You rested your chin on Taehyung's shoulder as your head lulled to the side. Without a word, he removed his glasses and tossed the sheet of paper he held in his lap aside as he made space for you to snuggle more comfortably into him.
"Hi there." he said ever so gently, possibly the gentlest you've ever heard him talk. His voice was like delicate feathers, caressing your skin, deep but soft.
Your eyelids fluttered closed as you basked in his soothing presence, a wave of warmness washing over you. It was one of those rare moments in life when a person is filled with immense gratitude for seemingly no reason at all. Right now, you were thankful for being able to relish in his embrace as he held you close. You were thankful that you had a place where someone would wait for you. Not just someone, but Taehyung.
Heck, you were even grateful for Namjoon, you thought as you nuzzled your face in Taehyung's chest. Ultimately, this dreadful break-up you had gone through had turned out to be part of the reason that led you to starting this unconventional arrangement you had with Taehyung in the beginning. Back then, you were feeling alone and confused, thus stepping into the roller coaster of emotions your relationship with the blond man used to be. Now, things were slowly starting to become more clear for the both of you.
"How was the rest of the day with the girls?" Taehyung asked as your head rested on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.
You felt yourself melt into his embrace upon hearing the tenderness laced in his dark chocolate voice once again. The concern you had expressed back in the bar in front of Shan and Rina about him hating you evaporated into thin air. There was not a single trace of hatred or even resentment in his voice. You had assumed any other normal person would be frustrated or at least disappointed with the situation the two of you had ended up in. But it seemed like Taehyung had no plans of taking it out on you.
"It was okay, I guess." You said in a small voice as flashbacks from the afternoon talk with Namjoon flooded your mind.
"When are you going to introduce me to them?" Taehyung's long fingers found their way down your jaw as he took your chin in between his thumb and forefinger, making you look up at him. A glimmer of amusement was scintillating in his large coffee brown orbs. "Are you embarrassed of me?" he asked jokingly.
"Of course not," you denied with a simper, catching up on his playful attitude. Nonetheless, the fact that he expressed genuine interest in meeting your friends flattered you and sent a tingling sensation down your abdomen.
"Well, you've already seen Rina, she was the girl at the bar that one time when you came by..." you trailed off, recollecting how your best friend had gaped so openly at Taehyung that you might as well have reminded her to collect her jaw from the floor.
You suppressed the inner urge to cringe. Something told you that Taehyung would not be the person you'd be the most embarrassed of if you two ever got together with your friends. "And Shan, well... she's mostly busy with her annoying boyfriend, the two of them have practically morphed into one single being. Maybe I'd introduce you one day... in the near future."
Your dubious attitude could be perfectly explained as you mentally pictured how that would go. Taehyung was like this classy, sophisticated man who only drank whiskey and bourbon so expensive it was out of the price range for most bars, including Hoseok's. You had trouble imagining him fitting in your small group.
Knowing your friends and how obnoxiously loud they became when all of you got together, you imagined how Shan and Hobi would probably bring up some embarrassing story of you getting wasted at the bar and then dancing in your underwear, while Rina would simply stare at Taehyung in awe the whole time, her mouth opening and closing like that of a goldfish.
