Unique Friend

~8~

~8~

As usual, Karina finds she cannot deny a request from Taehyung, so she finds herself at a nearby park after they finish their breakfast. She has to admit, even if only to herself, that it is exactly what she needed to clear her head and relax, and the park he chose is one she had never been to before. She allows herself some time to sit and enjoy the nice weather, watching the ducks in the little pond, and the few other people as they meander throughout the park.

Taehyung had chosen to wander rather than sit, and Karina finds her eyes drifting back to his tall form more than once, smiling at the way his face lights up whenever something takes his interest -a butterfly, pretty flower, laughing children. He takes it all in with big, wondrous eyes and a sweet smile. When he suddenly turns and looks straight at her, she is embarrassed to think he knows she was watching him, despite her sunglasses. She glances away quickly, but he just grins and heads in her direction as she pretends to be preoccupied with her phone. In fact, when she glances at it she notices the time.

"Oh my goodness!," she exclaims, just as Taehyung reaches the bench she is sitting on.

"What's wrong?" he asks with obvious concern.

"I didn't realize how late it had gotten! I've wasted the entire morning, it's almost noon." Karina replies in dismay.

Taehyung looks somewhat hurt at this, "I don't think it was a waste," he pouts. She glances at him, but doesn't know what to say. They are quiet a moment before he speaks again. "Come on Roomie, let's go home."

Karina is pretty sure she has hurt his feelings, but is at a loss; she has always been guarded with her own emotions, and is not much better when it comes to discussing the emotions of others either. They make their way out of the park in a glum silence that lasts until they come to the grocer she had pointed out to Taehyung that first week he moved in. Happy for an excuse to break the uncomfortable silence, Karina stops.

"Hey, I'm gonna pop in to pick up a few things," she gestures toward the grocer with a thumb over her shoulder, not sure what else to say. Is it normal to invite people to grocery shop with you? Wait, isn't that a thing couples do? Will that give him the wrong idea? Oh geez...why am I having all these weird thoughts...

Thankfully Taehyung takes all the awkwardness out of the situation by smiling and nodding excitedly. "Ok, I will help!"

They make their way inside, giving a small wave to the worker behind the cash, and taking one of the little carts. Karina gets basically the same items each trip, so she has a running mental list of what she needs. She takes her time, thinking back to what she still has at home, what she really needs, and looking at the prices on each item. Taehyung, on the other hand, has a completely different shopping style. He's firing things into the cart like a kid in a candy store. In fact, most of what he is throwing in, is candy and snacks, and he doesn't even glance at a price tag.

"What are you doing, Taehyung!? That's a lot of junk food, are you planning a party or something?" she laughs.

"Ani. No, but there are a lot of different treats and snacks here that we do not have back home in Korea, and I want to try them all!" he grins at her. His happy-go-lucky mood is infectious.

"Oh, well then in that case, let me show you the good stuff!" she grins back, happy the awkwardness has vanished again.

They proceed through the junk food aisles of the store, Taehyung grabbing items at random with Karina voting for or against, arguing over some choices, and she trying to convince him of the yumminess of others he refuses to get. When finally the cart is piled high, they make their way to the checkout, grinning like two unsupervised kids who just snuck the last of the cookies from the jar.

Karina's smile fades as soon as she catches a glimpse of their ever-increasing total, but Taehyung doesn't hesitate to bring out his credit card and swipes it before she can protest. "My idea, my treat," he says with finality. She tries to protest that she should at least pay for her basics that she had gotten, but he won't budge, claiming that he eats some of it too. It's only after they ring out and their purchases are all bagged that they realize their folly.

"Oh. How are we going to carry so many bags all the way home?" Karina asks in dismay.

As soon as he realizes their predicament, the smile vanishes from Taehyung's face. "Oh," is all he says. They look at one another at a loss, before he suddenly bursts out with "Aha!", even holding up his index finger like a cheesy old detective movie.

Without explanation, he removes his jacket, lays it on the counter, and starts piling their bags of groceries onto it.

"Taehyung, you are a genius!", Karina says with a laugh, helping him. When they've got all the bags gathered up, each takes one end of the jacket and they carry it between them, shuffle their way out of the store and along the few blocks it takes to get home, laughing the entire way.

Once home, the pair work together to pack away all the groceries, but as soon as the task is complete, it's almost as though being back home breaks the carefree spell Karina had been under all morning. She immediately changes into comfy sweats and a baggy tee, washes the makeup off and starts up her laptop to search for jobs again. Taehyung frowns at this, but doesn't say anything as he makes himself some lunch.

Completely immersed in her searching, and quietly stressing over the lack of prospects, Karina almost forgets that Taehyung is there until he sets a steaming bowl of instant ramen next to her. "I noticed you didn't eat lunch, so I made some for you. It's not the best ramen, but I would sometimes have this at home," he says with a soft smile.

"Oh. Um...wow. That's very thoughtful, thank you Taehyung," Karina says somewhat awkwardly; she is not accustomed to people taking care of her. If he notices her awkwardness, he doesn't acknowledge it, merely smiling and saying "you're welcome", as he strolls over to the couch with his own ramen bowl.

They eat in silence as they both scroll, she on her laptop, he on his phone, until finally Karina sighs and gets up and closes her laptop. "I'm heading in to work soon. Thanks again for the lunch," she smiles at Taehyung before heading to her room to get ready. "No problem, Roomie," he replies, his wistful gaze following her down the hall.