play date (kim taehyung)

07

You watched the sun sink and disappear into the skyline. An exasperated sigh escaped your lips as you followed the same dull routine you had for a couple of days. You walked along the sidewalk by yourself, finding any form of distraction. Ever since the night you lost the bet, your life grew quieter than before. Gone was the rush of roaming Seo-gu at night— gone was Kim Taehyung.

After making it clear that you no longer wanted him around, you were back to being alone in a new city. Of course, you still saw each other at class but everything was just comprised of stealing glances and giving one another the cold shoulder.

For most of your life, you were accustomed to everything temporary. You just didn't seem to care enough to be tied down or attached to anything and especially, anyone. You clung into this habit just to escape yourself.

However, no matter what you do to keep yourself busy, Taehyung's presence lingered in your thoughts. Even after pushing him away, you found yourself back to something that involved him.

"Shit." you mumbled under your breath as you realized you were out of money for the rest of the week.

Standing in between a convenient store's shelves, your stomach grumbled. You forgot to budget your allowance, blowing it out of proportion. Other than being stuck in your old lifestyle, you completely missed that you gave half of your allowance to Taehyung.

You let out a sharp breath, biting the inside of your cheek afterwards. You really thought you had a few cash left, that's why you settled for a convenient store. Thinking of a quick solution, your eyes wandered sideways. Your heart picked up its pace as your mind came into terms with the obvious plan you had.

Stealing was a rare occurrence for you. The lifestyle you were accustomed to gave you access to everything. Money was never a problem— until now. Somehow, you dreaded having to resort to this; but not because it's an immoral act. You found it humiliating that you didn't have money.

It was already nighttime and people were barely buying from the convenient store. Having second thoughts, you warily looked around again before swallowing the lump in your throat. You grabbed a packaged bread bun, swiftly sneaking it into your hoodie's front pocket. Letting out a shaky sigh of relief, you thought of getting some more necessities and using your bag to hide them.

You walked over to a farther isle of groceries, quietly opening up your bag. Standing in front of the ramyeon section, you started stuffing your bag with numerous packets.

"What are you doing?"

Your head instantly snapped towards the owner of the familiar voice as you let out a shocked gasp. Eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, you looked up to the boy that had been plaguing your thoughts. You felt your heart slam in your chest out of fear, palms cold and caught red. He raised an eyebrow at you before his face contorted to a teasing expression.

With realization dawning over you, you composed yourself and shoved your stolen goods deeper into your bag.

"Isn't it obvious, vandal?" you sarcastically replied before taking another packet.

Taehyung shook his head in clear distaste, taking a step closer to you. Like you, he still had his uniform on and it looked like he was eating since you caught a glimpse of sauce on his upper lip. Catching yourself staring, you instantly looked away from him, growing irritated by the situation.

"Why are you even here?" you mindlessly asked, zipping up your bag. You were still cautious about the crime you were committing, tugging on your hoodie anxiously.

"This is my go-to convenient store, thief." Taehyung teased.

You glared at him upon hearing the new nickname he gave you. Fully facing him, you put on your backpack angrily. Despite giving each other the cold shoulder for the past few days, Taehyung seemed nonchalant in talking to you.

"I'm leaving." you coldly said, pushing away all your thoughts about entertaining his inquiries.

"Wait." Taehyung gently but eagerly put his hand on your shoulder, halting you on your tracks after swiftly turning on your heel.

Letting out a disgruntled sigh, you faced him once more. "What?" you dragged on, impatience written all over your face.

His expression shifted to an innocent one, turning around and pointing to the circular mirror at the corner of the ceiling.

"There's a CCTV. It probably recorded you stealing." he whispered, "I saw your reflection while I was eating there." he added, pointing towards the tables and chairs of the store.

You gulped, feeling even more embarrassed than stealing alone. It was worse that you got caught. Closing your eyes, you sucked in a sharp breath while wishing for the floor to open up and eat you whole.

Taehyung's gaze softened as he watched your expression shift from exasperated to worried. He licked his lip unknowingly, feeling guilty.

"Let me pay for you." he stated with a firm but kind tone, meeting your confused stare. You felt even smaller as your pride ruled over you.

"No. I'm just staying true to the deal, Taehyung. You get the money and that's it." you sternly said, gaze turning cold again.

He let out a sigh as the tension between you two grew thick.

"What I do with the money is not part of the deal. Come on, do you really prefer jail?" he lightly said with a sly smirk on his face.

His words echoed in your head, striking a recent memory of the both of you hiding from the police. You dug holes with your stare as he continued to prove he did it on purpose by goading you.

You rolled your eyes, groaning out of defeat. Taehyung was right and none of your actions really turned out to be the best ever since you arrived at Daegu.

"Fine." you agreed, looking away with furrowed eyebrows. Clearly, you felt small and incapable.

Taehyung smiled lopsidedly, reaching out his hand to take your bag. Looking back up at him, you tilted your head to the side in confusion. With misunderstanding clouding your head, you stretched out your arm and timidly enclosed your fingers around his palm. Stress was already eating away at you, causing you to fail in registering social cues.

"Let's go." you nonchalantly said, masking your genuine bashfulness.

Flustered and taken aback, Taehyung shrugged it off with a tiny laugh before turning around and walking towards the cashier— all while holding your hand. He knew you were already embarrassed enough; dismissing the urge to point out the misunderstanding. You didn't mind it at all, fully surrendering to defeat.

"We'll be buying these." he cheerfully said to the cashier, letting go of your hand to finally reach for your bag. The cashier smiled back at Taehyung before giving you a sour look. She must've known.

You looked down in shame; but you also felt mad.

"Hey, do you wanna eat with me? I'll buy you a meal here or we can just heat up one of these." Taehyung offered, giving you the bag of instant noodles.

"I— I think I caused you enough trouble." you said sternly but regretfully. Your voice shook a little as you bowed your head, "Thank you, Taehyung." You were supposed to apologize to him but you found it hard.

"Please?" Taehyung was quick to reply, looking at you with puppy eyes. He spoke softly and, to your surprise and fear, it endeared you completely. Met with a new occurrence and Taehyung's pleading gaze, you found yourself unable to move and deny him of anything. His charm worked its effect on you.

"Alright."

You scolded yourself in your head. Seeing his expression completely change to an ebullient one had your heart jumping in joy. You never understood Kim Taehyung— how could he look completely blank in a split second and then be everything afterwards?