The Guy with the Piercing Stare

Chapter 22: It Only Took Too Long

It was a photo of the empty side of his bed at his parent's. "I miss you, where are you?" it read. Why was he so cute? How did he even come up with these things?

You got out of bed quickly and got ready for work, you took your brand new outfit and put it on to take a picture for Tae who hadn't got to see it in the end.

"Good morning, Tae. I miss you too" you replied and attached the picture. A few hours went by and when he probably had a minute, your phone beeped with his reply.

"Wow, great morning! Remember what I said about why I care? Hold on to that thought" you chuckled remembering his reaction at your other outfit. I guess he approves, you thought to yourself as you went back to your work.

As you were getting out of the office late that afternoon, your phone vibrated in your pocket. "Is it okay if I drop by? I can get dinner on my way there" Tae offered.

You were tired, but why not. You really wanted to see him too. You agreed he'd get japchae and he said he should be out of work in about an hour.

When you got home you decided to quickly take a shower. You changed into sweatpants and a hoodie and you set the table for dinner. The doorbell rang and you pressed the button to release the door so he could come in directly "it's the last apartment down the hallway" you instructed through the intercom.

When you opened the door his face dropped "where are your clothes?" he asked sadly. You looked at him confused, oh, your outfit. You chuckled and kissed him sweetly and you felt him smile against your lips as he responded to it.

"I just took a shower" you said as he pouted disappointed and walked in after you.

Your apartment was small, but cozy. The kitchen, living room and dinning area were all in one room. Your appliances were colorful and you seemed to have a lot of little gadgets.

"Do you like to cook?" he asked curiously as he looked through your countertop. 

"Mhm, mostly desserts and baking though" you replied happily.

"You would" he answered chuckling as he brushed his knuckles absentmindedly remembering how you hit him after he tried to have some of your banana split.

"We could bake some time, it should be fun, what do you think?" you said and he looked up at your hopeful expression.

"Sure" he smiled at your face.

You unwrapped the food as Tae looked around. He felt like he could learn more about you just by observing his surroundings. There were several little souvenirs on your bookcase, he assumed you liked to read.

"Did you go to all these places?" he asked picking up a little camel that read Dubai.

"Some I have, some my family got for me when they traveled" you replied and he hummed acknowledging your words. "Have you been to Paris?" he looked around trying to find a sign you had.

"Briefly, for a few days, I wanted to see more of Europe" he nodded.

"I really liked it there, I'd always wanted to go, I'd only seen it in movies" he commented.

"You must have been to a lot of different places with the band" you said smiling curiously.

"Only for a few days, yes, and we barely had time to walk around the cities" he said pouting. When he was done walking around the room he stood next to you giving a second thought to his idea.

A magnet on your fridge caught his eye "oh, here's Paris" he said picking up the little metallic piece shaped like the Eiffel tower.

"Can I have a tour of the rest of the house?" he asked a little self-consciously, he couldn't just walk into your room and look around. You laughed softly.

"It's only a two room apartment, Tae, feel free to take a look while I heat this up, it's gone cold" you said confidently, you had nothing to hide anyway. He smiled sheepishly and headed to your room.

More colorful decorations, a dresser, a double bed with a night-table by its side, a desk with a mirror and the big closet on the wall. He walked up to the small window next to your bed and pulled the curtains open to look at the view as you were on a high enough floor.

He caught a glimpse of a glass with a wilted flower, the one he got for you, he pursed his lips. He should get you a new one. Next to it on the dresser were the postcard and colored-in page he gave you. Tae smiled to himself satisfied. While the wilted flower was sad in a way, it also held a special meaning. You could have just thrown it out, but this was not an act of carelessness as the whole place was neat and tidy.

"Cute" he said when he walked out of your bedroom back into the main one.

"I need to get you new flowers" he said as he hugged you from behind, wrapping his arms around your waist. You were stirring the noodles in a pot. You felt your hair stand on end as he gently held you in his arms, feeling overly sensitive to the contact.

You briefly remembered when he brushed his fingers on your sides the first time you made out and your cheeks became hotter than the steam coming from the pot. Tae observed you from your shoulder were he had laid his chin.

"Do you feel okay? Your face is red" he asked.

"The food over the stove" you blurted out. "Are you sure?" he teased you and kissed the side of your neck softly.

"This should be hot enough" you said turning around, he let go of you to avoid burning himself when you moved abruptly. "Sorry" you muttered feeling guilty when you noticed, this was way too awkward.

After you had dinner he asked to use your shower as he had had dance practice. He could have showered at the company but he just left as soon as he was done for the day. He came out of it and wrapped the towel you gave him around his waist as he dried his hair with a smaller one.

He walked into your room nonchalantly and you looked up from your book. Your eyes widened at your semi-naked boyfriend who you hadn't even seen without a shirt.

Taking in the sight of his gently toned body, ruffled wet hair and the towel hanging low on his hips you felt flustered.

"W-what-Put some clothes on!" you said raising your voice unintentionally and he shielded himself from a pillow you flung at his chest to hide it.

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