Queen of Roses

20) Stolen Kiss

"Are you sure you're okay?" Taehyung tensed as Chaeyoung touched his arm gently while they walked towards the first forest they could find.

Hours of gruesome travelling had finally led them to the middle, civilized area of Ilsan Mountain where several homes, farms and inns were scattered. After eating a small meal and unpacking their belongings for the night, Taehyung had pulled Chaeyoung away for their daily training – albeit his sore shoulders and aching back which had been assaulted with an army of rocks earlier that day.

Despite the cool evening air, her small hand on his arm sparked a flood of warmth to flow through him.

He wondered if she even knew the power she was beginning to hold over him as he glanced at her with a faint smile.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he countered, peeling her hand off his arm and turning it over to examine the fresh scrapes she had garnered from their day of mountain climbing. His brows furrowed in concern upon seeing her pale palm covered in various ragged wounds, the skin beginning to peel in some areas.

She snatched her hand away quickly, hiding it behind her back with a sheepish smile, "you are awfully obsessed with my hands."

"Well, they are pretty worthy hands to obsess over," Taehyung grinned at her, though he feared he was becoming obsessed with more than just that.

But he desperately hoped these feelings would vanish with time. He wanted nothing more than to wake up without the compulsive need to see her, to suddenly become unaffected by her proximity, to not crave the sound of her musical laughter. Every day his mind waited for his heart to not pound uncontrollably in her presence, and every day his heart overpowered his mind. She had invaded a hidden nook of his heart and taken up residence in a crucial crevice of it – a place that he was not aware existed. And he was having a hell of a time trying to kick her out of it.

She tilted her head up to gaze at him, an amused glint in her eyes, as they approached the small forest located a few yards away from the nearest town house.

"First you call me beautiful, then compliment my body, and now my hands? Careful, Kim Taehyung, any more sweet talk and your fierce warrior reputation will be ruined," she hit her shoulder against his playfully.

"I blame you," he shook his head, actually beginning to grow distressed when he realized she was right.

He had not been himself lately and she was the sole reason for that. Her positivity and cheerful aura were contagious to the point that Taehyung had caught himself actually humming the previous day. To say he was taken aback and appalled at himself were understatements.

"I didn't do anything!" she laughed, and Taehyung cursed internally at how satisfyingly the sound filled his ears. Keeping his face expressionless in moments like this required more effort than Taehyung would care to admit.

He didn't say anything as he gradually slowed and came to a stop on a wide enough patch of rich-green grass. The sun had nearly completed its descent, emitting a haze of blood-orange and burgundy hues through the pale-blue sky. A few distant trees were randomly distributed around the area, and the edge of the mountain was just barely visible a little farther ahead. This was going to be their training ground for the night.

He turned to her, channeling his inner warrior to remain completely focused on the task at hand.

"This is the schedule for the night. We start with a 15-minute warmup, followed with a quick run-through of the basic formations we have learned this week, and then finish off by learning your first set of wrestling moves."