Unique Friend

~21~

~21~

As she drags herself up the last creaky flight of wooden stairs to her third-floor apartment, Karina lets out an audible sigh of relief. It had taken her longer to gather what she needed than she had hoped, but now she is all set for her surprise/apology to Taehyung.

Stepping inside the apartment, she is surprised to find all the curtains drawn closed, drowning the place in darkness. As she sets down the CD player she had just purchased, her feet bump on something on the floor. "Balloons?" she questions aloud.

Suddenly there is a small circle of purple-blue light that appears in the living room, moving towards her, and she can hear what sounds like a cheering start. Then the big screen TV lights up and she can see what is happening.

Kim Taehyung is standing in the middle of the living room. Or rather, his stage persona, V of BTS, is. He is in full hair, makeup and stage outfit of tight fitting black pants and a shimmery silk top. He is breathtaking.

Around him, the living room looks like a mini concert set up with balloons, confetti and banners displaying "BTS". On the TV is the crowd cheering as BTS arrives on stage, V sporting the same outfit as he is wearing now in person, the mysterious purple-blue light she had seen coming from an orb he holds in his hand.

They stop and take each other in.

Karina is also in full hair, makeup and stage outfit. She had found the music video for one of Taehyung's solo songs, and copied the look, thanks to the help of the ladies at the dress boutique they had visited before his art show. She has a smokey eye makeup look, her hair in a tousled style to mimic his in the video, a red sleeveless sequined turtleneck top and black leather pants.

"What are you doing?" they both say at the same time. The silence stretches for a long minute before they both burst out laughing.

Taehyung is the first to speak as she makes her way through the sea of balloons to him. "I wanted to apologize. And I thought that showing you what BTS is all about might be, I don't know, cool?" He smiles shyly.

"Well, I wanted to apologize, too. So I thought that dressing like you and doing a lip sync- sort of- to your song would be...cool too, I guess?"

They stand together, close but not touching, for a long, quiet moment, before they both reach for one another simultaneously. The kiss says what their words cannot. They apologize, accept, forgive. They kiss and caress for long moments before breaking apart and having a good laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Soo....," Karina gives him a mischievous smirk, gesturing up and down the length of him from head to toe, "this is V of BTS?" he nods in response, uncertain of her reaction. "And millions of people watched you dance, like that," she points to the screen where the concert had continued all this time. He nods again, his eyes sparkling playfully. "While looking like this?" she demands, eyebrows raised. He nods again, his eyes going dark with lust as he pulls her closer to him.

"Well. I think I'd like to see that," she teases playfully.

"You can have your own private concert," he teases right back as he starts rolling his hips to match the movements of the dance on screen, making her squeal. Suddenly he stops, and turns serious.

"Karina. I am sorry. I never meant to lie. I just...I really never had anyone like me as just Taehyung before," his big dark eyes look so innocent, and vulnerable, she melts.

"Taehyung, there is nothing to forgive. I overreacted before even giving you a chance to explain. You can tell me all about it as you are ready to." she smiles at him.

"Well, there is one thing I want to tell you right now," he looks at her shyly. Karina waits quietly until he finally speaks, "I love you."

~The End~