glimpse | kim taehyung

1 ❀ summer whisper

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The chime of the bell rang as Taehyung stepped through the café door. He groaned as the sweet summer air outside grew to be overwhelming and headache-inducing, and all the commotion of the bustling café didn't help, but he yearned for an escape from the heat. Pushing up his sunglasses, his sweaty, too-long bangs were pulled back to reveal his exhausted face, rosy from spending hours in the sun. His breaths were quick and shallow, and he pulled his damp shirt away from its cling on the nape of his neck, attempting to fan himself.

   "Just some iced water, please." He spoke to the cashier in a raspy tone, and tried his best to conceal the perk of the corners of his lips as he felt the strucken stares of customers around him. He didn't like to admit it, but he knew he was attractive. His eyes were dark and alluring, yet his gaze upon others would be nothing but gentle. His features, all the way from the delicacy of his hands to the tips of his long lashes, looked to be purposefully handcrafted to come together and create a rather ethereal complexion. A quick glance and simple smile from him could have anyone swooning, no matter their gender.

Beside where Taehyung stood, a girl sat quietly, painting with a peaceful expression upon her face. His eyebrows slightly crinkled as he squinted at her sketchbook, curiously trying to figure out what she was painting on the page. He continued to watch in a trance as the girl swiped her brush across the paper, leaving along bright strokes of an ocean blue that seemed to swallow and completely envelop the pale pinks and yellows splattered around.

Taehyung didn't even notice he was staring with his jaw open until the barista awkwardly called for his attention and passed him a glass of iced water. He shyly cleared his throat in realization and stumbled as he tried to grab his wallet, his hands shaky from being caught off guard by the sudden awkward demeanor that was unlike his usual self.

"Uh, sir, water here is free."

"O-Oh."

He nervously gulped and slowly set his wallet down. He felt the red tint rushing to glow on his cheeks and his throat was drier than ever, and he was sure it wasn't just from the heat. For someone who looked and acted so suave, he sure got nervous really easily. His heart was pounding and ears were ringing from how embarrassed he was, and he struggled to keep his clammy hands steady as he brought the cold drink up to his lips.

As the ice made soft, little clinks while Taehyung placed the glass back down, he heard a small giggle come from the painting girl and bit the sides of his cheeks, even more embarrassed than before. He glanced over at her from the corner of his eye and saw that she was not looking back at him; instead, she continued to gently sweep the paintbrush across the oversaturated paper, crinkled from the excessive amount of paint she was using on it.

"You watched all of that?"

"I heard all of that." She replied with a cheeky smile, still not giving him even a small peek.

"S-So, what are you painting?" Taehyung asked her, desperate to change the subject and forget everything that had just happened.

"What am I painting?" She asked aloud, as if she didn't hear his question clearly. She set her paintbrush down momentarily and furrowed her brows, deep in thought. Taehyung noticed how hard she was thinking and stole a closer look at her sketchbook; he noted that it was more abstract than expected and quickly changed his question.

"Um, what do you see?"

She inhaled deeply with an indecipherable expression glazed over her face and sat silently for a few seconds, still not even glancing at him, before replying, "What do you think I see?"

"You know, I don't really appreciate how you're answering my questions with questions." Taehyung expressed with amusement laced in his voice. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he was able to elicit a quiet chuckle from the girl, and joked, "I don't know what you're trying to convey exactly, but I see a fat dinosaur."

     Then, she smiled and let out a laugh, but it wasn't just any laugh; it was the sort of laugh where the person would lean backwards; where they would bring their hands up to their face; and where when they would remove their hands, their smile was so bright it would highlight anyone's day. There were small crinkles at the edge of her eyes that were a result of years of laughter, and her eyes almost came to a complete close from how large her smile was. Finally, she was looking at Taehyung, and he was soaring.

     He couldn't even laugh along as he admired the gleam in her eyes and the little blue paint strokes on her fingers that complimented the soft pink blush across her cheeks. Taehyung felt weak in the knees and if he wasn't already sitting down, he would have been falling to the ground. He felt his heart beating in his chest and he furrowed his brows in overwhelming endearment; he wanted to cry.

     Taehyung continued to stare back at her in fondness and quietly giggle in his euphoric state; he didn't even notice she was picking up her belongings to leave until she stood up. He blinked a few times in surprise and realized that another male stood near the table.

     "Sunny, are you sure you're not forgetting anything?" The male spoke out and began looking around the ground to check if she had left any belongings, but she shook her head with a small laugh and responded,

"I only came with my book and paint kit."

     The male gently took her belongings to hold them for her and turned to Taehyung with a polite smile. "Thanks for keeping her company."

"Oh, uh, no problem," Taehyung replied, still slightly confused as to who the male even was.

     The girl softly held onto the male's elbow and he began to lead her out, but she made sure to wave and flash Taehyung one last smile before leaving. "I hope we meet again," she spoke sweetly with the same gleam in her eyes.

     "Ah, bye!" He had difficulty stuttering his goodbye to her, afraid that all the butterflies in his stomach would escape. The jingle of the bell rang throughout the café as he gulped down the remainder of his water, hopelessly trying to satisfy the never ending dryness in his throat, and gave one shaky exhale to calm himself.

     Taehyung smiled to himself as he spun his glass, watching the remaining cubes of ice glide around the bottom of the cup. "Ah, why am I so uncool?" He asked himself out of the blue and in an exasperated tone while pouting, but the smile quickly returned upon his expression as he thought of her once more. He rarely experienced these feelings, let alone at this intensity, and the pounding of his chest didn't seem to want to end any time soon.

Moments later, he finally stood himself up and returned outside into the sweltering afternoon heat. Pulling down his sunglasses, he glanced up at the bright, clear sky and felt a tinge of wishfulness pull at his heart. Although it was near hopeless to anticipate seeing her again, he didn't care, because in her smile,

he saw something more beautiful than the stars.

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