Denial || Taemin & Naeun

Interactions

Taemin stared at me in nervousness. Our eyes were locked on each other for a good 5 seconds. His gaze was so ethereal I thought I was being hypnotized on the spot.

This is probably the closest we've ever been to each other.

"T-Taemin ssi..." I gulped. I almost choked at our close proximity.

He hesitantly let go of my arms.

"Uhm... Sorry..." he did a little head bow.

There was a moment of silence between the both of us. Neither of us dared to utter a single word as we stood in each other's presence.

Awkwardness filled the air and every second of it made it more evident. It felt like torture.

There was not a single grain of courage in me to break this awkward atmosphere.

After what felt like forever, Taemin surprisingly spoke up.

''So how are you?'' he asked nonchalantly.

I was stunned. Did he actually strike up a conversation with me?

''W-what?'' I asked in confusion. I was still taken aback by this new approach of his.

''I asked how are you...?'' he said.

''Oh'' I hesitated. ''I'm fine. How about you?'' I asked back politely.

He nodded. ''I'm fine as well.'' I nodded my head politely as well to his response.

Before the awkwardness occurred again I wanted to find a way to continue this conversation as it is.

So I thought of the most relevant topic that I couldn think of off the top of my head.

''So uh... I heard you went to the KTMF in LA not too long ago. Did you have fun?'' I asked curiously.

I gave myself a point after that for being able to be this smooth in conversing.

Taemin thought for a moment. ''Ahh'' He said. "It was fun. I managed to see my fans in LA and get positive energy from their cheers and support. It went well."

I nodded my head with a smile."That's good. I heard you also managed to talk with my unnie Eunji. She attended as well."

"Oh yeah. Eunji ssi and I did manage to talk a little during the end of the event. It's been quite awhile since we spoke but It was nice seeing her again. I'm glad to see her doing well.'' He replied with a polite nod.

I nodded my head to his response with a smile as well.

Silence aroused once again and this time there really wasn't any way out. We gazed at each other awkwardly again. And then he smiled a little.

I don't know why but I always felt like his silent stares meant something. It is like he is trying to tell me something whenever he looks at me.

It's like he is trying to communicate but he keeps holding himself back. I don't know. But I would totally understand why.

But that small smile really took me by surprise. He looked like a baby.

"Uhm..." Taemin then went back a little and touched his neck nervously. I can once again see the discomfort in his eyes.

"Sorry...." I said sympathetically.

His eyes suddenly lit up " Wait, why are you apologizing?"

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable."

He flinched a little. "Oh, no you're not-"

Suddenly the camera crew and staffs emerged and I could hear the sound of some fans in the audience. I almost forgot we were on a set of a cooking reality show.

I was supposed to go back to my dressing room because I was done and Taemin was supposed to go get ready to do his part.

Taemin was acting a little weird for a second. His reaction to the surrounding buzz was rather peculiar and fidgety.

He inhaled for a moment and looked at me with an emotionless expression. He then did a small head bow to me before scurrying off fast.

I was taken aback for a second at his sudden reaction as I watched him disappear from my sight without warning.

It all happened so fast. From me bumping into him and to him disappearing. I almost thought I was dreaming. Or was I?!

Gosh, If I did that would've been super embarrassing.

But it was a little weird. Why did he run off like that? I just sighed at that thought and went back to my dressing room.

Later on I was sitting on the chair texting my manager about the time he'll arrive to pick me up since he was supposed to already be here 5 minutes ago, only to be told that he might take another hour or so.

Apparently he is in a long traffic jam because of an accident that happened in the middle of the highway. Great.
I'm officially stuck here.

I took out my black handbag and jacket in frustration, chucking it on the dressing table in front of me.

What am I supposed to do now?

I sighed and took out my wallet to get a candy mint that I had hid inside since I felt a little hungry.

I placed my wallet on my lap and began unwrapping the candy to no avail. It was a little tight and my fingernails were short.

I used abit more of strength to unwrap it and succeeded but my sudden body jolt made my wallet drop.

My wallet flew open and all my coins started flying out everywhere. I panicked and frantically crawled to get all of them back before someone came in.

However like I feared, the door flung open in front of me and all I hoped for in that moment was that not to be Taemin. I didn't even dare to look up at this point.

"Naeun ssi?" The voice called out. It sounded deep and husky. I recognised who it was as I looked up.

"Oh..."

Although it wasn't Taemin it was equally as bad.

"Uhm... Annyeonghasaeyo Kai-ssi." I bit my lip in embarrassment and did a small head bow while kneeling.