My Summer With You || Taehyung Fanfiction

Chapter 8:: Butterflies

Author's POV: 

You stared at the huge feast in front of you. Rice, beef, chicken, fish, eggs, curry and dumplings. A sigh escaped your lips as you shook your head. 
Isabel—who hung up a few minutes after Grandma Violet's entry and stopped her wailing since then—was now sitting with some rice and beef on her plate. 
"Is the memorial happening at night?" You heard Uncle Ben ask as Aunt Mary shook her head saying, "No, it's happening at 4 pm. It's still 1 pm. We will finish lunch and then the guests will come." 
"Oh..." He nodded and looked down. 

Uncle Ben was originally from States. He was an American-Korean who lived 80% of his life in the States but the moment he came to Korea and met your aunt, he claimed to fall in love at first sight. Well, as romantic as it was, it had been 5 years of their marriage and you could see how well their bickering had improved. You didn't know about the romance though. They never showed PDA. 

You were now eating some chicken and dumplings as your mother did the same. Everyone was eating and you could feel a stare at you from a familiar direction. Taehyung's direction. 
You snapped your head toward his direction but saw him staring at his food with big eyes. He wasn't staring? Weird. 
You saw Isabel giving you a suspicious stare and rolled your eyes at her, focusing on your food. 
Uncle Ben must've thought no one noticed his hand sneaking into your Aunt's one but you did. They were sitting right beside you. 
Now you knew where the PDA was. There it was! Corny.

You looked at your Aunt to see her pink cheeks. A chuckle died to escape your lips but you couldn't expose them. It would be embarrassing. Everyone in here was so weird. You really couldn't figure anything out.

—After lunch

It was 3 pm right now. Some guests came to your house. Mr Oliver, Pete, and Ms Eliza were also there. You greeted everyone. They all showed their respects and condolences. Your mom was crying and Isa was wailing. God, she needed to stop wailing because you wanted to cry seeing her as well. 

You stared at your father's photo frame. It made your heartache. He was smiling widely for someone who passed away from stomach cancer. He had cancer for 2 years until he couldn't fight it anymore. You found it painful every time you remembered the day you saw him coughing out blood in the sink at late night. He thought no one noticed but you did. You went out to use the bathroom but instead got the shock of your life. A sad and terrifying one. 

You didn't realize when your eyes welled up with tears. You quickly got up from the sofa and walked out on the balcony, sighing. A tear escaped your lips as you took in a sharp breath, wiping it away. 
"God..." You groaned, feeling yourself tearing up again. You had always held in these painful emotions every time you saw your family members cry. But, you also needed to cry and that's what you forgot. 
"I don't have anywhere to cry right now." You said to yourself, feeling your heart ache even more. You had a great family, a real one. But when it came to shoulders, you felt like you had none. Not now when everyone was suffering, you didn't know how to seek comfort from them. All you could do was comfort them—not the other way around.

You wiped off the tears and walked into the house to see everyone busy. Except for one. The one who was staring in your direction with soft eyes. 
"Taehyung?" You whispered. Just as if he had heard you, he got up and walked towards you asking, "Are you okay?" 
"Huh?" You asked, frowning a little. No one asked you this in a while. Other than him. Because you were the only one who appeared the strongest in the family. It was untrue, you cried yourself to sleep so many nights, and cried in the shower countless times. But, those were tales buried deep in your heart. 

You wet your lips with your tongue and looked down saying, "Yeah... I... you're done paying respects?"
"Yeah." He said, smiling faintly. You felt his hand make its way toward your face. You jolted a bit but didn't move. You sort of wanted the contact of his warm palm against your cheek. But instead, his thumb softly grazed against your cheek, his smile flattening. 
"It's okay to not be okay." He said, smiling the warmest smile you had ever seen. You stared into his eyes. They looked so soft, so comforting and warm. Your heart felt heavier now. 
You felt yourself tear up again but looked down immediately, shaking your head. His hands made their way to your arms, gripping them delicately.