LET ME - taehyun x oc

BONUS: Promises - 1 🔞

VIOLET

May 27, 2022

Anyang

"Tae?"

He stares out the window, watching the wall of trees blend into a field.

I glance at him for just a moment, but he doesn't look at me, so I release one hand off the steering wheel and squeeze his thigh. "Baby, look at me."

"What?" he chuckles, finally turning to me. His big brown eyes look weary and a little tired.

"What's the matter? You're so quiet," I smile. He takes a deep breath in. The road narrows and I slow down. "You're not nervous, are you?"

He exhales out with a giggle and drops his head back on the headrest, turning his face to look at me. "I'm a little nervous."

"Baby!" I laugh and turn to him. "What happened to mister-I-never-get-nervous-about-anything?" He laughs with me and turns his attention back to the window. So I slide my hand over to caress his bouncing knee. "It's gonna be okay, babe..."

But he stays quiet, his eyes glued to the small houses lining the streets of the village.

"Tae, my parents are so excited to meet you. And my grandma–"

"But what if they don't like me?" he interrupts, turning to me. "I'm scared your dad won't understand me and that your grandma will think I'm a playboy or something..."

"A playboy?!" I laugh. "Baby, we talked about this already," I glance at him with a reassuring smile. "I have never made any comments to them even hinting at the possibility of you being a playboy–"

"Yeah, but I'm an idol so they'll think it..."

"They won't! And you know my dad is super chill. Yes— he's not fluent in Korean but he's familiar with the culture. And you–" I take his hand and hold it. "You speak English really well!"

"I know, but I get stuck on words sometimes and I don't want to come off as blunt..."

"Tae, but you are blunt," I laugh. "That's just you, babe."

He laughs with me and interlaces his fingers with mine, gazing at me while I keep my eyes on the road. "I think me being nervous about meeting your family means I'm really in love with you..."

I laugh and look at him for a moment, his toothy grin wide on his face. "Well, duh, baby– of course you're in love with me."

He giggles and squeezes my hand a little, leaning over the center console to peck me on the cheek. He then gets quiet again as if he's considering something. "So, um– do we really need to sleep in separate rooms?"

I turn to him suddenly, giggling. "Tae– I told you!"

"I know!" he laughs. "It's just gonna be hard..." he leans in a little more, looking at me with a pout. "We don't see each other all week and now we have to spend the weekend in separate rooms..."

"I know, baby," I rest my palm on his thigh and look at him with the same little pout. "But don't worry– we'll have some alone time," I grin at him, raising my eyebrows. "Okay?"

He takes a deep breath in and sighs out with a smile, leaning back on his seat. "Alright..." he giggles and takes my hand. "I trust you."

▫️▫️▫️▫️

We pull up to the driveway of my grandma's house, the gravel crunching under the wheels of the car. The red poppies growing underneath the window sway with the breeze.

Everything looks the same.

It's been eight months since I've been here. The last time was back in August when I had just arrived to Korea – my hands full of suitcases and my heart full of excitement. Only to find out, under that big camphor tree, that Jaesung had been cheating on me for months.