a/n; long chapter4u!
xliv.
"..it's just us three?" eri questioned, stuffing her hands inside her coat as she exhaled, smoke escaping her parted lips from the freezing weather. they were at a strip mall, a type of mall where people shop outdoors and the stores are arranged in a row.
"i guess."
she wasn't alone, standing with her were two tall men known as park jimin and kim taehyung, her two best friends since high school (cuz they were the only people she talked to and hung out with back then.)
today's event was supposed to have the whole gang here, but unfortunately, a lot couldn't make it. most of them were celebrating christmas in their hometowns. take namjoon, hoseok, jungkook, ara, and minjee for example. yoongi was going to celebrate his christmas working in his studio while jin and yoona decided to go on a date together.
the good news was that they will be back a few days after christmas to celebrate new years together.
jo eri couldn't wait for the new year to come. twenty-nineteen was certainly one of the best years she experienced and she hoped twenty-twenty would be the same, or maybe even better. (hahahahaa no)
kim taehyung glanced at eri for a second before looking around the shopping district and spotting something in the distance. he quickly excused himself from the group, earning a nod from the other two in response.
"it's so quiet without everyone else here," jimin sighed, looking around the area as he eyed the xmas lights hanging from one pole to another and a huge christmas tree at the center. presents were gathered at the bottom of the tree and he wondered if they were actual presents or if they were just props.
"let's take a picture under the tree," he suggested.
"what about taehyung? he's still not here," eri informed. "we should wait for him."
"you're right. so while we're waiting for him, take a picture of me," jimin grinned, dragging the shorter girl with him towards the tree as he gave her his phone and opened the camera application before moving back a couple of steps and standing in front of the christmas tree. "signal!"
eri rolled her eyes playfully as she held the phone up to her face, positioning the camera so both jimin and the tree were visible on screen before she yelled out a "3... 2... 1!"
the male then held a ridiculous pose that made eri embarrassed from the stares coming their way but she shook it off and helped her frenemy take good pictures. she believed the reason why half of jimin's photos on his social media weren't half-assed was because she was the one taking them.
"do i look good?" jimin asked, skipping over to see the pictures.
"the christmas tree looks better than you not gonna lie," eri retorted, watching him swipe one picture to the next with a satisfied nod.
the young female blew heat and rubbed her hands to keep herself warm and it didn't go unnoticed by jimin. he kept his phone in his coat's pockets before taking her hand, catching her off guard.
"what are you—" she wasn't able to finish her sentence when jimin grabbed a pair of gloves from his bag and help her wear them, making sure each of her fingers was slid correctly through the right finger of the glove. he did the same with her other hand.
"there," he finished. "you should have worn your gloves, idiot," he scolded.
meanwhile, kim taehyung searched for a nice and casual-looking pair of gloves at a nearby souvenir store. he wanted to lend eri one after noticing her bare hands, but he didn't have a spare glove which was why he excused himself to buy one for her, not knowing jimin had already solved the problem.
the male continued searching for gloves that looked interesting to his eye and he finally found one. mitten gloves. it looked cute, it was ivory-colored with a small red heart embroidered at the bottom of the glove. without hesitation, taehyung grabbed the pair and went to the cashier to pay before leaving the store with a bright smile, excited to give them to her.
as he made his way back to his two friends, taehyung thought about how he was going to tell jo eri about his feelings. because of their jobs as streamers, it didn't allow him to hang out with her in person much but now that it was finally holidays, he figured tonight would be the best time where he would finally confess.
taehyung didn't know he felt this way towards his friend until a few months ago. he had had a couple of girlfriends before (he didn't want to reject them) and the longest relationship he had was two months. in a way, it allowed him to find his special someone, but from all the girls he dated before, none of them was the right person for him.
"eri—" taehyung's smile dropped witnessing the scene in front of him.
jimin was helping her put a light-blue-colored glove on as the girl watched the man in front of her in interest. taehyung could see a faint blush on her cheeks— unsure if it was from the cold, or if it was because of jimin.
jimin then flicked her forehead after he was done, scolding her how keeping warm is important during a cold night before patting her head. eri responded with a stutter in an attempt to thank him but she gave up and turned away instead, feeling flustered.
watching the scene unfolding before him made taehyung's heart drop down his stomach as he looked down at the mittens he bought, feeling useless to give them to her now that she had one.
with a heavy heart, taehyung clenched the glove in his hand and turned around hoping he could at least get a refund, but he should have known that it wasn't permitted when he went back to the souvenir store and talked with the person behind the counter.
TAEHYUNG:
go ahead first.
he sent jimin a short text after leaving the store and made his way around the mall, eyeing the various shops. he wasn't sure what to do now and he felt stupid for not going back to them. it's not like they knew where he went. why did he have to be a coward and wander off alone?
his feelings for eri weren't that deep anyway, he can get over it pretty soon. hopefully.
JIMIN:
what? where are you, tae?
eri and i have been waiting
by the christmas tree.
TAEHYUNG:
i need to do something.
JIMIN:
do what?
it was kind of late now to head back after he sent the text. taehyung pursed his lips before biting the bottom one, his eyebrows furrowed as he reread the conversation, trying to think of words to say.
TAEHYUNG:
just go ahead without me.
JIMIN:
we're not leaving until you tell
us where you are >:(
with a fucked up mind, taehyung ended up sending a text that was very discomfiting even for him as he face-palmed and mentally scolded himself to not think of a better excuse.
TAEHYUNG:
i need to take a shit.
the male didn't want to read any more of their messages so he turned his phone off and shoved it deep in his pockets, not minding the vibrations he felt as he ignored it, knowing it came from park jimin. taehyung sighed and ran a hand through his wavy hair, continuing his solo walk.
muttering a bunch of excuse me's as he passed by a crowded area, he saw a familiar figure dressed in a fluffy coat and a light bucket hat atop her long brown hair from the corner of his eye.
curiosity got the best of him so he slowly approached the female who was still unaware of his presence. he wanted to see who it was before leaving stealthily and act as if he was never there but it soon washed away when he realized it was a familiar face judging from her side profile.
"ara?" he blurted, catching the attention of the said girl as she turned around and her eyes widened in surprise.
"taehyung? what are you doing here?"
"i should be the one asking you that. aren't you supposed to be celebrating christmas eve with your family?" he inquired.
ara nodded, earning a confused look from taehyung.
"i am. my parents are here. well... they're technically in a restaurant talking to their old friends. i was just walking around because i was bored," she shrugged.
"oh. i thought your family might be in busan too just like minjee," taehyung assumed and she chuckled, "just because we're related, it doesn't mean our family lives in the same city. what about you? are you here alone?"
the male looked away and exhaled lazily before nodding his head. "...yeah, i came here alone," he lied.
"you shouldn't celebrate christmas eve alone. come on, i'll accompany you," ara held his wrist and dragged him away.
a/n; a taehyung special! i feel like i should write a little about the others too and not only jungkook.
question: do you want next chapter to be the continuation of taehyung and ara, or jungkook and minjee?