✧･ﾟ: * seven *:･ﾟ✧

Taehyung looks over the clothing rack to Maddie who's currently rambling about something he's not too sure of. He catches the words "ridiculous" and "of course this happened," but the rest blurs together because of how quickly she's speaking. Not to mention, he probably wouldn't catch the words anyways.

Currently, the two of them are in an outlet mall not too far from his hotel since Maddie's clothes were stolen. She argued with him when he told her he could buy her more. He doesn't understand why she keeps doing that when he's trying to be nice. Being generous is what he's good at; it's what he enjoys.

He thinks she's still upset about it, though.

He bites his bottom lip and pulls out a light blue cold shoulder blouse, holding it up to glance back and forth between it and Maddie. It compliments her tan skin, but he can't quite picture it on her for some reason. He'll have her try it on.

"This is unbelievable," he catches her mumbling still. "You don't have to do this. I... Well, I did have money. God, I don't want to be dependent on anyone. I need to find a job, that's what. Like a little coffee shop job, or a waitress... It can't be that hard to waitress blind, right?"

He didn't catch anything of what she just said, so he nods a bit uncertainly and murmurs a quiet, "Yeah."

"Sorry," she says. "I don't expect you to reply. I'm just venting."

"Venting?"

"Ranting. Talking. Letting out my emotions."

"Ah, okay."

He tucks the word into the back of his mind.

He grabs a few more shirts and some jeans after asking Maddie for her size, which she was for some reason embarrassed of. He finds an associate for a dressing room, then takes her hand like he's used to doing at this point, leading her cautiously.

"What if your sense of style is horrible, huh? I could barely trust my mom to pick out my clothes. That's why I only have plain colored t-shirts and jeans!"

He heard "style" and "horrible" and gasped. "My style good!" he defends, eyes wide. "You trust me, okay?"

https://youtu.be/M85w6nUwmsQ

She gives a dramatic sigh, then takes the clothes and enters the dressing room. Taehyung waits patiently for her to change, intrigued to know how the clothes he picked out look on her. He's quite proud of his fashion sense, if he brushes aside his modesty for a brief moment to admit. He's always been interested in fashion. He considers it as part of the arts. How could he not when there are people who personally design and handcraft such beautiful things?

"Wow, the shirt actually feels nice," he hears her say.

"Let me see," he intervenes quickly.

"Really? Do I have to?"

"Yes. I want to see you."

He hears her sigh again before the door opens. "I guess I can't be humiliated since I have no idea what it looks like. Or what I look like, for that matter."

He grins at the outfit. The blouse looks good on her after all. "See. I told you. Good style."

"I'll have to take your word for it," she says, but there's a small smile on her face as she enters the room again and shuts the door.

***

For some reason, Madeline doesn't believe she's in an art museum with a boy who has already bought her two dinners (the second being after clothes shopping), ice cream, clothes, and now given her his extra ticket for the museum. Her brain refuses to comprehend that there is someone real out in the world who would do so much for an utter stranger, someone who asks her if she's okay the second a smile leaves her face. She's dreaming. She certainly must be.

Tae simply can't exist.

And now she's practically a stray clinging to him, scared that the next misfortunate that occurs to her will have her life at risk. She's lost everything materialistic-wise, after all. Quite morbidly, her life is all she has left.

Her hand tightens in Tae's at the thought. She wonders how they must look to the people around them. Like a true couple, or a strange man leading a cross-eyed girl around? With the latter in mind, she slides her sunglasses down from her head to cover her eyes.

She feels oddly content despite all these negative thoughts running around and around inside her head. Listening to Tae murmuring baffled "wow"s while he's simultaneously trying to describe each and every piece of art to her, from paintings to sculptures, there's a weird tranquility warming her chest, putting her at ease. At some point, her cheek finds a resting spot on Tae's shoulder, but neither of them point it out aloud.

She can hear her sandals tapping gently against the wooden floor. She can hear other people whisper awed words to each other while gazing upon supposedly beautiful things. She can hear a little girl whining about how bored she is because she doesn't understand what's so great about anything in the museum. Strangely enough, despite not being able to see any of it, Madeline still has a deep understanding about the fascination with art. She doesn't need to see it to appreciate it, knowing countless hours of hard work had been poured into every creation, no matter how big, small, simplistic, or complex as it seems.

Suddenly, Tae is carefully tugging on her arm and she hears what sounds to be a bench creaking. She reaches down and feels the wooden bench, then sits down beside him, their hands still intact.

"I have," Tae starts slowly, his voice low and quiet. "Secret."

https://youtu.be/zsN-8MccuMk

Immediately, Madeline panics with all the horrid ideas that start to form. Maybe he isn't twenty-three after all. Maybe he's secretly kidnapping her. Maybe he's a serial killer who planned on murdering her in her sleep but felt remorseful. All these crazy, fiction-like scenarios began to suffocate her.

"What is it?" she asks instead, ready to snatch her hand out of his and run if need be. She may smack into a few walls on her way out, but she'd rather wander the streets penniless than die.

"My abeoji—" He huffs slightly in annoyance, then tries again. "My fath... father?"

Madeline nods, knowing he's looking at her.

"He gave me this," he continues. "Money. Tickets."

Maddie frowns in confusion. He's already told her this.

"My father is..." Tae pauses, but she isn't sure if it's because he doesn't know the word or if it's the reason his voice trails off with sadness.

The way the atmosphere seems to tense between them, she presumes it's the latter. So she rubs her thumb across his knuckles and says, "It's okay, Tae."

Tae inhales a shaky breath. "I have to find a... dream. For him. I want you to help me."

Her lips purse. "I don't think I can help."

"You can," he replies quickly. "You al, uh, already have. I feel yeonggam." He clicks his tongue then lets out a long sigh.

Madeline chuckles. "Describe it."

"Like... you make me feel in... ins..."

"Inspired...?" Madeline randomly guesses after piecing together the clues of what he's trying to say.

"Yes!" he says happily. "Inspired. I feel inspired. Because of you."

Her cheeks flush. She doesn't understand why he feels that way. She doesn't want to pressure him into speaking more English, though, so she doesn't bother asking. Instead she says, "I have a secret too."

"Eh?"

She feels a smile make its way onto her face. "I really like when you accidentally speak Korean."

"You like Korean?"

"I like your Korean." She lays her head on his shoulder almost instinctively. "It's cute and sounds really nice."

His head gently lays on top of hers.

They stay that way for a while.

***

Taehyung sits on the couch, his back against the armrest and his legs hanging off diagonally. He glances over at Maddie, who's curled up on the other side fast asleep with her sock-covered feet pressed against his thigh. He looks at her face a little too long, then snaps himself out of it as he reaches for his phone on the coffee table with his earbuds.

He's never felt quite so determined before, so headstrong. He's typically the type to go with the flow and believes that you can't try too hard to achieve something; if it's meant to be, it'll be. However, he's switching up his motto. At least for a little while.

He doesn't know why Maddie in particular has given him this boost of motivation, but every time he looks at her, he feels guilty. He knows it's not his fault that she's blind, but it is his fault that he can't be her eyes for her. He doesn't have the vocabulary to describe perfect mental images of the sights they see. He shouldn't have slacked in school, shouldn't have turned down extra lessons.

If he knew he was going to meet Maddie later on in life, he would've studied harder, accepted those extra lessons.

He finds the English app on his phone that he hasn't clicked on in months. He's always been mildly content with the English he does know. It's gotten him far enough, and he's capable of asking for basic things and participating in simple conversation.

His eyes flick back over to Maddie, sleeping so peacefully from the rough day she's had. He still feels terrible for not being able to catch the man who stole her bag. He ran as fast as he could, but the sidewalks were so crowded, and the man must have been a local because he took many sidestreets and alleyways. It was like following the man into a maze, so Taehyung had to give up or else risk getting lost.

He sighs to himself. He feels responsible for her now. He doesn't mind it, but he can tell she's not fond of relying on someone else. She's probably tired of having to be dependent on someone else.

He settles down into the couch, getting comfortable. He's probably going to be here for a while.

However, if it helps him show the world to Maddie, he doesn't care how long it takes.