𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 | 𝐊- 𝐏𝐎𝐏

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗒 𝗍𝗐𝗈

Chapter 33: Home

His eyes grow wide as he takes in what she's said. Her lips form a pout as her eyes well up with tears. He pulls her body to his quickly, holding her so tightly it allows her tears to flow freely, unseen by those around them. He instinctively walks her back to an area off to the side to allow them to have a bit of privacy in the crowded room. The others have just noticed he is holding her, comforting her and they look over at them surprised and concerned. Jungkook turns to Namjoon.

"She looks really upset. I hope it wasn't what I said." They continue to watch Taehyung holding her and rocking her in his arms.

"How could you have upset her?" Namjoon looks at Jungkook.

"I brought up her family in the US. She lost them, all of them." His face shows his sorrow as he says the words. Namjoon puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure it was nothing you said. Probably your beautiful voice moved her to tears," he teases him, slapping his arm playfully. "I'll make sure everything is ok." He steps closer to the two as she pulls back from his embrace and stares up into Taehyung's eyes, marveling at him. Namjoon studies them and realizes they are profoundly involved in a moment. He pauses in front of them, watching Taehyung place his hands on either side of her face as he looks at her.

"I don't understand what power is connecting us, but I am so thankful for it," he says, looking deeply into her eyes, making sure she understands how much he means it. She makes a slight move to nod and they notice Namjoon for the first time. They turn and look at him, slightly embarrassed. Namjoon looks back and forth between them.

"Is everything OK?" he asks. They look down, both unsure how to answer. "Jungkook was worried he may have upset you Hana," he says, making Taehyung look up at him quickly. He looks to her, waiting for her to respond. She shakes her head.

"No, no. Not at all, I'm fine, I just- I had a little bit of an emotional reaction to the song," she excuses herself. "Maybe this whole experience has just been a little overwhelming." Namjoon nods as though he understands and looks to Taehyung.

"Maybe you two could sneak out now, we're done with the 'live', and we were just going to go through some things with the company. I can fill you in later." He winks at Taehyung who nods and takes her hand.

"Let's go back to mine," he says to her, leading her toward the front entry. Namjoon watches them leave as Jimin steps up beside him.

"She's a really nice girl," he offers. Namjoon nods, still watching the door as they close it behind them. "And he's definitely smitten."

"Oh that's more than smitten. That's true love right there. Both of them. It's real," he says chuckling to himself recognizing it. Jimin nods.

"Yeah, it's strange. When I met her at the school, she sort of reminded me of Taehyung." Namjoon turns and smiles at him curiously. "They both have this 'old soul' vibe." They laugh exchanging knowing glances.

"Let's get our work done and get home. I'm missing tuck-ins," he references his children and Jimin smiles and follows after him.

***

Taehyung sits beside her in the back of the car heading toward his home. She stares out the window, deep in her own thoughts and he holds her hand, stroking it slowly, thinking about what she must be experiencing. He feels as though he has the advantage because he saw her first. He knew how important she would be in his life the moment he laid eyes on her, but for her, it wasn't as simple. She had no idea who he was, or what he really wanted from her. He's aware that although he is very fortunate in the life he is able to lead, he also comes with a lot of baggage of being a public figure. She's a teacher, and a student, a foreigner in this country. She's alone in the world, or, she was. He lifts her small pale hand and kisses it, causing her to turn and smile at him reassuringly. He hopes that she understands she will never be alone again.

The car comes to a stop at his home, still inside the same gated neighborhood he brought her to for their first picnic by the river not far from the dorm. She turns and looks at him, realizing she wasn't paying attention to the journey and she looks up at the tall building. He thanks the driver and gets out of the car, carrying both their bags and reaching in to help her out. She follows behind him into the building, seeing no one in the lobby area, and wondering how many people actually live here. She can hear the clatter of her heels on the marble flooring as she walks behind him toward a bank of elevators. He punches a code into one and the doors open. She is nervous to see his home, but excited to know more about him. He smiles at her, deep in his own thoughts, and he kisses her hand again.

The elevator opens into the large foyer of the apartment, and she removes her heels at the front mat, feeling instant relief as her feet touch the cold floor. He keeps hold of her hand as he turns toward her and walks backwards, leading her deeper into the house. She keeps her eyes on him, taking a few opportunities to glance around the room at the art work on the walls. The apartment is large, the living room is the size of her entire apartment. It's decorated with beautiful traditional furniture, despite the modern clean lines of the architecture, it seems to work. It's a blend of old and new, a classic. He smiles as she stops to look around. She looks back at him nervously. He stops in the living room near a long couch. His radiant smile makes her feel at ease as he moves closer to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't know what force brought you to me, but I needed you, and here you are." He slides his hand along her cheek, looking down into her eyes.

"People come in to your life when you're ready for them, and when you need them most." She looks up at him as he gasps. He smiles so tenderly as he recognizes the words. He shakes his head, unable to fathom the depth of his connection to her. A tear runs down his cheek and she notices it and looks at him, concerned, brushing the tear away, and kissing the next that replaces it. He grabs hold of her face with both hands and kisses her so powerfully she nearly loses her balance. He slides his hands down over her back as she leans up on tip toes. In one swoop, he picks her up in his arms, and carries her toward his bedroom door, never releasing her from his kiss.