𝐊 𝕺 | k.th

Second and First

"Bye, Hoseok," you give your final goodbyes while a driver carries your suitcase to the car. You didn't know what to pack, so you just took simple toiletries and clothing.

You part with your family, seeing not a single ounce of regret or sadness in their eyes, and feeling a stinging at the back of your eyes.

It really hurt you that they didn't care.

But you push back those feelings and let yourself enter your new home with a clean slate and fresh mind.

...

"Hani! Thank you so, so much for everything. I wish you were always here to help me," you say sadly.

"I will be, miss! Anytime you need me."

You pout anyways, falling onto your new bed with a soft sigh. "Where's Ijoo?" you ask.

She hums. "Ijoo only works twice a week. She's still so young so I mostly let her off the hook."

"How old is she?" You prop yourself up on your elbows.

"Twelve, my lady."

You gasp. Nayun was older than her. "How is she working here at such a young age?"

Hani skillfully dusts your blinds and rearranges the clothing in the closets while speaking to you. You learned that you didn't need to pack any clothes because they already had an entire massive closet filled with fancy gowns and skirtsㅡwhich you were expected to wear at all times, ready for you. "Her father signed her up as an apprentice, and she works under me and another maid. We're teaching her so she can grow a little older and take our spots."

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that. Is that how you came to work here too?"

"Yes, my lady. I was working under another maid; she now works as a seamstress for the royal family."

You smile with delight. How interesting.

Hani notices your look and hides a smile by turning away from you. "I'll take my leave now. You can call for a maid at any time; they're everywhere."

"No!" you whine. "What am I supposed to do without you? I have absolutely nothing to entertain me!"

She laughs softly, feeling comfortable enough around you to do so and knowing that you wouldn't mind. "Maybe ask for the Prince's time?"

You groan loudly. "He's probably busy."

But you didn't know that. You were just assuming. You wanted an excuse, any excuse, to get out of talking to Taehyung.

Why? You were worried that he'd be with Lua, and it'd tear you apart if you saw them together again.

So to be safe, you sat all day alone on your bed, overthinking Taehyung's whereabouts and leaving yourself more weary than you'd have been if you just checked.

...

You open your eyes to a gentle knock at the door, your clock reading 2AM.

"Who the fucㅡ" you mumble while rubbing at your eyes. If this wasn't important, you were ready to kill the person on the other side of the door.

You quickly smoothen out your gown and cover your chest with your hand, taking care to the low neckline. "Yes?" You open up to see Taehyung standing and a small smile on his face. "T-Taehyung?" You quickly cover your mouth with both hands and clear your throat. "Prince Taehyung."

He doesn't seem to care about your mistake, and he gestures to your room. "May I come in?"

"Y-Yeah, of course." You open wider and blush when his arm brushes against your bare one.

Damn virgin-self.

"How are you today, Lady Sooyun?" He sits straight on your bed and rests his head in his hand.

You laugh. "Did you come here at 2AM to ask how I'm doing?"

He finally notices your red eyes and messy hair. "Did I wake you?"

You nod with a 'you could've fucking guessed that,' face on.

"Oh, well," he ignores your eye roll. "Come sit here, we need to talk."

You raise a brow before cautiously sitting on your bed, still covering your exposed chest with your hand.

"I like what you're wearing," he says with a smirk.

"I'm not wearing it for you," you mumble. "I'm wearing it for sleep."

He licks his lips while ogling you, and you feel heat rise to your face. He shifts closer to you and touches your bottom lip with his finger, catching you completely off guard.

"What are you doing?" you ask hesitantly while bringing your hands up and awkwardly suspending them in the air.

He hesitates himself for a second, toying with his lip uncomfortably. "Have youㅡby any chance," he swallows, "kissed before?"

Your eyes widen, and you think of Jungkook jokingly kissing you the other day. That was my first kiss, You think. You never realized it until now. "No, of course not," you lie.

He runs his tongue over his lips nervously, fidgeting and touching random parts of your face. "Really? So you're really a virgin? For me?"

Now you're the one shifting uncomfortably. "Um, yes. Don't I have to be?"

"You can lie on those tests, Sooㅡ," his eyes widen. "Lady Sooyun."

"Test?" You ignore his mistake like he did yours moments ago. "I never took the test. The examiner just asked me if I was."

"So I should trust your words when you say that you are?"

You stutter and blush uncontrollably. This was such a weird topic to come in at the middle of the night for. "I mean, I don't see why not? Are you?" You regret your words before they leave your mouth.

Of course he isn't, Sooyun, you idiot.

"I'm not a virgin," he states shamelessly. "But I've never kissed before."

Your jaw drops. "H-How?" Wasn't that a big part of sexual relations? "I mean; really?"

He nods solemnly, licking his lips once more.

"Never? In your entire life?" He nods. "Even with Yoora?" You cringe at the question.

"No. She never wanted to either."

You furrow your brows together, having many questions in your head but only uttering one: "Why?"

He looks away for a second, picking at his cheek and twisting his lips. "It's special to me," he says.

You nod slowly.

"I don't want to share my first kiss with anyone... I know that may sound outrageous considering that I'm not a virgin by any means, but..." he thinks. "I only want to put my lips on one person's. Forever."

You stare incredulously at the man sitting before you, unable to understand him at all. He swallows thickly before meeting eyes with yours and making an offer that you'd never be able to deny.

Words that he knew would be taken out of context. He regretted telling you the importance of a kiss to him, because now you'd expect feelings. But...maybe he meant it in that way? Maybe his subconscious mind was just several steps ahead of his conscious mind.

Because he never thought that he'd be saying these next, meaningful words, on a whim at the height of the night, and to your wide eyes.

"Can I kiss you?"

To be Continued...

(A/N I think I've gotten this story back on track... At least I think it's interesting 🤧 At this point, I'm just going wherever my imagination takes me, and I have no specific plans so... stay tuned ❤️)