Taehyung's pouty lips and shaggy hair flopping over his eyes put a smile to my lips because of how adorable he looks simply waiting for me in an oversized thermal and slim fitting jeans.
The scrunchy tying my hair up loosens as I happily run into his arm, earning a low groan from him when his phone almost slipped from his fingers when I crashed into him.
"I have much to tell you." I hold back a giggle, biting my lip as I pull away and flash him a smile. He huffs out a sigh, rolling his eyes, and, by now, i've laced our fingers together and am pulling him out of the hospital lobby.
Nonetheless, he holds my hand tightly and follows my lead towards 134340. It's not long before the warmth of the coffee shop wraps our cold bodies like a blanket and the sweet smell of hot latte's fill our noses with delight.
"Yo." Taehyung lifts his chin towards Yoongi with a smug smile painting his lips. Yoongi reciprocates the action, leaning against the counter as we approach him.
He smiles warmly at me. "Hey, you left in a rush yesterday. Pretty boy came back to buy you a warm drink."
I laugh as he referenced to Jimin as 'pretty boy'. The title fits him perfectly, and now all I can think about are Jimin's pretty lips, pretty nose, and pretty eye smile all coming together like a pretty bow holding a gift in place.
I almost forgot I was talking to Yoongi until Taehyung playfully shoved me. "He's talking about the resident?"
My cheeks are already a dusty pink and I only nod in response. To my fortune, Yoongi noticed my flustered state and simply smiles, silently chuckling to himself as his fingers work the iPad to manually type in our orders.
Before Taehyung can hand him his card, Yoongi's already shaking his head. "It's on me tonight, man. I know you guys had a huge test yesterday, so this is my treat."
"Thanks." I smile.
To fill in the silence, Yoongi and I talk about our plans for the weekend. He becomes excited when he goes on about a camping trip with his buddies to which I respond with an appalled expression at the mention of camping during the fall, especially when the forecast predicts heavy rainfall. Yoongi laughs and teases me about being an 'unadventurous city girl' (his words exactly).
"Who's the kid? He seems familiar." Taehyung asks and our heads all turn toward the shaggy haired guy setting up his equipment on the small podium.
Yoongi sighs, shrugging his shoulders as he hands us our coffee's. "I hired him yesterday for a few gigs during the week."
"What happened to the red-head? I liked her." Taehyung pouts, bringing the mug to his lips.
I scoff, rolling my eyes away from him to a smirking Yoongi. "Yeah, you liked her a lot."
"'So what instrument do you play?'" Yoongi and I say in unison, mimicking the way Taehyung made a fool of himself in front of the coffee house singer.
"She was holding her guitar in her hand, Tae." I laugh, leaning against Taehyung's shoulder for support as I become weak from the joy I find in Taehyung's terrible flirting.
"Alright," Taehyung huffs, wrapping his arm around my waist and guiding me away from the counter. "We'll check out how good this guy is. See ya, Yoongs."
I wiggle my fingers as a goodbye towards Yoongi, softly laughing as Taehyung guides me to the couch in front of the podium.
Shrugging my coat off, I place it over my lap before I lean into the couch and bring the mug to my lip. I bask in the vanilla mixture carried to my nose through the steam, sighing out in pleasure after a the warm liquid meets my lips and then my tongue until it's down my throat.
I needed that.
"Hey, everyone." Suddenly a playful voice causes my eyes to flutter open and I guide them in the direction of the voice.
On the podium, the shaggy haired man sits on the edge of the stool with the curve of his guitar resting on his thigh and his free leg propped on the bar between the legs of the stool.
My brows scrunch together as they follow my eyes narrowing on the boy. The familiarity of his appearance has me wondering if I've met him before, but it's difficult to get a good look at him when his head is casted down, looking at the placement of his slender fingers on the guitar strings. Finally, he lifts his head and scans the room until his dark orbs land on mine. His rounded eyes puff as they softly close when his smile reaches his eyes before his lips, and there's a soft twinkle in them from the dim lights hanging from he ceiling.
Then it hits me and I recognize him as the guy who waiting for Nora.
I smile, feeling my cheeks burn with heat when I notice how long I've actually been staring at him, but I don't look away and neither does he.
"Please enjoy." The small smile on his lips tell me he he gets this often. The unblinking stares from blush girls because of how handsome he is.
It's only until I hear the soft strumming of his fingers against the strings that I tear my eyes away from his to admire the gently touch of his slender fingers. The melody silenced the chatter in the coffee house and suddenly everyone's attention was pulled towards him like a gravitational pull.
When he started singing, I found myself staring at his pink lips, admiring the control he had over his voice and the fluidity and clarity of each word in the beautiful song.
"So, what was it that you had to tell me?" Taehyung's voice replaced Jungkook's soft one with his deeper one low and close to my ear as he didn't wanna disturb the audience. If only he knew I didn't want to be disturbed either, but I managed to put my attention on him, shifting on the couch so I was facing him.
"So, I went on a date with Jimin yesterday— after work." I say. Taehyung's stoic face begins to contort into surprise as his brows climb up his forehead and his eyes widen like his gaped mouth.
"Doctor Park?" He repeats and hurriedly leans into me when I nod. "You went on a date with a resident—"
"Well," I wince, my heart stinging just a little. "It wasn't really a date. We just grabbed dinner and ate in his car to talk. He never said it was a date."
Taehyung's expression fell, giving me his signature 'are you stupid' face with his head tilts to the side. "It was a date."
I pout my lips, sighing a I lean into the couch. "I don't know."
"Trust me, May." Taehyung whispers, standing from the couch with the empty mug in his hand and his coat in the other. "It was a date. Come on."
He snaps his head to the side, gesturing me to follow him and I panic as I want to tell him that I want to stay until the guy's set is over, but Taehyung's already waiting at the counter for me as he speaks to Yoongi.
I sigh to myself, looking up as the boy continues to sing beautifully before I grab my things and follow Taehyung.
"Thank you, Yoongi." I smile, placing my empty cup next to Taehyung's and put on my coat. "See you on Monday?"
He nods, eyes slowly and peacefully shutting while a soft smile plays on his lips. I swear sometimes he looks so at peace that it makes me wonder if he's stoned or something.
It causes a giggle to bubble out of me and I lean in. "Have fun on your camping trip."
His eyes open and his smile widens. "Thank you."
Taehyung's hand cups mine and I tug on my coat as he pulls me towards the exit. My eyes scan the room, landing on the guy singing and his eyes are already on me. My cheeks feel warm again and I break eye contact, searching for Yoongi.
"Oh, and he's really good." I tell him when he meets my eyes.
The warmth of my cheeks quickly dies when we're out of the coffee shop and I grip on to Taehyung's hand tighter for his warmth as we walk down the street.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"I'm taking you home."
I sigh, clinging closely to him. "Why? I wanted to stay."
"Well, I need to talk to you about something." Taehyung mumbles under a sigh, suddenly pulling me closer.
The walk was quiet, but we didn't mind as it was a peaceful silence rather than an awkward one. I could sense a sort of worry and stress from Taehyung that gloomed over him like a dark cloud of rain, but I decided to ignore it because something told me I wouldn't be glad about it either.
When we finally made it home, I could hear Ahn and Kylie laughing from the kitchen. We draped our coats on the coat hanger by the entrance, immediately feeling the warmth from the lit chimney melt away the icy feeling stinging our cheeks, nose, and finger tips.
"Hey." Kylie smiles when we walk in. The wine glass between her fingers sloshes around as she stands to her feet, moving to the cabinet to retrieve two wine glasses for Taehyung and me.
When the glass of red wine is between my fingers, I sit on the bar stool.
"Hey." I smile, but it was the last thing I wanted to do because Taehyung was still silent beside me with a gloomy expression clouding his smile.
Something was wrong.
Judging by Kylie's soft smile and her worry-filled glances at me, I knew she knew as well.
"So," I drag out the word, skimming my finger over the rim of the glass as I scan the room.
I stopped when I found Ahn's expression similar to mine's. He flashes me a smile smile before we both look away when Taehyung speaks.
"I'm starting my residency in Daegu."
My eyes become round and my body stills in disbelief. "What?" Is all I manage to say because I didn't know how to react.
"I—" Taehyung's eyes flicker to Kylie's, lips smacking together before they part once again. "I received my results from the chief today. I passed and Cherry Blossom Medical is offering me a position in their program."
"But that's in Daegu." I state the obvious, but I didn't know what else to say.
When Taehyung's eyes flicker back to Kylie, I swiftly turn towards her. Her eyes soften when they meet mine and I finally notice the gloss coating them and blurring my vision.
"What do you have to say about this?" I ask.
"Taehyung should go. It's a great program and they personally requested him."
I shake my head, not able to wrap my head around it all. "What does that mean? Were his results that good because I don't remember him applying to their program."
Her mouth opens and shuts like a fish out of water, not knowing how to continue and my suspicion only grows.
"It's more complicated than that." Taehyung answers for her.
"So you're leaving?" Ahn finally speaks up, but the question was a mere scapegoat from the tension building between because of their lack of clarity and secrecy between Taehyung and Kylie.
"Yes." Taehyung answers without hesitation and I look away, meeting my reflection in the wine glass.
Everything was so sudden. Was I sad he was leaving? Or was I angry that their answers got me no where and I still don't understand?
"May," Taehyung calls for my attention and he smiles softly when it's his. "I'm going home, but I'll be back."
Taehyung's going to join an amazing program. He deserves it because he worked hard for it. His results and work etiquette are proof. He deserves it.
I smile, lunging towards him to wrap my arms around his neck. His hand meets the small of my back while the other cups the back of my knee to lift me up into his arms and my legs wrap around his torso.
An unforgettable memory flashes across my mind. Taehyung's hair is died a vibrant red because he so badly insisted on changing his look, and my yellow scrunchy was a harsh contrast against his hair as it tied a portion of his hair like a sprout. He swiftly pushed his glasss further up the bridge of his nose and he smiles sheepishly.
"You could've gone to bed." He said.
I shake my head, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes. "You want me to fail, don't you?"
He laughs, immediately shaking his head and closes the book on his lap.
"You don't need the extra study time. I need it. I don't want to be left behind when you get accepted into some fancy medical school."
I smile, pushing the book away from his lap and replacing it with my head. I look up at him as he strokes my hair gently. "Stop stressing, Taehyung-ah. I won't leave you."
He smiles. "I know. I just don't want to take my chances, okay? Now go to sleep, please."
"Only if you will."
But, now, he was the one leaving me.
He deserves this.
"I'm so proud of you." My voice was muffled against his shoulder but he heard me.
"I know."
• • •