The Hidden Treasure

~70~

"Taehyung, I don't think I should be here," Hyejin whispered nervously, stepping across the threshold into a place where no woman had ever been.  Or had they?  She shook those unnecessary thoughts out of her head and slowly pushed off her shoes. 

"I'll take responsibility.  Just come on.  Follow me."  He led her down the hallway and after a few turns they were standing in front of a door with the words "Mon Studio" on the door.

Hyejin swallowed hard and looked over at Taehyung.  "Did he ask you to bring me here?"

"Nope.  He doesn't know you're coming.  He's been in there a few days.  So prepare yourself."  He looked at the door and knocked softly.

"Prepare myself for what?" she mumbled, looking back at the door. 

"Hyung, it's me," said Taehyung. 

"Come in," said Namjoon's tired voice. 

Hyejin's eyes grew wide at the sad sound and she quickly looked over at Taehyung for any clues as to what she was about to walk into.  He never returned her gaze but opened the door and with a firm hand, gently pushed her inside, closing it behind her.

Her eyes blinked a few times in an attempt to adjust to the darkness.  She saw Namjoon sitting in a corner, his back to the door.  Did he even know she was in here?

"Tae, I don't think I have anything else to say.  If you won't tell me how you really feel then-" His nose wrinkled a bit and his brain began to register a new smell.  A feminine smell.  This was definitely not Taehyung coming into his room.

His head jerked around and his eyes grew wide.  He quickly jumped to his feet, shaking off the dizziness from standing up so quickly.  "H-H-Hyejin...why are you here?"  His nervousness expressed itself in many ways.  His hand ran through his dirty hair, making it stand on end in places.  His voice cracked as he had said her name.  His eyes were darting all around and he was ashamed for her to even see him like this. 

"Joon-ah," she whispered, tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.  She had missed him so much and it had been months since she had actually laid eyes on him.  Seeing him now was almost surreal and at the same time sad because he looked like a mess.  He was obviously struggling with something and she had no idea what in the world it could be. 

"Don't say my name like that," he whispered.  "I won't be able to keep myself together when you say it like that."  He gasped when a pair of arms were suddenly thrown about his neck and her sweet smell finally engulfed him.  His arms slowly made their way around her and instinctively held her close.

"I'm so, so happy to finally see you," she whispered against his shoulder. He was tall and so she had to stand on her toes to reach his neck.

He allowed himself to forget his current dilemma and just enjoy this moment holding the woman he loved. He leaned down and buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. He had missed her so much. Why had he pushed her away for so long? He felt at peace just being with her and he'd missed that feeling very much.

Hyejin felt his arms tighten around her slightly and she smiled. She didn't care that he needed a shower or that his stubbly face scratched her neck a bit. It just felt good to hold him and be held by him. She finally broke the hug and put her hands on his face.

"Go shower. Shave. Whatever. It's time for you to rejoin the real world now. I'll wait for you so go do what you need to do to get presentable and then come back. Okay?" She smiled and reached up to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

Oh how he had missed that.  He didn't want to let her go and leave her for any amount of time.  He had been so wrong to keep her at arm's length for so long.  "Can't I just stay?" he asked softly.