The truth untold

-nine-

KCON Staples Centre (Los Angeles) - July 2016

"...happy 17th birthday."

Tzuyu let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Her hand was still in his, between their bodies. Their close distance allowed her to be blessed with his delightful smell. She used everything in her power to keep herself from fainting. She thought she was forgetting him; she was trying to hate him even, but all those attempts were just thrown out of the window with just one interaction. He set off a zoo in her tummy; she loved and hated the feeling at the same time. The blue contacts made him look ethereal, she wanted to swoon.

She hated what she became when she was around him; weak.

Say something, you idiot, without gaping like a fricking fish! her sensible side yelled at her. She forced a smile. "Thank you," she said. "How did you know though?"

"It was hard to miss when it was all over social media," he responded with a grin. "I hope you had fun."

"I did," she stated, amused by how normal their conversation seemed despite what was happening between them. "My unnies went all out. Korean age 18, right? So they made it quite memorable."

He mouthed an 'Ah', her statement having some effect on him but she couldn't understand what. Suddenly, they heard some murmuring in a distance. The voices of those people prompted them to snap back into reality.

"I guess we should get going," Tzuyu suggested with an awkward smile.

"Yeah," Taehyung agreed. He loosened his grip and as she began to pull her hand away, he tightened his fingers around hers again. She glanced at his face, and he seemed as though he wanted to say something. She waited, as he opened and closed his mouth, struggling to find the words. With a long sigh, he smiled at her sadly. "I don't deserve to have your company. Considering everything I'm doing towards you."

His hopelessness was so evident in his face that it made Tzuyu's heart clench. She squeezed his fingers in reassurance. "Oppa, it's fine. I understand that you're doing this for my best, and yours."

"It still doesn't give me the right to-."

"Let's not talk about it for now," she cut him off. "I did wish you spoke about it with me before you took such a drastic decision, because I kind of became used to...you. So suddenly losing contact with you angered me so much, but Jeongyeon unnie helped me understand what happened."

She didn't wait for his response as she slid her hand out of his and bowed down as goodbye. Leaving him dumbfounded, she rushed back to the busy hallways, trying to find her missing members and trying to forget everything that just happened.

.....

BTS Dorm (Seoul) - August 2016

Kim Taehyung unpacked his dirty laundry, holding his breath while he did so. He scrunched his nose as he picked a pair of socks and tossed it into a laundry bin. The band had returned from Thailand the previous night, and unpacking was the last thing he wanted to do but the smells were just too much to ignore.

As he continued on, Jimin strutted in and made himself comfortable on the bed, watching the younger boy do his chore for a while before asking, "When was the last time you went on a date?"

Taehyung actually laughed out loud.

"I'm serious. You're a man in his prime and you will desire female companionship,"Jimin explained, and Taehyung rolled his eyes at the exaggeration on Jimin's choice of words.

"Where do you see us having the time to date, Jimin-ah?"

Jimin shrugged. "I find time to date. Namjoon is also dating."