and a dancer," she offers, almost speaking to herself. Dongwook laughs.

"Yeah, I'll say. He just happens to have millions of fans and rooms full of trophies and awards." She stares hard at him, unsure of how to respond. He looks at her and shakes his head. "I'll just wrap these for you." He steps back to the others, plates in hand, and they whisper to each other. She watches them, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

She turns to look at Taehyung, sitting with his back to the counter, looking down at his phone at the table. She wonders, if this is true, what it means for her simple life. She's a teacher. She's a Grad student. She's in Korea for a very important reason. She has a job still to do, perhaps the most important job of her life. What does this mean to her? Dongwook returns with a small package. He leans back over the counter.

"Please invite me to the wedding," he teases. She blushes, embarrassed, and is unable to respond. She slowly turns and carries the package back to the table. Taehyung is putting his phone away just as she reappears. He stands, smiling.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks. She nods slowly, still lost in her thoughts. He touches her arm gently to lead her toward the door. She allows him to lead her out of the cafe. She looks back at the staff who are all watching them and she notices that one of them has her phone raised, taking a picture as they leave. She can't process what exactly is happening.

Feeling her lagging a little behind, he takes her arm more firmly and leads her back toward the car. He opens the door and she gets in, saying nothing as she holds the package of treats and watches him quickly dart around to the driver's side. He gets into the car, locking the doors instantly. She looks over at him, her brows furrowed, and he recognizes that something has happened. His smile drops.

"They said something to you didn't they?" He can tell by her blank stare that he's right. He looks down disappointed, unsure what she's feeling now. "Please let me take you home, we should not be here any longer."

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't prepared. I- I don't know how to react." He finds the strength and he takes her hand in his, clutching it tightly.

"Just let me take you home, and we can talk about this." He lifts her hand up to his lips and kisses it. She softens her gaze a little at the sight of him looking concerned and nervous, his warm hand holding hers. She nods. "But it has to be now," he pleads.

"Why now?" before she finishes the sentence she is startled by a loud banging on the window of the tinted passenger's side door. She shrieks and looks over to see four pairs of hands beating against the window. The hands belong to several girls who are pressing against the side of the car shouting into it. Taehyung springs into action, throwing the car in drive and pulling away from the curb at a high rate of speed, not checking for traffic as he pulls into the lane and several cars squeal as they veer out of the way. She cries out as she realizes that she doesn't even have her seatbelt on. She reaches behind her for the belt, pulling it across her quickly as he continues driving fast, looking behind him in the rearview mirror.

"What was that?!" she shouts. He looks around as he expertly navigates through busy traffic lanes, speeding along the road in the dark.

"Someone from the cafe called their friends," he says, too calmly. "In another few minutes it could have been dozens of people." She looks over at him shocked, confused. She doesn't even know where they are going, this isn't the way to her house. She hadn't told him where she lived and now he's driving in a different direction. "How well do you know the people at the cafe?" She shakes her head unsure how to answer him. "Do they know where you live?" She considers the question.

"I think so, yes, Dongwook does, I'm in there a few times a week."

"Then I can't take you home." He turns onto a larger road, slowing his pace to match the rest of the traffic.