March was a lot less hectic for you. Ever since you told him off, Taehyung hadn't come by your house or followed you to and from your classes. The most he would do was keep on observing you from a distance. The only difference was, whenever you would turn his way, he would look away; like some shy little kid.
It was good to see that your words didn't totally crush him, but at least he was keeping his distance now. 'I wonder if he'll continue on like this until the end of the school year?'
"Mommy~"
As you were walking up the path of the park, your ears picked up the echoing cries of a little girl, not too far off in the distance. She was sitting on a bench, constantly wiping at her face, as she bawled out for her mother. But sitting right beside the girl, patting her head and trying to calm her down the best he could, was Kim Taehyung.
Your mind was telling you to turn away before he could catch you standing there, but of course, your heart was one to always intervene. You started making your way over to the two of them with a cautious mind. 'I must be out of my mind.' That you were. "What's going on?" you pursed your lips as you stood before him.
Looking up to the female's voice, Taehyung's eyes widened. "O-oh, hey" As soon as he eyes laid on you he turned slightly flustered, yet tried to keep it underway. He darted his gaze down to the concrete. "Uh, she lost her mom, so I thought I'd keep her company until she came back looking for her.
"Oh," you looked down to the sobbing young girl. You smoothed your skirt over your bottom before kneeling down to become face-to-face with her. "Hi there," you smiled sweetly. "My name is Jiyeong. What's your name?"
The girl raised her eyes to you, quivering pout and all.
"I've tried to ask her already," he shook his head, "but she won't say. She won't say anything to me."
The girl sniffed a couple of times before opening her mouth to say, "Oh Nabi."
Taehyung's eyes widened. 'She actually spoke?' He looked up to you.
"Nabi-ah?" You pulled your bag around to sit on your lap and went into your pocket to pull out a small packet of tissues. You slipped two out of the pack an offered them to her. "What a pretty name for such a pretty girl."
She sniffed once more before accepting the tissues. "Thank you." She quickly wiped at her tears and cleaned up her runny nose.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you've stopped crying. I mean, you don't want to show your mommy that you've been crying this whole time, do you? I'm sure you want her to come back to the strong big girl that waited for her return, right?" It took her a bit to answer, but she slowly nodded her head to this. "May I sit beside you?" With her approval, you stood up and sat down on the other side of her. "I know!" you clapped. "How about all three of us sing some songs until your mommy comes back? Would you like that?"
"Okay," she muttered. "Can we sing 'Baby Shark'?" she asked.
"Of course." You took a quick glimpse in Taehyung's direction, before looking back down to the little girl. "1,2,--" And on your count, you, Nabi, and Taehyung started singing the popular song.
But while you were busy smiling and singing with the girl, Taehyung's eyes couldn't help but wander off in your direction. Somehow he was still able to sing the lyrics without fumbling. Your voice was nice, just like Jungkook had said.
Once that song was ended, the three of you sang a couple more songs until you noticed a woman running down the road, waving and calling out Nabi's name. "Oh, that must be your mommy," you pointed out to the little girl.
"Mommy!" Nabi sprung right out her seat, dashing off towards the frantic mother with open arms.
"Ah," she scooped her up into a tight hug. "My poor baby. Are you okay? Mommy's so sorry we got separated."
"I'm fine. I was waiting like a big girl with Jiyeong unnie and this oppa," she pointed out. "I cried, but only little."
"What a big girl you are," she caressed the back of her head. She then turned towards you and Taehyung. "Thank you so much for watching over her," she bowed. "I also apologize for the inconvenience. You were probably on your way somewhere important."
"No, no," you waved your hands. "It was no inconvenience at all. We enjoyed waiting here with Nabi."
"Unnie, oppa and I sang lots of songs together," she started.
"Really? You can tell me all about what you sang on our way home." She then looked to the both of you once more. "Thank you, again."
"Thank you," Nabi rang.
Nabi's mother bowed once more before turning her back on the two of you and leaving with her little girl. With a slight smile still on your face, you turned towards the bench and picked up your bag.
"You really have a knack with kids. If it weren't for you, things would've kept like that until her mother showed up."
"Oh, yeah." You shrugged as you looked off, trying not to get into a conversation with him. You were more interested in getting home, taking a shower, and jumping into bed.
"You should become a teacher or something. I think you'd be amazing with them."
You averted your eyes from his gaze, "I want to run a daycare, or work in one if possible." 'Stop talking to him. Just turn around and go home.'
"It's possible. I know you can do it."
"Thanks." You didn't know what to say to him, but then it hit you. "Um...about what I said to you that time in front of my place, I'm--"
"You don't need to apologize," he raised his hand. "It was harsh to hear at first, but truth be told, I needed to hear that. After I got home, I went home and did some thinking. And even during these past 3 weeks. I realized that this entire time, not once have I acted like the man you deserved. Instead, I've been acting like the stupid flirt who didn't know how to treat his woman. And, I'm really sorry for that."
You pursed your lips as you listened to him speak. 'I have to get out of here. Why does he have to play the mature good guy now?' "I'm gonna get going. Bye." Without a word more, or even a single wave, you turned around and left Taehyung standing there.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" he called out, while watching over of your distancing figure. 'It doesn't seem like I was pushy, right?'
Within the following days, little by little, Taehyung would part from the boys to come and ask to sit with you. It was times when you were alone. No Minji, and especially no Jungkook. He would just sit with you while you studied for tests or did homework. At first, it was a task to get just 2 sentences from you, but with time, those curt answers transformed into acquaintance-like responses.
Soon he was asking for your hand to hold, and tying the laces of your shoes before you could even realize they were undone; complimenting you came to be a natural everyday thing. He wasn't too pushy, but he wasn't too distant either. It was just enough for you to get to see his effort in getting close. And in the time, you could slowly see his favorable sides come back to life.
His caring and sweet self was almost like how you had come to know it before but in a much more defined way. It was like he left his old self in the dust, and became more than the man you told him to be. Even the boys themselves could see how hard he was working. It wasn't something you could openly admit to, but there was progress. And this progress was quickly effecting your heart.
"Jiyeong," Taehyung followed you down the steps, leading out to the front gate. "You're done with your homework, right?"
"Yeah."
"If you're okay with it, why don't we watch a movie back at my place? I found this new movie on Netflix and I was thinking that you might like to watch it together." With the offer down on the table, Taehyung had his breath caught up in his chest. It was silent on your end for a couple seconds. 'Was it the wrong time to ask?' "Uh, actually---"
"Fine. I'll go."
"Really?!" Your side glance towards him made him clear his throat. "Really? That's good. Um, let's get going then." It was hard, incredibly hard, to contain the joyful boxy smile that wanted to show. Even pressing his lips into a thin line was of no help. Kim Taehyung was just too happy.
When the two of you arrived at his place, Taehyung brought out some snacks and drinks before pressing play on the movie. When he sat down on the couch, it wasn't beside you. His seat was at the end of the couch, just like yours. From the television to the gap, and then to your side profile, Taehyung was unable to keep his eyes away.
"Sunbae, why're you staring at me?"
"No reason," he shook his head. "Sorry." He then turned his head back to the t.v; but within a minute or two, he became the same way and started staring again.
"You're doing it again. Is there something on my face?"
"Sorry," he glanced towards the t.v. "I must be making you uncomfortable. I don't mean to, but...you're just so beautiful. Really."
And there went your heart beat. 'Keep quiet, you.' You tried to calm your heart's minor reaction, but that was even harder than trying to contain a smile. You then finally took a glance his way. "That was cheesy."
"That's fine," he shrugged. His gaze then fell toward the empty space in between the both of you. "Can I move over some?"
That was a bad idea. "Why're you asking me?" You looked away from him and then towards the movie. "It's your couch."
"But," he started fiddling with his fingers, "It's your precious space."
You then sighed, saying, "do what you want."
Taehyung quickly looked to you. "Okay then." He scooted himself closer and made that gap half of what it used to be. "This should be good, right?"
You didn't bother shifting your eyes away this time. "Yeah, it's fine." But it wasn't fine. You could already feel your heartbeat running fast and hard; even more when you felt a large hand slip in between your fingers.
"Is today no good either?" he asked.
As your eyes slid away from the t.v again, you looked to him. There was a slight pout in his lips and a pleading look in his eyes. "I--I don't think..." you were beginning to stutter. Not good.
You tried slipping your hand away, but he squeezed just a bit tighter. It didn't seem like he was going to let go, but you weren't sure you wanted him to either. It had been a long time since you felt his fingers wrap around yours.
"Sorry, I don't think I can let go. I missed holding your hand too much. I've been holding back on my urges a lot, because I don't want to push you away from me anymore. This is more than enough for me right now, so just this once, can we just stay like this?"
You stared long and hard into Taehyung eyes. He was just saying this so he can get you to forgive and forget. He had to be.
"I just can't lose you. Jiyeong, you're--You're really the only girl for me. I just can't picture myself with anybody else, but you."
Why did he have to be like this? Why did your heart have to react to his meaningful words? Why did every wall you built against him have to be torn down? "Just what is it that you want from me, exactly?"
"Huh?"
"A couple months have passed since we broke up, and it only took you a couple weeks for me to start noticing you again. My head always tells me to kick your ass to the curb and forget about you, but my heart--" you put a hand to your chest. "My heart, somewhere deep down, still wants you." You lowered your head. "Every time." You took a second for yourself because your emotions were beginning to get out of hand. "I hate it. Before I knew it, I was always watching you, wondering what you were going to do and to say next."
"Lee Jiyeong." You looked to him with watery eyes. You could even see the water glossing over his own. "I wish you could see how fast you make my heart race. How often I think about you. How sad I get when you're not around me. How much I regret being the one that always makes you cry."
The tears started to stream down your cheeks. "Why do you keep doing this to me? Why can't you just leave me be? You're like a stupid, annoying fly that won't go away. But I'm even more stupid for always letting you come back." One after another, they just kept coming.
Taehyung, who was holding back tears of his own, pulled you into your arms and wrapped you up within his embrace.
"I hate it. I hate it so much that I can't get rid of you," you sniffed up the dripping mucus. "But, I don't like being without you." You took a light hold of his sweater.
Putting a gentle hand to the back of your head, he sniffed. "I promise I won't give you any more pain," his voice cracked while he placed his chin atop of your head. "So please, come back to me." There was silence on your end, because of hesitation. He pulled back and looked into your wet eyes. "I'll wait as long as I need to. A few more months, a year, maybe more. Just, please..."
Still, there was silence, but this time with movement. You raised your hand up to caress his cheek and kept your gaze tied to his. 'Can I really trust you?' You parted your lips, with his following after. All that was left to do, was to lean in and feel his soft lips press up against yours.
It had been so long. You wrapped your arms around and his neck and leaned back onto the arm of the chair. So long, since you last felt his kiss. Almost every time you lifted up your head, it was something different. He'd go from slow and deep, then to quick and light. It was as if he was trying to convey to you so many things.
"Jiyeong, I love you." His tone sounded desperate, yet sincere. "I love you so much." His forehead fell to your shoulder.
"Taehyung..." Yet again, there were tears spilling down the side of your face.