(sorry i've been gone 3743 years! i'm forced to be an adult now aka have a job, so i've been slightly busy. as you can guess, this chapter is *unedited* as well. i know, i'm a flop. it's super fluffy, though, so beware and enjoy! x)

✧･ﾟ: * sixteen *:･ﾟ✧

Tae suggests the two should do some sightseeing since the available appointment isn't until tomorrow afternoon. Madeline asks him where he wants to go, which of course he says it's entirely up to her how they spend the rest of the day. It's slightly past noon, since the train was almost a four hour ride. Lunch wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Tae finds a sandwich shop near the train station on the maps on his phone, and he starts leading her down the road with utmost confidence with his direction skills. She decides not to remind him about the other day before they left for Venice when he lost his way to dinner. Madeline had laughed for nearly thirty minutes listening to him spin around in circles, mumbling to himself, sometimes in English and sometimes in Korean. When he finally asked a passerby, it just so happened the restaurant had literally been right around the corner the entire time.

Luckily, they make it to the sandwich place with no such incidents. The sandwich Madeline gets is rather delicious, too, the bread soft from coming straight out the oven and the meat fresh. She tries to eat her sandwich slow to savor it, but it's so good that she accidentally eats it in under five minutes.

"Wow," Tae murmurs, sounding in awe. "You were very hungry, Maddie."

Honestly, she hadn't been. The sandwich was just that good.

Afterwards, Tae asks again where she wants to go. The one place that comes to her mind first is, of course, the coliseum.

"The colimium?" Tae asks, confused.

"Coliseum," she says, giggling. "You know. The coliseum? It's infamous, Tae, you have to know what I'm talking about. The big giant circle-building-thing." She tries to describe it with gestures.

Tae starts laughing.

"What's funny? I'm trying to explain!"

"You look cute," he says, still laughing, though Madeline's cheeks are now red. "Like you are t-trying to, uh... shim?"

"Swim," she corrects.

"Sorry for laughing," he says, but he's still laughing anyways.

She rolls her eyes, but now she's smile, albeit her cheeks are still flushed. "It's fine. Do you know what I'm talking about, though?"

"Ah, yes. I know, I know."

Tae hails a cab to the coliseum, which isn't too far from the train station. Tae tells Madeline there's plenty of "green space" for the two of them to sit since it's a nice day. It's actually a bit on the chilly side when Tae finds them a spot under a tree. He ventures to explain to Madeline the details of the coliseum, firstly by stating it's directly in front of them. He then proceeds to say it looks "dirtier" than the pictures, by which Madeline finds out he means "older."

While she listens to him speak, her mind uncontrollably wanders elsewhere, suddenly filled with thoughts about what may happen tomorrow. She could have her sight restored, or she could be stuck like this forever. She tries to keep her hopes low so she isn't too disappointed if it doesn't work. She can manage being blind—she has been for about four years now—however, she doesn't think it's too unreasonable to want to see again. After experiencing it firsthand, she wouldn't wish being blind on her worse enemy.

She pulls her knees to her chest, partly because she's getting cold and partly because she's getting anxious. She may go home and be able to look out of the airplane for the first time in her life, or she may be going home getting scolded again for not being able to find her seat. She may go home with Tae's face forever imprinted in her brain, or she may go home never really knowing what the man who took care of her looks like.

She gets even sadder remembering her days are officially running out with him. She knew the time was coming, of course she did, but now it's solidified. It's real. She might not be able to tell this trip from a dream or reality, if she's honest. It's all been so surreal.

She won't ever forget it, though. Not a moment.

"Are you cold?" Tae interrupts, his words slow as he thinks them through.

She smiles, proud at how quick he's been getting with his sentences. "I'm okay. It's just the breeze," she lies, her arms tucked between her legs and stomach, her knees as close as she can get them. She didn't even pack a jacket. She's used to heat all day, every day back in her crappy little town. She doubts she owns a jacket, truthfully.

She barely finishes her reply before she feels fabric being draped over her shoulders, Tae's cologne suddenly swallowing her. She wants to be that girl that defiantly refuses the jacket and persists he keep himself warm, but at the peak of her anxiety and the warm from him warming it, she can't help but to tug it closer around her. She feels like a child burying herself in a blanket, trying to wrap herself completely.

Is it weird if she inhales his scent?

Oh well.

"Thanks, Tae," she murmurs, slipping her arms into the sleeves. "You're not cold, though, right?"

"No, no. I have... long shirt?"

"Long sleeves?"

"Yes, long sleeves. I'm warm, okay?"

Out of nowhere, absurdly, she feels like crying. Maybe it's her anxiety, the thoughts of the operation, the thoughts of being alone again, the thoughts of going home.

The thoughts of this ending.

Whatever it is, she tries to push it down. She doesn't want to cry. She's happy right now. She doesn't want to ruin it.

She closes her eyes and leans her head against the tree behind them.

She can feel Tae's stare. Something about knowing that he's looking at her makes her break. A tear slips down her cheek. Then another. Then, abruptly, she's bawling, curling over to press her forehead against her knees.

All Tae does is shift next to her, and she starts apologizing rapidly. "I'm sorry, Tae. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be crying. I'm happy, I promise. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying. I'm sorry."

He situates to where he's sitting in front of her, gently pulling on her ankles to force her legs down. She lifts her face, using the sleeve of his jacket that's too long on her to wipe her eyes without thinking. Then she apologizes for that too. She's a blubbering, sniffling mess, and she can't stop no matter how hard she tries to hold it in.

She gasps out of shock, though, when Tae practically pulls her into his lap, her legs on either side of his waist and his legs crossed underneath her. She braces herself against his chest naturally, the sudden movement alarming her with lack of sight to see what's happening. She relaxes almost instantly when she feels his thumbs tracing her cheekbones, wiping away her tears.

"Is this okay?" he whispers, like he's scared but hopeful all the same.

She takes a deep breath, her sobs diminishing as if they never happened. As if they weren't unstoppable two seconds ago. She lets herself calm down, her head hanging. Tae meets her forehead with his own. She doesn't have to see his eyes for them to take her breath away, especially with their proximity.

"Yeah," she whispers back, unable to speak any louder. "This is okay."

But the effect he has on her is definitely not okay.

Not since his presence is only temporary.

***

Taehyung does all he can to ignore how hard his heart is beating against his chest. Cupping her cheeks like he is, pressing their foreheads together. He would never act like this back home, not since the two of them aren't actually dating. He doesn't understand why he's so bold around her. Or perhaps "bold" isn't the right term.

Desperate seems more fitting.

As if to top it off, his instincts betray him when he breathes out quietly, "Jebal wooljima, jagiya."

His own eyes widen in disbelief at what he said, thankful Maddie has no idea.

Please don't cry, baby.

Only couples are allowed that term. He crossed a boundary, didn't he? He won't tell Maddie what it means. He doesn't want to offend her. It had simply been his instinct to say such a thing, though he doesn't comprehend why. He's never had such an instinct before.

"What does that mean?" she asks softly.

He licks his lips, clearing his throat. "Please don't cry," he says, leaving out the term he isn't allowed to use with her. He knows better than that.

"I like how it sounds," she replies. She hesitates a moment before she adds, "Your voice is really soothing, Tae."

Soothing... He searches in his imaginary dictionary in his brain. He's heard it before.

"Calm?" he questions.

She smiles. "Yeah, good job."

Aha! Staying up all night to practice is really paying off.

On another note, it finally processes with him that she just said his voice is calming. Does that mean she likes his voice? Why does that make him blush?

"Tae..."

"Taehyung," he tells her, though he isn't sure why. She's been calling him Tae the entire trip, however, now it seems too... cordial. Which is ironic since it's his nickname. He doesn't know why, but he wants to hear her say his full name.

"Taehyung," she repeats and he grins. "Your real name?"

"Mhmm."

"I said it right, right? I don't want to offend you with bad pronunciation because I'm horrible with other languages," she says.

He's proud of himself—very proud—for grasping the entirety of what she said.

"You did well," he assures her. "It's easy. Taehyung."

She repeats him again, and he's glad he told her his real name now. It sounds much better than just "Tae" rolling off her tongue.

"Can I ask you something?" she says after testing his name a couple more times. "Or I guess ask something of you. I just... Don't forget me, okay?"

He frowns. "Forget you? I can not forget you, Maddie."

"You might. You're a bigshot, you know. Probably have a packed schedule. There's not much time to remember someone you've only known a couple weeks. I don't expect you to, I just hope you do."

Does she really think in such a way?

Forget her?

How?

He doesn't know how else to assure her, or maybe that's just his excuse to close the tiny gap between them.

Either way, he thinks she gets the hint when she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him back.