𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗍𝗒

Chapter 21: Night Picnic

He chooses his words carefully as she waits for an explanation.

"Sometimes, when people know where I am going, they show up there. It's often just fans who want to meet and get an autograph or a picture and my fans are amazing, but not all fans are respectful, or harmless." She stares at him silently taking this in, considering it. He wonders if maybe he should have left the last part out.

"And you think they know you are going to my house?" She frowns and he nods.

"It would make sense that if we leave a place in my car, I would be taking you home. And the people at the cafe know where that is." She shakes her head.

"But no one there would put me in any harm, not intensionally." She believes this, but he isn't so sure.

"Someone told the girls outside the car where to find me." She nods, realizing this is true and suddenly wondering who she can trust.

"This must be a difficult life," she says, almost to herself, but the words sting as he realizes this would be her life too if she is with him. He grows quiet as he turns onto a familiar road. "Where are we going?"

"There's a place I know, overlooking the river. No one will bother us there. Just for a little while, until it's safe to take you home." He looks over at her, and smiles warmly. She isn't sure what to think but at this point she doesn't have much of a choice until the car stops. He takes a turn and pulls up to a gate, slowing the car. A bulb on the top of the heavy gate lights up; green, flashing, and the gates swing open slowly. He pulls through and she turns and watches the gate close behind them.

"Is this your neighborhood?" she asks.

"Yes, no one will bother us here." He stops the car in front of a long narrow green space, lined with streetlights. He turns to her. "I'll just be a moment." He gets out of the car and she watches in the side mirror as he steps to the trunk, opening it and pulling something out. He steps to her door and opens it, offering his hand. She takes hold of it, griping the package of treats from the cafe in the other, and steps out, looking around. He shuts the door and motions for her to follow him.

"What is this place?" she asks.

"It's just a green space in the complex. During the day people use it for exercise. But it's always empty at night, apart from the occasional person walking a dog." He leads her past the streetlight and onto the grass in the shadows. The vantage point looks down over the river and she smiles at the sight of the lights in the distance beyond the dark water.

"What are we doing here?" she asks, still unsure.

"We are going to finish our dinner date." He uses the label, making sure to check her reaction. She smiles slightly and nods. He hasn't completely scared her off, yet, and the relief washes over him. He holds out a long Burberry trench coat, draping it across the ground at her feet and he holds his hand out to help her to sit down, taking the package from her. She sits down carefully in her skirt, her knees to the side on the coat acting as a picnic blanket. He sits across from her, and he opens the package to pull out the carefully wrapped box of treats, placing a napkin down in front of each of them. He smiles up at her and she chuckles a little at the absurdity of the situation. "What are you thinking?" he asks, bravely.

"I've never had a picnic in the dark, or, while sat on an expensive coat." She laughs a little as she looks at the coat under her which might be full of grass stains now. He smiles up at her, recognizing it's a little out of the ordinary.

"I guess I'm full of surprises," he teases. She laughs a little louder at the understatement.

"I'm learning that about you." She reaches for the bag. "Do you have another napkin?" she asks. He nods, handing one to her. He pulls out another small box from the bag, looking at it curiously.

"What is this?" He looks at it unsure. He hands it to her. She looks at the pretty box and notices it has writing on the outside. She reads it out loud;

'Kim Taehyung, you are a great inspiration to me. I have grown up listening to your music. Please enjoy this cake as a small offering of thanks. Kim Dongwook' She looks up at him surprised. She opens the box and a pretty piece of cake is placed carefully inside.

"I've gotten so many free meals in the last few days." He laughs, making light of the offering. She isn't aware of his past free lunches from the other members, but she smiles at him curiously.

"There is already so much to finish." She closes the box back up.

"Maybe you can take it home," he says and she shakes her head.

"Oh no, I couldn't, it's a gift for you." He smiles as a thought comes to him.

"Maybe we can share it, another time." She looks down, and just for a moment, he feels her disconnect from him, almost pulling back. He panics a little at the feeling, as though she's turned off her light. She takes another bite of a tart and looks down, deep in her own thoughts.

"I liked that one best," he mentions. She thinks for a moment, and holds it out to him, offering him the rest. He smiles at her, and leans closer to her hand, slowly, watching her eyes. He opens his mouth and she places the rest of the tart on his tongue, and looks up into his eyes in that instant just as he closes his lips, almost touching them against her fingers. Her eyes flash with an intensity he hasn't seen before and then her eyelids lower, shyly, as she drops her hand. He's working hard to gauge her interest, but he can tell she's holding back just in the moment he expects to feel her give in to his charms.

"Thank you," he says in an attempt to get her to look back up at him. She keeps her eyes hidden from his gaze and looks over the other options in the box. "Would you tell me more about your Grandfather?" he asks, genuinely wondering. She looks up at him and smiles.

"He raised me after my parents were killed." He looks at her shocked. "I was very young so I don't remember them, only pictures of them. But he became mom, dad, best friend and protector."

"I'm sure he loves you very much," he says, thinking about how much he already loves her. She is lost in her own memories of such an important person in her life.

"It's because of him that I'm in Korea," she continues. He looks up at her surprised remembering what she said to him when he met her.

"Love?" he asks. She looks at him curiously. "When I met you, I asked what brought you to Korea and you said 'love', I thought you meant you had a partner," he explains. She nods, understanding, and smiles.

"Love, yes. I made a promise to come here, I promised him, before he died." He gasps slightly at her revelation. He didn't realize she had lost him too.

"I'm so sorry." He reaches out for her hand, when she doesn't pull it away, he holds it, stroking the top of her hand with his thumb as she speaks.

"It was three years ago, while I was in college in Seattle. It was sudden. He wasn't unwell thankfully, but he had asked me years before if I would bring something back to Korea."

"What was it?" he asks. She looks down, smiling, and shakes her head wondering how much to admit. He still has a hold of her hand and he stares back at her, waiting for her answer.

"It was, him. I brought him back."