Friendships Desires and Secrets

Beginnings pt2

Louder Than Bombs finished and the silence was quickly replaced by Seesaw. Tara adjusted her earbud and quickened her pace. She couldn't be late for the train again. The Korean schools didn't become lax around the holidays like the Canadian or American schools. In fact, they seemed to tighten up, more tests and assignments than she'd had all semester. It wasn't just the Hangul classes, but the updated medical classes she was talking so that she could keep her current profession now that she was following her dream to live here. Her best friend Alex had been here just a few weeks and they had only been able to hang out once, both of them had such demanding schedules. Alex taught at the same university that she attended, but they never crossed paths. Both were always running hither and dither.

Tara got to the stop just as her train pulled into the station. She rushed aboard with the other passengers and didn't even try to find a seat. She held onto the rail as the train pulled away. A young girl was moving fast down the length of the car and there was a little excitement and complaints as she dozed her way. When she passed the man in front of Tara, he tried to back up, and caused Tara to nearly fall. She was caught by the man in the seat behind her and turned around, embarrassed, to apologize. The apologetic phrase, neomumianheyo, barely escaped her lips when she realized on whom she had almost sat.

Hoodie pulled up around his ears, toboggan down past his eyebrows and a mask up to his waterline but she still would have known those eyes anywhere. If she were blind, she would have known them, then the scent of Invictus suddenly enveloped her. Her heart felt like a trapped hummingbird, fluttering wildly. Tara bowed instinctively and she repeated her apology. "Min Yoongissi! Neomumianheyo!" It was barely audible over the din of the train.

She could see his eyes crinkle as he smiled. He lifted his bag out of the seat beside him and motioned for her to sit down. If she hadn't been near fainting, she would have politely declined, but as it was, only a croaking sound came from her throat which had instantly turned into a desert. She sat firmly as her legs turned to numb jell-o. She tucked her hair nervously behind her ear. Of course, it chose now to curl the wrong way.

"It would probably be better for your health if you breathed." He stated almost mirthless in Daegu dialect.

Tara cleared her throat and swallowed the dry lump in it before answering, "I usually don't consider my own heath much." She smiled sweetly, which was mostly hidden by her mask. 

Yoongi eyes widened, slightly startled by her fluency. "Your accent is cute. Where are you from?"

"Canada."

"How did you end up here?" He turned in his seat to face her, his foot resting against her knee. He was instantly impressed that she wasn't a fawning foreign fan. They could be so rude. She was obviously an ARMY, but she was also just a passenger on a train.

"I wanted to study here." She glanced down at his foot when it grazed her, noticing his shoe was untied. She reached down without thinking and tied it. Then realizing what she did, looked at him, frightened that she had offended him. 

Min Yoongi smiled warmly over his mask. "Thank you." 

Tara nodded, blushing scarlet.

Yoongi's eyes turned mischievous, and he added in English "You know BTS?" It was an inside joke with BTS ARMY members. He had said it once in an interview, and after all the memes, it was practically a standard ARMY greeting.

Tara giggled and answered, "Yes of course!" She pulled her coat sleeves down over the "My Love" and "Min Yoongi" tattoos on her wrists. She was a loyal ARMY, and respectful, but she was also afraid he would be scared off if he knew about them just yet. The love of her life was sitting in front of her, and they were having a normal conversation. She felt the stars align. He was still in the military, so he must have been home for the holiday. It was not a coincidence that she had practically fell in his lap.

"So, you are going to university?" He glanced out the window and popped his long slender fingers. 

His hands distracted her for a moment, and she shifted in her seat, heat rising in her belly. "Uh I uh yeah. I'm studying medical. Practical medicine and billing and coding. Oh, and Korean language of course."

He nodded with interest. "That's good." He thought for a minute. "You have family here?"

"No." She replied firmly. She had two grown girls in Canada with her x husband. But that was a story that she didn't want to go into yet. "Are you home for the holidays?" She asked the obvious question to redirect the conversation. 

"Oh yeah. I'm going to get Min Holly from my brother first."

"I thought you had two dogs?"

"No. He is my brother's dog. But he is Hollys best friend. They used to chase each other around my brothers place, but his knees are getting tired."

"It's sad that our pets have to get old." Tara replied. 

Yoongi nodded again, bouncing his head in a way that any Yoongi stan would recognize. His eyes suddenly lit up. "We are going out to Cheybol later to eat. You should come."

Her heart leapt out of her chest, but her mind started its trash talk. "I would love to, but you just got back. I wouldn't want to bother your brother."

He warmed to her even more for her thoughtfulness. "Not my brother, the members."

If she didn't have on a mask, she would have likely hyperventilated. "If you don't think I would be a bother." Then she remembered Alex. "Do you think I could bring a friend, that way I'm not the only girl with you guys?"

  "Thats probably a good idea. Is she ARMY also?"

Tara cringed inwardly. "She knows BTS." She responded playfully.

Yoongi got up as the next stop approached. "It was very nice to meet you..."

"Tara. Tara Algren."

"Tala Algrenssi." He bowed and started to exit the train before shouting back over his shoulder. "Around 7 tonight ok." and he was gone. 

She remembered all of the sudden that she was even on a train, that there were other people on the train and that she needed to call Alex before she could scream. She looked out the window as the train moved away from the platform and she saw Yoongi wipe both palms on his jeans as though they were sweaty. So! He was nervous too. Tara dialed Alex quickly.