Closer than Ever

Chapter 36 - Nurungji/Jimin's Advice

The rest of Tae's parents' visit goes fairly smoothly. Once they've gone to bed, he comes over to my place so we can converse and do other things at our normal volume. I worry about paparazzi or sasaengs tracking him here, but we don't notice any problems...

I confess that I'm relieved when they leave on Wednesday morning, though. I'm ready to get back to our regular lives, and Lulu is super-grumpy whenever she smells Yeontan on Tae's hands. The two of us move back over to the condo that evening after work.

I was looking forward to some noisy morning sex, now that Tae's parents have gone home, but he is already gone when I wake up on Thursday morning. I panic a little bit - this has never happened before! But I hear noise elsewhere in the condo, so I know he's around.

Tae is out in the kitchen, pressing leftover rice down onto a frying pan to make nurungji. I stumble out and give him a back-hug since he's busy at the stove. "You're up early today, babe," I note. He pats my hands where they're clasped around his middle, but just keeps cooking. I pop a pod into the coffee maker and set my cup in, then look at him again.

"What's wrong, love?" I ask.

He doesn't meet my eyes. "Nothing," he says. His tone is flat and distant.

I look at him for a moment, then nod and take my coffee out to the couch. I sit with my legs tucked beneath me and sip from my favorite mug, letting my mind go blank.

Tae walks in and hands me a plate with a couple of nurungji on it, generously sprinkled with sugar. "Thanks, sweet man!" I say. He grunts faintly and goes back into the kitchen. I sigh and break off a piece of crispy rice. It's warm and tasty, and I wish I was enjoying it more.

I carry my dishes into the kitchen and find him sitting at the kitchen table, staring blankly at some rapidly-cooling nurungji. I carefully wash and dry my dishes and put them up in the cupboard, then turn to find that tears are streaming silently down his cheeks.

I pull a chair close to him and wipe his cheeks gently with the back of my fingers. "Please tell me what's going on, Taehyung," I say, forlorn. "What's wrong?" I rest my hand on his forearm, rubbing it slightly in what I hope is a reassuring way.

He gulps, but still doesn't speak for a long moment. Finally he looks at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen and tells me, "You left me. I saw it."

I blink at him, uncomprehending. "Do you mean that you dreamed it?" I ask.

He sighs heavily. "Yes. I saw you leaving."

My sarcastic brain desperately wants to deflect and tell him that I was probably just going to the bookstore or something, but I can't use dumb humor when he's this upset. "Do you often have dreams that come true in real life?" I ask.

"Sometimes," he replies. "And it seemed so real." The tears start flowing again, though he is sitting still as a statue.

I stand up and give him another back-hug, pressing my cheek against his. "I'm right here, babe. I'm not going anywhere, I promise," I tell him.

Honestly, I am so uncomfortable right now. I feel panicky. 'This is the price for having a relationship with an amazing, quirky, artistic, sensitive soul like Taehyung,' I silently scold myself. I gently kiss his temple and his cheekbone.

After a solid five minutes of me hugging him and whispering sweet nothings in his ear, he straightens up a bit and grabs a bite of crispy rice, which I take as a good sign. I give him a final squeeze and leave smooches all over his neck. "Are you feeling a bit better, love? Can I go take a shower now?"

He turns his head and kisses me on the side of my mouth, leaving grains of sugar that I lick off. "I'm OK. Go ahead and I'll follow."

"Feel free to join me," I say with a small but flirty smile. Team showering hasn't been a part of our dating repertoire so far - we've been bath people - but today seems like a fine day to start.