I looked up with blurred vision, my fuzzy mind and tearful eyes rendering me near blind. Who had recognized me in my disguise? Who had guessed my identity without even seeing my face?

When I wiped the tears from my eyes, I saw my sharp-looking butler, bending over to look at me. His hair was neatly tied into a bun, but two front pieces had escaped to frame that beautifully sculpted face of his. On his forehead rested about a hundred beads of sweat, and I guessed he'd been working quite hard within the depths of the wild party going on inside.

"Is everything alright?"

Is everything alright? My lips parted and I only blinked. That was a fully grammatically correct sentence. Not a word twisted or switched with another when it needn't be.

Taehyung crouched, and then sat down next to me with a thud, joining me in the tall grass without a care for the mud and the dirt. "It's a pretty evening, isn't it?" He asked as though there wasn't a single odd thing about the entire situation.

I was still in shock from what had just happened with Emilio, and hearing Taehyung speak fluent english like a scholar only worsened my state of distress. The boy looked calm, and simply gazed up at the stars as though the constellations displayed a map to the meaning of life.

"F-forgive...me- me," I managed to stammer. "But this e-evening has b-been very, very ugly for me."

"Look up," Taehyung said, and though he'd ordered me to do it, his gentle tone made it sound like nothing more than friendly advice.

I did as told and tilted by head, finding the white-beaming moon, and the plentiful stars, strung across the sky like infinite fairy lights. How slowly the world began to turn in that moment, was frightening at first. Time was still and motionless, and from the corner of my eyes I could see Taehyung swing himself left to right in a slow dance along with the trees. The wind rippled his clothes and brushed through his hair and I found myself swinging along with him, rocking myself side to side like a mother would her babe.

"My birthday..." I whispered, careful not to speak above the evening breeze. "I don't think I should've made it such a big thing. All this dancing and drinking... it's worn me down by about a hundred years in only a few hours."

"Should we make it small for a moment?" Tae suggested, giving me an insane whiplash by using correct grammar once again. "Every guest left their gift for you in the library, but taking mine inside would... destroy it."

I furrowed my brows, looking back at Taehyung again and halting our little waltz. "You... have a gift for me?"

Taehyung smiled and nodded. "Of course!"

He got up to his feet and looked at me expectantly, but I was incapable of rising from the grass with the same ease as him. I had been ignoring my foot the entire evening, but now that it had been left to rest for a moment, it would not allow me stand once again. My ankle was blue and swollen, and the sharp, whining pain would've killed me had I not still been drunk out of my mind.

Taehyung inhaled sharply through his teeth when he noticed my bruised ankle, and barely hesitated before throwing my arm over his shoulder to help me stand. I winced, as the slightest bit of pressure on my foot felt like a thousand needles were being drilled into the bone. But suddenly I was weightless. I was floating above the grass as two arms held me up above the world, and I looked down at the ground as though it was miles and miles below me.

I glanced at Taehyung in shock, clamping my hands around the man's neck. I'd never been carried this way. Not at an age older that one at least. My father told my nanny that I'd learn how to walk faster if I wasn't carried. I learned how to walk within ten months of being born, so I suppose he'd been correct.

"Tae..." I whispered in some failed attempt at an objection, but I knew that if I made the boy put me down again now, I would be forced to spend the night outside. "Your english..." I murmured, staring at my toes as I was carefully carried through the garden. "It has improved so much."

Taehyung looked down, seeming bashful. "I practiced a lot with Namjoon. It was my plan to surprise you for your birthday."

"What?" I chuckled, stupefied still. "Don't... don't tell me you became fluent for me."

"You thought my lack of talk- lack of... g-grammatical correctness was annoying, no?" Taehyung asked, adjusting his grip on my legs.

"No, well... that's... I didn't mean... that doesn't mean--"

"It only seems fair that I should understand you if I want to serve you."

My eyes shifted up at Taehyung. "Want to serve me?" I accidentally asked out loud.

"My gift..." Taehyung said, nudging his head at the garden, and smoothly ignoring my question.

I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the bush of roses glisten behind the house. Beautiful red flowers ornamented the exact spot where Emilio's wife had passed all those months ago, and it was the most wonderful sight. The roses were only faintly visible because of the moonshine, but a plant had never looked more divine. I'd been so convinced a flower could never grow in such a messy garden, but here was an entire bush, blooming in the madness to prove me wrong.

"Did you... Tae, did- did you--"

"Favorite flower?" Taehyung asked. "Roses is your favorite flower, no?"

My eyes fluttered, a vague memory coming to my mind in which I indeed told Taehyung that my favorite flowers were red roses.

"My mother was a... florist," Taehyung said, looking at me with a dreamy smile. "In Croatia she always let me help in the shop. She taught me much. I couldn't give you a gift that costs money, so that's why I chose to do this. I wanted it special."

"Tae..." I whispered, tightening my hold on the man's liverie. "I told you... not to- not to look at me like that."

"But we're friends, no?" Taehyung asked, cocking his head. He was painfully unaware. Painfully ignorant. Painfully gorgeous. "I can not smile at friend?"

The distance between my lips and Taehyung's cheek had been a short one, and after I crossed it, I felt a kid who'd sprinted home from a long day at school. Taehyung's face when I pulled away had been priceless. A curious mix between shock and confusion. I didn't have it in me to do anything but lay limply in his arms afterwards though. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and hid myself from the world, the alcohol finally knocking me cold. "Would you please take me to my room, Tae?" I managed to whisper, giving the man's shoulder a weak squeeze.

After that the lights went out, and I hadn't the slightest clue as to what happened beyond that moment.

What I did know, was that I found myself safely tucked in bed a couple hours later, when the sun was moments from waking. There was a warm feeling in my stomach, and an unshakeable smile on my face. My birthday was nothing but a haze to me. My memories were foggy and my brain was on fire. But I if I'd woken up swinging my legs and beaming, it couldn't have been that bad, could it?

______________

I struggled down the stairs as quickly as I could, and was surprised to see that the house had already been cleaned spotless. There wasn't a trace left from last night's wild party, as though the event had been nothing but a crazy dream.

I limped toward the next staircase and descended into the servant's quarters, my heart jumping in my chest when I heard Taehyung's voice rise above the morning chatter.

"Real man eat cucumber! My mother taught me!"

I walked in on every servant in the dining room laughing their asses off at Taehyung, but they all shot up from their seats and straightened up when they saw me. Their eyes were tired, but they gave me lovely smiles, and I was infinitely grateful for them.

"Goodmorning," I greeted timidly. "I just wanted to drop by and say thank you for all the hard work. The house looks amazing. I just hope last night wasn't too exhausting."

"Hardly," Jin said right away. "Some of the guests brought their own servants along so we had some helping hands."

"Oh, splendid," I said with a relieved sigh. I looked around at the table, and though it seemed as though everything was fine, I got the sense that there was a certain tension in the air. "Doesn't Emilio usually join you for breakfast?"

Everyone's eyes simeoultaneously shifted to Taehyung, who was chewing on a cucumber without a care in the world.

"He's... he's in the hospital," Jin eventually admitted, speaking up when no one else would.

My brain buffered. "The hospital!? What for? Did something happen?"

"Well... we all got a little worked up over something silly and well, you know how he likes to talk and, well--"

"We jumped him," Yoongi, the new kitchen-help said bluntly, calmly making himself a cheese sandwich at the furthest end of the table. I had never spoken to the man before since he'd only arrived yesterday, but he seemed like a rather antisocial fellow. "And then the foreign kid--"

"And his arm accidentally broke," Jin interrupted, shooting the kitchen-help a terrifying glare.

"Accidentally?" I asked, giving the room a skeptic look.

"Young Master Park, we think it might be for the best if Emilio sleeps in that shed on the edge of the land from now on," Namjoon said, an uncomfortable smile painting his face. "I think it would just be safer that way... for him."

Even though I had my suspicions about what exactly happened last night, I agreed with Namjoon about moving Emilio. Keeping the man as my butler was only silly, knowing how much he hated me. And the house definetly didn't need two butlers anyway. "Okay, I guess I'll try to find Emilio a different job on the property," I said, raking my fingers through my hair. "From now on... Taehyung will be the only butler of this house."

I briefly met Taehyung's eyes, and my heart tightened in my chest when the man winked at me. The cheeky bastard. "I... I suppose that was it. You're all allowed to do as you please today. You've worked very hard this past month."

I took one last look at the table and the servants, my body weighing heavy when I realized I had to drag myself all the way back to my room to eat by myself in silence.

Silence.

Silence was like an annoying acquaintance. Sometimes you could tolerate it, and sometimes it was absolutely impossible to have around.

My appetite vanished completely.

"Would you like to have breakfast here, young master Park?"

I perked up, Jin's question giving me a pleasant surprise. "Could I?"

"This is your house, master Park. You can have breakfast wherever you'd like," Namjoon chuckled fondly.

I smiled back at the footman and bsrelt hesitated before taking a seat at the table, squishing myself right in-between Taehyung and Hoseok. It was a little odd to see ony one knife, one fork, and one spoon for me to eat with, but I loved the simplicity of it.

I was given a plate, and Namjoon began to make me a sandwich with honey and butter, starting a conversation with Yoongi about politics.

"Tea?" Jin asked, already pouring me a cup.

I glanced at Taehyung, who seemed to have sensed my eyes on him when he looked at me as well.

"Thank you for yesterday," I said quietly. "And sorry... for when I-- when... I was drunk out of my mind, you see? and I--"

"It was my pleasure," Taehyung said, his thick accent still present despite his much improved English.

We smiled at each other, both feeling a little awkward and a little shy. I decided to speak no more about the night before after that, and thanked Namjoon for the sandwich after taking my first bite.

The morning sun filled the servant's quarters with golden hues, and as we laughed, ate and drank tea....

Something told me being seventeen was going to be a lot more fun than I ever could have imagined.