"Can we go in there?"
"No,"
"What about there?"
"No,"
"What about-"
"Taehyung, finish that sentence and I will kick you again,"
The red-haired demigod beside you snapped his mouth shut obediently at your snappish remark, although he continued to watch the multitude of colorful stores lining the ends of the mall wistfully. You could still see his slightly pained limp and noted, with a tiny twinge of pity, that is was because of you.
You HAD kicked him in the balls, after all.
But he had been trying to seduce you, so who was really at fault here?
Certainly not me, f*ckers.
The car ride over here had been slightly amusing, with no lack of pained groans from the demigod who you had unceremoniously hauled up from his fetal position on the ground and shoved into the seat. But to be perfectly fair, you were kind of pissed at him at that point.
You very honestly didn't feel like trying to be nice.
But now your vexation had begun to subside... well, it HAD been, at least. When the lights of downtown had begun to pop up outside your windows, his words and complaints had begun to die in his throat when the city began to materialize, the buildings whizzing past suddenly tall and lit up with lights.
Taehyung watched the buildings raptly, eyes stretching wide with wonder as he tilted his head to gale at the tips of the skyscrapers, all glittering glass and metal as they cut through the wisps of clouds overhead.
You were still irritated with him, sure. But that didn't cut back on the childish sense of wonder that began to waft from him, the sensation hitting you in a sweet cloud. The link between your minds connected you in such a way that you couldn't help the soft smile on your face as you watched Taehyung become utterly absorbed with the city around him.
So in the end, you decided to forgive him. He WAS related to some of the biggest womanizers in the entire history of the world, after all. He probably couldn't help it.
And as if he could read your thoughts, the demigod who had been silent for a while suddenly faced you with a sh*t-eating grin, signaling no good could come from it.
"I forgive you," Taehyung popped offhandedly, a small twinkle glittering teasingly in in his dark eyes. Crap. You often forgot that this mind-empathy-link thing went both ways. So he could feel your pity? That was bad. No, no, you did NOT feel bad for him.
You shot him a judgmental side-eye, trying to pretend you didn't know what he was talking about. "Uh..." you dragged the word out, your eyebrows furrowing as you stopped walking in the middle of the reasonably empty courtyard, "why?"
Shaking tendrils of his shaggy red hair out of his eyes, Taehyung tipped his head at you. "I suppose you, being a warchild yourself, could not help the stress that then led to violence when I worked my irresistible charms on you. I'm sure you did not mean it. Although it does still hurt."
You stared at his self-satisfied face for a good five seconds before you burst out laughing.
"Oh NO," you shook your head, mild annoyance beginning to wind its way through your disbelief, "I most certainly DID mean it. And unless you want a repeat of that incident, never try to do that again."
It wasn't a lie. You happened to be very upfront and blunt about these sort of things, and Taehyung looked slightly taken aback for a moment before he fixed his expression, his signature smirk decorating his face yet again.
Ugh, he was annoying.
"You wouldn't want to do that, baby," Taehyung broke your stream of thought with his low, husky voice, arrogance suddenly seeming to stream from every pore in his being, mischief flooding from the mind link between you two. You rolled your eyes at him.
"And why is that?" you tilted your head, eyes hooded and brows raised.
Taehyung smirked at you, tongue brushing over his bottom lip as he leaned slightly closer. "Because then how would you ever experience what I have to offer?"
For god's sake, he's disgusting.
Well, fine then. Two could play this game.
You scoffed. "Listen, bud, there's only one thing that I want that you have to offer."
"And what is that?" Taehyung's grin only stretched wider as you stepped closer to him as well, although a sudden hesitance flashed through his expression before he smoothed it over.
Baited breath. You paused for a moment, reveling in the careful look flickering through Taehyung's dark eyes.
"Your absence!" you suddenly spat, shoving the red-haired demigod away from you and whirling around. He was quiet for a moment before jogging to catch up to you, shaking his head and shaking with laughter.
"Ever the feisty warchild," he chuckled, seemingly not fazed at all.
"You're also a warchild," you pointed out, not breaking your stride as you examined the map of the elaborate mall you'd pulled up on your phone, "more than me, actually, because Ares was- or is?- literally the god of war."
Taehyung shrugged, ignoring your small misstep. "Well, pretty one, I suppose. But so is Athena."
You noted the odd looks flying your way and realized, a little too late, that you two were still in a public place and mentioning the Greek gods like this surely couldn't be good for anyone's perceptions on your sanity.
"Keep your voice down," you muttered, but your mind was already on other things.
Being similar to Taehyung in the aspect of being a 'warchild', as both Adra and he called it, sent a small chill rolling through your veins. You remembered what he'd said about seeing blood- his own ran with the shedding of the thing. It was a terrifying concept, honestly, how he'd instantly gone so much darker when you showed him the tiny scab on your finger.
You weren't like that, though. Even if you did happen to kick him in the- know what, never mind. Point was, you didn't go insane when you saw a drop of blood. Therefore, you were nothing like Taehyung.
Inhaling slowly, you pursed your lips. "Is that why you make me so damn angry, bloodbrain?" you drawled, although you were only half-teasing, pushing all the thoughts out of your mind. Taehyung let loose yet another delighted chuckle at your words.
"I tend to have that effect on people when I try," he shrugged, tone and face playful. "Son of Ares thing, hm? But Athena and Ares also intensely dislike each other, so I suppose that also contributes, pretty."
You rubbed your forehead, Taehyung's words registering in your mind. "I have amazing luck," you groaned, sarcasm dripping from your words.
The ONE demigod who could possibly contribute to my short temper, and I'm here stuck with him.
"Of course you do," Taehyung grabbed your wrist and mimed bringing your hand up to his lips, grinning at your unamused air when you wrenched it away. "You are here with me, are you not?"
"You are so full of yourself," you threw your hands in the air, exasperation radiating from every pore in your being, "why in the world did it have to be you?""
Taehyung threw his head back and laughed.
Well. It took a while, but you found the astonishingly opulent store that seemed to be the only place that sold formal attire here and your stomach already twisted at what it would do to your bank account.
The place stood out even among the other sleek stores in this mall- this one glittered with the front being completely made out of glass, exposing the no doubt expensive as HELL outfits inside, all glittering on top of veined ivory marble and under sparkling, ornate, crystal chandeliers.
Taehyung was really messing everything up just by existing, wasn't he?
"If you break anything here, Taehyung," you warned lowly as soon as you stepped inside, the demigod yet again holding the door open for you, "I swear I will strangle you until you are sucked back into that sword and then I will drop it down a pothole."
Taehyung raised his hands in surrender, although his face was full of mirth. "Of course, pretty one."
Shaking your head resignedly at the nickname, you turned your attention from him, momentarily satisfied, and instantly reached for the nearest price tag, fingering the luxurious, stiff material of the silver suit.
One look at the swinging paper and plastic stamped with a number and you instantly wanted to punch something.
Yeah, after this, there was no way you were going to be able to buy that bigger apartment you'd been saving up for. When your brother came to visit next, there was no doubt he'd tease you relentlessly about bragging about your new flat to him only to find you indeed HADN'T moved. At the moment, you'd told him you had.
Forcibly shoving those thoughts out of your mind, you ignored Taehyung sliding up to you to prod at the suit you were rubbing absentmindedly between your fingers.
"Hm," his husky voice had turned thoughtful for once, his brows furrowing as he scrutinized the clothing, "this is... strange? Must I really wear this for your event?"
Snorting, you moved away from him, shaking your head all the while. "As much as I wished you didn't," you huffed, "you do. Unfortunately. If we're still going to go through with your stupid plan."
"It is not stupid!" Taehyung defended, narrowing his eyes at you as the two of you prepared to launch into this argument yet again.
"We may get arrested for breaking and entering and then also the whole 'stealing a priceless artifact' thing, Taehyung," you deadpanned.
Too late, you wondered if anyone may have heard that- thankfully, you determined that there was no one even in the store.
"You worry too much," Taehyung rubbed your shoulder in what may have been a soothing gesture- except Taehyung didn't do stuff like that, so it must have been something else. "We will be fine."
"Right," you snorted, the disconcerting feeling of unease still wafting through you, but you tried to tamp it down before Taehyung noticed. "Anyway," you said quickly, changing the topic before you could have a nervous breakdown from overthinking again, "we need to get you clothes."
"And you as well," Taehyung pointed out, eyes flicking to rake you up and down before he beamed at you smugly, "I know you would look stunning in a dress, baby."
"Shut up," you muttered, trying to disregard his words as you begun to file through the neatly-hung rows of perfectly creased suits, "now, I think we have to find something in your size-"
"Nothing can ever compare to my size,"
You gagged.
"You. Are. Disgusting,"
"Ah, babygirl, you adore it,"
Unable to control the utter disbelief that radiated from you, you scoffed and flipped Taehyung the finger, although you still weren't sure if he knew what it meant. "Go to hell!" you sing-songed as you did so.
"Been there, done that," Taehyung cocked his head at you and grinned yet again. "The Underworld isn't a pretty place, but the women down there are absolute sinners-"
"AND THAT IS WHERE YOU STOP TALKING," you slapped your hands over your ears and scrunched your eyes shut, trying to ignore the image Taehyung had driven into your mind.
It was at that moment when another voice decided to enter the conversation.
"Young love is adorable, isn't it?"
Good news: the image in your mind was gone. Bad news: it was gone because now you were choking roughly on your spit.
Taehyung slapped you on the back a couple times, a grimace that held slight concern on his face as he watched you essentially try to cough out a lung.
"Are you alright, pre-"
Holding up a hand to stop him midway as you recovered from your coughing fit, you took a good look at the person who had caused it in the first place.
Your brows furrowed slightly as you took him in. He was dressed in a classy and yet casual suit, the fabric draping off his lean frame attractively, the ivory color setting off the brighter shade of his electric blue hair nicely. He looked oddly familiar, something you noticed as you scrutinized his handsome face for a heartbeat.
He was handsome, yes, he was tall, his skin was pale and his jaw defined and eyes big.
And he was certainly no older than you.
"Oh!" the strangely familiar boy brightened up as he took in your face fully for the first time, ignoring Taehyung, who was now standing uncomfortably close to you, every muscle in his body tensed. "Hi, Y/N!"
Okay, you certainly knew this guy. But who in the world-
It came to you in a flash.
"Yeonjun?" you inquired, a smile suddenly beginning to spread over your face.
You knew him only by extension- Soobin had a group of four other friends he liked to have over, and you'd met them on multiple occasions. Now that it had come to you, though, you chided yourself for not recognizing the boy in front of you earlier.
"Fancy seeing you here, noona," Yeonjun beamed brightly at you, straightening out his suit and letting his eyes crinkle up adorably. Well, while Soobin didn't use honorifics around you, it was slightly satisfying to know at least some of them did. And Yeonjun was OLDER than him, for god's sake.
"Brat!" you yelled, playfully lunging forward and slapping the back of his head and letting him whine about as he pulled away, "'Young love', he says. Idiot, you almost gave me cardiac arrest!"
You were comfortable with all of Soobin's friends- you all played video games together, and they were all nice and fun. Yeonjun was no exception. Even if he was one of the more flirty ones, you didn't really mind. It was all in good fun, you knew that.
"Owwww," the blue-haired boy huffed petulantly as he rubbed the back of his head.
You snorted and stepped away from him. "And you can't be spouting that 'Young love' sh*t until you're at least 40, don't make a fool out of yourself."
Yeonjun rolled his eyes at you, and you did so back. He opened his mouth to say something, but-
"Who is this, baby?"
Taehyung's husky voice suddenly snapped you back to reality as you realized that he had bounced from simply watching you in bewilderment to now standing close behind you, his broad frame seeming to shadow over yours, almost possessively. A sense of odd security flooded though you as he did so, but you just shoved that aside.
Yeonjun seemed to notice Taehyung for the first time, and his eyes widened as he faced the older man before he let his eyes flick to you.
"You have a boyfriend, noona?" he gaped, his overly expressive face making you want to laugh.
Also, the idea of Taehyung being your boyfriend was purely laughable as well.
You snorted instead. "No. No way. He WISHES."
A sudden, severe spike of confusion mingled with annoyance pulsed from Taehyung through the mind link, and you shot him an odd glance, but his face was impassive.
Yeonjun rubbed the back of his neck shyly, laughing a bit at your harsh words before fixing the red-haired man behind you with a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk. "I bet he does."
"IN any case," Taehyung suddenly broke in, his gaze both fiery and sharp as he took in Yeonjun with his deep, dark eyes, the intimidating aura he gave off clearly working on the younger boy, who looked like the as working not to take a large step back, "we are here because we require some fancy attire for a party. And then we can leave."
You sighed, Taehyung's snappish tone making you want to slap him and ask him to be nice. "You remember the Ancient Greece exhibit I was working on at the museum, Jun?"
"Oh, yeah!" Yeonjun nodded vigorously, encouraging a laugh to bubble out from you. "Yeah, you wouldn't shut up about it."
"Hush, you," flicking him playfully across the forehead. "But you're not wrong. The opening is tomorrow and we kind of need suitable clothes for it. I didn't know- hey, hang on, what are YOU doing here?"
You went on a tangent for a moment as you scrutinized Yeonjun- what was the kid doing at a high-class suit shop dressed like he was going to a Gucci photoshoot?
Yeonjun chuckled at your thoughtful pout. "I work here, noona. I need to get the cash for the all awesome parties I throw somehow."
"Of course," you sighed in mock-disappointment.
"Which reminds me, you're invited to the next one- it's Kai's birthday next week and I'm booking that club he really liked for the night," Yeonjun brightened up at the mention of the mankae of the group's birthday, and you could tell that he'd been planning on paying for it all for the beginning. The relationship the five friends had was really cute, honestly.
"I'll think about it," you relented, although you didn't really enjoy going to clubs- too much PDA for your comfort. But the dancing with your friends- NOT random horny strangers- was fun, you had to admit.
"Great!" Yeonjun grinned brightly, as if you had said yes already. "I'll send you the details!"
"I didn't say yes," you raised an eyebrow at him as he began to pull out his phone, but he just winked at you.
"Who could say no to my face?" he drawled, which made you shake your head and laugh.
Taehyung shifted behind you, another flood of annoyance hitting you from him. But even if he was irritated, at this point, you kind of wanted to get him back for all the anger he'd put you through.
Your lips curled up into an almost imperceptible smirk.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," you relented, to which Yeonjun's smile widened, "y'all are too cute for your own good."
"Aww, thanks noona!"
Taehyung behind you cleared his throat, cutting Yeonjun's words before he could say anything more. "Clothes?" he prompted, nudging your shoulder as he stepped beside you. You glanced at him, not even bothering to hide the taunt in your eyes, and you noticed his jaw tick.
Men and their egos HAHA-
"Ah, right," Yeonjun nodded at the red-haired demigod, still smiling and seemingly oblivious to the tightness of his voice, "clothes. Y/N, you go ahead and browse for dresses and I'll get your 'not-boyfriend' his measurements."
Uh oh. Were you going to leave Taehyung alone with Yeonjun? Well, evidently, you had to, because how could you say no to that? Wouldn't that be suspicious? Ugh, what if Taehyung said something stupid about his Greek gods and-
It seemed you had been silent for a heartbeat too long, because Taehyung answered for you, tilting his head at the younger man in front of him. "I am coming," he said briskly before turning to you. Yeonjun nodded, seemingly satisfied, and began to turn away.
"You're overthinking again," Taehyung said as soon as he was out of earshot.
"Well no sh*t, Sherlock," you muttered, kind of annoyed that Taehyung could tell.
Taehyung shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. "I still do not know who that is."
You let out a strained chuckle. "We need to fix that. And please, don't let Jun know, for god's sake."
Taehyung's lips thinned at the mention of your acquaintance, and he leaned back on his heels as he watched you with an unreadable expression. "Who is he?" he asked, his voice disarmingly casual.
"A..." you trailed off. You knew Yeonjun, of course, but were you close enough to call him a friend? Eh, whatever, that was how it looked to anyone else. "...a friend."
Taehyung's eyes narrowed at the slight hesitation between your words.
"I'm serious!" you huffed, swatting at him, "Stop it, you're reminding me of Hana now, idiot. Always so damn suspicious."
"Okay, alright, pretty one, whatever you say," Taehyung shook his head in faint amusement at you and he raised two fingers to his temple in a playful salute. "But tell me, why is HE cute and I'm not?"
You raised a single eyebrow at the childish, petulant, almost jealous tone that slid into Taehyung's deep voice, but his heated stare never wavered from your eyes. Your heart thudded particularly harshly when he stepped just a sliver closer, although you truly did wonder what in the world had prompted it.
"Because he doesn't act like a horny idiot all the time?" you suggested. Taehyung's lips pursed, the faintest scowl making his strong brows furrow.
"Ah," he muttered, glancing down at the ground, "alright then."
Before you could say anything else, even if it was only to alleviate the forlorn expression that crossed his face for a moment, he quickly looked up into your eyes, a small light flickering in them. "But think of ME when I'm gone, alright?"
Snorting incredulously at his pettiness, you shook your head. "Don't say or do anything stupid."
Taehyung shot you a wicked smirk before he tuned away, leaving you with a sinking feeling in your chest.
Taehyung and Yeonjun had been gone for too long.
You chewed on your lip as you thought about what in the world the red-haired demigod could have done. Well, there was always the chance that he destroyed something- LIKE YOUR KITCHEN- and then again, there was always the chance that your oddly protective demigod had said something about you to your friend, and then also something about the Greek gods OH NO-
Stop thinking about them, you scolded yourself sternly, hopefully Taehyung just kept his mouth shut.
Still, though, you couldn't help but worry.
You sighed as you glanced at the wide selection of dresses in front of you that you'd pulled from the shelves. A good couple of them were red, which you'd instinctively taken because you knew that they'd match with Taehyung's hair. The fact that you'd just unconsciously done this annoyed you for no true reason, but still.
You toyed with a sequined navy one, but you just weren't feeling it. You kind of wished Aurem was here, because that girl's fashion taste was incredible.
Sighing again, you finally relented and pulled out your phone.
You:
Aurem
Aurrrreeeeeemmmm
I need help
I literally know ur online ur always online stop shafting ffs
You know what
IM BUYING A DRESS HELP ME
Bubblegum Gal:
LDASJFKLJ SERIOUSLY
OMG THATS ALL YOU HAD TO SAY
PICS PICS PICS YOU NEVER WEAR DRESSES OH MY GOSH
IM HAVING A HEART ATTACK
ARE YOU AT THE MALL???
WHY DIDNT YOU TAKE ME?
OK NEVR MIND THAT JUST PICS HURRY
You:
Bruh calm tf down
I wear dresses sometimes
Bubblegum Gal:
PFFT YOU WEAR DRESSES SOMETIMES MY FOOT
NAME OEN TIME
^ONE
You:
...okay I cant remember rn bUT STILL
Bubblegum Gal:
YeAH YOU CANT REMEMBER BECAUSE YOU NEVER WEAR DRESSES IDIOT
Now send pics
NOWWWWW
You:
Calm ur tits bro
Ok these r from the promotion magazine in front of me jeez this place is high class
Bubblegum Gal:
WTH THEY'RE ALL SO NICE
I bet theyre expensive where the HECK ARE YOU?
AND WHAT DO YOU NEED THEM FOR??
You:
Hell yeah they're expensive
But yeah I need to attend the oepning night of the exhibit ive been working on in the museum
I'm taking Taehyung
Bubblegum Gal:
You mean the hoooootttttt sex god who was at ur flat today?
YEH GIRL GET SOME
You:
FFS NO
STOB IT
^STOP
Bubblegum Gal:
Ok now I rrly have to help u bc u have to look nice for him
HmmMMM leemme think
You:
Wow
The only reason ur helping me huh
Bubblegum Gal:
What? Nooo! Ur my friend so ofc i have to help u!
You:
Mhm
Okkk now telll meeee they'll be back any minute
Bubblegum Gal:
So his hair is red yeah
Which is rlly hot but ANWAY
Can u find the second one in red??
You:
Lemmme check
Uhhh no I can't
But I can get one where there are red accents in some of the flowers?
Bubblegum Gal:
Yeah get that one
the dress is more elegant this way anyway
You:
Looks rlly good tbh
Thank god honestly i dont wanna wear the ones that look like unicorns vomited on them
Bubblegum Gal:
Of course u don't
ANYWAY wear the dress with rose gold chains and a rg handbag and bammmmmm
u will blwo the boy away
^blow
You:
Not my intention but ok
Thanks for helping doe
IM WEARING IT AND I PUT THE ACCESSORIES IN TOOO HAHA
I look awesone
Aurieeee i owe u
Bubblegum Gal:
Yeah im fabulous ik
now GOGO GET UR MANNNN
You:
I haate u sometimes
Bubblegum Gal:
A bigger lie I have never heard ;)
You rolled your eyes and shook your head at your friend's texts and stepped out of the changing room to scrutinize yourself in the larger mirror outside. You'd followed all of Aurem's advice- rose gold drop earrings and chains hung from your multiple-pierced ears and a necklace with multiple chains and bracelet that wrapped around your wrist multiple times adorned you as well. You honestly looked good- like, really good.
Aurem was magic.
"Y/N!" you heard Yeonjun's voice call out from around the corner, and your head whipped up, "Y/N, are you- oh, wow."
The boy with dyed bright blue hair gaped at you, his eyes bugging right out of his head as he poked his head around the corner. You rolled your eyes at his dumbstruck expression.
"What? Under the impression I couldn't dress pretty?" you teased.
"No!" Yeonjun squeaked, desperately trying to fix his expression, "No, you- I mean, you just- wow- okay, so, you look pretty fire. That's it."
You chuckled lightly at his adorableness, and then your eyes fell on the man beside him.
Holy f*ck. Kim Taehyung was insanely attractive before, yes, that was a fact. But this outfit... damn it all, he was hitting different.
He wore a loose rose gold, silken overcoat, much like the one Yeonjun was donning, but underneath, instead of wearing a button-up or a blazer, he had fitted himself into a tight black turtleneck, much like the one you'd bought for him at Target, except this one was clearly more luxurious and tailored to accentuate every plane of his chest. Thin chains of rose gold hung from his neck, the bronze one that hid his sword melding in between them perfectly. Black gloves stretched over his long fingers, rings dancing over the fabric, and your heart somehow beat a tinge faster. Paired with dark dress pants, lazily cuffed at the ends and tight enough to make your mouth water, Taehyung looked like a f*cking three-course-meal, one that you couldn't take your eyes off of.
And damn, the way he was staring at you- lips parted, eyes blown-out and dark, arms crossed over his chest as if he was trying to tie in his harsh breaths- it was a wonder you didn't pass out then and there.
In the back of your mind, you noted that even though you didn't end up getting a red dress, your clothes ended up matching anyway.
Control control OH MY LORD SELF CONTROL YOU IDIOT!
"Nice job, Jun," you nodded appreciatively as you shamelessly raked Taehyung head to toe, shooting your blue-haired friend some praise while trying to fight off the bright red blush that was threatening to burst over your cheeks. Yeonjun preened.
"Yeah," he looked from you to Taehyung, who were still staring at each other, as if your eyes were magnetized to the other, and he smirked. "Yeah, I did good. Now you two hang here while I ring up your stuff. I'll be back in a minute with the fresh pieces."
You nodded at Yeonjun as he scurried away, clearly sensing the unspoken words bouncing between you two.
There was a heartbeat of silence... and then Taehyung shattered it.
"Y/N," the crimson-haired demigod said, taking a step closer to you, his scent of autumn and hickory smoke intoxicating you for a moment, "you look..."
You prepared yourself for yet another perverted comment, but none came. Taehyung trailed off, as if at a loss for words, and you furrowed your eyebrows, expectantly waiting.
Finally, the word seemed to come to him, spilling in a single thread that sparkled like diamonds and managed to wind your stomach into knots.
"...beautiful."
Your breath hitched and Taehyung stepped ever-closer.
Yeah, he was really determined to nullify all your efforts to NOT BLUSH, wasn't he? You couldn't help the shy duck of your head, the dryness coating your mouth as Taehyung looked at you, sincere and oh-so-handsome.
Not a single sarcastic phrase or sharp scoff wound its way out of your throat. It just wasn't possible, with the tender look that Taehyung was giving you and the small, genuine smile that tipped his lips up.
"Thank you," you muttered, unable to stare into his expressive eyes that glittered the color of dark chocolate a moment longer. Well, until you felt his fingers gently tap at your chin, coaxing your head up to look at him. Those damn gloves. Now he could do whatever he wanted with you- and you honestly didn't think you had it in you to stop him.
"You are very welcome, darling," Taehyung breathed, his clothed fingers still resting under your chin to bare the skin of your neck to him.
"You-" you broke off for a moment as Taehyung took another careful step forward, the distance between you two bordering on absolutely none at all. "You don't look too bad yourself."
"Is that a compliment I hear?" Taehyung gasped, his face laden with mock-disbelief and you couldn't help the laugh that tore through you then, somehow making you feel brighter, "Is it even possible?"
"Ha ha," you scoffed lightly, swatting Taehyung's hand gently away from your chin as you grabbed onto the way you found to alleviate the thick tension in the room with both hands, "real funny, bloodbrain. And I'm just stating facts. Don't go getting a big head."
Taehyung placed a hand over his chest and gasped dramatically once more. "Me? Never."
You were laughing again. There was something just so painfully alluring about Taehyung, but dammit, you couldn't be thinking this because he was a f*ckboy and all he wanted to do was either play with you or get the hell away from you.
Which is what you also wanted. Well, the 'him escorting himself out of your life' part, at least.
Taehyung was saying something, arm linked in yours as he beamed cheerfully, eyes glinting with a gentle light you hadn't noticed in them before, smile wide and cute and box-shaped, and the tiniest of inklings of a thought came rushing to you. The thought that maybe he wasn't all bad.
No. Wait. He wanted to get back home. And you wanted him the hell out of your life. There was nothing more to it. Even considering him a friend would just lead to inevitable pain of separation.
And no, you weren't even going to go that far. There was no way you could ever do that.
Taehyung turned to smile at you and you found yourself smiling back.
Right?
A/N: heheheheee here we go