Decoupled • KTH : Book 1✔

Chapter 6

Maya

"Do you live close by?" I ask Taehyung, my eyes lazily moving to look at him.

"I live close to the hotel," he answers calmly as we walk out of the subway station.

From all the events of the evening, and from whatever I have been hearing and observing all along tonight, I cannot help but delusionally assume that Taehyung had probably liked me at some point in the past.

Maybe before I liked him? Maybe he liked someone else afterwards? Maybe he is trying to tease me and make fun of my interest in him? But how does he still remember my favorite song? I was shocked when he remembered my name, and the song was a total boom on my face. I never expected it.

My mind has been revolving around a lot of confusing thoughts which I don't wish to discuss now because the feelings and actions from our past would probably mean nothing to him now.

For all I know, his heart might be somewhere else now, no matter where it was in the past. So bringing up something from years ago isn't what I should be doing, and it's also not what I intend to do.

I mean, he even bought a rose for someone. So it means that I should just zip up my mouth.

"Maya, can we take a bus?" Taehyung's deep voice almost sends a shiver down my spine, and I know this reaction in my body shouldn't be happening. I can't believe that his voice has this effect on me after a whole ass fifteen years.

"Sure," my mouth blurts out something that's not in sync with my thoughts.

Taehyung and I get into the bus, and he sits close to me, making my whole body go stiff, once again. Our shoulders and thighs are touching, and the contact is definitely making my body react in weird ways which I'm trying hard not to show too obviously.

"Maya, why aren't you speaking anything? Am I boring you?" His words make my eyes lift and look at his eyes that have morphed into much softer, puppy eyes that look so adorable.

"Not at all, Taehyung. I- uhm, I don't know what to ask you"

Way to go, Maya!

"Yeah?" He laughs a little, lifting a hand to ruffle his fluffy hair, his hand brushing against mine in the process.

"We've never spoken to each other back in school," he says before looking at me, his intense gaze peeling away my layers of nervousness and replacing them with more at the same time. "Although I've always wanted to," he adds, letting his head drop with a shy smile making its way up his lips.

EHHH??? WHAT DID HE SAY?

"You did?" My eyes go wide and my voice turns a bit squeaky with surprise, and Taehyung nods fervently.

"I did. But I wasn't so confident. I was always looking out for you, observing you and wishing I had the courage to look into your eyes and talk to you," Taehyung confesses with a prominent blush painting his entire face, and it almost gives me a cardiac arrest; the urge to literally clutch my chest in my hands but unable to do it for obvious reasons is killing me right now.

"How come I never knew that you were looking out for me?" I tilt my head to one side, still hoping and praying that he is only trying to play a prank on me and mock me for my sickly sweet crush letters.

"Because you weren't interested in me....I guess," he shrugs with a sad smile.

NO WAY! I thought it was the other way round.

"So did you like me or something?" My mouth, really. Why the hell can't it shut up? Why can't I stop digging the past?

"I did," he smiles his big square grin that I never thought I would see again in this lifetime, except in the group photographs that I treasure so much. "I liked you a lot, and almost everyone in class knew about it, except you," he chuckles softly, fiddling with his long fingers, yet keeping his gaze strongly glued on me, and his words make my heart deflate within my chest.