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His hand cups my jaw as our lips crash together like waves on a shore, sending a network of sensations through my body. The kiss is soft, yet determined; gentle, yet urgent. It’s nothing like I ever imagined, and yet it’s everything. I feel everything: all those subtle moments between us, all those lingering smiles and weighted gazes hinting to something more beneath our intricately woven friendship, something instinctive yet unspoken.
This moment was inevitable, and so is its end.
The separation is slow, our cheeks blooming with rosy heat. Our breaths mingle as we exhale, a simultaneous sigh signifying the unanimous moment. His fingers graze my ear as he loops a string of hair behind it, letting his fingers linger there as he presses his forehead to mine. My heart is a frantic caged bird that cannot be consoled, while my eyes remain closed in their reluctance to confront him. But then he lets out a throaty chuckle, and I finally snap out of my reverie.
I hit his arm. “Yah, Kim Taehyung! Why’d you do that, huh? Are you crazy?”
“Crazy for you,” he murmurs, smirking at me and I scoff.
“Idiot,” I mutter, but I can’t stop the smile from spreading.
“Hey, if I get sick, you have to take care of me now, Aria,” he leans forward. “Remember?”
“Yah, when I said I would repay you, this isn’t what I meant,” I glare at him as he leans forward even more until our noses are basically touching.
“Aw, but wasn’t it romantic?” He bites his lip as he grins, and I feel the caged bird flap her wings violently within me as his eyes drop to my lips again.
“I think you watch too many dramas,” I shoot back, swallowing thickly.
“And how is that a bad thing?” he questions, that sly smile never slipping.
“Because they’re not real,” I reply simply.
“Aren’t we real, Aria?” He pouts slightly, puckering his brow. Dammit why is he so cute?
“Aria, are we real?” He rephrases his question with a steady serious gaze that steals my breath away for a heart-stopping moment.
How do I answer him?
“Aria,” he takes one of my hands and raises it to touch his cheek, and then does the same with his own hand on my cheek. “Are we real?”
I feel myself nod as my voice is barely above a whisper. “Yes, we are real.”
“And you are real,” he caresses my cheek with his thumb, his gaze profound and unwavering. It’s like he’s taking me in for the first time, and so I take him in too, and it occurs to me in that moment that I could stare at him forever. I don’t think I could ever get sick of taking him in.
In fact, I don’t think I could ever get sick of him.
And the mere thought of it scares me.
I dissolve into a coughing fit, my eyes watering at the soreness of my throat, reminding me of my condition. Taehyung cradles me in one arm, rubbing circles on my back as I smother my mouth with the sleeve of my pajama top. Pajama top.
I am still in my pajamas. In front of Taehyung. Oh my God.
“I’m – g-good,” I shift from his arm, but instead of letting me go, he wraps his other arm around me as well, swaying me from side to side.
“Sshhh, let’s just stay like this,” Taehyung whispers into my hair in Korean. “Just for a little longer.”
“Why,” I croak. “You should leave.”
“I will never leave you,” Taehyung vows. “Never again.”
“But –”
“Don’t say anything,” he presses a finger to my lips, shushing me, and I scowl.
“Tae, I need to take a shower,” I pry myself off him, and his eyes widen.
“Oh! Oh my God, Aria, I, oh, okay, I guess I’ll let you go do that, um…” he rubs the back of his neck while licking his lips continuously, two nervous habits occurring at once, and I can’t help but laugh at how flustered he is all of a sudden.
“You don’t have to leave yet, just wait for me downstairs, okay?” I suggest to him. He nods, gulping, and I crack another smile, wondering where the confident guy who launched himself onto me with a kiss went. Once he leaves the room, taking the empty bowl he brought with him to wash up, I finally let out the squeal I was containing into my pillow.
He kissed me. We kissed. I had my first kiss. I have been kissed. Oh. My. God.
I bury my face into my palms as I squirm, kicking my sheets. Holy shit.
My cheeks are aflame as I creep to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and leaning my head against it. I spot myself in the mirror and gasp. I look like a sea monster.
How could he have wanted to kiss me, while I looked like that? He really is crazy. Or blind. Or both.
But on further inspection, I notice my skin is not just flushed, it’s glowing, and my lips may be swollen, but they are rosy, while my eyes shine brighter than ever before, the dark brown almost a shimmering chestnut as the light from the window dapples my irises. Yeah, my hair is a dark tangled mess, but as I rake my fingers through it, I realize something.
I look pretty.
Wow, Taehyung, what have you done to me?
★
After my refreshing shower, I feel reborn and even better than before, save for my slight sore throat. Changing into a fresh set of clothes – black trackies and an oversized grey hoodie, the usual attire – I twist my hair up into a messy bun as I descend the stairs, completely lost in thought until I am taken by surprise by a tall boy with tousled caramel brown hair. I scream.
“Aish, you scared me,” I clutch my heart, and he grins cheekily.
“Come on, let’s watch a movie,” he drags me into my own living room, and I notice that he has set up the couch with a blanket and pillows. He picks up the blanket and drapes it over us once we sit, grabbing the remote and pressing play. I stare at him, amazed that he prepared all this while I was in the shower. But then again, I was in there for a long time.
“The Lion King? Really?” I laugh once the familiar amber sunset appears on the screen, and he grins at me.
“It’s my favourite.”
I bite back a smile as I glance at him, his eyes gleaming with anticipation already. “Mine too.”
A second later, his arm slides around my shoulders, snuggling me against him. He peers down at me with an intense expression, before leaning forward and stamping my forehead with a lingering kiss from which a flower of heat blooms. I close my eyes.
“Aria.”
My eyes flutter open at the sound of my name on his tongue, and I am met with a smile.
“I’m really happy with you.”
I gaze at everything that is him, from the mole on his nose, to the delicate curve of his lips, to the way one eye folds into a double eyelid while the other droops, giving him his innocent puppy-like impression. I take him in like a Serengeti sunset, golden and warm and bright, captivating and exquisite, perfect yet real.
Then I prop myself up so that my face is level with his, and I catch a flash in his eyes before pecking his cheek, my lips curving into a smile.
“I’m really happy with you too.”
【★】
ahhhh who else is squealing right now 🤣
i love writing cute chapters like this and i haven’t written one in soooo long but this was such an enjoyable process
thank you for reading! ❤ lots more to come, especially in the upcoming week as I finally have a semester break! can’t wait to write more of taria’s story 😀
i made an instagram for this wattpad account so feel free to give it a follow! I post my favourite quotes and random stuff @sereneuphoriaa
i also have an inkitt lol sereneuphoria
Dedicated to DreamSGirl15 ❤❤❤
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