Astra
Namjoon seemed to think it was a great idea to blindfold me so that I wouldn't know where we were going. Really, I don't see how he expected it to work since the thoughts of every person as we drove by just bombarded my mind. He couldn't say he was any better.
Still, I played along, even though I heard thoughts of tall buildings, and local art displays.
"You're not cheating are you?" I heard his voice from beside me. We took another corner, the car moving smoothly.
A small smile lit up my face. "I'm not trying to cheat..."
I could hear his sigh, and then small laughs from beside me. "We're almost there anyways. Just try not to cheat maybe?"
I let out a small laugh. "Easier said than done." Still, I tried to block out the conversations by humming to myself. It took me a few moments to realize that I was humming the same toon that the idol next to her had played for her back in the cafe. Still, it seemed to work a little, my mind drifting to the soft melody. It was like a soft breeze, taking all the thoughts away from her.
The car drifted downwards, taking a few turns before finally pulling to a stop.
"Can I take off the blindfold now?" I tugged at the dark piece of fabric over my eyes, hoping to finally get a glimpse of where we were.
A small chuckle came from beside me before a soft hand was taking mine, stopping me from taking the blindfold off. I couldn't stop the small surge of butterflies that seemed to rise from my stomach. I let out a little gasp, trying to stifle it with a yawn. Still, he was probably all to aware of the effect he had on me.
"Not yet," was all he said, his amusement reaching the light trills of his voice. He slipped out of the car, the door closing before he came around to my side. The door opened and his hand reached mine.
I let a small smile rise to my lips. "This better be a good surprise." I couldn't seem to stop my pounding heart when he tugged me along by my hand.
"Just trust me," he said, moving close enough he was practically whispering in my ear.
I let my feet follow him blindy, stepping out of the car. The first thing I noticed was the cool breeze that brushed across my open skin. The temperature was cool, and our footsteps echoed lightly as we walked. Based on those things alone, it seemed like we were in some kind of underground parking lot.
I nearly tripped on the uneven ground, stumbling.
"Ooops sorry." Namjoon chuckled before guiding me around again.
We kept going around before we reached the stairs. I never knew how scary it actually was not knowing where you were going, but I still laughed when I tripped on something.
"Ssssh, shh," he was saying between laughs. "We have to be quiet."
"Where are we going?" I asked again.
"We are almost there, just wait a second."
I silenced my laughs as a door opened. I could see natural light through the dark of the blindfold, but not much else. We hurried into the open before heading up another set of stairs. We stopped before I could hear the light whispers as Namjoon talked with someone who was there. A door opened before we were walking through and stopped. It was dark again.
"Are we here?" I asked, already a little excited.
"Now we are." I could feel him step behind me before pulling at the blindfold. His fingers against the back of my neck sent shivers up my spine before the fabric of the blindfold fell. I opened my eyes, blinking a couple of times before gasping.
Light shined around me like stars. It felt as if I were walking among the stars. The art display before me was absolutely beautiful. Light hung from the ceiling, lighting up the room with different colours. But what was more beautiful was the mirrors lining ever edge of the room and corridor, making everything seem to go on forever, infinitely. It was beautiful as I spun around taking it all in. The gallery display went down for a way where it opened into another dark room.
I spun around, my mouth wide in amazement. Before I knew it, I was turning around and facing the Korean idol who had brought me here. I looked up, my eyes reaching his. With the light reflecting into his dark coloured eyes, they looked like galaxies themselves. I was instantly mesmerized.
"Do you like it?" he asked, his voice soft.
My heart leaped in my chest. I was speechless.
"It's perfect," I managed to whisper, more mesmerized with him than the exhibit. We both looked at each other before my eyes fell down to the pink of his lips. I could just imagine the feel of them on mine, a gentlest whisper of the bond between us.
He leaned his body closer to mine, and I subconsciously moved mine closer to meet his. I looked back up to reach his eyes, and he had a knowing look in his eyes. The fire that burned in his intensity told me enough to know that he was thinking the exact same thing as me.
By this point, I didn't think we could get any closer. His hands slowly reached up to my face, one hand gently cupping my cheek. The soft feel of his fingers against my skin brought a gasp to my lips. It felt like I was flying as the bond between us seemed to tug us closer.
I lifted my head in response to the soft pressure along my jawline. We were both lost in a trance. He leaned down closer, his steady movement making this moment perfect. I couldn't help but close my eyes, his breath a soft breeze as it reached my lips.
Light flooded into the room as the door swung open. I immediately stepped back. Shocked maybe? Confused?
My head snapped towards the light, only to see a slightly confused janitor in the doorway. His cleaning supplies in a cart behind him.
"O! Joesonghabnida. Dangsin-i yeogiissneun jul mollass-eoyo. (오! 죄송합니다. 당신이 여기있는 줄 몰랐어요.)" I immediately entered his thoughts, translating the message. He clearly didn't know the two of us were in here. But it didn't truly matter any more. The moment was gone, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. It would have been so perfect...
"Byeolgeo aniya. Ulineun gyesog naagagoiss-eossseubnida. (별거 아니야. 우리는 계속 나아가고있었습니다." Namjoon replied quickly before the man was closing the door again. I could feel the poor janitor's embarrassment at walking in on such an intimate moment between the two of us, but I couldn't tell who was more embarrassed, me or the janitor.
I'm afraid I was practically radiating in embarrassment, and I wasn't sure if Namjoon could sense it or not. As long as he didn't take it the wrong way. I wasn't necessarily embarrassed to be with him, it was just being caught in that moment.
"Sorry about that, this exhibit isn't technically open yet. I was just calling in a favor from a friend, I guess we forgot about the cleaning crew."
I smiled, trying to hide my disappointment. "It's fine really." I didn't need to say anything that the moment was gone. I just turned on my heel, taking my hand in his as we walked through the exhibit. Perhaps I was more disappointed that I hadn't even noticed that someone was approaching. Getting lost in his eyes were definitely one way to block the voices out of my head. But now they were back in full force.
It was a good thing that this exhibit wasn't open to the public. The art museum that we were in was packed. Though I could imagine that the voices could have been louder. Most people's thoughts here were quiet. Perhaps polite demeanors seemed to mirror polite thoughts. It was refreshing and distracting all at the same time. Though I wouldn't mind a distraction. The bond between us seemed to be pulling us closer, begging us to finish what we had started.
Anyways, I was the one who said I wanted to take this slowly, didn't I? Still, the art displays were gorgeous. Each had a different play on the way light could be used. There was one where light was directed into shards of light, making prisms in the air that cast colours onto the walls. I was touched that Namjoon had brought me here.
We were still halfway through the exhibit when I could hear footsteps. We weren't walking, so I could tell they didn't belong to the two of us. I reached out with my mind, looking for someone who was in here. Nothing. It was empty apart from us in the exhibit. The closest were a group of tourists examining another exhibit an floor above us.
"Are you sure we are the only ones in here?" I asked, nervous energy bubbling up.
The steps quieted, and I couldn't help but think that perhaps I had imagined them.
"It's just us. Is something wrong?"
I frowned. I couldn't do anything to dispel the feeling of wrong in my chest. "It's probably nothing." At least, I hoped it was nothing.
Still, I couldn't dispel the feeling, and that seemed enough for us to leave the darkness of the exhibit. We moved toward the exit, careful to make sure that no one was out there before we left. I turned to face Namjoon.
"Thank you for bringing me here," I said. "Really."
He smiled. "I wasn't sure you would like it at first. I sometimes come here when I'm not working. I like looking at art. It is relaxing. I just wanted to share something I liked with you." He paused. "Though I should probably return you back to your family, and I still have to do a few things at the agency."
I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. It was already 3 in the afternoon. Had we really been out for this long.
"I didn't even notice so much time had passed." I then looked up with a smile and caught his eyes. I was mesmerized once again.
I then looked up, a little shocked. "Somebody is coming." I looked around. The hall we were in was flat, curving slightly around where the light display was. I tried the door we had just left, frowning when the door was locked. We clearly couldn't go that way. It also probably wouldn't do well to be caught here of all places. There was no where to go.
I tried the next door down the hall. It was unlocked. "Quick," I whispered pushing the boy in front of me before slipping in an closing the door. I turned to face the door, backing into Namjoon in the process. I froze. I could feel his warmth through the thin layers of clothing on my back. From the little amount of light coming in through the bottom of the door, the most I could tell was that I had pushed the both of us into a small broom closet. I shifted back a little, practically squished between the body behind me and the door.
The metal shelving behind the both of us creaked.
"Stop moving or I'm going to knock something over," Namjoon whispered. I turned around to face him, trying to move in a position to stop the both of us from being squished.
"I'm just surprised you haven't broken anything in here yet."
He caught my arms, locking them in front of me. I could barely see his face in the darkness. "Quiet, or we are going to get caught." With the small amount of light illuminating the closet, I could see the slight upturn of his lips, and once again I was reminded of how they would feel against mine.
It was the bond again, urging us closer. Though in our situation, we couldn't have been any closer.
I could tell the thoughts from those outside of the small closet we were in was passing. A group of people were talking quietly, but now I was distracted. It was a little ironic that I wanted a distraction from exactly this just minutes earlier, and here I was distracted by the very same thing.
"Namjoon?" I whispered, my head lifted as I looked up at him in the dim light. I was sure he could feel it. The pull that seemed so strong at the moment nothing else mattered.
"Yes?" he asked. We were close enough now that the soft exhale of his breath caused my eyelashes to flutter.
I didn't think there was anything else to say, so I moved forward, bridging the gap between us. His lips touched mine. Soft, warm. Heat rushed up to my face from no where, shivers ran down my spine. I pulled back, the peck already stimulating all my senses.
I could tell he felt it to. The electricity down our bond that seemed to make the rest of the world disappear. This time, he was the one that leaned down and kissed me. Time seemed to stop in that exact moment. But while time stopped, the electricity between us only seemed to ignite. My heart pounded in my chest and my knees grew weak. How could I even stay standing. The feel of his soft lips as they melded on mine, and the addictive taste of his lips on hers. The simple baseball cap on his head fell to the ground as her fingers curled into his hair between breaths for air.
I smiled against his lips. If it weren't for the fact that we were kissing in the closet, I don't think I could have imagined a more perfect first date.
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That wasn't terrible was it? Haha I have no experience with this kind of writing. But oh well. Thank you for all the patience in waiting for a new update. I'll try to be a little more consistent with updates.
Also, I've seen comments asking about the translations for the Korean I include in some chapters. This is more of a choice in style in how I write in that I don't include the translations. I don't know if I have already touched on this, but I do it to bring more emphasis onto the perspective that Astra has. Since Astra does not understand Korean, she can hear the words they speak, she just does not understand them anymore than we do.
Till next time, lovely readers :)