September 10, 2019
Incheon International Airport
Incheon, South Korea
My foot taps anxiously on the tiled floor of the private arrival room in the airport. I peek at my watch and the face reads 4:15 pm. I run my hands through my hair and tug lightly on the strands. The slight pain helps to ground me a little bit.
"They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago," I mumble.
"Taehyung, just take a deep breath." I feel Namjoon's hand on my shoulder. He squeezes me and I attempt a smile for him.
"Yikes," he says in response. "Maybe you don't want to smile just yet."
"I'm so nervous, hyung," I say in a soft voice.
He laughs lightly. "Why are you nervous? You don't have to be."
"I haven't seen Elle since we met four months ago and now she's coming here with her mother to meet me."
Namjoon tilts his head and squints his eyes in thought. "I mean, technically they're coming so they can tour Seoul National University. You just so happen to be here."
"Oh my god, they're through customs and they're on their way here," I say, ignoring Namjoon's words. I throw my phone across the room and it lands in one of the cushioned chairs against the far wall.
Namjoon sighs beside me and stands to his feet. "Get up then. You don't want to look stupid in front of Elle's mom." He grips my wrist and starts to pull on my arm, trying to remove me from the calming comfort of my chair.
"No, Namjoon, stop." I pull on my own arm, beginning a tug of war between the two of us.
"Stand up, you idiot!" he grumbles. His voice is strained from the effort and I notice his shoes starting to slip on the tile.
"Let go!" I brace myself to give one final tug and have my friend slip and fall onto the ground before me. But just as I start to pull, the door to the private room swings open and Namjoon and I freeze.
"What...is going on in here?" asks Manager Sejin.
I pull my arm away just as Namjoon lets go prematurely. I stand to my feet while Namjoon crashes on the floor. He yelps, but I hardly hear it because my sight is glues to a pair of wide blue eyes staring back at me from the doorway.
Elle's hair is a lighter brown than it was in May, drifting down from soft brown at the roots to a sweet caramel color at the ends from the summer sun. Her skin is a honey-like tan and she's taller than I remember her being, her head probably reaches the tip of my nose. Her thin hair falls messily around her shoulders and there's a lumpy line around her head from having it in a ponytail all day long. She wears a simple oversized black tee, cotton shorts, and Adidas slides. Her eyes carry dark bags below their piercing blue-green color. She looks exhausted, but apparently that doesn't matter when she charges me and jumps right into my arms.
I catch her body easily and hold her tightly against me. It's the first time we've had any physical contact, since when we both met we were both crying and awkward and too confused to understand that we had met our soulmate. I bury my face into her hair and neck and inhale her scent for the first time. She smells like a plane and a little bit like she needs to shower but I don't care. She's in my arms and she's here and we're together and that's all that matters to me.
"I missed you so much," she whispers in English. Her arms tighten around my neck and I so happy that I can understand a little bit of the language to know what she said. My heart swells in my chest and I feel so warm from her words, I may just burst into flames. Or tears.
"I missed you, too," I reply. I set her down on the floor reluctantly and stare into her eyes that swim with a layer of tears. My hand sups her cheek and she leans into my touch. There's so much to do and say and yet I don't know where or how to start.
"My English is still not good," I tell her and Elle instantly shakes her head.
"It's okay."
And that's enough for me.
A throat clears behind us and we pull away from each others' grasps only when we realize Namjoon and her mother are watching us.
Elle takes my hand and leads me to the shorter woman with a smile on her face.
"Taehyung, this is my mother," she says. I swallow, my nerves suddenly returning the second I drop Elle's hand.
"H-hello, my name's V—" I begin, accidentally saying my stage name instead of my real name. I laugh nervously, her mother joining in, and rub my hand over my eyes. "No, sorry. I-I'm Taehyung Kim."
Her mother's smile widens and she takes my hand, shaking it lightly in hers. "Nice to meet you, Taehyung. My name's Nicole." She speaks slowly and it helps me feel a bit more calm.
I nod in response. "Nice to meet you." Elle takes my hand again, melting any of the remaining nerves in my body.
"Hyung," I call to Namjoon. "Can you—?"
The man jumps to attention beside us and begins translating the common phrases when you meet your soulmate's parents. "Elle's told me so much about you," "Elle talks about you all the time," "It's so nice to finally meet you," things like that. Although I expect it, I still find myself blushing and laughing after each sentence her mom says. And I love it when Elle whines at her mother, embarrassed for being exposed. She's so cute to me. She doesn't seem to mind my idiotic responses to her mother as she leans against my arm and hides her face into my jacket sleeve.
"Will we see you often?" Elle asks, directed to me.
"I hope so," I respond. "We're starting to get busier, but there's still time before we leave for New Zealand." Namjoon nods and turns to my soulmate.
"You're welcome to come anytime, Elle," he says kindly. His eyes dart up to her mother and he clears his throat awkwardly. "If that's okay with you, of course."
Nicole nods softly, a polite smile gracing her lips. "We'll have to talk about it. We have a few tours and meetings at the school this week, but we'll see."
—
"CLEAN, YOU USELESS MEATHEADS!"
This is the first thing Namjoon and I hear upon opening the door to our dorm.
The first thing we see is an intensely red faces Jin hyung, that notorious vein sticking out of his neck (you all know which one), as he screams while waving a broomstick up in the air.
"WE HAVE GUESTS ON THE WAY AND I WILL NOT HAVE THE APARTMENT IN THIS DISARRAY!"
"IT'S NOT MY SHOWER!" Jimin screams back.
"PARK JIMIN, I SWEAR TO—"
"Seokjin hyung?" I say quietly, my body shivering from fear.
The aggressively angry man turns to Namjoon hyung and I and, like a cartoon character, all the red drains from his face and is replaced with a wide smile.
"Welcome!" he says very loudly in English. His smile is so wide I wonder if his round cheeks will pop like balloons. I'm positive those cheeks are insured, but the man rolls his eyes every time I ask so I'll never know for sure.
"Hyung, she's not here," Namjoon tells him.
Seokjin exhales a sigh of relief. "Thank god. This house is still a mess. Jimin is refusing to clean the guest room shower."
"THAT'S MIN YOONGI'S GRIME ON THE WALLS!" Jimin shouts from deep inside the apartment and Jin's face is all red again as he starts yelling right back.
"Okay, well, we're just gonna go clean our rooms," I say to no one in particular as Namjoon and I run down the hall to our bedrooms before we become subject to Jin's tyrannical rampage.
"So," Namjoon hyung begins after following me into my room. "What'd you think?"
I look away from hanging my jacket to glance at him. "What do you mean?"
"You were pretty nervous earlier. How was it?"
I shrug. "Good. Her mom always makes me nervous. I don't really know what to think right now."
Namjoon shakes his head dismissively. "She's really nice. And she seems pretty laid back, too. I don't think you'll have anything to worry about."
"It's not that I'm worried about Nicole, I'm just afraid that if Elle were to come over, she would come too," I confess stupidly.
"What's so wrong about that?"
I shrug, a pout forming on my lips. "It's not that it's wrong, it's that I'm only really comfortable around Elle. Her mom makes me feel more on edge."
"It's called meeting the parents, Taehyung," Namjoon says with a small laugh. "It's supposed to feel uncomfortable until you get to know her family."
I just nod, unsure of what to say to that. Namjoon places a hand on my shoulder, making me jump slightly.
"This is your first time meeting Elle since May and your first time officially meeting her mom," he tells me. "It's okay to feel weird about it."
"Nicole looked uncomfortable when you offered for Elle to com over," I point out weakly.
"Of course she'd be uncomfortable. We invited her eighteen year old daughter to come hang out with a house full of adults in their twenties. They don't know anyone but you and me. I would be worried if Nicole wasn't hesitant about that."
I nod quietly again and Namjoon just sighs, flopping onto my bed.
"Taehyung, she'll be moving here for university in March," he says softly. "You'll have all the time in the world to spend together without her mom."
I nod again and Namjoon finally leaves me alone to play a game on his computer. My phone chimes and I toss my jacket haphazardly into the closet before dropping onto my bed.
New message from Elle❤️😚😍
I smile at the name. She told me to place it something cute and although I playfully threatened to change it, I never have. It's too cute, too dorky. I can't get enough of her.
Elle❤️😚😍: Sorry about my mom :/ I could tell that she made you extra nervous.
After a quick translation (I've gotten pretty good at those), I reply.
Me: Nothing's wrong :) don't worry about it. I'm sad we can't see each other tonight, though.
Elle❤️😚😍: Me too...we'll see each other soon, okay?
Me: Okay. Come over soon?
Elle❤️😚😍: Yes :)
—
hello babiessssss :)))
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cay💕
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