Adorkable [j.woo] | COMPLETE

23

Taehyung was a firm believer in nothing staying right for long. And that night the crown Jiwoo had placed on his head was beginning to ware him down. She knew so much, but did he know as much... or did he know too much? His mind wasn't working right, it hadn't been since that night. Even if she didn't have the clear memories of what had happened to her, he did. He thought about it, he thought about it a lot. He wondered how she was okay, especially now that she knew. But now he had definite responsibility, he was partially responsible for Jiwoo, and she was partially responsible for him. Things felt so right that in the pit of his stomach he knew something was bound to go terribly wrong. How could things be worse though? How could something worse happen? He didn't want to know, he just wanted her to be okay. For them to be okay.

"Go to sleep."

Falling into reality Taehyung couldn't feel Jiwoo's eyes on him, but she had clearly spoken, or was he just delirious?

"Tae."

No, she was speaking, she was still awake. Taehyung chose to stay silent, hoping that Jiwoo would assume he was asleep, leaving him to wander his thoughts a little bit longer.

"Kim Taehyung, I know you're awake." She added again sitting up in the dark of his penthouse bedroom.

Taehyung sighed, "you caught me."

"What's wrong?" She asked, something he couldn't recall her doing prior to today.

Taehyung sighed, he didn't know how to explain how he felt. But it seemed he didn't need to explain it as Jiwoo said, "Matthew said something about, if he and Somin had experienced what you and I did he would have nightmares.... is that what this is about." But he wouldn't respond. Reaching down, Jiwoo found his cheek, and she held it gently. "Don't... I'm okay alright? Don't think about it if it bothers you... I'm sorry, I can't make you forget what you saw that night. I can't make it go away, if I could, I would. All we can do is help each other move forward. One day at a time, one night at a time." Taehyung still didn't reply. This time however, it wasn't because he didn't want to talk, it was because he didn't know what to say.

"Would it be too much to ask you to move in?" Taehyung murmured in a husky, half awake voice.

Jiwoo chuckled softly as she leaned down, touching the tip of her nose to his, "one day at a time."

"And one night at a time... I can't do that without you." Taehyung murmured, as he reached up to cup the back of Jiwoo's head. He paused a moment before adding, "what reason do you even have for wanting to stay? There's no one in that house but you and Joker, and Joker is a million percent welcome here."

Jiwoo broke away from his loving embrace though, as she backed away and ran a hand through her hair. To Taehyung she was nothing more than a gentle silhouette in the creamy moonlight cascading in through the open windows. "Taehyung... what if my parents come back?" She asked a question he'd never thought about. Jiwoo never talked about her parents, never mentioned anything of this sort. But now she dropped the question that felt so heavy... like they were drowning. "What if they come back for me and I'm gone?"

Part of him wanted to sit up, hold her hand and say what he was thinking; that they aren't coming back. If they loved her why would they have left? But another part wanted to state that he alone could love her more than any parent ever could, but he knew that would never be true. The bond between parent and child couldn't be compared to sexual attraction, that'd just be rude. So he said the one thing every part of him agreed with, "I just don't get why... on top of that I don't want to leave you alone. Not after what happened."

"But what about-"

"I don't care. Whatever you need, I'll make sure you have it. Jiwoo, you make me better. You showed me so much and helped me grow as a human. I know I can't buy your love, I know that now. I know that hard work means a lot to you. I know staying humble is important. I can't- I want to be a bit selfish. Just stay. Don't go. Don't..."

"Don't leave me." She finished his thought for him. She shuffled uneasily on the covers before saying. "We really need to do more fun stuff to balance out how deep we are."

Taehyung chuckled softly as he opened his arms up to her. "For sure."