Author's POV || 2009. 09. 26

You walked towards the flower garden while wondering about him. A soft smile on your lips. You were really excited to see him. The fall vacation was ending soon and you discovered that he went to the same University. Maybe because it was your first year, you didn't know he was also there. 

You felt better, the thought of going to University sounded better now. You knew him only for a few days but every time you went near him, your heart sparkled. Everything felt better. He felt safe and comfortable, he made you feel things you've never felt before. 

Entering the gates of the area, you saw him. He was sitting there, staring at the beautiful flowers with a smile which made your heart flutter. You gulped and tried to calm yourself down before taking small steps toward him. As soon as his eyes fell on you, his soft smile widened as he took a few steps near you.
"Hey!" He said as you waved at him saying, "Hello.." 
"Are you down? You're quiet." He asked as you looked down saying, "Not really..." 
It wasn't sadness, it was the fluttering heart that she couldn't control. 

"The flowers look better today." He said, smiling. 
"We come here every day... seems like we won't be able to, once University reopens." You mumbled. He sighed and nodded saying, "That's a pity. We should come here at weekends! It's such a nice thing that we go to the same University. I'll go to your class if you don't mind."
"O-Okay.." You spoke, in a low voice, smiling. 
"Then... which floor is it on?" He asked as you gasped a little, realizing you forgot to tell him.
"6th floor, 6D." You said. He nodded and said, "Alright~ You might get some attention though. I'm popular!" 

You smiled and said, "I already get enough.." 
"Really?" He asked, smiling widely. You just nodded and said, "They think I'm peculiar because I don't know how to socialize." 
"I can't really agree with them. To me, you seem like a very lovely person though it's not been that long since we're friends. I like you already." He said but little did he know, his 'I like you' made someone's heart almost run out of its ribcage.
"Are you okay? Your face is red.." He said, wondering. You nodded quickly touching your cheeks and said, "It's just the... heat." 

He smiled and leaned closer to your face, tilting his head. A chuckle escaped his lips seeing your expression as he backed away, pinching your cheeks. 
"Anyway, I brought something today. The reason I called you here..." He said as you frowned slightly, confused. 
"I brought my guitar. I wanted to sing a song in this garden but doing it alone doesn't give me the feels." He said as you looked at him with your doe eyes.
"I want you... to draw me with the guitar pose. Can you..?" He requested as you looked at him, looking down. You were feeling very flustered but couldn't answer as he immediately regretted asking that. He gulped and said, "It's okay if you don't feel comfortable."
"No, I mean.." You were talking but he cut you off saying, "It's okay! I'm sorry, I didn't know." 
You just stared at him before looking down.
"Instead, I'll sing a song. You told me about it yesterday too, right? So.." He spoke as you smiled a little, nodding. Still, felt bad for not being able to answer. 

You both were sitting with flowers around you, the evening sky and its dim light falling on you both, making the flowers shine slightly. 
You stared at Taehyung who was playing his guitar. You were looking forward to his singing with a smile. He looked at you once and looked down, he looked nervous.
You gulped and tried to encourage him but the words didn't seem to form as he looked at you. 
Helpless, you smiled at him, a big one and not the small nervous smiles you gave him. His eyes sparkled seeing your smile as he started singing. 

'In the streets full of flowers
I see you today too
Will it be in me

In the park in the early morning
I have my feelings now
Towards this old yellow
Illuminated by the moon

Collect a moonlight piece
I'll make the lights
Like yesterday
Come in front of me

I still wonder wonder beautiful story
Still wonder wonder best part
I still wander wander next story
I want to make you mine

I still wonder wonder beautiful story
Still wonder wonder best part
I still wander wander next story
I want to make you mine'

You were perplexed. His voice shocked you. Deeper than the ocean, yet soft and warm, a welcoming and lovely feeling. You could feel your chest warming just by his voice. He finished singing and looked at you, hoping for something. 
"You look surprised?" He asked as you gulped saying, "I can't believe..."
"That my voice is bad..? I'm not sure if I've got those comments before." He mumbled but you quickly shook your head saying, "Your voice... it's really... good. I am surprised how your mom..." You didn't continue as he chuckled saying, "I'll take it as a really huge compliment." 

"Sorry... I just..." You gulped as he smiled saying, "It's fine. There's no need to be sorry. You don't necessarily have to be able to say stuff. That's not wrong." 
"I feel guilty.." You said, looking down.No, you've never once felt guilty until it was him. You always tried to understand yourself because others didn't. So you didn't feel the need to be guilty for them because you couldn't express yourself. But, him? He was the first person to say that it was okay. Even before your parents ever did.

You smiled and said, "You really... s-sang good. You will be successful. I'll support you." 
It was hard but you tried. He knew it. You didn't know how to announce those compliments well but your tries were sincere, he knew it. He smiled and said, "Thank you... that's more encouraging than anything could ever be." 

"The sun will set soon..." He mumbled as you nodded, looking down.
"I have to go before dinner tonight. Dad is taking us out.." You said, sighing. He looked at you and asked, "Do you not want to go?"
"I want to. But..." 

It's not comfortable. The only topic he had to talk about was how useless your hobbies were. And how he hated to pay money for your studies. How you weren't this and that, and imperfect. 

Taehyung understood. He smiled softly and said, "If it goes bad, come out of the restaurant and walk towards the cafe where we met. I am going to be there tonight." 
"But he'll..."— scold you more, mock you more, maybe even ground you for days. 
"Actually, I don't know how you deal but... when it happens to me, I just do what I want. Then... my mom does scold me and ground me. But it doesn't last that long. I don't regret those." 
You smiled at him and said, "Brave... I could never-"
"You're braver. Trust me, you are." He said, smiling. You just looked at him before looking down.
"Your courage lies inside you, maybe that's why people don't often notice. But you're really brave, I see it." He said as you looked down. He didn't see it, he believed it. He knew it was hard, with unsupportive parents and anxiety always accompanying you. But he wanted to contribute to your encouragement, he wanted you to come out of your hidden insecurities. He stared at you as you asked, "How do you know... so much?" 

"Experience... maybe?" He asked, smiling. 
'Must've been hard.' You thought as he got up saying, "Let's go. The sun will set soon."
You nodded as he forwarded his hand, helping you to get up. 

---Time skip 

You sat on the chair, quietly as your dad ordered the food. Your mom was busy with her phone. Your dad glanced at you and sighed saying, "Are you still going to pursue art?" 
You kept quiet. 
"I don't see any potential in you. I've never seen any of your works and I know you don't have any talent for it... why are you wasting money on it?" He asked, you kept quiet. 
"Keep staying quiet. So annoying.... one woman's just busy with her own stuff and another one's on her way to ruin our reputation." He said. Once again, you were quiet. 
"Y/N... are you seriously sure about art?" Your mother asked. As well, everyone had the same question. You looked down, not answering.

"She pretends not to be able to talk to escape these situations. Don't pretend. It's never hard to talk much." Your father spat those words, making a stinging pain arise in your heart. He never understood, leave understanding, he was straight up saying harsh words.
"Y/N... he's getting mad." Your mother spoke as you gulped, looking down. You didn't answer, you never did. That was one day when you lashed out at him saying you hated him and ran into the cafe. That was probably the first and last time you ever spoke for yourself.

You gulped and looked down, hearing your father's mocking 'tsk' was of no help. The waitress came with the food not too later and was serving it when you got up, grabbing your parents' attention. 

"I'll go." You spoke in a low voice making them confused. You started walking out, not being able to take in the negativity. You could hear your dad shouting from behind. This wouldn't end well but you couldn't hold this in anymore. He was too much now. 

You started crying as you were walking towards the cafe. You sat down on a bench at the side of the road, crying your eyes out. A sudden rush of embarrassment, hurt, pain, and regret got inside of you. He did say you should go but was it really a good choice? 

You weren't sure of a single thing, all you knew was that you just needed to cry. Your heart was aching, you kept crying until you felt a hand forwarding a tissue toward you. You tried to look in front of you with your stinging watery eyes. Through your blurry vision, you saw someone standing there, looking at you. But as soon as you heard the familiar voice, you felt yourself breaking down even more.

"Seems like... you need this."