[edited]

Today, Tae had woken up earlier than usual.
He got ready for the day and got downstairs to have breakfast.

He then exited the house and walked towards the opposite house.

He knocked on the door.

When the door opened his smile faded a little and his brows knitted.

"Eunbin, what happened? It looks like you cried a while ago. Tell me what's up?" He said in a worried yet kind tone.

Eunbin invited him in and they both settled down on a couch.

Tae looked at her, waiting for an explanation, while Eunbin argued with herself whether she should tell him or not.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? Do you trust me?" Tae asked.

Eunbin nodded without hesitation.

"Actually, there is this assignment at school which needs to be done, and I need at least one partner to get it done. It is a very important assignment which can turn out to decide my future. But—being me...I-I don't have someone to do it with, and it can't be done solo. Ughh ! What should I do?" Eunbin's eyes started to get clouded with tears and she pulled on her hair in frustration.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, we will figure it out." Tae tried to comfort her.

"B-but who would want to do it with me? " She cried.

"Hey, don't say that, I would love to work with you okay? We will figure something out." He said, wiping her tears.

After a while, Eunbin calmed down, while Taehyung asked,
"So...what is this assignment exactly ?"

"We have to group up, and then write and sing a song by ourselves. Atleast 2 singers are needed in the song. It can't be a solo." Eunbin explained.

"So...it doesn't matter if the 2nd person is from your institution or not, right."

"I think so. Let me check."
Eunbin called up her teacher and asked Tae's question, and after the teacher's answer she nodded.

"She said it doesn't matter if it is someone from the institution or not. She also said that partners are needed to promote teamwork and confidence in the artist." Eunbin said.

"Ok, so...lets start."

"Start what?" she asked, confused.

"Writing the song." He replied obviously, getting up from his place.

"Wait." Eunbin grabbed his wrist.
"You are here to relax, not help me. You ran away because of stress and because you were tired, right? You don't need to help me, it's...okay." She politely tried to decline his offer.

"No. I am helping because I am willing to, because I'll be happy if I do, and because...I'll get more time to spend with you." Tae said with a smile.

Eunbin returned it with her own.

And they started the work upstairs, in Eunbin's room.

After almost 6 hours, the song and the beats were ready.

They took a break of half an hour. They had some juice to quench their thirst.

Eunbin's room had a recording system installed, so recording wasn't a problem.

After the break, they decided to record the song.

They both sung their own parts.
It was a live song about how meeting the each other changed the characters' lives.

While singing, there had come a moment where both of them had dived into each other's eyes, and somehow, felt how much the song actually was relatable.

The song was so beautifully and soulfully sung that it was surely going to touch the listeners' hearts.
There was a moment of silence, before Tae said,
"You have an amazing voice. Really. And...surely, anyone can fall for your voice and...you." Tae said, with an expression, Eunbin couldn't interpret, yet which successfully made her heart flutter.

"Thanks." She whispered, but loud enough for him to hear.

Tae then walked closer to her, not breaking the eye contact.

Eunbin's breath hitched as he closed the distance between them.

He stopped a few inches away from her, and cupped her face with one hand, thumb caressing her cheek.

He engulfed her in an embrace, full of affection and adoration, which Eunbin could clearly feel. His warmth seeped through her skin, making her heart melt.

After a moment, he pulled way and leaned in.
He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear,
"Don't ever say you are not good enough because, I think you are the amazing."

He pulled away and said,
"Remember, a perfect person isn't real, and a real person isn't perfect."

Eunbin was speechless.

"And...I like you just the way you are. I wouldn't want to change just a thing." He said with a smile and with a goodbye, he left.

He left, yet Eunbin couldn't stop thinking about what he actually meant by that.

Did he like her, just as a friend, or...something else?

She grabbed the CD in which the song was recorded and placed it carefully in her wardrobe after packing it.

Tae, meanwhile, couldn't stop smiling, which didn't go unnoticed by her aunt, so she finally asked,
"Tae, I cannot help but wonder, what are smiling so widely about?"

Tae took a moment to answer, his contented smile still dancing on his lips,
"I think...I think I like someone."

"Oooooh, and who might this lucky girl (or boy, because I ain't judging) be?"

He rolled his eyes, smile widening even more.
"Eunbin."

And he went upstairs, with the most beautiful feeling in the world, love, fresh and young, and slept with warmth in his heart.

———