24/7 | kth

first kiss

You and Taehyung didn't kiss on your first date. You didn't even kiss on your second. No—your first kiss was one month after you'd broken up.

His mom had collapsed from unprecedented heart failure. His brother and sister rushed her to the hospital. There, they called you.

BTS was touring in the U.K.

Eunjin and Jungyu reassured you that they could hold down the fort, but still, you visited the hospital as frequently as you could between breaks and sleep and work hours. You didn't know back then, that something good could come out of such a horrible scenario. Until Taehyung sent the first text.

Taehyung: hey

So unforeseen, so startling. You nearly fell out of your chair, sitting at your cubicle in the office. The single word leapt at you like a surprise invitation to a stranger's wedding. Or a birthday present.

You: Hey. How have you been?

Taehyung: soso. how about where you are?

It took you a moment too long to realise he was referring to his mom. Of course he was asking about his mom.

You: I've been to the hospital a couple of times. You brother and sister are really filial. Honestly, respect.

Taehyung: yeah

Taehyung: ..........but i'm more filial 🤔🤔 right?

You laughed.

You: Filial son know when he's coming home?

Taehyung: soon 🥸

Taehyung: by the way, thank you

Taehyung: for being at the hospital

You smiled.

Before you knew it, the minutes compounded into hours, weeks, months. You were texting morning and night, beginning always with the foundational concern of his mother's condition. At the back of your mind, you wondered why he asked you, not his siblings. Later, Eunjin revealed that he had been asking her for hospital updates. But he texted you anyways.

Taehyung was released from the tour three weeks before the end on an emergency break. He was back in Seoul, and you didn't even know.

When you laid eyes on him at the hospital—dark hair wet and disheveled, red eyes burdened—it was the first time you had seen him in months. You still remember the fragments of intoxicating moment that day. The doctor gave word that she was healing well, but that only slightly lightened the stress ingrained in her children's faces. You still remember watching from the end of the bed as Taehyung, Eunjin and Jungyu crowded the bedside. That woman was loved. You still remember: Taehyung was glued to her side for weeks.

You were heading down the cold hospital hallway one day, going home. It was nearly 2:00 am.

"Hey! Uh, hey... wait up."

You stopped in your tracks.

You turned to face him, uncertainty twisting at your gut. You recognised a little of that same uncertainty flickering in his almond eyes.

But he was looking in your eyes. The most he had done in ages.

Stale silence devoured the air between you. Finally, he dipped his head and plowed a hand through his field of dark hair; the first move. When he found your gaze again, his unfathomable expression had shifted into one you were more familiar with. Awkward lightheartedness. A cool sweetness that sparkled in the crinkles of his starry eyes. He chuckled. You smiled.

"You need a ride or something?" he asked.

•••

He requested the company car drive you to your apartment complex. After a moment's discussion, the staff member and driver present stiffly agreed.

The ride back started quiet. Neon colours of flashing Seoul lights wandered in and out of the shadows of the car, the watery currents of city life, splashing a warm glow across the cushioned seats. When you stole a glance at Tae, he was looking out the window. His dark fluffy hair obscured your vision of most of his face, allowing your eyes to lay rest only on his chin, jaw, his shadowed lips that you knew were parched just by glance. They lay parted. Suddenly he licked them, jarring you from your unintentional staring.

He turned this way and found your eyes again, more awkward than the hospital.

"Are you tired?" you inquired: a sincere question.

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to do this, you know. You should have stayed at the hospital."

He rested his head to the side of the chair, ruffling his hair at a snail pace. He prompted, dramatically thoughtful, "Hmmm. You think so? Should I have?"

"Yes. You should be with your mom. You should be resting somewhere, or just having yourself a caramel macchiato or something."

"But then I wouldn't be here with you, would I?" And he smiled at you. Teasingly. Mischievously but so sweetly. He was chameleon, this man. An impossible creature.

•••

The two of you stood in front of your apartment complex, the blackness of morning the only concealer of Taehyung's presence in this little part of time. You remember feeling like at any second someone could walk by and recognise him, and he would be stolen from you.

The open car was near. The staff member and driver waited restlessly for him.

As he gazed at you, the awkwardness melted away from his eyes, these shining orbs of enigmatic warmth.

"Good night," he whispered.

"Good night."

"I'll... um... I'll call you."

That was what you agreed to. But you don't know why neither of you moved a muscle following such a clear concord. You stared at one another, features blurred in the night. The only thing you can't remember is who leaned in first. You gazed at his lips, yearning suddenly for this thing that seemed wildly out of reach—and then those very lips met yours. And you stared at him with open eyes as his hands guided you, gently, palms and fingertips warm, into reciprocative motions. Heart hammering against your chest. You closed your eyes in the dark. His hand traced to the back of your neck, cupping it, cradling your mouth against his and your bodies into filling every cold space, admonishing all singularness. The two of you had never done this before, but now that idea was unimaginable. He was relentlessly in time. Your synchronised heartbeats pounded like doves in your rib cages. Desires entwined.

You couldn't believe you had waited this long for this. You couldn't believe you had gone a whole month without Taehyung. And a part of you knew it would never be that way again.