ghostly ➳ kim taehyung

eight; "reschedule"

❁

Walking home with both Jimin and Yeongsu is slightly awkward, to say the least; there seems to be an unspoken tension between the two -- the thick kind of tension that causes a sense of discomfort to settle inside Chaewon's stomach. She attempts to lighten the mood with a handful of playful jokes, and they luckily suffice until they finally reach her and Jimin's homes.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jimin!" She calls and quickly rushes inside her house, promptly followed by Yeongsu, desperate to escape the tension. "What was all that about?"

Yeongsu looks at her with a slight frown. "What?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she insists, rolling her eyes. "You and Jimin were acting as though you hate each other."

"I don't hate him."

"Why does he hate you, then?" She asks in exasperation, still resting against the closed front door.

"I don't know," Yeongsu shrugs. "You should ask him."

"I will," Chaewon states and proceeds to head upstairs and into her room. There's already a messy stack of paper lying on the floor from where she began to make notes for their tutor session last night.

"What's all this?" Yeongsu questions and picks up a random sheet, scanning over the untidy notes.

"Just some ideas on what I can teach you," Chaewon answers somewhat shyly; Yeongsu is undeniably handsome and she'd be a fool not to be attracted to him. Mina once told her that 'every straight girl in the school' thinks he's good-looking, and well, she wasn't wrong.

"Chaewon," his voice suddenly interrupts her daze and she looks up, eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"I asked you if you were ready to start."

"Oh, sure," she chuckles, slightly flustered. "So, where should we begin?"

❁

"You left kinda abruptly the other day," Chaewon states and sits opposite Taehyung on the rug on her floor. "Is everything OK? You even forgot your sweater."

"Yes, everything was and is fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to be so abrupt, I genuinely had to go."

"It's fine," Chaewon smiles. "I'm glad you're alright."

Taehyung looks different today; his skin is slightly paler, leading Chaewon to assume he's ill, but there's a strange kind of glow surrounding him. His skin has a greyish hue but there are captivating shimmers decorating its surface. There's a warm glow from the sun shining directly onto him, and Chaewon can't help but momentarily stare at how ethereal he looks today. She's never exactly looked at him in such a way before.

"Did I tell you that I tutor somebody now? I always thought I was stupid. I mean, in Seoul my teachers always thought I was an average student, but here, I feel like I'm actually good at something."

"Of course you are," Taehyung chuckles. "What subject are you tutoring?"

"Literature," she responds somewhat excitedly. "I love books and writing. It's always been the one thing I've enjoyed doing."

"You write," Taehyung says, his words sounding more like a question rather than a statement.

Chaewon nods, feeling her cheeks burn slightly. "Sometimes. No one has ever read anything I've written, though, I'm too embarrassed."

"I'm sure that you have nothing to feel embarrassed about."

"Maybe not," she declares quietly. "Do you think I should dye my hair?"

"Where did that come from?" Taehyung suddenly laughs loudly.

"I don't know," she shrugs. "I've been thinking about it for a while now. I've had black hair my entire life. Seventeen years with the exact same colour is getting boring."

"I mean, I think you'd look great with any colour hair," Taehyung admits and Chaewon blushes ever so slightly at his compliment.

Taehyung is always kind but never so directly complementing. It's silent for a few moments before an embarrassed smile breaks onto Chaewon's face.

"I was thinking pink."

"Pink," he chuckles. "I thought you were going to start off natural or something."

"But pink is my favourite colour," Chaewon pouts.

"Pink it is, then."

❁

"We're going for a meal tonight with a few of your father's new work colleagues and their families, Chae. Be ready by seven, alright?" Miyeong announces as she dumps an overflowing pile of laundry onto Chaewon's floor, beside her wardrobe.

"Why do I need to go, mom?" She groans and drops her pen onto the notepad beneath. She'd been making notes on the project that her, Jimin and Mina had arranged to begin tonight. "I'm doing schoolwork tonight at Jimin's."

"Reschedule," her mom responds shortly. "We can't miss it, your father's boss arranged this night and he wants to make a good impression on his new coworkers."

"Fine," Chaewon sighs. "I'll call Jimin."

"Thank you, Chae. Remember, ready by seven and no later."

❁

The meal is taking place at a particularly extravagant restaurant in the centre of town, it appears, leaving Chaewon in distress.

"I didn't realise it would be this posh," she gasps. "I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion, am I?"

She's attired in a knee length, plum coloured dress and plain black flats. Yejun, her brother, even looks more presentable than her; their mom forced him to wear a slightly-too-big buttoned shirt with freshly ironed pants. Subin, too, is dressed fit to the occasion, leaving Chaewon to feel totally out of place.

"You look lovely, sweetie," her father insists, offering a kind smile.

He greets his works immediately as they enter the restaurant, and almost instantly Chaewon catches sight of a familiar figure. Jungkook, one of Jimin's friends, is sat at the end of the long table near the back, his purple tinted hair unmissable to her eyes.

"Were you were forced to come here too, eh?" Chaewon chuckles and sits beside him, coincidently in the seat she was assigned.

He turns to her, shocked, before his cheeky smile breaks onto his face. "Chaewon! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Neither! I'm so relieved that I know someone besides my family here."

"Me too--" Jungkook begins but it suddenly turns quiet, the lively atmosphere sharply silencing as a suited man walks inside.

"Is-is that..." Chaewon mumbles, her eyes glued to the younger boy following her dad's boss.

"That's Yeongsu," Jungkook finishes her sentence. "CEO Han's son."

❁