Art of Deceit

V

CHAPTER 5
ruin.

"Hey," I skip my way over to Taehyung and he looks up from his cup of coffee, a smile plastered onto his lips.

"Hey." He stands up, clearing the table from his napkins.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Seokjin tried getting me to stay and it became a thing." I ramble, twirling a lock of hair around my finger as I looked to the ground. For some reason, I still felt a little timid around him.

"It's okay," he smiles down at me warmly, catching onto my nervousness. "I bought myself a cup of coffee to keep me company. So, do you want to get going?" He asks and I nod, the both of us walking out of the tiny cafe together.

"So, Seokjin." He starts as we walk down the streets of Venice.

"What about him?" I pass him a quick glance right before glueing my eyes back onto the artworks that were displayed along the way.

It was beautiful, seeing different styles and artistic interpretations with a breathtaking view being it's backdrop. Yet, I found myself more lured towards Taehyung and the aura surrounding him.

"Is he usually that overprotective?" He questions, eyes focused on the artworks as well.

"I guess?" I shrug, "I'm the youngest on the team so I guess he gets worried."

"And that's it?" He almost mumbles, fiddling with fingers.

"Is someone jealous?" I start to tease and he clears his throat, looking everywhere in order to avoid my gaze.

"What?" He chuckles nervously, "why would I- he-" he began stumbling over his words.

"Taehyung," I get him to stop with a subtle laugh, "I'm just messing with you." I smile at him, eyes meeting his. There's a new vibe between us and I couldn't tell what it was. All I knew was that the few months we took apart was worth it if it meant we could be here today.

"Look!" I point behind him the moment I catch sight of someone who does speed paintings. "We should have someone paint us."

"Or you know, I could do it too." He says playfully with a smirk.

"I'd actually be up for it. You could paint me like one of your french girls." I joke and he laughs. "Plus, you're the boy, the great artist. You should have a few things up your sleeve." I say, nudging him gently and he starts getting bashful. "What's the story behind it anyway?" I ask, intertwining my fingers with his almost naturally.

"Hm?" He cocks his head to the side, arching an eyebrow as though asking me to elaborate.

"The Art of Deceit. The thing about the shadow self." I say, a chill rushing down my spine instantly but I brush it off.

"Well, you know how the shadow self is someone's darker side right?" He questions and I nod. "I don't believe in the whole, love makes you better thing. I don't think there's a love that perfect out there at least. So instead of healing that dark side, I believe the other kinda takes it on as his or her own." He says looking to the ground, fidgeting with his fingers once more.

"So the girl dressed in white, her love wasn't perfect enough?" I ask and he instantly shakes his head.

"The opposite actually, it was the man in red whose love wasn't enough which was why he was fallen, that being his shadow. So his shadow became hers." He says and I start getting it.

"For someone who has never been in love, you sure do have a dark way to view it." I say lightly and he chuckles.

"Well, what can I say? Art does bring out the darkest parts of you." He says and it leaves me unsettled for some reason.