Chapter 7: Check that Mate

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Sitting down at the park's fountain, you were tugging nervously from the bracelets on your wrist as you waited for Taehyung to meet you. For a second, despite knowing it probably wouldn't be the case, you wondered if he might not show up. He was running late, but that isn't terribly unusual considering most people your age were never in time for anything.

Tae saw you from afar as he hurriedly walked down one of the park's many paths. He had managed to leave the company at last, better late than never, but he didn't want to leave you waiting for more than necessary. He only hoped you wouldn't leave before he got there.

When he was a few meters away, he decided to pause to observe you before you noticed he was there. He certainly didn't want to make you uncomfortable, but he hadn't really stopped to look at you since that night. The place had been dim lit and he had to look at you for way too long to try and make out your features. It had kept him busy enough though.

Your shiny hair laid down one of the sides of your neck and it was curled lightly. He appreciated your elegant neck exposed from having brushed away your locks to a side. It reminded him of some of the renaissance paintings he had seen during his trips around Europe.

A short necklace glinted with the sunlight in between your collarbones and accentuated the wide neck of your checkered top. He noticed it actually hung from shoulder to shoulder, he could see your skin as the dark green cardigan you were wearing had fallen from one of your shoulders.

Your graceful legs stood out in a pair of skintight black jeans as you had crossed them one over another to support your fidgeting hands. A scarf you were using as a belt hung from your thigh. The low cut boot you held in mid-air moved in circles nervously as you were probably getting impatient from waiting.

Taehyung thought you looked stunning this sunny afternoon. He blinked out of his thorough analysis and he went back on his thoughts as it looked more like you were stunned. You had caught him staring and he wasn't sure how long ago.

He dropped his head down as his cheeks burned and laughed nervously as he resumed his walking towards you. Tae would have normally laughed it off shamelessly, but from experience he knew that smiling at you when he got caught had a negative effect he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Playing it cool, he ruffled his hair before looking up once he was standing in front of you. His bangs hung over his eyes cutely as you had noticed when you first saw him and tried to describe him to your friend. He was wearing thick rimmed black glasses, an oversized maroon t-shirt with the sleeves neatly folded, tucked into black pants held by suspenders only on one side and a small cross-body bag that matched his black shoes.

He looked really cute in this simple outfit and it was rather stylish. His clothes were also very different from the bolder style he had been wearing that night. Now you had been the one staring intently and you could tell it was noticeable enough as he seemed to be amused, his lips curled slightly at the sides.

Tae bit his lip in an attempt not to comment on the fact that you had scanned him from head to toe as well. He itched to tease you, but the need to make you feel as relaxed as possible kept him in check. He looked at you in the eye to greet you and when you locked your eyes with his he nearly stumbled over his words.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I did my best to leave as soon as I could" he said with a guilty tight smile and his eyes shifted for a second, as he felt flustered, before he looked back at you. While his eyes were dark, yours seemed to have a gold tint swirled into the brown that made them hypnotizing in a way. He knew he had to stop staring though as he kept getting caught.

"Hi Taehyung, it's okay" you said with a small smile as you saw he scratched the nape of his neck feeling uncomfortable. Hopefully not because of you, you thought fixing the sleeves of your cardigan that had slipped from your shoulders and wrapping it around you self-consciously.

"Should we get going?" he said as he instinctively reached out for your hand but caught himself in time, curling his arm around his back and scratching it to hide his initial intentions. You didn't seem to notice as you started walking and caught up with him. As he swung his arm back on his side, however, his fingers brushed yours accidentally.

"Sorry" he quickly said as you brought both your hands to the front and held them together. You shook your head implying it was okay. What is wrong with me, Tae thought as he was acting more awkward than he wanted to when he was actually trying to stay under control for you.

This uncomfortable moment required desperate measures. Puppies. "So, you told me you had a dog as well?" Tae tried to break the heavy atmosphere between you two. You sighed relieved at the familiar topic and smiled.

"Yes, Hyeri is her name. I adopted her at a shelter a couple years ago when I moved out of my parents' home" you looked back at him with the eyes with the softer shine.

"Maybe Yeontan and her could meet some time, we could take them for a walk" he suggested, biting his bottom lip again to keep himself from smiling broadly. He had never noticed how much he smiled until he had to stop it and he was getting rather frustrated.

"Yeah, that would be cute" you replied and to his surprise you smiled a little wider.

He smiled to himself broadly in satisfaction as he looked ahead, you looked up at him and wished you could get one of those smiles out of him. That's the first thing you did, but you wouldn't know because you looked away after he playfully glared back at you.

 That's the first thing you did, but you wouldn't know because you looked away after he playfully glared back at you

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