La Seine

Five.

“TELL ME ABOUT you,” Taehyung said as they walked along the street, her newly acquired winter clothing making her look even more radiant. She seemed positively happier, her bubbly demeanor and dazzling smile never leaving her face.

“I’m sure I’m not nearly as interesting as you, Prince Taehyung,” she replied playfully.

He got shivers again when he heard his name on her lips. He tried not to look at how red they were with cold, how tantalizingly kissable. It was getting slightly harder for him to control himself around her. Something about her pulled him towards her, made his knees wobble and his heart beat faster.

She’s too different, he reminded himself. It can’t happen.

You have a promise to keep, Kim Taehyung. You can’t have these feelings—

“I disagree,” he said, taking her hand and weaving his fingers through hers as they walked. This was a rather small gesture, but it felt like he had done this so many times in his life. It came to him so naturally that an amused smile graced his features.

She squeezed his hand back to let him know the contact was welcome and threw him a smile that nearly stopped his heart as they walked through the falling snow, back along the riverbanks of the Seine.

More and more people were coming outside now—some were preparing firecrackers to shoot off in three hours, at midnight. It was a festival around here for New Year.

“I write things, and I take pictures,” she said. “I also do editing in Photoshop for other clients. Just little projects here and there to keep me able to survive. Starving artist type of thing.”

Taehyung had no idea what she Photoshopped or what kind of projects she meant, but again, he knew he couldn’t ask. Either way, he was intrigued. “You don’t have a home base, then?”

“I spend lots of time in Central or South America,” she said, shrugging. “And Southeast Asia. It’s cheap and warm and beautiful. As much as I can, I come over to Europe.”

He stopped walking abruptly and she halted with him, again looking confused. They were near the riverbank, and there was jazz music playing from a club nearby. “Dance with me,” he said out of the blue, turning to face her and looking intently at her, piercing her with his brown eyes.

For the first time since they met, she seemed a little flustered, and he was pleased to see his effect on her.

Slowly, allowing her time to turn him away, he slipped his hands down to rest on her waist. She responded by resting her hands on his shoulders and, very slowly, they began to step in a circle, a charge in the air as they stared at each other. He leaned closer to her. “Why do you keep moving around the world?”

“I feel empty when I sit still,” she told him, rather breathlessly.

One of his hands slipped to the small of her back and, without warning, he spun her around. She laughed in delight at the sudden movement and he grinned at the sound. A warmth was spreading through him like he had never felt before as she spun to face him again, grinning wildly.

“You’re full of surprises, Prince Taehyung,” she said finally, and then she bit her lip nervously and it was all over.

His fragile self-control was gone. His eyes slid down to her mouth and she noticed the movement, and their minds were suddenly in the same place.

Ever so carefully, he began to lean forward. But she reached out and stopped him by cupping his cheek. Her eyes glinted with gentleness and her tender touch made Taehyung almost choke on air.

“Wait until midnight,” she whispered to him.