Veiled Intrigues | Taehyun

t w e n t y o n e

The doorframe creaked noisily under the pressure of his grip as he pushed off it and took a step closer to her. Now just inches away from her, he towered a head over her, his breath warm on her face as he looked down at her. "Why, Haneul? Tell me why you let me see them."

Taehyun's voice was softer now. He was genuinely curious. And she couldn't fault him for acting defensive. He just hadn't been ready to reveal such a secret to her at this time.

Haneul's chin lifted slightly to see the entirety of his face properly. Coherent words finally formed in her head. And this time, she willingly said what her brain told her to say. It might've been risky and bold to say that to him, but it certainly could not have been worse than what she had blurted out to the thief earlier.

"Because I felt I could trust you with seeing them. Because something inside me was telling me that you wouldn't judge or pity me. That you would see them and understand. What it's like to have to look at a permanent mark on your body in the mirror every morning when you wake up and every night before sleeping. That sometimes you try to pretend it's not there but it's forever etched into not only your skin but your entire being. I..."

She hesitated at that part. Pressing her lips together as she tried to muster the courage to tell the thief standing in front of her. Taehyun looked at her inquisitively.

"Go on," he said gently. "I'm listening."

"I just...I thought that I had lost Beomgyu and Miyeon; I thought that I was alone. But when you looked at me like that, I didn't feel that. I didn't feel alone. That's why I let you see."

Taehyun's lips parted slightly but no words came out. It was as if he were waiting for Haneul to say something more. To see if she had anything more to say. And when she didn't, he let out a sigh, his posture losing some of its stiffness as his head dropped forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Darling. What is it that you want from me, huh? Why are you messing with me? Because I've got to tell you, I'm not in the mood. And it's not just the fractured ribs talking, or the fact that your friends had a go at my face as if it were a piñata," he said, looking up at her then. "So. Why? Why would you even fake showing interest?"

Haneul didn't miss a beat. She frowned, lines forming between her eyebrows as she processed his words. "Why would you think I'm lying? You used to tell me that you were interested in me. We had quite a few meet-ups and after letting you escape more than once," a hint of a smirk appeared on his face at that, "I decided that I might be slightly interested in you too. Maybe I'm intrigued by you too, Taehyun."

A beat passed. And for a second, Haneul thought that she might have aggravated him by making the wrong comment. But he surprised her yet again. Both corners of his mouth lifted. And he let out a soft chuckle.