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"Taehyung..." Y/n looked at me blankly, and I mirrored her expression. "It's summer in Rome, and there's no way you're not going to faint on the streets in that three-piece suit of yours," she huffed, irritation lacing her voice.
I raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that bad?" I asked, glancing at my suit.
"Now, this is what you wear on holidays!" she said being proud of her dressing sense as she travelled her eyes on my outfit from top to bottom.
"May I at least take my trench coat?" I appealed, grabbing my beige coat from the back of the chair.
She sighed and nodded, probably giving in just to avoid another argument.
We made our way out of the hotel, and I threw the coat over my jacket. The sun was out, and it felt like the perfect day to pull out my PRINCESS cap again. I couldn't believe I didn't have a single other cap in my collection. Honestly, it's a tragedy. But, for now, I liked my outfit. It made me look 4 to 5 years younger, and that was something. When I got back, updating my wardrobe for holidays would be the first thing on my to-do list.
"Now, let me take you to the best gelato place in Rome," Y/n said with exaggerated excitement, her smile contagious.
I nodded. "Let's go!"
She began walking ahead of me, already on her mission to find the best gelato in the city.
"Are we walking?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at me, clearly puzzled by the question.
She sighed dramatically, shaking her head in disappointment. "You're really asking me that?" she muttered, and I swore I caught a teasing "Princess" under her breath.
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Five minutes later, we were walking down the bustling footpath, with Y/n leading the way, her steps light and confident. I followed behind, trying to keep up, but the sheer number of people on the streets was making me uneasy. I hated being in public spaces, especially when it was so crowded. Too many people gave me a headache, their voices blending together into a hum I could barely tolerate.
"You know why Rome is called the city of love?" Y/n asked, glancing over her shoulder at me with a bright, inquisitive smile.
I almost twitched my mouth to reply but stopped myself, pursing my lips instead. I knew the answer. I studied the history of Rome back in school. I knew about the Greek gods, the countless love stories woven into the fabric of the city's history, and how even the name 'Rome' spelled backwards sounded like 'emor,' the old term for 'amor,' meaning 'love' in Spanish.
But I didn't want to spoil her excitement. She'd been so eager to tell me all about the city when we were in the room earlier, and I didn't want to steal her moment. So I lied.
"No," I shook my head, keeping my lips pressed together in an effort to hide my smile.
Y/n beamed, thrilled to have the opportunity to teach me. "This city is all about love and different love stories. Every tourist spot here has a history of love behind it. And when you spell 'Rome' backwards, it's 'emor,' which is the old word for 'amor' in Spanish, meaning 'love.'"
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn't help but admire the way her face lit up as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with pride. I nodded, keeping my face neutral as I looked ahead, pretending to be fully engrossed in the footpath, while stealing glances at her through the corner of my eye.
"Is that so?" I asked, a teasing smile creeping up on my face.
Before she could respond, she suddenly stopped, her eyes brightening as she pointed ahead. "Oh, we're here!" she exclaimed, stopping in front of a gelato shop with a large sign and a line of eager customers waiting outside.
***
"What flavour would you like to have?" she asked me taking a look at the gelatos through the glass like an excited kid.
"A Fragola please" I ordered on the counter. "And you, Y/n?" I asked her while she was still checking the different gelatos. I waited until she decided to order one.
"I'll take a Cio-cco-lato" she said standing next to me.
A few moments later the lady on the counter passed us our gelatos, I took them in both my hands and then passed one to her. She excitingly took it.
"Thank you!" I thanked before leaving the counter after payment.
"Excuse me, sir" the counter lady called before we could leave the shop.
"Yes?" I went back to the counter with Y/n following me from back.
"Are you both a couple?" she interrogated with a smile. I looked back at Y/n and then shifted my eyes to the lady perplexed.
"Yes, we are a couple. Why do you ask?" I replied to her question with a hint of awkwardness.
"Actually we have special deal for today, we're giving our couple customers Rome's special gelato, Bacio for free. Would you guys mind waiting?" she asked delightfully.
I glanced at Y/n to take agreement, she nodded, "Um yeah, we can wait" I agreed to it as well.
After a few minutes she came back with a single gelato and passed it to us.
"Here's your Bacio" she had respect and hospitality in her tone.
"What's so special about Bacio, by the way?" Y/n asked the lady.
"Bacio is a romantic way to describe a sweet relationship just like between chocolate and hazelnut in this sweet gelato. And then 'Bacio' literally means 'to kiss' so it's quite popular between couples" the lady explained.
"That's so romantic!" Y/n beamed replying the young lady.
"Let me guess, are you guys here for honeymoon?" she questioned us, Y/n shook her head. "Aw, I wish you a happy honeymoon and a happy married life ahead! You guys make a great couple. May your bond always stay as sweet and as strong as Bacio's chocolate and hazelnut combo!" she wished both of us genuinely. We smiled looking down at the floor accepting her sweet blessings.
"Thank you!" We said in unison and left the place.
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"You want to have this gelato too?" I asked after she finished the rest of her Cioccolato.
"Why should I have it all by myself? She gave it to both of us" she snapped at me. "We must share it"
"Alright. Have as much as you want, then give me the leftover part" I concluded giving her the gelato while we were walking on the footpath to where I don't know.
"Where are we going next?" I asked when we were waiting for a cab.
"You'll see" she raised one eyebrow sneering.
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Y/n led us to the Trevi Fountain, but when we arrived, we were both taken aback by the overwhelming number of tourists. The fountain was almost obscured by the crowd, and it felt like the whole world had descended here for photos. Instagram had truly turned everyone into photo-obsessed wanderers. I couldn't really complain, though-I had my own shares invested.
Y/n, however, seemed almost embarrassed, avoiding my gaze as if it were her fault that the entire city had chosen today to visit.
"It's not like it's your fault," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "We can just come back tomorrow."
But before I could turn and leave, she grabbed my arm. I stared at her hand, holding me firmly. "You think there'll be fewer people tomorrow? I know you have some anxiety with crowds, but let's go," she said, pulling me forward with surprising determination.
Suddenly, she spun me around, locking our hands together before starting to weave through the crowd with ease. Wait-did she just assume I had anxiety around crowds? Sure, I wasn't fond of them, but I wasn't about to admit that to her. What I needed was some muscle to clear a path, not to be dragged by a determined woman through a mass of people.
Y/n, however, didn't seem to mind the challenge. She moved confidently, stepping firmly between tourists and cutting a path for us. Her grip on my hand tightened as we navigated through the stubborn bodies, her determination clear in every step. She glanced over at me once, checking to see if I was okay with this unspoken act of dominance, leading me through the crowd.
And to my surprise, I didn't mind it at all. There was something oddly comforting in the way she took charge.
When we finally reached the fountain, Y/n huffed, still holding onto my hand, but she seemed to realize and awkwardly let go, clearing her throat. "Did you see that?" she asked, her teasing tone unmistakable. "That's how you face crowds, not by running away."
"I wasn't running away!" I shot back, a little defensive.
"Yeah, sure," she smirked, rolling her eyes at me.
She... rolled her eyes at me? Did she really just do that?
After tossing our coins and snapping a few photos at the Trevi Fountain, we settled on a public bench nearby to catch our breath. I sipped on the coconut water she had insisted we try and then turned to her with a question. "Do you plan to go anywhere else today?"
She shook her head slowly, swinging it from side to side. "Mm-mm. No. I should save the rest for another day," she said, taking a long sip of her coconut water. "So, what now? Are we heading back to the hotel?"
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Y/N'S POV
It's already evening, the sun was setting to the west while I was enjoying the beautiful sunset from the east standing on the footpath beside Taehyung. We were waiting for our car which I suppose Taehyung booked for us because he wanted to take the lead from here as I didn't have any place in mind for the day. While waiting there my eyes fell on a man who was standing on the opposite side of us with a cute orange pomeranian in his hands which was incredibly cute.
"Aw, it's so cute" I almost cried on it's cuteness. Though my eyes were set on the puppy I felt Taehyung looking here and there in confusion to my words. "Taehyung, can you get me that puppy!" I showed my puppy eyes to him.
He looked up from his phone to me, "Ok-ay I'll get you one" he said giving me a weird look and got his eyes back on the phone.
"But I want that one" I demanded.
"You want me to snatch it from him or something?" he blinked clueless.
I sighed, is he always this clueless or just acts like one infront of me?
"I want you to bring that puppy here for me, not snatch away!" I killed my urge to roll my eyes at him. "Or you want me to go and see that puppy myself?" I threatened resting my hands on either sides of my waist.
"You know Italian?" he spoke like a savage twisting his eyebrows, only a smirk was left to complete that savage look.
I don't. That is why I'm asking him but here he is, acting like a total clueless.
Taehyung slided his iphone in his coat's pocket shaking his head in disappointment. Disappointment? Towards what? Towards, me not knowing Italian? Or towards, him being a multi millionaire CEO and going to ask for a puppy on the street?
He crossed the street on the signal and I saw him going to the man infront and talking to him. Both of them talked for a minute and that man nodded. The signal turned green for the vehicles again.
After a few minutes, on the command of the signal, Taehyung and the other man crossed the road. My eyes were on how Taehyung was holding the cute puppy in his arms while crossing the road.
"Your puppy!" Taehyung voiced pursing his lips after, passing the pomeranian in my arms.
I was so happy to have that puppy in my arms. It's fluffy, like boba ball, cute, small, stubby and such a good pet.
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Taehyung brought us to a hotel, we made our way here on a porche carbiolet. He parked it in the parking lot and got off the car to open the door for me. As I stepped out of the car, I was amazed to see a lavish restaurant ahead of us. He gestured me through his eyes that tonight we're going to have our dinner in here.
As we reached the entrance of the restaurant a muscular black man in all black walked to us, he bowed in respect. "Hello, Mr. Kim!" he greeted, "And you must be--" he began.
"My wife!" Taehyung said sliding his hand around my lower back. "She's my wife, Kim Y/n" he uttered. A tingling feeling arose in my chest when he said "My wife"
I smiled awkwardly nodding my head once to show my respect.
"Good evening, Mrs. Kim. It's nice meeting you" he greeted me as well and bowed. "You table is set, sir. I'll guide you both there" he suggested and we followed him.
The man already seemed to know Taehyung, this only have two possibilities, either this restaurant belongs to the Kim Group or either Taehyung is in very good relations with the owner of this luxurious place.
Taehyung's hand was still on my lower back as he guided me in through the man ahead of us. While we made our way inside, the place just kept becoming more rich and as long as I continued taking a look at the people I realised that no one in here was wearing a casual fit; everyone was dressed in formal clothes. It was as if it was the code of the restaurant, all men in black suit and women in different shades of bodycon dresses. This somehow made me feel uncomfortable and nervous because I was looking like a teenager in my oversized hoodie, bleached jeans, sneakers and open hairs which were frizzy by now. If only I knew that I was coming here I would've updated my outfit to a formal one, but I got no notice. We went inside the elevator.
I came at rest when we stepped inside the elevator, soon I realised that Taehyung was wearing as casual clothes as I did. Wait, he knew we were coming here so why did he not change his clothes as per the code? Looking at him, he did not seem to have any problem with his outfit either; he did not care at all.
The elevator stopped on 100th floor. As the doors of the elevator opened, I saw a big staff waiting for us infront of the door to a room.
"Hello Mr. Kim, it's been a long while since you came to the restaurant" the man said. "It's delightful to see you Mrs. Kim!" he greeted. "I came to know that you were here for your honeymoon. Please accept this" he gave a big flower bouquet to Taehyung which he passed to the muscular man behind us. "Congratulations on your wedding, sir"
"You did not have to do all of this, Mr. Jonz. Me and my wife are here just for a simple dinner. I appreciate your kindness, however bringing half of the staff here just to congratulate us is quite unprofessional, are you not serving our other guests?" Taehyung said, his tone icy.
So, this big restaurant is under the Kim Group. That is why he didn't felt out of the box while coming in.
The manager coughed low-key, suddenly the good aura became cold and embarrassing. "Ofcourse we are serving our guests very nicely, sir. This is the staff that will serve you tonight. We shall leave you both in private then" he and his staff bowed in hospitality.
I released a breath of relief slowly.
We were in a special dinning room which had a beautiful view of city lights surrounding it. It's a big space, I'm sure this room is only for the VIP guests or just our family members.
*After dinner*
I was reading magazines while eating Almond semiferrdo for dessert. Taehyung denied eating it because he said it will be too heavy for him, but who's gonna tell him that he's missing the best semiferrdo ever?!
Taehyung had some work which he took care of in the balcony area outside. And now, he was gwaking at the city lights with a c!gare to his company. He cannot have dessert after dinner but he has enough space to take all that smoke inside?
God I hate smoking!
I shook my head in disappointment and get up from the couch with the dessert in my hands.
I slid open the glass door taking his attention, he glanced at me exposing his side profile and went ahead to look at the city lights again. The air was cold and breezy, it's just better that I'm in a hoodie and a jacket over it.
Keeping the dessert on the table behind him, I went and stood next to him by resting my fore-arms over the cold steel grills. I gave him a side eye until he decided to stop pretending that he can't feel my gaze upon him.
"What? You want me to quit it now?" he asked looking me in the eyes and that c!garette between his two fingers.
I scoffed sarcastically, "I couldn't convince my dad into quitting it. How can I convince you?"
He scoffed low-key disposing the cigar in a disposal dish kept on a wooden stool next to him. "You don't have to go as far as to convince me.." he said in a husky voice, "..you just have to say" he spoke intertwining his fingers. "And it's not like I am an addict or something, I only take c!garettes when I'm stressed out"
"Then you should have some desserts!" I picked up the plate that I kept on the table behind.
He moved his face in the opposite direction, "Nah...I just had a smoke. It'll spoil my mouth"
"It's not illegal to drink water" I said raising a brow.
He turned his head with an open mouth, maybe because of disbelief, he might always keep that same emotionless face but his eyes gave a done look to me. I bit my lower lip to cut my laughter, and then he picked up the water bottle accepting his defeat to me.
Taehyung digged the spoon in the dessert and had a bite of it. He nodded instead of releasing a savouring sound. I smiled looking at the city lights. This is such a beautiful view.
"Y/n?" he called me, killing the silence. I hummed. "Did you ever had a boyfriend?" he asked out of blue.
For a moment I was taken aback. Why he is asking this suddenly?
"Um" I guess he's just curious. Well, I wanted to talk about my past at some point in my life with him, and maybe that time is now. I just didn't expect it to come this sooner.
"To be honest, I was a nerd in my high school and then a total book worm since uni" I said. "So, I never gave a chance to dating because every guy my friends chose for blind dates was nothing like the men in my books" I shared my side of the story though I was a little nervous of what he will think of me. "I was waiting for true love all along like an idiot" I laughed at stupid past self. "Why do you ask?"
"Why did you marry me then?" he asked ignoring my question, his dark eyes never left my frame.
That's an interesting question by the way.
"I told you I was an idiot for having such high expectations. And then, you came into my life when I was deciding to give things a chance. So, I took all the time that I got to learn about you and in that time I just found you to be a good person. That's why I agreed to this marriage and then I was destined to get arranged anyway" I told him while he was listening to me with patience. "Taehyung, I never told you this before but, I like you. I like you for the man you are" I gave a small smile confessing it to him.
I like Taehyung, I like him for the person he is, I like him for the man he is and I want to keep things like this with him. I want to give a chance to him, to us, to our arranged marriage and fall hopelessly in love with him after all the understanding and patience. And I hope it's the same with him as well.
"And you? Did you had a girlfriend?" I ended my story with a question for him.
He immediately moved his eyes to the other side and took a few seconds before answering, "No" he replied, his eyes staring right into mine.
No? I believed that Taehyung was in a relationship before.
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