Viola (비올라)

Chapter 8 - Intentions

Taehyung's POV

Taehyung fidgeted all through dinner.

He had lost a battle of rock-paper-scissors against the group. As one of the losers he wasn't going to be the one to pick up Hannah after all. Jimin, Namjoon, and Seokjin would get the honor.

Namjoon had wanted to grab more beers from town, so it was decided it would all be one trip. "[Ok.] See you when we get back." Namjoon waved over at him and Hoseok, who were on dish duty, and he thought Namjoon actually winked at him.

Taehyung was still a bit surprised he'd taken an interest in her. He hadn't expected to miss being normal as much as he did. While Hannah was around he had been feeling more relaxed then he had in a long time. He hadn't thought it might be the same for his friends.

They had all become rather guarded as they climbed the idol ladder. It's not that he didn't feel comfortable when it was just them and their staff. But they were at work. These were coworkers and there was always a camera rolling somewhere. While they were still the face of the company they were given a lot of leeway but that mostly just made him want to work harder. Their success was still unreal to him and he felt he needed to do all he could to continue to earn it. To be his best for their fans. So even these vacation shows they all danced on the line of being relatable, funny, inviting, attractive, and desperately trying to feel as carefree as they worked to appear.

He let himself stay lost in his thoughts as he cleaned. Taehyung actually enjoyed hand washing the dishes, he found it to be relaxing and the others didn't do the best job in his opinion.But it felt like almost no time had passed when he got a text message from Jimin saying they were on their way back and that he better clean up nice. Hannah apparently looked stunning.

Taehyung's room was in the same house as the main kitchen so he didn't have to sprint far. He heard Hoseok chuckling as he went. He'd forgotten to excuse himself in his rush.

As he rummaged through his sparse closet he got more frustrated as Jimin didn't get back to him when he asked exactly how stunning. He didn't wanna overdo it. But was she dressed for a date? Did she think this was a date? No it was a group thing. Also they were still on set. While Hannah's privacy would be protected, he could already hear the avid fans theorizing why he was dressed up. He usually opted for comfortable, but good quality, clothes. Only Jimin could get away with things like wearing an actual hanbok on vacation.

He finally opted for some light eye makeup, a pastel button up, and a FILA windbreaker. As their show sponsors he was required to wear something of theirs. As he still was deciding how high to button his shirt he heard the cars coming back. Shit.

He didn't run, he had some restraint, but made it downstairs to see Jimin getting out of the driver's seat with a smug look on his face. He saw Namjoon and Seokjin get out of the passenger and back seats respectively, getting a few shopping bags out of the car's trunk. Jimin made a show of waving at him for the camera person who had appeared behind him on his way to greet him. He could see the vague outline of Hannah in the back seat. She had probably been asked to wait till the team got some footage.

As the group got further away he opened the car door for her. Hannah turned to look at him. Jimin had not exaggerated she looked amazing. Maybe not runway level beauty but he felt his heart rate increase. Her shirt wasn't low cut, but her skirt was hiked up on her thighs as she held her instrument case between her legs.

"Hey Hannah. [Glad you could make it]." He couldn't be sure but he thought he saw the hint of a blush from her.

"[Is the coast clear?]" She asked, matching his lowered tone. He didn't see any sign of the camera men. He nodded and extended a hand to help her out of the car. As she took it, Taehyung's heart skipped a beat.