June 21, 2019

We decided on walking since Taehyung said the pizza place was close enough. There was a good flow of people around thanks to the Seoul night life. The temperature wasn't cold, but there was a small breeze cooling my skin.

"What did you think of my friends? Besides the fact that they are crazy that is," I asked him to try and make a conversation even though it wasn't necessary.

"Your friends?" he hummed, "Well, Olivia's a little crazy and Macy seems more reserved... but it's nice."

I nodded at his response, knowing he was spot on in his assumptions, kind of, Olivia was more than a little crazy. Gotta love her, though.

"You balance each other out. It reminds me of me and the boys in a way," he continued stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I can see that. Is Jimin your Olivia or your Macy?" I wondered since I knew Jimin could go both ways.

"You've met him..." Taehyung laughed, "He is 75% Olivia and 25% Macy."

"I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt," I softly laughed along.

Not knowing where I got the bravery, I decided to push the boundaries, "You know he told me something really interesting earlier."

"Why do I hate the sound of this already?" he groaned, throwing his head back.

"He said there was someone who was really excited to see me the other day," I revealed bumping my shoulder with his. 

Jimin hinted at it more so, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who he spoke about. 

"Excited? He's probably over-exaggerating... unless he's talking about our chef, in which case he's right," Taehyung joked with a coy smile.

"So, you're gonna introduce me to your chef? Are we making pizza? Is that where we're going?" I joked, faking excitement, "I do like a good chef."

"Oh, you do? In that case I might have to learn the ropes," he said, licking his lips and nodding his head, "You know most girls are quite smitten with the whole idol, dancer, artist thing. I didn't realize the way to a girl's heart was to become a chef. Is it too late to change profession?"

His words were clear, yet I didn't know if I should believe him since it all started as a joke. He was playing with fire, so I'd give him fire.

"I'm not like most girls and just so you know the way to my heart is through my stomach," I said in a know-it-all tone, "Feed me some good food and I'll be happy."

"You're not like most girls," He repeated as he pretended to write something in his hand, "Good food = happiness."

"If you do want to change professions, I can show you how to do some recipes," Was I pushing the joke? Yes, I was, there is no turning back now.

"Nari, are you asking me on a date?" he feigned surprise, holding his hands to his chest.

"That wouldn't be how I'd ask a guy out on a date," At this point I was wondering if it was the alcohol I drank that gave me the guts to do this. 

I normally wouldn't be this flirty, no, I'd be stuttering all over the place. I think it was Taehyung that made me feel comfortable enough to be this way. From the time I've known him, he hadn't made me feel uncomfortable once. He was very open and accepting never the one to judge too quickly. 

"It would be a little more like this," I stopped walking, turned so we were facing each other and grabbed his hands. They felt soft and warm compared to my cold fingers.  

"My dear Kim Taehyung would you do me the honor of going on a date with me, a girl not like most girls?" I asked, tightening my grip on his hands.

I saw how his ears tinted red and how the corners of his mouth threatened to turn up, he took a second to compose himself clearing his throat before responding, "That's tame Nari," he raised his eyebrows.

I opened my mouth in offense that he didn't like my impromptu proposal.

"No, no, really, it's cute that you think that would work," He told me squeezing my hands back, "I'm just more of a grand gesture guy."

"I'll take note of that, I don't know why I would ever expect anything else from you," I smirked, letting go of his hands as we began our way to the pizza place. 

"From me?" he gasped, "What makes you say that? You seem to have a very solid opinion of me already Nari, I think I might just surprise you; I'd shatter all your expectations of me."

"I like surprises. Bring it on," I spoke seriously, raising an eyebrow.

I am almost sure I will come to regret those words later, but for now I lived in the moment. With a challenge pending we arrived at the pizza place, it was a cozy establishment with booths lining the walls. We ordered a large pizza in a bar where you chose the toppings you wanted. We settled on a half meat lover, half cheese. Getting our drinks, we sat in a booth waiting for the pizza.

Taehyung was entertained playing with the paper that covered the plastic straw. I sat in front of him with my chin resting on one hand and the other on the table. A slight feeling of sleepiness creeping up, with a shake of my head, I made sure to push it down. Now was not the time to be tired.

Taehyung grabbed my free hand and starting, wrapping the paper on one of my fingers as if it was a ring. He repeated the same step many times entertained by the simple activity as we spoke with soft voices. An automatic response since the place was quiet and it was nighttime.

"Are you entertained?" I asked, observing him.

"Yes, does it bother you?" He stoped his movements briefly, glancing up at me. 

"No, it's actually relaxing," I assure him, wiggling my fingers.

"Don't go falling asleep on me Nari," he whispered, his baritone voice lower due to the whispering.

"I won't, it's just, peaceful," I sighed.

He continued with his ministrations as he then also took my straw wrapping and tied the two together. He continued to wrap it on my pinkie and then tied the other end to his, connecting us with the papers.

"Do you know the story of the red string of fate?" He wondered holding our fingers up.

"I've heard briefly about it, isn't it about soul mates?"

"Part of it at least, the other says it ties two people who are bound to help each other out," Taehyung explained, grinning.

"That's cool it makes it more interesting," I added, "Is that why you wear that red string bracelet?"

"Seokjin gave it to me as a gift. To me, at least, it symbolizes strength and good luck," he told me, "It's comforting to have something reassure you."

Before I could respond an employee came with the pizza. The paper falling from my pinky, but not breaking despite the delicate paper.

"This pizza is so good," I raved, taking a big second bite. 

"I told you," He rubbed in my face as he pulled the pizza away from his face, a string of cheese stretching more than I thought possible. 

"When do I meet the chef?" I teased, changing the conversation to benefit me.

"I'm hiding you from him," Taehyung mumbled.

I simply laughed, enjoying the delicious, cheesy pizza. I wouldn't mind Taehyung hiding the imaginary chef as long as he stayed by my side as a friend or as something more. Only time would tell. 

We walked around the streets of Seoul in silence, taking everything in. There was no need to talk, we felt comfortable with the other's presence. There were less people roaming around, but there were still some street performers out. We passed by a little plaza where we could still hear the music and sat on a bench not wanting the night to end.

"Thanks for the pizza," I nudged his side.

"I'm happy you enjoyed it, it's one of my favorite places," he replied, turning to look at me.

"What gift did you give Macy?" Ever since I saw her excited reaction I had been wondering. I knew I could just ask Macy, but Taehyung was right here so might as well.

"An opportunity," he said in a singsong voice, "To see each other again."

"Tae, it's late my brain isn't working that well right now," It was the first time I called him that out loud, it seemed fitting though I felt like we were at that point where it wouldn't be weird calling each other by nicknames.

"I gave her tickets for the Seoul muster in a few days," he finally revealed with a roll if his eyes.

"What?" That was not what I was expecting, I mean I didn't have expectations, but, yeah.

"You don't mind, do you? I'm sorry if I crossed a line," he quickly apologized.

"Tae, it's fine, I don't mind, it's cool," I said quickly, patting his hand that was by his knee, "You took me by surprise that's all, you know... shattering my expectations and all that."

I heard him say an 'I told you so' when the familiar tune of Ed Sheeran's perfect made its way to my ears. There was a guitar player down the street strumming and softly singing to it. It brought a smile to my face since it was a song I adored. Taehyung suddenly stood up from beside me and extended a hand in my direction.

Noticing my confusion, he said, "Dance with me."

It was something I couldn't imagine denying not only because it was a song I loved, or because it was Taehyung, but because of the fact he asked me to dance. I found it extremely touching  since it's something my dad does to my mom all the time. It brought back memories of when I'd see them randomly dancing in the kitchen or in the living room. I'd always run between them and try to join my dad would pick me up and sway me in between them. 

I softly grasped his hand which made mine seem a lot smaller than it was and stood up. I slid my hands up to his neck and his went around my waist. We swayed to the rhythm of the guitar lost in this little moment. It wasn't embarrassing, there was nobody around just us. Taehyung softly pulled back, grabbing one of my hands to twirl me around. I softly giggled as I passed under his arm and he pulled me back in causing us to be closer than before. His hand on my hip to stabilize me and mine on his chest as I stumbled. I felt my pulse quicken at the close proximity.

His eyes stared into mine for a moment and he smiled making my heart skip a beat. I laid my head on his shoulder still swaying to the music trying to hide the blush and smile that inevitably made their way to my face. Under my breath I sang as my eyes closed, I took a deep breath to try and regulate my heartbeat. Instead, my sense of smell was greeted by Taehyung's cologne it was masculine yet soft it made me relax more into him. My heart was still going crazy in my chest like it was begging to come out and see what was disrupting it. It made me wonder what it would feel once I let him out. Today was such a confusing day, between what Jimin said, all the flirting, and the dancing, it made me wonder if I was developing more feelings for Taehyung other than a crush and if that's the case, would I let myself fall?

The song ended as the performer sang the last verse and it took us a few seconds to take a step back and separate. The end of the song in a way symbolized the end of the night there was nothing else to do and we couldn't keep aimlessly roaming around as much as we wanted to. We began our journey to the hotel, but not before I left a tip to the guitar player, since it was because of him that I got this amazing moment I would surely remember for a long time. Although, it did leave me with a lot to think about. Arriving at the hotel we said our goodbyes with a hug that lasted a little too long. Neither of us acknowledged it though and enjoyed it. I watched his figure retreat as he got into a taxi, his journey to the dorms being a long one.

With what I admit was a stupid smile I went into the room where everyone was already sleeping. Leaning against the door, I bit my lip, trying to hold in a squeal. This wasn't a date and I knew it, but boy did it feel like one, I wondered how an actual date with Taehyung would be like. Deep down I knew that even if we didn't do anything very impressive I'd have a good time because I'd be with him. With a sigh and a head full of thoughts and uncertainties I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

As I crawled into bed, I felt the sleepiness I had pushed down take hold.

"Nari that's you?" my brother mumbled form beside me.

"Yeah," I whispered, trying not to wake the girls.

"Everything okay with Taehyung?" he sleepily asked.

"Yeah, everything's perfect."  

A/N:

I believe this is a turning point for them. One of the next chapters will be in Taehyung's POV.

I have been obsessed with this song for the last two weeks, so I had to include it in here. 

I really hope you like it, I remember gushing when I wrote it.

What song would you have liked to dance to?

BEFORE I FORGET IM SO PROUD OF BTS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT NOT ONLY AT THE GRAMMY'S BUT AT THE BILLBOARD CHARTS. 

As always, please, remember to vote, comment, and share with a friend.

-Nikki Marie 💜