┍━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┑
CHAPTER 40
⸻ LIMERENCE
┕━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┙

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

T A E H Y U N G' S  P O V

MY MEMORIES ARE all coming back at once. It was overwhelming to grasp mentally at first but everything was clear.

Particular visions of us rule my head where we spend time together — holding hands, kissing and cuddling with one another. I cried after remembering and I could feel my love begins to stir back, realising the unfelt passion and love after a long time.

Seeing her in my memories, I can't imagine being happy without her. And I know that within my heart, I wanted her back.

Initially, I was hesitant to rush out from my office but here I am, waiting for her in front of her workplace.

I draw in a breath as I glance over my handwatch, drumming my fingers against my steering wheel anxiously. After a few minutes, my eyes finally capture her figure.

My heart palpitates and butterflies are tying knots in my stomach. Ignoring the nervous thoughts, I step out and run towards her, capturing her arm.

She flinches and turns around in shock but let out a low sigh of relief the moment she sees me. She knits her eyebrows together, blinking her wide eyes rapidly.

"Taehyung, what are you doing here?"

A smile lifts at the corner of my mouth. "I wanted to see you,"

"You wanted to see me? For what?" she replies, looking taken aback.

"Because I mi—"

A male voice hollers from the opposite side instantly slice off my words in half. I scowl and clench my teeth when my eyes meet a tall man with brown locks, walking to us from a distance.

"Mia!"

"Oh? Oppa!"

My eyes narrow, scanning him in annoyance. He looks around my age but he seems terribly young with a bright, delightful smile on his face. Who is this man?

Not to mention that he has Eunbyul by his side, holding his hand tightly. Is he Eunbyul's father?

"Sorry, the traffic was bad. Did you wait long?" he asks sweetly in a soft voice.

I look at my lover, only to find her smiling back as she waves dismissively.

"No, no, I just finished with my work," she replies and immediately, her attention shifts to Eunbyul. "Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?"

The little girl grins, lurching her tiny self into her mother's embrace. Not knowing why, my heart squeezes as I watch them.

"I had fun at school, mummy. How was your work?" she cutely questions, which makes me chuckle. So adorable.

"Aigu, mummy is tired. Can you help cheer mummy up?"

Her sparkling doe-eyes are wide, her small hands squishing her mother's cheeks. "Here, let me give you a kiss," she says then pecks her mother's lips lightly. "Are you feeling better now, mummy?"

Both of them giggle and I find myself smiling from ear to ear. I stare at them long enough to realise that a pair of eyes are burning through my head.

I catch the man, who's a lot taller subtly glaring at me. Feeling a bit intimidated, I clear my throat and look away.

"Oh, um.. oppa, this is my hu— I mean, Taehyung," she shakes her head as if knocking back into her senses, looking over at me shyly. "Taehyung, this is.. Hyoseop,"

The man named Hyoseop smiles and nods his head curtly.

"Ah, hello," I return the same response as I awkwardly nod.

"Uncle Tae!" Eunbyul suddenly screeches, causing me to turn and grin at her. "I've missed you,"

"You miss Uncle Taetae? I miss you too," I laugh and pinch her adorable bread cheeks. "How are you, sweetie?"

"Good, Uncle Taetae! Have you been eating well?"

I chuckle and nod at her question. Sometimes it's crazy how a little kid could sound so matured and adorable at the same time.

"Shall we?" That irritating male voice chirps and I almost roll my eyes back.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask them but specifically towards one person.

Her eyes lock with mine as she bites her lower lip, staring at me doubtfully. She is about to explain when Eunbyul is fast to respond.

"Do you like cheesecake, Uncle Taetae? Mummy promised to buy me a cheesecake. You want to follow?"

My eyes lit up hearing the statement. "Yes, Uncle Taetae likes cheesecake very very much!"

"Taehy—"

I silence her by pressing a finger onto her lips. "Let's go eat cheesecake, mummy,"

•••

The car ride is about 15 minutes before we arrive at a bakery shop. After climbing out, I hold out my hand to Eunbyul to which she relentlessly complies.

The design and interior of the shop is very enticing since it is particularly small but also elegant. It is perfect for a dine in for evening treat.

As we scan through the menu on the table, I feel a small tug on my sleeve and turn to find Eunbyul pointing to a menu.

"I want chocolate cake too!" she excitedly says.

"No, Eunbyul. Don't waste food. Just pick one," her mother refuses as she shakes her head.

Eunbyul's face falls as her lips twitches into a pout. "But I want chocolate cake,"

My heart clenches seeing the sadness upon her face so I undoubtedly swerve in.

"Uncle Taetae will buy it for you. Pick anything," I tell her and her mother gasps, her eyes sending signals to stop but I ignore her.

"Thank you, Uncle Taetae!" Eunbyul squeals, clapping her hands together in excitement.

After a while, we place our orders and sit peacefully at a table of four until the cakes arrived. Eunbyul sitting beside me, with her mother across the table with Hyoseop.

I giggle when Eunbyul seems a little too excited after two slices of cheesecake and chocolate cake splatter in front of her.

"Now, how are you going to finish it?" Her mother scolds, narrowing her eyes at her.

She only grins as she nonchalantly picks up a plastic spoon. Carefully, she scoops a big portion of cheesecake before hovering it to my mouth. "Uncle Taetae, ahh,"

I arch an eyebrow with an amused smile. Bending my head slightly, I devour the cake from the spoon.

"Is it yummy?" she asks, her eyes sparkling and I nod.

"Byul-ah, how about me?" All of sudden, Hyoseop croaks after being silent for so long.

Eunbyul shoots him a gaze. "You want some, papa? Here,"

My body instantly freezes. So he is Eunbyul's father. Gazing over her mother, my heart accelerates when her eyes are already on me. She looks conflicted as underlining glint presence in her features.

"Eunbyul, what did mummy say ab—"

Her words turn into a muffled sound when Hyoseop gently shoves a small piece of chocolate cake into her mouth.

"It's good, right, mummy?"

She appears to be flustered but slowly nods her head in approval. "Yeah, it's good,"

My chest burns when Hyoseop leans closer to her, chuckling before swiping his thumb across the smear above her lips. I clench my fist, my heart boiling at the sight.

"Cute," I could hear the word he utters lowly with a huge grin under his breath, causing my vision to be slightly red.

I don't know if it's jealousy but I don't like seeing them together. I hate it. I hate feeling like this.

•••

M I A'S P O V

Seeing Taehyung has taken a toll on me. I never thought I'd see him again but the truth is, I was happy.

I've been distracting myself by working harder than usual ever since our encounter last week. It is a pathetic excuse to clear my head and it is slowly working until today.

We've finished with our cakes and before everyone else, Hyoseop heads to the counter. Somehow, Taehyung follows suit, taking out his card from his wallet.

"Everything is 38 thousand won.. sir?" The cashier girl raises an eyebrow, looking over them both in confusion, unsure to accept the money from either one of them.

"I'll be paying everything. He—"

"No, no, I'm going to pay. Here's my card," Taehyung interjects, showing his card to the girl.

I sigh and walk to the counter with Eunbyul in hand, deciding to pay instead. "No, I'll be the one who's paying. You two can keep your money,"

"Bu—"

"It's okay, oppa. You've done a lot for me," I smile at him, to which he sighs and gives in.

Sometimes, I feel guilty asking for help from Hyoseop besides Jungkook and Ryujin. Ever since three years ago, we've grown closer, considering he is the doctor who delivered Eunbyul. I've always been thankful of his tremendous help but it still bugs me that he doesn't even complain. He's too kind, too kind that I stupidly thought that he has some sorts of feelings for me.

After paying the bills, we hop back into the car and as expected, the surrounding turns silent. That is until a loud ring coming from Hyoseop's car monitor breaks the dreadful silence.

"Oh, sunbaenim." he answers after plugging an earpiece. "Okay, I'll be there in 10,"

The call ends and through the rear view mirror, his eyes catch mine in a second.

"Mia, I'm so sorry. My boss called because a patient just came in. Is it okay if I just drop you off at your apartment?"

I nod and smile softly. "Hey, don't worry about it. Thank you for picking up Eunbyul today,"

He smiles bitterly as his eyes expressed disappointment. Within a few more minutes, my apartment comes into view and we immediately shift out from his car, including Taehyung, who's been silent the whole ride.

"Bye, papa! Pick me up tomorrow!" Eunbyul waves through the window.

"Eunbyul.." I hush as a warning to lower her voice down.

Hyoseop smiles and nods, waving back to my daughter. "Okay, sweetheart. Take care and listen to mummy, okay?"

"You got it, papa!" she sends a big thumbs up, causing Hyoseop to chuckle before he spares a glance to my direction and nods.

His car soon drives off the concrete, leaving the three of us in front of the building apartment.

I become nervous when I look over Taehyung to watch that he is already staring at me. God, how can he stands there and looking all handsome?

He's wearing a black dress shirt that I recognise from years ago but it doesn't change how it looks on him. He looks absolutely the same — attractive and handsome as ever in everything. I swallow the lump in my throat after realising that I stare much longer than intended.

"So how are you going home? Wait, let me call a taxi for you,"

I mindlessly fish my phone out but then he stopped me by snatching my phone away. Before I could process the thought, he suddenly pulls my arm and brings me into his embrace, catching me off guard.

"I've missed you so much, darling,"

•••

A/N: Oh God, I've finally updated after almost a month. I'm so sorry! I've been dealing with assignments, which is exhausting at this point but here you go. Sorry if this update sucks but I hope you enjoyed it. By the way, what do you guys think will happen? Any thoughts? Anyway, thank you for reading and see you on the next update! Love you <3