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“You know her?” Vic looks between my mother and I in confusion, and then his jaw drops. “Are you sisters?”
My mum’s face suddenly brightens up, nodding. “Yeah, that’s what we are. Sisters. That’s my little sister, Aria.”
I frown, wondering why she is lying to him, but he seems to be buying it. Taehyung exchanges a glance with me, looking just as puzzled as I am.
“Damn, small world, huh?” Vic laughs as my mother looks back to me, her eyes flashing as if to say, just go with it. I glare, shaking my head slightly to show my disapproval, and she silently pleads, making it hard to say no. Especially in this complicated situation.
“Anyways, I only came here to see if you guys needed any help since, uh…” Vic looks down at the vomit on the pavement, and I wince. My mother seems concerned, mouthing, are you okay? I nod as my stomach clenches, still feeling a little queasy, and a little intoxicated.
“I was just taking her home, actually,” Taehyung secures his arm around my shoulders.
“I guess that makes two of us,” I wrinkle my nose as Vic slides a muscular arm around my mum, or should I say, older sister, who giggles.
“Actually, Eonnie, you should come home with us,” I shoot a pointed look at my mother, who widens her eyes, shaking her head.
“Yeah, come with us,” Taehyung backs me up, two against one, but then Vic steps in.
“Oh, but the night has only just begun. She’s not going anywhere except with me, isn’t that right, Cherry?”
I almost scoff at the way he says her name, but she doesn’t seem to care, because she isn’t Do Chae Ri tonight, she’s some chic called Cherry who has a nineteen-year-old younger sister and goes out with buff looking guys who ride motorcycles.
“That’s right,” she grins, and my lips part in shock when she waggles her fingers at me, saying, “Don’t wait up for me, Aria! I don’t know when I’ll be home again.”
Taehyung and I watch as Cherry drags Vic back to the motorcycle and they put on their helmets again, sliding onto the bike and riding away into the night. There’s nothing we can do to stop them, because we have no means of personal transport, nor can we follow them, so we just stand there in silence, feeling like we failed our mission to watch over my mother, until Taehyung speaks.
“Should we tell someone about this?” he points to the mess I made on the ground, and I sigh.
“They’ll take care of it, let’s just get out of here.”
So we do, walking side by side, hand in hand down the well-lit streets, since we are in the heart of the city, and we don’t stop walking until we come across an ice-cream shop. We don’t even have to say anything to each other before we walk into the bright shop, ordering a cone each. He gets salted caramel, I get boysenberry, but during our walk we end up swapping, deciding that we like the other’s ice cream flavor more.
Once we finish them, not leaving a single bit to waste, I feel much better, my head much clearer and less queasy, yet I can still feel the alcohol through my bloodstream, making me lighter, happier, and more…talkative.
“You…should wear this everyday,” I grab a flap of Taehyung’s leather jacket and giggle, biting my lip.
“Should I?” Taehyung tilts my head up to look at him, and his eyes are glimmering as he gazes at me.
“Yes, you should, you sexy man. You know I love leather jackets,” I can hear myself babbling, yet I can’t seem to stop. I just want to tell him everything I’m thinking, just let it all out, because there’s so much I want to say, and it feels like if I don’t say it now, I will explode.
“Hm, maybe I will wear it every day, then, if you love it so much,” Taehyung grins cheekily, and I don’t even remember where we are when he nuzzles his nose against mine, just like the tease he is.
“Yah, you have to kiss me now,” I demand, and he raises his eyebrows, his strong, thick eyebrows that give him an intense, handsome look.
“You’re really bossy when you’re drunk, aren’t you?” he chuckles.
“I’m not drunk, just a little bit drunk,” I press my fingers together to demonstrate the size of my drunkenness. “I didn’t drink as much as you did.”
“Hey, we obviously have different alcohol tolerance. I can drink more than you,” Taehyung singsongs the latter part, and I frown.
“I bet you can’t,” I singsong back, making Taehyung laugh.
“Well, we’re not going to find out tonight, we gotta get you home, yeah?” Taehyung begins to walk, dragging me along, but I dig my heels into the pavement, feeling stubborn.
“I don’t wanna.”
He turns to me, an amused smile gracing his lips at my sudden aegyo, yet he continues to pull my arm. “Come on, Aria, do I have to carry you or something? Let’s just go home.”
“Carry me then, because I’m not moving,” I huff, and before I can even blink, he has his hands under my legs and I am lifted into the air, clinging onto his neck for dear life. He walks down the street with me casually in his arms, and I giggle as I enjoy the ride, waving at the pedestrians as if I’m the queen herself. He even carries me down the escalators to the train station, finally setting me down so we can touch on with our MYKI passes and walk through the gates. On the last escalator ride I simply lean into him, enjoying his presence, his essence, just him, which is why I completely miss the landing and nearly face-plant onto the floor, if it weren’t for Taehyung’s sharp reflexes.
“You clumsy baby,” he laughs at me, and I blow a raspberry, going as far as wiggling my fingers beside my face, not caring that people are watching me act like a total child. I am a clumsy baby after all.
The train arrives as soon as we step onto the platform, and I jump on, literally, skipping down the empty carriage until I find a seat that I am satisfied with. Taehyung continues to laugh at every little thing I do, sitting across from me as the train begins to move. I slip off my heels and stretch out one leg so that it rests atop Taehyung’s thigh. He regards it in bemusement, so I decide to put both feet on his thighs, crossing them at the ankles and getting comfortable. He grabs one of my ankles, making me giggle as he gently tugs me forward, and I resist as much as I can, until he gives up and ends up sitting next to me, allowing me to drape both legs over his thighs and shuffle myself onto his lap, bringing my face close to his.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hey.”
“You still owe me a kiss,” I continue in a whisper.
“Is that so?” he teases, his eyes on my lips.
“Are ya gonna kiss me or what?” I lean in, only millimeters away, and he smiles.
“Only if you call me oppa,” he conditions, and I gasp.
“You sly little -” I rear back from him, scowling. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” he sings.
Well, he’s not wrong.
So I kiss him. Right there, on the train, as it slithers through the night like a mechanical serpent, much like the way his hands slither onto my waist, gripping me so that I don’t fall off him. I draw back slowly just to admire, no, consume him, every pore across his olive skin, every hair on his eyebrows, every fleck of light in his eyes as he looks back, and maybe I’m imagining it, but, I swear, there’s more than just love in his eyes. There’s something else there too.
Desire.
And I feel it too. I’ve been feeling it for a while now, but this time, it’s too much to bear, an overwhelming wave that I just can’t swim out of, because I’m drowning in it. And there’s no one to save me from it. Not that I want to be saved.
We are both trapped in this pocket of time, trapped in this precarious position, until the name of my station echoes through the carriage, and we have no choice but to break apart, me hastily slipping on my heels and him slowly walking to the doors, waiting for me.
The walk to my apartment building is thick with tension, however I try my best to relieve it by voicing my concerns about my mother and the Vic guy, something I never thought would happen.
“I don’t know what to do, Taehyung, it’s like my mother has completely lost it. I mean, I know she was deprived of the dating life, but does she really have to go out with someone way younger than her and lie about her real age too? I can’t believe she even lied about me, Tae, right in front of my face.”
“I’m more worried about the fact that she’s with Vic,” he growls. “That guy can’t be trusted. And if he’s with your mum…”
I let out the loudest sigh ever which transforms into a frustrated shout, disturbing a bird in a nearby tree, and I stop in my tracks to clench my fists. “We should’ve stopped them, Taehyung. Why didn’t we stop them? I mean, that’s my mother, my Eomma, and she’s with that scum of the -“
“Hey, Aria,” he places his palms on my shoulders, instantly calming me down just a little as he speaks. “Don’t think about it. You just have to trust your mum, okay? She’s a grown woman, she can take care of herself.”
“That’s the thing, I don’t trust her either! Didn’t you see her? She’s like a different person! I mean, she wasn’t sober, but still, she seems to be enjoying her new identity a little too much, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, but, at least she’s enjoying herself, right? You said you wanted her to have fun, didn’t you?” Taehyung seems so calm and collected, so different from when he was facing off with Vic, looking like he was ready to rip his head off. Perhaps if he is calm, I should be too, since he knows Vic more than I do, but I still feel uneasy about it all.
“Yeah, but…I don’t want her to get hurt,” I mumble, my shoulders slumping under his hold. “Plus, he’s our neighbour, which means we’ll be seeing him a lot, even if this is just a one-time thing.”
“Oh, I forgot about that,” Taehyung sighs, closing his eyes. “Out of all the places you guys could live, it’s here, where he lives.”
“Yeah, what an unfortunate coincidence. Ah, why does this have to happen to me?” I wail, clutching my head.
“Well, at least we’ll be able to know whether he brought her home or not,” Taehyung pipes up, tugging my hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
We search the street for his motorcycle, but it’s not here. Which means they’re still out, somewhere, and it’s already past ten o’clock. Oh god.
“Let’s just go inside, okay? If you want, I can wait with you until she comes back,” Taehyung suggests, and I just nod wearily, letting him lead the way into the apartment building. I take out the keys and use it to unlock the elevator, leaning against the wall with an exhausted sigh.
“You know, she said not to wait for her,” I yawn, but Taehyung shakes his head.
“I don’t want you to be alone here.”
“But I love being alone, remember?” I smile half-heartedly, but Taehyung remains serious.
“I’m not leaving you, Aria.”
The way he says this sends shivers down my spine, while the way he looks at me almost stops my heart completely. We step out of the elevator, and I walk ahead of him, feeling his eyes on me during the entire walk down the eerily silent hallway, stopping just outside my door. I fumble with the key as my hands shake under his unwavering gaze, fully aware of the fact that we are alone, so incredibly alone, and so incredibly –
“Aria.”
Every time he says my name, I see fireworks and butterflies and a kaleidoscope of sparkles. I also feel them all, the roaring heat of the fireworks, the delicate chaos of the butterflies and the tingling sparkles that dance through my veins, right now, making it hard to think, hard to breathe, hard to resist.
I slowly turn around, taking in his tall figure leaning against the closed door, his hair styled into a sexy swirl and his leather jacket gleaming in the moonlight. When he starts to approach me, I don’t move, watching him come closer until he is all I see, all I feel, all I taste.
And that’s how it starts.
Slow, burning kisses. Slow, stumbling steps. Led by passion, blinded by darkness. Suddenly, we’re in the hallway, and then there’s a whoosh as something falls to the floor. His jacket. The next moment, we’re in my bedroom, a sacred yet cluttered chamber, but that doesn’t stop us, no, nothing can stop us, this relentlessness, this eagerness, this mattress, this black dress…nothing.
“Taehyung,” I gasp as his lips sear my neck, leaving a blazing trail of fire that spreads to the rest of my body. He hovers over me, and I reach out, sliding my hands under his shirt and digging my nails into his skin as he nibbles on my ear, hot breath flooding my system. His fingers find the zipper of my dress, and I let him drag it down, let him peel it off me so that it pools at my waist. I rise to my knees, lifting his shirt off to reveal the smooth skin of his chest, not quite chiseled, but I don’t care.
He’s perfect just the way he is.
Perhaps I have forgotten about my own insecurities, perhaps he’s the reason I don’t really worry about them anymore, and perhaps that’s why, with him, I feel infinite. Infinite confidence, infinite passion, infinite love.
There’s no need for words, for words are not enough to convey the infinity of this moment. I want him, I want him, I want him, my heart chants, while my mind tells me that you have him. I have him right here, against my skin, against my heart, and he has me, he will always have me, just as he had me from the start. There’s nothing left to hide, nowhere left to run, no one except him, Kim Taehyung, a man who does anything to expose me, everything but oppose me, and nothing but love me.
【★】
Rebecca play singularity hehehe
dedicated to littletaecup_for spamming my notifications for the past day I LOVE YOU GIRL 😂💖
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