서른 일곱
Taehyung's PoV;
Licking my lips after Jeongguk pulled away, I felt a surge of electricity run through me as he laid his hands on my hips, thumbs brushing over the bones as he looked at me lovingly.
"Petal, you look absolutely ethereal." He spoke softly, moving one of his hands to my face, brushing the hair out of my face before gently stroking my cheek with the backs of his fingers.
My cheeks flushed, my heart fluttered and my brain became a melted mess, malfunctioning on the spot and unsure what to say, my voice stuttering and the words mumbling when I looked at him.
"I don't know how I managed to get such a pretty soulmate." Jeongguk said, his voice quiet yet genuine, thumb now rubbing my cheekbone and occasionally sweeping below my eye, "I'd love to ask you to be my boyfriend, but it's not exactly the most romantic spot, is it?"
"I don't mind." I mumbled childishly.
"I do, petal." He smiled, "I'll take you out and ask you in a place that you deserve. Not in a shitty alleyway beside my sister's ex-husband's corpse."
"Can I have another kiss, then?" I asked, looking at him with puppy dog eyes as I laid my hand over his, pouting my lips ever so slightly.
"Of course."
He leaned forward, moving his hand to the side of my neck.
My eyes fluttered shut as he pressed a dainty kiss to my lips, kissing my nose before pulling away fully.
"Come on, petal. Let's get you home, you're tired and you've had a long day." He spoke, rubbing my hip with his other hand.
"Don't wanna."
"Seoul is a long drive home, petal. Either that or we go to my apartment." Jeongguk said.
"Will you carry me?"
"Anything for you, petal."
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Dozily, I awoke to Jeongguk laying me down on the bed gently.
He was about to pull his hands away from under my knees when I held onto his wrist, slightly startling him as I looked at him.
"Thought you'd fallen asleep, petal." He said, staying in the weird position that he was bent into, hands under my body as he crouched beside the bed, "are you hungry?"
"A little." I admitted, hand still holding his wrist.
"Okay, well I'll get you some clothes out because as cute as your ass looks in those jeans, everyone knows that skinny jeans are no where near as comfy as sweatpants. I'll let you steal my hoodie again while I go find some food."
I laughed at his half-compliment about my ass as I sat up, watching as he pulled sweatpants and a hoodie from his wardrobe, putting them on the bed.
He pressed a quick affectionate kiss to my forehead before leaving the room, his feet padding away.
I smiled to myself, holding my hand up against my head as I stood up, swapping my old clothes for Jeongguk's. I left my legs bare, isolating the sweatpants and allowing Jeongguk's hoodie to cover my skin to midthigh.
Ruffling my hair, I followed Jeongguk's footsteps in the small one-floor apartment to find him in the tiny kitchen.
Compared to his house in Seoul, this place was miniscule.
Yet somehow, it was cute and homely and a lot more Jeongguk.
BIGBANG posters covered the walls, accompanied by many other huge popstars in fancy jackets and sparkly shirts. In the gaps that posters of his favourite bands, artists and a few TV shows couldn't fill, pieces of his art (either in frames or just on the paper) were tacked up to cover the boringly beige painted walls.
I spotted numerous abstract pieces, but many realistic drawings and the occasional calligraphic swirls on rare occasions.
I began to wonder how long he'd spent in this apartment, and how many nights he'd stayed up on the balcony, under the stars as he created art with his bare fingertips, using whatever came to his mind for inspiration.
The place seemed to show who Jeongguk truly was.
He wasn't this sophisticated kid, living in a dreary house in Seoul with nothing to show his talent.
He was a wonderful college student with beautiful purple eyes, knuckles made for fighting and his hands made for art. He was someone with a voice like viscous treacle, addicting and sweet. Someone who made cigarette smoke smell nice and appealing, the sour scent merging with his faint floral hint that always stained his neck. Someone who was funny without trying, warm without attempting, welcoming and protective all in one without a single effort.
The apartment just seemed to scream Jeongguk, from the homemade woollen rugs beside each doorway, to the many flowers and cacti in small ceramic pots along the window ledges, to the art plastered along the wall.
I decided that I liked this place. I liked standing on the balcony, leaning on the metal that was coated with a thick layer of lemon-yellow paint, bringing life and colour to the block of boring, bland and dreary apartments that stood insecurely beside Jeongguk's whose apartment seemed like something out of a Disney movie when compared to the others - which he had mentioned were owned by either prostitutes, drug dealers or heartbroken middle-aged men and women, maybe the occasional student if they weren't as rich as their friends.
Perhaps that's why he stood out so much.
He wasn't as miserable as the rest, evident by his almost neon space compared to the grey spaces.
I liked Jeongguk's arm around my waist, passing me a cup of steaming tea whilst his hand gently gripped onto my hip. He looked out towards the sight that I'd somehow found fascinating.
I wouldn't say that I liked it, but I didn't mind the scenery before me. It was something, a fairly rich kid thanks to my parents donating me money in hopes that it'd somehow turn me straight (don't worry, I didn't question it either), that I'd never experienced.
There was a stupid sense of beauty about it.
Women teetered around on sky-high heels, tight dresses sticking to their impossibly slim figures as they winked and giggled at oncoming customers, using seductive voices to get their money that they'd need to survive, waving bye to their fellow companions as one was 'luckily' chosen and driven away for a night of artificial love.
Men slumped around, hoods covering the majority of their faces as they made dodgy deals with other men and women, sneakily slipping bags of drugs into wanting hands through a 'subtle' handshake, though there was not much point being subtle about the action, considering everyone was used to this sort of thing.
The rather common group of loud teenagers would run through every so often, feeling big and responsible as they passed all the adults who hadn't been successful in life, whispering about the drugs and the sex that was happening around them - possibly hoping that they'd stayed inside with their parents whenever a junkie would get a bit too close for their liking.
It was stupidly beautiful.
When I was younger, the scenery from my extremely expensive balcony (which was decorated with numerous stone carvings and ornaments dipped in gold, making Jeongguk's small balcony decorated with flowers look like nothing) was just a gardener lazily throwing water onto the flowers and trees of nature's beauty - none of which I could possibly pronounce - or my parents taking a walk in the separate garden with business partners.
I'd never got to experience the sight that I saw up until now.
Hell, I only knew what a prostitute was because of my first apartment. I'd wondered why lots of women were standing on the streets and I'd texted Jimin in concern, asking if they were okay only to be told with a brutal confession that those women sold their bodies to live.
"If you're still hungry, there's some snacks in the kitchen, petal." He spoke, fingertips grazing my hip as his hand slipped under the hoodie.
I nodded, sipping my tea before turning to face him with my cheeks still full with the beverage.
He smiled fondly, pressing a kiss to my unintentionally pouted lips.
I followed him as he stepped back into his apartment, shutting the balcony door and drawing crimson velvet curtains, my eyes becoming blind to the last snippet of brutal reality.
Placing my finished cup down on the counter as I made my way into the kitchen, I spotted the sight of numerous packets and boxes of junk food. Bright bags of crisps and shiny wrappers of chocolate.
The sight reminded me of Jeongguk.
How he usually brought in chocolate to art, sharing the sweet treat with me as we giggled and sketched, laughing at how the food coated his tongue.
"Seems like you were really mesmerised by outside, hm?" Jeongguk spoke as he sipped from a cup of fizzy cola.
"Yeah, I was weirdly drawn to it." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, not missing how Jeongguk's eyes flicked from my bare legs to my exposed tummy as the hoodie went up with my raised arm.
It made the corners of my mouth turn upwards in response, feeling slightly shy as I felt the need to blush or giggle awkwardly.
His eyes flicked back up to my face, pulling a smug smile as he knew that he was being painfully obvious with his staring.
"Do you want to take a picture?" I asked cheekily.
"Please."