Q/A: Who is your favorite author?
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By the time Taehyung arrived, the other three had already finished eating and were waiting for him to explain everything.
Taehyung sat down, debated for a while, then revealed, "She's my high school classmate."
"Fuck, she really was?" KiBum was astonished. "But didn't you say that only one other classmate of yours came to F university?"
Taehyung: "She is that person...... I didn't actually recognize her at first because...she looked completely different."
It took awhile before they understood what Taehyung meant by "looked completely different".
KiBum thought back to her uncannily large eyes and rigid expressions.
"She had plastic surgery?" Sung Hoon couldn't resist confirming.
"Yes......" Taehyung replied somewhat tiredly. "She said she did it for me......" He sighed again, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, unwilling to say more.
Everyone else looked at one another and tactfully dropped the topic.
Sung Hoon got up and prompted KiBum to go back to the dorm, wanting to give Taehyung and Jimin some time to talk alone. Not getting the message, KiBum tactlessly asked if Jimin wanted to go with them, and Sung Hoon almost slapped him upside the head.
Luckily, Taehyung held Jimin back: "Stay with me for a while, I have something to say to you."
Sung Hoon: "Alright, we'll leave first."
However, after Sung Hoon and KiBum left, Taehyung didn't actually start talking and just rested his chin in his hand with his elbow propped on the table.
Jimin finally asked, "Are you hungry? Want to eat something first?"
"......Hmm?" Taehyung looked at him, then nodded. "Ok."
Jimin got up, and feeling that Taehyung's gaze followed him the entire way, somewhat nervously bought food before bringing it back to their table.
Taehyung looked at the food on the tray, and seeing that every single dish was something he liked, revealed a smile. Although his smile was still somewhat tired, he looked a lot more relaxed.
Sitting across the table, Jimin quietly watched the other eat.
The way Taehyung ate was very elegant. Normally, he liked to talk while eating, but he never talked with food in his mouth. This resulted in him eating very slowly, and when they ate together, Jimin almost always finished before him.
But today, Taehyung didn't say anything, taking bite after bite, and finished quite quickly.
Jimin knew that Taehyung's silence meant he had a lot on his mind. Either he didn't know where to start, or didn't want to talk at all.
But that didn't matter. If Taehyung wanted his company, then he'll stay with the other. He liked staying together with Taehyung, and even if it's just sitting across from each other silently, he would still feel warm and happy.
It's just, this was the cafeteria and the two of them were quite famous, so Taehyung suggested that they change locations after he finished eating.
He wasn't referring to going back to their dorm, but going on a walk with Jimin.
The weather at the beginning of November was already slightly chilly, and with their hands in their pockets, they slowly meandered along random paths.
The sky was already dark, so with just the light of sparse lamp posts scattered around campus, pretty much no one recognized them.
When they passed the Literary Garden, Taehyung said in a low voice, "This way," and led Jimin into the garden's interior.
"Her name is Jisoo. She said she liked me for 6 years," came Taehyung's voice, so faint it seemed to blend into the night air.
However, that "6 years" was a needle that stabbed straight into Jimin's part.
Distracted, he tried to recall: How many years has he liked Taehyung?
If he started counting from his 2nd year of middle school, it should be around 5 years now... Or maybe he liked the other even before then?
After a long while, Jimin finally let out an "En", signaling for Taehyung to continue.
While sometimes pausing to recall the past, Taehyung chatted about what happened: "But it wasn't until the 1st semester of my 2nd year in high school and I knew about her existence...... At that time, I had just finished playing basketball and was headed back to the classroom. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into her, causing her to scrape her knee so badly it even bled...... Extremely nervous, I carried her to the infirmary, stayed until her wound was properly wrapped, and then personally escorted her back to her classroom...... A few days later, I went to find her again, and even treated her to food...... Because of this, a rumor that I liked her went around the school for a while......"
Jimin suddenly understood why that girl was so crazy about Taehyung.
He knew how gentle Taehyung could be, like that time he helped the girl who fell over in the cafeteria, or that time he helped the girl who fainted during military training...... Taehyung could treat complete strangers with such gentleness, let alone a girl who got hurt because of him.
Perhaps to other people, Taehyung's behavior reflected a fickle heart, and Jimin had also harbored such thoughts before. After all, a person who's naturally distant had a lot of difficulty understanding the motivation behind this unnecessary compassion of Taehyung's.
But now he thought differently. After seeing how Taehyung cried in the theater bathroom, he understood that in this world, some people were just born like this. You could call them holy mothers, or you could call them bleeding hearts, but they were simply naturally kind down to their very bones.
And coincidentally, Taehyung was extremely handsome and unaware of his own charms, thus his kindness became an originator of sin.
"You should know that these kinds of rumors have always followed me, though I never cared about them," Taehyung explained somewhat urgently. "Moreover, after that period of time, I pretty much didn't interact with her at all, and the rumors died down. But I never expected that this would leave such a deep impression on her...... She thought that the reason I didn't go find her again was because she wasn't pretty enough."
Taehyung closed his eyes, as if having difficulty digesting this fact.
After a few seconds, he continued, "She said, at that time, the other girls even joked that she was the ugliest one I had ever taken an interest in, thus she resolved to get plastic surgery...... During summer vacation a few months ago, she did her eyes, her nose, and even her face shape. She thought that if she was prettier, then I would fall in love with her."
Jimin had seen pictures of extreme plastic surgery cases online, but he never expected that he would see one in real life.
"I explained for a long time, trying to convince her that I couldn't fall in love with her, but she still didn't want to give up, crying while apologizing and confessing her feelings......" Taehyung let out a long sigh.
If it was anyone else, this might seem like they were showing off, but Jimin could tell that Taehyung was truly distressed over this matter.
Jimin could even imagine the scene where Taehyung tried his best to convince her, and if someone who didn't know better had passed by, they'd probably mistake it as Taehyung being heartless towards that girl.
"I really don't know what exactly she likes about me. This face?" Taehyung pointed to his own face, finally revealing some unhappiness in front of this most trusted friend of his. "Other than that time I bumped into her, she basically didn't interact with me and doesn't understand what kind of person I am. Yet, she kept emphasizing that she started liking me 6 years ago...... If it was someone else with my face, would she fall in love with that person just the same? If that's true, then what qualifications does she have to say that she likes me?"
These words were akin to a hammer-strike to Jimin's heart. Despite knowing that Taehyung's question was directed at that girl, but, couldn't it just as well have been directed at him?
Luckily, when Taehyung told him that he had a twin brother, Jimin already reflected and sorted out his feelings, or else he would probably doubt himself due to this question and become extremely ashamed.
Looking at the ground, Jimin replied as if talking to himself, "Other than one's face, everyone has an aura that they can't sense themselves. Some people might call it one's in-born nature, and others might describe it as personal charisma. These things are intangible, and aside from your looks, it can also be felt via how you smile, the way you talk, your self-confidence, your interactions with your friends, and in every movement you make, no matter how small."
Jimin cast Taehyung a glance and calmly concluded, "To her, perhaps what attracted her was the you who was...dazzling, brilliant, and different from everyone else."
Just like when you suddenly appeared before me 6 years ago at that music academy, and with an irresistible enthusiasm, allowed me to experience what it was like to bathe in the warmth of a sunny smile.
At that time, I hadn't known what love was.
As for after that, I still couldn't differentiate what was truly love, and what wasn't.
I saw bits and pieces of your life, and perhaps what I previously thought of as "love" was merely an attraction towards you wearing a white t-shirt while running around on the basketball court. But even this superficial love could burrow into one's heart, and during one's adolescence, slowly bud, grow roots, and bloom into a flower.
Jimin didn't seek for this flower of his to bear fruit, but from that point on, the people he'd fall in love with will probably all share a similar scent.
Taehyung stared blankly at Jimin, somewhat surprised that the other would suddenly say so much. Moreover, it was worded quite artistically and a bit different from Jimin's usual rational style of speech.
Their eyes met for a beat before Jimin retracted his gaze, not daring to say anything more.
He was afraid of exposing his heart and becoming a 2nd Jisoo, of facing Taehyung's rejection and heartless alienation- After all, that was how people normally treated someone who was smitten and secretly in love with them.
Before the two of them realized, they had reached Lovebirds Lake and the bench they once sat on.
Jimin still remembered the first time people gossiped about him and Taehyung. It was all because their pictures were secretly taken here.
In these 2 short months, so many unforeseeable changes happened...... They clearly weren't dating, but now, people paid more attention to them than to actual, real gay couples......
Taehyung looked at him and suggested, "Let's sit for a while?"
Jimin used his actions to respond.
After they both sat down, they stared silently at the pond before them. Then, Taehyung suddenly asked in a very meaningful tone, "Do you want to know how I convinced Jisoo to give up?"
"......Eh?" Jimin immediately had a bad premonition.
Taehyung continued, "I told her that...I was gay, that I liked men."
Jimin's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment there, didn't know whether or not Taehyung was joking.
After dropping that bomb, Taehyung didn't speak, letting this enigmatic atmosphere spread between them.
Jimin took advantage of this time to calm himself down as he frantically rejected in his heart: Gay? Impossible!
"You...lied to her? And she believed it?" Jimin finally questioned apprehensively.
Taehyung ignored this question: "I also said that I was already dating someone."
Jimin: "......"
Taehyung gave him a deep look, and wearing a somewhat strange smile, asked, "What do you think she said next?"
Like Jimin needed to guess? Everyone knew about the rumors surrounding him and Taehyung. Now that Taehyung said he was gay, wasn't this a clear declaration that their relationship wasn't platonic?
But for Taehyung to string him along like this, Jimin's heart was still pulled left and right. So pretending to play dumb, he followed up with: "What?"
Enunciating every word, Taehyung replied, "She asked me if my partner was the person using the same type of toothbrush/cup as me. I told her, yes. She wondered if that person's desk was the one to my left. I told her, yes. She said that she thought the rumors were just a joke, that they weren't real. And I told her, while the previous rumors about me were all fake, but this time......"
Jimin realized he underestimated Taehyung.
Originally, a simple "Was it Jimin?" would have sufficed, yet Taehyung split it up like this and repeated his convo back in detail for him to hear.
While he said all this, Taehyung looked straight ahead and not at Jimin.
But even so, Jimin was close to collapsing on the spot.
Every time Taehyung uttered "yes", his heart would heavily thump, waver, and shake.
Despite knowing the answer, Taehyung still asked, "Do you know who she was referring to?"
Jimin was rendered speechless. All of his defenses had shattered to pieces; he couldn't say a word.
"Hey..." Taehyung finally turned his head, and using a pair of profound eyes to stare directly at Jimin, asked with curved lips, "How about, you become my boyfriend?"
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[A small interlude]
Jisoo: "If I was prettier, would you fall in love with me?" (Q_Q)
Taehyung: "I won't......"
Jisoo: "No, I don't believe you! This isn't how it's written in all the novels! And our chance encounter was a scene straight out of a novel!" (Q_Q)
Taehyung: "Even if the person I bumped into at that time was an unparalleled beauty, I still wouldn't have fallen in love with her."
Jisoo: "Why! Tell me why!" (Q_Q)
Taehyung: "Because I'm gay... I'll only fall in love with the handsome guys I bump into, like Jimin." ╮(╯_╰)╭
Jisoo: "Cough......! *spits out a mouthful of blood*" (=皿=)
......
Jisoo: Author, get out here, let's talk about why I'm in a bl book. ●_●
Author: *shivers* LOL