I could only look at him, wanting to remind him that I wasn't a noona, at least not in my wish.  But I had no words, because the image of that line of hair traveling from his navel down was stuck in my mind, and I was afraid it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

~♡~

Once Tae had finished changing into the second outfit, without much help from me because I was still to flustered to remember to move, he walked over to where RM and J-hope were, saying something to them I couldn't hear.

I simply watched him, drawn in by the jeans, and colorful shirt he was wearing. RM asked if anyone needed adjustments this time around, everyone saying they were fine.

"You guys can get changed back into what you were wearing when you got here, and then let's take a break for lunch.

Everyone moved to get changed, and I watched Tae as he walked back towards me, a smile on his face. He shrugged out of the shirt, and unbuttoned the pants, carefully pushing them down this time.

I took them from him, handing him his track pants, and picking up the shirt from the chair. Mi Ok came over, and took the outfit from me, and I waited while Tae put his sneakers on, bending to tie them.

"Come on, We're going to get something for lunch." He said, standing up.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?"

"We'd be waiting awhile. They aren't coming." He took my hand, and started towards the door.

"Don't forget Tae, be here early tomorrow." J-hope called.

Tae lifted his hand, and waved, pulling me out the door behind him.

"What was J-hope talking about. Is he leaving before we get back?"

"Nope. We aren't going back today." He kept walking, reaching the elevators and hitting the button.

"What? Why? I'm going to get in trouble."

He shook his head, stepping onto the elevator when the doors opened, pulling me on as well.

"You're not going to get in trouble. You're my stylist, you're supposed to be with me, so you're technically not doing anything wrong."

"But...where are we going?"

"I told you, we're going to get something to eat."

"But you said we aren't going back today. What are we doing after we eat?"

He looked at me, then his eyes darted around the elevator.

"I don't know yet, I haven't decided."

I looked at my feet, gnawing on my bottom lip, while I tried to decide if I should argue against this idea of his. I felt like I should, but honestly, I didn't want to. I was excited to get to spend some time with just him.

The elevator opened, and we stepped off, heading for the exit. We were just about to the door when someone called Tae's name.

"Taehyung-ah..."

We turned to see Bang Si Hyuk walking towards us. Tae quietly groaned.

"Where are you headed, Tae-ah?"

"I was actually taking Delaney out to grab some lunch."

"Ah, good. I'm sure she's overwhelmed right now, still trying to get used to everything."

He looked at me. "Are you settling in, and more importantly, is everyone treating you well?"

"Everyone has been wonderful, and I'm learning, hopefully at an acceptable pace." I smiled at him, and he nodded.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that." He turned back to Taehyung. "Tae-ah, why don't you show Delaney around a bit, take the rest of the afternoon and give her a chance to see what Seoul is like. I'm sure she hasn't had a chance to relax since she got here. Work will still be here tomorrow."

I saw Tae visibly relax.

"Thanks Pd Nim. I think she'll really enjoy that." Tae smiled, glancing at me.

"Well good. You kids get going then. Enjoy your afternoon."

Tae bowed, then waved, and pulled me out the door, not even giving me a chance to thank him.

"That was too close! Can you believe he just gave me the rest of the afternoon off to show you around?" Tae said excitedly.

"But you were taking it off anyway." I said, confused.

"Well yeah, I got permission from RM and J-hope, but getting permission from Hitman Bang is even better."

I had a feeling that even if he'd gotten permission from no one, that he would still be planning to ditch work for the rest of the afternoon. I was glad he had gotten permission, because even though he may not get in trouble, at least not enough trouble to cause him to lose his job, because that would never happen, I could still get in trouble and lose mine.

"What do you feel like eating?" He asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket and looking at it.

"You can't ask me that..."

"Right, I forgot. Okay, then I'll pick. Do you like spicy food?"

"Depends. Not too spicy."

"Okay, I know a good place, they make the best spicy mixed noodles, but they will make it less spicy if you request it."

"Sounds good to me. Honestly, I prefer to just let you order for me, because I have no idea if I'm going to like something until I try it."

"Have you never eaten Asian food where you come from?" He asked, his brows drawn together.

"Of course, I've had Chinese take out before..." I almost said with my husband.

He laughed. "That's not quite the same though."

"I was just answering your question."

We had walked to the corner while we were talking, and had just crossed the street. He grabbed my arm, leading me into a restaurant. It sure smelled good. We found a table and sat, and seconds later a small girl in an apron appeared to take our order.

"Hi Taehyung oppa, what can I get for you today?" She was looking at him with heart eyes.

"Hi Nari, I'd like to order some bibimguksu, medium... also some japchae, bulgogi, and jjajangmyeon, and two strawberry boba teas, please." He smiled at the girl, and she smiled back, not even acknowledging that I was there.

"I'll be right back with your tea, and the rest will be ready shortly."

"Thanks."

She walked away, and he chuckled. He looked at me, and I raised a brow at him.

"Sorry she ignored you. She's used to seeing me come in here alone."

"She seems to have quite a crush on you." I said, hoping I sounded unaffected. She was very cute.

"A crush?"

"Yeah, you know, she likes you."

"Oh." He frowned a bit. "Well, she's 16, and I've been coming here since I was 17, so I remember seeing her running around when she was about 9, getting in her parents way and making customers smile. Besides, I know her older brother, so even if she wasn't too young for me, I wouldn't consider dating her."

Just then, she reappeared with the tea, setting it on the table, and bowing slightly before disappearing again.

I felt a sense of relief, and mentally kicked myself for being jealous of a 16 year old.

"Try the tea. I think you'll like it."

I looked at it, and questioned if that could be true. There was a large straw in it, and black beads of something in the bottom of the cup.

I gave him a look, and he smiled, laughing lightly. "Just try it. I promise it's good."

I took a sip, slightly surprised as the strange 'bubbles' traveled thru the straw, landing on my tongue. The flavor was amazing, and I chewed on the soft gummy balls, which made it interesting to say the least. I couldn't say that I didn't like it, but it was different from anything I'd ever had.

"So, did you come to Seoul just because of the job, or did something else bring you here first, and the job followed?" He asked, taking a sip of his tea.

I appreciated that he was making conversation, but I wished he would ask me about something other than why I was here. I supposed I could be honest to a point.

"The Job. My job back home had become pretty boring. All I ever saw were elderly ladies wanting to cover their grey, or men needing a trim. No one ever came in for anything exciting, like a wild color, or a not as common hair cut. It was the same over and over. So when the opportunity popped up to be a stylist in South Korea, it sounded exciting, and I applied."

"Did you know what you were going to be doing, or who you'd be working for?"

Yes

"No, I just applied for a job as a stylist." I sipped my tea, hoping that he would stop asking me questions about how I got here.

I sighed in relief when Nari appeared with our food, setting everything down in the middle of the table, and placing two sets of chopsticks next to it. She bowed again, and left.

Tae grabbed a set of chopsticks, pulling them from the wrapper and snapping them apart. I had used chopsticks before, not necessarily well, but they had been fun to eat with when we would order take out when the kids were younger. I opted to use the fork that was wrapped in a napkin on the table instead.

We had no plates, so obviously, the idea was to share with your companion. I watched as he opened the containers, tasting from one, and quirking an eyebrow.

"Not too spicy, so you might like it. But if not, you should be okay with the japchae, bulgogi and jjajangmyeon."

It all looked delicious, and I felt my stomach grumble. I hadn't thought I was hungry, but now I realized how hungry I was.

I watched him take a bite of something, and smiled as he chewed noisily, obviously enjoying his food. It was cute. I stuck my fork in what he had tasted first, just to see how spicy it actually was. It wasn't bad at all, and I took another bite.

We spent an hour there, eating and laughing, as Tae told me stories, my favorite being about the time he had ripped his pants because they had been a bit tight, and he'd opted not to change into something different, only to have them split right down the rear during a music video shoot. 

I enjoyed spending time with him, he made me laugh, which was something I hadn't done in quite some time.

I caught Nari staring at us at one point as she took another customers order, and I felt a little bad for her.

She eventually came over to give us a bag for the leftovers and ask if everything was okay, and I decided to introduce myself.

"Hi Nari, I'm Laney, I'm Taehyung's new stylist. Everything was delicious, thank you."

She smiled shyly. "Oh, I'm glad to hear that, my parents will be pleased. Can I get you anything else today?" 

"No thank you Nari, just the bill please." Tae said, smiling politely.

The girl walked away, and Tae stood up and started closing up the containers of what was left, which was quite a bit.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Do what, tell her everything was delicious?"

"No. Why'd you Introduce yourself as my stylist?"

I sighed. "Because I knew she thought we were together, and I felt bad for her. I thought that if she knew I was your stylist, she would feel better."

"I told you, she's sixteen."

"I know. But a lot of young girls dream about being your girlfriend, so let her dream."

He looked at me. "You say that like your so old."

Because I am

"You know you're only four years older than her."

I rolled my eyes at him.

He finished closing everything up, and placed it in the bag, sitting back down to wait for Nari to arrive with the bill. He placed his elbow on the table, his chin resting in his hand, and looked right at me, and I could feel my cheeks starting to heat up.

"Have you ever dreamed about being my girlfriend?"