serendipity | completed

chapter 6

his black hair is swept back, faint remnants of gray becoming much more evident. the stubble on his chin is new since the last time i'd been here — 1 and a half months ago give or take.

his eyes are narrowed at me as i try to seem as confident as i can. he crosses his arms across his broad chest which stretches against his charcoal suit. "talk to me, miss han." he finally speaks, and my mouth dries up.

"about what exactly, sir?" he chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. "i believe i should be asking you that. were you not the one who ignored my many emails and decided to set up this meeting instead?"

internally i curse myself for even thinking he would be so off-putting about something extremely serious. at the end of the day, this is a business, an establishment, and it was extremely unprofessional for me to not even reach out; regardless of my life-defying sickness.

"i do apologize sir for my incompetence. i've just been dealing with some... stuff." yet i still found it hard to admit to him what this entire disappearance was. "what is this 'stuff' that has stumped you for 2 months now?" i open my mouth but nothing comes out. why was it so hard to just tell the truth? i was genuinely becoming frustrated with all of this. tears well up in my eyes, and this causes me to close them and hold my head up towards the ceiling.

i feel his hand rest on my shoulder which allows my eyes to slowly flutter open. a teardrop falls, but he immediately wipes it away. "y/n, before your boss, i am your uncle. please, let me know what is going on." that familiar feeling that builds in your throat when you are on the verge of a breakdown seeps in. it's like a bunch of tiny barbed wire is surrounding my esophagus, but i finally croak out the truth.

"i'm sick." his eyebrows lower in confusion. "as in an extreme fever?" i shake my head as many more tears have now made their arrival; they fall so freely and i can't do anything but just continue to wipe them away. they stream down my cheeks like a never-ending waterfall.

"no, uncle hun. it's cancer, stage 2."

12:00 pm

" kim taehyung "

i take a step back from the door and try to process what i'd just heard.

y/n was reaching the final stages of a deadly virus... and she never even told me.

i swallow hard because for some reason i'm now scared myself. any minute now, after only just grasping her once again, i could lose her at any minute.

dissemble. to hide one's true feelings.

i am questioning both sides of myself at this very moment. part of me wants to confront her, tell her that i know and that i only want to help her. yet the other part of me knows that i was trespassing and invading on a situation she was not ready to tell me; that part of me knows it's not the right time to admit the truth.

it may backfire later on, but when she's ready i will be too.

i hear their footsteps and immediately take a seat where i was when she'd walked into that office. the door opens, and i slowly stand to my feet. "just remember to take your time y/n, do things slowly." her boss/uncle grins and looks towards me.

"you the young man who's been distracting my top author?" he questions and raises a brow at me. i chuckle and shake my head. "no sir, i've only just found out she's a top writer." i glance down at her as she smiles and shies away from my eyes. "taehyung, it's a pleasure to meet you." i hold my hand out as i introduce myself. he reaches over and gives me a firm shake, "yarrow hun, same here. you both be safe on the way home."

i nod and let go of his hand, stepping away and waiting as he and y/n exchange a few words.

12:24 pm

" han y/n "

taehyung falls into his seat, thrashing tiny rain droplets elsewhere in his car. i'm only hoping and praying that he had enough respect to not eavesdrop on my conversation. he would be the last person i would want to know about my cancer; only because i know how much it would affect him.

"i have to make a quick stop at my job. do you want me to take you home or-"

"i'll go." i interject. it's beginning to thunder, and one thing i hate is to be alone when it's thundering; he of all people should know that. he twists the keys in the ignition and drives off.

i step inside the shop behind him, hearing the buzzing of needles and quiet screams in the back of the building. "taebear!"

i can't help but roll my eyes as i spot rey at the front counter. she leaps up at the sight of taehyung with that eery and wide smile on her face. she then spots me, and her happiness slips away. "is she with you?" taehyung heaves and takes off his coat, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door where i still awkwardly stand.

"that's none of your concern, rey. i just need to come pick up the drawings for my client tomorrow." she simpers and reaches down before shuffling through a bunch of papers. "such a hard worker... turns me on." shivers run down my spine.

so that's how taehyung knows her. they're coworkers. i venture over towards the tattoo art plastered on the wall. taehyung's passion was always art, but he never knew how to explore it; i guess this is what he settled on.

i would be lying if i said i expected taehyung to be a tattoo artist, but if he was doing something he loved then i couldn't help but be happy for him. my eyes are focused on one specifically, and what draws me to it is the fact that it looks just like, "me.."

i whisper under my breath and gently graze my fingers along the frame. i then spot the "K. TH." signature in the bottom right corner, and that alone tells me enough.

"y/n, are you ready?" i turn around and see taehyung tugging his jacket back on.

i take one final glance at the tattoo before walking over to him.

"oh! taebear i learned a new recipe. rose wine with a main course of baked tilapia and asparagus. and for dessert, is me." she bites the corner of her lip and i can't help but cringe. this is who he has been seeing to get his mind off of me?

maybe i wasn't on his mind that heavily then. he pushes the door open for me and looks back at her, "main course sounds great, but we may have to find something else for dessert. tell jk i stopped by!"

i can't help but laugh as he lets the door close behind him and jogs to my side. "what's so funny?" i hand him my umbrella so he can hold it over the both of us. "nothing it's just... that was so mean."

i look up at him with a smile still painted on my lips. "what, you expect me to lie to the girl? i'm over her, there's no need for that." i wrap my arms around my body as the cold rain starts to hit me every once in a while. "how come?" i ask as he opens the passenger's door for me.

"i've got my girl now. any distractions i once had are nothing but a memory." i can't hold the eye contact brewing between us once those words fall from his lips, and so i'm forced to avert my gaze to the pavement as i duck down into his car.