SIRENIC || KTH

17. Time & Ruin

She walks out of the room, into the house with him walking right beside her; she is surprised by its size and tasteful decor.

The house is dusk or dawn, she has no basis for knowing which one.

She is led to a large master suite and is asked to sit. Patiently, she is sitting on the edge of the large bed, waiting.

The bedroom is just tidy enough to show that he cares about his space.

When he comes back he leads her to the dining room where a candlelit dinner has been waiting.

He held out the chair for her, and served her dinner that tasted so delicious to her, she thought she might finish it all if her appetite allowed her to.

She is given one glass of wine and it adds to her feeling of tranquility and relaxation.

He offers his hand to her which she slowly holds. Even in this warm environment his hand is still so cold. She wonders why is that.

He brings her hand near his lips and gives it chaste kiss and a smile that makes her nervous and blush at the same time.

While she is sitting at the dining table which can accommodate around fourteen people, her eyes roam to the villa she's in right now.

She would have enjoyed being in this beautiful place for vacations, but this isn't the time to enjoy.

She spots a grand black piano a far behind her and opposite to the dining table. Something about it seems unrealistic to her.

Jungkook had taught her to play a piano. He used to play in a music group during his school days.

She shifts her sight from the piano to the man accompanying her, only to find him gazing at her with interest.

Within the moment, just for sometime, both of them decide to stay quiet.

"How is it?" He says and she looks up immediately to his face. "How's the food?"

"Oh! It's fine, Kim. Good enough to keep me alive." She remarks while her gaze remaining fixed on his exposed chest which remained unnoticed by her all this time.

"Do you want to have a closer look? Do you want to touch it?"

Her eyes widen, face turns scarlet at the thought of that and she lowers her eyes to her plate on the table.

He tugs her chin up and she swallows dry.

His eyes seem conjuring her.

"I am talking about the piano, Kath!" He says chuckling and she really feels all the tension leave her body.

Oh! The piano.

"I bought it for you. Do you like it?"

"For me?" She asks.

"Yes, because I would love to see you playing it. And I hope you will teach me too." He knows that she plays the piano.

"How do you know I play it? Nobody knows, except Jungkook."

"I will answer you later. First you finish your lunch. It's almost 1 pm, a little too late for breakfast."

The noodles infact are delicious and she is hungry too. But, the piano seems much more important to her than eating.

"Eat. Because if you don't I can force you to and I am sure you won't like it and I don't wanna make you uncomfortable." He says flatly.

After the lunch he asks her to have a shower which she strongly needs to. In the warm shower she thinks only about the piano. It oddly seems identical to the one that Jungkook owned.

While this should have brought panic to her mind, here she stands naked in Taehyung's bathroom having warm shower, a bit calm and composed.

Wrapping a towel around, she steps out of the bathroom into the bedroom where she finds him staring at her as she comes to his sight.

"It's impossible to take my eyes off you." He says emphasizing each word with his voice soft but clear and eyes filled with carnal appreciation.

His words trigger something deep inside her. To distract herself from this feeling which is making her damp between her thighs she asks him about her clothes. To which he points his long finger to his wardrobe.

Next to his clothes is an array of all types of women's garments, which she hasn't seen earlier.

They are all in her size but none of them belong to her. Neither does she find her bag. She knows there isn't any point in complaining.

As soon as she gets dressed, he asks her to sit beside him on the bed. When she does, he clasps both of her small hands in his big and slightly cold ones suddenly and sighs.

"I want you to be comfortable here and think of us as your new family. We are no threat to you, okay? I just want you to be happy with me. If anything ever bothers you then I want you to let me know."

"I'll try to be." These simple words from her bring much more comfort to him than he ever imagined. This is one of the rare moments of her being casual around him and adjusting with the surrounding.

"There are some paintings in the room downstairs. Come see." He says, excited to show her the things he's capable of, except for killing.

The hallway downstairs is a mirror image of the one upstairs, following the length of the E, but this floor is more luxurious, with more golden wood on the walls.

"Here," he says and pushes open a creaky door to reveal a room as lush and surprising in all the rot as a blooming bougainvillea in a desert.

Time and ruin show here, too, but even so, the colors are visible patterns and embroidery and exuberant fabrics.

Paintings of a dozen sizes crowded together on the walls, the frames thick with dust and strings of cobwebs, paintings of peacocks and tropical landscapes and portraits of exotic people, king in a harem, a tall dark-skinned woman with dark eyes as mysterious as a deep lake, a tiger lolling on a carpet amid a crowd of beautiful women, and many more.

"I would be really surprised if you say that you made them all." She chuckles being astonished by the beauty this room alone holds.

"I did. There's one more to my collection, but it isn't complete, not yet..."