The Ardent Lovers

018

"Are you going to cook me dinner, tonight?"

"Huh?" Taehyung turned to her, "Sure."

For already a few hours, Dahyun was trying to initiate a conversation with Taehyung but his answers would always be short and simple. From the quiet ride up to the silence that lurked inside her apartment, Dahyun knew that the problem at hand was Jungkook. However, she too, didn't know how to bring up the topic of another man courting her. Taehyung had previously dealt with her admirers, but it was the first time since his marriage that another man had entered Dahyun's life.

The dinner went on with another eerie silence. Dahyun couldn't take it in any more. They were supposed to make out of the best of the little time they have together, but here they were, avoiding conversations, afraid to bring up a sensitive topic.

With a loud sigh, she asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

She saw how he momentarily froze but avoided her gaze as he replied, "I should be asking you the same thing."

"Did Jungkook tell you something?" her voice was soft as she looked at him.

"Is there something he needed to tell me?" Taehyung finally met her gaze but as she saw the coldness in it, she stiffened.

She gulped and blinked numerous times. Taehyung was definitely mad but she didn't know whom he was mad at.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" she asked.

He shook his head before answering, "No!"

She flinched upon hearing him yell, but then she took a deep breath as she replied, "Okay."

She stood up and left the table, refusing to deal with his anger at the moment. However, when she passed by him, he stood up and held her wrist. Dahyun closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she waited for him to speak up. She then felt his hand slide down to her hand and he gently pressed it as he whispered,

"I'm sorry."

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No," Taehyung shook his head. "I'm mad at myself. I'm at no par with Jungkook."

"And why is that?" Dahyun asked as her eyebrows furrowed.

Taehyung chuckled bitterly before saying, "Everything that I can't provide as your boyfriend – time, companionship, and even marriage- he can give it to you all."

When she cupped his face in her hands and made him turn to her, she saw how his gaze trembled with anxiety.

"But the winner has been chosen from the start," Dahyun tried to reassure him. "He's the one who holds my heart."

"Am I that man?"

Her thumb caressed his lids, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall.

"You always are, and always will be," Dahyun whispered.

Taehyung then pulled her closer, enveloping the female in a tight and warm embrace. He kissed the top of her head before pressing his forehead against hers as he whispered,

"I don't know what to do if I lose you."

"Do you trust me?" Dahyun asked with her eyes closed.

"Of couse," Taehyung answered. "But it's myself I can't trust. I don't know if I'm trying hard enough to make you stay."

"I have no plans of leaving you," Dahyun said and when he saw sincerity in the girl's eyes, he nodded with an assured smile. As if words were not enough, her arms snaked onto his neck, and tip toeing, she kissed all his fears away.