MUSE | Taeyong

Part 5: Thanks

   "Say, Olivia, if you were suddenly propositioned by a man to be his model, would you accept?"

"Come again?!"

Her head of blonde hair whips back as she snaps her head towards you. The brushes she is washing in the sink are quickly discarded in favor of her freezing in shock, an amusingly shaken look on her face. You, however, are unperturbed and sit on the couch, staring at the TV display nonchalantly. 

You look back at her, an eyebrow raised as her mouth gapes open stupidly in your direction.
"I'm not repeating that."

Olivia unfreezes and turns off the tap, wiping her hands hurriedly on her jeans as she strides towards the living room of her apartment. Her pretty countenance is marred by furrowed brows, a mixture of confusion and impending alarm in her eyes. She settles into the couch, and unlike usual, she does not flop into it ungracefully but sits into it cautiously with her back ramrod straight.

"Y/n can you please explain?!" she asks.

You sigh and switch off the blaring TV and turn to her.

"An artist I recently met at a gallery asked me to "serve as inspiration for him".

At the sight of the doubt on her face, you explain more.

"No! Not like that. I'm not posing nude for him or anything like that, more like... inspiration of sorts."

Olivia leans her chin onto her palm, deep in thought.

"Okay, who is it?"

You cringe. You knew this question was going to come up.

"... Lee Taeyong," you whisper.

Olivia actually physically jumps off the couch and stands up.

"WHAT?!"

You cowered away from her enthusiasm. Her hair crackles with excitement and her eyes are wide, but you are not surprised by her overzealous reaction.

"Erm... yeah?" you offer hesitantly.

"Oh my god, yes! You should totally do it! This is great, y/n! Do you know how many people would kill for this opportunity?" she ranted as she threw her hands up in the air. She paced the room in barely contained excitement, while you could only stare.

She calmed down after a while and sat back down. She exhaled then drew a palm over her face, and her face was fine.

"Okay, in all seriousness, I think it would be a great opportunity for you. Y/n... I love you so much, sweetheart, but you always play it so safe in your life."

You frown and turn your head to the side. While you have known this practically all your life, it still hurts for it be said so raw and out in the open, like a cut wound exposed to the air.

"You never want to go out clubbing with the girls or flirt with some guys. Hell, you didn't even want to pursue sc-"

She shuts up when you cut your eyes towards her, a warning and angry gaze contained in them.
"...sorry. However, you get my point: you need to take risks more. Have fun, take a breather, and get out more! I think... I think this modeling opportunity might get you out of your shell, you know? You should go for it and... just be careful."

You stay quiet for a while, contemplating over her words. Olivia was right, as much as you hated to admit it. It loathed you to go out of the apartment, no matter how much you yearned for excitement and the vibrancy of city life. Any romantic interest or advance was clinically clipped at the bud, because what if you got hurt? What if you couldn't concentrate on your studies? Safety meant no boys, no parties, no risky decisions. Safe was always...safe for you. But was "safe" good for you?

"... alright. I'll give it a try."

Olivia squealed and dragged you off the couch, dancing you around in a bastardized version of the waltz. Peals of laughter rang out throughout the apartment as she dragged you into her excitement.