X. THE FIRST DATE (AS FRIENDS)

"Look, it's you!"

Gyeoul turned to where he was pointing and almost choked on air. She forgot that there was a billboard of her there posing for a well-known skincare brand. She prayed to the heavens that the red light would turn green right away. And to worsen her embarrassment, Taehyung pulled out his phone and took a picture of it.

"Why would you take a picture of that?" Gyeoul groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Taehyung hummed, looking at the billboard one last time before looking back at his phone. "You're right, I shouldn't." Gyeoul nodded gratefully and drove on as the light turned green. "Why should I take a picture of the billboard when the real thing is right beside me?"

He pointed his phone in her direction and started to take pictures. Gyeoul laughed, reaching her right hand out to take the phone out of his hands. Taehyung simply dodged and aimed for different angles whenever she moved her hand so he'd be able to capture her face.

"Don't test me, Kim Tae, I can still turn this car around."

"Not when we're already here," he grinned while pointing at her father's restaurant. The Delectable Place. His smile dropped, "Is it bad that I'm unbelievably nervous?"

"Why would you be nervous? We're just eating," she said, going to the parking lot below the restaurant.

"It's your father's restaurant so he's here! I'm just scared he'll hate me. I don't want to make a bad impression on your parents."

"My father won't spit on your food if that's what you're worried about. Now that I think about it, your personality would mesh well with my family. You're a great guy," she chuckled, unbuckling her seatbelt. Looking at him, she smiled, "He'll love you, and I don't know if you'll get to meet my mother, but I know for sure that she'll love you too."

Taehyung jutted his lower lip out to keep himself from smiling like an idiot. He unbuckled his seatbelt but didn't make any moves to get out of the car. Fiddling with his fingers, he cast brief glances at the dancer who looked to be more interested in the wall in front of them. He pursed his lips, turning to the other side and finally allowing himself to smile.

Wondering if he had any plans to get out, Gyeoul turned to him. For the past thirty seconds or so, she's been waiting for him to step out of the vehicle. Her eyes softened as she caught sight of the delicate crinkles by the corners of his eyes, telling her that he was smiling.

She cleared her throat. "Are you still nervous? Are we ready to go inside?" Taehyung turned to her in surprise, to which she only replied with a grin. "We can take all the time you need so don't worry if you still don't want to go in."

"Am I dressed well enough?"

"Says the one who shows up in rehearsals looking like he's ready to attend a press conference." Taehyung gave her a look. "You're dressed better than 'well enough.'"

"Okay," he nodded, "Let's go."

Taehyung raised his hand for a high-five, silently asking her for a power boost. The dancer laughed slightly, bumping her fist to his palm. With that, she got out of the car and opened the passenger door to get her wallet from her bag. The other door opened and her companion did the same thing. Casting one last look at him, she took another thing from her bag and closed the door.

Not a few seconds later, she heard the car door close and Taehyung made his way toward her. Gyeoul handed him a black baseball cap. Understanding, the idol accepted the cap from her and put it over his head. Observing his black trousers, dark brown sweater, black mask, and now black baseball cap, he looked like those hitmen from dramas. A handsome hitman. However possible that may be.

Leading him through the back door, he was encouraged to keep his head down. The restaurant may be her father's, but there was no telling if all of them would keep quiet. Along the way to the private room that she reserved earlier, she made eye contact with the waiter she trusted the most while Taehyung followed her with his head held down.

The idol felt like he was going through a movie. Orange lights hung from the ceilings and on the walls. The dark wood-ish accent provided the whole restaurant with a rustic appearance. A perfect blend of fancy and comfortable. Only a handful of people were dining, too immersed in either the food or personal conversations to recognize him. As they went up the stairs, he observed the large picture frames with shots of what must be the first customers happily dining.

"Monsieur," she greeted as if she was a waiter.

Taehyung wiggled happily in his mind at the thought of eating food. With brisk steps, he pulled out one of the two chairs for Gyeoul, a small smile on his face. His ears perked up as Gyeoul sat down across from him, having no idea what his intentions were. His smile dropped slightly as he watched her do so. Sensing his eyes on her, Gyeoul picked her head up, cluelessly raising her eyebrows. He only shook his head and sat down.

A knock sounded from the door and in came a waiter who looked to be just around their age.

"Good evening, Ms. Ahn and her mysterious boyfriend," he greeted with a sing-song voice. He walked forth and finally saw Taehyung's face in full. His jaw dropped, looking at him and Gyeoul with wide eyes. "Oh my god, you're V! You're much much more handsome in person."

Putting the 'mysterious boyfriend' part aside, the idol smiled and bowed at the waiter, "Thank you..." he squinted at the waiter's pin, "Byeongho-ssi."

"Gyeoul, he said my name!" The woman only shook her head, dropping her head slightly in embarrassment. Byeongho cleared his throat, "Yes, here are the menus. I will return in a few moments."

Before he could leave, Gyeoul called out to him, "Byeongho-oppa." He turned around, his stature appearing to still be flustered from Taehyung. The dancer placed a slender finger over her finger. He grinned, moving his hand over his mouth as if to zip it shut.

"This place looks great!" he said, looking around the room and out the large window beside them instead of going through the menu. "What would our dear Ms. Ahn recommend? Whatever you choose, I'll order it."

"Let's see. You can't eat spicy food, right?" Her companion nodded sheepishly. "My favorites are steak and truffle pasta, it's under the Classics part. But then again..."

She went on and on about everything there is on the menu only for him to go back to the first thing she said. Gyeoul glared exasperatedly at him, but it didn't last long as she saw the excited look on his face. Once they ordered, they allowed themselves to zone out for a moment. There were multiple things they could be talking about, but no conversation topic seemed fitting enough for her to initiate.

Gyeoul exhaled deeply and looked at Taehyung who appeared to be preoccupied with what was happening outside.

"That looks like the start of a new romance," Taehyung commented, looking out of the window with his chin propped up on his palm.

There was a dreamy and intrigued spark dancing in his already starry eyes. Gyeoul tore her gaze away from him and looked at where he was staring, seeing a pair of teenagers, dancing goofily along the streets with laughs bubbling out of them. The woman chuckled, tearing her eyes away from the teenagers and catching sight of another pair arguing loudly as they walked.

A knowing grimace came from the dancer as she observed their body language. "And those two look like they're ending their romance."

He hummed, looking back at her, "I know the situation all too well." He tilted his head, "And it seems that you do too."

Gyeoul smiled sadly, leaning back on her chair, running her hands through her hair, "My last boyfriend, we were together for a little more than a year." Her friend leaned forward, his attention fully drawn to her. "I was busy in and out of college, I had to pop in a class every other day, then I'd go to rehearsals and training with my team. It's draining, but at the end of it all, he'd be there waiting for me and we'd go to band practice, study together, and even go on spontaneous dates."

Taehyung raised his eyebrows, "Not to disregard most of what you said, but did you say band practice?"

"We were in a band with some of his other friends. I was the bassist and he was the drummer," she confirmed, watching as Taehyung's face morphed into amazement. "Our band always used to play gigs in a bar near our campus. He watches my performances and competitions, so I figured that I might as well nurture my skills and do something with them to make him happy."

He nodded, mulling over the information. "You switch from here to the States a lot, even in other foreign countries. Was he... understanding of your schedules and stuff?"

"Oh, you have no idea. He understood perfectly and supported me a lot through it. He didn't keep to himself about it and confronted me whenever we felt like we were drifting apart or something. Communication was easy with him."

Taehyung hummed, sinking in her words. "He sounds perfect. What went wrong?"

"Well, it was the first day of the second semester of our last year. Our band was playing that night and there was this girl that stood out from the crowd. She was new." Gyeoul scratched the back of her neck, smiling at the memory of the girl. "I liked her. I remember she was really nice. She clicked really well with the band and our other friends, my ex-boyfriend especially."

"He cheated?" Taehyung gasped, disbelief and disgust in his features.

"No, I don't think he did. For a few months, they started to grow close enough that even I could notice their feelings for each other develop. I don't easily get jealous when he's with other women, but this one was different. I started to talk to him about it and he'd tell me that I'm just paranoid or I'm just jealous or some bullshit like that. I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I just couldn't. Then one day, the girl asked me if she could at least confess her feelings to him so she'd finally get to move on."

"So you agreed and the guy dumped you for her?"

"No. I told her I'd think about it. The same night, I pressed him again if he really did not have feelings for her and he snapped. He told me that he was getting sick of assuring me and broke up with me. He didn't cheat, but he did start seeing her officially a week later."

Taehyung was too stunned to speak. He blinked, trying to process.

Gyeoul let out a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "I remember when we broke up, I went to the record store we always went to and broke down to Ending Scene by IU in the listening booth because I didn't want my parents to wake up to me sobbing."

Noticing her attempt to alleviate her situation, Taehyung said, "Remind me to add Ending Scene to the queue for our next karaoke session."

"Jerk," she mused, nudging his knuckles with her own. "What about you? Did your heartbreak have something to do with your question earlier? Busy schedules and whatnot?"

He hummed, "I don't get into relationships often and when I do, they only last for a few months. Three years ago, I met this amazing girl. We were together for 10 months."

"Almost a year," she winced, but Taehyung's face didn't show any signs of distress. "But that's still a long time. What went wrong?"

"Everything was bound to go wrong in the first place," he sighed, looking out of the window. "I really tried and so did she, but I'm almost always away on tour and the time differences wouldn't give us the opportunity to really talk, you know? I flew her out whenever I could and we'd go on little dates in the cities. And whenever I finish with rehearsals, she'll call me up and we'll go on an impromptu date somewhere in the city."

Gyeoul nodded, listening to every word.

"Being with her was such a dream until reality started to set in. We broke up on our last date. She invited me to go to the park with her and there she let it all out. She reached her limit and couldn't fight for something that was barely worth fighting for. The busy schedules were too much and the fear of being bullied by the media was strong. Then she left me there. I understood where she was coming from. She needed stability and security, something I couldn't give her. After her, I couldn't bring myself to try getting into a relationship again."

The woman didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." She crossed her arms in front of her and laid her head on them.

Taehyung mirrored her actions and patted her head, leaving his hand there. "I remember back then, I'd visit the same park over and over again like a ghost, haunting it for months hoping that one day she'd change her mind. I don't blame her for ending things. I'd get sick of being a secret too."

"Did she get her stability?"

"She's engaged to be married next year, and I'm practically married to my job." He kissed his teeth, shaking his head slightly. "I love my job, but it restricts so much."

A blanket of silence fell over them, giving them the opportunity to dig through buried emotions and memories. Taehyung knew that Gyeoul understood him. Just a few moments ago, they went through the back door without him warning her of such. Take them as an example, she knew that they'd get involved in a 'scandal' if word got out that they were friends. Just like that. What a disappointing world they live in.

His train of thought was cut off as he heard her dulcet voice once again.

"You know, I used to hate my name."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Why so? Your name is beautiful," Taehyung countered, leaning back on his chair.

"Thanks," she said, a gentle smile on her face. Slowly, her smile dropped, remembering why she used to detest her name in the first place. "In literature, most of the time, winter symbolizes loneliness, grief, depression — the harsh grip of solitude. Many people hate winter because it shows the absence of hope, it shows the reign of despair.

"To think of it, I don't think anybody enjoys winter. Cars would be covered in snow, the streets would be slippery, sidewalks would be designed with dirty snow that looks like muddy slush, people would be cold, people could get sick. Everybody waits for winter to pass by so spring would come again. A lot of books mention it, and a ton of songs too.

"I've had so many moments where I fell into the personification of winter. Whenever I hit that block, there's a blizzard inside me and I have no choice but to suffer in silence because I didn't want people to see me as such. I didn't want people to look at me and see the lonely shades of blue they feel when they freeze due to the cold. I hated my name because it felt like it sentenced me to be void of warmth."

"I love winter, though."

She smiled, shaking her head. "You probably love autumn more. You look like an autumn kind of guy."

"Autumn is great, but it's not my favorite," Taehyung hummed, raising an eyebrow at the woman. "Some of the prettiest flowers grow in winter too."

Gyeoul opened her mouth to counter his words, but none seemed to come out. She crossed her arms on the table, looking out of the window instead. Taehyung scrunched his nose at her being pouty because of her loss of words. He so badly wanted to cross over their invisible boundaries and reach over the wooden table to squish her cheeks. The idol crossed his arms and sighed.

"Well, I don't like my birthday."

Gyeoul tilted her head, a ghost of a smile on her face, "Why?" She looked at him, her piercing eyes drawing shivers down his spine.

"Nobody likes giving gifts after Christmas," he giggled, covering his face in embarrassment. "Back then my relatives would make it a two-in-one present. It sounds more childish now that I said it."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to separate my Christmas and birthday present." She traced the rim of her glass, biting the inside of her cheek. "I've read in some comments that you were born last minute into 1995 so Jimin wouldn't be lonely."

His smile grew even wider, "I've seen those too. It's a nice way to put it." He leaned closer, his eyes shining as if he was revealing a secret. Gyeoul mirrored his actions with a humored smile. "But what I do love about my birthday is that people do all these fan projects. I feel really special when I pass by a street and see murals of me all around. It's amazing what ARMY does for us."

Meek knocks came from the door and in came Byeongho with a cart, inviting a delicious aroma that cut the pair off of their conversations. As they dined, they fell into easy exchanges, laughing about nothing and carrying on with their people-watching.

Three knocks sounded from the door and two people came in. Compared to the knocks from the waiter earlier, these knocks were powerful and had direction. Not very loud, but it was still commanding. It made Taehyung somewhat nervous.

"Enjoying the meal?"

A man's full voice rang through the private dining area. With the informality of his speech and the aura he brought as he saw Gyeoul, the smile that beamed from the older woman's eyes as they caught sight of his companion, it didn't take so long for Taehyung to figure out that these people were her parents. The idol stood up and bowed respectfully at the couple.

They looked oddly familiar to him.

"Ah, this must be the boy scout you've been telling us about?" Mihyang hummed, raising a critical eyebrow at the young man. Gyeoul pursed her lips, feeling Taehyung's nerves skyrocket. She stood up from her seat and settled herself tall beside him, their fingers brushing slightly. Her mother's harsh stature cracked and she chuckled, "How sweet."

Taehyung smiled thankfully at Gyeoul for a brief moment and cleared his throat, "Good evening, I am Kim Taehyung, I work with Gyeoul." He outstretched his hand.

"You're very polite, I like you better already than her past boyfriends," Chuwon commented, shaking the idol's hand. "But that doesn't mean I approve of you just yet."

Gyeoul laughed, shaking her head at her father. "We're just friends." Taehyung nodded in agreement.

"And why is that? Why are you only friends? What ridiculousness is that? Is my daughter not fit to your standards?" He glared at Taehyung, crossing his arms. The 95-liner's jaw went slack. "It insults me that you don't think she's worthy enough for you. If anything, you're not worthy enough for her—"

"Go away, your protective dad mode is broken." Mihyang smacked her husband's arm. Chuwon pouted at her which only worsened her glare. He gulped, nodding at the younger pair before dejectedly walking out of the door. Mihyang turned back to them, "We just wanted to check up on the two of you before we went home. Neither of you drank, right? You shouldn't if you're driving home."

"No, we did not," Taehyung answered, smiling politely at the older woman.

"Good." She fished out her keys from her purse and then handed them to Gyeoul. "In case you don't want to end the night here." Gyeoul nodded, placing the keys on top of her wallet on the table. "That's all, I suppose, assuming you two don't need anything?" They shook their heads. "We'll get going then. Have a good night, you two."

Only when the woman left the private area did Taehyung finally breathe.

Gyeoul chuckled, patting his back before sitting back down.

"I can't tell if that went well or not," he groaned, placing his forehead on the table.

Holding some of Taehyung's locks to shield them from his food, she said, "Your hair is eating more of your food than your mouth."

Not long after that, they finished eating and asked for the check. An extensive debate took place and it took about ten minutes. Taehyung would have won thanks to his surprisingly persuasive skills. He did this expression with his face where he'd wear a close-lipped smile and raised his eyebrows slightly, doing something with his eyes that Gyeoul can't quite explain but all she knew was that it was adorable and her poor heart couldn't take it. So, she compromised and proposed to split the check instead.

"I feel like I could slip into a food coma." Groaning, he slumped on the passenger seat, the only thing keeping him from the car floor was his seatbelt. He turned in her direction, a fond gleam in his eyes as he watched her fiddle with the keys her mother gave her. "You don't have to drive me home, you know."

"It's fine, I like wasting gas anyway," she joked, fastening her seatbelt. Her thoughts drifted back to the keys her mother lent her. "Do you want to go home right away?"

Despite the night getting deeper, Taehyung showed no signs of exhaustion. "Why? Can't get enough of me?"

"What would you say if I invited you to my mother's gallery? It's only five minutes away."

"If it's five minutes away, then why don't we walk?" he asked before his brain could stop him. Gyeoul pursed her lips into a knowing look. Taehyung sighed, "Right. I forgot about that." He shook his head and smiled at her. "I'd love it if we did."

And there they set their second destination for the night.

Now that they were inside the art gallery, it was Taehyung that reveled more in the marvel of every artistic spectacle to be found while Gyeoul paid more attention to the new additions her mother placed. They drifted apart from each other but would call the other whenever they saw something they wanted to point out that reminded them of some things.

"You'll hug me who's weary. You're like an angel who'll greet me," Taehyung sang under his breath, his voice being the only sound heard throughout the gallery that accompanied the light sounds coming from their footsteps.

Goosebumps traveled to all over her body at the sound of his voice, making her smile. She sat down on one of the benches in front of one of the new paintings. Without looking at the nameplate beside it, she knew it was her mother's. Homesick, was its title.

"Art really has a way to express what the heart can't put into words."

Taehyung turned to where she was looking to understand what she was pertaining to. Immediately, he understood what she meant. He sat down close beside her and observed the painting.

Their souls met in the middle, feeling the same emotions was over them. A boy and a girl rode their bikes in the middle of a neighborhood, their backs only visible, but their jubilation radiated from the canvas. There were low trees along the houses on that street, and purple bougainvillea spilled out from the other side of the fences. The very image of childhood. The very thing their hearts yearned to touch ever since they grew up.

"I feel like I've been there before," Taehyung breathed out, running a hand through his hair and placing his hand back on the bench. Accidentally, he laid his hand on top of hers. He pulled back right away, "Sorry."

Gyeoul crossed her arms, leaning her side to his. Taehyung moved back slightly on the bench to make her position more comfortable, leaning his hands back to keep himself upright. "I feel the same way." She sighed, turning away from the painting. Her gaze fell upon another thing that was unfamiliar. "Is that a bouquet vending machine?"

"There's such a thing?"

She stood up, leading Taehyung to another part of the gallery. Of all her years of working and visiting the gallery, her mother never thought to put such a machine in the venue.

Indeed, there was a bouquet vending machine.

"There are white carnations too," she mumbled to herself, looking at the varieties of bouquets inside.

Taehyung grinned, pulling his card out of his wallet and scanning it before pressing a button that would open the small window of the bouquet of white carnations. He took them in his hands and closed the window back, smiling widely at his companion.

"You like white carnations too?"

"I do, but I'm more of a tulips kind of guy," he answered, handing her the bouquet. "And these are for you."

Her fingers fidgeted at her sides, unsure of how she was to react. Meeting his eyes, he only urged her to accept it even more. An uncontrollable smile fought its way to her face and she had no choice but to succumb, her shoulders bouncing slightly up and down from laughter as she finally took the flowers from him.

Though, she wasn't quick to thank him. She turned back to the vending machine and fished for her card. Taehyung laughed as he realized what she was doing. Gyeoul pressed a button and the window that contained a bouquet of red tulips opened. She took it from the vending machine and handed it to her friend.

"Thank you for coming with me."

Surely, his face was red right now. When it came to award show MCs, Taehyung never thought much of it when their trophies would be accompanied by a bouquet. But when it came from her? He could feel his heart jumping out of his chest. Never had he received flowers from anyone that wasn't part of the awards. The tender look in her eyes never left, not allowing him a second to remain cool. It made him feel special.

He pursed his lips, fighting the smile that tried to break on his face. Overwhelmed by endearment, he covered half of his face and turned away, hesitantly taking the flowers from her. "...thank you."

❆

She was never this competitive.

"Gyeoul-ah!" Taehyung yelled out, cycling faster to catch up to her. "Wait up!"

"It's going to rain tomorrow! Slowpokes won't be able to see the cherry blossoms today!" she giggled, her short hair flying with the wind as she looked back at Taehyung for a quick moment.

Mihyang's eyes widened as she heard the familiar squeaky voices pass their house. She abandoned her canvas and looked out the gate, yelling after the children, "You two! Be careful!"

The two didn't show any signs of slowing down. Mihyang couldn't help but laugh, her eyes adoring the space they passed.

It was the last week before their family would move to Seoul which probably sparked the excessive energy in her daughter. She couldn't blame her, though, it was probably the last happy moments the two best friends would experience before the inevitable would come.

NOTE

겨울 (gyeoul) means winter in english. i named my oc after my favorite character in hospital playlist :)

song(s) mentioned in this chapter — ending scene by iu | she by jannabi