╔═════ ∘◦ ✾ ◦∘ ══════╗

20
Car

╚═════ ∘◦ ❈ ◦∘ ══════╝

TAEHYUNG

Does she want me to kiss her?

It's been three - no four seconds since she's called my name and closed her eyes. My brain is short circuiting and all I can think of is how the stars are really pretty tonight and how romantic it would be if I kissed her right here, right now.

But what if she doesn't want me to?

Her eyes are still closed, and it's been six seconds. If she doesn't want me to kiss her, what else could she be trying to say?

Oh screw it.

I lean in, closing my eyes and hoping that I aim for the right spot.

Eight seconds.

I peek an eye open for a brief second, fluttering at the sight of her face being so close. Swallowing my nerves, I go in for contact.

Except I don't.

With a startled scream, Jisoo pushes my chest away and covers her mouth.

"Wh-what were you doing?" she stutters, grasping onto the small bouquet of flowers tight.

"What was I doing?" I question myself again, "Wait, what about you? What were you doing?"

"I was thanking you!" she claims, still flustered, "Joy told me that if I ever wanted to thank you that I should call out your name and close my eyes for ten seconds?"

I can already picture Joy's evil laughter as she plotted this stupid plan with Sungjae and Jimin. Even more embarrassed, I turn away, hiding my heated face from her.

My friends were supposed to just help me set up the date and rehearse my lines, not play this stupid prank on me! Gosh, I can never look at her again.

"If... if you do that again," I start, glaring aggressively at the floor, "Don't blame me for what happens next!"

She blinks a few times, and I realize that my cheeks aren't the only ones that are bright red.

"What?"

"I said," I sigh, masking my shame with forwardness, "If you do that again, I'm not holding back."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret it, but firmly stare at her as if I really mean what I'm saying. Truthfully, I might be.

"O-kay..." she trails off, expression mixed with perplexion and embarrassment.

"Uh, anyways, let's go." I abruptly start walking in the other direction, unsure if I am doing so in a stable manner or not.

Her footsteps timidly follow mine, and I breathe out a sigh to calm myself down. A few minutes into the walk, we approach the ice cream parlor I was mentioning to her earlier. It's painfully silent.

I clear my throat. "Well... this is it. I can pay for the ice cream?" Where are the lines that I rehearsed an hour ago?

"Taehyung," Jisoo starts as I open the door.

My head snaps to her, wary of what she's going to say next. "Yeah?"

"I don't know what you were trying to say earlier, but if I offended you since I wasn't a good enough friend to do that to you, then I'm uh, sorry I guess."

Her eyes are glued to the flowers in her arms, face barely visible. I gulp at how nervous she looks, since it's usually me who's like that.

"Hey," I put my hand on her shoulder, "You're a great friend, Jisoo. You didn't offend me at all."

"Okay, are you sure? Even with what happened yesterday?"

The mention of yesterday freezes me. She probably thought that I left her because I didn't like her or something, and then felt bad about it. I'm such a dick, oh gosh.

"Uh, can we please forget that yesterday happened?" I ask sheepishly, wanting to avoid the topic altogether.

"Yes!" Weirdly, she appears relieved as well, "We won't talk about it. That's completely okay."

Her stiffness only crosses my mind for a moment, since I'm a trembling mess myself. "So, uh ice cream?"

"Of course," she laughs awkwardly, opening the door for the both of us, "Ladies first. Wait, I'm the lady, so me first! Ha ha."

She scrambles inside, uncharacteristically fumbling around. I walk inside as if I'm part of a marching band, legs stiff and arms straight. Luckily, by the time we're inside and figuring out what to order, both of us have steadied our nerves a bit.

Even while she orders a pistachio ice cream, I can't help but to appreciate how effortlessly pretty she looks against the plain white walls. It's like I'm looking at a painting; the pop of color from the roses in her arms complete the look, sending a giddy bounce in my heart since that bouquet is from me.

Before she can reach for her wallet, I bring a hand up to stop her.

"I'd like the superman flavor, please." Gently hip bumping her, I smile confidently at the cashier as I hand some cash.

"Hey, you didn't have to do that," she starts, clearly annoyed at my abrupt interruption.

"I know, but I wanted to." I grin.

With a roll of her eyes, she relents, appreciatively getting her cone as I get mine. Mine's mixed with vibrant colors, so it must taste good.

"Superman?" Jisoo eyes the purple and blue swirls, "Somehow, I'm not surprised. It's very like you."

"Really?" We walk to a small table tucked in the corner of the shop and sit down. "Just like how I'm like Anpanman?"

She freezes mid-bite, slowly lifting her head. "What did you say?"

"Apanman," I repeat, taking a big chunk of waffle cone in my mouth, "You said I was like Anpanman one time."

She looks at me for a few seconds.

A dreadful silence washes over us; the only sounds are the chatter of the ice cream shop and the chime from the doors opening and closing as people come and go.

Then, she lets out a scream.

The people in the shop send glares at her but her only focus is on me.

Her stunned eyes scan over my face several times before letting out another 'eeh?' of some sort. It's more like a breathless neigh, something similar to the sound horses make. I almost want to laugh at it but I'm too concerned to do that.

"Y-you..." Her finger aggressively points at my face.

"Me...?" I flash a strained smile, completely confused by her reaction.

"You're so -- you absolute dummy!" she groans, covering her face in her hands and turning away.

Her ice cream is abandoned on the table, and she mumbles a series of curses into her palms. I simply watch her back like the dummy that she calls me as.

Huh?

Finally, she sits down again with burning cheeks. When I look at her, she darts away and eats her ice cream in silence.

"Did I say something wrong?" I worry.

"No," she sighs, "Well yes, but -- argh -- nevermind."

An awkward atmosphere arises; she continues to devour her ice cream with an unnatural amount of voracity, and I continue questioning every single interaction I've had with her today.

Her ice cream is gone before I can even get halfway through mine.  In a rush, she cleans up the table and throws away her napkins. Is she trying to get away? Did I ruin the date this badly?

"Well, it was great hanging with you," she says, forcing a laugh and packing her bag, "But I really need to go discuss you -- I mean -- discuss something with someone. Not that you need to know that, since it isn't related to you at all but I gotta go. Like, now."

"Oh um, okay." I hope I don't sound as dejected as I am, "I can walk you home if you'd like? It's pretty dark out so —"

"Nope! Home will walk me." She almost trips over her chair while getting up, "I mean, I will walk home. Without you, but with me. So by myself."

With that, she hurries to the door, but in her haste, she forgets to take the flowers. Pushing away any thoughts of self-doubt, I run to her just as she reaches the door.

"These flowers are for you." I hand them to her.

She doesn't even move. Instead, she just stares at me with her mouth slightly ajar, face only reddening even more.

Seeing that she won't take the bouquet herself, I grab her arm and position it on her elbow.

While we're both still standing here, I might as well use this chance to say what I should've said long ago.

"I'm sorry," I say, shutting my eyes, "I didn't mean to stand you up yesterday, I swear. But something came up and... just know that I really like y — hanging with you."

She exhales, marvelling at me like she can't believe that I exist.

"No way," she breathes out. "You really are..."

"Kim Taehyung!" The harsh voice of a foreign party interrupts us.

The hair on my skin perks up at the sound. Jisoo, flustered and panicked, quickly snaps her head around and inches away.

My father marches up and yanks me by the collar. He glares at me, sneaking in a few ones to Jisoo.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you hanging out with a girl?"

I'm screwed.

JISOO

Processing the fact that Taehyung and V are the same person is already hard enough, but being thrown into a car with him and his dad is even worse.

When Taehyung, or V — they're the same so it doesn't matter — said that I called him Anpanman, it was like everything fell into place. I told V that he was like Anpanman, and on that same day, Joy accused me of bullying, which Taehyung was there to witness.

So he thought I was tainted, and came looking for me in the park.

He told me, RC, to not doubt Jisoo. Who is also me.

As I stared at him cluelessly eating his ice cream, I had another epiphany. He said that he was on a date with the girl that he liked.

I was on the date with him.

My mind went blank.

Aside from surprise, shame settled into me when I realized that we practically rejected each other... for each other. Heck, I asked for advice for my crush -- on him!

"So Jisoo, how exactly do you know my son?" Taehyung's dad brings me back to the present.

"Uh, from school," I reply meekly. "We had a project together."

Mr. Kim purses his lips. "Taehyung, I thought you were to inform me of any major school project you had. I assume it is major, as you were working on it at this hour of the day."

"We turned it in a while ago. We were hanging out just now." Taehyung's usually chatty responses become laconic.

A frustrated grunt is the only reply from Mr. Kim.

"So, Jisoo, where is your home?" he snaps.

"Just on your right, sir." My voice is shakier than I'd like it to be, and Taehyung sends me a worried glance from the corner of his eyes.

Maybe he knows from my breakdown to him as V, that I'm not too fond of strict parents, at least not when I'm out of the suit. Oh my god. Now that I know who I cried in the arms of, I suddenly want to bury myself in a hole and never come out of it.

"You live in this shabby apartment complex? And you're friends with Taehyung?"

"Father, stop." Taehyung grits his teeth.

His father doesn't stop, however. After sharply turning a corner, he jams his car into a parking space and slams the breaks. We jostle from the impact, Taehyung bringing a hand in front of me protectively.

"So, Jisoo. What are your grades like? Are you a bad influence on my son? You do realize that we have high expectations for him, right?"

My words are caught in my throat.

"Dad, she's my friend — not me. Stop interrogating her."

"I'm just looking out for you, son. You're too distracted these days. You always play video games and hang out with your friends when you should be studying. Take Namjoon, for example. He's successful now because he worked hard, and you need to do that too."

"I am. I'm trying," he says, voice firm but hands trembling with fury and resentment.

Somewhere in the depths of my soul, I find the courage to place my hand on his. He turns to me, eyes full of shock and wonder as I send a sympathetic smile.

Mr. Kim doesn't seem to be starting the car again any time soon. He scoffs, looking back to glower at Taehyung.

"Well you're not trying hard enough." He glances at our hands for a moment. "If you keep wasting your time with people like her, you're going to end up wasting your life. No one would want you if you weren't my son."

"That's... that's not true!" Maybe it's unintentional, but he holds my hand a bit tighter.

"Think about it. The only good quality you have is your money, and it isn't even yours!" Mr. Kim laughs, "You're lazy, and you don't actually want to be a doctor, or a businessman, or anything that would make you successful."

Is this how Mr. Kim is always like? I always saw Taehyung as someone who had a perfect life; he's rich, smart, and has a huge group of friends.

Here in this suffocating car, I recall what V told me while we were on the rooftop after the shooting.

"I'm really freaking lonely and I don't know why, or how to fix it. It's like I'm always thinking about what I need to do to get people to like me, but when those people like me, I don't feel happy."

Is this what he meant? Was he always searching for validation from his friends because he couldn't get it from his parents?

"Just remember, I'm saying this because I love you, son."

The fear that coated my veins earlier is replaced with pure rage. This manipulation and verbal abuse is too much and too familiar.

I sneak a glance at Taehyung, seeing that he's sinking in his seat, shoulders drowning him along with shame.

My blood boils.

I've had enough.

"Mr. Kim, I mean this in the most respectful way possible," I start, struggling to keep my voice steady. "You are one of the nastiest humans I've ever come across, and I've come across a lot of disgusting people."

"Excuse me?" He has the audacity to stare at me as if what I said didn't make sense.

"You heard me," I growl. "You're. Disgusting."

"Jisoo, wait --"

I hush Taehyung with a shake of my head, removing my hand from his to lean forward and glare at Mr. Kim.

"How dare you say that to your son? Do you think that telling him how much of a failure you think he is will solve any problems? He doesn't deserve to hear that, because it isn't true. What type of father are you?"

They're speechless, both staring at me in shock. The difference is that Taehyung is looking at me in utter awe, while his dad is trying to murder me with his eyes.

"His worth isn't defined by his grades or how much money he has. He has so many other amazing traits, and if you really loved him, you'd recognize that."

Now, the weight of my words sink in. I'm suddenly aware of just how quiet the car is, but it isn't awkward. Although we're not talking, everyone's mind is running a thousand miles a minute -- it's a tense silence.

"Get out of my car. Both of you."

We snap our heads up.

"Wait, father, what do you mean--"

"I said: Get. Out." Mr. Kim opens the doors with the press of a button, something that only high tech cars can do.

I clench my fists.

"My pleasure." I grab onto Taehyung's hand, dragging him out with me. "Let's go."

"Wait, hold on, where will I --"

"You're staying with me tonight." I slam the car door shut, trying to damage the car, if possible.

Mr. Kim seems surprised by my forwardness, and hits the honker before uttering a variety of curse words that I can't hear through the glass.

The cold night air greets us as I stomp to my apartment, hand still in his, and fumble to open the door. Taehyung is stiff behind me, hand loose in my grip but not pulling away.

My mind is hazy as I open the door, too angry and shaken up to even process the fact that I have to spend the night with Taehyung -- my literal crush.

I'm panting and somehow I find tears at the corner of my eyes as I turn on the lights. Taehyung looks like a lost duck, still shaken up but not nearly as much as me. I hate it. He shouldn't be used to this.

"Jisoo..." he trails off, unsure of what to say.

I take a deep breath.

"You can stay here tonight."

Gosh, I have to talk to Jin as soon as possible about V's identity, but that'll have to be saved for another day.

Taehyung and I don't make any move, both of us standing at the door and collecting our thoughts.

"Did you mean what you said?" he blurts out, eyes darting to the ground. "About me, I mean."

I always thought that Taehyung was a confident person. He knew how to make friends, he knew how to befriend me, and he never gave off the vibes of someone insecure.

But now, it's like I'm staring at someone completely different.

And it's not bad at all.

He seems more human. I feel like I'm not clueless or fumbling around for the correct thing to say because I don't know how to socialize. I just want to comfort him and let him know that he is amazing, whether it's as V or as himself.

"Yeah," I say. "I meant every word."

Relief is evident on his face. For the first time in a while, he sends me a small smile.

"Thank you."

What's with this atmosphere? A second ago I was boiling with rage but now everything is pink and blood is rushing to my head in a completely different way than before.

"Y-yeah, no problem!"

The floor is very interesting to look at.

Things are starting to settle in now. I will have to spend a night with Taehyung. With V. With the guy I like — who also happens to like me too.

Oh my god.

But he can't know that, because then I'd have to tell him about my identity, which would be a no go since I haven't even talked to Jin about this whole fiasco yet. I need another three business days at the very least to process this.

"Jisoo, I want to be honest with you," Taehyung says, taking a step towards me. "I've always felt like people only saw me for who I make myself out to be. With you, I did that too. I've never been so vulnerable with someone before but -"

He stops talking for a moment, taking in my burning face and glossy eyes.

"But...?" There's a limit to how close he can be without making me combust. I take a step back.

"But," he chuckles, realizing that I'm nervous. "I'm glad it was you who saw that."

With his two more steps forward, I'm backed up into the wall. Staring up into his face, I realize how much taller he is than me. He looks into my eyes with a shy smile.

"Because you're the girl I like."

Author's Note:

:D

hehe i hope you liked this chapter! it was so fun to write 0.0 thank you so much for readinggg and remember that you are loved!

<3 lalalalala7fire