Celebrity Crush | Kim Taehyung Fan Fiction

Mask

After breakfast, the guys went their separate ways, leaving Taehyung, Jimin, Jungkook, and I to clean up.

I decided to do the dishes as a guest. It's the least I could do after sleeping over and being fed by world superstars.

"Hyejin-ah, just leave this to us. You might hurt your ankle again," Jimin started.

"It's fine. It's not like I'm using my feet to wash the dishes," I chuckled.

Jungkook slowly approached me and slid the used glass beside me, keeping a safe distance at the same time.

"Kookie, you don't have to be scared around me," I suggested, giving him a small smile.

"I'm just not used to having girls in the house," he replied.

I nodded, rinsing off the suds from the plates.

"You never have guests over?" I asked.

"We do," he answered. "Just. Mostly, not your kind."

I laughed at his choice of words.

"My kind? " I teased.

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, checking his surroundings to see that the others were busy with Yeontan who just shat and peed on the tiled floor.

"We never really hang around with girls, especially with the dating ban. It's kinda new to me since it's always been the seven of us since I was 13," he explained.

I recalled how I was back when I was also 13, a young, naive girl with big dreams, who trained hard to earn a living for her family.

"I'm jealous," those words slipped from my mouth.

He titled his head from my statement. Drying the glass he placed that I just finished washing, I turned to lean my back against the sink.

"You were 13, you had 6 people who got your back and who you could call family while you had sleepless nights, busy schedules, and countless training," I said placing the glass on top of the drying rack.

Jungkook and I are of the same age, however, we never really got acquainted properly by our mutual friends. Maybe because he was also preventing issues arising that would cause fans to assume situations that aren't even true.

"I'd be lucky if I got the chance to do a video call with my unnie back then" I muttered. "Hard times, yeah?" I chuckled and looked at him.

"How is it for you now?" He asked. "I mean, besides what you show the public."

A sigh escaped my lips, trying to put my jumbled thoughts into words.

"It's like owning multiple masks and deciding what to wear each day, much like how you rummage in your wardrobe to choose your outfit of the day. You gotta match your mask with your outfit, despite what you truly feel inside."

My eyes looked over at the guys who just finished cleaning up Yeontan's mess.

Jimin had already gone to his room.

Taehyung just placed a dish bowl filled with dog food on the corner. I watched as the little pup excitedly skipped over to his meal, diving into it immediately.

"Are you wearing a mask now?" I heard the male beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"Right now. Are you wearing a mask right now?" He repeated.

I pursed my lips into a thin line as I thought of a reply. My eyes continued to observe the older male in front of us, who was now busy wiping the dining table.

His hands went in circular motions as he glided the cloth on the surface. A smile appeared on my lips as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I'm.. not sure," I responded.

He nodded at my answer, pushing himself off the counter.

"I hope when you're around us, especially around Taehyung-Hyung, you feel comfortable enough to leave your mask in the wardrobe," he said before walking away.

--

My phone rang as I looked over the roof terrace of their mansion. I checked the caller ID and noticed it was my manager.

I decided to ignore it and placed my phone in the pocket of Tae's pajamas.

My eyes scanned the neighborhood. It looked like Sky Castle. Huge houses stood high in an exclusive area, just enough distance from each other for each resident to have the privacy they needed.

It reminded me of the home I used to live in. Except, it was more in the countryside. I remembered always running around the front yard with my siblings, waiting for Mom to arrive with some freshly cooked hotteok that she bought after doing her errands.

"What's on your mind?" A deep voice startled me from behind.

I turned and saw Taehyung bringing me a warm cup of honey citron tea. I thanked him and wrapped my hands around the small cup and leaned on the glass railings of the terrace.

He stood beside me and placed his arms against the railings as well, looking ahead.

"Just thinking about how nice this neighborhood is," I complimented.

"Yeah, it gets lonely here sometimes though," he replied.

I nodded and looked straight ahead. That's exactly how I felt in my apartment.

"Outside of the group, we still have our own individual lives. So there are times where nobody is home. Or we just don't see each other because we have our different businesses," he explained further then sipped from his cup of tea.

"What do you like doing outside of your group?" I asked, turning my head to look at him.

His eyebrows knitted together as he came up with an answer.

"I like amusement parks," he replied. "I also like to paint and take pictures."

I continued listening as his words laced with passion, showing how much he liked the activities he just mentioned.

"What about you? What do you do besides being Korea's Princess of Pop," he chuckled, earning a smile from me.

"I like traveling. I like going to places with so much history that it adds to the beauty of it."

I sipped from the cup of tea and exhaled at the comfort I received from it.

"I would love to take pictures of the places I plan to visit soon, to keep them as memories that I could share with my future children and grandchildren. However, I suck at it," I laughed.

He laughed as his gaze met mine.

"Well, tell me the details of your next trip so I can fix my schedule and accompany you while I teach you Master V's photography skills," he laughed as he gave me his big, boxy smile.