Taehyung, an optimistic, street-wise, charming young man born deaf, meets Yoongi, a gorgeous, educated young boy, who is new to town. Taehyung is smitten but the only problem is that Yoongi is engaged already.
However, in the middle of all this, a s...
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Yoongi, on the other hand, stood with a string of balloons wrapped around his finger. In amusement, he gave it a gentle tug, seeing it bob and smiling endearingly. With that, the corners of his mouth also turned upward, a soft chuckle slipping through his lips.
Taehyung watched it with the greatest pleasure. The smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. As Yoongi's smile broadened, more and more of his gums showed through the lips, and Taehyung was gone—for the smile, the eyes, the man.
"It looks good on you." Taehyung gestured, pointing at his smile, his hands carefully moving around the air between them. Arching his eyebrows as a tease, he smiled his brightest smile at the man before him, clad in the invisible armour or a facade, Taehyung felt.
Yoongi raised an eyebrow in response, his humor clear in his demeanor. "I think I should involve this in my lectures as well." Yoongi tried to mouth slowly while gesturing to the best of his ability, pointing to the balloon dancing on his fingertips.
Taehyung stopped him midway, gesturing back, "Don't try and move your hands too much. Speak very slowly; I can understand looking at the lips." He wanted to say beautiful lips but he was not sure Yoongi would understand.
Yoongi nodded and started to move away. Something immediately took over Taehyung and he tied all the balloons to his bicycle. In a few long strides, he was there, face-to-face with Yoongi, saying nothing. Yoongi looked at him with a childlike smile and a questioning look.
"What?" Yoongi asked with a head raise.
"Nothing," Taehyung said while shaking his head. But did not move. Yoongi watched with intense attention as Taehyung gestured for him to stay there and ran back to a small shop near where his bicycle was standing. He was gesturing and asking for a pen and paper. Scribbling something, he quickly folded it and ran to his bicycle. Inflating another golden-colored balloon.
Unconsciously, Yoongi's lips curled again into a smile. It's been long, so so long since Yoongi smiled like this—freely and to himself.
Taehyung's eyes caught Yoongi's again. Something transpired in the look—wordless yet heavy. Taehyung pointed to the golden color of the balloon and Yoongi's cheek as if saying he chose the balloon to match the buyer's skin. He extended the note to Yoongi and Yoongi opened to read it. It revealed a date, time, and venue. It was an offer of sorts, an invitation to meet again, and Yoongi's hands trembled.
To Yoongi, it seemed like a promise—a promise of more smiles, a promise of more exuberance. A promise. Promise. - Promises that Yoongi made in life before the last few minutes had happened dawned on him, along with the realization of what Taehyung meant. Taehyung was asking Yoongi out.
He immediately shook himself, remembering that he was engaged. ENGAGED to be married in a few months. And what was this? Just a few minutes later.
"So sweet of you. What is your name?" Yoongi said it with poise.
"Aehyun," Taehyung replied with the most confident smile he ever had.
"Aehyun, I am flattered, but this will be a waste of time. I am engaged." Yoongi spoke slowly, looking into Taehyung's eyes and raising his hand to show the ring on his finger. He did not want to dismiss the boy's approach; he wanted to be respectful and decline politely.
The smile and brightness in Taehyung's eyes dropped. And Yoongi's heart felt a tinge of pain. This time, when Yoongi moved, he was dragging his feet heavily, the weight on his shoulders visible. He saw the other boy moving back to the shop where he borrowed the pen and paper. Yoongi spotted his mother at a shop and went to stand next to her.
"Hi. I will take 20–25 minutes more, Yoongi. Sorry. You want to stay here or take a round?" His mother said she rubbed Yoongi's cheeks.
"It is okay. Take your time. I will just go have tea at that cafe I saw on the top of the market," Yoongi said. He wanted some time alone with his thoughts. "Sure." His mother said, and with that, Yoongi headed to the cafe he had spotted earlier. He must have sat there for a couple of minutes when a small boy, a tea vendor, as Yoongi guessed, came and gave him a piece of paper.
"Who gave it?" Yoongi asked, but before he could finish the question, the boy ran off. He opened the paper and the same smile came to his face. It was the peculiar handwriting he saw a little while ago.
The first line read: Look right. Yoongi looked right and there at his eye level, approx. 50 meters away, was a clock tower. The one that was kind of a monumental structure, typical of hilly areas. Even more intrigued, he read ahead.
{Look, I have put the clock back by 15 minutes} Yoongi looked at the boy. He moved the minute hand of the clock 15 minutes back.
{Assume you and me never met}
{Assume I never asked you out}
{Assume you will be making a new friend, Aehyun}
{And assume this friend will be helping you in your wedding preparations}
"Adorable," Yoongi thought and kept looking at him after each sentence.
{Now that you have assumed all this, why not give me a gummy smile and a wave}
And what could Yoongi do? He smiled, freely, once again and waved an enthusiastic hello to Taehyung.
