✓ | Criminal: The First Piece

Chapter 18 : Let Me Love You

Taehyung goes into the Little Mermaid. He approaches Chaeyoung who is still taking order from other customer. As he gets in line, she notices him, smiling at him. But Taehyung breaks the eye contact immediately. Chaeyoung frowns for a moment before she looks back at her customer.

"It will be served in 5 minutes." she smiles to the customer, before the customer goes away.

Taehyung walks to the counter as Chaeyoung smiles at him again, "Morning, Tae."

But, he doesn't even look in her eyes, he says abruptly "I wanna to talk. Now."

"Okay, are you ordering as well? It's fr-" before Chaeyoung could finish her sentence, Taehyung leaves her, walking away from the counter. Chaeyoung lifts an eyebrow, turning to see Jihyo beside her, and she gives her a worrying look to Chaeyoung.

"Just talk to him, I'll take care of this."

"Thanks, Jihyo."

Chaeyoung walks to the kitchen first, making a frappe coffee for him first before she approaches him at the corner of the room. Taehyung is staring outside the window as Chaeyoung occupies the seat in front of him.

She puts the cup in front of him as he stares at it now, "I don't order it."

"I'm giving it to you. My treat." she shows him her gummy.

Taehyung doesn't move a muscle on his face. Not even saying thanks. Chaeyoung clears her throat awkwardly, looking around her before her gaze fixed on him, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you love me?" he asks her to the point.

Chaeyoung doesn't hesitate to answer him, "Of course, you're my friend. So-"

"That's not what I meant." Taehyung tilts his head.

Chaeyoung gets silent, and now she's knowing what he meant. Taehyung sighs out when he got no response from her. "You don't?" Taehyung asks her in his deep voice.

"Taehyung, I do love you but you know, it's not in that way..."

"How about Jungkook?" he asks her again. There's a shock expression on her face as he says it.

Chaeyoung bites her lower lip nervously as Taehyung asks her impatiently, "Why you don't answer?"

"I don't know..."

Taehyung scoffs as soon as he heard that. So, she likes Jungkook. Out of sudden, Taehyung stands up from his head, "Let me tell you something, Chaeyoung." his voice is turning colder than the iceberg at the North Pole.

Chaeyoung looks up at him as he continues to say, "No matter how kind Jungkook acts to you, he's still a bad guy. Don't regret it later."

What was it?

Taehyung is about to taking his step away from there but Chaeyoung holds his hand gently, "Tae..."

He looks down at her, "Thank you. I won't regret it..." she says to him.

Fuck, why she is like this?

She grabs the frappe she made for him, "Bring it, the weather is quite cold outside."

But he only glances on it before he walks away without words. Chaeyoung gasps in shock to see him like that. This coffee is his favorite, why he rejects it? "Did I do something wrong?" she sighs slowly, biting her lower lip in guilty.

---

The atmosphere is uncomfortable in BTS' dance practice room, Jungkook and Taehyung are ignoring each other and the members can't do anything about it. Jungkook dances in front of the mirror, looking at his own moves as Hoseok stares at him.