Decoupled • KTH : Book 1✔

Chapter 30

Taehyung

"Would it be cold in London this time of the year?" I quiz her as I take a sharp turn headed towards my house.

"Yeah, it's a bit similar to the weather here in Seoul," Maya's muffled voice sounds on the phone.

"Have you packed well? Do you need any help, Maya?"

"I guess I need some help," she says softly.

"What is it? Do you have to buy something? I can pick it up," My question is answered with a negative hum from her.

"How do I pack you along?" I hear a rustle of sheets followed by a heavy breath that Maya lets out, and it causes every hair fiber on my body to stand upright, a chill running down my spine.

"Maya, what am I going to do for a whole week without you? God! I'm going to miss you so much," I'm trying hard not to get her worried and miserably failing in that mission.

"TaeTae, I will miss you so bad too. Spend a lot of time with Areum and give her all my love, okay? She is so precious," Maya distracts me, bringing a smile to my face.

"I will. I promise. I'll see you at the airport tonight, okay?" I ask her as I park my car outside my house.

"Okay, baby," she passes a kiss to me before we end the call, and it only makes me sadder.

There's about two more hours until I get to meet Maya at the airport, and right now time seems to be just crawling at a snail's pace.

I'm aimlessly sitting on the couch and watching the minutes tick by in slow motion while Areum keeps coming back to me every now and then with some funny thing that she read in her comic book or for giving me a kiss—everything appearing to me as if it's all part of a hazy dream on a hungover morning.

Areum, finally bored of being on her own, throws herself on me, hugging me tight from behind with her little arms wound around my neck.
"Why are you dressed up, appa?" She asks curiously.

"I have to go out somewhere, bubba," I ruffle her hair, swiping my cheek over her soft and squishy cheek that's on my shoulder.

"Can I come too?" She asks sweetly, giving me her infamous cutesy smile, her little chin moving against my shoulder as she speaks.

"It's quite far from here, and you also have to go to bed early because you have school tomorrow," I give her the reasons why she wouldn't be able to join me.

"She doesn't have to go to school until Monday," Jang-Mi interrupts out of nowhere, making my eyebrows raise in doubt, my mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, unsure what to say next.

"Yes, appa. No school till Monday. Can I also come with you, pleaseeee?" My daughter leaps onto my lap and holds my face in her soft, little hands, pleading cutely.

And so, here we are, two hours later, Areum and I, waiting at the airport to meet Maya.

My daughter is full of questions which I have only answered very vaguely until now, and it was nearly impossible to get a minute to myself to send a text message to Maya. She's surely going to be surprised to see Areum here with me.

I'm not sure if she's going to like it, but there's no other way now.

My phone rings and distracts me out of my thoughts. Holding Areum's hand in my left, I answer the call with my right hand.

"Maya," I speak quietly.

"Taehyung, are you here already? I just arrived," Maya's voice is drowned by a lot of loud sounds in the background.