"What's the rush, baby girl?" Taehyung intoned, sounded a little amused as he observed the awestruck me, "I'm here for you." His rich brown eyes a-sparkle with mirth as he slowly pulled me in around my waist.
I could only stare at him with widened eyes, still trying to process everything. And as the second passed, I began to feel my cheeks flushed red at hearing his last words. Because he knew I was searching for him, and he knew he was the reason why I was left breathless with a ruddy complexion.
For a few seconds, we just silently stared at each other, slowly taking in each other's presence into details. Taehyung sported a dark slim fit tuxedo, and it cuts him at all the right angles, sharp and acute. With his well-groomed blonde hair as his kingly crown, somehow he radiated out a personification of suave elegance in the modern tuxedo, and for the fact that I was still in his embrace did nothing good for my poor heart.
"What with all the pictures?" I asked, sending him a glare and slightly pushed his chest with my balled fist because I found it hard to regain my composure with the proximity.
"Well, giving you a chance to be the Jinhee the explorer. Did you enjoy the little adventure?" he teased me again, a little smirk crafted on his lips. I rolled my eyes with an unimpressed look, causing him to let out a chuckle. Though the adventure that he meant did excite me a little a moment ago.
"Come with me." He clasped my fingers with his and tugged me into a direction. I didn't resist as I silently followed his steps, and when I looked around, I only realized that we were on the rooftop garden restaurant ornamented with fairy light.
A friendly waiter appeared and ushered Taehyung and I to what seem like a reserved table of ours. Being his gentleman self, Taehyung helped me into the chair before he took a seat in front of me. I noticed there was a brief second of him nodding at the waiter, like some sort of signal, and as if on cue, a romantic music played in the background, and the mood was set.
It was late in the evening, the sky was decorated with lavender streaks, nearly faded to the hues of pink and gold over the endless sky. It was a magnificent view, and I found myself relaxing in my seat as the gentle, evening breeze kissed my skin.
"God, you get prettier every day." His dark eyes cemented on me with much admiration, and I found myself bowing my head a little because I was sure my cheeks turned bright again at the sudden flattery.
"Well, thank you." I mumbled quietly under my breath. "But what's this all about, Taehyung? What are you–"
"Shush, princess. No more questions." Taehyung put a secretive finger against his lips and leaned back casually in his seat, but his scintillating brown eyes remained steady on me. "I just want to spend the evening with my favorite girl. That's all."
"But I need to know what happened last night," I retorted with a frown. He'd have known how much stubborn I could be. "I know the look you are giving me right now, Taehyung. You are curious about something again."
And as though he was caught red-handed, I noticed how Taehyung's shoulder grew tense that it strained his tuxedo. He slightly looked away, keeping his both hands in his pocket now and his expression slowly morphed into solemnness. Silence wrapped in between us as the waiter came to our table and served the main course.
"Did I say something while I was unconscious yesterday?" I adamantly continued with my queries once the waiter left our table, leaving Taehyung with no space to stall.
"Here, let me cut your steak for you," he offered, however, there was a note of anxiousness in his expression as he looked at me, and this told me that I did say something yesterday, for him to make this odd gesture of having a candlelight dinner with me. Though, it was weird because he was avoiding instead of confronting.
Taehyung placed the plate in front of me once he was done. But when I crossed my arms and looked away, he instantly flickered his dark gaze on me.
"Jinhee, please," he tried to convince me to eat, but I stayed motionless. "You just regained consciousness. It's not healthy to leave your stomach empty when it's already evening."
I pressed my lips, still not looking at him.
"Whatever arguments, confrontations or any questions, it can wait." His deep voice sounded so tender that it melted the stubbornness in my being. "For now, it's just you and me, eating in peace."
And he successfully cast an emollient ambiance around us. I turned to look at him, arching a brow when our gazes met.
"Okay then, I guess it can wait," I finally conceded as I unfolded my arms and picked up my cutlery. I admitted I was actually hungry, and the soft, glazing meat in front of me was definitely a tempting view than the gorgeous man before me. "But just so you know, Taehyung..."
He looked up at me, cocking a single dark brow as he waited for me to continue my words.
"I don't like having empty gaps in my memory box..." I told him in a quiet voice, and ironically, sadness seeped into my heart as I stabbed the piece of meat in the middle, creating an unwanted space between the lined-up pieces.
"I know," he slowly leaned towards me, wrapping my hand with his warm ones. "I'm here for you, Jinhee. Don't worry about it." He gave me a soft smile that held so much meaning, and somehow it silently managed to comfort me.
"Thanks." I finally let out a smile at him, appreciating his soothing utterance.
The waiter poured our wine, and we initiated a toast. We sipped the very sweet and luxurious wine, talked and laughed at everything. I had to admit, it was truly a great evening spent with Taehyung.
Just as we finished our desserts, I noticed the music changed into a slow melody that I recognized. I turned to the direction and saw two male violinist were playing live just a few feet away from our table.
I blinked, startled and amazed at the time as I had my mouth covered. "Taehyung, isn't this Spring Day–"
"Can I have this dance with you?"
My lips parted in surprise when I saw Taehyung stood in front of me and offered out a hand with a gentleman bow. What was once a serene demesne in my being began to stir into a wild chaos, and it was as if I was spellbound by the lode stars in his golden brown eyes, I followed his steps as he led me to the heart of the restaurant.
It was exquisitely a moment of stardust. The inexplicable sensation tingling through my whole body as Taehyung placed his hand at the small of my back the entire time we slowed dance, the dizziness in my head as his heavenly fragrance intoxicated me, and my rapid heartbeat that never slowed down whenever his enthralling brown eyes gazed into me.
"I love holding you, you're always warm." His whispers was gentle, like a soft melody that soothed my heart.
I smiled at hearing his words, because truthfully said, I loved being held by him too. In his embrace, I found my solace. And he somehow made me feel protected and safe. It was strange, yet pleasant all at the same time.
"Taehyung, I don't want to ruin this moment of us together..." I trailed off, looking up at him with a hint of guilt, "but I really need to know—"
"One question..." He placed a finger against my lips, cutting me off again, "one kiss." He smirked when I frowned at his intervention.
"Taehyung, I'm serious."
"I'm serious too, Jinhee." he said, crossing his eyes in a silly way that I couldn't help laughing at.
"Seriously, Tae." I huffed out a frustrated sigh, and he smiled knowingly.
"What is it?" he finally asked, his expression changed and became almost somber as he looked down at me.
"That night when we were in the swimming pool," I began, and Taehyung slowly raised a brow, trying to remember the exact moment. Then, ever so slowly, his dark eyes glinted and his lips formed into an impish smirk.
"You want me to kiss you again? Sure."
I was taken aback when he pulled me closer and our faces were only inches away. But before he could do anything, I quickly placed my hands against his chest and pushed him away, leaving just enough space to let me breathe and talk.
"I don't mean that, pabo-yah." I scolded him with a glare, but Taehyung looked nowhere terrified, because instead, he gave me a questioning look.
"You don't want my kiss?"
I opened my mouth to say something, but only to close it back. I didn't even know why I hesitated to answer that particular question.
I did not mean that either.
Taehyung lifted a brow, urging me to answer but I kept my silence in and let out a small sigh.
"I'm not talking to you anymore," I said, frowning and looking away. What's the point of confronting when Taehyung wasn't even serious about it. He only found me amusing when he could tease me.
Taehyung let out a deep chuckle, and I felt him cupping my face to look at him. "What do you want to know?" he asked, his demeanor now serious and genuine.
I looked up into his eyes—the windows to his soul, and found myself blushing slightly at the intensity. Still, I gathered the strength inside me to ask him.
"What do you mean when you said you try to understand me that night?" I recalled the night when he uttered out an apology with sadness and guilt swirled in his eyes.
Taehyung looked calm as he processed my inquiry, but he didn't stop look at me as we were still moving slowly to the background music. He then tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and smiled warmly down at me.
"When we met at Billboard and tried to convince you to come back to us, I figured that we didn't really try to understand your situation..." he began slowly, and I just looked at him with widened eyes, didn't expect him to show his compassion towards me after how he had acted up ever since our first meeting.
"Even though I don't know what exactly happened to you four years ago, but I should've known with your situation like this, I couldn't just come back into your life and keep pressing on you to accept me, to accept us so easily, because the fact is, it isn't as easy as it looked," he said over a bitter smile, his voice quivered a little, as though he understood all the excruciating pain that I had struggled with as an amnesic patient.
"It wasn't easy to accept that the love of my life had really died on me four years ago..." He looked at me for a long moment, and my heart lurched painfully when I saw there was a touch of sadness in his glassy eyes. "And it isn't easy to accept a stranger who just nonchalantly declared out that he's your past lover when you didn't even have any memories of him in your head."
When he said that, I couldn't look at him in the eye anymore. All sort of emotions started to surface out all at once and my face crinkled as I tried to push back the tears welled up behind my eyes.
"So, I'm sorry that you've to go through all these, Jinhee..."
And those words were the last straw because I found myself broke down into tears, and Taehyung instantly engulfed me into his embrace, silently consoling me. "I'm sorry for confusing you. I'm sorry for everything..."
There was a moment of silence as I stayed in his embrace, trying to calm my nerve down and clear up all the emotional feelings in my heart. After I had sobered up, I wiped my tears away and detached myself from him, making Taehyung suddenly alarmed by my reaction.
"Why are you doing this, Taehyung? Why are you trying to understand me? How can you accept someone like me?" I shook my head pathetically and backed away from him.
"I don't remember anything in my past. I don't have my own identity. It's funny how I needed to confirm that one memory whether it happened or it was just an artificial one, and it's pathetic how I need others to do that for me. I have absolutely nothing, Taehyung."
Even though it was hard for me to say this, but it was all the truths. I had nothing that I could give back to Taehyung. So why would he do this for me? I couldn't understand him. I couldn't fathom why he was willing to go to a great length to carry a burden like me. He could just leave an empty baggage like me and be happy with someone else.
"No, Jinhee..." Taehyung managed to stop me from repelling away as he gently circled his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. Too close until our foreheads touched.
"You have me," he uttered out earnestly and cupped my face with his other hand, "whether you have your own identity or not, whether you are the old Jinhee or the new Jinhee, whether you remember or not, my heart will always accept you."
Taehyung slowly let out a soft smile and shook his head, as if to correct his last statement and placed my hand to his heart.
"My heart has always wanted you," he said, and I felt my heart leaped into my throat to witness such passion glimmered in his eyes.
"If you don't remember, I'll help you to remember. I'll hold you whenever things go wrong. If you stumbled upon any choices that you've made, I'd gladly carry you into my arms and be there for you." He took my other hand and brought them to his mouth, inhaling deeply before looking at me with plead in his brown eyes.
"So Jinhee... please don't be afraid to remember."
At that moment, I was at complete loss of words because I knew Taehyung meant every word that he said, and the soft lustre in his cinnamon-brown eyes magically brought upon beacons of hope for the lost soul inside of me.
I think it was because of the swelled-up emotions in my heart, and the fluttery feelings in my belly that I didn't think twice to tiptoe and circled my arms around his neck, smiling sweetly at him.
"Then, can you help me to remember how I'd once fallen in love with you, Tae?"
Taehyung was momentarily surprised by my words, but after he'd recovered, he hugged my waist and looked down at me, his eyes a-glow with love.
"Have you not fallen for me yet, princess?" he asked teasingly, his lips quirked into a smirk, and I smiled back at him. For a long moment, we stayed there, lost in our own world before he leaned in and buried his face in my neck.
"And you don't have to hide the tattoo anymore," he said, kissing the butterfly tattoo gently on my shoulder. He knew it was there.
I felt as though during the time when I had lost my emotions and memories, I really had loved someone. And now, facing this gorgeous man before me, just being looked at by him, just being touched by him, in this moment, this sort of feeling...
It felt like I have had it before.
A U T H O R ' S N O T E
And that's it.
Jinhee has accepted Taehyung into her life, how do you feel about it?
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Thank you for reading, lovelies
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Much love,
ℓynie