Philophobia | kth

13

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Right after her lecture, Soomin messaged Taehyung, urging him to meet up to which he agreed, and so Soomin hopped on a bus to a nearby café they both decided to spend their afternoon at. She got off at her stop, thanking the driver and entered the café, her built up frustration disappearing once she laid her eyes on Taehyung.

He stood up as soon as he noticed Soomin, they both awkwardly stood still, not knowing what to do or say, Taehying decided to just sit back down. Soomin let a long sigh escape her lips.

''I'm sorry I dragged you out here, you were probably busy and I selfishly made you come her-''

''Oh shut up, you didn't force anyone to come here. I came here out of my own free will,'' Taehyung interrupted her by hitting her on the head with the menu rolled up in his hand.

Soomin found herself pouting like a small child. Taehyung found that extremely adorable and had to stop himself from pinching her cheeks.

''Alright, alright,'' she mumbled, snatching the rolled up menu from Taehyung's grasp and skimming through it, concentration etched onto her face as she thought about what she'd order.

Taehyung watched as she studied the menu carefully. There was something wrong with her, something was definitely off, the way her smile didn't quite reach her eyes and the subtle sadness hidden in her voice, but he couldn't put a finger on it. He wouldn't pressure her into telling him anything either, as this was their second meeting, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Soomin motioned for the waiter to come over, the two ordered and waited patiently their drinks.

''So, how was uni?'' Taehyung asked as an attempt of starting a conversation.

Soomin physically cringed at the thought of college. ''It was alright, I guess,'' she replied, playing with the napkins laying on the table.

Taehyung looked around, noticing how quiet it was from the evident lack of people. He found the peaceful atmosphere quite relaxing.

''Did something happen?'' he asked, hoping he didn't cross a line by questioning her.

Soomin snapped her head in his direction, completely abandoning the napkins on the table.

''Nothing happened. What's with the interrogation anyway?'' she blurted, averting her gaze shyly from his.

She was lying. She texted him and asked to meet up solely because she felt so frustrated with Namjoon she needed someone she could confide in, but when Taehyung suddenly appeared in front of her at the café, she felt her heart sink at the thought of using him for her stupid, selfish reasons. So she dropped it completely, trying her best to erase Namjoons irritating smirk from her mind that seemed to have successfully clouded it.

''I just thought you were behaving a bit differently, uncharacteristically,'' he said, tracing patterns onto one of the napkins under his nose.

Soomin gazed up at him, her mouth slightly agape, revealing a set of perfectly lined up teeth.

''This is our second meeting and you can already tell when I'm acting out of character? I'm impressed,'' she said, placing a finger near his on the napkin, causing him to pause his movement.

He looked up and locked his eyes with hers, both of them too caught up in the reflection in one anothers eyes to look away until 2 hot cups were slammed onto their table, their moment interrupted by the chipper waiter.

Soomin awkwardly stared into the coffee she wrapped her hands around, the dull black color causing her to scrunch her nose up in disgust. Why on earth did she order coffee when she wasn't in the mood to drink any?

Meanwhile, Taehyung's gaze focused on Soomins face that turned crimson as the hot coffee was dangerously close to her face, she tilted her head upwards to cool herself down.

''If you ever need to talk,'' Taehyung started, letting go of his scalding cup of mocha, ''I'm here for you.''

Soomin finally looked at him, her face softening at the kind words that left his lips.

''Thank you.''

After drinking their hot beverages, Taehyung insisted on walking Soomin home as it wouldn't be gentleman-like to let her go home alone, as Taehyung has said. Unable to beat his argument, Soomin allowed him to walk with her, engaging in small talk and even humming a song together.

Time seemed to pass too quickly as Taehyung found himself standing by Soomins apartment, wishing they didn't have to part yet.

''Let's meet again, aye?'' Soomin muttered, sticking out her hand at him.

Taehyung stared confusedly at the outstretched hand before groaning in realisation, grabbing her hand he shook it gently.

''Yeah, let's definitely meet again.''

And so, they parted ways, both of them not very eager to do so, but too shy to admit it.

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