Evenstar

7. One Afternoon in Time: Taehyung

They piled into the SUV after a heavy brunch at his home. His mom had purchased boxes of her favourite pastries and instructed him to hand this to Dae Eun when they got there. He smiled at how she was so excited about this and kept nagging him to be at his best behaviour.

"Who are we meeting?" his manager finally asked.

"My future wife," Taehyung joked and explained the situation. He wanted to go down this road and now they were beginning that journey. It may lead to nowhere, or even a dead end, but he was willing to try.

Manager Se-jun was silent as they pulled out of Taehyung's apartment building. Because he was very sociable, Taehyung had been associated with many women in the past. It always ended badly, especially for the woman concerned. The fandom and media called it a scandal whenever this happened. It seemed like everyone was a jealous lover and would never allow Taehyung to be with anyone else. He could imagine all the explaining he would need to do in the coming days if something came out of this meeting.

"I know what you're thinking," Taehyung said from the back seat as he was trying to make himself comfortable for the nearly three-hour drive. "It's too early to be worried. Let's just see. You do want to see me get married, don't you, hyung?"

"Yes, of course. I want that for all of you." He himself was married and with a child of four years. It was a different fulfilment to come home at the end of a long and tiring day to your wife and baby, to be a husband and a father. He wanted all the members to experience that joy, and it was already long delayed for them. But being a K-Pop idol was a difficult and lonely life, the trade-off for all the fame and fortune that came with unparalleled success. And Taehyung was one of the most popular of the members. Before the accident in 2022 and until now, he remained a top influencer worldwide and all his actions in public and private were fodder for global SNS.

"We'll get there by 2:30 PM." His driver was using Daum. "You can catch some shuteye."

"Thank you, hyung." Taehyung had woken up at 10 AM, relatively early since he had fallen asleep at around 5 that morning. He kept unusual hours, trying to balance practice and photo sessions with Bulletproof, his K-Drama shoots, sleep and family time. It had been like this since he was in his teens and he was used to it, but he was thankful for moments when he could sleep or rest. After the accident, he had noticed a marked difference in his ability to keep up with his schedules. It wasn't noticeable to other people, but he had to give more effort now compared to when he was younger. He had discussed this with his doctors, and they said that the body usually takes time to recover from injuries such as the ones he suffered, and he hadn't really given himself that much time to recover. As soon as he could he entered military service, and after that he went back to work.

Soon enough they were driving on the highway, and buildings became scarce as they headed out of Seoul toward the South Chungcheong Province. As to how a relationship could ever thrive between this distance was beyond him at the moment, but he could always connect with her online if they both hit it off. For now he wouldn't worry about anything and in a moment he began drifting off to sleep.

Over an hour later, Taehyung woke up and found a distinct change in the scenery outside. There were more mountains and trees, and when he rolled down his window he could smell the scent of the sea. It lifted his spirits. Geumsan was actually closer to his hometown in Daegu, and if he had more time he would have wanted to drop by there too.

"Hyung, let's stop by a restroom somewhere. I'd like to wash my face and change clothes." His shirt was all crumpled from having slept in one position, and his face was puffy from sleep. They found a small diner near a river and decided to have a light snack before the last leg of the trip. When they finished, they stopped by a small gazebo by the waters and took in the view. They breathed in the fresh air deeply.

"This is more like it," his driver, Do-hyun, said as he closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet air.

"Wish we could have more of this in the city," Manager Se-jun agreed.

Taehyung sat and watched the sunlight rippling on the waters. He wished he had more days like this too, when he could pass a whole afternoon watching this glimmering light, feeling the breeze as it wandered about, embracing everyone in its path. In his line of work the lights were always artificial, always focused on him, not allowing him to breathe even for a moment. He had learned to live, and thrive, in that light.

Taehyung stood up in a while and they rode in silence, wondering what lay ahead. He suddenly got nervous as they pulled up to a wide metal gate, intricately-designed and bearing the Hangul for Kwan. The guard opened the gate immediately after Taehyung identified himself, and they were instructed to follow the road to its end. The road was long and winding, lined with trees and bushes on both sides. A grand house loomed to the left, a mixture of traditional and modern design, and there were several luxury cars parked in front. Since the road did not end there, they proceeded through farmland on opposite sides of the road where they saw people harvesting produce. It took about 15 more minutes before they reached the end of the road and saw a more modest house compared to the earlier one.

"Should we stay in the car?" his manager asked.

"No hyung, let's all go." His hyungs laughed and teased him as they all filed out of the SUV and proceeded to the entrance of the stone house.

In a moment a young woman emerged at the door, tall and slender, with long dark hair. She was casually dressed in faded jeans and a white tunic blouse. Her doe eyes were smiling as she greeted them with a slight bow.

"Annyeonghaseyo, my name is Kwan Dae Eun. Please come in."