Puppetry - P.JM. [ON-HOLD]

Eighteen

I stayed glued to Taehyung's side as soon as Jimin had escorted me downstairs. People wandered into the house, everyone fairly older than me, some people around my age at times. Watching all of them, at glance they didn't seem to realize who I was. I felt myself relax at that. I guess losing some of my body mass came in handy for rare occasions like this. I still hated being underweight.

Taehyung meandered about, talking to all his guests as a welcome. He kept a smile on, returning proper gestures and reunions. He kept a hand on my back gently, though, making sure I wasn't pulled away or something would happen to me. I felt reassured by that, smiling as I went along. It also warded off some women that tried to flirt, but left them to give nasty glares at me.

We came to a couple, the two holding glasses with a deep red liquid in it. They were both smiling, obviously welcoming towards us. I felt like I had seen them before. I probably had. The more of Taehyung's parties I went to, the more I saw people from the last time.

"Nice to see you again, Taehyung," the man said, giving a nod as we came up to him and his wife. His smile was big but welcoming. He obviously didn't realize who I was. That was the best thing at the time.

"Nice to see you, too," Taehyung said, stopping him and I in front of the couple. His hand was still planted on my back, itself on the spot just below my shoulder blade. It was comforting to me.

The woman's eyes settled on me, smiling brightly. She was older, probably later thirties, possibly early forties. She wore the brightest makeup with the brightest blue hair you would ever see. It was a bit much in my taste. "Who is this young lady?"

"Oh, this is one of my friends," Taehyung said plainly. "She's a bit shy, so she's just wandering with me."

"You're very pretty," the woman said, looking me up and down. "That seems like a very expensive dress, but you look fairly plain to be an affluent. Tell me who your parents are. It seems as if you have a very humble family. I would love to talk to them."

I felt my mood drop slightly, my heart hitting a stop for a second. I must have tensed up because Taehyung's thumb started rubbing against me, seeming to try and take away my slight stress. It was helping just a little bit, but not too much.

"Her parents are out of district right now," Taehyung said in a lighthearted tone. "They won't be back for awhile."

The wife nodded at Taehyung's words. Looking at the couple, they seemed to take the bait. I didn't know how much this could be go on for. Someone was bound to find out that I was there at some point. My disguise of whatever beauty was there and my underweight body could only hold for so long until someone knew who I was.

"Taehyung!"

I turned my head around, the voice familiar to my ears. Coming up to us was Taehyung's father, a beaming smile on his face. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Underneath all the fancy looks was a kind man that had always accepted me over all the years I had known him. I didn't see him quite often anymore, but always seeing him would bring a smile to my face. He was like Taehyung; he could light up my mood in a second.

I saw Taehyung's face light up, his hand coming away from my back. I watched him walk up to his father, them coming into an embrace that you never see much with affluents. It always made me feel happy to see families that close still. That's what I always hoped for my father and I; it never happened, though.

It was a longer embrace than normal for them, which I found to be strange, but when they finally pulled away, Taehyung stepped back to let me into his father's sight. Once his father's face saw me, he beamed. "It's so great to see my girl again!"