IKIGAI l KIM TAEHYUNG

Chapter 12: Hera

I really didn't want to admit it, but I'm not the one to run from my feelings either.

I was falling for him. Someone I was supposed to spy on. Someone who is... was my enemy.

By now, I have figured out that even if he is in this field of criminals, he himself doesn't do anything bad.

Hera, you're just trying to find ways to justify whatever it is that's going on between you two.

Okay, maybe I am. Is it so bad that I want a guy at the age of 19?

He drove me back to the hideout. I slightly wondered if he was getting suspicious about my lack of attempts to escape. It didn't matter. A few days more and I will be out of here.

Now, staying here didn't sound too bad.

He opened the door to the passenger seat after getting out of the car.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" He asked as I got out.
"Yeah. I still am holding onto the hope that there would be more movies in this series, though. How about you?"
"You know the answer to that already." He chuckled and I couldn't help but smile too, thinking back to how he shuddered at the jumpscares.

As we got back to my room, I could see that he was in deep thought about something.
"Would you like to go to a restaurant, tomorrow?" He asked, barely a whisper. As if he was afraid to hear his own words.
"Only if it's Korean. I'd love some tteokbeokki."
"Done. Let's have dinner tomorrow." He smiled and left, but not before locking the door. Still a long way to go with his trust.

Why was I even talking about his trust? I was about to do the exact opposite of gaining his trust, anyways.

There wasn't much to do after that. I waited for Jungkook to get back to me with what Ms. Romanoff said but he didn't come. The next day, I bandaged the wound myself.

Taehyung did try to insist on doing it but it's better if we don't get any closer.

Some time later, he walked into the room again with a bag.
"Brought this for you. I'd like if you'd wear this dress for the dinner." He was avoiding my eyes, as if embarrassed to ask this.
"Sure. Leave it on the table." I didn't even know why I agreed to that.
"I'll be back in half an hour."

I opened the bag and my mouth slightly parted. To say that the dress was beautiful would be an understatement.
Black color. It went down to my knees and seemed like it would hug my body perfectly. Backless.
I'd always wanted to wear things like that but with my line of work, these t-shirts and jeans were the logical choice.

I changed into it and got ready. I heard a knock on the door before it revealed Taehyung. In a black suit.

It was as if the oxygen had been knocked out of my lungs.
Whenever I thought that he couldn't get any more handsome, he proved me wrong.

He eyed me from head to toe, before he exhaled. "You look beautiful."
"You... you look good too." I said breathlessly.
He probably understood my reason for being flustered and smirked.
"Let's go then, shall we?" He said, extending his hand.
I looked at his hand. Those long, slender fingers. I thought about the things they could do before taking his hand.

I didn't try to make small talk till we reached the restaurant. The air around us was so hot. I couldn't bear to look at him for more than a few seconds. If I did that, I wouldn't be able to control myself. His hands on the steering wheel. I wanted them on me. On my body. I wanted his hands to explore every inch of my body.

Shaking my head, I got out of the car with him. I could see that there were waiters and chefs, but apart from them, it was all empty. Just like before.

He dragged a chair from underneath the table before gesturing me to sit on it. He then took a seat in front of me. We both ordered our dishes.

"Remember the first time we met?" I asked, trying to diffuse some tension.
Something in his face changed, as if deep in memories. "You mean when you hit me with the gun?" He chuckled.
"Yeah, that. Back at my organization, nobody believed that I had met you. So I decided to collect some more information and well, you know the rest." I said shyly, lying through my teeth.

"Do you like doing anything else except this? Like anything non-adrenaline related?" He said as the waiter came with our food.
"I'm a big fan of music, movies and shows. I follow a kpop group too. BTS? You might have heard of them."
I watched as the waiter took extra time plating my dish. I reached for a glass of water but he quickly grabbed the glass and poured me water. I took the glass from his hand and he made sure to brush his fingers with mine.

Taehyung was watching all of this with an intense gaze but didn't say anything. The waiter took a last look at me before he left.
"So where were we?" He said lowly. His voice had just become deeper.
"Oh... music?" I
"Right, yes. I like BTS. What's your favorite song of them?"
"Really? I can't choose. Pied Piper, Like, Serendipity, Filter, Singularity, Rain, Coffee, Dionysus, Butterfly, Love Is Not Over, House of Cards, Blood, Sweat and Tears, On, Life Goes On, Run BTS, Moon, Dimple, For Youth. I love all of them and more." I chuckled happily and for some reason, he too was happy listening to my excited blabbering.

"Wow, you certainly are a dedicated fan." He smiled.
"You bet, Taehyung. What about you? What are your interests?"

We talked about how once he used to love sword fighting but then he gave it up. He was also a fan of music and dance. He asked if I'd dance with him someday and I readily said yes. It was getting really hard to not say yes to him.

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