time diplomat | kim taehyung ✔

| A Garden Full Of Flowers |

Taehyung was acting out of character and Astra was loving it. He himself loved it.

He stopped his acts and sat down on the edge of the bed. He breathed in deeply and laughed once she caught his eye. "So, this is what you were hiding from me, Tae?"

He blinked and turned around, "Uh . . . What?"

"You were hiding that childish character of yours from me. You know what, I love your goofy side more." His smile was a victory. He was getting shy and tearing up. "I have to thank Jimin for this. If he were never there, I would've never met you."

"I've always wanted to stumble into someone like you but, I never thought it would ever happen."

"There I was, looking for a company and I found you. It's difficult to imagine what would happen if our paths didn't cross."

Astra went to the kitchen and returned with snacks in her hands—she could guess Taehyung was hungry, the day seemed longer than any other she had lived through. They had the simplest things along with a glass of iced tea. 

Taehyung patted the edge of the bed, encouraging her to come over. Astra sat down next to him, they were comfortable—tangling their legs and hands together. They continued talking about things they never thought of telling about. There are no secrets between us anymore. Except one, Taehyung was going to die and Astra will have to leave. 

They went on and on until their conversation stopped being about their pasts but, turned into their present and the non-existent future. "This is our safe place." Taehyung moved his hand in a circling manner on her back, smiling into her eyes. 

"Taehyung? What if you'll die today and I'll leave to somewhere far?"

"What's gotten into you?! I know I'm clumsy but, I'm not gonna get myself killed that—"

"Answer me." He went quiet, looking up at the ceiling as if it had a written answer there. Humming and scratching his head, he sighed. "I'll wait for you in the afterlife. You can come looking for me—I'm sure you'll leave only if it's really important."

"How will I find you?"

"Uh . . . A garden full of flowers and a little coffee house with a huge speaker system. How does it sound?" He nodded to himself, looking around as his eyes fell onto a hat on the table near the bed. "A Luigi hat?" Like a child, he ran back to her with it, placed it on her head, and pulled out his own Mario Kart hat from his backpack.

He pulled his mobile to his eye level. "Let me take a photo. Lean in with me."

Astra couldn't look into the camera, her eyes on his face that still looked pretty on the screen. He later checked out the picture, setting it as his main background all at once. 

Meanwhile, Astra's mind was clouded with thoughts—Will meeting me kill him? No, no. He was going to die even before I came here. She climbed up onto his lap, bringing him closer. She hugged him so tight that he could feel her heartbeat against his. She was smiling and crying, there was no way to stop time—she knew she could do that but, she wouldn't. 

Cheating death was not a choice.

They rested their head on the pillow. She really hoped Taehyung'd die in his sleep, painlessly instead of something bad and tragedic. He kissed his last friend and last lover because he knew the world wouldn't go against them if it was what brought them together.

She placed her hand over his heart, feeling it beat for the last time.