AMIN
I smile.
He looked so alert— so on edge, considering that therapies were supposed to be relaxing. I was watching through the small glass pane of the room, because I'd been told to wait outside.
I almost laugh when I glimpse the distrusting look he's giving the therapist.
It takes about five minutes for the therapist to put all the equipment on Taehyung, and I catch the man when he comes out of the room.
"Hello. I— how long would this take? I was wondering."
"About an hour." He says, looking back at the doorway. "Mr. Kim has severe asthma— so yes, an hour or two. He might feel a bit disoriented after, since this is his first time."
And then he walks away, leaving me alone in the empty hall.
I turn my eyes back to the glass pane.
Taehyung's unconscious on the makeshift bed in the center. His lashed eyes are closed, nose and lips covered with a respirator.
For a second he looks so much like the young boy lying inside the emergency room, chest stopped with asthma.
My heart stings.
But it's different this time.
He would get better.
He has to.
_____________________________
"Noona..."
He clasps a heavy hand around the curve of my shoulder, struggling to focus his gaze on me. And I quickly press myself against his larger figure, feeling his arm shift down to my waist.
"How do you feel?" I whisper, looking up at him. "Tae?"
His voice is huskier than usual.
"How...long was that?"
"About two hours." I murmur, and he turns his head in my direction. His lost eyes flicker across my face.
"You waited for me for two hours?"
"It was fine." My voice is assuring, but he still looks unconvinced as I adjust my hand on his. "I called a taxi, Taehyung. Because the doctor warned me you might be like this."
"Might be...what?"
"Like this." I whisper, pressing closer to him when his features scrunch. He stumbles, hand wrapped around the side of his head.
"So dizzy, Noona."
"It's because you're not used to therapy. The doctor told me the side effects would wear off soon."
When the taxi arrives, I lead him in to the back seat first. The driver tips his head at me, and I quickly tell him Taehyung's address— just about fifteen minutes from the hospital.
I expect him to fall asleep on my shoulder.
I'd never expected I'd be the one to do that first.
______________________________
My eyes flicker open.
I'm in someone's arms, and I almost jerk upwards when I realize that I'd somehow fallen asleep. How had I fallen asleep?
"I knew it." A low voice echoes, and Taehyung clicks his tongue. "After waiting for two hours— you're tired, Noona."
When he sets me down on the couch, I stare up at him with wide eyes. He didn't look disoriented at all.
"It wore off." He whispers, kissing me at my half-stupid expression. "That feeling. It went away."
And I quickly find the point.
"Well?" I murmur, both excitement and curiosity in my eyes. "How do you feel? Better than before?"
"Better." He smiles, and his smile makes all my tension melt away. "I wasn't sure at first, but now I feel it."
He's looking down on me. And I'm about to tell him that was great when his gaze warms. The next moment his arms are tight around my body, my hands against his chest.
"This is why I listen to you." He says, breathing deeply. "You're always right."
I feel heat flush up my cheeks.
"My Noona. I love her so much."
And I laugh. My voice is slightly playful as I place my head in the open palm of the hand he holds up to me, eyebrow slight raised.
"So will there be a second time?"
A smile flickers on his lips.
"Like I said before."
"Only because it make you happy."
______________________________
"Taehyung?"
He looks furious. Even though I can tell he's trying to hide it from me as much as possible, he can't. It's so clear, and it gets even clearer when he doesn't respond to me until the second time I call him.
I hold his hand in mine. "What's wrong? Why..."
"Noona, I can't." He whispers, wrapping his arms around me all of a sudden. "I can't, right? You don't think I can either."
Oh.
My voice is careful. But I can already guess, with the panic on his face.
"They want you to come?"
He nods, almost painfully. The uncertainty and frustration he'd tried to hide from me— he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.
Taehyung grips my shoulders.
"Please. Tell me I shouldn't go. Help me."
He was to be gone for three weeks, for the partner company that was stationed abroad. This would've usually been done by someone else, but this time the negotiations were so huge they wanted him.
I purse my lips.
"You should go, Tae. Don't worry about me."
His expression collapses. He almost looks urgent as he pulls me to his body, slightly shaking me.
"It's almost a month. A month I won't get to see you, Noona. I can't."
My head hurts, thinking about his words. But I wouldn't drag him down— not like this. This was such a good opportunity to pass up.
And even if it was something lesser. I would not drag him down.
"Where is it again?"
"The States." He murmurs, eyes slanted down pleadingly. "If you tell me not to go, I won't. I really won't."
My voice is soft, pained. "You need this, Tae. This is too important."
"No." He cuts me off, voice sharp and desperate. "Nothing's more important than you. Don't agree with this, Noona. You can't possibly agree...?"
He wants me to tell him not to go. He wants me to be the one to hold him back, because otherwise this would be too difficult to give up.
I shake my head.
"Go. It'll be a month, yes?"
He stares at me. And I harden my gaze, gripping his hand and holding it up to my chest level. I start inspecting his palm, just so I don't have to look into his eyes.
"I think this'll be good. For you— I don't want to be someone who puts you behind." I whisper, seeing he stays motionless.
"Tae."
I finally look up at his silence. He's looking down at me, features slightly pulled back.
"I don't want you to think that you do that," He murmurs, tone rough. "You're not like...You aren't like that."
His hand wraps around my waist, voice deepening.
"Understand?"
"Of— yeah, of course." I murmur, gaze falling with shyness when he closes the distance entirely. "You already make me feel like I'm
the most important person in the world."
He starts kissing me, breaths hot against my skin.
"I don't want to leave you."
"We can call every day." I promise him, and he sighs unhappily. "Make sure to be careful. Take your inhaler— and an extra. Just in case."
"And..."
Taehyung hushes me when I look up to mention more of his medicine.
"I know."
A faint smile flickers on his lips when he catches my surprised expression.
"I'll stay safe for my Noona."