From admiration to love on occasion

Affection and rejection

10th of December, 2018 - Taehyung's pov

Taehyung had been foolish to believe, that he'd be able to get some rest after the MMA's. Because tonight BTS would be attending MAMA - Mnet Asian Music Awards - which was a pretty big thing. Therefore they were practicing harder than ever, while Taehyung hadn't been able to get Wheein out of his mind. The feeling of her soft lips, her small giggles and their fight for dominance. She was like a character taken straight out of a movie.

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Wheein's pov

Wheein was exhausted. Attending all of these award shows all of the time, yet without winning anything, started to feel meaningless to her. Mamamoo had a big breakthrough with their first ever single back in 2014, but Wheein felt like their career had been standing still since then - whether that was actually the case or Wheein simply was too tired and frustrated was hard to tell.
Along with all of these thoughts, one thing couldn't get out of her mind. Taehyung. The kiss they'd shared felt so sweet, yet tender, and although Wheein had enjoyed the kiss and his company in general, she also knew that if they continued that way, it would be dangerous. If anyone saw them together, it was sure to say that her career would be over. It was always the girl who got criticized the most, when dating rumors with male idols started to sparkle. And when it was Taehyung, one of the most popular and loved idols on the charts, Wheein couldn't even imagine the amount of hate she would get. Therefore she made up her mind - she was not gonna give into him this time.

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Taehyung's pov

The longer Taehyung was thinking about Wheein, the more he wanted to kiss her again. He realized that there might be consequences, but they didn't have to tell anyone, right? He made up his mind - he was gonna go after her again this time.

Taehyung got ready for the award show. He still had his red hair, which he'd actually started to love, despite not knowing how to feel about it in the beginning. BTS had a big performance waiting tonight. After the release of their list of albums in the Love Yourself series, they had gotten a lot of attention worldwide. Taehyung was not able to step outside a house without feeling monitored. And it was as if he'd been put inside of a box, that he wasn't capable of getting out of again. So many expectations from everyone.

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Sitting in the big hall at MAMA, Taehyung looked around, trying to spot Wheein - but with no luck. He kept looking, but still, there was no sight of her. He sighed and gave up. He had never been this desperate while looking for a girl before, and had no idea where it came from, when they'd only had that one conversation and that one kiss. He wasn't gonna let this desperation show once he found her, though - of course. She wasn't gonna get the satisfaction of him admitting how he felt when she wasn't around.

Suddenly the hall went dark and applause filled the room. Taehyung was about to get up and grab a drink, when he took a look at the stage. Four girls dressed in red was standing in each corner, and with the background track that started to play, he quickly realized that it could be no other group than Mamamoo. He forgot all about the need for a drink and kept sitting down. He eyed Wheein as she walked around the stage. It was hard to see her clearly from his distance, so he was thankful for the big screens that zoomed in on her, as she was singing her part. Nothing much about her had changed. Still that deep dimple, short blonde hair and charisma on stage. In fact, she was also wearing a cap similar to the performance at MMA, except this time it was red.

He looked to his side, seeing Namjoon completely preoccupied with the show. Taehyung let out a small giggle. He had been able to tell the leader's fascination with the girl group, ever since he first suggested to the management, that they should attend their first solo concert back in 2016.

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Wheein's pov

After Mamamoo's performance ended, Wheein felt like she was floating around on a pink cloud in a surreal world. Such a big crowd, and all of them were clapping, showing that the show had been impressing. When they were walking back to their seatings, they passed multiple idols and greeted them with a bow. When they passed BTS, Taehyung sent her the most genuine smile she'd ever seen him make. She didn't reciprocate it though, because of what she'd promised herself earlier. No more meddling with this guy. She could tell it confused him by the fade of his smile, but there wasn't much to do, and she just continued bowing to all the members, after which she settled down at a seat behind them, accompanying her bandmates.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Taehyung turning around, looking at her, but she tried her best to just look at the stage, or anything else that wasn't him. She didn't want to give him hopes or expectations, that she wasn't able to live up to.

---

Wheein was taking a sip of her beer, leaning against the wall backstage, and watching as her best friend had finally decided to make a move with Namjoon. Hyejin said something that made him blush while laughing and Wheein couldn't help but smile.

"I enjoyed your performance," she suddenly heard a deep voice from behind say. Of course she knew who it was. He was dangerously close.

"Thank you." Her reply was short and she was standing stiff, looking forward. She could feel his breathing against the back of her head and unintentional shivers ran through her spine. Be strong, she said to herself. The worst thing she could do was to kiss him, which she definitely didn't plan on doing. The best thing to do, on the other hand, would be to reject him in a nice way, leaving them both clarified with no sorrow nor strings attached.

"Are you just gonna pretend like nothing happened 9 days ago?" He asked, stepping in front of her, so she couldn't ignore his eyes anymore. But fuck, those gorgeous eyes.

"Yeah, that was the plan." She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, I was just tipsy and overwhelmed. It didn't mean anything." Part of that was a lie. She had barely drunken anything that night, so tipsy wasn't the right thing to call her. The overwhelmed part was true though.

Taehyung raised an eyebrow at her statement, and it didn't quite seem like he believed her. "You're playing that game again, where you pretend like I'm just an obsessive fool, while you're not feeling the same way."

Wheein couldn't deny that. And yet... she could. To his face, not her own. "Feeling what way?" She was genuinely curious as she had no idea of what his intention with all of this was. He gently stroked a finger up the side of her body, sending her a saying look. She quickly pushed his hand away. "What are you doing? We're surrounded by tons of people." He sighed, ran a hand over his face and looked at her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes asking doing what? "Sending me so many mixed signals all the time. Less than two weeks ago, you seemed to enjoy my company, and now you gotta act all cold and rejecting." It was now his turn to cross him arms and lean his side against the wall. Wheein didn't answer him. She just stood there, observing his face. He looked impatient and tilted his head to the side. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I have a boyfriend, okay?!" she ended up replying in a frustrated tone, after which she hurried past him.