Travel with Me - V (aka Kim Taehyung) BTS COMPLETE

Chapter 2 - Right place, right time

(Now KTH's POV of the same day. I will switch between the POV but it will mainly be from Marley's POV and I generally won't rewrite whole chapters like this time round. This is just to set the story up with both POV from the beginning. So, onto chapter 2.

KTH POV

The day was gorgeous as I dropped down under the tree, tossing my bag to the side. Pulling out my notebook and pen, I looked around. Nature was showing off today, Autumn leaves gathered on the ground and just a hint of chill in the air. The sun was meant to be setting in less than an hour and I wanted to take some photos to remember this peaceful place.

Shrieks of laughter drew my attention and I watched as a woman pushed a little girl in a swing, both smiling as she went higher and higher. With her little legs kicking, the girl was having a great time and then the woman sat down in a swing too, propelling her own body backward and forwards. Tipping her head back a little, the sun hit it and lit up the golden crown that was falling around her shoulders. So much about the scene felt exactly as it should be, I clicked on my pen and began to write. My notebook was an outlet for putting my soul onto paper. I glanced up upon hearing more sounds of laughter and watched as the girl rolled over and over in the grass. "The days of carefree youth" I thought as I contemplated lyrics. Caught up in the writing, I didn't notice until the little girl arrived in front of me, sweetness coming from her smiling face.

"What are you doing?" she asked in English and I did the mental switch I still had to do when in English-speaking countries. I knew a lot more than I used to but it was still an effort to communicate well in English. I sat up so we were at eye level, holding out my notebook. "This is my words" I answered, enchanted by the pixie in front of me. "I write what I see and feel." The mother arrived in a rush of air and out of the corner of my eye, I glanced to the car and saw 2 doors open and security pop out. Holding up my hand behind my back, I indicated subtly that they should stay there and they paused, looking at each other before slowly sliding back into their seats. Relieved, I turned back as she was asking "why?"

"It's what I do to think" I replied, directing my words to the little girl. She seemed satisfied and ran off in the direction of the puppy.

"She is very beautiful," I said as I stood up, turning to the mother and inhaled as I met her eyes. The depth seemed endless, the colour changing between green and brown hues as she glanced at me with a few startled blinks. Did she recognize me? Or did she recognize that I was admiring her? I looked down.

"Thank you, she has her fathers outgoing personality" she answered, the words coming so quickly I had trouble following them."I hope she wasn't bothering you."

Oh, of course, she was married. A strange feeling clutched inside my chest and I shook it away, stumbling over my words to cover up my discomfort. "No problem, I was finishing up anyway. I go soon but wanted to come to a quiet place and see nature and the sunset. I like to take photos so the light is good here soon." She was looking at me with those big, sparkling eyes and I swallowed, wanting to continue to engage but not sure how. I checked back at the car to make sure they were still inside and not coming our way to check up on me. Still feeling indecisive, I thought of the last thing we'd talked about, taking photos and I reached for my bag, pulling out my phone. "Ah, I show you my photos?" I asked, hoping my English was ok.

"Sure," she said with a grin. Was I amusing her or breaking some kind of cultural boundary I wasn't aware of? True to my nature, I plunged ahead anyway as I wanted to continue this conversation for as long as I could. Speaking in English for too long was usually stressful but I felt strangely content to try with her.

She made complimentary comments and seemed to pick up on the fact the travel photos were from all over. We'd recently spent time shooting in Switzerland and then not long after, we were in Fiji so there were a smattering of Winter and Summer photos. But she didn't seem to recognize me and for that I was grateful. And standing this close meant I was able to breathe her in, the scent of her hair wafting over me with hints of coconut as the breeze fluttered past. I was distracted but snapped back into the moment when she asked if I traveled a lot and if I lived here or was there for work. "For work and then small holiday for a few days."