He looked confused. "What?"
"She makes you smile," I repeated. "I've seen the way you talk about her. Just thinking about her makes you smile. She makes you happy! I'm like... the opposite of your dream girl." That statement of his still stung, even when I was the one quoting it. "You don't smile at me. You glare at me."
He glared again now. "Only because you're being such an idiot!"
I glared back. "Sorry for being an idiot then! Not everyone can live up to the standards of your dream girl."
He ran a palm over his face, looking like he would like nothing better in the world than to strangle some sense into me. Then he exhaled loudly. Once. Twice. Thrice. The third time was the longest yet.
"Stop sighing!" I snapped. I didn't like it when he looked so obviously frustrated. I also didn't like it that I was the reason he was so frustrated.
"If you don't feel the same way, just say so." The confidence he'd had was slowly starting to melt away and he was gaining a sort of wounded-puppy look. It made him look so vulnerable I would've given anything to get that look out of his eyes.
"I––" I bit my lip, "Dammit, are you blind?"
He stared at me. "Does that mean..."
"I've liked you for a long time now," I admitted grudgingly. Gosh. Mushy scenes like these really weren't my cup of tea.
I wasn't even completely sure I liked tea, come to think of it.
"Stop digressing," he said, as if he could read my mind. I was about to ask him when he added, warily, "It's that look on your face."
"Oh. Okay – wait. I have a look?"
"Stop digressing," he growled.
"Fine." He didn't have to get all huffy about it.
We stared at each other. I detachedly mused that the rain was lightening up.
"You were confessing your feelings for me?" he prompted after a while, presumably unable to stand my blank stare anymore.
"Uh," I said, "I thought I was done with that."
"What?" he asked incredulously. "That was it?"
"It was still longer than yours," I pointed out.
"Only because you kept cutting me off!"
"See, you're doing that glaring thing again!"
"You're being ridiculous."
"I am not," I muttered mutinously. I glared at the wet ground, at our shoes. He was wearing Converses that were completely drenched. Gosh. I was starting to feel bad now.
He was speaking again. "Now that we've established we both like each other..."
I looked up to see why he'd trailed off just in time to feel his lips land on mine.
It was... the coldest kiss I'd had so far. Not in terms of passion, but temperature. His lips were so cold that when they touched mine, I jumped at the shiver that surged through my body as a result. Then he tangled a hand in my hair and pulled me closer to kiss me properly, and I forgot about all the cold for a little while.
I'd never understood all that hoo-hah over kissing in the rain; I'd never found it particularly romantic, just very wet and uncomfortable. But this kiss, right here, right now, with the right guy – it surely was the best.
I discovered I was also drenched by the time we both ran out of breath and pulled away. He must've dropped the umbrella at some point. I found that I didn't really care. I would stand out in the rain for an hour if that was all it took to feel this way, to have him look at me this way – all of the time.
"So..." I found myself whispering, as if speaking any louder would shatter the perfection of that moment. "Where do we go from here?"
"Let's start from the beginning," he suggested. He used his left hand to lift mine and put it into his right. Once his large hand had closed over my smaller one, he shook it and said, "Nice to meet you, Jennie. I'm Taehyung."
Then he smiled, that brilliant smile that had captured my heart from the very first day. And now, with both of us standing in the rain, frozen to the bone and dripping wet, it still had the ability to warm me to the tips of my toes. His brown eyes were warm – I hadn't known such a color could be so warm – as he said, "I think you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. Will you be my girlfriend?"
"If you would buy me a bucket of milk ice cream on a regular basis, then why not?"
As it turned out, he didn't need any advice on how to win a girl over, after all.
<end>
