ENTHRALL° s.th

023

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DAEGU
EVENING
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✧──────✦ despite the fact that taehoon doesn't say much to begin with, even jaehwa can tell something is wrong. it's almost like he's thinking for the first time in his life. instead of making fun of her choice of food, he just hums and nods while he looks over his own menu.

dinner doesn't necessarily go fast, there's enough loitering from the both of them that the steadily filling restaurant kicks them out because their plates have been licked clean for half an hour already.

since the restaurant is considerably farther from jaehwa's house, she has to wait for the last bus of the night to loop around. per usual, taehoon stands by her side with his hands in his pockets, occasionally making funny comments about a person they had seen earlier. plus, the bus stop is farther from a suburban area, so they're the only two souls in sight for the next kilometer.

eventually they fade into a comfortable silence. the cicadas occasionally chirp and there's an echo of a far away car horn. jaehwa would have been perfectly fine had she not had the biting feeling that taehoon was... different.

in between her rocking back and forth on her heels and picking at her cuticles, she would take the occasional peek at the boy next to her. he has that naturally mean face, but it still has that charm that makes girls like it anyways. taehoon reminds jaehwa of her childhood cat who had the sharp eyes and a sweet personality. yeah, taehoon was a pretty bad guy, but he spends so much time with her, that he has virtually no free time. sounds like a win to her.

as taehoon watches intently for the bus, he can feel jaehwa staring at him. it makes his ears red at the tips to imagine the face she's making at him. he just knows that she's looking at him from the corner of her eye, eyelashes slightly curled and pupils slightly dilated. he wishes he could just go back in time and forget everything he knows now. at least before he could talk a full sentence maintaining eye contact without completely losing his train of thought. even with this, he doubts that jaehwa noticed because he takes himself as a very good secret keeper.

which is why it throws him completely off guard when jaehwa asks this.

"are you okay?" taehoon nearly jerks his head to look at jaehwa who is now kicking pebbles on the asphalt all shy like.

he hides his surprise by letting out a suspicious laugh, "yeah, why wouldn't i be?" the sudden change in the mood is suffocating the both of them. but lo and behold, saved by the bus. it slowly comes to a screeching halt a few feet in front of them.

"you're just acting off..." the doors fold open and jaehwa hesitantly steps forward, gripping the straps of her full backpack. and she doesn't mean it when she says, "whatever, it's fine."

taehoon doesn't like the tone in her voice. it's like she's almost disappointed in him. he doesn't want her to feel anything negative towards him because that means his chances aren't very good. the bus doors eventually close and the driver irritably mumbles something under his breath before pulling away to the next stop. the cicadas still chirp and the loud engine of the bus fades into nothing as it turns a corner. taehoon has a foot forward and slightly widened eyes, like he's surprised with his own actions.

his hand grasps jaehwa's wrist, his touch so uncharacteristically light it might as well not even be there. they stand there for a few long seconds before he finally lets go.

"i'll walk you home."

taehoon turns and starts walking while jaehwa lags behind. her cheeks are red and hot to the touch despite the evening time chill beginning to enter the air. all this time she's looked at him like he's just some boy who doesn't put any thought into his actions. he really is different, and she wants to know why. he knows everything about her, so she'd prefer it was the same the other way around.