Unloved | tk

ch19

Taehyung chose a cosy traditional Korean restaurant, opting for a private cabin that offered a haven of seclusion, guarding against the intrusion of prying eyes. Each passing moment intensified his restlessness, as he checked his watch and fidgeted, consumed by the anticipation of the imminent arrival of the enigmatic raven. He recalled their unexpected phone call last night.

"𝘛𝘢𝘦?"

"𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘬?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥---𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬?"

"𝘜𝘮, 𝘯𝘰, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦"

"𝘖𝘩, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩"

"𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘶𝘮, 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘯-𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵?"

"𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦?"

"𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵"

Taehyung arrived a whopping 45 minutes ahead of their agreed-upon time, his anticipation evident as he anxiously contemplated the upcoming discussion. Despite rehearsing the entire conversation in his mind, the moment he stepped into the restaurant, every word evaporated, leaving only the sheer joy of encountering Jungkook once more. All the scripted lines, the feeble promises he made to his best friend, vanished as his focus shifted to the genuine happiness that welled up in his heart at the possibility of meeting Jungkook.

As the clock struck the awaited hour, the creaking of the cabin door accompanied the entrance of the raven, precisely in sync. Acting on pure instinct, the brunette rose to extend a greeting, but the visitor, seemingly unfazed, nonchalantly settled across the wooden table on a woven mat.

Instant embarrassment took over Taehyung but he didn't fuss about it too much and went on to take his seat as well. 

As Jungkook smoothly slid off his sling bag, poised to delve into the upcoming discussion, his momentum was unexpectedly halted by the arrival of a stunning waitress wearing a baby pink hanbok. She gracefully approached, carrying a tray adorned with fragrant citron tea and refreshing water. Taehyung, appreciative of the interruption, expressed his gratitude with a warm smile, uttering a sincere "thank you" as she attended to their table.

Once she exited the room, Taehyung smoothly slid the cup a tad closer to Jungkook, communicating his unspoken desire for him to indulge in its contents. The raven was really thirsty because he had quickly winded up his list of patients, and travelled all the way to the restaurant by bus, which he had almost missed if he hadn't run. So when the brunette silently slid the porcelain towards him, he silently took the cup and sipped on the refreshing drink.

Ever since the raven beckoned Taehyung for a meeting, an incessant stream of thoughts has consumed his mind, lingering both day and night. He wanted answers to so many questions but he wouldn't deny the relaxation the citron tea gave his mind. The fragrant drink and the beautiful ambience instantly brought his mind to peace. Jungkook's mind played cruel tricks because the meeting felt like a date but he mentally scolded himself for being so stupid.