"So... you fell for me just because I gave a little boy my cake."
"You may make it sound trivial right now... but I know what that cake meant to you," Jisoo said seriously. "It really touched me that even in your dire situation, you could still be kind to others. Your situation didn't make you lose your empathy or ability to think of others. But seeing you in uni once again made me think it was fate, I guess. And I just charged at you like I was insane, and after you left, I wondered if maybe that was what scared you off."
"No, not at all, Jisoo-ya," Taehyung said with his eyebrows furrowed and a serious expression etched across his face. "It was refreshing... and I admit that I was afraid of being chased so actively at the beginning... but it slowly grew on me."
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Jisoo let out a small chuckle and smiled at Taehyung brightly. "That's what I heard."
"That's what you heard on the recording..." Taehyung pursed his lips as he reached out for Jisoo's hand, glancing at her for her approval. Jisoo nodded, and Taehyung held her fragile little hand in his. "But... now that we've finally met again, I have so much to say to you in person. May I?"
Jisoo stared deeply into Taehyung's eyes, before nodding her head ever so slightly.
Taehyung nodded, beaming gratefully at Jisoo. "You know, years ago, when my dad got locked up in jail... I felt better than I thought. I feel bad saying this, but I felt peaceful, almost. It's like... a huge part of what tormented me was gone, and I could finally breathe again. But that's before the loansharks came, and I was left no choice but to go into hiding. Those were one of the scariest points in my life.
"And I guess that's when I started repeating Seokjin-ssi's words again and again inside my head." Taehyung pursed his lips. "You know, I used to share the same thoughts as him from the very beginning. That you and I were two parallel lines that were never meant to meet. The longer I spent time with you, the more I began thinking about the 'what if's and hoping that something good would turn out. But it's like when Seokjin-ssi came into my life and reminded me of that, my insecurities just came flooding back to me and my confidence came crashing down.
"It was around the middle of the year when I had finally managed to pay off my debts by working my ass off, and I finally decided to come back and see you. But when I cane back, I found out that Seokjin-ssi seemed to be already by your side and... from afar, I could see you smiling really wide. You looked happy. And so I thought- ah, this girl must have finally realised how bad her life would be if she chose me... and that I wasn't suitable for her at all.
"And even though it pained me, I left once more. But even then, I was always thinking of you. Every time I thought of you, I could only console myself that you're so noisy, so direct and so quirky... that my life could only be better without you. The funny thing was that... I soon realised that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't seem to convince myself.
