pink roses. || l.ty

eight.

Taeyong kicks his bedroom door open, quickly setting Rose on his bed. She was still crying, but she was silently looking around his room. Taeyong grabs the first aid kit and pulls out some wipes, rubbing alcohol, bandages, and medicine. He applies the medicine cream on all of her wounds and some rubbing alcohol on her skin, making her wince in pain. Luckily, Taeyong's parents weren't home.

After Taeyong took care of all of Rose's wounds, He sits down next to her. They both look at each other awkwardly.

"Taeyong, I-"

"Why did you let them beat you up?" He asks with concern. She sighs.

"I can't fight. Plus, what's the point? They would only hurt me more." She replies, looking down. Taeyong rolls his eyes and groans.

"Aish Park Rose, You're just so..." He turns to look at Rose, who was frowning and looking down at her feet. He pats her head, making her look up.

"Don't you still hate me?" She asks. He hesitates a little.

"A little. But not a lot." He replies, seeing Rose's big, bright smile. She makes a little squeal, making Taeyong laugh.

"Yah.. How can you smile when you're all beaten up? Aren't you in pain?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. She shrugs and looks away.

"I'm just glad I got saved." She replies, biting her lip. Taeyong scoffs and crosses his arms.

"Yes, you are lucky I saved your a-"

"Thank you," She blurts out, turning to look at him. "thank you for saving me." Taeyong rolls his eyes playfully and nods at her. It was just the two of them alone in a room. Rose was admiring his plain, boring room. It totally describes him, she thought.

Rose puts her hands on his bed, trying to push herself up to stand up. Taeyong immediately stands up and puts his hands on her waist, pulling her up slowly. When she fully stands up, she loses balance. She falls onto Taeyong's chest, feeling his strong hold on her. Since he was taller than her, she looks up at him while he looked down at her. Their bodies were touching, faces were only inches apart. Rose clears her throats and steps back at little, Taeyong still holding onto her.

"Mianhe (Sorry), I should get going now. My appa is probably worried about me. He's been noticing how fatigue and weak I've been lately." Rose softly says. Taeyong lets go of her and stands by the door way.

"Come on, I'll drive you." He says, gesturing her to come with him. She shakes her head.

"Don't. I know my way home. I immediately recognized this place when you brought me here. My house is only two blocks away." Rose replies, making Taeyong roll his eyes. She took a few steps forward but loses her balance again. Luckily, Taeyong catches her. She looks up at him and nervously smiles. He raises an eyebrow and chuckles. Rose bites her lip before letting out a big sigh.

"Okay, maybe you should come with me."

Taeyong was walking down the street, with Rose on his back. They were on their way to Rose's house. Rose had her eyes closed as she snuggled her head between his neck. He turns his head to look and her and snickers.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me, eh?" He says, turning his head to the front. Rose giggles at him.

"Sorry, Taeyong. I just got to admit, you're really comfy." She replies, smiling to herself. Taeyong knew she was smiling, which made him smile too.

"Stop bragging. You may be light, but you get heavy when you're on my back." He responds, making Rose kick him. He yells, Rose laughing at him.

"That's my house!" Rose exclaims, pointing towards her house that was down a couple of houses. Taeyong walks over to the gate, unlocking it and standing in front of her house. He carefully crouches to put her down. She gets off slowly, holding onto his back.

"Stop getting hurt, okay? Take care of yourself." Taeyong says, crossing his arms and looking down at Rose. She nods and smiles at him. She walks up to her house, turning the door knob and looking back at him. He gives her an awkward smile and waves goodbye. Rose puts her arm up high and waves goodbye before entering her house and closing the door. Taeyong sighs, running his hands through his door. He closes the gate, smiling before walking away.

•••

"But she's fine, right?" Jaehyun asks Taeyong, sitting down in his room. Winwin and Jaehyun were at his house a few hours after Taeyong dropped off Rose at her house. Mark let them in, so Taeyong had no choice but to explain to them what happened.

Taeyong was sitting down at his desk chair, spinning around continuously. He stops spinning and faces his friends. He hesitates a little at Jaehyun's question and shrugs.

"She's acting like she's fine. And she's pretty good at doing that. So, I honestly don't know." He replies. Jaehyun scoffs and shakes his head.

"We can't let it happen again." He mumbles, looking down at the ground. Taeyong's eyes widened, in which he knew exactly what Jaehyun meant.

"It won't." Winwin added. Jaehyun shakes his head in disapproval again, turning his gaze to Taeyong. Taeyong looks down, and could suddenly feel tears forming.

"When I saw Rose getting beat up, It.. It scared me. It brought back awful memories. I-I never wanted to see something like that again, yet I did." Taeyong said, a couple of tears running down his cheeks. Jaehyun sighs, covering his face with his hands.

"Guys.. I like Rose," Jaehyun confessed, making Winwin's and Taeyong's eyes widen in shock. "which means I'm not going to let her go through the same crap she did!"

Taeyong could feel shock. He was stunned that one of his bestfriends had feelings for the girl he hated. But why did he suddenly feel like his bestfriend betrayed him? Was it jealously? Was it anger?

"S-So are you going to ask her out?" Taeyong blurts out, sitting frozen in his chair. Jaehyun looks away and smirks to himself.

"I think Rose and I have a pretty great bond. Plus, she's pretty. I have always wished to date someone like her, and I've found her." Taeyong chuckles, crossing his arms. Winwin pats Jaehyun on his back, smiling at him.

"You guys seem like a good couple. So why not?" Winwin says, encouraging his friend. Taeyong rolls his eyes.

"I don't see it." Taeyong complains. Jaehyun looks at Taeyong, raising an eyebrow.

"But you don't like her though, right? Which means everything is good." Jaehyun says. Taeyong chuckles again. He found himself turning his hands into fists. Why do I feel mad?

"Go right ahead." Taeyong replied, biting his lip and looking away. Jaehyun and Winwin look at each other, smirking. They knew something was up with his feelings toward Rose. However, Jaehyun wasn't lying. He really did like Rose, ever since they started hanging out. They would text right after they hung out, until night was when they would stop texting. Jaehyun felt a bond forming with her.

Now, it was just time to confess.

•••••