"It is so late and you have work tomorrow, you should go home", Haru points at the time, looking so concerned at the man seated comfortably on her big couch. "You have work tomorrow, you need to go home and rest"
"Come here", he pats on the space beside him, ignoring the worried look on her face. "Work second. You first"
His reply caught her off guard, jaw dropping as she battles her eyelashes, standing still at the end of the couch. Taehyung insisted that she rest while he cleans the kitchen, using the excuse that he is practicing on being a very good boyfriend to her so she should not worry about him. He took off all his coat and outerwear, leaving only his thin black turtleneck and settled himself on the couch when she went to the toilet a while ago.
"Mister Kim"
"Taehyung", he corrected her. "It's Taehyung"
"What if I still want to call you 'Mister Kim'?", she asked playfully, a glint of teasing in her eyes. "What would you do?"
Amused at her sudden playfulness, Taehyung couldn't help but to laugh in flusterment because he finds her to be too adorable. He sighs to himself, succumbing to his weakness—her.
"Come here?", he puts out his hand.
Slowly she moves closer to him while her mind automatically doing a quick flashback on the earlier days when she used to watch him discreetly in class. It is a wonder to her because things might have moved too fast for both of them. It feels odd to actually be in this kind of situation. Normal people would get to know each other first, go out for a few dates, be in a relationship then, finally, be comfortable enough to sleep together.
But Mister Kim and her had it all upside down.
"Haru, I am going to call you just one more time or I'll just—nevermind"
Taehyung did not even finish his sentence and went straight to pull her down into his hug, impatient to have her close to him. Wrapping one arm around her shoulder, he smirks at the little sound she made when he practically pulled him like she weighs nothing.
"This is better", he shifts slightly, giving more space for her to curl into him. "I have been wanting to do this with you"
"Pulling me down like I weigh nothing?", she blows her hair out of her face.
"Cuddling—I want to sit on the couch and hug you, while we talk—just like this"
Slowly adjusting herself, extra careful not to accidentally elbow him or bumping his chin with her head. She relaxes herself in the crook of his arms, giving in into the comforting scent of him. The faint lavender smell from his perfume has unexpectedly become her new favourite. On top of that, the sweet end note of his perfume mixed with his very own smell makes her want to bury her nose in chest, bathing herself in the soothing scent.
They lie there in silence, surrounded by the dimness of her living room. Taehyung has his eyes closed, his thumb caressing her shoulder gently as the smell of strawberries pierces his nostrils—could be her shower gel. It is a pleasant smell he loves, and he realized she has always smelled so sweet most of the time.
"You smell like strawberries", he giggles lowly.
"My shower gel"
"And vanilla"
"My perfume"
"You love sweet musky smell, don't you?", he takes one long breathe before softly exhaling. "Vanilla, strawberry, with a hint of something musky—so warm and sweet"
She laughs at his words, finding it a tad bit adorable to hear him comment on her smell. "Are you doing a report on my body scent?"
"I like it" his hand slowly moved down from her shoulder, resting at side of her waist. "Very much"
"It is very late, do you know that? Tomorrow is a Wednesday and you have wo—"
"I have a conference tomorrow at 2.30 pm. Madam Choi gave me the morning off to rest. So, do not worry about me. I'll stay here till you can sleep—or if you want to talk"
"Madam Choi seems to reaaaaally adores on you—she likes you a lot too"
"Oh, she likes you more. She talks about you most of the time"
"She talks about you all the time too"
"Really?"
"Mister Kim is this and that, he did this and that, he has written this and that and so many other things", she shifts again on the couch, finally resting her hand on his chest. "Sometimes I feel like she is promoting you"
"Well, she did a good job. I was hoping she would say good things about me to you so that you would like me"
"Speaking of Madam Choi", she sits up right, folding her legs on the couch looking straight at him. "I am still very much stunned when you boldly asked me about my hangover"
Taehyung arched an eyebrow, looking lost for a few seconds but then breaks into a wide smile when he remembers. "Well, can you imagine me almost peeing my pants when I saw you walking into the class that very morning. I think I stopped breathing for a minute there"
"Wait, so you saw me first?"
"Yes", he nods gently. "I heard your laugh first. I was focused on my notes to even care about the surrounding but when I heard your laugh—my whole body just froze"
"You...remember my laugh....?", she speaks in slow motion, sounding doubtful.
"I am embarrassed to say this but, I remember a lot of things about you", he looks down, hiding his face. "I remember everything—strange right?"
Her eyes flutters at the sudden remark, a familiar gush of feeling waving into her heart as she looks at him. Not that she finds it weird or creepy when he said he remembers everything about her. Instead, it surprised her because she thought she was the only one. She cannot lie to herself saying she could not remember how undeniably mesmerizing his piercing gaze from that night. His long black hair so soft to her touch, his strong masculine smell combined with the tenderness of the lavender perfume, the soft yet deep voice that she can recognize so easily now—everything.
Temporary attraction, yeah right.
"Hey", he reaches for her hand, gently caressing it. "I have been wanting to apologize—"
"Apologize?", she shakes her head, astounded. "For what?"
"Apologize for blindly judging you", he then too sits up right, locking his eyes with hers. "I looked through your student profile after our encounter that morning. Checked your family history and I might have assumed you to be a spoiled—born on a feather bed—kind of girl. I know I judged too soon and I was just trying to convince myself not to lean towards you. But I am glad everyone keeps proving me wrong and everything was so clear. I was so...oblivious to even let that thought cross my mind"
He paused, taking another long breathe before speaking again.
"And also, about that night I left you hanging", he sighs deeply. "I shouldn't have just started a conversation I couldn't finish. I was not trying to make you confused with my words—I was still so lost then. I thought I was ready to share my feelings but turned out, I have no idea how to even spell it out. I feel so guilty to have put you in such confusion and I was frightened of you thinking I was just...playing around with my words—I was not"
Taehyung lets out a sigh of relief as if he has finally executed the hardest task in his entire life. He studies her expression, feeling a tad bit worried when she has been quiet and did not even respond to his confession.
"Haru....?"
"I am...wow...", she finally speaks, eyes fluttering as she looks away. "I am not mad—I am just...surprised"
"I am sorry, I know judging you—"
"N-No, not that one. I am surprised because you are actually real", she stares at him, eyes sparkling with amazement. "How are you...really...real?"
Taehyung looks at her, battling his eyelashes as he replays the question again and again in his head wondering if he heard it right.
"Are you asking me...if I am a real human?", he looks baffled.
"Yes", both her hands reach for his face, cupping it softly as she looks at him. "You feel real"
Taehyung flinched slightly at the sudden gesture, but managed to appear composed. But deep down, his heart might have flipped at the warm touch of her hands on his face. The softness of her hands on his cheeks feels so good—too good—it makes him want to lean into her touch. He looks at her, meeting her eyes and smiles, making her break into a smile too.
"Do I feel real?", he puts a hand over her hand, gently pressing the side of his cheek into her palm.
Unable to hide the big smile, Haru suddenly breaks into a smile that ends up into a little laugh. Her heart feels warm at the sight of him looking at her with such affectionate eyes. It is still a mystery on how he has this power to make her heart feels like its going to explode with feelings but at the same time, the power to calm her heart just like that. Looking at him makes her feel flustered and sometimes, she wants to run into a wall because she gets overwhelmed with all the tingles sparking all over her skin. At the same time, looking at him makes her feel like she is home.
She is overawed by him. Every bit of him existence.
"You do", she answered softly.
Taehyung smiled at her answer as he slowly leans closer towards her before his eyes drops to her lips and finally kisses her. He kisses her softly and gently, one hand snaking up to her the back of her neck, twining into her hair, pushing her deeper into the kiss. A slow unrushed lazy kiss that makes your heart warm and loved. The type of kiss that speaks so much of hidden feelings of which words could not.
Taehyung was reluctant to break the kiss, but he had to. Gently pulling away, he smiles at the way Haru has her eyes closed but still her lips curved into a shy smile. He sighs to himself, feeling his heart getting weaker while looking at her.
"I want to kiss you longer", he lets out another sigh. "But we have a more important thing to do before you sleep"
"Hmm?"
"I want to know what made you cry today"
~~~~
NOTE
Hello everyone! Here is another update for today! I hope this chapter is good and enjoyable too. Thank you for reading ! Love youuu
And it was my birthday was yesterday so eh he he, here some strawberries 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓